Dolly's Cubby

2011-06-06T20:47:00.001-07:00

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43254903/ns/today-today_fashion_and_beauty/t/why-would-you-knit-crafting-goes-extreme/?gt1=43001

Coming Soon

2011-03-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Vacation posts coming soon! There is so much to share and lots of pictures to post, but I just haven't had time since I have returned.

I also want to post some information about a new project that I am so excited about.

For the time being, I'm just here to say hello and let you know that there will be posts coming soon but it will be a bit of a wait.

Right now, I'm busy with work, school, helping mom, and looking for a new place.

Travel Knitting

2011-03-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Laundry is done (yes ALL of it, with help from mom), car is packed, room is clean, and I'm ready to go.

Tomorrow I am embarking on my Spring Break Getaway Extravaganza 2011.

I will be taking my First Sweater with me. Currently, I have 7 inches of a sleeve and like 15 inches of the body (bottom up). This sweater has given me problem after problem. I cannot tell you how many time I have frogged and ripped back and unknit. I am so ready to get this done since it has been on the needles for a year. It is a really easy pattern too!

Before picture:

Will I have time to complete it on my Spring Break Getaway Extravaganza 2011? No! I wish! But I do have a couple of goals.

1. Break down the process of cabling so I can start on the upper half of the body.
2. Fix whatever I messed up on the sleeve so I can get that done.

That's it! Just 2.

I want to make some progress on some other projects (other, non-knitting projects *gasp*) as well. Plus, the main goal of this getaway is to forget myself for a couple of days by exploring an unfamiliar city in a state I have not spent a whole lot of time in. When I get back I am going to have to bust my ass to stay afloat for the rest of the semester so I am not going to be working too hard on anything. I just want to slow down a bit.

Tomorrow morning I am going to get up super early (for me), hit the shower, gas up the car, load up on bottled water and Arizona Iced Tea and HIT THE ROAD!

I cannot wait to be on the road again. :) I love traveling. Yay!

I heart Oregon

2011-03-12T12:07:00.000-08:00

The weirdest people, the most creative people, and the best chefs in the world live in Portland, Oregon.

Also there are apparently tons of knitters there too!

Okay maybe I am a little bit biased about Oregon and the Portland area and the Pacific Northwest in general, but Portland does have some serious culture. I am not a fan of visiting there, but I might like to live in one of the Burbs. Anyway...

I miss Oregon. I miss the weather, the smell, the evergreen trees, and the food. Not to mention how funky and culture-fide it is.

One of my BFFs Danielle shared this pic and post about a knit covered bike stand she happened across in Portland.

Swappy Swap

2011-03-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Valry,

The phrase "swappy swap" is still one of the cutest things you have ever said.

In other news, a great idea for a swap is this: a Magic Ball of Yarn.

I saw this blog post and the first thing I thought about was Harry Potter swaps, which I no longer have time for, but I should have some time to work on finding and making swap goodies this summer. Anyway I thought I would pass this awesome idea along!

Spring Break, Here I Come!!

2011-03-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, in the last couple of weeks I have made some time here and there to get some knitting done.

Several inches of progress has been made on my Happy Scarf, which I am happy about.Yes, you heard me. I named Happy Scarf as such because it truly makes me happy. It is a fantastic shade of yellow, and the yarn that I found is flecked, and it reminds me of the giant jawbreakers that my brother and I used to sometimes get as a child. It also involves knitting to construct, which automatically makes me happy and relaxes me. Plus, I have knit it while either watching a Harry Potter movie or listening to Dear Reader, Wizard People or Wizard People, Dear Reader (whichever it is called...I always mix it up) or listening to a knitting podcast. All of those things make me happy.

Last night, I tried to knit a bit on the sleeve of my First Sweater, but that did not go well. I am knitting in using the magic loop method on a circular needle. Well since that sleeve has been laying around for so long I lost my place and when I tried to knit a couple of rows of the STOCKINETTE section I knit the wrong way by knitting back the last row completed before I set the sleeve down for months and months. Of all parts of the sweater to screw up I managed to bungle the stockinette section on a circular needle. IT IS ALL THE KNIT STITCH. All I have to do is knit! Grrr. This sweater is now my nemsis project. Granted it is my first sweater ever, but it is still frustrating to have ripped out so much, and done so much unknitting, and left the project laying around for so long that I have hardly anything to show for all of my hard work.

In episode 62: Head's Up, of my favey fave podcast Cast-On (http://cast-on.com/), the host Brenda Dayne talks about travel knitting. So on my spring break getaway next week I am going to take this damn sweater with me and get as close to finishing it as I can. It cannot be this difficult to knit a sweater, but this one has been a pain in my ass. I LOVE knitting it because I am so excited about the thought of having sweater that I made for myself. I love sweater and I own a closet full of sweaters and hoodies so I really want to get this one done so I can start a new collection of sweaters, handknit sweaters. I was of course going to take knitting with me anyway, but I just assumed that I would take Happy Scarf with me since it is knitting up so quickly and it needs to get off of my needles, and then maybe a couple of other small projects.

After listening to Cast-On last night I knew that my travel knitting HAD to be this sweater. It is time to have it out with this sweater!

As if I wasn't excited enough about

Getting out of town
Going on a vacation by myself
Visiting a yarn shop so I can smell yarn and speak knitting
Photographing the Botanical Gardens
Visiting a couple museums
NOT WORKING

Now I can also be excited about all of the amazing knitting I am going to accomplish on my little trip. I honestly feel that if I had some time to sit down and just fiddle with this sweater by working through the confusing parts and tackling the correcting of errors I have made as well as learning how to knit cables for the cable section then I will defeat this pattern and be able to move on to bigger and better sweater-knitting adventures!

It has been a long time since I have a few hours to sit down and dedicate to just one thing without having to worry about all of the reading I have to do for biology, the laundry that needs washing up, family matters, etc. I want to take it slow for a few days and just sit in my hotel room staring at knitting and fondling yarn while listening to my podcasts or a book on tape or something. I am going to forget the world, and remember knitting.

FO: Bubba's hat

2010-12-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

For the first time this year, I got a knitting project done in a reasonable amount of time!

My brother's Christmas present, which I decided on a hat, is completed. Believe your ears, my friends, this IS an FO post!!

I am so please with how it turned out. I made a couple of mistakes, but nothing disastrous and I think my brother is going to love it!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

(pictures are on the way...my phone is being weird and won't upload them but as soon as they have uploaded then I will post!!)

Pattern: Hill Country Hat

Yarn: Red Heart Soft Yarn in Black

Needles: Circular US10.5

Size: About 7 inches from crown to bottom of brim.

Modifications: Knit on one circular needle with magic loop method instead of on DPNs.

Who it is for: My bro.

What I learned while knitting this project: That I can totally knit hats! And that hats are totally fun to knit!

What I was doing/Where I was while knitting this project: I sat in my project chair in my room enjoying the fact that I'm almost done with my first semester at Cameron University.

How long: Approximately 6 hours total, over 3 days. I cast on Monday and knit all the way down to the brim; yesterday and today I finished the brim and cast off.

Happy Scarf

2010-12-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Hey check me out! I took a picture of me knitting. Hey, I had some knitting to take a picture of. Hey, I updated my Ravelry project page and linked it to this blog post that I'm posting.

Since today was my last day of classes for the fall semester I am feel all sorts of motivated. I have accomplished more today than I have in any one day in quite a while. I got some laundry switched over this morning before I even left the house, I left early so I could print some stuff out at the library, I ate breakfast, then I attended classes where I kicked booty, and now all of this knitting stuff. I'm amazing. So are you, Valry.

Fair warning....this scarf will not be completed until next Christmas. So you can expect an FO post in about 2013-ish. ;)

Plus I actually need to take a break from this to cast on my brother's Christmas present, which I have no idea what that might be at this point. Wish me luck.

Anyway I thought I would share a picture and a Ravelry linky link. :)

Seasons Greetings

2010-11-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. I cannot wait! I am also looking forward to Black Friday, and then finals weeks, and then Christmas, and then my birthday. This time of year is always so awesome. It always takes me a while to get warmed up, but once I do it is game on. Yesterday was when I finally got geared up for the holidays. I have completed my Christmas list of knitting goodness for my people; now all I have to do is start knitting....hahahaha

Personally, since it has gotten colder I cast on a new scarf. I know that I have hundreds of other UFOs, but ya'll know how I am! I literally cannot help myself. Every hobby that I have has tons of UFOs. I go where my inspiration takes me, and most of the time inspiration takes me somewhere new and away from something old. Eventually I finish projects, but sometimes that takes months or years. I'm more than fine with that. Sometimes it is frustrating having so much unfinished business, but most of the time I actually enjoy being so fluid in my decisions on what to create, and when.

Pictures will be posted soon. I always intend on taking pics when I get home from school and while I work on projects, but as you can plainly see that does not happen as often as I plan for it. Then again, that is how my life goes with ALL of my intentions...craft and otherwise. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway I wanted to post SOMETHING to make it known that I am working on things (slowly but surely). Most of my time will be consumed with Christmas projects (knitting and other). Yay! :-)

hello!

2010-11-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

I know that it has been forever since I have updated! I still do not have anything to share because I have been so busy with work and school.

The plan is get started with my Christmas list ASAP, but I probably will not be posting much of that list until after the holiday.

For now I am still working on Corona. I have made it all the way up the body to the point just before it Vs open (the cable section). For now, I am taking a break from the body and working on the arms. As always, I have cast on a million times and am still nowhere. There are a lot of kinks to be worked out apparently...and they are all on my end cos the pattern is perfect! Three or four time there has been 4 or more inches of knitting frogged, but I am perfectionist so I am fine with that.

When I get home later this evening I will try and remember to take some pics to post...so at least there is something along the lines of updates.

How are all of you projects going?

2010-08-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

This blog needs some serious editing and updating and all sorts of stuff! I have tons of knitting news to share and maybe even a picture or two, but for now I just wanted to say hello! Next week hopefully I will have time to get more in depth on the updates that I want to share. Right now I am going to go to bed! Work and school have been hogging all of my time. Knitting news is down a bit farther on the list than I would like it to be...but that is just how it is right now. Stay tuned...but be patient lol.

Great Wound Balls of Fire

2010-07-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

The scarf turned out well. I think that I will need to block it again soon because it is still curling a bit, but for now it is satisfactory. I learned a bit even though I blocked a simple project I still got a bit of a feel for the process.

Not much else is going on in my knitting world besides winding balls, and doing some finishing on various projects. Nothing new will be cast on until after my vacation. As for what I will be taking with me I think I will take my sweater with me, and another small project or two. There won't be much time for knitting, but there is noway I can go anywhere without needles and some yarn.

Expierements in Blocking

2010-06-25T02:03:00.000-07:00

So believe it or not I have never officially blocked anything before. Although from what I've heard on some podcasts and read on other people's knitting blogs I am not the only one! Not the only one that worked through quite a few projects before they discovered blocking. I figured out what blocking was after my first handful of projects but I just have never done it.

Well within the last week I got my shipment of goodies from Knit Picks, and in those two wonderful boxes were: a ball winder, blocking mats, lack blocking wires with T-pins, and a new book! More on the book later. I plan to do a review of the book in fact because I am so in love with how wonderful it is!!!

Since receiving so many blocking products I was inspired to finally block the Waffle Scarf that I knit for Mother's Day. Yeah it is a little over due...but at least I am getting it done now! Presumably I will be able to present my mom with a completed scarf, finally! On Mother's Day I actually gifted the darn thing while it was still on the needles. Now it has taken me a couple of months to weave in the ends and block it. But hey we all know that is how I am with my knitting projects...as well as everything else that I have going on in my life.

In other news, the Windmill Blanket has been frogged because the person I was making it for does not deserve anything handmade or anything at all really. No, I don't want to talk about it.

The most exciting news of the day is that since I got my ball winder my stash is so much neater now. All of my HP yarn as well as the yarn that I am using for projects I have on the needles right now is wound into neat little honeycombs. Which may not sounds like a lot, but it is. There was a lot of HP (Harry Potter) colored yarn that needed to be wound and organized, and I have three projects on the needles right now. So anyway about half of my stash is in much better shape now.

Finally, I can't show any pictures of the progress of my knitting projects because I am doing a swap (my first ever!) and not that my partner would check my blog, but just in case I want to keep everything a surprise.

I feel like I have much more control over my knitting now that I have a ball winder to organize things with and blocking mats, et all to finish the projects that I complete. I am a much happier knitter now! If that was even possible. Book review to come shortly (and of course by shortly I mean...eventually).

Ta-ta for now. Happy knitting.

Gryffindor!!!

2010-06-14T02:29:00.000-07:00

I just bound off the Harry Potter scarf that I have been knitting like a fiend for the past couple of weeks. This is the second HP scarf that I have knit, both were the same pattern.

It took a lot of work, and a lot of work to be completed. So to be nearly done with it is a huge accomplishment. I am even more excited that I it is done in time for me to wear to my upcoming vacation to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter next month.

Before my trip I plan to complete one more scarf, and I would love to knit one of the HP sweaters but I doubt that will happen. You never know. We'll see how it goes. All I can do is try, right?

update time

2010-06-12T01:31:00.000-07:00

First of all I have some good news! My brother is home from Afghanistan. My parents and I picked him up from the airport today! It is WONDERFUL to have him home safe.

So as usual I have made little or no progress on my projects with the exception of my HP scarf. I am about 80% done (less finishing) with the first scarf (out of 2) that I need to finish before I leave for my awesome vacation. Oh yeah, I am going on a vacation next month. For the first week I will be in Vegas, and for the second week I am going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! So naturally I HAVE to have something knitted to take with me. It is going to be miserably hot during the day, but I'm hoping that the temperature drops enough during the nighttime for me to be able to wear my scarf at least once.

So I have been working away on my scarf for the past few days.

My corona sweater is sleeping right now. I have re-knit about seven or eight inches. So I did make some progress, but I haven't worked on it in ages.

The Twilight scarf has been frogged. I will get back to it once I finish the HP scarves, and my sweater. I ripped out because I did not like how wide it is. My gauge was right on and it is as wide as the pattern calls for, but I just don't like how it looks. So when I get around to it I will do some test swatches to find a width that I am happier with.

The windmill blanket is also sleeping. I really need to get to work on it since it is a gift for someone. Especially since they already know I am making it for them.

There is just too much going on for me right now to knit as much as I would like, but I squeeze it in as much as possible. Most of the stuff (paperwork, meetings, tours, etc) that I needed to get ready before I start school again in August is taken care of so I've had a bit more free time in the past couple of weeks.

Anyway that is pretty much it for now! I noticed I hadn't updated the old blogy blog in quite awhile so I thought I would throw something out there. Hopefully there will be an FO post on the way soon...but you know how I am with those so don't hold your breath.

P.S. How do you like the new look of my blog? Google came out with the new blogger template designer and I think it is fabulous. I played around with it for about half and hour before I wrote this post up. Not sure how long I will stick with this specific design, but I am overjoyed that there are more options for the look of my blog now!

four on

2010-04-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

For the first time in over a week I had the pleasure of sitting down and knitting for a couple hours solid. All I did for like 2.5-3 hours was sit still and knit. I worked on my hoodie and made a lot of progress. There was about an inch of the ribbing (which is the bottom of the sweater) at the beginning of the session, and 3 inches when I finished.

All of this was accomplished over at honeybear's house while he watched the NBA playoffs and I listened to knitting podcasts. Overall it was a fantastic day. First of all, I got some housework done, and then I just got to hang out and relax for the rest of the evening.

Now ya'll might be wondering why there is only 3 inches of a hoodie knit up. Well...I made a mistake in my first attempt waaaaay back in the ribbing section and out of shear stubbornness I convinced myself that I would be able to live with it so I just kept on knitting away. After completing 14 inches of the sweater I finally broke down and frogged. There is nothing wrong with that fact, however, because even though it took a lot of work and time to make it that far...in the long run I will be much much happy with the final outcome. This is my first sweater and I want it to be perfect. However many times it takes of me ripping back and correcting mistakes to make it perfect is fine. It will be perfect, durn it!

In other news: There are still four projects on the needles. Harry Potter scarf number two, Twilight scarf, hoodie, and honeybear's blanket. So for the sake of my sanity I currently plan on finishing the ribbing section of the hoodie, and then I am going to put it down for a while so I can get the two scarves off the needles. There comes a time when it is necessary to just finish what I've got going on, and that time has come. Most of the time I prefer to have multiple projects going on, but for now I would like to pare down the list so I feel like there is progress being made in my knitting world.

That is all for now! Tomorrow there is a lot that needs to get done so it is off to dreamland for me. Happy Knitting!

Knitting Ladies

2010-04-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

A wonderful lady that I met at work saw me knitting in the break room one day, and as many other people due commented on my knitting, asked what I was working on, then she told me that she used to crochet a lot.

Apparently she does not crochet anymore (because she is focused on scrapbooking). When she was pregnant with her daughter she crocheted like a mad women, but now she spends her free time on other hobbies. Since she no longer crochets she doesn't need any of her yarn anymore. She asked if I wanted any of it, and I OF COURSE told her yes. I also mentioned that any of it that I did not use I would donate to a charity.

That charity is a charity called Knitting Ladies.

On their blog (http://mcduf.blogspot.com/) they describe their program as such:
"Interim House, Inc. is a 6 month drug and alcohol residential and outpatient program for women. In 2004 Interim House began a knitting program that has been very successful ... Yarn Donations are always welcome, appreciated, and put to good use."

Donating to the Knitting Ladies at the Interim house is the perfect charity for me to donate to. Addiction is something I have a connection with because I have had a lot of personal relationships with people that were addicts. Anyway, that and the fact that it is a place I can donate yarn to really struck me.

Thankfully I heard about this charity around the same time that my fabulous co-worker gave her entire yarn stash to me. I was elated to have the welcome addition to my stash, but I am even more thankful that I get to pay it forward. It is not like I am doing anything grand, but I will do anything that I can to help someone else. So hopefully the yarn and crochet needles, etc that I send to the Knitting Ladies helps them one way or another.

The huge box of yarn that Fabulous Co-Worker brought to me included 30 skeins of yarn, a handful of crochet hooks, and a couple of crochet books. 19 skeins of her yarn was added to my stash, and the rest will be going to the Knitting Ladies along with several skeins of yarn from my stash. There are about 30-35 skeins of yarn being shipped out to the Knitting Ladies.

Below: On the left is the box of yarn that will soon be headed to Philadelphia, and on the right is what my stash now looks like after the new additions from Fabulous Team Mate (where I work we are not employees, we are Team Members). Thankfully I was able to keep my stash about the same size as it was before.

FO: Waffle Scarf

2010-04-16T01:44:00.000-07:00

Mum's birthday was on the 31st of last month. For her birthday I knit her a scarf. My plan was to have it done well before her birthday, but that didn't happen so I was forced to give her the scarf on the needles. The good news, I finished the knitting that day. The bad news, I still haven't blocked it. I have been meaning to do it every single day since I finished it, but obviously haven't gotten around to it. I figure it isn't a big deal because it is spring after all and has been very warm around here so she doesn't need it. On to the pictures and info on the project!!

As usual these pictures are not the best quality. However, you can get a decent idea of what the scarf looks like. I would recommend checking out the pattern on ravelry and looking at pictures of other people's projects if you want to see any of the detail of this pattern. Eventually I will have the time to take pictures of my projects in much better lighting, but for now this is what I have. :-D

Pattern: Free pattern. Visit the Ravelry page for more info or you can go to the designer's blog if you are not a Ravelry member.

Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice Solids & Heathers. Colorway = Brick.

Needles: US9

Size: 48'' in length. Which is shorter than the pattern called for, but my mom likes shorter scarves.

Modifications: None

Who it is for: Mom

What I learned while knitting this project: Nothing new.

What I was doing/Where I was while knitting this project: Cast on and worked on the project at home. I also took it to work with me, and over to my honeybear's house to work on.

How long: 17 days

My Knitting Life

2010-04-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

I am often curious wondering what other knitter's lives look like. Especially their knitting lives. I am fascinated with the yarn stashes, neat-o accessories, storage ideas, books, etc of other knitters. So to be fair I thought it would be fun to show off what things look like in my day-to-day world. So here is a little peek into the window of my knitting life. So without further adieu, here are some pictures to share with all of you what my knitting world looks like right now.

Here is a what my puny stash looks like right now. The bottom (blue) crate contains my knitting library, various projects that need to be blocked, and random thingymajiggyies. The shoe box contains baby yarns. The crate above that contains Harry Potter yarn. Next up is all of the skeins of yarn for projects I currently have on the needles. Then in the wicker basket are my cotton fibers, and sock yarn. My mom found an awesome piece of furniture that would work perfectly for a yarn stash, but I haven't been able to find that same piece of furniture yet. Perhaps I will post a picture of it when I do the virtual tour of our craft room.

That handwoven basket is from Africa, and I snagged it at a craft fair that Mum and I went to in December. It is HUGE and perfect to use as my knitting bag. Inside you will find several knitting projects, all of my knitting needles, a knitting book or two, and various accessories needed for finishing and whatever else. This bag will going to my knitting group with me whenever I can make it. Which isn't right now because I currently have to work Monday nights so I haven't been able to go in a couple months.

However, the beautiful handwoven basket is not practical to carry around everywhere. So I use the black bag that I got from Hot Topic to take my knitting on-the-go. The black bag goes with me to work everyday. Inside it you will find whatever project(s) I have on the needles and are a portable size, a reading book (currently a biography on my fave band Guns N' Roses), my knitting binder with patterns, and probably my mp3 player.

Aforementioned knitting binder.

Various knitting gadgets. Included in photo: Two styles of stitch holders, row counter, stitch markers, yarn needles, and folding scissors.

Knitting needles. On the left: Straight needle holder that mum sewed up for me a few months ago. On the right: Circular and DPN pouch, purchased at www.knitpicks.com

This is the knitting section of my library. Eventually this collection will grow to an overwhelming size, but for now the hobby budget has to be kept to a minimum!

These are the magazines that are in my library. As you can tell I am a big fan of Interweave Knits. I would love to have hundreds more magazines in my collection, but I'll just have to be patient for now.

The only aspect of my knitting life that I did not photograph for this episode was the internet. Trust me when I say that I spend A LOT of time on the internet stalking ravelry and other knitting websites. As you can see from this pic I spend time knitting while sitting at the computer. So I can multi-task doing things like stalking ravelry, reading Aunt Purl's blog, and/or listening to knitting podcasts while knitting. Check out the links on the sidebar to see a complete list of knitting websites, blogs, and podcasts that I frequent.

These pictures are of what it looks like when I am sitting at the computer knitting. As you can see, I was listening to a knitting podcast, taking notes from the podcast, and casting on (for the second time, but more on that later) a hoodie. Plus there is a drink hanging out there too. My favorite drink is Arizona Iced Tea, which actually this was the first time that I have had it in a few months.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the ride.That's all for now. More posts to come soon. Look forward to some FO posts that are waaaaay overdue, updates on what's on my needles, and information on a new knitting charity.

I heart knitpicks

2010-04-15T22:52:00.001-07:00

Yet another reason I love knit picks: There are TONS of knitting tutorial videos and articles on the knitpicks website. One would assume that since I spend so much time on the knitpicks website that I would have found these resources many, many months ago.

All that matters is that I did find them...not how it took me to find the fantastic videos. All of the "stupid questions" I have been avoiding asking other knitters can now be answered in the knitpicks' Tutorial section on their website. How fabulous is that?!

http://www.knitpicks.com/

http://www.knitpicks.com/tutorials/

Pictures, as promised

2010-04-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Finally got a chance to take some pictures of the knitting that I have been working on. They are not very good pictures, but at least you can get a vague idea of what I have been talking about. The pictures were taken on my cell phone so don't expect any sort of quality in the images.

This is the test swatch for my windmill blanket. I LOVE how the yarn knits up in the pattern, and trust me the pictures does not do it justice. It looks fabulous and I can't wait until I am finished knitting a couple of repeats on the blanket so I can take pictures to share of what that looks like.

These are just a couple of close-up shots of the the test swatch for the pattern. I have cast on for the actual blanket and am about halfway done with the first pattern repeat. I did not think that this would be a portable project, but for now it is so I will be working on it a bit more when I am out and about. I try and working on my knitting during breaks at work, and most nights that works out fine. We'll see how long it takes me to finish this blanket. Hopefully it gets done soon so I can give it to my honeybear. :)

As I announced a couple of posts ago, I FINALLY completed the curtains for my room. I am so excited about my first sewing project being done and hanging up in my room. They look fabulous. Again, the pictures aren't amazing, but they will do for now.

Pictures need to be taken of my curtains in better lighting and that would help show off the fabric a lot better, but for now here is the gist of what they look like.

It took me a lot longer than it should have to finish my curtains, but that is just how I am with projects. I got most of the work done in just a couple of days. Within three days of buying the fabric I had the two panels measured, cut, pinned, and sew together. Plus I had all of the tabs cut out, and mostly sewn together, but that is where the hold up was for like two months. I was just too lazy to sew the tabs together and then sew the tabs onto the curtains. However, I finally got the motivation (thanks mostly to my mom) to just get it done. She sewed the tabs onto the curtains for me, and then we hung the curtains. So now on to my next sewing project, which I think will be pillows and sheets for my bed. It will probably be months from now when I get that done, but like I said that is just how it goes in my craft room!

The hold up

2010-04-13T03:40:00.000-07:00

Finally picked my hoodie back up. I have only made a small amount of progress on it today, but that is because I am finally getting to the "meaty" part of the pattern (it isn't just 1x1 ribbing or stockinette stitch anymore) and it took me a couple of tries to get the stitch markers in the right places for the cable section, and it took me two tries to get the necessary stitches on the holder.

This is the first time that I have knit cables so I am taking a break from knitting the body of the sweater to practice cables a couple of times before I do them on this pattern. In the meantime I decided that I was going to knit the arms of the sweater. Well things aren't going so well thus far in that endeavor. For some reason, I have serious issues when joining in the round. Not sure what the problem is, but it ALWAYS takes me multiple tries to get it right. Today is no exception. Nor have I ever had luck when knitting with DPN's in the past. However, I figure that now is my chance to work out the aforementioned issues: knitting on DPN's, joining for in-the-round knitting, and knitting cables.

This pattern seems like it knits up very quickly so I am sure that I will be knitting it again very soon. It will be nice to see how it goes the second time around...that is if I ever figure out how to make the dang sweater that first time around.

In other news, the windmill blanket is on the needles. I finished the test swatches a couple of days ago, which I took pictures of and will post pictures (along with all of the other pictures I promised in the last post) in a couple of days. I am a little more than halfway done with the first pattern repeat. Did I mention how in LOVE with this yarn I am? When the blanket is finished there will definietely be a ravelry search for a pattern of a top or something so I can use this yarn on something for myself. The colors are fabulous.

More later, but until next time happy knitting!!

On the needles

2010-04-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

As always I am behind on posting to my blog and updating it with pictures of what I am working on, but that is just how it is going to be with this blog I suppose especially since I am working full-time again.

For my mom's birthday I knit her a scarf. FO post to come on the...eventually. I need to finish blocking it and take pictures of it before then.

For myself I am still working on the hoodie. Haven't made too much progress on it since my last post because I wanted to get the birthday scarf done, and didn't really have as much knitting time as I would have liked. Part of that has to do with work, but the biggest reason I haven't been knitting as much in the past couple of weeks is I met a wonderful man that I have been spending a great deal of time with. =D

Speaking of that wonderful man I am going to knit him a blanket. Tonight I started some test swatches for "windmill blanket". The yarn that I bought is from knitpicks, and I am in love with it. It is almost a tweed looking yarn. It is primarily red with flecks of white, black, and several shades of gray throughout. When I finish a test swatch I will post pictures. I am in LOVE with how this yarn is knitting up with the windmill pattern. I am very happy with the choice that I made for this project.

Other than all of those promises for upcoming pictures there is some sleep that needs to be caught up on! Until next time...when there will hopefully be pictures of things. =D Happy knitting!!

P.S. In the next post there should be pictures of the my curtains that I FINALLY finished. It is very exciting news that I am very proud to announce and am looking forward to sharing the pictures! Night night.

yarn-love

2010-03-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Oh and I forgot to mention that I have fallen in love with a new yarn. I have not even seen this yarn in person, let alone knit with it, but I can foresee a long-lasting and loving relationship between this yarn and myself.

Cascade 220.

There are 95 (NINETY FIVE!!) colors in this worsted weight yarn. Cascade makes many different types of yarns and I am sure that I will fall just as madly in love with all of those other yarns as well. http://cascadeyarns.com/

There is another company that makes fabulous fiber that I have learned about from my favorite knitting podcast Cast-On. The company is called Briar Rose Fibers.

All of these yarn discoveries are very exciting, and they make me even more excited about my future projects than I already was. I feel like I am finally started to build my own yarn "stash", and I know that as I can afford it, my stash will continue to grow with all of these fabulous fibers that I am discovering.

sweater, sweater, sweater

2010-03-16T00:08:00.000-07:00

Currently on the needles: Corona sweater. Which I am calling "My First Sweater". Lately, I have had issues with coming up with clever names with things, and apparently that block is still happening.

This sweater is knit from the bottom up. I cast on 160 stitches. Knit one round, and then began the 1x1 ribbing pattern (K1, P1) for five inches. I ripped out no less (but possibly more) than six times to get where I am right now. Anyway I am pleased to announce that the first five inches of my first sweater have been completed. I just finished knitting one round in knit stitch so I can start the stockinette stitch that will make up the main part of the body of this sweater (the part that will go around my stomach). As I work the stomach of this piece there will be a decrease round every inch until the sweater measures 11''.

Hat Box Foundation

2010-03-14T00:15:00.000-08:00

I just read about the Hat Box Foundation which is an organization that strives to give out handmade hats to cancer patients. Each hat is handmade using various mediums and then is individually wrapped and boxed and then given out to someone! This seems like a great organization so I thought I would share with all of you crafters out there in case you wanted to make a hat to send to someone. Here is the link if ya'll want to check it out. :)

http://www.hatboxfoundation.org/

Corona

2010-03-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

As always I have not had as much time to knit as I would like. However, last week I did place an order with Joann and an order with Knit Picks and I got one of the boxes in the mail yesterday! (See up there^!)

Since I had yesterday off I decided to cast my first sweater which is what I bought the circular knitting needles from Knit Picks for. It is the Corona pattern, which is a hoodie with some cable knitting around the neckline. It is adorable and I am very excited to be knitting it.

Yesterday I cast on and knit about five or six rounds before I frogged. Then I cast on again and have knit about ten rounds and I am going to frog again. The problem was me trying to figure out how to make 1x1 ribbing work while knitting in the round. I think I have discovered the problem and the secret to fixing it. That is all just a theory at this point but I will let you know how it goes. :)

The other problem that I have is that I have no idea what negative ease is. The pattern calls for the sweater to be "knit with 5' of negative ease". Since I have no idea what that means I am currently in the process of searching the internet to figure out what the H the pattern is talking about.

FO: Trekkie cloth

2009-12-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

I finished this in August but hadn't gotten around to taking a picture of it yet. It was knit with cotton on size 7 needles, and it took me about four hours total. It was a quick knit, and I had a lot of fun with it. As you can see I messed up on the symbol (it is supposed to be the Star Trek symbol) so next time when I knit this project I'll pay better attention to the pattern. I kind of spaced out on a few lines. lol So for now here is what I have. Oh, let me look up the link for the pattern. That's all for now!

http://milotis.wordpress.com/2006/05/08/baby-trekkie-washcloth/

Fabric

2009-12-05T17:20:00.000-08:00

I bought new fabric to make curtains out of. I have never sewn with a sewing machine before so I'm really excited to learn how, and especially to make curtain for my new room!

I'm getting settled in just fine after the move. My mom and I have a craft room set up so she can do her quilting and I can do my scrapbooking. It is amazing. More news and pictures of that to come. Hopefully I'll get these curtains done soon to so I can share pics of those. :)

Simply Knitting

2009-10-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Mom went shopping today and when she came back she had presents for me!

A book: The Art of Drawing. (Yay!)

As well as a knitting magazine from the UK called Simply Knitting.

Let me tell you, people I am IN LOVE with the magazine. I spent about an hour flipping through it and reading most of it. There mag has so much to offer including: letters from reading with pictures of knitting projects, ideas for charities to knit for, knitting around the world, knitting patterns, reviews of books, mags, and websites, products, yarn, etc, pictures of knitting techniques, and stories on a myriad of topics and events. The thing I liked the most was that it felt like it was a look at the knitting community in the UK, and around the world. There was a "home-y" feel to everything. There is a lot of reader participation and contests. I really like it. Oh and the greatest part is that you get a free gift with every issue AND the knitting penpal ads (did you hear people hear me, KNITTING penpals?!!). The gift that I got was a knitting calendar for 2010! How adorable is that? Every month has a different pattern.

Some of the websites that I discovered in October's Issue:

A new (well new to me) knitting blog to read by knitting Designer Jared Flood. Link.
Sock Museum This is a website with the history of sock making, including sock patterns from all over the world that have been knit throughout history. Wicked cool!
Craft Blips This is a site that searches all over the internet looking for "craft news and gossip". News about all different types of crafts including knitting, crochet, paper crafts, and quilting. Apparently there are several "Blips" sites gathering news on all sorts of topics. This site is the newest addtion to their collection. It's kind of, and I mean kind of, like the Digg of knitting.

Probably much more to come about this mag! Check it out if the get the chance. Mom found it at Barnes and Nobels and I looked online and you can order it directly from their website or from Amazon.

Massive Fail!

2009-10-17T02:17:00.000-07:00

I have tons of other things going on in my life and I haven't had time to knit in a very long time. I am sad about this, but also glad that I do have time to spend on the other areas of my life that I need to focus on.

Things that are preventing me from knitting:
-I am getting ready to move so most of my knitting is boxed up already.
-I haven't picked up my needles since I've been home from my last tournament (which has been a little over a month), and the more time that passes the harder it is to find a project that inspires me enough to go yarn shopping.
-I am on a very strict budget. If I am not knitting then I am not tempted to look for yarn sales on the internet or to add anymore projects to my queue on Ravelry that will eventually cost me money to complete.

This is a period of great change in my life so I'm adjusting. Knitting would help sooth me but I just haven't picked up the needles in awhile. There is a lot of good stuff going on for me right now, a lot of change, and a lot of stuff that I'm proud of.

Hopefully when I get moved I will be able to put some more effort into this blog, and into my knitting in general. Knitting is one of my passions so I am sad when I am not doing it, but it is okay that I am not as obsessive with it right now as I usually am. There are other things in life that are also important!

The Big Move

2009-09-27T02:19:00.000-07:00

So there obviously have not been a lot of updates on here lately. That would be due to the fact that I was working away in Mississippi and sadly I had little time for knitting. I'm back home now tho, but I still do not have much time for knitting. I am packing everything I own up in preparation for the big move to Oklahoma. My stuff is already packed from my last move, but not as well as I would like it to be...so I guess it would be more proper to say that I am "re-packing" everything I own. It shouldn't be that big of a deal but I don't know how much knitting I will be able to complete after I get everything packed up. That remains to be seen.

In the meantime, I broke out my Nintendo DS and have been playing that a ton. It is about time I got it back out since I spent so much money on it. I even bought myself a new game for it. So instead of knitting I'll be video gaming. Trust me though, I would much rather be knitting. Or at least gaming some of the time and knitting the rest of the time. I miss knitting.

Another part of the problem could be chalked up to the fact that I haven't found inspiration for a new project. I mean I have a pretty good sized queue on Ravelry, but that does not necessarily mean that I want to knit all of that stuff right away. I mean there are TONS of things that I could be doing...like Christmas presents, but like I said no inspiration right now. Hopefully I get motivated soon so I can start working on presents. You see, I'm a slow knitter, so starting now would mean that maybe four or five people would get handknit presents.

That's all I have for now. Wish me luck! I hope all the rest of you are knitting away, and loving every minute of it!

Progress

2009-09-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

I decided to frog what I had of my socks so far, and I have good news! When I took the knitting off the needles it was actually round! There were not huge gaps like I thought there were be! I might be getting the hang of this knitting in the round thing with DPNs. I'm glad that I frogged cos I know that there will be plenty more mistakes and if I actually take my time and do it the right way then I might have a pair of socks eventually. It might take me a year to figure all of this stuff out, but I will get there some day.

Sorry there aren't any pictures but my poor little camera is dead and I can't fix it because I left the power cord at home or lost it or who knows what.

Socks

2009-08-31T21:59:00.001-07:00

I'm knitting socks. Well trying to teach myself how to knit them actually. Things are off to a pretty slow start. These teeny tiny baby needles, and this precious fingering yarn that is finer than hair! That pattern that I don't understand...I mean Old Norwegian cast on? I have never heard of that and I looked up the video on knitting help but there.was.no.sound! You have got to be kidding me. I read the directions from the pattern and watched the video but I am still lost! I need helllp! Because those totally are not my socks over there. :)

For now I'm just using the cast on method that I know. I'm sure it will make things weird or screw something up in the pattern. I'm just too tired to mess with something that I worked at for at least ten minutes and know the same about it as when I first started. If I was not so tired or anxious to get on with the sock knitting I would give it more time. I'm sure that tomorrow, well not tomorrow but the next time I pick up my needles I will put more effort into learning this new (to me) cast on method.

If only I owned that book over there to the right! Then maybe I would have more to go off of! LOL! Then again there are plenty of resources on the internet, and I know that I will figure all of this out. If anyone has any hints or tips for me please let me know. Any information ya'll have to share with me about sock knitting would be great.

Wish me luck!

Update: I have been knitting for at least an hour and a half. In this 90 minutes I managed to get the right amount of stitches cast on, divided them the way I was supposed. Then everything all went terribly wrong. I somehow managed to have my work on only two needles instead of three. I figured out how to remedy that pretty quickly. Then it became increasingly clear as I went along that I could not follow the simple *K2, P1, K2, P1, repeat from * pattern. I pressed on anyway hoping that I was wrong about the (several, I'm sure) mistakes I made in this simple repeat. Then when I went to the second round I got through about 10 stitches and suddenly realized that I was no longer going to be using those set of repeats (I should have switched to *K1, RT (see Stitch Guide), k1, p1, RT, p1; rep from *
to end), but I did not bother to double check the pattern. I just kept on with my knitting and purling and totally forgot that "rnd 2" was supposed to be using a different set of repeats.

So I can:
1-Rip out and start over
2-Keep knitting the cuff pattern (yes they are top down socks) until I get it and THEN frog
3-Knit the whole sock even though there are bound to be many, many more mistakes along with the laundry list I have provided thus far.

I am rooting for option 3 because:
1-I am not going to knit two socks when the first one is so jacked up so,
2-I can just knit this one "practice" sock and frame it
3-Learn all of the things I have no idea how to do at this point including: Learn how to keep stitches tight when I switch needles, turn the heel of a sock, and make a toe.

I'll keep everyone updated as I progress. It might take me FOREVER to knit this one very ugly sock, but I'm going to get this all figured out even if it hurts my tender little fingers and makes me cry! Trial and error, my friends, trial and error.

Insanity, people, insanity!

2009-08-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh! I am officially obsessed with knitting. I have always loved knitting, but things have reached a new level. I have so many projects in my ravelry queue that it is insane. I cannot even AFFORD to buy all of the yarn (along with the knitting needles in various sizes that I do not currently own) to make said projects. I am always either doing actual knitting, looking up new projects on ravelry and the many other sites I have found patterns on, reading knitting patterns in books or magazines, watching knitting how-to videos, or reading knitting blogs. And when I say that is all I have been doing, I mean it! For at least the past week I have been obsessively doing anything and everything knitting related.

Now all I have to do is get a job that pays well enough to pay for all of the necessary supplies to accomplish all of these projects I want to knit. And by "pays well enough" I mean something that is at least six figures. Ha!

I want to learn how to knit shawls, sweaters, socks. All of these projects will take yarn that currently does not reside in my stash, needles I do not own, and possibly knitting books that I cannot afford. Oh, how I love books. Knitting books? Perfection.

I do not know what I am going to do with my new knitting fetish. All I can do is keep on knitting. And purling. :)

Something that keeps me grounded is the fact that I know I am not the only one that is this possesed with the need to knit, and to be surrounded by all things knitting. Trust me, people, I know about you and your stashes and your enthusiasm. Yay for knitting! Yay for other knitters! Yay for other knitting blogs!

Aunt Purl

2009-08-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

So I have mentioned this amazing knitting blog that I have found once before. It is some of the funniest material that I have ever read, and it is even funnier because it is real. Very real, fun, emotional, knitting-related, and just so nice to read. The author refers to herself as Crazy Aunt Purl, and is a very talented writer and pretty nifty with computers because she often includes tons of pictures with captions and all sorts of other fun stuff. Ya'll will just have to check it out.

It is more than knitting because she started it just a couple of months after her husband left her. So it is about learning how to knit, learning how to emotionally deal with divorce, and her four cats. She calls her house Chez Spinster, even though she totally socializes all the time! I have been reading the archives because this blog started in 2005 and it is definitely worth my time to read all of the old posts. I encourage all of you to do the same. Or to at least START reading it now!

The link to this hilarious blog is here.

Knitting videos

2009-08-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Lion Brand Yarn has a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/lionbrandyarn) with about ten different knitting technique videos, and more to come. The videos are all less than a minute long, but very informative. I was excited to find this because other channels that have videos are sometimes hard to view. However, these videos are simple and easy to find.

The techniques that they currently showcase are all simple stitches, increases, and decreases. Hopefully as they add more videos there will be more complicated stitches, etc.

Here are a couple of examples:

Enjoy!

Knit Princess

2009-08-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

There is a webcomic about knitting! I know, I couldn't believe it either. I almost squealed when I happened upon it. I found it through another webcomic that I read, and I literally could not believe what I found. I am working my way through the archives as we speak.

I am now an even happier nerdy-spinster than I was before. :)

It is called Knit Princess and can be found at www.knitprincess.com

I am a...

Nerd, yes.

Spinster, yes.

Nerdy-spinster, priceless.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2009-08-24T00:27:00.000-07:00

I have been OBSESSED with Harry Potter for a very long time.

I long ago accepted the fact that someone involved in the process of turning the books into movies is obsessed with changing as much as they think they can get away with. Meaning I try my best to think of the books and the movies as separate worlds, because that is in fact the case.

With that being said this movie is brilliant. Until the end.

I am angry and sad about the ending to this movie. I (stupidly) still hold some hold some hope that the seventh movie (which will come out in two installments) will not be completely ruined by what was done at the end of this movie.

There are some people that hold the opinion that this movie is going to make the seventh better. I disagree with that opinion. However, it all remains to be seen.

FO: Thingy

2009-08-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

I have given up trying to find a name for this thing. I gave it to my mom and she is going to use it on the dining room table underneath the center piece. So it really is just a knitted thingy. One would think that I would come up with a grander name for my first FO (finished object) post ever/in history/finally, but that is not the case, clearly. Anyway on with the awesome pictures of my knitted awesomeness!

Pattern: I found the pattern for this free online at Knitting Knonsense. Click here to see it.

Yarn: Red Heart Ltd. Super Saver Multis/Ombres in the Ocean colorway.

Needles: US7

Modifications: None

Who it is for: Mom

What I learned while knitting this project: I learned some basic lace pattern knitting stitches.

What I was doing/Where I was while knitting this project: I began this project at home, took it to Tunica, MS with me. So I worked on it at home, at the airport, on the plane, in the hotel at Gold Strike (the casino I was working at), and then on the trip home, and finished it right here.

How long: Almost three months. This sounds absurd. However, I am terrible at just knitting one project at a time. If I were to just sit down and knit I could totally do this in a day.

I liked this pattern a lot. So much in fact that I have cast on a second one and it will probably take me just as long to complete as the first one since it won't be the primary project I'm working on. I have memorized the pattern and the project itself is portable so maybe it will not take as long. That remains to be seen.

Frogging

2009-08-20T05:05:00.000-07:00

I just learned something new from one of my podcasts Brown-Eyed Mom and from one of my blogs CrazyAuntPurl. Frogging is another term for ripping out. I have never heard anyone say this before and then all in one day two people have used the term.

I like learning new stuff about knitting! Well about anything really, but since I am so obsessed with knitting these days, learning new knitting stuff is a bonus.

Gryffindor Socks

2009-08-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Today I finished the round project, and picked back up the Harry Potter scarf.

The newest project I have decided to cast on is a pair of Harry Potter themed socks. This is going to be a big project for me. Firstly, I have not knit socks before. I have knit in the round before since that is the technique that I am using for the Harry Potter scarf. However, it is not with double pointed needles, it is with a circular needle. I have been doing some research online for what all knitting with double pointed needles entails.

Secondly, I have never done intarsia before and from what I hear from other knitters it is a complicated and frustrating process. But from the videos I see online it does not seem like it is going to be that big of a deal. It just seems like something else to pay attention to while working on a project. The part that is going to be most difficult for me is trying to figure out where in the project to insert the picture. The pattern calls for the designs to be embriodiered rather than to use intarsia. I'll figure it out when I get there.

Thirdly, I do not know any other knitters that I can meet with in person so, just as with all of my other projects, I am on my own. I feel very brave and excited about the start of this project. I think I will cast on tomorrow when I find my DPN's. I know they are somewhere but did not have much success because my mom is sleeping and I do not want to wake her up.

So if everything goes well during my haitus from dealing poker I will finish the scarf and be done with at least a good part of one of the socks. I always set these timelines for my knitting and never seem to accomplish them, but I will continue to do it because I have to at least pretend that I am not the slowest knitter in the world or the worst procrastinator when it comes to darning and blocking projects.

Still waiting...

2009-08-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

Well I did not get around to anything knitting related today. However, it was a productive day since I got laundry and done and booked my plane ticket to Mississippi. I feel like tomorrow is going to be a good day for knitting. I have got a few small things to get done and then I can move on to a new project. My mom is wanting me to knit something for her dog so I think that I will try something from a pattern book she bought me that uses a technique I have not tried before. There are tons of projects that I want to get started with but I do not have the yarn to start those projects. So why not work on something that I can gift to my favorite dog?!

Be on the lookout for the FO post. I am so excited about it so hopefully I get some time tomorrow to get it taken care of.

Coming soon!

2009-08-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

So today I finished knitting a project! So that means that very soon (hopefully sometime tomorrow) there will finally (finally!) going to be an FO post of this blog. Isn't that going to be crazy?! All I have to do is is sew the project together and block it and take pictures and you all will be able to see what I have finished. I am so excited to have finished a project for once. Well I "finished" the baby booties but they still have been put together yet. However, I have every intention of taking care of the loose ends of a couple of projects tomorrow and getting some work done on the Harry Potter scarf that has been on the needles for months now. I promised myself that I wouldn't start something new until I finish everything that is on the needles right now. And since I have a lot of great stuff that I would really, really like to start I have all the motivation I need to get those projects finished once and for all.

I really do have a bad habit of having multiple projects going at once. I'm like that with all of my hobbies. I have multiple scrapbook pages that are only part of the way done, short stories that need more attention, drawings that are only partly completed and have been that way for years, as well as the three or four knitting projects that I've been neglecting. So I guess what I am going to do for now is is working on not letting this habit take over my knitting like it has with everything else. There really is nothing I can do about the drawings and the writing because I only like working on that stuff when I feel like it. With knitting I always feel like doing that and it is much easier since I am following a pattern of someone else and not working from my own inspirations. Someday I will be able to say that I'm making my own patterns for knitting but that is a long way down the road. I want to tackle yarn dying and spinning and other stuff like that before I start designing patterns.

Something else I would like to tackle is uploading pictures of some of my finished projects from my scrapbook. Once I get my desktop computer hooked back up I will have access to my scanner and be able to do that. So when I have nothing else to share on here about knitting I can just share something about a favorite page or two from my scrapbook.

Another idea that I have been toying with is starting a podcast. It seems like it would be so awesome. That dream is nothing something that can come to fruition anytime soon but it is nice to think about. In the meantime I just take note of ideas for a show and daydream about what it will be like when I get there.

That's all for now! Look out for that FO post coming soon!

Tunica, Mississippi

2009-08-06T23:09:00.001-07:00

Tunica, Mississippi is one of the more interesting stops around the country for me. This is the first time that I have been here, and I have found some really neat things here as well as some really weird things here. Let's start with the humidity and the mosquitoes. They are the two most unpleasant things to deal with here or anywhere really. Anybody that has heard anything about the South before already knows about the humidity. It takes your breath away when you walk outside and you get all sticky. In fact it is such a noticable change that it makes my eyeglasses fog up when I go outside after being inside for a while.

Besides the different weather than I am used to the only bad thing I would have to say about this area is how out of the way everything is. I mean I come from a small town, but this place is different because the casinos are out in the middle of nowhere. So I have to DRIVE to a small town from here to get to anywhere, including the laundrymat. Which is fine for the most part because my roommate has a car. It is just a pain to take time from my sleep schedule to get up before work and go out and run errands.

So enough complaining and on to the wonderful things about this area. I love how nice and friendly almost everyone is. The people are not quite as nice as everyone in Biloxi but still noticeable nicer than other places I have been.

The casinos here are pretty cool. They are fairly generous with their food comps which makes me happy because it helps me minimize my expenses. There is also plenty of poker action at the casion I am at plus the one next door so when I get off work there are games that I want to play. I can play here where I work (which I prefer not to do) where the touranment is going on (so of course there is going to be action) or I can go right next door and still find plenty of my type of action.

I can not put into words how different the South is, all I can do is tell everyone how much I love. The food here is the best part. Lots of yummy yummy dishes, comfort type foods as well as things I have never tried before, with good sized portions and lots of side dishes. I have not found a place to eat around here that I have not liked yet. There isn't anything amamzing that I have found yet, even though I know it is here since I am so close to Memphis, but everything is at least solid.

Okay that is enough about non-knitting related conversation.

Until next time!

...

2009-07-20T03:30:00.000-07:00

I'm making progress on the lacey round knitted thing I've been working on. Even though it is a fairly simple pattern that I'm working on I have had to rip out three times. I think that is silly but at least I have enough patience to go back to correct my mistakes and do things the right way. This patter is a lot of fun and I like it because it is fairly simple but there is still enough going on to keep my interest. However, since there is almost always something new going on with each row (the pattern repeats a lot but there is stuff changing all the time) I need to pay a lot of attention to my knitting. That is obviously something I have not been doing, but will work on it next time I pick up my needles for this pattern.

I will be working for the next three weeks so don't know how much time I will have to update the old blogy-blog or even to knit so I have will have things to report. As always I will at least make an effort to put something new up here every once in a while, even if it isn't strickly crafting related.

Happy Knitting!

ZENcast

2009-07-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

I finally got serious about buying an mp3 player this past Christmas, after years and years of not having one. It took me so long because I am insanely indecisive especially when it comes to electronic purchases. So I did (literally!) hours of research online trying to figure out which brand, and then which model, of player I wanted. I had done research before but never decided on what to buy. Anyway, as I said, I finally got serious about this purchase and decided on the Creative Zen. I am very, very happy with my choice. It is super easy to use and it was a great choice for me to start out with. I won't bore you with all of the details on why it is so great, but if you really want to know why I'll tell you!

Originally I bought an mp3 player just to have music with me all of the time. Now I am ready to try podcasts, videos, and all the other cool stuff that I was too overwhelmed with at first. I had no idea how any of this worked and I basically just assumed that since I didn't have an iPod I wouldn't be able to listen to "podcasts". Well this is not true. I searched google and found that there is this HUGE site out there called ZENcast. There are millions of songs, videos, and even TV channels at ZENcast.com

When I found this amazing site I was totally thrilled. I am having so much fun trying to figure all of this out. There is tons of help for me on the site too so I don't feel like such a dummy. Creative has a lifetime customer in me between their stellar devices and super awesome websites.

Alright well that is enough for now. I am going to play around with my new discovery for a while. I will keep everyone updated on the awesome things that I find.

As for any knitting or scrapbook news I have none because I have been soooooo busy with so many other things. I am actuallly getting ready to go back to work for another month so I doubt there will be any posts about knitting (or anything of the kind) anytime soon but as soon as there is something to report y'all will be the first to know! Hopefully soon I will have more free time to work on my crafty-type stuff. Or maybe I'll just learn how to manage my time more successfully....

Yarn dyeing.

2009-06-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

I am totally ready to dye my own yarn and I just found the coolest page that will help me when I get enough time to try it out. Knitpicks is apparently one of the greatest knitting sites ever! Along with Ravelry.com and the other links on my page.

Anyway I am so excited to check this out. It looks fun and fairly easy to accomplish. Yay! for fun new things to try. :)

Las Vegas.

2009-05-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

I hardly have anything knitting related to report. For the past couple of weeks I have been focused on working and getting everything taken care of that goes with that like: meetings, orientation, buying uniform pants and shirts, and just attempting to get back in the swing of things. Anyway besides working I have been spending some time sightseeing all there is to check out here in fabulous Las Vegas and catching up with friends and co-workers. There certainly is plenty to do in this town. Probably this weekend or the next I will be finishing up the projects that I need to get done, and then starting a new one. The things that I am most excited about is yarn shopping! I have decided that the next thing that I attempt is going to be something I have never done before so we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, here are some pictures of some animals.

This is the Lion that can be found at MGM Grand. It was super cool to check him out.

Here are some flamingos that are part of the bird exhibit at the Flamingo casino. Also cool to check out.

Casting on again!

2009-05-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

So I've started yet another new project.

I still haven't finished the Harry Potter scarf.

Still haven't done the finishing for the baby winter booties.

I am most of the way done knitting the baby blanket. However, I still need to do more knitting for the main part of the blanket. Then I need to knit the hood, which is ten inches of knitting. Then I need to block and finish.

The new project that I have started seems simple but fun. I picked it because it is something that I hopefully get done quickly, and use up some yarn that I have lying around. I have a ton of yarn hanging out that I bought just because I liked it or it was on sale so there aren't any projects in mind for the yarns. I think I do better when I find a pattern first and then buy the yarn.

My knitting goals for today and tomorrow:

1. Finish baby booties.
2. Complete the main part of the baby blanket.
3. Get the HP scarf out and start working on it again.

My knitting goals before I start yet another new project:

1. Finish booties, blanket, scarf, and this project.
2. Pick something I haven't tried before like socks or a sweater.
3. Buy supplies necessary for new project.

Links:
This pattern
My ravelry post for this project

Hooded Baby Blanket.

2009-05-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

I still have not done the finishing on the baby booties but I'm trying to get around to it. Like I said it isn't one of my favorite parts of the knitting process.

However, I am making some good progress with my other baby knitting project.

The link to that free pattern is here. The baby blanket that I started the other day is about 1/5th of the way done. The entire project is going to take about 50 inches of knitting and I just finished a little over 10 inches. Of course when I get done with all of that then I will have some sewing and (yay!) finishing. More updates and pictures of my actual work to come later. :)

Pictures at last!

2009-05-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

I am almost done with the winter booties! I have finished knitting both booties. I just have to do all of the finishing and weaving. This is my least favorite part of knitting, well after casting on, so I think that I'm going to wait until tomorrow to finish up this project.

I am too excited to start a new project! I have cast on a hooded baby blanket. I am knitting this for one of my co-workers that is having twins. I don't know if I am going to make two of the same blankets or find another pattern. I will decide when I finish this one. If I really love the pattern I will knit the same one. However, if I find something else cool along the way I will try that. Twins ALWAYS get the same so I think it would be cool to knit them unique pieces so they can have something that is their own.

It is always so amazing to me to see how yarn can transform into useful objects!

This is what things looked like after I shaped the inseam for the first boot.

I was so excited to finish the first bootie!

Here they both are! Like I said I just have some last minute stuff to finish up and then I will post the FO write-up and pictures! Y'all can probably expect that sometime tomorrow.

Haha!

2009-05-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

There is nothing wrong with my knitting skills after all. I wasn't doubting that too much, but still after two failed attempts I was certainly losing my patience. Pictures to come after dinner! I am making some great progress that I can't wait to share with everyone. :)

After dinner update: I finished one bootie! So I am about 45% done with the entire project. I took a few pictures along the way but I haven't gotten them up on the computer yet. When I do load them I will share them. I am so excited that I actually made progress. I love knitting booties because there are so many different ways to make them and each time I make a pair I learn a new technique.

Arrrgggghhhhhaaaa!

2009-05-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

There is either something really wrong with my knitting skills or I am just having a really off day. I am hoping that it is the latter but that is yet to be determined. I have cast on the winter booties TWICE and had to unravel things TWICE. The first time I got about 20 rows done before I made a mistake. I tried to fix my mistake but got frustrated and just took it apart. The second time I had 8 rows done and realized that I had screwed something else up. I don't know if I copied the pattern down wrong or if I cast on too many stitches (I copied it down so I didn't have to knit in front of the computer) but there was something terribly wrong going on with the stitch count. I didn't even bother trying to fix it again...I just took it apart. I am going to assume that since tomorrow is a new day I might be able to actually get some work done on this project. I have given up today (for the second time!) so I don't go completely insane.

The thing that I am most frustrated with is how simple and straightforward the beginning of this pattern is and I still can't seem to get it right. Holy cow...I really need to get some sleep and give this a try tomorrow with some fresh hands and a fresh attitude. Good night for now! Good luck with all of your projects and other adventures.

Whew! I feel better already after that little rant!

Baby Winter Booties

2009-05-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have FINALLY cast on a new project! I just started some little baby booties that look like Ugg's. They are the cutest things I have ever seen! The pattern is from here, and you can check out my ravelry page here for more details for now. When I put up the FO I will include all of the details about yarn, needle size, etc on this blog. I am very excited about this project for a few reasons. First of all it is the first time that I will have actually finished booties. Also, they are going to be for someone else (well duh! since I don't have any kids myself), and because it has been a while since I have had some free time to knit.

Busy!

2009-05-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

So I have nothing even closely related to knitting to report. I have been so busy for the past month. I went to Tahoe to deal there, then back to Pendleton to deal there, then drove down to Vegas to do paperwork for the Series, and then flew home. When I got home I took about ten minutes off and then moved all of my worldly belongings to my mom's house. Then mom had surgery today so I spent the day at the hospital and thankfully everything is fine. We are back at home now. In anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks mom will be fully recovered. When she is feeling better I need to organize my stuff and get everything packed for the Series. I'll have some pictures and some knitting to share soon (I promise)! I hope that all of your projects are going well!

Yummy, yummy food

2009-04-05T15:53:00.001-07:00

I don't really have a lot of knitting news to share right now since I'm busy working in Lake Tahoe. I have tons of pictures to share with everyone but I won't be able to do that until I get back home. I have so much great stuff to share but it will have to wait until I get done with this tourney and the next one. However, I decided that I would share something with y'all. Inspired by one of my best friends ever, Val, I have compiled a list of my favorite places to eat around the country. I guess since I travel so much and I'm on the road right now I want to offer something that is relevant to my travels.

I will start in Las Vegas since that is where I started my journey as a professional traveling poker dealer. Now it is important to keep in mind that I have very few high-end restaurants and eateries on this list since those are not the type of places that I normally eat at. A few times I have been treated to some very special places but that only happens every once in a while. So here we go.

Las Vegas:
Roberto's- This is a great chain/fast food type place. There are mostly Mexican dishes but as per usual with Mexican and Italian and Chinese places they offer some "American" dishes like hamburgers and such. One of the reasons that this is on my list is that the food is very simple but well prepared. I am a huge fan of this process.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza- Sammy's is a bar and restaurants. It is great because they have unique and fun food along with tradition items. It is also a chain but a semi-local chain. They have branches in Nevada, California, and maybe a couple of other states. Probably the best part is the "Tapas" because after I get off of work it is after 2am and during that time at Sammy's the tapas/appetizers are half priced. The bartends are always really cool here and the pizza is phenomenal. They have found all sorts of neat things to do with pizza and they are personal sized pizzas but are enough for two people if you both aren't super hungry.

P.F. Chang's- Or B.F. Wangs as my friends and I sometimes call it is one of my fave places to eat period. Another chain...I seem to be obsessed with this type of dining facilities. It is family style dining with an excellent menu. All of the dishes are very well prepared and super delicious. I always look forward to a meal at P.F. Chang's. When you go you absolutely have to eat the chicken lettuce wraps and try the mini desserts that come in shot glasses.

Edit: Mushasi's- This has to be one of the best restaraunts in the universe. Seriously any of you that EVER go to Vegas must try this place out. It is on Paradise and Corporate. It is a Japanese grill so the food is prepared right in front of you. There is even some entertainment and fire used in the preparing of the food. Between midnight at 3am there is a half-priced menu for food. Ridiculous! The food is some of the yummiest that I have ever had. The owner/head chef is named Tiger and he is hilarious. He makes everyone feel welcome and laugh the whole time. Some of the greatest food ever...seriously. Please go and tell Tiger I said hello and I miss his cooking and him. :)

Seattle, Washington:
Buca di Beppo's- The first time I went to Seattle with two of my greatest friends we ate here because one of said friends used to work at a Bucas. He is a chef and an amazing one at that. Anyhow this is another chain, and another family style dining place. This place barely makes the list because I am so damn picky about Italian food. There is a simple explanation for this...nobody makes it like Grandma used to.
There is another place that I really like to eat at in Seattle but I have no idea what it is called. I will do a little research and get back to you.

Oregon Coast:
Mo's- A semi-local chain with literally the best clam chowder and chili bowls on the planet. I actually did not start eating clam chower until I had it here a couple of year's ago. It is also a fun place to eat because it is usually right on the water and they have a neat gift shop area.

The Seaside Candyman- This isn't exactly a restaurant but they have really awesome Salt Water Taffy. And if you got to the Oregon coast you absolutely cannot leave without trying some. It is one of the greatest candies on the planet. It is also just a fun store to go in and look around in. There is a lot of specialty candies and things that one might remember from childhood but can't find anywhere else.

Reno, Nevada:
Claim Jumpers- Basically everything here is home-cooked type stuff but it is very well prepared and there is a little mix of fine-dining thrown in there. They try some really fun stuff with the sauces and flavoring in the most traditional American family meals. Things like baked potatoes, turkey dinner, meatloaf, various roasted chicken dinners, and mac and cheese. There is also a good selection of fabulous desserts.

Chicago, Illinois:
Blackbird- This is my first experience at very fancy fine-dining establishment. The service was unique to only these type of restaurant and the experience itself was something new and different. The food is French-inspired but it is also fairly progressive and unique...it was the first time that I have eaten French food and it was great. I think my fave part of this experience was the wrap that they gave me when I went outside to smoke. It was so fabulous I considered stealing it, but of course I don't do that. It was a cashmere D&G wrap that was so soft and comfortable that I kind of felt like I was on a cloud in heaven.

Biloxi, Mississippi:
Waffle House- I had only heard stories of Waffle House and when I finally got the opportunity to go down South for the first time I had to try it for myself. It is amazing. One of my favorite places to eat on the planet. All of the food is very simple and traditional but is exceptionally prepared. Most of the stuff is breakfast stuff but they also have steak and things like that for lunch/dinner. I ate here almost everyday when I was in Biloxi.

Cracker Barrel- Very similar to Claim Jumpers only they aren't as creative with the dishes and they also have a neat gift shop area to check out after eating with all sorts of fun and unique gifts.

Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California:
Rigoerto's- Pretty much just like Roberto's only there is only one and it is right here in Lake Tahoe.

Wolfgang Puck Express- I did not know such a place existed. This is what I had for lunch today and it was great. Again it was everything I want out of a restaurant. It is kind of a fast food place because it isn't a sit-down restaurant. You order at the register and get your food yourself when it is ready. All the dishes are traditional Italian and American dishes with Wolfgang's fine dining flair. I had a penne pasta with ham and goat cheese that was super awesome.

As you can plainly see I love food and love to try new things. There are a lot of places out there to eat that I may or may not have heard of that I have always wanted to try. Traveling as much as I do and to as many places as I go to affords me the chance to do just this. I didn't used to think I was such a small-town, country girl until I started discovering all of this great food that is out there that most other people already know about.

Portland Zoo.

2009-03-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

As far as knitting goes I'm still working on the Hogwarts and suprise scarves. The surprise scarf is not going well. I am having a very difficult time with the mesh stitch. I'm going to practice it more with some scarp yarn before I do any more damage to the actual scarf.

As far as everything else goes...my family and I went to the Portland Zoo today. It was awesome. We were there literally all day. We got there at 9.30am and didn't leave until almost 3pm. Tons of pictures were taken and everyone had a good time.

This first picture that I am sharing with y'all is a picture from the hotel room. Make note of the name that was chosen for the shampoo and conditioner. I do not understand why the word 'tame' has been brought in to play, but there it is.

Mom and I at the beginning of the day.

This happens to be one of the cutest animals at the Zoo. Also one of the cutest Otters I have seen in a while.

This picture would be perfect if there wasn't a rain spot right on my neck. It is neat to have a picture of the three of us togehter. Thanks to a passerby this was possible.

This is my favorite picture of the day. The Walrus back there is totally checking me out...

There was an incident with a Tiger later that day, but I didn't have the camera with me at the time. Said Tiger watched me for at least five minutes and smiled (meaning roared) at me three times. It was great.

Ravelry

2009-03-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got my invitation to join this site. It is a beta site for a knitting community. There are already a TON of people on there and there is so much information. I'm very excited about this knitting community and all of the information, ideas, and everything else that is here for me to discover. There is a notebook section where I can share what projects I'm currently working on, how much progress I have made on those projects, create a database that includes what yarn and other knitting supplies that I have on hand. Also I can see what everyone else is working on and what they have completed. The other features that I have not checked out yet are the forums and the shop. It seems to be a fantastic website and I love everything about it.

In other events: I'm in Portland on my family trip. We are having a great time. The three of us spent 3+ hours in the store looking around. My mom got plenty of new quilting supplies. I bought some yarn for a super cute baby bootie pattern I want to try out (more info on this later), an amazing thing known as a "Yarn-tainer", a row counter, and some folding scissors. We did not take any pictures in the store although we had every intention of doing so. The good news is that there should be plenty of pictures from the zoo tomorrow.

That's all for now! More later when I'm back home and on my own computer/not super tired. Happy knitting! And those of you that are on Ravelry already look me up and add me as a friend. My user name is shopgirlkc

Ta-ta:)

Today's mail!

2009-03-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

Today in the mail I finally got my book of Harry Potter inspired knit projects. This wonderful book is called Charmed Knits and is by Alison Hansel. There is all sorts of neat stuff on her blog too. There is also this blog that goes with the book.

I was so excited that if finally got there. There are TONS (28) of patterns in this book and I literally want to knit them all RIGHT NOW. I'm not sure what I am going to start with. I don't know if I'm ready to try a sweater yet or not. Anyway stay tuned! LOL. I am just going to have to pace myself. There are tons of other things that I have to get done like presents for other people and stuff.

Two Scrapbook Pages

2009-03-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

New Year's Eve 2008

I have finally started putting together some pages from my 21st birthday...which was over a year ago. Here is the first page I have made. To celebrate the occasion I went to Las Vegas with my mom and one of my best friends. It was on New Years Eve and we had a great time. I want to remember that vacation forever.

Supplies:

2 sheets of 12'x12' paper. One regular, one card stock.
One sheet of smaller, colored card stock
Glitter cardboard alphabet letters
Alphabet and travel theme stickers
Travel stamp

These page took me about an hour each to make, but I'm sure it doesn't take that long if you know what you are doing beforehand. My personal method is to get out all of my pages, pick out a color theme, and go for it. I do not plan out a whole lot; I just go with the flow. I am not totally in love with the page, but I do like certain aspects of it. I'm sure it will grow on me. I'm such a perfectionist that I rarely like anything I make right away.

Poker Tournament

This picture is from a Stud Tournament that I played in last Fall. Again, I finally got around to scrapping it.

Supplies:

One page 12'x12' colored card stock
One page smaller theme card stock
Poker stickers
Rub-on vellum boarder designs
For the "STUD/8" letters I used a Cricket but anything would do. Magazine letters, handwritten, etc.

Needle Holder

2009-03-16T00:55:00.001-07:00

I use all sorts of things to carry my knitting supplies in. My favorite things to use are lunchboxes. Plastic or tin both work fine. I like that each one is unique and fun. You can find them all over. They seem to be making somewhat of a come back. Although I'm sure not many of them are being used to carry around lunches anymore.

Another thing that I am using to carry my knitting supplies around in is this needle holder that mom made for me. She used two pieces of spare fabric, some ribbon, and a sewing machine. It took her about an hour and she didn't even need a pattern. She just started sewing away and came up with this.

There are two levels for storage of needles. I don't have that many needles right now but I'm sure that someday I will. Especially since I have been trying so many different types of patterns lately that require very different sized needles.
Thanks mom!

Hogwarts Scarf

2009-03-15T21:17:00.001-07:00

I am what you might call a Harry Potter fanatic. I am obsessed with the books and movies and have been for over eight years. So when I found this free pattern for making a Hogwarts House scarf I had to immediately start it.
I had to go out and buy a 16" size US9 circular needle and the appropriate colors for this pattern. The pattern recommends a size 6 or 8 needle but I prefer to work with larger needles. I'm sure some day I will try the pattern with even smaller needles but not this time. It is the first time that I have knit in the round and it is going well so far. I like it quite a lot. There is not as much to keep track off when I'm taking a break.
This is the progress that I have made so far. The colors of the yarn do not show up quite so well in the pictures. I will have to experiment with light and such a bit when I post updates. The scarlet yarn is Red Heart (worsted/4) #0376 Burgundy. The gold/yellow color is TLC Essentials which is a Red Heart brand (worsted/4) #2327 Sandstone. These colors would not be my first choice but after working with them a little I do like how well they go together. The colors fit my purpose and since they were the only colors I could find in a store I'm happy. I did not want to have to wait for something I ordered online to show up. Maybe next time I will try some of the suggestions that are found on the website but for now I'm glad I got to start the project right away.

Mary Jane Baby Booties

2009-03-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever I have tried to make some baby booties. One of my best friends ever is having a baby girl soon. I have only made one bootie so far but it seems to be going well. I found this free pattern on the How Stuff Works website.

I used some scrap yarn that was probably a little too heavy of a weight for baby booties, but this was more of a test run. I have never made booties before and there were also some techniques in the pattern that I have never tried before. The size 3 needles recommended in the pattern work quite well. I'm sure if you tried a larger needle you could make booties that fit older than newborn children.

Some of my fav knitting sites

2009-03-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Knitting Help

This site is an amazing resource for all knitters but specifically for beginners/intermediate. It includes tons of how-to videos for nearly every technique. They are all very simple and straightforward. I use this site often especially when I'm trying a new pattern. If I come across something I have never done before I go to this site immediately and have my questions answered.

Lion Brand Yarn
This is the official website for Lion Brand Yarn. They have over 2,000 free patterns for all skill levels.

Free Patterns and Helpful Info
This is the "How Stuff Works" site and it has all sorts of hobby related (and other) information on it. The knitting section has plenty of useful information on it. I have found a couple of great patterns on here and some good tips as well.

Harry Potter Crafts
The-Leaky-Cauldron is a great website for Harry Potter fans. I have checked it out several times in the past and recently I found the section of the site that has HP projects that I can make myself.

Harry Potter Knitting Projects
This website is run by a true Harry Potter fan and a talented knitter. There are free patterns on this site for House scarves, hats, gloves, etc. I am currently working on a Hogwarts scarf with the pattern from this site.

2009-03-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

I finally started a blog! Welcome. This is going to be the place where I share my knitting and other creative projects with the world. My wonderful Grandmother taught me how to knit when I was fairly young. I learned the very basics then: how to cast on, knit stitch, purl stitch, and how to cast off. I played around with yarn and knitting needles as I watched her turn a pile of yarn into a pair of socks or a sweater in mere hours. She was amazing to watch and very talented. I never saw her with a pattern and I am quite sure that she didn't even know how to read them. All she needed was a set of needles, plenty of yarn, and a little time and she was capable of making just about anything. I personally did not start knitting seriously until a couple of years ago. I was using simple patterns to make things like scarves and pot-holders. However, in the last couple of months I have really gotten back into knitting and I have learned some new techniques by expanding on what Grandma had already taught me. I have also learned how to read patterns. Online I have found many resources and free patterns to help me along the way. The internet really is an amazing and helpful place.