Get my knit on...

2010 Texas State Fair

2010-08-30T12:53:00.002-05:00

Yep, I won! 3 First Place and 3 4th Place ribbons this year. I am very excited about the multiple Blue ribbons!

My hat, scarf and cardigan all got the firsts.

I will post pics when I get them back after the fair. Yeah!

10 Things

2009-03-26T09:34:00.007-05:00

10 things about me...

1. When I was little I used to spend a lot of time outside chasing and catching anything I could get my hands on (lizards, bunnies, turtles, etc.). There was a creek next to my house and I would go get a bunch of jars of tadpoles and keep them in the garage until they turned into frogs and escaped.

2. I was stung by a hornet while riding a motorcycle with a boyfriend in high school. I still remember how much that hurt!

3. During high school I worked at the only costume shop/formalwear shop in my home town. I did a few costume deliveries of balloons and once did a delivery to a boat factory in fishnets and tuxtails.

4. People called me Smiley in high school - a lot. One of the guys I work with walked in today and called me that - weird.

5. Raw meat really disgusts me and I can barely stand to touch it.

6. I never want kids. I love having pets, but I don't really have any maternal instinct.

7. My mom used to take my sister and I shopping on Saturdays when we were little. If we were good we got to stop and get an Icee. They used to have lots of flavors. I usually got the blue bubble gum flavor one.

8. I love making things, but I hate having to make things. When I see things I like I automatically think of ways to make my own because I usually can't afford the things I really like. It would be so great to be able to buy things that I love without feeling guilty about the money or having to make something similar or close just because of my lack of budget.

9. I like gardening and planting. I don't know much about it, but if I can get plants in a pot or in the ground, 90% of the time they grow and flourish.

10. Outdated interior color schemes and decorating drive me nuts. I hate puffy leather sofas.

Rylee

2009-02-18T16:00:00.004-06:00

J and I decided we needed a 4th canine family member, so we went through a rescue organization and got...

This is Rylee. He is a super cute papillon/maltese/poodle? mix. He is 8 years old and is very much the growly and grumbley old man type. He just tolerates the other dogs. He is a major snuggler and I can't get any peace when I get home from work until I pick him up and cuddle him with his paws over my shoulder. His hair is kinda wavy and he doesn't really shed at all, so that's why we think there's some poodle in the mix somewhere.

Truly Dreadful Customer Service

2008-12-31T09:34:00.002-06:00

As the title to this post implies, I have run into a lot of this lately.

You would think retailers would not want to lose customers since the economy is so bad right now. This doesn't seem to be the case.

I am considering starting a new blog about super crappy customer service.

Anyone else had any bad service lately?

Holidays

2008-12-19T10:37:00.004-06:00

I have been neglecting this blog in a big way. I don't really like making posts until I have pictures to post and haven't gotten around to editing any photos lately.

I did a lot of holiday knitting this year and it's mostly finished. I need to sew a couple more gifts and finish up a few small things, but for the most part I'm done. I will post all the pictures soon.

I have been really excited this holiday season, but I'm starting to wind down.

The economy is so bad right now it's just depressing. Our house needs so many repairs and the money we thought we would have to use for that isn't coming. It is really getting me down. Our master bathroom has a leak in the wall by the shower and that means to fix we will basically need to tear the shower out and have all the tile and drywall fixed and that will be messy, expensive and time consuming. Plus the outlets in the bathroom don't work. Our kitchen and concrete outside need to be fixed as well. We need new windows in the living room because they leak air and it's costing a fortune to heat and cool our place. I thought having a house would be great, and parts of it are, but at the moment it's hard to be happy when there's so much fixing to do.

Sorry, enough griping.

Yeah, Holidays - Woo Hoo...

Funny

2008-11-03T15:31:00.003-06:00

I just had to share this.

I spent a lot of time last week making awards for our costume contest at work and knitting as well. Friday night after J got home I was telling him my hands were tired and my wrists really hurt.

Well, J does this thing when he thinks he's being really smart and original. He smirks this little self-satisfied smirk and then pops off with some totally snarky or funny comment. It cracks me up.

Anyway, after talking about the sore wrists I looked over at him and he was smirking and he looks at me and says:

You've got "Crafty Tunnel".

I cracked up. He smirked more.

A little spot of green

2008-08-17T10:23:00.006-05:00

When J and I moved into our tiny half duplex - our first house - there was one special feature that we really liked. I always go for quirky and unusual things, so this was really cool.

Our house has an atrium inside. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. The front is all glass and both sides have large windows that face our dining area on one side and the master bathroom shower on the other (the huge window in the shower is interesting - you can sit at our dining table and look through the atrium and watch someone showering - this doesn't happen often and we make sure no guests are there for sure).

When we moved in the atrium was all rocks, a really ugly fountain and some dead potted plants. It was just sad. I could definitely see the potential for an indoor oasis.

This is the sad before picture:

When I wasn't working I spent the largest part of a week turning the soil (this was a huge pain since it was all clay) and mulching and planting in the atrium. We put an ad on Craigslist for free landscaping rocks, so someone came and dug all of those out earlier, so at least I didn't have to do that part.

It was really hard work and at one point I did think it was going to kill me before I got it done.

I have given the plants a little while to fill in and these are the photos I took earlier today. It's a huge improvement on rocks and dead plants!

The bushes on the trellis are evergreen wisteria (not real wisteria, but they are a lot less invasive and have blooms similar to wisteria but they are dark red violet and smell kinda like grape soda). We wanted evergreens so it would be pretty all year. There are also hydrangeas, foxtail ferns and sedum in there.

The wisterias have really taken off and when all of the plants fill in and mature they will be really great. I still want a tiny bench of some sort to put out there.

This is a closer view of the wisterias:

The atrium is by far my favorite part of the house now. It provides so much light and it's so nice to look out and see healthy green plants in a little protected area just for us, kind of like a secret garden.

Irritating

2008-08-15T17:52:00.005-05:00

You know what irritates the hell out of me?

When you are part of a knitalong and you make a post about a certain issue such as: chart row heights not the same or not lining up, and someone makes a snarky comment when they obviously haven't read earlier posts where the Host/Designer has already fixed the problem, reposted the chart and sent a special notice regarding the fix.

I read every post, so this is totally annoying to me. Also, when people don't read the directions that everyone was told to read and then continue to ask inane questions that would already have been answered if they had followed the directions everyone was given.

Come on, how hard is it really? Once again, argh...

Ravelympics

2008-08-12T10:45:00.006-05:00

I am working on 3 projects for the Ravelympics. This is definitely the most time consuming. It's the Mitered Square Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting (I love this book, if you don't have it you should pick up a copy).

I have worked on it periodically and I have entered WIPs Wrestling with it. I have 7 half squares for the edges left, then just putting it all together.

I love the colors and it is from various soft acrylics so I can wash it a lot (essential with as many long haired dogs as we have).

Here is a recent photo of 2 of the 3 long haired dogs. Wow, these dogs have a really hard life, huh?

Lotsa FOs

2008-08-05T10:59:00.011-05:00

This has been a good knitting year for me. The year just half over and I have already finished more projects than all year last year. Not to mention while working on the house at the same time.

This is my finished February Ladysweater (pattern from Ravelry based on EZ's February Baby Sweater).

The yarn is awesome and I love the color.

Yarn: Nashua Creative Focus Worsted - 75% Wool 25% Alpaca - Cornflower

Needles: KnitPicks Options Size 8

I didn't do the YO increases, I used KF&B instead. The only change I will make when I make another one is to not do any increases over the arms. They are a little too wide.

This is a close up of the buttons. They are super cool. I got them at Benno's Buttons in Dallas. They are glass and iridescent and look kind of like carnival glass.

Next up is a basic garter stitch scarf with fringe. I am normally very anti-fringe, but this scarf really needed it. I spun it out in the washer after soaking so the fringe felted a bit. I like it. It's made from Araucania Nature Wool (I recycled the yarn from the Cherie Amour sweater I made - it looked awful on me).

This is the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I used Lorna's Laces and Rockin Sock Club yarns - not sure of the colors. This scarf took forever, but I love it. One of my all time favorites!

This is a little cabled bag I made for JD for her birthday. I used Nora Iroha (3 skeins) and knitted all 3 at once for super thick squishy fabric. I got the ribbon at Benno's Buttons (I love that place). I found the pattern online and it was pretty easy.

Last, but not least, 2 finished lace scarves.

I have no idea what the pattern was for the turquoise one, but the yarn was Vivaldi. I most likely won't wear it much because it is super scratchy. It has Swarovski crystals on the cast on and off edges.

The burgandy one is a fantastic scarf that was gifted to JD (she saw it as a WIP and it's more her color than mine).

Pattern: Easy Flame Lace Scarf pattern from Knit & Tonic

Malabrigo yarn in Velvet Grapes

Size 3 Addi Turbo Lace needles.

Malabrigo is by far my favorite lace knitting yarn. It is super soft. This scarf took forever, but it turned out really beautifully.

This photo was taken in our back yard. It's so nice back there in the spring before it gets super hot.

KIP Day Saturday

2008-08-04T09:45:00.009-05:00

I missed Knit in Public Day this year, so I decided to do my own last Saturday. I bet some people were thinking I had abandoned the blog or forgotten how to knit, but it is not so.

J and I had a bunch of stuff to do on Sat and the knitting came along for the ride. Oh yeah, I am working on "Hey Teach" from Knitty.

This is at breakfast.

In the Car (we were in the car a lot, but just wanted to put in one pic).

Outside in the flower section at Home Depot. Apparently our sprinkler system is shot and the entire thing needs to be replaced, so we bought sprinklers and hoses and set a makeshift one up for ourselves. It works really well, actually.

This is at Tree Top Bird Center. We have bought a lovebird, but she's still too little to come home yet, so we visit her here several times a week. She's super cute, but we didn't get any photos with her this time.

Finally, this is at dinner. Chuck's isn't far from Tree Top, so we just stopped in and had a quick dinner.

I have been knitting a lot and will have a few FO's to post soon. I just finished up the February Ladysweater from Ravelry and it turned out really well.

Also, J finally got an iphone and all of these pictures were taken with it. It has a really decent camera for a cell phone!

Wow

2008-06-09T10:18:00.008-05:00

It has been a really long time since I posted. I have just had a lot of stuff going on and didn't really think about it.

I have taken a ton of pictures that I need to make posts about, but they are still just sitting on my camera for the most part.

I took these 3 photos for a contest I didn't get to enter.

Flowers on my front porch:

J in our back yard:
Self portrait:

I am still looking for a new job, so if anyone has any ideas please let me know asap. I am working on a couple of sewing projects to put up on Etsy that I will post more about later.

Handyman & Wisteria

2008-03-26T18:20:00.005-05:00

If you noticed the nice ceiling light in the kitchen pictures, yeah! There are actually 2 and I installed them myself. J had to get up in the attic and dig through the insulation to replace the old broken boxes the light fixtures screw into. This is him on his second trip into the attic all protected from the fluffy sprayed insulation up there. I just had to get a picture of him since this isn't usually his thing at all. He actually bought a toolbelt! Ha!

My mom was here last weekend and bought us some plants. This is our wisteria that I planted in the back corner of our yard. J somehow managed to throw his back out over the weekend, so I, get this, mowed the entire lawn, pulled weeds and dug a hole and planted this nice little wisteria. It was work. Those of you that know me personally know I'm not really a yard work kinda girl.

I also cut wood trim with a hand saw at Home Depot last weekend. Wow, can you believe it??

Anybody know a good tile guy?

2008-03-26T17:40:00.007-05:00

We had to fire the guy who was working on our kitchen. He was doing a completely crappy job on everything.

So, now I have to find a good painter to redo the nasty paint job he did on the cabinets and a tile guy to start over from scratch on the counter tops.

I am so much past annoyed at this point. The guy clearly did not know what he was doing and as a result we have a giant mess to clean up.

This is a picture of the kitchen originally when we moved in. Every time I looked at the peach cabinets and old as hell oven and microwave I just about gagged.

This picture is about mid way through the jacked up painting with the horrible countertop in. I can't believe the guy installed the new tile countertop before he painted everything. Argh!

This is what the kitchen looks like now and why we finally had to get rid of the guy. If you notice, the cabinet doors look like a different color of white - well, this is because the guy, without even asking us, took the doors home with him and painted all the doors with white high gloss oil base paint. I was so pissed. We paid for all the paint for the cabinets, a nice semi gloss latex, so we basically wasted money on 3 gallons of paint because now the doors didn't match. Besides that, the cabinets weren't sanded well before painting and looked like complete crap.

Anyway, we have a tile guy coming on Saturday to look it over and see about redoing the countertops. I just want it done already!

Coffee

2008-03-14T23:13:00.005-05:00

I don't drink coffee, so if I made it it would probably taste like crap anyway (usually the woman who gets to the office at an ungodly hour makes it).

I told J that I need to make some, but take a crap in the pot first so I wouldn't have to ever make any again...

Hehe...

Coffee can suck my ass.

Arrgghhhh

2008-03-14T23:07:00.002-05:00

I am so hating life right now. I really have to figure out a way to go back to school so I can get a degree to be able to do something I love.

This crappy office job is KILLING me. I can't do anything to please my supervisor. She pulled me in for a meeting today and nitpicked everything I do (including, but not limited to one of the head guys having to make his own coffee one morning - OMG - the horror!) Give me an effing break...

The house is coming along, so at least that's good.

Belated Christmas Knitting Post

2008-01-29T21:13:00.000-06:00

So, I am finally getting around to posting some pics of my Christmas knitting. I don't really know what my deal was around the holidays, I just didn't feel like posting for some reason.

Anyway, first up is the modified Lady Eleanor I made for my sister. I omitted the fringe because I just didn't like the look of it that much.

The yarn is Patons SWS in Natural Geranium. I think I used 7s or 8s, I can't remember, but it was one size smaller than the size suggested on the ball band.

I really love how this turned out and I plan on starting one for me in blue greens sometime after the move. It was time consuming, but definitely worth it (she told me random strangers at the grocery store and the mall stop her to ask her about it).

Next up is the Odessa I made for my nephew. I omitted the beads of course. J kindly modeled the hats for me.

I used 100% Baby Llama for this hat, but not sure which brand. It was very soft.

This is the top view so you can get a good look at the spiral. This pattern was a lot easier than I expected and pretty quick. I want one!

Last up is the Koolhaas hat I made for my brother in law. I used Araucania Nature Wool for this. This pattern was a challenge because of all the cabling, but I just need to learn cabling without a cable needle.

This is the top view - doesn't J's head look really egg like?

And the Dr. Evil front view complete with evil sidekick "Mantis" in the background.

I will definitely make another one of these, I like the look a lot. I also like how the yarn was marbled looking. Very cool.

Sockapalooza Sock Savior Rocks!

2008-01-28T19:03:00.000-06:00

I feel bad that I didn't post these earlier, but I just got all tied up with the holidays and the house stuff and everything.

I got my socks from my Sockapalooza Sock Savior! These socks totally rock! The fit and color is great! As you can see, the fluffies also like the socks!

They are the Uptown Boot Socks from Favorite Socks. I wanted to make these because I love cables, but I thought I would go insane! It's so much cabling!

My sock savior is also a blogger and blogged a lot about these socks and they traveled a lot! Check out her blog to see!

http://knittingthursday.blogspot.com/

So, thanks so much Sock Savior - you rock!

Cobblestone Pullover

2008-01-28T18:42:00.000-06:00

This is J in his Cobblestone Pullover. He actually likes this sweater. I have seen him wear it more in the couple of weeks that he has had it than I have ever seen him wear all of his other sweaters combined.

He even said he would like another one in another color! Wow!

Click on the pictures for a bigger view. You can see much more of the knitting details with a bigger view.

The yarn is Tweed Cascade 220. The color is pretty accurate in the second picture.

I really like that this sweater accentuates the chest area and hangs loose over the belly.

Cobblestone was a really easy knit and the sizing was just right after blocking. I am really pleased with this pattern and will definitely make another one.

J looks so great modeling this sweater.

News

2008-01-28T09:51:00.000-06:00

Man, I am so behind on posting.

I have J's Cobblestone Pullover pictures to post. He really likes this sweater. He has worn it a bunch already it looks great on him.

I finished Cherie Amour, but unfortunately I am not totally in love with it. After blocking the sleeves just got really long and the shoulders don't really stay up where I like them. This may be frogged, but I'm not sure yet.

The big news that I mentioned in the last post is this:

J and I are buying a home (well, half a home really, it's a half duplex). We close on it next week and we are super excited. It's not too terribly much bigger than our apartment, but it does have an extra bathroom and a 2 car garage. The neighborhood is clean and we are glad we could find something we liked in Dallas.

One of the coolest features of the house is that there is an atrium in the living room with a sliding door on one side and 2 of the other walls have big windows. Kinda like having an outdoor room inside and it provides a lot of light.

When we close I will be posting lots of before and after pictures because we have a lot of work to do (stripping wallpaper, painting, tiling, etc.).

Anyway, here is one picture of the outside.

The left side with the nice tree is ours. It is a corner lot and has a nice little back yard as well.

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-11T10:52:00.000-06:00

Yep, today is my birthday! Woo Hoo go me! Hehe

I have not posted in so long. I had no idea it had been so long.

I have been working on the Cobblestone Pullover for J for last 2 weeks and it's almost done. My Cherie Amour is still sitting and waiting to be finished, unfortunately. All I have left is about an inch on one sleeve and seaming them up and it's done!

I still need to post my Christmas Knitting pictures. I did a few knitted ornaments too, but I didn't get any pictures of those before I gave them away.

J and I have been super busy lately. We have big news to announce, but we need to wait just a while longer to finalize all the details. Yeah!

Cherie Amour progress

2007-11-26T18:35:00.001-06:00

This is the beginning of my Cherie Amour. You can see how much the yarn differs in color from 1 ball to the next, but it's blending pretty well. Lots of splicing.

I am much further along on this now. I just have 1.5 sleeves to go and I'm done! The sleeves are the easiest part. Instead of the ribbing at the wrist which I didn't care for, I picked up the final stitch count at the shoulder and am working down, so I should have a more bell shaped sleeve.

As you can see here, Rufus likes the sweater as well.

Dallas Margarita Ball Photos

2007-11-26T18:23:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago JW managed to procure a ticket to the Dallas Margarita Ball. We both wanted to dress up so we went. It was fun to get all done up.

It was a really fun night, but not entirely what I expected. J was nice enough to take us and pick us up so we didn't have to drive and afterward took our drunk asses out for food. That was fun!

I knitted a little bag to go with the dress. You can't see, but it has a few beads knitted in and the purple yarn is Kidsilk Haze, so it's a little fluffy.

There were a lot of older ladies really trying hard to look a lot younger (ick) and a lot of super cheesy 80's prom dresses. It was pretty hysterical. We laughed so much that night.

Cute FOs

2007-11-26T18:09:00.000-06:00

Over the holiday weekend I really wanted to finish this little guy up for J. I have been working on him only when J wasn't around so I could surprise him. Isn't he just the cutest knitted octopus ever?!

This is the link to purchase the octopus pattern from the hansigurumi Etsy site. The pattern was really easy to follow and it just turns out so cute!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5162135

This is Pointy Kitty. Made from the Pointy Kitty pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. Kitty was really quick and I picked fabric for a bunch more. There are a few things I will tweak next time I make one, but this Kitty is pretty cute!

Mainly next time I want to make it not quite so pointy around the chin and cuter fabrics, this was my practice fabric.

Stale Cheerios and a Hacking Cough

2007-11-23T10:16:00.000-06:00

Yep, unfortunately I made a big bowl of Cheerios and they are incredibly stale. Bleh.

Just in time for my long holiday weekend I have come down with some nasty cold. To quote Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, I have become "an incubus of viral plague".

I am off work today and am avoiding the "Black Friday" crowds. Last year it wasn't so bad and I got a bunch of shopping done, but today I just don't feel up to it.

I don't think there is any way the sweater will be done for the party tomorrow, so I would really love to go find something cute to wear, but at this point I don't want to do anything but lie around.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday and be careful of all the nut jobs if you shop today.

Stuff

2007-11-20T10:07:00.000-06:00

I decided to accept a permanent position with the company I have been temping with for the last couple of weeks. The offer was good and J and I need the security of me working a full time job again. My official start date is next Monday.

I am working on Cherie Amour from Knitty. Here's the link.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTcherieamour.html

I am hoping to have it done for Thanksgiving or at the latest the party at the inlaws on Saturday. It's knitting up really fast in bulky weight. So far so good. I am using Araucania Nature Wool Bulky in a variegated color. I can't remember the color number right now, but it's brights with a lot of blue. The skeins were all so different within the same color name (no dyelots) that I am using all 7 skeins at once, splicing in the next ball after just 2 rows. Lots of splicing, but the colors flow and there's very little pooling.

I took some progress pics the other day, I will post soon with those.

Due to some personal drama, I had a complete freak out last weekend. I just have to say thanks to JD for listening, letting me cry like a crazy person and getting me out for a while. Friends are wonderful, again, thanks.

Weird

2007-11-16T16:37:00.000-06:00

I have been working in a new office the last 2 weeks and I just noticed the painting/drawing by the front door today.

This office manages small newspapers, so most of the other art is newspaper related.

This drawing/painting by the door is all black, except in white there's a chalky outline of...

A bathrobe.

Weird.

Enjoy your weekend!

How many times would you reschedule?

2007-11-09T15:33:00.000-06:00

Ok, so here's the deal.

I started getting my hair cut and colored at a new salon almost a year ago. The first stylist I saw was always really wired and I found out later after a few reschedules that he was a drug addict and I got a new stylist at the same salon, but a different location.

The new stylist is awesome. My color and cut always look good and my hair looks healthier and shinier than it has in years.

Here's the issue. I make my appointments 8 weeks in advance. I am always on time or early and I tip well.

My last appointment was rescheduled once. This wasn't a big deal and worked out fine.

I referred J to her as a new client and the salon called to reschedule his appointment, not once, not twice, THREE times. I consider that unacceptable for a new client visit and frankly was pretty embarrassed I even talked him into going. He is used to barber shop cuts for around $15 and his cut at the new salon + one Aveda product came to almost $100. Granted he does have long hair now so it was more work. The cut does look really good.

Ok, so I have my normal appointment that I scheduled 8 weeks out (the Saturday after Thanksgiving). I had already been made to reschedule twice, and I just got a call to reschedule for the third time. It wouldn't be that big of a deal, but they don't have any appointments open for me at all until about 2 weeks after that. That is ridiculous. The girl on the phone was nice, but come on.

How many of you would put up with this from the salon where you drop about $200 every 8 weeks?

I am looking into other salon options, but I hate to switch because I don't want to go back to having crappy hair. The stylist is supposed to call me back and work it out, but I am just so angry about the whole situation. Blergh.

Pumpkin Carving

2007-10-31T10:17:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday at work we took a little time and carved some pumpkins. This is mine.

Would you believe this picture was taken with a camera phone? Pretty good, huh?

Halloween Lucy

2007-10-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday night J, JD, MD and I went to a couple of Halloween parties. This year I was Lucille Ball. I spent considerable time on the costume and hat, making them from vintage patterns. Here is the finished look in my kitchen before leaving for the party. I love this very 50's looking picture.

This is the matching hat. The hat alone took several hours over 2 days. It is made with a wire frame, satin cover sewn by hand and all the ribbon flowers and leaves sewn by hand. I don't know if I will ever attempt one of these again. It turned out really well though.

Someone asked me if this was a wig, but no, it's my real hair set on those squishy pink foam rollers for most of a day.

This is me and J. He refused going as Ricky to my Lucy. He went as Sam Kinison instead and was a pretty good likeness.

This is me and JD, she was Bonnie as half of a Bonnie and Clyde couple.

This is me and MD, he was Clyde.

The party house was all decorated outside as a graveyard. This is a very retro photo of me in the graveyard.

Last is a photo of the house all decorated outside. It was really cool looking!

We all had a good time. It was fun. I get one more chance to be Lucy on Halloween at work. Yeah!

3 Favorite Things

2007-10-22T08:53:00.000-05:00

This is a picture I snapped over the weekend. I love my new green retro toaster and my alligator cookie jar, but I really love the skein of yarn I just got from Insubordiknit!

It's called Vitreous Humor and it's so gory and gross and fantastic! I just love it!

When I was reveiwing the photos later J pointed out that my yarn had a mouth. I can't believe I didn't notice the "face" when I was taking the photos - ha!

It's so cute in the skein I almost hate to knit it up into the scarf I had planned for it.

My Brush With Celebrity!

2007-10-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, so last night was an event at Macy's NorthPark that I attended with JD. It was a fashion show and advice on plus size fashion with Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear. I love that show and as soon as I got the postcard in the mail I called in my RSVP.

Anyway, Clinton came out and talked, pulled a few girls on stage for virtual 360 degree mirrors with him and then he narrated the fashion show. I have to say he is very much the same in person as on the show. He's very funny and both JD and I had a super time!

He provided a lot of really good advice and information. One of the things I liked the most was when he said never compare yourself to an image on a billboard or in a magazine because these people do not exist. He said it would be like comparing yourself to a tree stump or an inanimate object because these people don't really look like that and everything is photoshopped. I knew this already, but it was still nice to hear.

After the show there was a book signing and if you spent $100 the book was free and he signed. I have been wanting a great trench coat for a while and ended up buying 2 of the trench coats that were featured in the fashion show. One is bright green and the other is leopard print. They are both different in style and super cute! Following Clinton's advice to everyone, before I wear them they will both be going to the tailor for a little nip/tuck here and there.

So, I waited in line for a few minutes for the book signing and when I got up to the table with my book the first thing out of his mouth was: "That shirt is a great color for you!" I wore my favorite new pop your eyes out royal blue silk shirt. The prettiest and biggest pain in the ass shirt I own (it's very particular and I have nearly ruined it several times, the shirt and I have a "relationship" with the dry cleaner). Anyway I said thanks and told him I bought the green trench from the fashion show too. His eyes got big and he says "Oh yeah, that will be great on you too!" Anyway, we chatted for a couple of minutes and I can definitely say he's a super nice guy! He signed my book and JD took this picture with her phone.

It's a little blurry (I can't believe I didn't think to bring the camera!) that's me with Clinton Kelly! Yeah!

If you ever get a chance for a meet and greet with him, definitely do it!

First Finished Sweater

2007-10-13T09:27:00.001-05:00

This is my first ever finished sweater.

Perfect Sweater from Mason Dixon Knitting - Seed Stitch neckline, cuffs and hem
KnitPicks Panache in Mulled Wine
KnitPicks Options circulars in sizes 5 and 6

This yarn is very soft. It is considered a bulky yarn, but I used the needle sizes suggested for a worsted yarn and it worked out perfectly.

I can't believe this is my first finished sweater ever. I have more in the works for sure because I am always so cold. I am very happy with the finished sweater. I have been working on it sporadically since last fall. Unfortunately it is a gift and will be going to J's mom tonight. I really hope she loves it. She is allergic to alpaca, but really loved the feel of that fiber, so we decided on an alpaca blend that hopefully she's not so sensitive to. She plans to wear a long sleeved shirt under it at all times anyway. I have a sweater for me that is halfway done, but after that my next sweater will definitely be a top down raglan because all the seaming was a total drag.

One thing about this yarn that I didn't expect was how heavy the sweater would be. It's very heavy.

Stitch Markers

2007-10-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

This is the set of stitch markers I made for Sm00bs as her prize in the llama contest. I will be mailing them out tomorrow.

I love them. I could definitely use more markers, but I have yet to make any for myself.

I finished the tiger costume that I was making for a client last night. It turned out really cute and included a really easy mitten pattern that gave me some ideas for making some super cute mittens. More on that later.

We have a winner!

2007-09-26T07:48:00.000-05:00

Wow - that was quick!

Sm00bs is the winner with Lorenzo Lamas!

I spent many a night with my mom enduring the cheesy entertainment of Falcon Crest. Apparently he's currently on The Bold and the Beautiful. Wow, just wow.

Here's a link to his website with some super cheesy pictures too!

http://www.lorenzo-lamas.com/index.html

I also loved the Victor DeLorenzo reference! Violent Femmes! That was my favorite band for so many years, all through junior high and high school. When I had not been in Dallas very long I went to see them at the Bomb Factory (anybody else remember that place?). It was a great show and afterward my friends and I were waiting out back by the bus and got to meet the Femmes. I still have my concert shirt from that show with their signatures on it. Very cool!

Anyway, Sm00bs, comment with your choice of prize and I will start working on it asap!

Meet Lorenzo and a Contest!

2007-09-25T18:59:00.000-05:00

Say hi to Lorenzo. He's a llama. A Fiber Trends Felted Llama to be exact. He's made from double stranding Lamb's Pride with Noro Kureyon.

He was a present for my sister who's had a rough time lately and during our last phone conversation I told her she needed a stripey and wildly inappropriate colored llama to cheer her up.

Done!

He's super fluffy and cute!

On to the contest!

The first person who can comment with the 80's pop culture reference having to do with Lorenzo's name wins a prize! That person can choose a lovely set of sterling silver and bead stitch markers, necklace or bracelet hand made by me!

Come on, it's so easy!

Airy Scarf

2007-09-25T08:05:00.001-05:00

This is the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I started it on Sunday and finished it up Monday night. I had a little less than half of a ball of Kidsilk Haze, but it worked out fine, even being a couple of rows shorter than the pattern.

Here is a closer view.

It's very soft and blocked nicely. The color is fabulous, of course. I like it a lot.

J took this picture right before I left for work. We'll see how it looks at the end of the day.

Malabrigo Lace

2007-09-20T08:08:00.000-05:00

I have heard such nice things about Malabrigo all over the place that I had to get some. I was definitely not disappointed. It is super soft. I love touching it and can't wait to start the scarves I got the yarn for.

Also, I got the yarn at http://www.yarncountry.com/. They are in Washington and I just paid for the most inexpensive shipping and I got the yarn 2 days later! From Washington to Texas in 2 days is really really good! I was very pleased. They have lots of colors in various weights of the Malabrigo, so if you are curious, I would definitely order from them.

Oh yeah, I got the Velvet Grapes and Pearl Ten colors. They are so nice! One of the colors is for a scarf I will make for a gift, but I will have a really hard time giving it up, I'm afraid.

Mystery Stole 3

2007-09-17T20:44:00.000-05:00

Yep, it is finally done!

KnitPicks Gloss in Black
Size 3 Addi Lace needles
Size 6 glass seed beads in various greens and blues
I beaded all the flowers across the back - I needed more sparkly!

Left Side:

Back:

Right side:

Wingspan:

It needs better blocking, but until I get blocking wires, it looks ok. The edges curl in a bit and the back/wing connection needs to look better.

Thanks Melanie of Pink Lemon Twist for this great project!

Sock Saviors Rock!

2007-09-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

I got an email from my Sock Savior for Sockapalooza - this is so awesome! People sign up to be "Sock Saviors" where they make a second pair of socks for someone who didn't get a pair from their original pal. This person not only made the pair of socks for their pal, but is making another pair to make up for someone who, for some reason, couldn't fulfill their obligation for the exchange! How Excellent!

Sock Saviors totally rock!

Yeah! Now I am excited again!

Sockapalooza Pal - Where Are You??

2007-09-10T09:30:00.000-05:00

I am seriously bummed. Sockapalooza has been over for a month and I still have not received anything from my Sockapalooza Pal.

*For any non-knitters, Sockapalooza is a secret pal exchange where you get a pal's foot size information and preferences and knit them a pair of socks to their specs.*

This was my first knitting secret pal exchange, so it was a big let down.

Anyway, I'm glad my pal liked the socks that I made for her.

Boundaries

2007-08-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

A few people know about my New Year's Resolution to start using boundaries.

The reason for this is that I take on way too much with everything I do outside of work. I am a "Yes" girl. If someone needs something quickly I am the go to girl. Say I have a sewing client that needs something urgently, I get it done for them, usually at the expense of my relationship with my husband or my sanity. I have spent many nights staying up until 2 or 3 on a work night to complete projects.

Sometimes I donate time to help friends/groups on their projects with no compensation whatsoever. The main problem with a lot of this work is that it is usually nearly thankless and the majority of the time I feel taken advantage of. I am lucky to be able to do so many things well and help people that need it, but it gets very irritating.

So the resolution was to help me learn to say "No" or "Enough" when I feel tired or beat down and just can't handle any more.

I have really worked on this a lot and it definitely has helped my sanity. It is hard to say "No" to someone who needs help, but I just can't keep killing myself trying to get things done for people and feeling like crap afterward since I only got like 4 or 5 hours of sleep at night for days.

What really brought this on was last year when I was in Roller Derby and I was asked to make award sashes for the end of season award ceremony. I worked on them for a month and the number of sashes doubled during the project. 30 beauty queen style sashes with sequin trim and hand cut sparkly letters. I got them done and nearly lost my sanity in the process. Did I get a thank you or recognition for the 90+ hours I put in (this is time outside a full-time job)? Of course not. I knew after that I had to change something.

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I like doing things to help people, but there has to be a boundary or limit. Does anyone else have problems setting boundaries/limits?

Ouch!

2007-08-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

Who know teeth whitening was this painful?

I went to the dentist and had impressions and trays made and got the whitening gel and all that. They said to do the top and bottom teeth at different times so they aren't all sensitive at once. I started the top teeth last week and the bottom ones today. The bottom ones are way more sensitive than the top ones apparently. Ouch! My teeth feel like they are throbbing, not the gums, the actual teeth. A weird feeling indeed. Luckily they are only sensitive for a couple of days.

The top ones are pretty damn white, I only have a couple of nights left to wear the top tray.

Oh, and FYI, if you plan on doing this, be careful. I was using too much solution in the top tray and it was getting on my gums and they felt like they were on fire and bleeding for a couple of days. My toothbrush was like a torture device!

New Assignment

2007-08-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

I started a new temp. assignment this week. It is a lot longer commute, but the pay is better too.

It's a pretty low key office. There are only like 5 people in the office and there will be a lot of down time. It's a possibility that it may turn into temp to hire.

The only downsides would be the drive and also apparently in winter they require you to wear suits every day. I have never worked anywhere that wasn't casual or business casual. I would probably have to spend a significant amount on a new work wardrobe, and I'm not sure I'm willing to do that.

We'll see what happens with the assignment.

Of sleeping dogs and nakedness

2007-08-08T00:04:00.001-05:00

I always sleep naked. Yep, I admitted it. The only exceptions are when I have guests overnight that might throw open the bedroom door at any minute and be shocked by the glory of my nakedness, or when I stay at someone's place (it's just gross to think of being naked on someone's sofa that might have had god knows what going on on it the night before, ick).

Rufus sleeps with us too. He's a really spoiled dog.

Anyway, the other morning while I was sleeping in peacefully I awoke to the sound of a camera shooting pictures right at the end of the bed. I was thinking, "Oh my god, has J gone off the deep end and decided to start a porn career without warning me?"

I turned over enough to see him with the camera at the end of the bed and of course had to ask, "What the hell are you doing?"

He says, "He he he, you should see what Rufus is doing he he".

So, later I looked at the pictures he took and saw this...

Yep, the dog has no problem at all being naked and showing it all off.

This is a better representation of him in normal sleep mode. Did I mention he's spoiled?

Peaches

2007-08-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

Peaches are my favorite fruit and unfortunately I have a hard time finding great tasting ones. The ones at local grocery stores aren't usually ripe, or they aren't very sweet.

Anyway, in the last couple of weeks I have gotten some of the best peaches I have had in years. The first ones were from a little roadside stand in Canton, Texas. Those were so good! The second ones were from the Dallas Farmers Market. I got them last Sunday. They are as good if not better than the first ones. It really does pay to go around and sample all the peaches before you buy. J and I tried peaches from probably 6 different stands before we found the really great ones.

Anyway, if you like peaches and are anywhere near a farmers market or roadside stand, I recommend picking some up, especially if they give you a sample first.

Oh yeah, and the ripening in a paper bag trick really does work. I keep mine in one and they are the sweetest, juiciest peaches ever!

Yeah for Peaches!

Another Picture

2007-08-05T11:48:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post a picture of the socks blocking because you can see the stitch pattern a lot better. Well, also, because my sock blockers are so cool! I got them at Leggy Creations.

Sockapalooza Sendoff!

2007-08-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

I got my sockpal's socks done just in time and sent the package on August 2nd. There are all the goodies in the box that went with the socks.

Here are the finished socks. I love them! I will definitely make a pair for me too. The Claudia Hand Painted Yarn was really nice to work with and after I blocked them they were just super soft!

I hope she totally loves them! Yeah!

Rockabetty Revue

2007-07-22T23:46:00.001-05:00

The Rockabetty Revue Burlesque Show was last weekend and it was really fun. The dresses looked really good on the girls and they did a great job and pulled in a good crowd.

I was pleased to be involved.

This is me at the show with JD and JW. I think everyone had a good time.

I did get a little hot in my shrug. I finished it a couple of hours before the show. Pattern was from Fitted Knits. I wasn't crazy about the yarn I used, it stretched out really quick. Next time I'll use something else. The colors were really great though!

JD's Superfantastic Birthday Bag

2007-07-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

This is the bag I made for JD for her birthday. I really liked how it turned out. The fabric was really thick, so it was near impossible to sew, but it turned out really cute.

It is the Weekender Travel Bag from Amy Butler. I love these patterns!

I have loved this fabric for a long time, but it was way too expensive, so I never could buy it. Luckily I finally caught it on sale! Yeah!

Green Things

2007-06-26T17:58:00.001-05:00

I have been on a quest for green things lately. For some reason I am just loving green right now. Mostly grassy greens and vibrant greens.

I went on an all day search for the perfect green leather bag. I was told it was never made in green by a certain store, so I bought an orangey-red one. I went to another location of the same store and was told that it did come in green, but they were sold out. So, I drove 30 minutes to the only local store that had one. I bought the bag and was uber happy until 2 days later when the stitching started coming apart. Bleh...

So, I called the customer service line and the store I purchased said bag at and after getting the run around for a few days, they mailed me the replacement bag. I sent the defective bag back and am happy to report that the new bag has no problems at all.

In the picture below is the perfect green bag and the green cotton shirt that I made.

I worked in retail a long while ago and it makes me really mad when I get crappy customer service. After getting the run around and using the phrase "horrible customer service", the company finally got its head out of its ass and fixed the problem.

I know in this photo I look freaking huge, but you will be pleased to know that since the photo was taken I have gone back to low carbing and have lost 12 pounds so far! Yeah! Go me!

Sockapalooza!

2007-06-26T17:49:00.001-05:00

This is the yarn I chose for my Sockapalooza Pal. I think she will love the colors!

The yarn is soft and squishy and one of the brands that she said was her favorite. I cast on last night using a pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks and it is coming along nicely.

Yeah!

That picture sucked! New Hair Redo!

2007-06-05T19:44:00.001-05:00

My new hair looked like crap in that last picture - I took this one in the mirror. Much better!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

2007-06-05T18:38:00.000-05:00

I got a new much shorter haircut and new color over the weekend. The hair is much easier short. It takes like 5 minutes to dry and style.

Also, I made this shirt last night. I love the fabric. I am really into green right now and this pattern was super easy! Yeah!

I still have a little sunburn left, but it's peeling and starting to fade.

Rockin Sock Club - Inside Out!

2007-06-05T18:32:00.001-05:00

I love these socks and the pattern was completely awesome! It took me forever to do them, (I was scared of the new techniques) but they turned out so great! I love the striping/pooling combo!

I had to post a picture of the bottoms, I love how the heels look!

Oh yeah, did I mention they fit me perfectly? Yeah!

Sunburn!

2007-06-05T18:28:00.001-05:00

Went to a Rangers game with work and all I got was this lousy sunburn! Ouch!

Worst sunburn I have had in years. I just needed claws and I would have been a lobster.

Weekend

2007-05-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I had fun this weekend...

1. Showed up on time for a party on Saturday - unfortunately said party was on Sunday so I was 24 hours EARLY.

2. I need to schedule a fake wedding cake tasting with the Girly Night Girls - yes, seriously, I am all over it! JW loves some cake!

3. People apparently do read my blog, so here's a shout out to the Girlie Night Girls - JD & JW!

I did get some knitting in this weekend. J and I went to B&J's Critter's 1st birthday party today. I did a birthday painting for them and made Kate from Knitty. The painting is called Critter One because they call their daughter Critter and it was all about her.

This is the finished painting before framing.

After framing...

This is Kate...

I am still working on the Rockin Sock Club Inside Out Socks. I am on sock 2 and they are freaking awesome. I am waiting to post photos until they are done.

Oh yeah, and JW really really wants a File... ;)

More later...

I'm a WINNER! Yeah, really!

2007-05-01T21:57:00.001-05:00

Remember the photo contest I made a post about? Well, I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but I got third place in the Nature category with this photo...

And, I got third place in the Animals category with this photo...

I thought my other photos were better, but I guess not what the judges were looking for. There were hundreds of entries apparently, and only 13 winners total, so I guess that was pretty good for my first photo contest. Also, I was the only one to win twice!

Yeah! Go me! My photos were published in the May issue of the Newsletter.

Been a long time...

2007-04-29T19:28:00.000-05:00

I have been super busy, so I haven't made a post in a really long time. I have some cool projects going, so I will post more pictures soon.

This is the Apricot Cake with Raspberry Filling that I made for Easter. Cute, huh...

Oh yeah...

2007-03-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

I didn't post pictures when I finished this project because my camera died so I didn't really get any great shots before I sent this to my mom for Christmas. It took forever, but it turned out really well. It is the scarf from the cover of Vogue Knitting - Winter/Holiday? 2006. I wish I had better pics of it, the color was awesome. I used Ultra Alpaca in a deep teal green/blue.

It's dark, but it is all done in the second picture. I need to make one for me one day!

Haiku for you...

2007-03-19T20:47:00.000-05:00

Please kill me now please
I am at work and it sucks
That would be awesome

No applause please...

Random

2007-03-19T20:38:00.000-05:00

J and I went to see Scissor Sisters last Thursday. It was a completely awesome show! It was at the Palladium Ballroom. I had no idea, but this used to be Gilley's - still looked just like it did in Urban Cowboy, except with no mechanical bull. Too bad really, I would have ridden it! (A piece of trivia, friends - I rode a mechanical bull on vacation in Cancun while in the rain AND wearing a skirt!)

Anyway, the show was awesome and absolutely packed with gay men. I cracked up when at one point a particularly flashy guy walked by and J said...

"Wow, he's so fabulous I bet he shits sparkles!"

I almost died laughing...

If you have the chance to see Scissor Sisters you definitely should. It was super fun!

I saw this button somewhere online today. It's appropriate, I think.

Photography Contest

2007-03-13T00:05:00.000-05:00

My apartment community is having a photography contest. J and I took pictures on Saturday. It was a pretty day. Hope we win!

Solace Wrap

2007-03-12T23:58:00.000-05:00

I am knitting the Solace Wrap. I am about 10 inches or so in right now. This is the yarn I did the kool aid dyeing with. Unfortunately there is no natural light, so the colors look sucky. I will post a nicer picture later.

I got my first Rockin Sock Club package the other day and since I have never done toe up socks or short row heels and toes I am kinda nervous about casting them on.

More pictures to come...

Kool Aid Dyeing Spectacular (now with 100% more photos)

2007-03-04T11:34:00.000-06:00

This is a pictorial of how I dyed a whole bunch of yarn with Kool Aid. Enjoy!

First, I wound 3 skeins of Fisherman's Wool into huge 400+ yard hanks using my handy-dandy swift.

Next I soaked my yarn for 30 minutes - it totally looks like spaghetti huh? (I love Mason-Dixon Knitting - you can see my ballband dishcloths on the left!)

Next, I covered my dining table with a garbage bag and cling wrap and jumped into the dying. I wanted a variegated yarn, so I used the turkey baster paint on method. It was messy.

Next is the yarn with all the dyeing done. I used all the colors on two sections as a nice speckley break in the solid colors.

Yep, I know I was supposed to wear gloves, but I didn't - because I didn't I had pruney kool aidey fingers to deal with. Please wear gloves!

Next, I wrapped the dyed yarn all up in cling wrap and put it in glass dishes and microwaved it for a few minutes until there was steam build-up inside the dish, then I let it set to cool. I let it cool for about 30 minutes.

Next, I pulled off all the cling wrap and put all the yarn in luke warm water to rest. I left it there about 30 minutes or so. Now it totally looks like colored spaghetti!

Next I hung it in the shower to drip dry and then moved it to a ceiling fan for the final dry.

Ok, finally, here are the 3 finished 400+ yard hanks. I am happy with the finished product and the happy springy colors.

Last, but certainly not least, here is the finished product. A nice hand dyed center pull yarn ball.

This was a very fun, very messy project. I will definitely be doing more Kool Aid dyeing! If you want any more info please don't hesitate to comment or email me.

Kool Aid Dyeing

2007-03-01T19:44:00.000-06:00

For those of you thinking of doing some Kool Aid yarn dyeing, I have a few pointers...

1. Make sure you have ALL DAY - it is not a good project for starting at 9 pm when it takes until 2 am to finish and you have to be at work at 8:30 am.

2. Make sure to have more packets than you think you will need. J had to go to the store for me about 11 pm to get more.

3. Small quantities of yarn would be easier. Please don't make the first attempt 3 huge hanks of worsted weight wool totalling 1300 yards.

Pictures and more details will follow. That is all.

Anyone?

2007-02-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, I have only once received a comment from someone other than D. Does anyone read my blog??

If you do, please post a comment.

Thanks!

Backyard Leaves Scarf

2007-02-18T14:02:00.000-06:00

I finished this scarf a while back, but didn't have a camera that would take a decent picture. It is the Backyard Leaves scarf from the Scarf Style book. I have worn this scarf so much. It is one of my favorite things I have ever made and it is super soft. I used Blue Sky Alpaca yarn.

Socks on a Blog with a Dog

2007-02-18T13:51:00.000-06:00

Here is my newest pair of completed socks. They are awesome! The colors pooled differently on both socks, but I loved working with the yarn and I tried a different toe and they fit so well.

I used Sockotta yarn - wool, cotton and nylon. Size 1 dpns. I followed Yarn Harlot's basic sock recipe but used the star toe technique from the Simply Socks booklet. For some reason I love the star toe. It just fits my feet a lot better.

Here's an action shot.

Finally, here is the dog portion of the post. Little Miss Trixie looking as cute and bouncy as ever. She's such a great dog!

Valentine's Day Surprises

2007-02-18T13:16:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day was good this year with lots of suprises.

First up is the painting I did for J. I haven't painted anything in a really long time, so this was a nice way to get back into it. It is acrylic with some metallic hand stitching and attached painted canvas flowers. It is 16x16 in a 20x20 frame. You probably see the octopus over on the left of the painting. Octopi come up in conversation with us often - like an ongoing theme, so the painting had to have one. Octopus in Spanish is Pulpo, so the name of the painting is "Pulpo del Amor" or in English, "Octopus of Love".

Also, for part of his Valentine's surprise I got new bedding and made a bedskirt and small pillow for the computer room/guest room where he spends most of his time. Now it's not so girly in there. It looks pretty decent in there now!

Now on to the really good stuff.

J brought me a huge vase of delphiniums! They are very pretty and thankfully not boring roses. There is a basket next to the flowers that is the other part of my gift. It is awesome!

Yes, J went to the LYS and picked out yarn! It's for the Irish Hiking Scarf from Hello Yarn. I have been wanting to make that scarf for a while and he picked fantastic yarn for it. I love alpaca! I always wear black, but I haven't ever knitted anything black, so this yarn is perfect. What a great choice!

We also went out and had a suprise dinner. It turned out to be not so great, but I made baked ziti on Friday night, so that kinda made up for it. Restaurants that have a "special = overpriced" Valentine's Day menu should at least be sure it's as good as the regular menu. It was disappointing. We did have a good time out though, and the atmosphere was nice.

Domestic Goddess Apron aka Too Much Time on My Hands

2007-02-04T16:14:00.000-06:00

This is my friend JD. She and her husband are the only people I know who cook "real" food. They had us over for dinner the other night and it was awesome. Since she really cooks, she needed a real apron. I made this from Simplicity pattern 4987. I tweaked it a bit from the original version.

As you can see, I used piping on the seams instead of the lace trim the pattern called for. It turned out a lot cuter. Also, the skirt on the pattern wasn't lined, so I added a skirt lining so it is totally reversible and nicer.

I really want an apron like this. It is so super cute! Yeah!

SSSK 2007 Jaywalkers

2007-01-20T12:17:00.000-06:00

I am in the Shabby Sheep Sock Club for 2007 and just finished my first pair of socks! This is the Jaywalker pattern by Grumperina. The yarn is Hill Country Weavers 100% merino in Chocolate Covered Kisses. I used size 1 dpns and the large size pattern.

I stayed up until about 4 am this morning finishing them up. They are cute and super stripey! I like them! Yeha!

New Project

2007-01-08T10:23:00.000-06:00

I started this project over the weekend and it's going really well - can anyone guess what it is yet? I love the gradual color changes.

My birthday is this week and I bought this yarn with some birthday money. It's going to be bigger than the projects in the 2 books I am consulting, so I will most likely need more yarn than I bought.

I'll post more pics of my progress as I go...

Maroon Life Sucker

2007-01-06T14:21:00.000-06:00

The maroon life sucker is finally finished and delivered. I started working on this for a gift for last Christmas - 2005. It's done in 48 individual squares and such a complete whip that it took me until this week to finish it. It turns out really great looking, but the yarn was acrylic (a friend picked the yarn) and was a pain to work on.

Again, the lighting inside our apartment totally sucks, but you get the basic idea. It did turn out really well and my friend liked it a lot.

I have the pattern if anyone wants it, but I definitely don't think I will be making another one of these anytime soon.

New Camera

2007-01-06T14:04:00.000-06:00

So, we finally got our new camera. It is really great! Unfortunately our indoor lighting sucks, so the outdoor pictures definitely look much better. Canon Digital Rebel XTI - it rocks!

So, the first new blog pics are of the fluffy trifecta.

First up is Oscar - our middle and special puppy...

Next is Rufus - our oldest and best behaved fluffy - except for the howling...

Last, but definitely not least is Trixie - the baby - she is always happy and full of energy...

I love this picture of Miss Trixie outside. She is just so super cute!

More pictures coming soon! Yeah!

Camera Crap Out!

2006-12-11T10:55:00.000-06:00

Yep, my camera has crapped out, so until I can get another one, there will be few posts with pictures.

My weekend was good. I got ALL the Christmas shopping done! Yeah! I am making a few things that I still have to finish, but I got all the gifts wrapped (except the ones being shipped) and ready to go.

I planned on knitting this weekend, but between shopping and wrapping, I didn't pick up the pointy sticks at all.

I made more necklaces for gifts and to sell. I have been selling a bunch at work for gifts. I got some semi-precious beads this weekend to make a necklace for myself. I want something pretty cool and outstanding for myself.

I am making the scarf on the front of Vogue Knitting for my mom in Ultra Alpaca in a kinda deep teal color. It's going to be awesome!

I made the pink llama for my sister from the Fiber Arts pattern, but, DOH! I forgot to take a picture of it! Guess that means I will have to make another one. It was super cute!

Ok, so more later...

Oh yeah, one more picture...

2006-11-26T16:14:00.000-06:00

This isn't the greatest picture, but it is a baby blanket and 2 Mason Dixon bibs. Peaches & Creme cotton - powder puff, size 7 needles. I did a basic bib and a burpcloth pattern bib, and the blanket is garter and stockinette squares with a 4" seed stitch border. The blanket took forever! It was killing me by the time it was done.

Working on making some Christmas gifts, I will post pictures of those as I finish them. Yeah!

Meet Simone

2006-11-26T15:56:00.000-06:00

This is Simone - she's our newest family member. She's a hypo tangerine leopard gecko. She is 2 years old and very friendly.

Please excuse the ugly lightswitch in this picture. It was hard getting her against something white to show off her color (those who know me well know I have hardly any plain white walls).

Finished Projects Pics

2006-11-26T15:35:00.000-06:00

First up is J in his hat I just finished. Cascade 220 - not sure of the color, it's a black and blue mix, basic ribbed hat pattern on size 8 dpns. Awwww, how cute!

Next up is 3 Mason Dixon ball band dishcloths. Sugar & Cream cotton, size 7 straights. I love the bright color combos - they currently reside in my kitchen.

Finally, it's me in a neckace I knitted from 32 gauge wire and beads. Silver beading wire and a bunch of random glass beads. I like how it turned out, but next time I will probably use a thicker wire. This just bends like crazy while I am wearing it.

More pictures to come later!

A long time...

2006-11-20T10:41:00.000-06:00

Wow, it has really been a long time since I posted anything. A lot has been going on.

A short list...

1. I quit roller derby - too much drama, all drama all the time. I just wasn't having fun.

2. I have been knitting like a fiend. Lots of projects. I will post pics shortly.

3. I quit my crappy job and went back to temping. It's good for me, I don't get as bored.

4. I did a cool project over the weekend and I am going to submit it to Knitty.com.

5. J and I have a new family member - she's a Hypo Orange Leopard Gecko - her name is Simone and she's georgeous. I will post pics of her soon as well.

I have been taking so many pictures of projects lately. I can't wait to post them! Yeah!

Death Row Rumblers Intro

2006-08-30T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is a photo from our official intro at the championship bout on August 27. We were all really nervous before we skated out, but the other teams all lined up around the track and cheered us on like crazy! It was so awesome! A total adrenaline rush!

I enjoyed this bout so much, it was just so cool to skate out and hear cheering! I can't wait until we start bouting!

Weekend

2006-08-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

My weekend was fun. It officially started on Thursday night when I went out to Ben's Half Yard House for a Derby Karoke fundraiser.

I have never been very fond of karoke, but I had an awesome time.

I got my hair done Thursday afternoon and the guy who washed out my color (John) was super cool so I asked him to go.

I went with D and John showed up which was cool and fun. He is very high energy! We ended up staying out until around 2, so I was really dead tired on Friday and had to go to a dinner with J for a work birthday thing. It was pretty fun, but by the time it was over I was ready to crash. We got home around 9:00 pm and I just planned on taking a nap. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until around 3:00 am! Long nap, but I was really tired and went right back to sleep. I think I ended up sleeping for like 12 hours or something.

I did a lot of sewing and no knitting over the weekend. I will be glad when the sewing project is done. It's a lot more work than I anticipated. I always seem to volunteer for things that sound like fun and they usually turn out to be a major pain in the ass before I am done.

I swear I will post some pictures later. I tried the other day and could not get them attached.

Updates

2006-08-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted!

Ok, updates...

Lilliana is here and she looks very cute in the blanket and hat. Met her last Saturday when J and I stayed at his mom's over the weekend.

I am working on J's socks using Step yarn. The one with the aloe vera and jojoba oil in it. I like it, it's nice to knit with. I think I need to use smaller needles for my socks - the 3mm still seem to big.

I am working on a sewing project for the derby league awards ceremony. It's a big project, so all my spare time is going there right now.

I went to practice last night and it totally beat me down. I was so exhausted at the end I was crying. It's not only physically a killer workout, but mental too since I am not as good as I want to be. Lots of blisters once again. Ouch!

Talked a little after practice about the tryout issue and feel somewhat better, but not a lot.

Tonight I go to get my hair cut/colored again and then to a karoke travel team thing later. Should be interesting. I don't want to stay out too late, I'm already tired.

Oh, Rollercon was a big disappointment. I needed much more cash than I took and it was hard to meet people. It was also hot as hell and the scrimmaging was outside. One of our girls was in a scrimmage and fell and shattered all the bones in her ankle and also broke one of her leg bones by the ankle. Not good at all.

I'm sure I have forgotten some things, but I will update more and post more pictures soon also.

Baby Things

2006-07-21T09:05:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting a bunch lately. This is a baby blanket and hat I made for M & T's new baby that is due any day. Both the hat and the blanket turned out really great. I like the fruit hats, they turn out really cute. Enjoy!

I mentioned the other night at practice to a couple of people about finding camo yarn and knitting a skirt for the bout which is a war theme. They basically made fun of me for wanting to do that and that sucked. It really makes me mad when people think just because you knit you make all that ugly grandma looking crap. I hate that crap and only make cool stuff. The skirt would be cool, but now I don't really have the time or money to make stuff.

I have to get these in the mail today, so I will have to go find a pack and ship place around here on my lunch hour.

I paid my first car payment on my new car today and boy did that suck!

I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I have a few things to do on Saturday, but other than that I will just be working on my black and blue ball dress. It's going to be cute. Black with cherries and all that.

I got my skates back and I think they are going to be really great. I haven't really gotten to try them out since my feet are all jacked up, but I hope it will make all the difference.

I am going to Luke's Locker tomorrow to check out insoles and socks and blister remedies that might help a lot as well. The guy on the phone said to bring in my skates and we could try some different stuff to see what might work.

Anyway, so glad it's Friday!

Wow...

2006-07-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

I need to rename this blog "enjoy the negativity" or something... damn

Pippi Broadstalker's Birthday aka get my drink on...

2006-07-19T16:26:00.000-05:00

So, last night I went out after work with Pippi for her birthday. I got way too drunk for a Tuesday and made an ass out of myself. I went and talked to random guys she picked to have them come over and drink with her for her birthday. We went outside and had a girlie crying drunk moment and she called J to pick me up since I was a drunk moron and couldn't drive home. When he got there we were walking to his car and I fell over a parking block and skinned my knees and the front of my foot. This is an oh so nice addition to my earlier foot injury. Bleh...

I felt like complete crap this morning and didn't take my contacts out last night, so it felt like they were glued to my eyeballs. Ick.

I so wish practice wasn't tonight, I am tired as hell and my foot still hurts. On a positive note, my skates will be fixed and I can try them out.

Derby is a real time sucker. I decided to do this for fun and it just isn't. I like the events, but I don't need to be drinking so much and the practices are killing me. I can't quit because I will feel like a loser.

Well, if I end up having to try out again I might not make it anyway, so I guess if that happens I will deal with it.

Kind of a downer day today, sorry. Oh did I mention that I managed to spill my entire large drink on the carpet at Wendy's on my lunch? Doh!

Disgusting Derby Injury

2006-07-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this is gross - this was my foot the day after practice on Sunday. My worst derby injury to date. It hurts really bad. Just from my skates...

No idea how I will skate on it the day after tomorrow at practice.

On another note, the rink that will remain nameless screwed up my new skates really badly when they put them together in a really crappy manner, so I had to have new plates and the skate boots had to be redrilled. I was really angry about this!

Thanks so much to Kelly (Clay's Pride) and Clay at Mid-Cities Skateland for helping me out so much! They are awesome! If anyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area needs work on their skates please see these people.

More later...

Almost the weekend...

2006-07-13T09:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend will be super busy. I will have like no free time.

Friday night is Pippi Broadstalker's birthday party. I am baking an awesome cake tonight for her. Mostly strawberry with some surprises.

Saturday is the league rummage sale from 8am to 2pm. So not looking forward to getting up that early. Saturday night I am going to a birthday party with D at Zubar. That should be fun. Not sure if J is going or not. I am pretty pissed/disappointed with him right now. Once again the computer might as well be married to him.

Sunday is the league open forum meeting from 1-4 pm and then practice from 5-7 pm. That is going to be a really long day.

I also have to find time to alter a dress for Bump n' Grinder this weekend and finish knitting baby stuff to send to M&T.

On another note, practice last night went better than normal. It was harder, but I think it really helped a lot of us. We were also told that due to bad attitudes, crap skating and attendance issues that some of us may have to try out again in August. That totally sucked to hear and I am really going to have to start busting ass if I am going to stay on the league. I am going to get back into the gym and start getting back into shape. I really need to work on balance and flexibility. Oh, and strength. I just feel weak.

What was that saying about no rest for the wicked?

More later...

Stuff...

2006-07-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

So, I didn't post pics of the new hair, but it looks much better and it's "derby red" according to D.

I have lots going on this weekend, a birthday party on Friday, league rummage sale on Sat., the league open forum Sun., then right after that, practice. What a busy weekend.

I finished the baby blanket I was working on. It turned out really well and is blocking right now. I will get a picture of it and post it before I ship it.

My MIL was mentioning alpaca the other day, so I am planning on making her a sweater. Just have to find a pattern I like and some super soft alpaca yarn...

I am having a paint issue with my brand new car that is not making me very happy, hopefully I will get that resolved tomorrow. I am taking it into the dealership after work.

I am planning on going to Rollercon. I really need to get out of here for a few days and have some fun. I am feeling really run down lately and I just need a break. Pippi is going, so we should have a lot of fun. Last time I went I stayed on the strip, this time we will be staying downtown, which seems like fun to me! I am excited about it.

Oh yeah, I made a derby skirt that turned out really awesome and wore it for team pictures the other day. I have to get the pictures emailed to me, then I will post them. They turned out really well.

More later...

Makeover madness

2006-06-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

I had a consultation yesterday for a haircut and color with a new salon I have never been to. I usually go to toni and guy, but the last few times I went I just wasn't happy with the results. They kept just giving me the same haircut every time whether I wanted it or not. It's like they only knew how to do one thing. Also, the last time I got highlights I really didn't like them either. They were just way too blonde and stringy looking.

I liked the guy I had the consultation with, he seemed to know a lot about color and I think he will do a really good job. Another girl there is doing my cut and her hair is really similar to mine, so I think it will turn out really great.

I am anxious, I go in Saturday at 1:00. I will, of course, post pictures of the new do... :)

Now I just need to work on everything else. My wardrobe really needs an update also. I was looking for something cute/sexy to wear the other day and I realized the majority of my closet is t-shirts and skirts and they don't even go that well together.

It's weird, I like so many different things and they don't mesh at all. I like little girlie skirts and sweaters, but I also like my derby stuff a lot. I need a style that can combine a little bit of everything. Eclectic... go figure... I think I need more basics, but also more interesting things to go with those. Everything is kinda boring that I have right now.

Anyway, at least a partial makeover is in the near future. Yeah!

My job...

2006-06-20T08:46:00.000-05:00

Sucks!

Ok, so I am really tired of this fat bastard from accounting coming over and dumping shit in my lap to do because they are a bunch of lazy assholes over there. I mean, come on, they fired my friend who was the assistant in that department and now they have no assistants and none of them want to do anything. It is getting very annoying to say the least.

If I was getting paid to be an accounting assistant rather than a receptionist, maybe it would be ok, but those people over there are really annoying.

This company is just bizarre.

Life is Blah

2006-06-19T16:29:00.000-05:00

How can so many things in my life be so boring right now?

Derby is exciting and fun, but I just feel bored in general with just about everything else.

I haven't been painting for a long time. I really need to get back into it.

My wardrobe sucks - I need a makeover...

I feel old and boring and uninteresting - ick.

I have to start working out and getting back into decent shape...

Arrrrghhhhh

Derby Stuff

2006-06-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well, the mandantory derby meeting last night was a real eye opener.

Apparently one of the original owners of the league has left and taken a sizable chunk of the league's money with her along with a spending a large chunk of league money and not accounting for it. All together around 10k. Not good...

So, this leaves the league with enough money for practices in June and July and to cover the bout at the end of June, but no money for the July and August bouts. That really pisses me off! So, that means lots of fundraisers, garage sales, selling shots and everything else for us. Hopefully we can get a few really good sponsors too, that would really help.

Oh, did I forget to mention she even closed down the league website??

Arrrgggghhhhh

Socks!

2006-06-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

So, I have finished my first pair of socks! Woo Hoo! Check out the pictures....

They turned out really well and are super stripey. I like them! Next pair is already on the needles.

This was a crazy weekend. Friday night J and I went to happy hour/dinner with D. That was fun and we had yummy food and margaritas at Margarita Ranch. I had a chupacabra - it was yummy and dangerous. Then we went home and watched the Weatherman. You know, I really like Nicholas Cage, but this movie was the most depressing thing I have watched in a long time. Can't believe we watched the whole thing. It was awful.

Saturday I did some sock yarn shopping and took the completed socks by the LYS to see what they thought. I was pleasantly surprised when they told me that they were really impressed that it was a first effort on socks. Wooo Hooo! Go me! Got some good stuff there for more fabulous socks.

Saturday night we went to a surprise birthday party for a cool chick and hung out for a while and watched the Devil pursue D and follow him around like a puppy the whole time. It was pretty sad. Just hate to see him start dating the most annoying person on the planet all over again. I care because she is a moron and he deserves better. Bleh...

After that we went to a BT show at Seven. He did not go on until 1:30 and the crowd was so freaking weird, I don't think any of us had that good of a time. There were freaks everywhere! We had sweaty B-O guy crawling all over us, cheesy weird chick who stole the lighting guy's manual and was up on the speaker throwing crap everywhere, and various other weirdos doing bizarre shit. One chick next to me grabs me and takes a picture with me. I thought I was going to get into a fight with a bunch of stupid girls that were humping each other and bumping into me and stomping on my feet while I was sitting on a bench. I pushed them off of me and onto the floor twice. Man, sometimes I just wish I had my skates with me so I could kick some stupid girl ass...

Yesterday instead of practice there was a meeting and apparently some crazy derby shit is going down. I will know more about that on Tuesday, I guess. I did not go to the Ass City bout because I felt like crap. I need to go see them sometime.

So, in conclusion here are a few do's and dont's for a good weekend:

1. Never see a dj at Seven
2. Have good margaritas at Margarita Ranch
3. Naked Hula Hooping = fun
4. DON'T DATE THE DEVIL

More later...

Long time no see...

2006-06-09T09:18:00.000-05:00

So, it has been a really long time since I have posted...

Ok, updates...

I did make the Dallas Derby Devils league. I am on the 5th team that will skate next year. We are called the Death Row Rumblers. My skate name is Thumpalina. Number 327.

Training is really hard and I have to build my endurance a lot. It is also lots of fun. Events are really crazy and a good time.

Also, I have been knitting lots lately. I am finally working on my first pair of socks. They are turning out really well for a first ever pair and I will post pictures when they are all done.

I have been in a bit of a downcycle lately, feeling just not all together at peace with myself and everything else. My new job is not as great as I had hoped and derby has just had a lot of drama going on lately (20 girls on a new team - go figure). I'm tired of being angry and upset all the time. It's weird. One day I will be so up and happy and having a great time, then the next I will just feel like shit... who knows? Prozac anyone?

Ok, gotta get to work, lots of knitting and derby pictures coming soon...

Roller Derby Tryouts!

2006-03-09T13:57:00.000-06:00

Ok, so tonight is the tryouts for the Dallas Derby Devils roller derby league. I have been skating my ass off for weeks to get ready for tonight. I practiced last night and got the final few things I had been having a problem with going and now I feel prepared. I also am beginning to get really nervous.

I really want to make the league this year, so tonight is the night. I have my falls and stops down now (the falls are pretty fun, actually).

Anyway, wish me luck!

I will announce the results tomorrow. We find out tonight if we made it or not.

Olympic Gold!

2006-02-28T19:20:00.000-06:00

I got my knit on in the 2006 Knitting Olympics and finished my Kureyon Tote just in time!

Check it out...

And check out my Olympic Gold...

Finished Baby Blanket

2006-02-28T18:53:00.000-06:00

So, I did finish the baby blanket and it turned out really well. I received my labels just in time and they look really good. Check it out!

Knitting and Skating

2006-02-20T11:43:00.000-06:00

So, this weekend I knitted and skated, and pretty much nothing else. I have just about worn myself out with all the skating. My thighs are pretty sore, but since pretty much all the rinks are closed Mondays and Tuesdays, I have a little time to recover.

I have almost finished the baby blanket, just one more row and then casting off. I am so glad. Then just blocking and sewing on my label (if I ever get them) and I will post a pic. I am really going to have to bust ass on the Olympic bag to be able to get it done in time!

Hopefully I can get a big jump on it tonight and tomorrow.

I am nervous about DDD tryouts. I have my normal skating and cross-overs down, but I need to work on pretty much everything else. The rinks are so crammed with kids on the weekends that I really did not get to practice anything more over the weekend.

Anyway, I have almost 3 weeks left, should be enough time to hopefully make enough progress to make the development team.

More later...

Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T14:24:00.000-06:00

So, today is Valentine's Day and it has been pretty nice so far. Tonight will be a really nice dinner with a couple of friends and should be really fun.

Found out today that the Derby tryouts I am going for will be to fill an inactive team for this year that will participate next year. I guess that's good, but not sure how likely it will be that I get on the team. I printed out a list of skating rink hours today and the one closest to me is only open on weekends. I am going to have to have more practice than that, so that means a lot of driving. Ick... I am still pretty sore from Sunday.

Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day!

More later...