Labels: pictures, procrastinating, singles, socks, spinning
Well, since Lady A's debut I have spent all of my free time putting her to use. She squeaks and moan, but works wonderfully. I love her sooo much. Of course, I rarely knit or blog now! Also, since my best friend was here I was being a good girl and paying attention to her. Oh, I've got the picture of that skein that I navajo plied for you all. Even though it's not a great pic because of my stupid webcam. It is one of the best looking skeins I've made, I mean, the actual skein looks nice they way it was wound up. Another note, it's actually 52yds. I think I said 26 in the last post, but I lied. Well, really I just forgot that I used my large niddy noddy, which is 2yds for every once around.
the time. Still, she recommended this salon! Yes, I only paid $12 for it...but still, a haircut should not make one look so silly. Everyone says "Oh, it's so cute!" Um, I'm 22, not 12, cute was NOT what I was aiming for. Pretty, beautiful, even sexy, but not "cute". *sigh* Oh well. I'm off to have dinner with my family and a few friends.
Only four of you seemed to know who that was on the card. Which made drawing names kind of awkward, but really I didn't expect even that many to know! The winner was Sunne, you all might think I am partial, but if I had actually just chosen someone it would have been Beth. She is the Baseball Knitter. For your prize, I will dye a skein of yarn (it can be any weight) in the baseball team colors of your choosing. :D My hubby is a huge Red Sox fan, just so you all know, I had my best friend (did I mention that she was here visiting?) draw the names out of Kyran's Red Sox hat. Did you want to know who was on the card? I thought some of you might guess it, on a whim. Since it was, after all, the baby's namesake. Yep, it was none other than Nolan Ryan!
needed to get that yarn off the bobbins and get started on something else. Wish I'd taken a picture of it before I washed it and hung it to dry. What I did get a pic of was the yarn that Sunne (who is my PRGE pal in case you missed that post) sent to me! Thanks! She has been amazing, she sent me an email while I was having that bad horrible weekend to let me know she had picked up some Koigu for me from this huge sale. It's very pretty purple-y, I think it says colorway 0805? My horrible web-cam picture doesn't do it justice.
there was a woman in there who was knitting a sock toe-up and had reached the point to turn the heel. However, Debbie had forgotten how to do a short-row heel!! Since my best friend is here visiting and Mr. Shad had a late flight, I decided to go over and help. See, I'm just not good at telling someone how to do something, I have to show them. I ended up staying for the whole heel (she was using Cascade Fixation and only had 48 total stitches), and I am fairly confident that she knew what she was doing by the time I left. Not sure she could do it on her own the next time. She was REALLY excited and offered to pay me. Now, the thing is that I had gone A) to help my friend and B) because it is something I really enjoy doing. I love to knit, I love the help/teach other people, I love socks, and it's something I'm generally good at. I didn't feel right accepting money, she insisted so I suggested that she buy me some yarn. Really, that made me feel much better. What I ended up choosing was Classic Elite Miracle in color 3332.
(EST) on Wednesday. Email me with the answers by that time. The question was inspired by the objects I used to hide personal information. No, it has nothing to do with Spider-man. Thought you had that one, huh? Can you tell me who is on that baseball card? Need a better look? Click on either picture for a (slightly) closer view. Packages were from (in the order I opened them) The Loopy Ewe, MeanBean, and Sunne. Sunne's package had something in it that is for my PRGE pal, so I can't really show you what was in it. Besides, the webcam wasn't having any part in taking pictures of something so small. *sigh* I definitely need a new cam. Something compact and all my own.
kind of...gun-shy about ordering it. Some of my blogging buddies had had bad experiences. But everyone seemed so in love with it, so I had to give it a try. It's funny, I still have not tried Lorna's Laces. I'm not really all that impressed with it. It's strange though, how some yarns seem to be right for certain patterns. Others are just pretty, and don't tell you anything specific. Like all of those yarns I was having trouble with, most of which I've had for awhile. Then today I get the CTH (Northern Lights) in the mail and immediately know that it was meant to be Anastasia.
Remember the Hederas and my last blog contest? She may have taken awhile to knit these, but it was worth the wait. They are gorgeous! The funny thing? The right sock will fit both feet, but the left sock will fit only the left foot. Isn't that funny? I was worried at first because I put the peculiar sock on first, and was panicked that the socks did not fit! Then I switched the foot it was on and things were fine. lol The cuff is FANTASTIC, not sure how she did it but it's super cute. For the life of me I can't figure out how she did the toe. What kind of toe is that? Can you see Kyran's face? It made me laugh SO hard that I almost couldn't take the picture. How perfect. You would think he'd just unwrapped candy. I mean, I think they are great but he's two, normally socks don't excite a two year old.
had, or the stress of the weekend, but I really wanted to spin. So I grabbed up my drop spindle and the bit of purple merino that Sunne sent to me in my last PRGE package. It's not enough to make anything with, but more than enough to sate the spinning bug. I took the sample and separated it into thirds and then each of those into half. Then, to help control the even-ness of the yarn, I predrafted each piece nice and thin. Really, it helped.Labels: babies, blogging, contest, gratitude, happiness, Lady A, PRGE, purchases, socks, spinning, wheel, yarn
outside when I told him not to. When the laptop's power cord slid out and I had to reboot and find where I was...I didn't get upset. Even though Kyran wouldn't take a nap, I told myself that he'd go to bed early. Heather spilled milk all over the kitchen counter, floor, and me. Still, I didn't get angry at her, I calmly asked her to wait in her room while I cleaned up the mess. I almost lost my cool when I asked Mr. Shad (at 7:30pm) to pick up a couple things from the grocery store on his way home, and he said no. Not only did he say no, but he asked if he could just come home and I could go. Despite the fact that I had gone the night before and could not start dinner until he picked these things up.
grocery store and McDonald's. Cooking pork chops, peas, and mac&cheese seemed a bit silly now. On the way, my Ipod broke, but I was okay. Mr. Shad would fix it. So, I pick up what I need, grab the food, and go home. It's then that I realize that my order had been screwed up. Normally I'd have gone home and dealt with it. The number of little things that had happened seemed to weigh on me though, so I came home crying. And I refused to tell Mr. Shad why, because I knew that if I just mentioned the burgers from McD's he would not be helpful. Instead he was very understanding, and went back to get the order right. He knows that I am already beginning to deal with the fact that he will be deploying in September, and that he will not be here this weekend.
First, I'll let you all in on the secret of who my pal is! None other than the hostess herself, Sunne. Thanks Sunne, you've been fantastic so far, and the whole exchange has been running smoothly it seems. Ky was very excited about this whole thing, he was dancing around the table singing "whatcha got, watcha got, watcha got?!" What a haul! Handpainted Tussah Silk, a smidgen of purple merino, DPNs from size 1US - 6US, a needlecase, handmade soap, scissors, a catnip toy, a cute necklace and a little metal heart. The little metal heart made me think of this worry stone my mother used to have. Forgive the crappy pictures, as you remember, my camera died. *sniffle* I think I have a set of each of the DPNs, well except for the 4s and 5s, but you all know how rough I am on those! lol They will definitely come in handy.
right after I got back. Fantastic. It was an order on Etsy from Traveling Rhinos. I think the roving was like five bucks. Who can pass that up?? Also grabbed a pocky button, man do I love that stuff. It's a priority one! The stuff on the top also came in this package. She was making up for sending it a bit late since they were traveling. Which was actually fine because I was gone. So it arrived as a bit of a surprise!Labels: life, PRGE, procrastinating, purchases, wool/fleece/roving
Lately I've been adjusting to being home again and have not knit much. Haven't even been in the mood to blog! I skipped an entire day of blog reading and feel awful because I feel like I missed some important things happening in my fellow bloggers' lives. *hugs* to Pins&Needles (go read the blog entry). And to Roxtarchic, because it sure sucks being in the country. ;) Alright, on to my adventures in California!
dropped me off, I think he was scared a little. hehe I settled into a seat somewhere in the middle of this huge group of knitters, it was so awesome. Words cannot describe how much fun we all had! Seems like I had a lot in common with many people there. Lots of pictures were taken, but this is the only one that turned out. Clockwise from left to right, are Jeni, Hannah, Kristi, and Tina. Hannah was hilarious! These are some great ladies, I hope that if any of them was ever (for any reason) over here that they'd give me a call. Or an email. I'll have to update later when I have even more links to give you. FiberFiend (creator of the thumbhole mitten pattern) was there, but I didn't have a chance to meet her. We were at opposite ends of several tables. Oh well. Aside from Jeni, Hannah, and Tina...I also met Jasmine, Rachel, Katie, Lisa and Anabel. Now, I want you all to know if I spell your name wrong I apologize, just leave me a comment chastising me gently and providing the correct spelling.
Justin could get some sushi. Then jet lag took us back to the hotel and bed. Wednesday we went to the Flea Market, the Great Mall and then to Saratoga. We meant to go to Hakone Gardens but got there a bit late. Instead we ate dinner at this cute little Italian deli, it had the best hondmade ravioli. There was also this Irish pub called The Bank, but I wasn't impressed. Then again, it was only like...6 o'clock.
and on our way to Saratoga Chocolates (a gourmet chocolate shop that was gorgeous), what did I stumble upon?! A knitting shop! Mr. Shad was bemused to say the least. He actually was very obliging and sat in the shop the whole time I shopped. And allowed me to spend a slightly ridiculous amount of money. The pictures of my purchases are on my poor dead camera's memory card. If I can I'll see if I can find a way to retrieve the pictures. Anyways, the store was beautiful. Full of high end yarns, at least, in my opinion. There were some affordable yarns too. It didn't matter, it was yarn.
I tried to hold myself back from the Tilli Thomas and Artyarns. What I could not restrain myself from was the Koigu, I've been wanting to try some out, so I picked up some KPPPM color #1520. It's a bright green. Yum. Now, what to do with it? I'm thinking one of Cookie's patterns...like Flicker or *gulp* the Twisted Flowers sock. Also jumping into my basket were a few balls of RYC Bamboo Soft, Rowan Tapestry, and a ball of Blue Sky Organic Cotton. I also snagged Knitting Without Tears. :) It was very exciting.
Labels: happiness, knitting, pictures, pretty, purchases, vacation, yarn, yarn addict
Apparently I like word play. :D 
Labels: babies, knitting, mittens/gloves, procrastinating
I was kicking around for awhile. So long in fact, that I was pregnant with Heather when I first designed it, and got it after Kyran was born! I wanted something small and personal. Something that I would never regret. So I got my initials, now, since I believe it to be somewhat bad juju to tattoo anyone else's name on your body (they were my married initials, making one of them not my own name)...I made sure that they represented something else I love. Cats! Tada! Well, that's all the story behind that one. Except maybe for the part where I found out I was pregnant with Nolan like a month later. *sigh* Good place for a tattoo huh?
my life, I was newly married and struggling to be a good mother at 19. The last time I had talked to my cousin we were joking, he was always joking. I used to be very close to these cousins of mine, three brothers (Matthew, Mark, and John for those of you interested), we all used to play together and then drifted apart with time. That happens, and you think you'll always have time to get together later. It just doesn't happen that way. It was hard to see how it affected my mother, she had practically raised him and considered him a baby brother. Not one of his brothers nor any of my other family members has stopped riding, if anything we are all still proud to ride. Labels: life, memes/blogthings, tattoos
There is a saying about Texas, about how they do everything big. And we all know New Yorkers (well, city New Yorkers) do everything fast. But in Maryland and DC, we do all or nothing. We do it fast, we do it big, and we do it loud. Or we don't do it at all. It's always been hard for me to be one of those people. I have (what I like to call) a "toe-dipper" approach to life. Which means I start out small and build, when I'm comfortable and sure.
once. It's so exciting. The weekend will have to be broken into two posts for all of the pictures I've got! Not to mention the wheel isn't quite finished. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though. I went to Melissa's to help her out with some HTML on her blog, she had promised me wool in exchange. Seeing as how I'm just learning to spin and her Corriedales have great wool, it sounded good to me. Fixing her problems in the template took about 5 minutes, then we spent the next hour and 55 minutes talking. lol She not only gave me more than a pound (I have no sense of weight, I could be totally off) of Corriedale, she also gave me samples of Lincoln wool, Mohair, and silk!! What an awesome deal! She really is an amazing woman, she also teaches needle-felting. Her needle-felted puppets are really beautiful. Check out this interview. So, on my return I stopped by the LYS to show off my goodies, and to chat of course. And I found out...
and pick it up today! My excitement is bubbling over at this point. We pick her up, and then I remember we're on our way into town (haha) to stop by the mall to get me sandals. Which we never do find. Apparently sandals are no longer in style, unless they have large heels. Thanks, but no. I've got lots of heels. I don't do flip-flops either, that thing between my toes? No again. We bought a lot of other random things. At some point I sat down to feed Nolan, while Justin went into a sports memorabilia store. Apparently, Nolan wasn't feeling well, about 98% of the way into his jar of peas...Nolan just ejected all of it. So there I am, sitting at a table in the mall, baby vomiting endlessly on me, and nobody even tries to help. 
There are plenty of people staring, not one of them offers to get my husband or some napkins! I had to send my four year old daughter into a (luckily nearby) store, by herself, to get my husband. Um, thanks.
Saturday, I was jonesing to get some time in at the LYS. Mr. Shad needed to take his old motorcycle to a bike swap though. We really needed to sell it. So I waited. While sitting around trying to knit baby booties, a package arrived. Well, what could this be? It's my Loopy Ewe order! I ordered some Louet Gems Pearl in Pewter from The Loopy Ewe, it's my very first order too. Definitely not my last. Sheri included some lovely little extras, and a handwritten note was on the back of my invoice. So wonderful. I love good customer service. Well, Mr. Shad sold his motorcycle, but then had no transportation home. So he called me, and I have to wake and dress children. *sigh* When I finally get there it is three o'clock and the shop closes in two hours. He suggests we go to Home Depot and pick up stain for my beloved wheel. Begrudgingly, I agree. After arriving home again, I start the laborious process of staining her. Not that it's hard, but there are a LOT of little pieces. You'll see what I'm talking about in my next post.
from sitting on the floor and my hands all pink from scrubbing stain off of them. So much for that nail polish, huh? We watched some movies and went to sleep. Today I need to give my wheel (whose name I am unsure of for now) a second staining and then finish her off with some Polyurethane stuff. Real technical here at chez Kitty. I reorganized my stash, we bought some plastic tubs to protect the yarn while it's out there in the garage. The sock yarn was granted a license to stay inside in a smallish basket, the first basket I bought to store yarn in. So here's a small stash flash for you. 
Labels: babies, blah, frustration, happiness, life, purchases, spinning, stash, Thelonious, wheel, wool/fleece/roving
Kitty's Story
On My
PRGE Questionnaire (the third?)
8 in 2007/0 in 2008
