~ [Shadkitty Knitty] ~

Jun 29, 2006

It has Arrived!!

Okay, I didn't feel like putting anything witty as the title, I'm just too excited! My package from my Secret Pal came today!! My husband brought it into me and I could hardly contain myself.

I did keep my head about me enough to take pictures before I tore open the pretty wrapping. Now I sincerely wish that my zoom worked. There are so many things you can't see very well due to my non-zooming cam. Gah. But I will do my best to describe it to you all in detail.

If my camera had been equipped with smell-o-vision, you would be welcoming a lovely

pepperminty scent into your home along with these pictures. lol Actually, I could smell it before I opened it up. The card was adorable, it had an old Addams family cartoon thing on the front which said "We won't be late, Miss Weems. Get the children to bed around eight, and keep your back to the wall at all times." That is so my family. Even though my sitters swear the kids are fantastic. Crazy people.

The gifts were even better! First there was a bar of lavendar soap. Then I unwrapped a gorgeous ball of Bamboo yarn in shades of rich purple. Which is absolutely

perfect! I haven't gotten around to making anything with bamboo for awhile and I can't wait to find a use for it. I was actually considering making that basket from knitty before I got this, now I have an excuse. hehehe

The next little present just blew my mind! Kinda glad I had saved it for last, must have been a subconcious thing. There was an adorable cow pattern accessory pouch, which is perfect because right now I'm just using a ziploc bag. Upon opening it...more surprises!! Inside was a cow tape measure, some stitch markers with little

cows on them (where she found them I'll never know, but they are beyond fantastic), some Burt's Bees peppermint soap (ah ha! there's the culprit), and Burt's Bees orange face wash type stuff. Can't forget the chocolate, it was unfortunately melted, but still looks yummy.

Okay, I have to expand upon the cow tape measure for a minute. Okay, so it's just like other tape measures, a little square with a pull-out tape. But you see, it's a COW! The tape, is it's tail, there's even a little tuft of "hair" on the end of it. I tried to extend it so you could see in the picture, but again...no zoom. :( Maybe if I find a better camera I'll take more pictures. Then I can show off the stitch markers too, because they definitely are like fuzzy blobs in the pictures. I think maybe my mom has a digital camera I can use while I'm in Maryland.

Alright, one last shot before I go. I finished MP, btw, I just need to bind off, weave in ends, that sort of thing. Then I can start the swatch for my mom's top. I'll take pictures of that too.

18:40 | |

Jun 28, 2006

The Finish Line

It's in sight! My MP is close to finished. And I should be working on right now, but I'm not. Instead I'm updating because I know that Friday we leave, and I might not post between then and when we come home.

Oh yeah, I'm going to Maryland for a few days. If the weather permits us to that is. Justin is weird like that, he just randomly decides we're going up there. Really, I don't feel like it. My mom is going to be there though, so I'll get to see her. She may not be able to come down and see Pirates of the Carribean with me. :( Also, Nikki, the girl the MP is for, will be there. And I'm hoping that while I'm there I can stop by Mama E's LYS. She said she might even be able to meet me up there, which would be awesome! When I go up I always wanna scope out shops, but never get the chance. I hope to make the time.

My hair changed colors again. When I dyed it, it was almost purple. Unfortunately I went to Warped Tour yesterday and got stuck in the rain. Apparently the hormones have affected my ability to hold the dyes. Because the water ran clear when I rinsed after dyeing, but the rain washed out more. So now it's all faded. *sniffle* No pictures.

I still haven't gotten my package from my SP. She sent it out, I know she did. And my mail lady is really awesome and stuff, so I guess the mail is just being slow. Hopefully it gets here by tomorrow, because mail doesn't come til after one and we're leaving around noon on Friday. It'd be nice to get the package before I leave too. Alright...I'm gonna go clean out the fridge and work on the MP some.

21:57 | |

Jun 26, 2006

I beg you take Courage;

The brave soul can mend even disaster.
-Catherine the Great

That's exactly what I ended up doing this weekend. I'll have to go all the way back to Friday, or maybe Thursday. It was the evening of the last day I posted, I can tell you that. Here is the scene:

I had innocently made a trip to the bathroom, and upon my return discovered my beloved son...with a sock in his hand! *gasp* One of the Jaywalkers was in his hand, a jumble of yarn trailing it. This sock was by no means attached to needles any longer. My immediate reaction was to get upset with him...but I suddenly realized there were several suspects, not all of whom could talk, none of whom were trustworthy. As I glanced from poor dismembered sock to my two small children, to my puppy, to even my cat who cleaned himself so casually...it dawned on me that there was no way to know who in my brief absence had been the culprit.

So I sat down with the sock and stared at it. A few of the rows had been unraveled,

that I was pretty sure of. And I didn't have the slightest clue as to where to begin trying to fix this problem. If I had only one sock it'd be easier maybe. There are two though, and I need to make sure they are both done evenly. Maybe I could just frog this entire sock and finish the other, then come back? The idea of frogging this partial sock (about 2.75 inches long) depressed me further, I threw the entire mess into my bag and wandered off to dye yarn.

The yarn came out lovely by the way. Though it was by far not the most exciting thing I've ever done. I made a lovely mess with the teal cake dye. Next time I think

I'll either leave the white part in the middle alone, or else make sure I get it more evenly, instead it just looks like faded mess where the colors are supposed to meet.

Of course, I realized that really, the dyeing process was not enough to distract me from the accident with my Jaywalkers. I needed to knit. So (instead of grabbing my MP which really could be done by now) I decided to start my Thuja socks. They're a million times easier than the Jaywalkers, hopefully they are big enough. That's all I'm really worried about. Making socks for myself is easy, my feet are always there for modeling. I know men have bigger feet than we do, the pattern says it'll fit sizes 9-11. The pattern looks smallish though. My brother definitely couldn't fit into them, he has ridiculously large feet. Being 6 foot 3 and all. lol I think Justin wears a size 10 though, so...he can try them on for me.

I haven't got the slightest idea what I'm going to do with that yarn I dyed, it was just some Paton's wool I picked up. Kinda to practice the whole dyeing business. Didn't wanna screw up Jamie's pedi socks when I got around to doing those. The yarn for my mom's top was ordered too! That I need to get started on like right away. She told me to just make the largest size, she wants incentive to continue losing weight. I'm so proud of her! :) She's lost 3 pounds already. I'm wondering if I get the yarn soon and really buckle down if I could have it done by the 7th when she is here. It took me about a week to do Lelah, so it might work.

In prep for that I plan on finishing MP by tomorrow. Then I have to review the pattern for it, cross my fingers and submit it. Really I could have it done tonight. But I plan on using nap time today to sew a bit. I really need some shirts. lol

Okay, so I went to the Tail Spinner on Friday or Saturday, don't remember which. Linda helped me with what to do with my Jaywalker mess. She suggested I use some DPNs and knit the sock back to the point it should have been, using the line made by the dd to count my rows. Turns out I had something like 7 rows unraveled. *sigh* Then I tried fixing it at like two in the morning because I couldn't sleep. Silly me. I gave up and went to bed at four. They're fixed now though! WOOT! That's more than enough blabbering out of me. And you all have had plenty of pretty pictures to fill up your eyes. lol Off to go sew! I'm wasting nap time!

09:07 | |

Jun 22, 2006

More Coherent Rambling

Alright, some sleep did me plenty of good! I feel ready to go today. Although I'm not sure where I'm going. lol

Let's see, I'll start with Secret Pal. My Pal got her package yesterday!! She was very excited. Which makes me tickled, I was really worried. She doesn't have an amazon wishlist or anything so I have to kinda poke around and figure out what she likes. We have lots of email conversations. Although I'm mildly worried about her finding out who I am, I don't really think she sits around online all day reading random blogs. So I will post a real quick picture of what I sent. pic deleted* I'll tell ya what though, I felt like an unofficial part of Project Spectrum doing this! (Which is funny because I actually sent her a skein of the PS sock yarn)

Next...have you seen the newest Mama E colorways? Especially Beauregarde the official PS sock yarn. Ahhh the purpley-ness of it! *cough* SP, if you don't plan on buying that for me, I do. lol It's delicious. (Personally I still liked the name Violaceous better...but oh well) All of these acronyms are starting to drive me nuts. lol

The good thing is I have some down time before I need to get started on next month's presents for SP. Though my MP still needs to get finished, I'm at the end pretty much, I just need to motivate myself. So right now I'm switching between that and the Jaywalkers. Those are coming along nicely. Maybe I'll even make a pair for myself at some point. lol Right now the Hedera pattern is calling my name. Once again, needing to pace myself. A little at a time Crystal. First I'll do the Jaywalkers, then Thuja (which I've decided to give to my friend Scott because he says he loses socks), maybe then I can get around to the Hedera socks for myself. Jamie's socks don't need to be done til mid-October. It's the dyeing that scares me. I'm convinced I'll screw it up. lol Today, during nap time, I intend to try my hand at dyeing for the first time. I'm going to use the garage to dry because it's hot in there and we don't do anything else with it really. Besides, it's still damp from yesterday.

I hope it doesn't rain again, Justin has his motorcycle.

*editor's note: Since I intend to nominate my SP for the best pal ever, I wanted to make sure to delete all pictures of the things I sent to my other SP.

07:56 | |

Jun 21, 2006

Brief post

Okay, I'm sick so I'm not really doing anything.

But my SP sent me an adorable e-card. I haven't got the slightest idea if the link will work for everyone or how long. Try though, it might amuse you at least.

20:03 | |

Jun 19, 2006

Tum ta da

My weekend was actually enjoyable. I love my family...even if they make me nuts

Friday I didn't actually do much. Justin had baseball games. I did get to go to the LYS and knit a little bit. Had to get back by 6:30 so that Kyle (who was watching the kids) could go to his game. Not sure what I was knitting at the shop though! lol I did show off the things I was sending to my SP, the pictures will be posted after I'm sure she's already gotten her stuff. I think that I was knitting my MP. Makes sense right? Saturday I went to the Riverwalk festival down by Josh and Mali's. Kyran was in a pie eating contest. He got a dollar and a t-shirt. :) Even though he totally lost. lol I don't think he was fond of the pie. Then we all went home, had a bite to eat. Tyler finally gave me a call, silly boy! So I got to go hang out with him, and realize I'm a complete dork cuz I kept talking about knitting. Father's day, I took Justin to see DaVinci Code and then went to Walmart with Emily to pick out fabric to make her a knitting bag. She's really excited about it. The fabric choices were pretty cute too.

Anyway, I started my Jaywalkers! They're really adorable. Not sure if it's the pattern, doing socks again, or the yarn. Either way, I'm excited about them. Though I have a million things to get done. I need to start a scarf, but I wanna talk to Linda about it first. Justin isn't supposed to have games, so I should be able to go to the shop tomorrow night. Emily wants to start a new project too.

Right now I want to get around to sewing up my shirts, and dyeing some yarn. :) I think I'll dye some for myself first, kinda get the hang of it. Then I will do the yarn for Jamie's pedicure socks. Right now the only projects I have to do are that scarf and the MP. Which I'm actually moving along with. Only a few more inches! By that I mean about ... six. I really wanna cast on for those Thuja socks too, but I have to adjust the pattern for actual sock yarn, that awesome Fear the Turtle yarn from Mama E. So once again I have to talk to Linda. I think I'll just, do a gauge swatch!

Okay...that's enough. I'll have more pictures later, of Emily's bag, my (Jamie's) Jaywalkers, the yarn I hope to dye, and so on.

20:51 | |

Jun 16, 2006

A Mountain of Wasted Talent

That's what my husband calls me. It's not that he thinks I don't know what to do with my talents. Just that I don't use them to make any money. lol He sees all the things I can do and wonders how we're not making any money off of it. I guess I should take that as a compliment?

Pictures, I know. I have been promising you pictures since my hair was pink on Sunday. Sorry. Been so busy with the SP thing that I totally haven't had time. Though I have everything done! So, I expect to send my package out next week.

Also, new yarn! YAY! I bought plenty at the Tail Spinner when I was there on Wednesday ... oh I know I shouldn't but I can't help myself. My Mama E sock yarns came in too! I didn't expect them until tomorrow at best but they are here today! Hip hip hooray! I bought the June Bug and Fear the Turtle colorways. I want to make Justin a pair of socks with the Fear the Turtle. The Thuja pattern on Knitty looks

fairly normal. As in ... something he would wear and not try to hide in the house. If he doesn't like the yarn I'll just make some for my dad or brother. They'll love it. :P

So, I think what I'm going to do is take Emily up to the shop so she can get some DPNs. At least she took my advice. Also, I have to clean. Like, seriously. I might have to wait til Justin gets home. If I can clean before he has to go to his games. I doubt that one though. *sigh* Might have to wait til he gets back from his games. Emily said she could watch the kids on Sunday! Yes!

I need to get hoppin on my MP though. I've been slacking a bit. Oh well. Got some yarn to make an Ipod sock for Justin too. That's my easy project for the moment, when I get sick of looking at my MP. The new yarns I bought are for some Jaywalkers and for a hat. I promised Heather that I'd make her a hat with some pom poms. She loves pom poms. lol

My stomach is rumbling! Normally Heather reminds me to feed her before I even get hungry... Hm... I think I'll just whip up some sandwhiches, not really in the mood to cook. Besides, right now I'm seriously procrastinating. Really, I should be finishing up some things and cleaning.

Just one more photo before I say goodbye...yummmm FABRIC! Some of it's new, some old. My fingers are itching to start sewing them together, too bad I have to pin and cut first. :(

13:39 | |

Jun 14, 2006

Orange Soda is Nasty

Okay, so it's really this Glucola drink. But it tastes like orange soda. I hate that test the most. At least I didn't get sick to my stomach this time, or get dizzy when they were taking the blood afterward. And I did get a good bit of work done on my MP. Not to mention how much attention knitting in public actually gets. Especially when you have pink hair...in a Naval Hospital. lol

I'm going to take some pictures of the stuff for my SP soon, but I will have to wait to post them after she gets them. Don't think she knows who I am, or is the nosy type, but just in case I ought to play it safe. As soon as Kyran goes down for his nap (and that will be soon, he's making a pile of blankets on the couch) I'm gonna get some (better) pictures of the hair and all my lovely fabrics. Some of them I've had sitting in a box for a bit, they were given to me. I just discovered I had this water resistant stuff in that box. Sweet.

Hopefully we get that silly zoom fixed so I can post better pictures. Tomorrow is pay day!! YAY! Oops, I'm rambling. *sheepish grin* Really I've got like a million things to get done today and I'm procrastinating again. Justin wants me to watch those Gankutsuou DVDs so we can send them back to Netflix. He sent Doogal back without us watching it. *sniffle* So poo on him. lol Of course, that's not all I have to do today. I need to finish sewing something for my SP, take some pictures, I wanna sign up for a yarn dyeing class at my LYS, grab a father's day card, and iron out some pattern pieces for my maternity tops.

Alright, I'm out for now. Might have to come back and post some of those pictures. We shall see.

08:47 | |

Jun 12, 2006

So Tired

Last night was bad for my body. Sitting on the floor for about three or four hours pinning and cutting. But I got it done! At least, for this pattern. *sigh*

And I have more fun and lovely things to show off. There will be pics of them soon. Not to mention my hair...which came out more pink than red, I'm too traumatized to talk about it. lol Hopefully I can make everyone think that's what I meant to happen, at least for the rest of the week.

Wow, I have so much to do this weekend. The sewing is just part of it. I haven't been concentrating so much on my MP since I've been doing the sewing, and my really close friend came up from GA, soooo I'm a slacker. :D

Anyway...mommy won $3,700 at a quarter slot machine this weekend! Do you believe that?! She gave me some, cuz she's cool like that. Anyway, I paid Mama E with it (so I don't have to wait til payday lol) which means I'll be getting that yarn soon! YAY! Happiness is yarn. Also, I can get the yarn for the top I'm going to be making for her. lol She's paying for her own present. *sigh* I'm doing the work though! lol

I'm hungry. *tumbly growl* Alright, that's enough chatter. Tomorrow-ish I'll post up some pics for you guys.

13:54 | |

Jun 9, 2006

Smooth

Oh, I am tired right now. And have no time for sleep.

Ran out of thread last night. *sigh* So I need to go to Michael's and pick some up. I badly want to get around to making some things for myself, but just can't.

Postives:

I'm actually in a decent mood. My friend Megan stopped off for a bit, she has another friend in the area she is visiting. :)
I'm making decent headway on my projects, it just feels slow.
It's the weekend!
I have a little more money in the bank than I thought I did. (not as much as I'd like, but hey.)
Mama E said she can wait for pay day for me to get her the money for the yarn, and I get some of the Fear the Turtle colorway! WOOT! (these will be socks for Justin. He'll have to take them and like them)

So, here's what I'm planning; I am going to use the small bit of money I have left in my account to buy the yarn for my mom. After I send those silly needles back for store credit. Hopefully that all works out quickly. I'm sure I won't get around to doing it before Mommy's birthday. I'll pick up my thread later tonight, work on my thing for my SP, maybe sit and watch a movie with Justin. Tomorrow I will be doing the KIP thing. Except I can't go anywhere until about 2 because Justin has games to ump tomorrow. Sunday...um no plans. lol

Oh, I updated my SP8 questionnaire, just in case you need access to any links or anything really fast, my dear SP. Nothing special, just random stuff like yarns I like.

16:18 | |

Jun 8, 2006

Slow Progression

To top off a rather lousy day yesterday, I found out that Justin's shop read my blog. Thanks guys. In case you ever feel like stopping by again, I don't like you. *grins*

I still have to remind myself that slow progression is still progression. It just feels like nothing is getting done. I calculated my rate of knitting on the MP and it seems I get about 2 inches done at least every day. Which means it should be done in a couple weeks or so, allowing for days when I knit less or not at all.

My SP project is tedious. The problem is I really can't work on it while Kyran is

awake. So I have to use nap time. Unfortunately, today I ran out of thread, so I'm kinda oh hold until I can get some more. Justin had to work tonight, so can't go anywhere to get it either. Gotta wait for tomorrow or something. *sigh* At least tomorrow is Friday. Right? Then Mali will get to dye my hair, it will hopefully look better. Oh yeah, I bleached my hair. It looks awful. *sigh*

Other than that, nothing really to report.

16:36 | |

Jun 5, 2006

Busy Weekend (pictures! yay!)

Yesterday we ran all over J-ville just doing stuff. It was lots of fun but

definitely taxing. Especially physically. Justin made the silly mistake of leaving me alone in the craft section of Wal-Mart! Although I've expressed my distaste for their knitting section, well the rest of it is decent. They've got plenty of cute and cheap fabric. Not that I would go there to make anything important or spectacular. But it's got a decent selection, I found some nice things there for some SP surprises and a Maternity top or two. Though I'm going to have fun finding a way to fit that to my body as I'm a bit top heavy. :P

You'll have to forgive all the cruddy pictures. I screwed up my digital camera's zoom function so I used my webcam and that really doesn't seem much better.

Picked up a bunch of beads and things too. I fixed my little cell phone thing (that has Kyo and Gara? on it) because it finally broke the other day. Then I made one for Jamie. She's always talking about how she wants a cute one and I found the perfect little charms for the end of it. A pink and green flip flop and a little tag that says Friends Forever. YAY! I'll send it with her pedi socks, of course that's not til October so, I'll have to try to be patient. You probably can't see it very well. *sigh*

And of course I picked up some yarn. :D Just some Cascade, I finally decided I'd use

my extra bit of money to buy some for a Tubey. That probably won't be something I'll get around to for awhile, but the yarn is gorgeous and it makes me happy. Also grabbed some white Cascade to dye for Jamie's socks. It looks quite nice next to my Tubey yarns too. The green will be my main color with the Quattro and the pink for striping. I've also got some spare of a coral color that I used for my Gwen-a-be hat that I'll probably use too.

Now, let's see. The million and one things I plan on doing today. I'm going to stop by Hancock and pick up that fabric that matches my socks, gonna get my hair cut (I'll post a pic), I plan on sewing when Kyran goes down for his nap in an hour, gotta get some laundry done (not that I can wear most of mine), do the dishes, and vaccum. The vaccuming needs to be done before I start working with my patterns because I use the living room for to cut and pin them. I know it's not the best idea ever, but no other area in my house seems to have enough space. It's more comfortable on me too. Justin wants me to go by the doctor's to see if they can do anything for me. I keep telling him I'll wait until the 23rd because it's a waste of time. My OB will probably just say to take some tylenol, or a relaxing bath (as if), try a heating pad and ice...etc. Things I've tried that don't help. That's the way it is though.

See the odd tool in the background? Ah swipes... how I love thee! Let me count the ways.... My hubby tossed those to me when I asked for needlenose pliers. I didn't complain because I couldn't really get up off of the couch and get what I had intended to use. Even though I knew where it was. So I just did my best with the swipes. They worked WONDERS! You have no idea. lol Oh, again, sorry for the awful picture, I made stitch markers. Guess it's really a good thing that you can't see them that well since they are for my SP (I also intend to make some for myself). Got the idea looking at all the ones for sale on the special offers sites. They've got some cute things but I felt I could do the same thing and make it more special for her. Trust me, they are really cute.

07:39 | |

Jun 2, 2006

Yucky

Today is the worst Friday...EVER. I need to pop by the yarn shop and buy that yarn for the Cleaves, but well Justin never gave me the 50 dollars he said he would. And I'm beginning to think (after the trip to the vet) that I won't get it. $114 for the puppy's check up. :( With medications and all. I'm a little hot about all of that, actually the more time goes by the less I like having a puppy. I'm trying to potty train a 3 year old and a puppy? Justin swore she was housebroken. Apparently not. She'll go pee for me but not poop. *sigh*

So I guess I'll pick up some more yarn tomorrow. I am still contemplating what to get for myself. I think I might pick up some Cascade to make Tubey. There are some LOVELY colors, and I do really like that shirt. Of course...I'm still really wanting to buy some sock yarn. Also thinking of picking up some fabric to make a top. I hope they still have that fabric that matches my socks. :D How awesome would that be? Still have some of that leftover.

Maybe the rest of the weekend will be better.

I have been making decent enough progress on my MP, though I was procrastinating terribly today and didn't make as much as I should have. Actually...I think that's what I should be doing RIGHT NOW. lol But first, I love these colors, sincerely, if I could find them (I waited too long) that's what I'd buy for myself.

13:54 | |

Jun 1, 2006

Projects Galore!

Didn't say this yesterday, but I finally went through and made a project list. But this one is more in depth than my previous one. I've got it mapped out by paycheck and deadline. lol Because some of these things will be gifts.

We got paid! Hooray! Justin is supposed to give me fifty bucks for buying the things I need. Sometimes I feel like I'm on an allowance. bleh Then again, I feel I've earned it lately. Considering that maids/cleaning ladies/babysitters make LOADS of money to do what I do. And they don't even cook!

I also just found out my buddy Andrew gave my brother some money to give to me. We share the same cell phone plan and he usually gives the money to my brother since he sees him more often. Andrew always gives me a call though, my brother (god love him) is NOT the most reliable of kids. So anyway, I should have some spare dollars this month. Don't wanna spend it all, but...I'd really love to buy myself a present. Since mostly I'm spending on other people right now.

Maybe some nice sock yarn from Mama-E's? There was some beautiful stuff I saw in someone's Etsy shop...but it's gone already. :( If not, maybe I'll just pick up some of that stuff for dying on KnitPicks and try my hand at that. I might just roll over and use it to buy some yarn to make my mom the Baccarat Player. It's the first thing I've found that seems right for her.

I'm just DYING to make some more socks. But I've gotta finish this MP first. It's my focus for now. I hate feeling pressure but I guess that's my own fault. blurg. However, I did decide to have some sock yarn and needles on hand to pack my small projects bag with, to have with me when I go to the hospital. That way I won't be bored. I'll leave you with a snippet from my list (it'll keep til Nov, when Christmas presents will start, some SP things have been abbreviated on the list:

Cleaves (last skein purchase tomorrow) TBF-at leisure
Mystery Project (paid for) TBF-June 30
Various items for SP (this paycheck) TBF-June 20
Feather & Lace (paid for) TBF-at leisure
Back-tie Lelah (paid for) TBF-at leisure
Baccarat Player (next paycheck) TBF-July 15
More fun stuff for SP (July 1 paycheck) TBF-Mid July/Mid Aug
Converse Booties (Aug 1 paycheck) TBF-Sep 7
Suede booties and hat, Onesie dress for Danielle's baby (over two paychecks) TBF-Sep 20

Okay, that's enough for now. I've still got a couple months worth of things to make. Some presents for my friends/family, plus all of me renwear for October. The total cost for all of that stuff is like $300. Of course, that's spread out over three months or so. And it doesn't include the projects I've already bought yarn for. :P

09:10 | |