« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
December 30, 2005
Makin' Progress
While the weather, and as a result Travis' mood, sucks, I've been making significant progress on my knitting and I'm feeling kinda smug about it. I hesitate to say as much because the knitting gods are easily angered and if they think I'm cocky, things will go right into the toilet. So, let's just say I'm pleasantly surprised at the progress I'm making on my 2 outstanding projects.
First up is the long-standing Ombre. Ombre is looking quite lovely, as she now has eight completed stripes.
For those of you playing along at home, that's 8 down, 3 to go. Personally, I couldn't be happier about that because while I obviously love my mom and am pleased with how the blanket is turning out, I'm really tired of this project. There really should be a warning label on all blanket patterns - "Warning. Make really sure you love this pattern and are willing to dedicate months of your life and a bit of your sanity to it before you begin." And by the way, Joelle Hoverson wasn't kidding around when she said this pattern would take over 8 hours. Ya think? While I was aware it would be a long term commitment, I didn't realize it was going to be a 3 month commitment. Anywho, I'm almost done and can hopefully get at least one more stripe done this weekend. If the gods are on my side, maybe one and a half.
Next up are the Sport Rib Socks. I finished the first one yesterday by grafting my very first ever toe. I had a bit of a problem yesterday because I got all of the decreases done and tried the sock on. Apparently I was under the impression my foot had grown 2 inches between the last pair of socks and these because the toe was 2 inches too long. Hello? So, I ripped out the toe and back a couple of inches into the foot and started over. I briefly considered taking a picture and then decided my stupidity really didn't need to be documented to that extent. You're just gonna have to trust me - it was stupid. However, despite my brief lapse, the first sock is finished.
This weekend we're headed to my in-laws for Christmas with them and my mother-in-law wants to learn to knit socks. We should have a grand time with that. I hope to work on Ombre as much as possible and let's all keep our fingers crossed for another completed stripe. Oh, for any of you who have Loop-d-Loop, what do you think of the Corrugated Rib Hat? I can't really find a picture online (except for one posted in a comment on Claudia's Blog) and I'm thinking I might want to make it. I'd have to order the book, so I'd love your opinions on it before I go and do that.
Here's a picture of the sunrise on my way to work this morning.
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy New Year. See you in 2006!
December 28, 2005
Accomplishments and Resolutions
I've been inspired by all of you reflecting on your 2005 knitting accomplishments and your goals for 2006. So, I'm jumping on the bandwagon (and I'm blatantly stealing Felicia's format).
Top 5 for 2005
1. New Technique: I learned so much this year that it's hard to narrow it down to just one technique. I guess my favorite was learning to knit socks. My first pair were top-down socks, and then I tried toe-up socks, ankle socks, and I'm now teaching another knitter to knit socks. I love having a portable project that you can so easily pick up and put down and the end result is so very functional and useful.
2. Favorite Finished Object: My Lotus Blossom Shawl. My first lace shawl experience and I find that I wear it fairly often. It's in my office and it's wonderful to have when it gets cold.
3. Favorite Knit Along: The Stitch Ya Neck Out scarf swap. I had such fun knitting a scarf for Blossom and got a wonderful scarf in return.
4. Favorite Shop: Knit Happens. I am warming up to my LYS, but they don't stock a lot of the yarn I find you all using and that's recommended in the patterns I'm knitting, so I find that I don't buy a lot of yarn there. The customer service and selection at Knit Happens is wonderful and I find that I go there first.
5. Favorite Tool: My Holz & Stein circular needles. I love these needles. They're ebony, so they are wonderful to hold and knit with and the points are nice and pointy. The joins are good and the cord is pretty flexible. I need to order more in additional sizes and I'm thinking of getting dpns to try too.
Resolutions for 2006
1. Fair Isle: I'm going to start my color career with the Vinternatt Nordic Mittens and move on to Butterfly. I can hardly wait. This is number one on my list of things to do.
2. Knitting for my husband: I want to knit him some socks and a sweater. I may have to modify an existing pattern to find something that he'll actually wear, but he should have a beautiful, functional handknit sweater.
3. Learn to Spin: Next weekend I'm going to dedicate some time to my spindle - it's time to try again. And if I don't get a wheel for Christmas (we still have to go to Travis' parents' house, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed), I'll be in the market for a spinning wheel. Then I'll have to find some good books and maybe a class. It's just something I think I want to learn to do.
4. Knit for Charity: I haven't done any charity knitting, and I'd like to knit some blankets for the animal shelter and maybe some hats and booties for babies. I am so blessed in my life and I really need to do what I can to help those less fortunate.
5. Dyeing: I'm going to start with some Kool-Aid and go from there and I have a great book to use when I'm ready to branch out into acid dyes.
So, what are your goals for 2006, and what are you most proud of from 2005?
Posted by Stephanie at 10:44 AM | Comments (11)December 27, 2005
A Happy Holiday
Travis and I had a lovely holiday, but now it's back to work, and boy that doesn't excite me at all. Santa, and my family was, as always, extremely generous. Travis bought me a lovely work table made out of recycled hundred year old pine - and it is awesome. So, I'm in the process of picking out some paint and converting my office into a craft room. I'm really excited to have a nice big place to spread all my stuff out without making a mess in the rest of the house. My mom bought me a kit for Mermaid! I'm really excited but it's down on the list a bit - Butterfly is first. My dad and step-mom bought me a pot rack, which I've wanted since last year. I can hardly wait to get it up and free up some cupboard space. And my sister, well, she's so sweet. She bought me an i-Pod Nano. And she had it engraved. It says, "Chance made us Sisters hearts made us friends!" Isn't that just the sweetest thing?
Good news on the knitting front. Ronnie fit perfectly and my sister loved it. She wore it on Christmas! Isn't that great? My mom loved Ombre, even though it wasn't done. She was very understanding, but said that I couldn't start Mermaid until I finished her blanket. Which I wouldn't, even if Mermaid is very tempting. We had a nice long drive to my dad's, so I got a lot of knitting done. I'm almost through the eighth stripe on Ombre and expect to have that stripe completely before we leave for Travis' parents' house this weekend. I knit a bit on Christmas, but worked on the Sport Rib Sock more than Ombre because it's a lot more portable and my dad was really intrigued by the sock knitting thing. I'll have to make him some socks one of these days. So, I turned the heel and finished the gusset shaping:
The yarn has behaved very well, the only pooling is around the heel when the rows were longer. It doesn't even bother me, but I'm glad that the rest has turned out to be stipey.
Have a wonderful day, and happy knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:23 AM | Comments (11)December 23, 2005
Turtleneck Shrug
I received my lovely Turtleneck Shrug from Rosa more than a week ago and have been very negligent in taking a decent picture and posting about my scarf/shrug. I received my shrug as part of the SYNO scarf swap.
The shrug is made with Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Bark. I love how soft and tweedy it is and Rosa did a wonderful job. The sleeves are quite long, but I like long sleeves. Rosa ran out of yarn on the turntleneck, so it is 2 inches shorter than called for in the pattern. The Wool Shack has another ball of yarn in the same dye lot. What do you all think I should do? Leave the neck at the length it is, or add another 2 inches as per the pattern?
I'm going out of town for the weekend. I will try to post, but it may not happen. If I don't talk to you all before, have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah, and a wonderful time with friends and family. Be happy, healthy, and safe in whatever you do. I'll leave you with a picture of my Christmas tree.
December 22, 2005
A Holiday Miracle
Last night at the most reasonable hour of 8:30 p.m. I finished weaving in the ends on the Thrum Mittens! Two completed Christmas projects, one to go. The mittens are snuggly and warm (maybe too warm, but it gets really cold in Wyoming) and oh so cute. What do you think?
Project Specs:
Pattern - Fleece Artist Thrum Mitten Kit - a gift from my lovely secret pal
Needles - US 4 (3.5 mm) Clover dpns
Modifications/Thoughts - I made the adult size medium and I think it will be a good fit. The second mitten is a bit tighter than the first because I used larger pieces of roving, which took up more space, but I don't think it's too noticable. Hopefully. I ran out of roving on the very last thrum row of the thumb, so I had to use a little bit of the pink roving Leanne sent me as a secret pal gift, and it worked just fine. I really liked knitting these mittens and hope the recipient will like them.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:29 AM | Comments (14)December 21, 2005
The Secret Life of a Blogger
Grumperina posted a lovely discussion about knitting and blogging and who knows about these activities and why or why not. The fact that I knit is well known by all who know me well. I knit in the car on the way to work, I knit in my office at lunch, I knit at home, I knit at family functions, pretty much whenever I get a spare moment. My husband is still of the belief that only elderly women knit and he seems concerned that all my knitting is going to turn me into a senior citizen at any moment. He doesn't believe me when I tell him I know lots of young, hip women who knit. He thinks I've made you all up in an attempt to justify my addiction. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about my dear husband; he doesn't mock my knitting, but rather looks at it as one more old fashioned thing I like to do - more amused and indulgent. My evil plan is to knit him a wonderful pair of socks and then a sweater - he will begin to believe the wonders of handknitting. My mom and mother-in-law are both learning (or relearning) to knit because of my knitting. One of my close friends is having her grandmother teach her to knit, one wants me to teach her after the holidays, and I taught one last year. And then some have their own hobbies, but are supportive of my love of knitting. Then there are some who just don't understnad and don't really want to and that's fine to. I don't knit so people will understand me, I knit because I want to.
As for my blog, my husband didn't seem interested when I told him about it - I believe there was some eye rolling involved. I'd love it if he'd stop by, but I'm not holding my breath, it really isn't his thing. My mom and mother-in-law stop by on occassion, but don't generally leave comments. I'm not sure why, but they seem to know what's going on with my knitting. A couple of my close friends seem to read, but again don't comment. My friend Stacey lives in Texas and she seems to read the blog on a regular basis because if I don't post for a couple of days, she calls to make sure I'm ok. None of my other friends stop by, although I think I told my close friends the address. I think my friends who don't knit don't really understand the point of the blog and that's fine. No one at work knows about my blog and I'm just fine with that. A few of them have expressed some mild interest in my knitting, but the blog just isn't something I feel comfortable sharing with my co-workers. I guess it's my desire to keep my personal and professional lives separate and I just wouldn't want anyone I work with knowing I spent half the night fixing a dropped stitch, or whatever it was.
So, there you have it. If you'd like to share your thoughts on your knitting and your blog, I'd love to read them. Have a great Wednesday.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:43 AM | Comments (11)December 20, 2005
An Updated Project List
So, I'm almost finished with the second Thrum, so close I can taste it. And I'm making good progress on Ombre - I think I'll be able to finish it up in the first part of January. The Sport Rib Socks are still out there, but if I dedicated any time at all to them they'd knit up in a flash. Once Thrum is finished they'll become my commuting knitting and will be done quickly. So, as Christmas approaches and with it the new year, I find myself contemplating my 2006 knitting. Some of this thinking was prompted by my burning desire to finish my Christmas knitting and some was prompted by Felicia's latest post. In August I made a list of fall knitting, and I thought it might be a good idea to revisit it and update it to reflect my current priorities. I've completed 4 of the 8 projects (let's just pretend for a minute that Ombre is complete) and have decided to remove the Rebecca Sweater from the list - I still think it's a really cute sweater, but I have other things I want to knit more right now.
Revised 2006 Project List:
I will finish Ombre and the Sport Rib Socks before I start these, but here they are in the order I want to knit them:
1. Vinternatt Nordic Mittens. I purchased the kit in November and have been anxiously waiting to try my first 2 color knitting project.
2. A ruffle scarf. I bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a lovely shade of red for this project. I envision this being a quick, portable project.
3. Butterfly! Once I get my feet wet with the mittens, I'll be ready to tackle this project. I can hardly wait, but it's so pretty I want to do a really good job on it.
4. Socks for Travis out of the Icelandic Sport Weight I purchased from Tongue River Farm
5. Rib and Cable Socks from fall 2005 Interweave
6. I forgot one! I want to knit the Norwegian stockings from Folk Socks (Eunny's are a great example)
7. And finally, if it isn't 80 degrees yet, Rogue
I've decided from this Christmas knitting experience that I really do not do well with more than one project at a time. I like the consistency and progress when I only have one project going. However, I imagine Butterfly may be the kind of project that requires my complete attention and may not lend itself to commuting. I'll have to see. If that's the case, I don't have any qualms about knitting the socks I want to knit and keeping Butterfly at home. So, there you have it. That's what I'll be doing for the next few months (or maybe years).
Five days until Christmas. Just in case you weren't keeping track.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:06 AM | Comments (7)December 19, 2005
Unbelievable
You all might want to sit down. I have some shocking news and I don't want anyone getting hurt here. Seven months after I cast on, I finally finished Ronnie.
Ronnie is a gift for my sister, so the sizing isn't right for me, but all in all I think it's a really cute, basic sweater.
It has some nice waste shaping and the pattern is really simple, if a bit boring.
Project Specs:
Pattern - Jaeger Book 34
Yarn - Jo Sharp Soho Summer DK Cotton in #221 Carmen
Needles - US size 5 Addi Natura Circulars for the body, although it was knit in pieces and seamed and US 4 Holz & Stein ebony circulars for the hems and neckline.
Modifications/Thoughts - I didn't do the stripes because my sister isn't a big stripe fan. That left me with 3 extra balls of yarn - not sure why or what I'm going to do with 3 balls of cotton, but... I seamed the sweater and then knit the neck in the round. The pattern had you knit it flat and seam it, but I couldn't see a benefit to that. I was initially going to use a 3-needle bind off on the shoulders, but ended up casting off and seaming. The shoulders have some shaping, which made a three-needle bind off kind of pointless and I decided that the cotton could use all the structure it could get. I deliberately chose a cotton for my sister's sweater because she isn't a big fan of wool (gasp!) and she claims to always be hot. However, the next sweater I make for her will be wool, even if it's a fine gauge. I consider it my mission in life to educate Stacy on the benefits of fine wool.
So, I wove in the 500 ends. By the way, thanks Purly for the link to the Knitty article. I think I finally figured out how to do it right. And then I wrapped it up and sent it off this morning. Guaranteed delivery by Wednesday.
Yay for one finished Christmas gift. Travis and I had a successful day of shopping and I spent Saturday night and a good portion of yesterday wrapping gifts - I got everything I needed to mail sent out this morning, so no one should have to be without Christmas gifts. I finished my Christmas cards and put up the rest of my Christmas decorations. I didn't bake a thing, but I don't plan too. No cookies at our house this year! Call me Scrooge if you must, but I have two gifts still to work on. Have a great day.
Posted by Stephanie at 11:34 AM | Comments (16)December 16, 2005
Weekend Plans
This is the last weekend before Christmas and I have it packed full already. Tonight I'm finishing Ronnie and I don't care how long I have to stay up to get it done. I've procrastinated long enough and I'm tired of myself. So, tonight is the night. No excuses. Tomorrow Travis and I are going Christmas shopping. We (read I) have quite a list and I imagine it will take us most of the day. Tomorrow night will be spent wrapping presents and getting things ready to ship off to my sister and Tavis' brother and his new wife. I know, I should have sent them already, but UPS should still be fine. Sunday I'm putting up the rest of the Christmas decorations, getting our Christmas cards addressed, doing laundry, and squeezing in some quality time with Ombre. And I'm going to try to get some sleep somewhere in there. Have a great weekend.
Posted by Stephanie at 11:38 AM | Comments (9)December 15, 2005
Well...I Do Need A Hat
It occurred to me a week or two ago that it's a sad state of affairs when a knitter doesn't have a warm hat or mittens for herself. And not being the kind of person to deprive myself, I set out to find myself a hat pattern and some yarn. Yeah, I know. I didn't forget about that Christmas knitting, but when it's -20 a girl darn sure needs a hat. But, it had to be a quick hat. I didn't have weeks to spend, I could barely justify a couple of hours, but justify I did. I took myself around to my favorite spots on the internet and came up with a lovely hat kit - yarn and pattern together - that's surely a time saver. And the yarn - hand dyed cashmere. Hello? What's not to adore about that? So, I ordered myself the kit and spent a couple of hours on my little project and now I have a hat.
Ombre has suffered because of the 2 hours I spent on the hat, but eh, whatever. My head will be warm.
December 14, 2005
Why Do You Blog?
Carolyn posted this meme on her blog yesterday and since I haven't taken pictures of my Christmas decorations or made any progress on any knitting, I'm posting about why I blog. If you don't care, just skip over me today. I hope to have knitting content tomorrow (fingers crossed).
Why Do I Blog?
I started blogging not long after I started knitting again. I enjoyed reading everyone's progress and thought it might be fun to have people look at what I was working on and give comments and suggestions. I don't have a strong local knitting community and I wanted to have some friends who knit. As I continue blogging I find it very useful as a motivator and as a way to keep track of what I've done and what worked and what didn't.
Why Do I Read Blogs?
I read blogs because I like to find out more about what's out there in the knitting world. I like learning new techniques and finding new patterns. Without all of you, I wouldn't know half of what I know and I wouldn't have tried a fraction of what I've tried. I also read blogs because I feel like I've made a connection with the blogger - we're friends who share a love of a wonderful craft. Thanks to you all for being such an inspiration.
If you'd like to answer this, I'd love to read your answers, but I know everyone's busy, so I'm leaving it up to you.
Have a great day.
Posted by Stephanie at 10:24 AM | Comments (14)December 12, 2005
My Knitting Spot
Grumperina tagged me for a little meme - post a picture of where you knit. So, here you have it:
There's also some knitting in my office, which is a disaster and I just can't make myself take a picture of it. So there.
I'm going to tag Diana, Rebekah, and Carolyn (only if you want to).
Very little knitting was accomplished this weekend, but there was some Christmas stuff. We got a tree
and said tree is now decorated. I'll take some pictures of it tonight with the lights on.
Riley had a bit of trouble walking in the snow - it was twice as deep as he is tall - but it was a really funny watching him try to walk in the snow.
Have a great day. I'm off to work on my brief.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:43 AM | Comments (13)December 8, 2005
Calm In The Storm
Christmas Knitting Update
1) I cast on for the second Thrum and have begun the thrumming. I'll continue to work on it over lunch and on my commute when possible.
2) I seamed one side of Ronnie last night, one side left. It took a lot longer to seam than I thought it would, but I was trying to be really careful and make it as close to perfect as I could get it. Seaming really made the waist shaping noticable and I think this is going to be a cute sweater.
3) No work on Ombre yet this week. I'm putting it off until Ronnie is finished because the sweater needs to be mailed off next week. I should have a bit of time this weekend to work on Ombre. Hopefully.
Now, yesterday I mentioned some socks. I know, I didn't tell you I was working on socks, but I am. A friend asked me to teach her to knit socks. She's a beginning knitter, but has had some success with a couple of hats and some scarves. But, she really wanted to know how to knit socks. So, I told her I'd teach her when she was ready. I found a simple pattern that uses sport weight yarn and I ordered myself some yummy Mountain Colors Weavers Wool to use and then I waited until Ann was ready. Well, she was ready last weekend. I know, I totally don't have time to spend knitting socks when I have all this Christmas knitting to do, but darn it, she asked and I wanted to see if I could teach anyone to knit worth a darn. So I went to her house on Sunday and spent about 2 1/2 hours knitting and drinking tea and having a great time. I've knit a couple of rows since then - like when I'm waiting for dinner to cook or in the five minutes before I go to bed - and they're coming along nicely.
I'm not in any hurry on these, which in itself is a welcome change, and I can't really go any further than the start of the heel flap until Ann's ready. So, there you have it. That's my sock story.
We're having a heat wave here today - somewhere around 10 above! Have a great day. Happy knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:38 AM | Comments (12)December 7, 2005
A Mitten
I've been busy taking your advice. Thank you all so much. I've decided not to stress about Ombre. I won't get it done, but it will give me good Christmas knitting and I should be able to finish it up fairly soon after Christmas. I spent last night seaming Ronnie and have another night's worth of work on it. But, it is in the homestretch, which makes me happy. I also finished the first Thrum and boy is it one warm mitten. I wished I'd had a pair this morning when I left for work (-27 air temp - no wind chill) - it was so cold it hurt to breathe. But there will be Norwegian mittens in my near future, and taking Thrum for myself kind of defeats the whole spirit of giving thing.
Anyway, pictures of the finished mitten
And the really funky one
You can see where I changed the method of inserting the thrums, but I don't think its noticable from the outside.
I'll just be hanging out plugging away on these Christmas knits and reminding myself that I love to knit and Christmas is about giving to those you love. If I sneak a row or two in on the socks I started right before I go to bed, well who can blame me - they're yummy. What? Socks? More on the socks tomorrow.
Have a great day and stay warm, where ever you are.
Posted by Stephanie at 1:29 PM | Comments (19)December 5, 2005
43,000
You know you're in for a lovely day when you wake up and the weatherman describes the weather as "bitter cold." No good can come from getting out of bed on a day like that. But, without work I could not buy yarn, so out of bed was my only choice. And I'm at work, and haven't frozen to death, so maybe it won't be as bad as I imagine.
Oh wait, it's worse. I have four rows before I finish the sixth stipe on Ombre. And I am freaking out about how close Christmas is - twenty days thank you very much. So, I did a little calculating and it is ugly. I'm warning you.
11 stripes total
6 stipes completed (we're just going with the fact that I can get those 4 rows done today)
5 stripes remaining
40 rows per stripe
200 rows left to knit
215 stitches per row
43,000 stitches left to knit
20 days until Christmas
To complete Ombre in time for Christmas I must knit 10 rows per day.
It takes 20 minutes to knit one row
That's 3.33 hours of knitting time a day. Some days I have that much, some days I do not.
This calculation does not take into account the time I need to spend on Thrum or the time to finish Ronnie. It cannot be done while holding down a full time job! I just can't do it and go to work every day, decorate my house, cut down a tree, decorate said tree, put lights up outside, go to Travis' Christmas party, buy gifts, wrap gifts, eat, sleep...
So, I need your help. No, I'm not asking you to finish my knitting. I'm asking for your advice. What should I do? As I see it, I have a couple of options.
1) Work on everything and believe in my heart that I can get it done;
2) Work on everything knowing that I won't get Ombre finished and wrap it up on the needles and finish it after Christmas;
3) Stop working on Thrum and give them to my MIL for her birthday in February (or just when I get them done) and buy her something extra special for Christmas; or
4) Run away to a tropical island and pretend that Christmas doesn't exist.
I have to tell ya, option 4 is looking mighty good right now, especially with this "bitter cold" below zero wind chill. But, seriously, what do you all think I should do?
Posted by Stephanie at 9:03 AM | Comments (20)December 2, 2005
Random
Because I don't have a single knitting-related thing to talk about, I'm going to do the lastest random meme. Oh, wait. One question that is knitting related - I want to make a Ruffle Scarf from Scarf Style and would like to substitute for something wool, alpaca, cashmere (which would really be divine) - you know, warm and appropriate for Wyoming winters. The pattern calls for 4 skeins of Classic Elite Premiere. I did a little searching and didn't come up with much. Anyone have a suggestion?
Now, on to the truly random.
TEN random things you might not know about me
1. I grew up on a ranch
2. I have a black belt in Uechi-Ryu karate
3. I know how to change a tire, light a water heater, and a furnace
4. I'm anal - I clean off my desk every night and put all my files away
5. I love to bake - cooking, not so much
6. I love romance novels - like Nora Roberts, not the Harlequin ones
7. I love to shop, mostly on-line
8. I team rope
9. We don't have cable or satelite tv - just an antenna
10. I love to decorate - paint and fabric are my friends
NINE places I've visited
1. Los Angeles
2. New York City
3. New Mexico
4. Colorado
5. Texas
6. Montana
7. Oklahoma
8. Mexico
9. Las Vegas
EIGHT ways to win my heart
1. Do nice things for me
2. Help with the housework
3. Give thoughtful, unexpected gifts
4. Tell me you love me, and mean it
5. Compliment me
6. Be grateful for the things I do
7. Snuggle with me in the morning
8. Talk to me about the things that are important to you
SEVEN things I want to do before I die
1. Learn to spin
2. Be an accomplished knitter
3. Travel to Ireland and Scotland and lots of other places
4. Renovate an old farmhouse
5. Learn to scuba dive
6. Write a book
7. Own a yarn store
SIX things I'm afraid of
1. Scary movies
2. Snakes - except garter snakes
3. Fire - not the ones in the fireplace
4. Someone I love dieing
5. Big spiders - not the little ones I find in my house every once in awhile
6. Being blind
FIVE things I don't like
1. Lima beans
2. Rude people
3. People who judge me without knowing me
4. Kiwi
5. Honeydew
FOUR ways to turn me off
1. Lie to me
2. Be a hypocrit
3. Blame someone else for your problems
4. Break a promise
THREE things I do every day
1. Kiss my husband
2. Knit
3. Play with my dog
TWO things that make me happy
1. My husband
2. Knitting
ONE thing on my mind right now
1. Finishing my Christmas knitting
If you like this and would like to share a bit about yourself, consider yourself tagged.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:47 AM | Comments (11)December 1, 2005
The Mother Load
If you suffer from yarn envy or wish you'd joined the Knitter's Review Secret Pal Exchange, you might just want to skip my blog today. Why? Because I have been completely and utterly spoiled rotten by my always fabulous secret pal. Whanna see?
My dear husband (who thought he was picking up new kitchen cabinet hinges - hee hee) waited in line at the post office last night to pick up my package and came home with a huge box! When I opened it, I found this:
And inside was:
Some fabulous Fleece Artist Kid Aran - two skeins of the most marvelous colorway. This stuff is sooooooo soft and yummy. I have no idea what to make with it, but it has to be something worthy of such beautiful yarn. There was also a sock pattern and beautiful yarn, beaded coasters, a knitting calendar, chocolate, and hand and body balm (sorry for the blurry picture, I was really excited and was having a hard time holding the camera steady).
And since our secret pal exchange is coming to an end, I found out who has been spoiling me for months. The best part is it's someone I already know! Leanne. She's been super sneaky - I had absolutely NO IDEA that she was my secret pal. Isn't that fun? Now we just need to figure out when we're going to meet in person.
Have a wonderful day and I hope someone spoils you.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:23 AM | Comments (10)
