Knittin' and Lovin' It

Meandering, Babbling and General Craziness

Sounds like the title of a good book. It would definitely work as a great title for my memoirs. Note to self, must add that to my bucket list. I think I could sell all of maybe 5 books if I published it. Naw, scratch that my life has been rather boring and uneventful, well to me it hasn't been boring but to the everyday Joe my life would be rather dull so maybe unpublished memoirs would be the way to go for me.

Shawn's retirement is now official and he should be seeing his official orders here soon. Hard to believe it's all done in 226 days. He's started the job hunt and we've had a few nibbles but nothing to write home about. There are a handful more that would be great but now it's a frickin waiting game. We've start checklists and have a million and one things that need to be done. We're doing a partial move so that we have our clothing, beds, etc. The stuff we can't live without while we're living with my sister since we don't know for sure how long it will be before we get out own place. Uncle Sam will pay to move the rest and for a year of storage for our household goods so that gives us time to either buy a place or find a house to rent. My sister and I spent 3 hours on the phone talking about the move and getting all excited about us coming home.

I had a mini freak out moment when we signed the lease. I might also want to add that I was already upset because I found out my great uncle had passed away. Our base housing is going through the privatization process so we had to sign a lease with the company that's taking over and I started reading their stupid little booklet on responsibilities and such because I'm smart like that and I want to know what is going on before names are signed willy nilly. I get to the carpet replacement price and see that it starts at $1400 and goes up in price and my little mind starts chanting "oh shit oh shit oh shit". I have dogs, birds and kids plus my carpet has seen two other families besides mine so it's looking shabby and crappy. It's cheap carpet and even cheaper padding, Uncle Sammy only pays for the best for his military troops (must insert a lot of sarcasm here). Then I hit the next part that starts talking about how you have to pay to have your carpets professionally cleaned when you have pets in the house when you move out. Now I'm chanting "oh shit, oh crap, wtf are they "F"-in crazy" because it would cost in upwards of $700 to professionally clean the carpets in my house from top to  bottom. My house is frick huge and I live in a two story house. I have 14 stairs and it would cost me an additional $3 per stair....the prices are damn crazy if you ask me!!! Note to self, no I repeat no carpet in my house when we buy one!!! My mind was so not G rated that day. So I'm ranting and pissed and complaining about how in the hell they expect military people (who don't make that great of a paycheck to begin with) to pay for this crap. So of course I pissed Shawn off because apparently I'm not suppose to be pissed about having to come up with $700 we weren't counting on for the move. It's not as if the uHaul (they want over $900 for one of their crappy frickin vehicles) and house cleaning fees weren't bad enough. So Shawn's nonchalant, don't worry be happy, can't change it so why get pissed attitude pissed me off even more. His comment was like oh well guess we're going to have to use the income tax refund to pay for it. Nevermind that our income tax refund was for paying off some damn bills we really need to pay off. If I would have had a frying pan I may very well have walloped him on the head with it. Apparently he's not been paying attention over the last 13+ years of marriage that I need to rant and bitch which needs no response from him at all. It's not as if I was doing it standing there in a public place (something I would never do) we were in the car/at home. Anyways back to my freak out, all is well that ends well, after a nice chat with the military housing office and the new civilian company taking over, we are not responsible for the carpet at all because it's already past its 7 year life cycle. It's the original carpet that was put in the houses when they were built like 10 years ago so all we have to do is vacuum because they're ripping it out. So I guess Shawn's don't worry attitude would have been better but I vented my stress and anger so at least I know I won't explode now. When I internalize stress it never ends well.

Anyways on to knitting and other fun stuff.

I received my TLE #9 swap in the mail today.

 

I love everything! I got stitch markers, hot cocoa, chocolate coffee, hot tamales, a lovely pair of socks made with Hazel Knits artisian sock yarn, Koigu Kersti, BFL/Seacell fiber, and an emergency fix key chain.

My It's a Wrap mini kit from Woolgirl.

 

I test knit this a while back and I've been patiently waiting to post about it. I'm co-hosting a KAL with the designer. I can't wait to get started on this. The yarn is Miss Babs Yowza worsted weight which I absolutely adore. The colorway is Tulipa which is a lovely deep purple.

I knit a Darkside Cowl (ravelry) for Bree.

Of course it's warmed back up and now she doesn't need it but it's ready for when the temps drop again. The yarn is the Premier yarns serenity sock yarn that I picked up on sale at JoAnn's. I held it double stranded and let me say that I think I'm going to knit more of these double stranded with sock yarn. I just need to add more stitches for myself and Kaity. This is a great pattern and double stranded with sock yarn makes it extra squishy and warm.

Yarn for a baby blanket for my cousin M.

She's due this summer with her second child. I need to check with my aunt to see when little dude is due to join this world. The yarn is Knit Picks Comfy Worsted and the colorway is called Macaw which this does remind me of the green on some of the Macaws. Cousin M already has a blue baby blanket so I figured I'd change it up a bit and use a non standard baby color.

Finally I finished the first part of my 2012 Quarter one challenge from TLE.

The pattern is Malabrigo Silky Merino and the pattern is Princess Mitts (Ravelry)(non Ravelry) from The Knitter's Book of Yarn. It's also a free pattern. I think it was one of those patterns that Potters Craft released as a teaser for the release of the book. The pattern had a error in the thumb chart but by the time I noticed it it was too late and I was too lazy to rip and reknit. The error wasn't that big of a deal for me. Note to self, check for errata before starting to knit, bone head!!

I'll leave you with a shot of George and Bill hanging out and getting to know each other over pop corn.

 Bill is on the left and George is on the right pigging out on the popcorn. Bill and George will be getting separate big cages not because they don't get along because they're not to bad together it's because George absolutely hates Shawn and Shawn's afraid George is going to hurt himself if Shawn puts his hand in the cage to get Bill. George freaked out when Shawn uncovered him this morning and ended up rubbing his wing so hard it bled. So each birdie will be getting their own big, sturdy cage and Shawn will ignore George from here on out. I'm aggravated with the both of them.

Till next time......Happy Crafting!

Busy Busy Busy

I can't believe its been over a month since my last post. Ok ok so yes I have a horrible track record for posting. Ravelry sure hasn't made it better either. 

I have a temporary solution to the yarn winding situation.

It's not the best but it does get the job done. Ecxuse the mess. I'm a crappy house keeper and will find any excuse not to clean. This was taken during Tour de Fleece so spinning was much more important then cleaning. At least I fed the kids and did laundry. :)

Speaking of Tour de Fleece, this is what I accomplished.

Well there were a few more but I haven't gotten them skeined up and soaking in a nice bath yet. The one on the far right was spun before the start of Tour de Fleece and was waiting on a bobbin to be plyed.

Bree's skirty skirt is now done.

Pattern is Hip in Hemp (ravelry) and the yarn is Elann Camila. I really like this pattern. And now you know I use a Maytag Bravo washing machine. Best damn washing machine ever!! We opted not to get the matching dryer. They wanted $400 more just because it had a steam function. Ah, nope no thank you. Water going into an electric dryer just doesn't sound good to me.....more to go wrong and more costly to fix when it does. The guy actually tried to sell me the dryer purely because it would give me a matching set.....as if I give a flying fig about that. The washer and dryer are both Maytag and they're both white. Good enough for me. I wanted red but it would have taken several weeks longer and it would have cost me more. Why more for the red washer/dryer? Who knows.

I started and finished my 2nd Camp Loopy project.

The pattern is Dawn Gnot (Ravelry) and the yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy. I ordered some Cascade 220 Heathers in Red Wine to make my 3rd Camp Loopy project which will be Bernhardt (ravelry)(non-ravelry). 30 days to knit a cardi. I'm pretty sure I can do it without a problem. 

I found these adorable stitch markers.

I was hunting for stitch markers for a swap I'm in and came across these. The cutest little s'mores stitch markers ever made by JL Yarnworks.

I also started Kaity's skirt.

I'm also using the Hip in Hemp pattern but the yarn is Knit Picks Cotlin which I think works up better then the Camila for this skirt. It has a better drape then the Camila. The best yarn is still Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy but I couldn't find it on sale so I had to use an affordable substitute. Kaity picked out the eye blinding bright colors. I much prefer the softer colors that Bree picked out for hers but Kaity's the one that will be wearing it so if she's happy then everythings all good.

The tomato plants are doing well although the big ones haven't produced any red tomatoes yet.

I did manage to get a handful of cherry tomatoes so far.

Till next time.....Happy Crafting!

Crazy Weather

The 10-12 inches of snow we had the other day is just about gone and the weather has warmed up. Of course with that warm weather we've been having high winds but at least it's not freezing right now. The constant up and down of the temps/weather is killing my joints. Any time there is a major fluctuation in the weather my joints start hurting and it takes several days to start feeling normal again. I think the cold is suppose to be back toward the end of this week. 

Silly me, I looked up the weather for Boise, ID and wished I was there instead. Our cold and snow are coming back while they're stay it bit warmer. I'm so ready to go home it's not even funny. I do find it odd at times that this So. Cal girl (born and raised) now calls Idaho home. I have the chorus from the Beach Boys song Sloop John B stuck in my head....let me go home, Let me go home, I wanna go home, let me go home, why don't you let me go home. Anyone who has every gazed upon my iPod will say without a doubt that I have a very eclectic taste in music. My iPod is a very crazy mix of music that includes music from the Beach Boys, Kenny Chesney, Creedance Clearwater Revival, The Temptations, Patsy Cline, Metallica, George Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Alannis Morissette  and on and on and on. Although Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney have the biggest play time on my iPod and country is the largest selection of music on there. Kenny Chesney's No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem is my happy song. There's just something about that song that makes me smile every time.

I'm working like crazy on Shawn's sweater. 

It now has both sleeves.....woot! I'm working on the hood right now although it's on hold for the next few days while I finish up a test knit. I'm so close I can almost taste it, which is a silly thing to say since it's a wool sweater and wouldn't taste good at all. I swear on all that is holy Shawn will wear this damn thing even if he has to lose 50 pounds to do it. Actually the only thing I'm worried about is the sleeves. I think I'm going to have to rip back about half the sleeve and work less increases because the sleeves seem a bit skinny. I've already cut out at least 8 decreases but I think the sleeves are still going to be snug. I know it's going to block out a little bit wider after it's washed if the measurements are correct from my gauge swatches. This sweater has taken me almost 2 years to finish. It's mostly because it's nothing but cables so it's a labor intensive pattern, very well written but very labor intensive. I kept throwing it to the side for more desirable projects that don't require as much concentration. Not to self when knitting sweaters for Shawn, pick something with less cables. Lots of cables for kids sweaters, good....lots of cables for dude that needs a 50" chest size sweater, bad!

I recieved my TLE swap package.

It was full of yummy goodies (the girls and I killed the homemade peanut butter cookies in nothing flat), a lovely neckwarmer (l love neckwarmers/cowls), and Dream in Color Smooshy. I have an obsession with DIC Smooshy, well actually I love their worsted weight too. I think the only other two yarn brands I might have more of are Zen Yarn Garden and Miss Babs.

I ordered a few things from Knit Picks. 

The books were on sale so I went ahead and picked them up. To round out the order I picked up a skein of Chroma sock yarn to try, a smaller niddy noddy, and some extension connectors to make longer cables....I probably won't use them often but it'll be nice to have them on hand when I need them instead of waiting for them to get here in the mail. I went ahead and paid for the extra shipping. It was a slurge since I normally go for the snails pace shipping. It's the last time I'll do that. I forgot how absolutely stupid my Fedex delivery guy is. I normally don't deal with him because he only handles the express mail package and most stuff I buy goes FedEx ground. They lady who delivers the ground packages is awesome. The idiot delivered the package to my neighbor across the street whos house number looks nothing like mine. We thought the package was stolen off our door step (something that has never happened to us since we've been here) and we were afraid that the new water delivery guy might have been the one to do it. Thankfully my neighbor came home a few hours later and brought the package to us. The quicker shipping was sooooo not worth the extra headache.

I also got my TLE order in the other day. 

I had like $55 in store credits which if I spent it all it would be close to free shipping so I decided to throw in enough stuff to make sure I got free shipping. The roving is Perchance to Spin Polworth wool (haven't tried that one yet), a skein of bright Trekking XXL (you know how I love me some self striping), the newly dyed Loopy Legends in the MomSue's Yellowstone Sunset (Lorna's Laces is now dying the Loopy Legends colorways), and a skein of Bugga in the Miss Spider colorway.

Here's a shot of the old Loopy Legends next to the new one (new one is on top and old below it).  

They're both lovely but I think I like the skein died by Lorna's Laces. Sue has been a good friend of mine for a few years now and I hope that this summer I will be able to visit with her. Shawn and I are planning on a weekend trip to Yellowstone with the girls this summer. Lets hope that the military doesn't screw it up with another stupid inspection.....I have a feeling that they will though. I couldn't resist getting the new skein of her colorway. It's so gorgeous. I've seen sunsets here similar to the ones she sees in Wyoming and they're so beautiful you can't help but stop to look at the sky. They're so full of pinks, purples and yellows. Montana's not called Big Sky Country for nothing. The wide open sky make for some very gorgeous sunsets and on a clear day the blue goes on for miles and miles. 

I can finally post a picture of the socks I knit for my swap pal. 

The pattern is WonderWings (Ravelry) and the yarn is Fiber Optic Foot Notes sock yarn in the Smoky Teal Batik colorway. She loved her socks and the whole package I put together for her. I was so happy to hear that the package was an absolute sucess.

I'll leave you with a shot of Penny crashed on the couch. 

I'ts so hard being a puppy. I can't believe how big she's getting. She's 4 months old and weighing in close to 30 lbs. 

 

Happy Crafting!

No Snappy Titles Left

I think I've used up all my snappy titles. After several years of blogging I'm all tapped out. Actually I think maybe I just need a vacation. I keep saying my motivation is hanging out on a warm beach sipping mojitos and enjoying a good book so maybe I should join my motivation. I does sound like a great idea! Nothing better then your toes in the sand, reading a good book and sipping on a cold drink.

Not a whole lot going on here in the Luvs2knit household. Same junk just a different day. The base is undergoing a huge inspection so I've pretty much been stuck at home since Shawn is working late hours and weekends. If all goes well this weekend will be ours although they haven't announced if they'll get Presidents Day off or not. It's getting kinda boring sitting around the house and no I don't want to scrub the house from top to bottom just to keep the boredom at bay. Between you and me, I'd rather be bored....just sayin.

Let see if I can play a little catch up here. My mom now has her shawl and loves it to pieces. I've been working on a few test knits for Woolgirl and I have some yarn coming in to knit samples for Miss Babs for Stitches West.

Might as well get started on posting FO's and new goodies that I've received in the mail.

First up is the beaded socks (ravelry).

I ended up making these for my mom. The yarn is Huntington sock yarn from WEBS. It's very soft, super cheap, and I loved knitting with it. I see more of this yarn in the future.

Shawn's Iain cabled hoodie (ravelry)(you can find the pattern through various stores online)

The picture isn't all that great. We had a lot of days with little to no sunshine so an indoor photo was all I could get at the time. All I need to do now is knit the sleeves and hood. Shouldn't take much longer. 

I broke my no yarn till after we move rule to pick up a few skeins of yarn since my last post.

First up is JulieSpins MCN355 in the Ginger Cat and Emerald colorways.

I found two people on Ravelry who were destashing these colorways so I had to give them a new home. I can't get enough of this yarn. It's so squishy and soft plus JulieSpins colorways are gooooooorgeous!

My Ruby Slippers Oz Sock Club package came in. You can see it here if you want. This is one of the patterns I test knit for Woolgirl not that long ago.

Next up are two skeins of JulieSpins M420S which is her superwash merino sock yarn.

These were from her Unclub that she does out on her Ravelry group. The top color is called Golden Glow and the bottom is Beach Plum. I absolutely loooooove these colors. I'm using the yellow one right now to knit the Butterfly Garden Socks (ravelry)(non ravelry).

Then I picked up some Fearless Fibers Merino Cashmere Nylon sock yarn.

I like Fearless Fibers sock yarn so I wanted to give this MCN base a try. The color way is called Feel the Love and is absolutely gorgeous.

Skein of String Theory Caper sock that I picked up from The Loopy Ewe.

This is the Isle colorway. OK, I have to admit it appears I've got a merino/cashmere sock yarn addiction now.

I have in my possession a skein of the new Mountain Colors Crazyfoot sock yarn.

Mountain Colors was having a contest on their blog and I won along with I think 49 other people.....woot! The colorway is Wild Raspberry. As soon as I finish up my sample knits this will be hopping on the needles. I just need to figure out which pattern I want to use. 

Finally this yummy squishy yarn ended up on my doorstep.

It's Dream in Color Classy in the Deep Sea Flower colorway to knit Cassidy (Ravelry)(non Ravelry) for the TLE 2010 Q1 Sweater Challenge. Thankfully the challenge is going on till July so I have plenty of time to get it finished. This is my "woohoo we got our income tax refund reward".

I have a box full of goodies coming in from Woolgirl's "closing the shop" sale. She posted out on Ravelry that's she closing down the online/store portion of the business and is going to concentrate on kits and clubs. Everything is 35 percent off. I'm sadden to see her close the shop but it's for her health which is more important then yarn.

Now it's time to go wake sleeping beauty (who is snoring on the couch, quite loudly I might add) and go to bed. Course it's very possible that sleeping beauty won't wake up and will sleep on the couch for the night. I swear when Shawn falls asleep on the couch in the evening time it's almost impossible to get him to move.

Happy Crafting!

Overdue again!

Once again I'm here working on a blog post that is way overdue. Believe it or not I actually started this post on the 13th of Dec. It's been crazy here between Bree getting sick (her first ever stomach flu), then me, then getting ready for the holidays topped off with crappy weather that kept me from getting pictures taken. I know, I know excuses, excuses. We've been going through the warm, cold, warm, freeze your snot cold, warm, colder then the North Pole, warm, cold that seems to be what they call winter around here. Either stay warm or stay cold dang it!

Let see, where in the world to start. There is so much to post about I'm not sure where to start. How bout the dishcloths I finished up?

I managed to knit all 24 cloths this year for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I now have plenty of dishcloths to use when we get to Germany. Truthfully I have way more then I really need. Note to self: must remember to call my Granny to see if she wants some.

I finished my Slip-Stitch Cable Socks (ravelry).

This is one of the patterns out of The Little Box of Socks. These were knit using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn in the black purl colorway. They are super comfy and squishy. I think I might make another pair again in the future.

My Nutkin socks (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

I knit these for the Sonny and Shear Nutkin KAL on Ravelry. The yarn is Hazel Knits Artisan sock in the Sailors Delight colorway. I did deviate from the pattern for the cuff, heel and toe. I worked a picot cuff, my favorite short row heel from the Sock Wizard software and a standard toe.

New pair of worsted weight socks for Kaity.

These are made with leftover Dream in Color Classy from the sweaters I made both of the girls. Her cheapo acrylic socks that I knit her like 3 years ago have finally died. They developed a huge hole in them and judging by the way Kaity acted you would have swore the world was ending.To stave off the end of the world I made her this pair of socks. They've been deemed worthy of wearing and of course request from more socks have ensued.

I finished my moms Whispering Pines shawl (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

Now all I need to do is find the time to get it blocked out so I can send it on to my mom. I used 3 skeins of Knit Picks Gloss lace weight yarn. Once again I have to say that Anne Hanson is an absolute lace genius! I've yet to find a Knitspot pattern I haven't loved.

I finally got a picture of Kaity's finished Luna Trail Pullover (Ravelry)(non Ravelry).

The sleeves are a little long and I wished I would have knit another inch of two in the body of the sweater but she loves it.

I've received my a few goodies in the mail. The only thing I'm getting in now is stuff that I signed up for before we found out we were moving. I'll provide links so there isn't much of a possibility of someones surprise being spoiled. I've received Oriental Poppies which is part of a Woolgirl club and my final shipment from the first round of the Lord of the Rings sock club.

I've finally started destashing some of my yarn stash. It's listed on Ravelry and the Destash! blog too. I've had success there selling some stuff.

Right now I'm working on a test knit for Woolgirl and am trying to finish up some older projects (I'm down to two projects on the needles....gasp!). As soon as I finish up the current test knit I'm going to start working on Shawn's sweater. I really want to get that finished before his 80th birthday. ;~)

Happy Crafting!

FO's and Yummy Goodies!

Things have been pretty busy here. I try to stay busy since it keeps me out of trouble. It's almost time for the kiddo to go back to school....woohoo! I'm ready to have a little peace and quiet here in the house. The girls normally play well together but when they're around each other for to long they fight a lot. Kaity has a bad habit of bossing Bree and that just pisses Bree off.

I finished my "on the go" socks.

These are a basic toe up sock using a turkish cast on. The yarn is Paton's Kroy self striping sock yarn and they don't match because there was a knot in on of the skeins that reversed the pattern. I really hate yarn companies that do that. It's cheap sock yarn so I'm not over mad about it. Non matchy matchy socks don't bother me so it's all good.

I also finished my On-Hold socks (ravelry).

The yarn is Madelinetosh sock, color: Cherry. The picture is so so. It's hit or miss with the sun around here. We've been getting thunderstorms in the afternoons and although most of the storms pass us by without so much as a drop of rain we still get all the lovely cloud cover.

I have a few more skeins of handspun to show off.

First up is a skein of yummy purple yarn.

I used Zen Yarn Garden Merino/Seacell roving. This stuff is seriously sooooooooft. Very smooth and a little slick to spin but wasn't to bad once I got the hang of it. I'm definitely going to be buying more of this fiber type...yum. This one will soon become a cowl for me.

Next up is the last two skein I finished.

The one on the left is BFL roving from Zen Yarn Garden and the colors remind me of candied caramel apples. If I figured this correct I have around 278 yards of sport weight yarn though there are a few spots through out that are a little bit thicker or thinner then sport weight. I'm going to try for a pair of socks out of this.

The skein on the right is superwash merino from Yarn Pirate in the Rosie colorway. I purchased mine at TLE but they're out of stock right now. I know Yarn Pirate also sells her roving through her etsy shop but she hasn't stocked the shop yet. This one is a thick and thin worsted/bulky yarn. Kaity has already claimed this one as her own. She's requested a cowl out of it. She's also a converted scarf user. All she asks for are cowls after the one I made her last year.

My Pearl-barred Scallop Scarf (ravelry)(non ravelry).

It doesn't look like much but when the pattern is blocked out it's a really pretty lacy scarf. I'm making this for a friend. I wasn't going to post about it since the friend in question reads the blog but then it dawned on me (yes my brain works slowly most of the time) that said friend doesn't know he/she will be receiving this so I can post all the pics I want. I have about 20 inches of scarf so far. The yarn is Malabrigo sock, color Impressionist Sky. I have the pattern memorized so I've been zipping right along on this one. Fingers crossed that friend will like it.

I also started two pair of socks but haven't taken any progress photos. I'll try to get pics for the next blog post.

I managed to snag this yummy JulieSpins fiber from someone who was destashing it.

It's Merino/Seacell in pretty pinks. Normally I'm not much of a pink person but I really liked the way this one looked. I've heard her sock yarn is super yummy but I'm just not in to stalking sites for yarn anymore. If I can't buying it without fighting other people for it, I don't want it.

I did some destashing so I could restash. I know that for some this makes sense and others think that I'm insane. It makes me happy and it's not hurting anyone so who cares. It's my only habit since I quit smoking. It's either stash or smoke. I think I'll stick with stashing since it's much healthier. If you have a snarky comment about my stash keep it to yourself because you will get no response from me. I ignore people who spread stupid.

I ordered The Loopy Ewe's 3rd anniversary kit.

I'm a sucker for coffee mugs and I really liked this Lorna's Laces colorway so I bought it. I'm actually sipping coffee from the mug as I type this.

I purchase this yarn from Eat.Sleep.Knit.

This is a really nice shop. I've been branching out and looking for other online shops to buy from. Not because I'm unhappy with the ones I shop from but because I want some yarn variety other then sock yarn plus I'm always looking for shops that carry roving. I'll definitely be going back to this shop. The cool thing is you get these lotto scratch cards that you can win things from like store credit, kits, yarn, etc. The two purple skeins are Malabrigo Silky Merino, colorway Blackberry, which will soon become a moebius cowl (ravelry)(non ravelry). The other skein is Yarn Love Anne Shirley in the Summer Sangria colorway which will most likely become a cowl and a pair of fingerless mitts if I have enough leftover.

I picked up this skein of yarn from Sonny and Shear.

It picked it up with a 40% off coupon that came off of already clearance yarn prices. It is such a bright cheery colorway though I have no idea what I'll make with it. I have a few patterns that I think will work quite nicely.

My August shipment from LOTR sock club. The club was renamed to Lord of the Strings but I just don't care for the name and just can't use it. It sounds goofy.....well maybe that's just my craziness coming out again. This of course did not stop me from joining in on round 2 of the club.

Picked up some Arucania Nature Wool Multi.

It was on sale at WEBS so I picked it up to knit Mara (ravelry)(non ravelry - this is a direct pdf link). I want one of my own and although I'd love to knit one it Tosh worsted I can't really afford 3-4 skeins right now. I do have plans to make one in Tosh worsted later on but I want one now because winter is going to be here before I know it and I need something warm to snuggle under.

I just finished a test knit for Woolgirl. I have a few samples that I'll post about next time. I have one I can show you here in a few more weeks and one that I'm going to be starting here in the next few days when I get it in the mail.

I'm holding out on starting another spinning project since my Spin Art Fiber club (from Zen Yarn Garden) has shipped. The fiber club is closed but will reopen in 3 months. I really want to start that when it gets here. I need to buy a few more bobbins for my wheel. I've come to the stunning revelation that 4 bobbins are not enough. I'm hoping to upgrade to the sliding hook flyer for my Traveller soon. I don't mind stopping to move my yarn since it gives me a change to stretch and give my legs a break.

I think that covers everything for now.

Happy Crafting!

Little Fishies & A Contest

Contest Has Ended! A winner will be selected in the next day or two.

We're celebrating being debt free and I want to pass on the celebration to all my blogland friends. We made our final payment earlier this month so we are now free of debt. Yippy!

I'll go ahead and get the contest details out of the way now before finishing the rest of the post. I'm going to make this simple: Post about your favorite summertime activity.

I'll keep this contest open through the 12th of Aug. I'll close comments down when I end the contest and the winner will be announced on the 13th in a blog post. I will also email the winner. To qualify for the contest you must post your comment in this post only. I'm not going to hunt willy-nilly through out the blog so if you want to enter post here. I'll use a random number generator to determine the winner.

FYI: If you don't want to enter the contest but want to post a comment just let me know in the comment and I won't put your name down.

So you all are wondering what you win! I'm making it easy this time. The winner gets to decide which online shop they'd like to get a gift certificate too, ie WEBS, Amazon, TLE, Woolgirl, Sonny & Shear, your favorite etsy shop.....I think you get the point. The catch is it has to be one that is easy for me to purchase, preferably one that I can purchase online and have it shipped/emailed to you. If you live in the UK I'm not going to call your favorite LYS to buy a certificate unless of course you want to send me a calling card to pay for the call. Lets keep it simple. I'm doing this because it leaves the contest open for anyone who isn't in the US too. The monetary value of the certificate hasn't fully been determined but I can say that it will be at least $25 USD.

Now on to the regularly scheduled blog post.

Shawn was sent down to F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming for a few days so the girls and I have been hanging around the house. I think Zeus is missing Shawn the most. Poor dog keeps looking out the front window expecting Shawn to walk through the door at any minute.

Shawn's due to leave tomorrow morning so he should be back before the girls head to bed. He stated to me that picking Montana over Wyoming was a great choice. He said the housing there is horrible. Most of the housing here is new although some of the new housing is messed up because some moron decided to build them on swamp land. Hello idiots, draining the swap and filling it in with dirt is most likely going to backfire on you. When you build a house on land that was once swamp land chance are the land is going to sink and try to revert back to its swampiness and that's what's happening right now. My next door neighbor is one of the many people who are being moved out of houses that are sinking. Truth be told the only reason we picked Montana was because it kept use closer to the West coast where my family is without having to go broke living in California or dealing with all that Las Vegas, NV has to offer. Living in Las Vegas is enough to give me nightmares for a year. Going to Wyoming would have moved us even farther way so Montana won.

Now on to knitting and all that other good stuff you all came here for.

I'm totally addicted to knitting these little fishies (ravelry) (non ravelry).

I can't stop casting on even though I don't really have any real use for them. I've made three so far. They're to small for dishrags. Maybe I can use a little of that mesh stuff knit in with them to make scrubbies. Bree's been grabbing them from me as soon as I finish them so I have several little knitted fishies floating around the house. Well I guess since Bree likes them then they do have some value, plus they're cute.

I purchase these from Dawning Dreams Etsy shop.

A pretty jewel orifice hook for my spinning wheel and two cable needles. I absolute love the cable needles and contacted Dawn who was fabulous and made me a set of mini cable needles for knitting on smaller things like socks. Here's the mini needles.....aren't they cute!

I'm not big on cabling without a needle and truth be known I can knit cables twice as fast with a cable needle then without one. The orifice hook is a tad to thick for my wheel so it's become a pretty decoration in with my knitting tools and crochet hooks.

I also acquired some yummy Yarn Love fiber from Sonny & Shear. I don't know why I've never bought from them before but I was pleased....great selection and fast shipping. They've got a pretty nice selection of fibers from various dyers not to mention all the different sock yarns.

First up is Yarn Love Marianne.

The color is Cottage Garden and it's superwash merino.....mmmmmm, merino is so soft.

Then there's Yarn Love Scarlett O'Hara.

The color is Blackberry Jam and it's a superwash wool/bamboo/nylon blend.

I picked up the yarn to start a shawl for my mom.

It's Knit Picks Gloss Lace and the colorway is Port.

Then I started my moms shawl after I finished up a sample knit.

This is the beginning of the Whispering Pines Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry) by Anne Hanson of Knitspot. I'd have to say that she has some of the most gorgeous lace patterns around. Not to mention well written.

I finished my moms Loopified socks.

It's the Halema uma u Socks (ravelry) that came in the 2008 TLE Anniversary kit. As far as I can tell this pattern hasn't been released for sale to the general public yet. The yarn used was also part of the kit and is Handmaiden Casbah, colorway Loopified. This yarn is yummy and I think after the weather cools down my mom is going to love them.

I also received some yummy BFL that I purchased from Perchance to Spin which is Perchance to Knits shop for all things spinning related.

It's 8 ounces of soft BFL in a pretty light green colorway called New Leaf Green. I really love spinning BFL.

I also bought some lovely orifice hooks for my wheel.

These work beautifully with my Ashford Traveller. Fiber Jewels was having a get two for the price of one deal that I couldn't pass up. I don't really have a need for two hooks since I only have one wheel but hey they were buy one get one free.

Project & notions bag made specially for me.

I swapped a skein of yarn for the project and notions bag. The project bag is the perfect size for socks and it has a cool little pocket on the inside of the bag.

I'll leave you with this shot.

My baby had her 3rd birthday on the 24th. I can't believe she's 3 already! Man does the time fly. I'm thinking about starting her in Preschool next year.....yikes, I'm gonna cry if I keep thinking about it.

Oh Look Tomatoes!

Happy crafting!

Almost Summer!

I'm trying to get back in to a more normal posting schedule. I'm still not posting as much as I'd like but I'll get back to more regular posts eventually. I'd be happy with once or twice a week.

I do believe that we're finally on our way to summer. It's been warm and it looks like there will be no more snow *knock on wood* 

I received my Mother's Day contest winnings from Woolgirl.

It was stuffed full of wonderful yummy bits of leftover yarn, two different full skeins of sock yarn, stickers, dpns, chocolate (had to throw those in the fridge....they were all melty), sticky notepads, and the cutest handcrafted cards. I was having a bad day when this came in. I didn't sleep very well the night before so I was super tired and all worn down. I mugged Shawn as soon as he walked through the door holding the box.

I finished a pair of socks.

The pattern is Gracious (ravelry)(non ravelry) and the yarn is Miss Babs Yummy Sock in the colorway Suede Rose. I really enjoyed this pattern and the yarn has a tight twist, is soft and was really nice to work with. This is my second pattern by Terry Ross. I really like her sock patterns. They're well written and nice to knit. The Tangled Faeries pattern I used to knit my last TLE swap pal was a Terry Ross pattern. I do have plans to knit another one of her patterns in the future.

I've cast on and frogged the baby blanket twice now. I was originally going to use some solid colored Plymouth Encore but have now decided to use Peaches & Creme. Here's the colors I'm going to use now:

I'm going for a simple garter stitch striped blanket. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the ombre colorway yet. I haven't made up my mind yet. Decisions decisions! I'll get that cast on some time today.

The tomato plants are doing great now that the weather warmed up.

They did unbelievably well for the two weeks they spent in the garage but they really took off after the weather warmed up and they've had a chance to be in the sun all day. We're seeing blooms on all three plants....some are opening up and others are still closed. Hopefully this year will be another good tomato year. This year we planted them in organic soil designed for container growing. It cost us a bit more but I think it's going to help.

We bought them during Home Depots Earth Day sale which happened shortly before we got the 25+ inches of snow. Boy did that snowfall make me really glad we container plant our veggies. Home Depot had a deal where you bought one plant got one free so we picked up 3 tomato plants, 1 spring onion plant, and 2 salad mix. I'll be going back this payday to pick up some strawberry plants. I don't know if we'll see any strawberries but the girls really want to plant some so who am I to argue. For now I'll keep buying the strawberries from the grocery store.

That pretty much sums up what I've been up to. I should have my first Wizard of Oz kit from Woolgirl next week and I'm going to be casting on some new socks in the next few days. I'm going with the Hearts & Flowers socks from the book Socks from the Toe Up and I need to pick out a new yarn for my "on the go" socks. I've decided that Noro silk garden sock does not make a very good sock yarn. I'll see if I can't use it for something else but it's definitely not going to be socks! Ugh! And to think, I have a second skein sitting in my stash. Sheesh!

I'm planning to place an order through TLE for some roving. I did a little spinning the other day and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. I have a $25 credit so I might as well use it. I'll try to post about my spinning in the next few days.

Happy Crafting!

Spring Is Finally Here!

Well I think it's here anyway. The weather here has warmed up quite nicely. We had grand plans to have a picnic on Sunday but the stupid rain came in and ruined those. Hopefully next weekend will be nice and we can try for that picnic again. We're want to get out on the trails with the bikes and do a little riding around the river.

My friend Patty has opened up an etsy shop for the jewelry she's been making. She has some really pretty stuff. Check her out....I'll wait till you get back, promise!

We've been contemplating a new car and will most likely replace the one we have before the end of the year. We've been having a lot of electrical problems so it's time to get rid of it before we go broke trying to fix it. The stupid thing is shutting off at low speeds which is not life threatening but we keep thinking "what's next". I won't even tell you all how much the brake lines, rotors and brake pads cost me. Lets just say that several cashmere sweaters with enough to spare on a few pair of cashmere socks....painful? Oh you bet! No I didn't take it to the dealer because it would have cost me 3 times that. So anyways we were thinking really hard about the Subaru Forester until we realized that you have to put Premium fuel in it....ah yeah, nope don't think so. Am so not going to have that bite me in the butt if the gas prices shoot back to Mars again. The $4.20 per gallon was bad enough I don't want another 20-50 cents per gallon tacked on to that. We have it narrowed down to a Toyota Rav4, Camry or Corolla. We like the space of the SUV but we like the lower price of the car. We'll make our final decision after we take a peek at the trunk space of the Camry and Corolla. We were originally planning to get a vehicle that can tow but now it doesn't matter. We've decided that we're waiting until after Shawn gets out of the military to buy a camping trailer and we'll look for a used truck that can tow the trailer we want. For now we just want something that is reliable and you just don't get much more reliable then a Toyota.

So lets see, what have I been up to since the last post. A post which was what, 2 weeks ago. I'm to lazy intent on getting this post finished to pull up the site to see when the last post is. That's neither here nor there. You all are here to see what I've been up too.

I finished my Glynis socks (ravelry).

Man this yarn is seriously yummy! It's Zen Yarn Garden Serenity sock and I got it from Woolgirl. It's worth every penny. Last time I checked Woolgirl still had some in stock. I finished these in a record breaking 6 days and I knit them one at a time! The yarn was so delish I couldn't put them down. The pattern is from CookieA's new sock book Sock Innovations. If you love knitting socks and don't have this one yet you need to pick it up. It's worth it!

The Daisy cloth (ravelry)(non ravelry) from the Monthly Dishcloth KAL.

I think the colorway is lavender and the yarn is Peaches & Creme. This was a cute pattern and I definitely wouldn't mind knitting it again.

I finally got a picture of Kaity in her lacy cardi.

Don't ask me why she's not smiling. Normally the kid is smiling all the time. She likes the cardi....I swear she does! I'm planning on making a wool one for her for winter. I'm thinking maybe Cascade 220 superwash.

I finished the stripey Regia socks.

I kept them plain stockinette so I could show off all the stripes....well that and I didn't feel like knitting ribbing. There goes that laziness again.

Look at this kick butt birthday prezzie I received from my friend Colleen.

It's a knitters kit from Slipped Stitch Studios and some samples of fiber for spinning. Colleen, it's probably a good thing we live on opposite sides of the US. I think we'd get into some serious trouble if we lived near one another. I'm working on your gifty so you're going to have to wait just a tad longer for your box.....Muh-hahaha!

We finished the puzzle!

Kaity and I have been working on this every evening since she won it at Bingo night. It's been taken apart and put back in the box. We're getting ready to start a Tigger photomosaic puzzle that I have a feeling is going to kick our butt. This one was bought by my parents and I have a Winnie the Pooh one that I picked up a long time ago.

Well that covers it for now. Hopefully I'll be back to show off some goodies here soon. I won the Mothers Day contest on Woolgirl's blog and I'm hoping to see my first Oz kit here in the next week or so. Plus I'm working on a few other things that I haven't gotten progress photos of.

So with the wrap up of this post I'll leave you all with this picture of a photographer taking a picture of a photographer photo.

Happy Crafting!

Snow! Seriously!!

It's snowing here and not just a little bit but a whole lot. Yesterday we broke the record with 8.1 inches of snow and it still continued to snow after midnight so who knows what we are up to now. All I know it this is what my back yard looks like.
**Edited to add: Just found out that as of noon today we've received another 9.9 inches of snow. All total the records say we've received 19 inches of snow over the last 2 days.....sheesh!

It's insane! To make matters worse, it's still snowing and it's not the nice light & fluffy type of snow it's that wet, heavy snow. Kaity was almost 2 hours late for school because it took Shawn forever to clear the driveway and the sad part is he was using a friends snow blower. He's already stated that he'll be buying a snow blower! This is the second time this year we've had to use one to get our car out of our garage. December was a bad month for snow too. I'm so ready for the warm to come back. The only thing good about the snow is that it'll push back fire season. The wetter it stays the longer it staves off the fires.

Well enough about my crappy weather. On to the good stuff that you all are here for.

I received my second LOTR sock club shipment.

We received The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes. The colorway is Prince of the Wood Elves. I've already knit up the pattern.

This is the first sock club sock yarn and pattern that I've used in awhile. One side of the sock has a lacy leaf pattern and the other side has a bow and arrow pattern. I just fell in love with the pattern and yarn color. I'm not a big tinsel sock yarn lover and normally avoid sock yarns that have tinsel in them but I just couldn't pass this one up. I'll be making this pattern again with some other socks yarn. I'm thinking maybe some Dream in Color Smooshy.

I received my last shipment of the Yarntini Happy Hour sock club which included my self striping bonus skein.

The final shipment was a semi sold called Honeytini and is gorgeous! I decided to go with the Appletini self striping. I'd love to get a few more skeins of self striping. I'm still on my self striping sock yarn kick.

Picked up a skein of Trekking Handart from TLE awhile back.

I needed to order some more soap so I threw in a skein of yarn to justify the shipping. It's a fairly mute color and not normally what I buy but I like it. Wonder if it's because the name of the colorway is Ireland. Who knows!

I also got a skein of Cascade Heritage Handpaint when I needed to order some needles a week or so later.

Gotta get something to go with the needles....right? I know it's not as if I really needed another skein of sock yarn but hey I'm on a sock kick again and have knit several pair so I need to replace the yarn I've used.

I also received some new books. I'll spare you all the pictures. I picked up: The Eclectic Sole, Toe up Techniques, Sock Innovations and Socks from the Toe Up.

I finished the April mid-month cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL group.

It was a pretty simple cloth. I used Peaches & Creme, color Faded Denim.

I do have one sock project going right now but will start one for the Makin' Cookies KAL that starts 1 May.

These are just a simple pair of socks using some self striping Regia sock yarn I bought from someone who was destashing it on Ravelry. I'll probably use a simple ribbing on the leg after the heel turn. It's my "to go" project so I only work on them when I'm out and about.

I'm also working on a little lacy cardi for Kaity to wear over her shirts.

She has a cotton one that was bought for her almost two years ago by my mom. The poor kiddo is growing out of it so she needs a new one. I'm using a acrylic yarn for this one for easy washability but will probably make her another one for winter wear later this year.

I'm also working on a project for my TLE swap pal but for obvious reason I can't post about it until she's received her box. I should be getting a new test knit from Woolgirl in the next day or two also. It's for one of the club packages so it'll be awhile before I can post that one. I think I pretty much covered everything.

Happy Crafting!