A new beginning

Well, I've finally decided to start my shawl anew. Here's hoping it goes well. I am using new needles this time. They are knit picks harmony size 5 interchangeable. The tightening rod hole make adding a life line a breeze. Everything seems to be going much smoother this time. The needles and the yarn love each other. It is very impressive. I'll let you know how it goes! Wish me luck LOL.

Eileen

PS Thanks Jess for the needle recommendation. As usual you were right!

Feeling so far behind

div>Well, I didn't keep my promise. I'm usually better at doing things I promise than I have been lately. Time has just been zooming by so quickly that I sneeze and 3 weeks have gone by. It is nuts. So things at work have been going well. I've had a few encounters of the celebrity kind, though I'm not naming names b/c I think perhaps that is an invasion of privacy. I really like my job and hope that I'm not included in the future layoffs that will be happening over the next several months. So lets keep our fingers crossed.

On the knitting side, I have been knitting up a storm. I haven't taken pics of everything though I probably should have, but here is a sample of the things I have made recently.

Hand warmers I made for Janine. My instructor Debi liked them so much she has asked me to make her a pair as well.

A close-up of the diamond.

Janine modeling them at work.

And Janine's purse. I coveted it everyday until she went home. I miss you Louis!!!
The next several pics are of a set of dishcloths I made for my friend and former instructor Rosemary.


Yes even these are dishcloths.

Everyone together now!

Well, I am finishing up my other hand warmers. I have knit a couple other dishcloths, and need to get started on my friends baby blanket. Goodness, so much to do so little time. Here's hoping it's not forever until you hear from me again. Next time I'll tell you about my trip to the Desert Museum. It was a blast.

Eileen

PS Go David Cook! I'm so glad you are the American Idol!!!!

The veil of grief has lifted

Well, I am finally getting to a place where I can breath again. After my shawl died, training became a whirlwind of MD-80 cancellations, being thrust onto the phone during the "crisis" and trying to keep my head above water.

I am now into day 2 of my new 3 days off a week pattern. I think this will work fine for me. I work 4pm-12:30am Fri-Mon and am off Tues, Wed, and Thurs. I feel I have told this story before but I may be repeating it for my own sanity LOL!

I totally lost it on our graduation day. I felt totally unprepared to be thrust into the vast sea that is Domestic Sales at American Airlines. You may think making a reservation is easy (especially if you've done it online) but you have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. So next time you are on the phone making a reservation for anything. Make sure you have at least 5 min to devote to the call and be kind to the person on the other end. They are doing everything they can to make you happy for as low a price as possible. Oh, and if you are making a change to something. Have 15 min to spend and be super kind b/c that is a whole other world of hurt being rained down on your representative. :) (Not that I am biased or anything).

Well enough of that dribble and on to knitting things. Well, I finished the April-May Lace Arm warmers for Nassau. They were a little big on her but they will work. I used Lion's Brand Micro spun that I got from Jess.

--Jess, I love you and I appreciate anything you give me but that yarn is a *itch to knit with. It knotted more times than I care to discuss and the middle was so jacked up that I ended up having to throw away 1/2 the ball and start with a new skein. I'm not sure if that happened because it wasn't wrapped in the label and unwound and got crazy or what but I cursed you a thousand times and am only a little sorry about it. Next time you give away yarn and it's all a mess do like they used to say at Blockbuster. "Be kind, Rewind." Love bunches, Eileen--

The yarn was a little diva-ish but the product came out beautifully. One of my other co-workers Janine and one of my teachers Debbi want a pair now. So I am going to knit them up for them. I don't mind b/c they are my friends and I can get both pairs out of one skein. However, other classmates who have never really talked to me before want me to make them some, and in different colors. I am thinking "I don't think so, not even when you don't offer to at least pitch in for yarn." I enjoy knitting "gifts" but it's not a gift if you ask for it and then demand all sorts of exceptions for your item. Am I alone in this? I hope not.

Currently I will be getting caught up on my April mid-month dishcloth KAL, doing those "gloves" and finally starting on Allysia's present for the baby shower. I can't wait until I feel confident enough at work that I can knit while taking calls. Currently I am reading and every time I pick up my book another call comes in. It never fails LOL!

In closing, I want to say thank you to those of you who have been patient and willing to keep my blog in your list of ones to read even though I have been AWOL. Hopefully you'll get 2-3 if not more posting a week and then as thing progress and I get batteries for my camera even more.

Love to all,

Eileen AKA Purling kitty

A Moment of Silence

Hello. I am saddened to report that a knitting death has occurred. My beloved Mystery Shawl has gone to that big yarn ball in the sky. I was mid way through my 3rd clue when all of a sudden I saw that a stitch in the row below had snapped and unraveled past the life line and down into oblivion. It would have been one thing if the break had happened in the stockinette portion of my shawl but alas it happened right in the middle of the y/o's and decreases that make up the awesome lace.

Funeral service have been declined though a memorial will be held Sunday night @ 6PM MST. Your thoughts and well wishes are appreciated. In lieu of flowers it is requested that each mourner find their most difficult completed knitted project and hug it and thank it for not self destructing during the creation process. Please respect this knitters privacy at this time and be patient while she struggles to find the will to remove the deceased from her needles and begin her lace attempt again.

Current pics will not be displayed due to the graphic nature of the event. Instead here is a look back at the shawl that never was (but may be again).

In Memoriam

I finished my socks

Well, I finished the toe on my second sock last night. For some crazy reason I am totally underwhelmed. For the life of me I don't know why. They are beautiful, soft, have matching stripes, are even, and fit great. I always imagined that I would throw a party when I finished my first pair and yet I remain reserved and "enh" about the whole situation. I don't know why. It is very sad actually. Maybe it will hit me after I'm done with all this intense work training and I can actually breath again.

I have a fair amount of the sock yarn left and I don't quite know what to do with it. I wonder if I have enough for some baby booties or something. If anyone has some suggestions I'm all ears.

I am now working on a pattern for my friend Nassau (pronounced Na-s-ow {like when you hurt yourself LOL!} ) I hope she likes it. Y'all will have to wait until I am done to find out what I'm making b/c she has access to this site now.

Well, I'm off to knit, relax, and then sleep.

Eileen

Where have I been?

Hey y'all! I know, I know I haven't blogged in a while. I couldn't even believe it myself when I saw that I last posted on March 19th, almost two whole weeks ago!!!! American Airlines has been kicking my butt! I can't even tell you most of what I've done in th last couple weeks other than work, eat, sleep, eat and repeat every day.

I will tell you about a visit I had from an old friend of mine. I've known this guy for over 17 years. I haven't seen him though since my wedding b/c he lives in Tennessee and I lived in Texas and now Arizona. He is an engineer who was doing a building inspection up in Phoenix and drove down to Tucson so we could have dinner together. It was good to see him and we promised each other not to go another 4 years w/out seeing each other. Hopefully we'll stick to that!

Another thing that happened is computer monitor issues. My monitor screen has turned yellow. I am going to buy a new cable cord to see if my cat chewing on it (the cord not the monitor!) is why it's gone wonky. Here's hoping I don't have to buy a new monitor.

I got my schedule for work for April 19th through June 20th. It is 4PM to 12:30AM Friday-Monday. I am off Tues-Thurs. It shouldn't be too bad b/c I'll have a day off with Len. It is going to be weird working nights after having worked early days for 6 weeks but I'll adjust.

Finally in knitting news my camera is still battery-less so alas no photos yet, but I am almost done with my second sock, I have knit 2 March mid-month KAL washcloths, and am making decent progress on my shawl. Overall, I'm pretty happy with what I have accomplished. All except my blogging of course which should start to get better. I am no where near as exhausted as I have been on the last 2 Fridays so I hope this is a good sign.

Thank you for reading this (if anyone still is LOL) and have a great weekend.

Eileen

I have a sock!

Hello. Just when i think I'm not going to be tired I end up exhausted. So this is just a brief posting to say I have finished my first sock and have cast on the second already. I also finished the second clue on my mystery shawl., and am almost done w/ my mid-month dishcloth. I promise to have pic by the end of the week.

Eileen

This week was just a blur

Hello. Well, my first week of training is finally over. It is going well and I totally love this job. But I am sooooooo tired. I have to be up by 5:30 AM to get to work before 7:00AM then we work until 3:30PM and I get home by 4:00-4:30 depending on traffic. I then want to take a nap but if I do then I'm up until Midnight or later and have few hours to sleep for the "night". I think I am finally on a decent schedule but we shall see.

On the bright side. I have been knitting everyday. I work on my mystery shawl during breaks at work and have been working on my first sock in the evenings. As you read in my previous post I had some issues starting but it is finally coming out decent. I realized that I was knitting the sock inside out (which makes it a tight squeeze!) but b/c its a tube (and tubes are AWESOME!) I was able to just flip it inside out and continue on. I did the heel flap and gusset today and am now knitting the foot part. I have 3-4" to go before I start the decrease for toes. I really like it. There are some small glitches but it's to be expected. I am still proud that I am accomplishing it. I will take a pic of what I have so far tomorrow and will try to better document my second sock.

Thanks for being patient with my not posting. I hope I haven't lost all my readers (all 4 of you HAHAHAHA) by being away. Once training at work is done I will work 4 days on and 3 days off so I should be less exhausted!

Eileen

I am actually attempting socks!!

Hello all. Well as promised I am writing a new posting in less than 2 days. Yea me! Training @ American Airlines is going well. I got a 100% on my city code test. I was so nervous but I guess I really shouldn't have been. I turned the test in 3 minutes after I got it. I know that sounds fast (and it is) but I've always done that with tests. I stop studying the night before and then I just let the ink flow on paper and somehow the right answers (usually) magically come out and I do a quick review and just turn it in. I've never been one to hold on to an exam and stress over it. I do all my stressing before and then after while waiting for the results LOL!!! Then I had to go wait in the cafeteria and was shaking like crazy. It was really funny now that it's over. I think I will really enjoy this job. I like what I am learning so far.

Also, as I stated above I have started knitting socks. I was having such a hard time knitting in the round. I have realized that I was not connecting my last stitch to my first correctly. I don't quite know how to explain what I was doing, but I will try. After casting on my stitches and dividing them I was starting my round in the last stitch that I cast on and went that way around the circle instead of starting with the first stitch I cast on. I hope that makes sense. I'm not awesome like techknitter or the yarn harlot in the ways of making visual aids to explain what I am saying. But finally after taking it out 9 times I figured out what I was doing wrong and now have about an inch of cuff and it's nice and even and circular and not twisted and funky. So I learned something new. That is always a positive when knitting so woo-hoo. Hopefully I'll have some pics to post tomorrow.

Have a great day,

Eileen

Felted Mice

Well, my cats love their new mice flaws and all. I have made so many minor mistakes on each of these mice but it's OK. The first mouse I made is a "dwarf" mouse b/c I didn't see where it said to knit in st st for 2 & 1/2 inches before decreasing for head, so Corky got this:

My second mouse came out OK and obviously Max loves it b/c his fur is all over it:
My cat Emma on the other hand is apparently slightly evil. I sprinkled some cat nip through out each mice just for my cats enjoyment. Well while I was stuffing them Emma was salivating and trying to eat the entire container of cat nip so I guess no one should be shocked that this is what her mouse's face looked like mere minutes after I gave it to her.

Poor mouse!!! I have since performed surgery but it no longer has a nose just s seam to keep the stuffing hidden.

In my last post I stated that I had knit 2 mice for each cat. That is true I just haven't stuffed the others yet but here they are flat:

Tomorrow if blogger behaves I will post some pic of our home re-modeling.

My brother is home from Iraq for R&R and the chaos that surrounded the event

Hey everyone. Sorry it's been several days but I went out of town unexpectedly. My brother, after 4 days of crazy travel, finally landed in the States Thursday morning. I wasn't going to get to see him while he was here (Texas) due to finances and schedule conflicts. However, Linda (my MIL) who works for American Airlines saw an opening for a flight @ 5:50 AM that would land 45 min after my brothers flight @ DFW airport. She was going to meet him there anyways. So she was going to bring him to my gate to surprise him, since he wasn't supposed to leave DFW for Austin until 4:00 pm. However some gate officials greeted his flight and said there was a flight leaving in 10 min so he took it. He didn't even get to see my MIL before he left. So it looked like I came all that way for nothing. He called his girlfriend Naema when he got on his new flight and she told him I was on my way but he was already on his plane and couldn't get off. She called my MIL and then when my plane landed she told me what happened and I was pissed. (That is really an understatement, but I try to keep thing PG on here LOL!) Well, when he landed in Austin he called me and said that after Naema dealt with her RCIA candidate (A person who is in the process of converting to Catholicism) they would drive to Dallas. They arrived around 10:30 that night. We stayed up until 3:00 am playing Trivial Pursuit and looking at photos and videos from Iraq.

While we spent the day waiting for Patrick the weather decided to dump 5" of snow on DFW and the surrounding areas. All the flights for the rest of the day were cancelled. That meant that if Patrick hadn't gotten on his flight he wouldn't have been able to leave so it was lucky he got out when he did, but it also meant he had to drive through the mess to get back to me. That also meant that the 8:00 am flight I was supposed to take back to Tucson on Friday morining was highly unlikely. I ended up being # 87 on the stand-by list. It looked as though I wouldn't get out until Sunday night.

So instead Patrick took Naema and me to breakfast. Then we had a snowball fight, got in trouble at CVS, and then they left to get Naema back in time for her afternoon class. All in all a good time was had by everyone. I didn't cry at all. It was kinda weird, it actually felt like I had just seen him even though he's been gone for over 10 months. Very surreal, but also probably had to do with the fact that I'd only had 4 hours of sleep in a 36 hours period.

I then spent the day knitting my mystery shawl. I'm still over a week behind but what are you going to do? My MIL kept checking in letting me know that the flights were not looking any better. Then @ 4:00 PM she said are you ready to go? I said yes, (which was a lie but I know how to hustle when necessary!) and she said good b/c you need to be at the airport and through security by 4:45 b/c it looks like you will get on this next flight. So I hopped in the shower & was at the airport @ 4:35. Fortunately I didn't have any bags to check but the security line was crazy long. I got to the gate while Final boarding was occurring. I looked at the screen and saw that there was 15 people ahead of my on the stand-by list. I thought this isn't going to happen. Long story short they called a bunch of names and no one came to the counter so I got on the flight and made it home and here I am. I was so tired at the end of all this excitement that I went to sleep at Midnight last night and didn't wake up until noon today. Crazy!!!!

In other news, I got my box from Knit Picks on Tuesday, but spent most of the day at my grandparents so I didn't get to do much with it. Then Wednesday I was knitting some mice for my cats (2 each) when I got the call that I was going to get to see my brother. I had just finished hand felting them and they have been sitting on a towel for 2 & 1/2 days. After I am done here I will check on them and finish them and will post pics tomorrow.

Also, Donna posted this (scroll down to Monday March 3rd) on her blog about my book tour blog posting. I was so excited by the kind things she had to say! I was really nervous but I guess what I decided to do was the right thing after all. I really need to work on my whole self confidence thing.

Lastly, I start my new job on Monday. I work from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. In light of this I am making a promise to my readers and myself that I will continue knitting and will also blog more consistently. I am so sorry that I have been so sporadic the last few weeks!

Have a great weekend!

Eileen

Today we welocme Donna Druchunas author of Kitty Knits

Good Afternoon everyone. Today I'm doing a special blog posting as part of Donna's blog tour to promote her newest book Kitty Knits: projects for cats and their people.


I was so excited when I received her latest book and so were my cats. Especially Corky (below) who thinks that he is the cat on the cover and decided he should "pose" with himself.
In the beginning I didn't know what I'd talk about today but decided I would review some of the projects that I have in my "queue" to make for myself, my cats, and as gifts. As an opener though I asked Donna to tell us a little about the book itself.

"Kitty Knits is the first knitting book entirely devoted to the funny, furry felines in our lives. Discover creative ways to knit up practical projects for kitties to love and cat-themed designs for owners to enjoy. Just like cat batting at a ball of yarn, it's a perfect match.Over 20 projects feature items for cats, their people, and their homes -- along with adorable photos of cats with their knitted treasures. Choose from toys, beds, mats, and more for cats, plus feline-inspired sweaters, hats, pillows, and bags for cat-loving knitters.Find projects in a variety of styles and skill levels, from felted designs to Fair Isle patterns."

I have only been knitting for just over a year, and there are many things I have yet to attempt. I feel that these are part of what have drawn me to the items I want to make.

The first item that caught my eye are the felted mice (seen on the cover). I have ordered the supplies online and they got lost in transit so I wasn't able to start on them for today, but will post as soon as they come in and are started. This project is rated easy and is made from the tail up. I chose the mice because first my cats went a little crazy batting at the page with them on it, but also b/c this will be my first time using dpn's (double pointed needles for you non-knitters), making i-cord, and felting. (yes, I have a lobster to felt but it will be a race to see which project gets finished first LOL) I have always wanted to try i-cord and I feel extra excited that I will be presenting my the project with said "firsts" to my babies.

The next item that I plan to make (that will also be for my kitties) is the Bulls-eye cat bed.

I chose this bed out of all the other bed options b/c it seemed to suit my cats the best. This project is rated as intermediate and is made from the sides inward to the center. I was intrigued by this pattern b/c it will be my first attempt at knitting in the round. I have used circular needles many times but always for flat items. It will also be my first experiment with multiple stranding and using stitch markers. I am looking forward to making 3 of these so my cats won't fight over them!

The next project I will review is the felted applique pillow.

"This unique pillow front is knit in intarsia color work. The leaves, branches, and berries are made separately. Everything is felted, and then the decorations are sewn on as appliques." This project is also rated as intermediate. I know someone who will love this pillow and it will totally match her furniture. I have knit using the intarsia method before. My friends can quote me saying "I will never do intarsia again for a long, long time." However this project is much smaller than the last project I did, it is only 3 colors, and is only 40 rows wide by 59 rows high that are done with all 3 colors, the rest is just 2 and is totally doable. The most intriguing part is after I felt a rectangle of color I will cut that piece to make the bird. I've never cut my knitting before so it will definitely be interesting.

The final project I will talk about today is "the cat" afghan.

Yet again I chose an item with the intermediate level. This project is awesome in so many ways. The center is a beautiful delicate lace, and then the borders have "the cat" in multiple languages. I was nervous thinking about all the intarsia that must be done to make the sides. However, I discovered that the different words are placed on the border using duplicate stitch. Donna provides excellent charts that help you know exactly where to place the stitches to make it look as beautiful as it does in the picture. Anyone with an appreciation of cats will adore this afghan.

These are just a few of the many projects in this amazing book. I'm sure at some point I will have made all of them.

In closing, I'd like to profusely thank Donna for allowing me to be a part of her tour. I will cherish this book for many, many years to come. If after reading my reviews you say I have to have this book for myself click this link to get a signed copy of this book.I hope you and your cats will derive much pleasure and some bonding experiences from making these projects.

Until next time have an awesome day,

Eileen AKA Purling Kitty

The Wedding was amazing (and the rest of my week)

So the last several days went by in a blur.

Wednesday I picked up my newly altered dress. Then I bought Len a mini rose bush. I don't know why I did it (meaning I didn't have a specific reason) I just wanted to.

Then I finished my mad dash of cleaning to be ready for Jess and Jacob. They arrived and now agree that my house is way smaller than theirs. We hung out, Jess answered my knitting questions and then we went out to eat. We went to Sweet Tomatoes. It was really good. We had a nice time talking and Jess and Jacob haven't seen Len since the wedding so it was nice for them to catch up.

Thursday was spent learning how to crochet. I know, I know. Crocheting isn't knitting but I had no choice. I needed to make some stars for a blanket and the knitted pattern I had just wasn't working. The crochet pattern gave me the perfect 5 pointed star I needed. Then I knit my shawl while watching Lost. Yeah, don't do that. I ended up frogging my clue back to my life line. (I will try it again later today). Lost has been so amazing. It is finally getting back to what it was in the first and second season. I couldn't be more wrapped up in a show (except maybe for American Idol!).

Friday I was sick. My stomach just wasn't behaving. I don't know why. All I really remember from the day was making egg salad and going out to eat w/ Len's co-workers. I didn't eat much but I went because I didn't want to let anyone down.

Then yesterday was the wedding. We had such a good time. Jen was beautiful.

We got there early and got dressed. Then we hung out in Jared's room while the bride did the pre-wedding photo shoot. Then we all traipsed down to the ceremony area. As soon as I started getting escorted by a groomsman to my seat I started crying.

--It was so emotional. The setting was beautiful, but I couldn't help thinking of Paula. She is Jessie, Jared (the groom) and Dani's mom. She passed away a little over a year ago. As the bride said during her speech "Paula would have LOVED this wedding."--

Then the ceremony started and the bridesmaid's processed to "Going to the Chapel" everyone laughed. It was so funny and sweet. The ceremony lasted between 5-10 min. Then we headed to the reception. There was music, dancing, crying, laughing and t-shirts. They couple had shirts made that say "Mr. & Mrs Fry Est. 03/01/08" on the front and the back says "I do. Jared and Jennifer Fry March 1, 2008 Francisco Grande Resort Casa Grande, AZ" I'll post a pic soon. We sat w/ Jess, Doug (Jess's dad), Grandma (Paula's mom), Mary Kay (Paula's best friend), and Mike (Doug's friend from work). The best part was the toast from the Best Man and Maid of Honor. The saddest part was when Jared danced w/ his grandma. Everyone at our table was sobbing (except Jess who refuses to cry) b/c we all knew he should be dancing w/ Paula. I hated knowing exactly how they felt seeing as how my Mom died before I got married as well, but it was nice that we could all support each other. Most of Paula's family was there and they are all great people it was nice to see them again (and meet the ones I hadn't yet.)

--Paula, we love you, miss you, and know that you were with all of us in spirit yesterday. Hope you enjoyed watching you son and new daughter. Say hi to my mom for me. Love, Eileen--

Any hoo, enough of my typing through tears. Jared and Jenn are the best and they are so good together. I love Jess's family and I'm so grateful that they have accepted me (even if not willingly at times LOL) into their lives. I will close with some random wedding photos and promise to back to knitting promptly.

Eileen

Dani and Jared
Jess (wearing a triangle shawl she made) and Jared
The cake w/ a Lego bride and groom that Jared had custom made.
Jared dancing w/ grandma.
Jen &Paula's brother Don.

Dreams of Knitting

So yesterday was supposed to be a big day of me cleaning my house. That didn't happen. Alas, neither did any knitting. We ran a bunch of errands yesterday. We went to Home Depot for weed killer. We then went to Michael's for needles and yarn to make my kitty project for my upcoming Blog Tour Date. (I let my cats pick which project they wanted me to make and they went crazy for the page with all the mice so....) Well, I know Jess says I am not a yarn snob, but I refuse to buy things from Michael's anymore. So if not a yarn snob then at least a price snob. First NOTHING was on sale. They didn't even run an add this week. Second, they wanted $9.99 for a set of 10.5 bamboo dpn's, and at least $6.00 per skein for wool yarn. Now, I know that yarn can be pricey but I've found much nicer wool yarn for less money on-line. I couldn't see spending $28.00 to make a few mice for my cats. (I have to make 3 mice in 3 different colors or they will fight. I am not joking.) Then we went to Sprint to pay our phone bill. I thought we'd have to pay between &150-$200 to keep it on, but we only had to pay $90. (Happy Dance! Come on you know you want to boogie with me LOL) That means I am better at keeping up with my bills than I give myself credit for! Of course, we drove to the east side of town where all 3 stores are close to each other to save gas. (We mainly did this for Sprint) Well, Home Depot was out of the weed killer and Sprint's pay inside machine was broken. So instead of saving gas we had to drive to the west side of town (which is where we normally go b/c it is closer to home) to get our supplies and my husband had to sit on hold for 20 min to pay the phone bill. Very frustrating and a big time waster.


When we finally got back home I went on to knitpicks.com and placed my first order from them. I ended up getting 2 balls each of some clearance wool for $1.79 each. That is 6 balls for $10.74. Instead of 3 balls for $18.00. (That is a savings of $25.26 if I bought an equal amount of balls.) I got the 10.5 bamboo dpn's for $6.14 (A savings of $3.85). I also bought some size 5 harmony needles with 2 cables a 40" and a 47" for my shawl. I got the knitters handy guide to yarn requirements (recommended by Knit Science on an early pod-cast of hers)and some needle size ID tags. Also last but not least I bought stuff to make SOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy crap!!!!! I am scared out of my mind but I needed to get to $50.00 to not pay shipping so I went for it. I got size 3 harmony dpn's and 2 skeins of Riverbed Multi Essential sock yarn. That's right people I'm going to finally conquer one of my multiple knitting fears and will attempt socks. Silver's tutorial here I come. I might use some waste yarn and the 10.5's just to get the hang of it but mark my words I will make these socks. I am so excited. I even dreamt about it last night. (I think this is partly due to the fact that I didn't knit at all yesterday and am experiencing withdrawal. I need to get to the library to print out my shawl pattern ASAP!)


I am also experiencing something I can only call "Knitting the wrong thing with the yarn I received as a gift from Jessie"-phobia. I want to make stuff with the yarn she has given me but I don't know what. I have 3 balls of micro spun yarn, 8 balls of vintage soft pink sport weight yarn, and a whole mess of brown yarn in differing weightsand types (which I am going to make into a chevron scarf for a friend). I don't know what to make with these 2 different yarns. Any suggestions?


In closing I'll leave you with this. I found this thing laying randomly on my computer desk this morning. I think it came from a Kinder Egg (yes the link takes you to a Canadian site, they can't sell these in the US b/c of the super small parts that come in the toys). I looked at it and said I wonder if this would make a good yarn guide for Fair Isle. I think I really need to get out more. Here's the pic:

Do you think it would work if I glued a ring back to it?

Have a great day!

House warming Party/Finished KAL

Well, I haven't posted the last few days b/c I was busy knitting my heart out for Allysia's housewarming party and getting myself ready for Jess's brother's wedding next Saturday.

On Friday I took my dress to be altered, colored my hair (I do it myself), and started cleaning my house b/c Jess will be here on Wednesday. I can't wait to show her that my house is 1/2 the size of hers. I know that is nothing to brag about but she always laments that her house is small and it so isn't (she has a separate dining room for the love of God LOL!!!)


Andrea--Makes sure to ask her about it when she gets back and have fun watching Helix. You are so sweet to do that!!!


Also, on Friday I met my husband and some of his co-workers for dinner @ TGIFridays. It was pretty good. We had a nice time. It was relaxing, even though I never get to drink b/c I meet everyone at the restaurant so Len and I are always in separate cars. One day I'm going to make him take me there on a day off b/c they have a couple different Mojitos I'd like to try and also some different Sangrias....but I digress.


Saturday, I knit up the second cloth for Allysia, I gave her my mid-Feb dishcloth. I alternated the colors for the second one.. (I'll post the pics at the bottom) Then I went and got my haircut. (Which Len didn't even notice even though I had more than 3 inches cut off! He is still in hot water for that one)


I had to go to the party alone b/c Len had to work, and I was really nervous about it. Mainly b/c there was supposed to be like 40 people there and I was only going to know 5 people including Allysia and William. Also 2 of those people were supposed to be late so I was stressed out. Much like I was for Jess's Christmas party. (Thank God for Alicia b/c I just stayed in her group and then I could make comments to her and I knew she would know what I was talking about!) I know not to count on being paid attention to by the hosts b/c they are so busy attending to everyone. Well, it turns out that Allysia's mother Judy (Who was supposed to be late but got there before I did) was there, her sister Brenda, 4-5 people who I went to church with when I lived in Sierra Vista (which is how I know Allysia FYI),a girl I had gone to high school with named Nikki, and Shawn (Allysia's best friend) were all there. It made me feel a little better knowing a couple more people. There was so much food and after an hour and a 1/2 only about 12 people were there and Allysia was freaking out. Then more and more people started trickling in and she ended up with about 34 people. One of those people was Carol Milloy. That lady is a crazy riot. But she brought "Are you smarter than a 5th grader" on Nintendo DS and 15 of us sat around the table and racked up about 2.9 million dollars. (This was over 4 hours and so many times we left w/ Nada so it's actually pretty sad!) However for life we will all know that the brightest planet in the night sky is Venus. That questions was asked 5 different ways at least during the games. I ended up eating so much food that my stomach hurt. Judy made 2 different salads, chocolate cookies, peanut butter fudge, Mac and Cheese, baked beans, and punch. Shawn made a couple different Korean items. Something that looked like Sushi but was made of rice, veggies, beef and was wrapped in a seaweed wrap. She also made vegetable dumpling and some dipping sauces for both. There was also an assortment of cookies, brownies, cakes, potato salads, and hot dogs and hamburgers. I ate so many sides I couldn't even eat my burger. Finally 4 & 1/2 hours later Len showed up. He played Wii with William and the other guys and we played air hockey. We didn't end up leaving until 10:30 and I had gotten there at 3! Needless to say, I got to know a bunch more people and had a really good time. I also got several orders for more dishcloths. I think I should start selling them at craft fairs LOL! I could probably make a couple bucks each which wouldn't be too bad!


All right well, I need to stop rambling on and continue to clean my house. We also have to go grocery shopping. Albertson's is having an awesome 10 for 10 sale that I am stoked about. Then I need to finish mt shawl pattern for week 1 b/c I got week 2 yesterday. The second week only added 23 more rows but still. I don't want to get too far behind.

Pay it Forward

Here is a cool contest. (Get your blog writing friends to read this too!)



Because I was the second person to post a comment on Sew-Funky's blog I will get a prize and all I had to do was promise to do the same.



The rules are:
The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me, sometime within the next 365 days. Who knows when it will turn up, or what it will be, but rest assured, it will arrive. All you have to do is promise to make the same declaration on your blog, and send out gifts to three of your lovely readers. Easy Peasy.



Eileen



PS If you don't have a blog maybe we can work something out to branch this beyond bloggers.

Cutest Kitties ever!

Well, I am now up to row 34 of my shawl. I have only frogged it twice. The first time is because I was doing the wrong decrease. In the grand scheme of things I know that no one would really see the difference, but I would know there was a mistake so out it went. The second time is b/c I dropped a stitch. I am trying to do a life-line but I can't find a small enough needle. I guess I need to go to the store and try to find one, but then I have to figure out what I am going to use as the line. Floss? It seems to be my only viable option b/c everything else seems too big. Any suggestions? Also I finished day 2 of my dishcloth. I think it is so cute.

Now to my kitties, Max finally decided to pose on a project and I found Emma using my lace yarn ball in the cutest way. See pics below.

Can you see the little windows being created?


See the bottom is pink now instead of blue. See other post for comparison.


Max "the Mayor of Kitty-ville" (Must be said with a really bad Scottish Accent--Don't ask!)
Emma AKA Baby girl, Bushka, & Bemma.

Pics of Projects and weekend update

OK, so I am going to do a picture diary of my shawl and my dishcloth. I was able to do the first 10 rows of my shawl. The pic doesn't look like 10 rows but that is b/c the yarn is so fine. I was worried about that, but I like it so far so here's hoping. Later today I am going to the library to print out my chart for the shawl so I can keep better track of where I am. The people in my "Mystery" group were so helpful in getting my to understand the chart. I'm still nervous but frogging is the worst that can happen b/c I'm pretty sure the world won't blow up if I mess it up.

In other news, we went to my Uncle Mike's house last night. He gave us a washing machine which is awesome! Len also spent the evening hooking up my grandparents TV so they can have Tivo again. They are very happy. My grandma promised my husband some of her famous coffee cake in return for his service. (He is so lucky b/c the coffee cake is AMAZING!!!!!--I'll take pics of it when we go have some b/c the crumb part is so thick and yummy and I want to share with you LOL.) Also, I showed my grandma my lace yarn and she said you're going to make something with that? How is that possible it is so thin? I said I know but we're just going to have to wait and see.

Also, my Mother-in-law Linda (whom I also refer to as 'Mom') wanted me to clarify a statement I was told she made. She didn't say that my knitting was a phase. She just told my husband that I would have less time to be obsessed once I started my new job. (I know I said I got the job but I then had to submit to a medical review and am waiting for the results-not worried though, just anxious to get started.) She told me that even though knitting is labeled a "craft or hobby" she feels that it is an art. She and my father-in-law Tony (who tells people at his job that I knit which is awesome b/c it means he talks about me at work which is more than I can say about my own dad but that is for another post....) feel that I am very talented and that my knitting pieces are "works of art". She wanted to be very clear that I understood that. They are so supportive and they appreciate the time it take for me to produce the items I make. I think it is awesome that they are so encouraging. It really makes me feel good about myself.

Well that is enough babble for now (look Andrea 2 new posts in less than 24 hrs!!!). Look at my pics and have a great day!!!!

Here is the right side. As you can see it is a 2 color project with yarn carrying up the side. Can I just say that I love Knitty Gritty b/c I just saw an episode on how to do yarn carry.

Here is the wrong side. (I'm guessing on which side is which but feel pretty confidant that I am right)
Like the map drawn on the table we rescued for going to the dump?


Here is the shawl. Does it look like 10 rows to you?

Eileen

Sending out an SOS......In over my head

OK, so this is the first day of my new projects and I am already in trouble. I've never done a lace pattern chart before and I feel very intimidated. I don't understand the instructions and sent so many questions to the pattern writer that I feel I will be kicked out of the group due to utter ignorance. Also, I am starting a new dishcloth KAL today once the pattern gets posted. I am off my rocker with these projects. In good news I have finished the main part of the blanket I made for Len's brother. However, I have to make stars and they are not coming out very well. I don't know how to fix that so I guess it's back to the drawing board.


I am in knitting distress Mayday.....mayday......yarn overboard!

What kind of yarn are you?

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes.
Take this quiz!

I think this is about right. Especially the I love to be warm part. Take the quiz yourself and let me know the results!!!!

Dinner with Allysia

Well, last night I went to my friend Allysia's house for dinner. It was the two of us, my husband Len, her husband William, and her mother Judy. We had a good time. Allysia made pork loin with Port-Fig sauce, roasted fennel w/ Parmesan cheese, and scalloped potatoes. Her mom made a chocolate cake for dessert (really for Williams b-day, but we ate it for dessert). We had a good time. We played Wii, talked about knitting (I talked they listened and pretended they knew what I was talking about LOL), and got caught up on our family's gossip.

My arm is very sore today form all the Wii playing. It was a whole lot of fun and makes me want one even more than before. I know I'd play that thing all the time and then maybe Len would stop saying that all I do is knit and talk to people on-line about knitting.

That reminds me, I feel very isolated and foreign to the people around me. No one that I see or talk to on a regular basis (except Jessie) knits. So none of them understand my fascination or as they call it obsession. There was a funny post on Claudia's blog (see blog list) about Super wash sheep and everyone who I talk to about it looks like I have 3 heads or something. Also when I talked about the Yarn Harlot "sock incident" and said that it was all over the place William said "I didn't hear it on Headline News today." HAHAHA They think they are so funny. They didn't understand when I explained it was on a lot of the blogs I read and talked about non-stop on Ravelry. That is why I blog here and chat on Ravelry. Y'all (or at least most of you) get it. (Hi Mom (yes you Linda)- thank you for reading this even though you think this is just a phase that will pass. I appreciate your support even though you don't understand.)

Well, I bought more yarn today just some Sugar 'N Cream that was on sale for my dishcloth KAL and I ordered some size 5 circular needles that are supposed to be good for lace, they should be here soon. I got them on E-bay for $4.50 w/ free shipping. You can't beat that with a stick (unless the needles are super cheap and break or something) I did some research and they are supposed to be good but you never know.

Well, I guess thats all I have for now. Hope everone is having a great weekend. I have to go check on my roast in the crock-pot. I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out.

Eileen

Finished Kal

OK so here is my finished February Dishcloth. For those who can't see it it is a Valentine candy box. I took a pic of both sides. I couldn't decide which one was better. Let me know your thoughts. PS. I am adding a bonus shot I took this morning in the shade on the side of my house next to my truck. I didn't realize that even with the truck behind me and no flash it would reflect on the white cloth but I guess I was wrong LOL!

My kitties are so cute

Lately it has been so cold here in Tucson. It snowed here the other night. Not by my house but out by where my husband works there was 8 -10 inches. Crazy. Well, my cats have been super cold so they have been bundling themselves in my knitting blankets (both in progress and finished).
Here is Corky. He is almost 5 years old, weighs 22 lbs. and he is 4 &1/2 ft. tall on his hind legs. He is so muscular that I swear he works out.

This is my baby girl Emma. She is from the same litter as Corky, yet she weighs just under 8 lbs. She is my cuddle buddy. I usually find her on my lap right when I am ready to start knitting. She helps me make sure I have good yarn tension.

This is Max. Granted he is not on one of my projects in this pic but I think he is super cute in it so I wanted to share it.

Eileen

KAL's, KAL's Everywhere

Greetings from Knit-a-long land. I have signed up to do a Mystery Shawl KAL which starts Feb 16th. I have ordered the yarn (which is very yummy and is my first experience w/ yarn porn!)and will pick up the needles this weekend. Also, I joined a Dishcloth KAL. We do 2 clothes a month. 1 is a theme one and 1 is a decorative pattern. I am 4 days into a 7 day pattern for my Feb. cloth. The pics follow. This --> : - P <--is for Jessie. (That is me sticking my tongue out) She was telling my the benefits of taking pics of your knitting in natural light verses inside w/ a flash. I thought she was full of it. But no as usual she was right I was wrong. (See the captions under the pics for the rest of the explanation) This is on the side of the house on a concrete block walk-way. I didn't think the pattern would be very visible since I knit it in white and I couldn't see the screen on my digital camera while I took this photo b/c the sun was behind me reflecting off the camera. I was wrong.

This is a close-up. I'm pretty good at taking pics blind right?

This is facing the sun on the hood of my truck. Still not too bad.
This is the photo in my house on my "photo taking" chair w/ a flash. I suck Jess was right. I should always listen to everything she says. Maybe that is why she had me play Lemmings at her house all the time. She was training me!!!!

Eileen