Labels: blogging, decisions, resolutions
I really don't know why I'm posting right now. Everything is a little fuzzy. There are hundreds of things I should be doing. The Lady is sitting in my living room, I'm working on that Cerelia from Spincerely still. Gotta pay bills. Fold laundry. Bake cookies. Finish a gift. *sigh* I haven't read blogs in ages (sorry guys!).Obviously, I posted that hat pattern. Glad that went over so well, I hope to see a few people knitting it on Ravelry. :)
anniversary, and I miss him more than ever right now. The littlest things will make me tear up. Over the weekend I got my order from The Loopy Ewe and discovered I'd made it! I was a Loopy Groupie!! Now, I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but Sheri is doing a thing supporting Random Acts of Kindness this month. Go check out her blog if you haven't heard of it yet. Anyways, a few weeks ago Sheri emailed me to let me know that someone had donated a $25 Loopy credit as a RAK, and asked Sheri to find someone. Sheri had chosen me! That made me cry, I come from a small place, and live in a town where everyone is pretty much the same (all Marines and Marine wives). For most people here, your husband being deployed doesn't make you special at all. Civilians don't usually grasp the concept, and until you experience deployment...it's difficult to relate. He's far away from us, we can't call him, I can't ask him to come home, and war is scary.
to pay our bills. However, I don't have that many friends in my area. People here are difficult to rely on. And, of course, I try to choose my friends carefully. Mostly, I am depending on the kindness of knitters to help get me through all of this. Even though they cannot be here with me, just having someone to talk to helps. Thank you to all of you who are there for me during this difficult time. Even when I disappear for a bit, I'm still knitting, and still thinking about all of you. *hugs* Where would I be without knitters?Labels: blah, blogging, busy, family, friends, gratitude, knitters, Loopy Ewe, procrastinating, purchases, rambling, yarn
of bulky). Oh, and of course, as always, lots of pictures.
You may (or may not) have noticed that the Unoriginal Hat is what I decided to use my Malabrigo for. Actually, it was what I picked the yarn out for. Except...the hat is written for bulky weight, and this is a worsted weight. After toying with the idea of leaving it in the skein and using the skein as a scarf (I wore it like that almost the entire time I was at Mouse's), no, I decided I must actually knit with the famed yarn. After swatching, and doing some maths I CO using size 9 needles. Then...about 5 rows into the pattern, I realized that the cables weren't looking at ALL the way I wanted them to. Nope, nope. So I did what any 
Pattern: Unoriginal Hat by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Labels: blogging, busy, family, finished object, food, friends, hanging out, hat, knitters, life, mouse, pattern, pictures, purchases, rambling, updating, vacation, wool/fleece/roving, yarn
Eh, I guess I should post, huh? It's only been almost a week. There couldn't possibly be that much to talk about, right? Oh...wait. There is. Agh. I have two finished objects, and a really crazy weekend to talk about. Guess I should begin where I left off.
in ages called me up to see if I could alter his wife's ball gown. Sure. I don't see why not. The sewing machine was still out from Nolan's costume. Oh, in case you don't remember this from last year, or I didn't mention it, every year the Marine Corps has a huge formal event to celebrate the Marine Corps' birthday. It's a blast. Even when your Marine is deployed, they still throw ya a party. It's just...smaller. I'll get to that. I meant to take pictures of this gown after I altered it, but forgot. Gonna assume it fit since she never called me to fix it again.
sew some elastic into the bottom half, ta da! A skirt. I also used a bit of the straps from the top half to make little loops next to the zipper, which I pulled some purple ribbon through. Actually, I have to credit Mouse with that idea. Oh, now you are all going...wait...what are you wearing as a top? A corset baby. Hellz yeah. I was hawwwtttt. But you don't have to take my word for it. :)
Tyler, who makes any bar more fun. He played pool, I got drunk, everyone had fun! Really, it was an okay time after the third drink. lol Hey, who can argue with Cristal singing Du Hast. She did a good job too. Scared me anyways! At some point we decided to leave and go to Cristal's. Once there we played Cranium...sorta. I was way more interested in playing catch with this one guy, Joe. No idea how I was even catching those balls either. :D Everyone crashed at her house, at around 5am. Too bad her twins woke up at 8! Ugh. We left around nine-ish, and Tyler took me back to my house, where we made breakfast. The kitchen was trashed though. :( I was a little upset with Kyle and Emily (who watched the kids), but...they did watch my kids overnight for me. Oh, btw, apparently Tyler loves to cook, and misses it. Which works out wonderfully for me because I hate cooking. I told him to come use my kitchen ANY time. Seriously.
mention that? Oh. Right. Probably because I started it around that same Tuesday. Or maybe Wednesday. Either way. Anyways, it was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Tyler, but apparently he hates Christmas. So, I just gave it to him when I finished it. Actually, there were some gauge issues, and I was afraid that it may not fit. To make sure, I had him come over and try on the hat. It still needed the ends woven in and blocking...but he didn't want to leave without it. He has to go to the field this week and wanted the hat to keep him warm. Guess I should be flattered that he loved it so much!! How adorable is that picture by the way? Even if I did have to lean over all awkward to get it. My couches are ridiculously comfy, and nobody ever wants to get off of them. lol There is enough yarn to make another hat, I'm thinking of either doing it in reverse or making a beanie with a brim/bill on it. Like the one in the picture of me above (at the bar). As always, click any picture to see it bigger.Labels: blogging, finished object, hat, rambling, socks, Swell, updating
Actually, there should be more talking and less pictures this time. Or at least more talking. Sorry to be so out of it, the kids and live have kept me pretty busy. I think today is the first day I've really been able to pull myself together enough to actually post. You're going to have to scroll down for knitting content though. :D
and I took the kids around the neighborhood.
stylist. She was ECSTATIC by the idea that they would get the chance to really have fun and do something new! That made me very happy, I have found that conservative stylists are more apt to mess up my hair. Mostly because they are too afraid to take a chance with it. The cost of the cut was only $15 in the end, so I gave a 100% tip (technically it was 50/50 because the two of them split it as they both worked on my hair). I had budgeted for $40, and they really did an outstanding job! From there we went to Wal-Mart where I blew $300 on food and clothes. Still in budget, btw. Thank goodness for the separation pay! Heather and Kyran badly needed new wardrobes, Heather still needs new shoes. Kyran's pants all were 2-3 inches above his ankles, and Heather was wearing socks with her sandals because none of her real shoes fit her anymore. Nolan has loads of hand-me-downs, so he wasn't an issue. Though he became really attached to this red shirt I picked out for Heather....
Whew, we are now up to Friday, yesterday. I dyed my hair black to cover the faded purple and give me a uniform base to work with. Besides, I kinda like it black. Especially when it is short, gives a sharper contrast. Anyways, I was really just killing time. Then plan was to meet up with Kyle, Emily's husband at a new tattoo shop. Actually, it was an expansion of the shop that I went to for my phoenix, and my tattoo artist was made the manager of this new shop!! So, I had to go pay my respects, as well as getting a much longed for tattoo (hey, I budgeted for that too, I'm not completely insane). Well, I ran late, as usual, and Emily decided that she really wanted to bring the babies to the shop. Or, she wanted to be there. She is feeling that "have fun while I still can!" vibe right now. I told her that was really up to her, that it would probably be easier to keep an eye on them at home, but if she had her heart set on going out that I didn't think Nik would mind. We drove off to Bombs Away 2 with crazies in tow.
Now we get to the knitting part. Remember, I knit while getting tattooed, it keeps my mind off of the pain. Really, I have a low tolerance for pain and I know if I'm knitting and focusing on the simple in, around, out, off motions I will be fine. Nik loves it because he says it keeps me still, which makes it easier for him to do his job. Also, with my last tattoo he said that he has seen full grown men complain more than I do! Which made me feel rockin. Okay...I lied. Here are all of the pictures. Trust me, this isn't even half of them. Kyle took LOADS of progress shots. You can literally see the tattoo develop. One of my favorite shots was an accidental one, he meant to photograph the tattoo, and instead got Nik's hands in there. lol But I think that is kinda cool. Oh, those are the Nermal socks I am working on there.
Labels: blogging, hair, Halloween, kids, knitting, life, tattoos, updating
and her daughter came to visit with us! If you don't already, go read her blog. She's totally awesome and I am impressed by her strength of character. Seriously. Anyways, she got here early Friday morning (like 6am!), the both of us got a total of four hours of sleep between Thursday morning and Friday night. lol Still, we didn't let that stop us from having a blast! (Sorry about the exclamation points, but it rocked) Friday I let Heather stay home from school to hang out with Sym, and we went out to get some food and pick up some cleaning supplies that I needed. When we got to Wal-mart Heather decided to prove me right, see, I had been telling Lesley how clumsy and accident prone my daughter is. First thing Heather does is run to the stand of flowers in the front. She just 
wanted to smell them!! Instead she tripped over a carpet that was probably only a half an inch off the floor, and faceplanted on the stand holding the flowers! The employees were quick to come to our aid (can't risk being sued, right?), Heather's nose was bloody and swelling. Poor girl! She will be alright, it got the tip where all that cartilage is, but right now she looks like someone beat her about the face. It even extended to her eye, she doesn't even notice it much anymore.
little ice cream/coffee shop. The kids played a bit and Lesley and I ate some delicious brownies! Nolan found a chair that was just his size, and climbed right in! It was too cute. Then he decided he would have more fun pushing it around, he's really close to walking now. I'll have to buy him one of those little walking toys. Of course, as I was talking about how Ty and I never actually call each other, we just text, he texts me! What did he want? For me to bring him food. Peanut butter sandwiches. Just peanut butter, no jelly. I knew there was a reason I liked this kid! I don't like jelly either. lol So I make a few sandwiches, we throw the kids in the car and drive out there. Now, just so you know, he works on LeJeune, which is further away than the Air Station (Mr. Shad's duty station). It's only about 10-20 minutes extra, still that makes a 30-40 min trip each way. But we had nothing else planned really, we were just gonna hang out. I've NEVER seen anyone have so much fun in an empty barracks room! Too much! The kids played catch with Ty, while Nolan flirted with his own reflection, and Lesley and I tried to keep Heather from falling and hurting herself even more. lol
decent time and mostly just relaxed for awhile, knitting. At around noon we decided that we were hungry and it was time to venture out. I was in a Sonic mood, so it was off to Sonic! Lunch was great, the kids managed to play without being hurt or getting sand in their eyes. Since we didn't have any real plan, we went to the mall to walk off some of that food/energy. Mostly we just walked around aimlessly, looking at everything, buying nothing. lol On the way back I realized that we had an hour left before The Tail Spinner closed, and we just had to pop in, even if just for a bit. Plus, I knew that most people would be gone for the day and the kids wouldn't be in the way as much. I bought a lot of yarn. Well, for me it was. Even though most of it will become gifts for others. We hung, knit, watched tv, and had a good time. That night we decided to celebrate/say goodbye with a couple of drinks. Maybe a couple too many. lol Still, it was great!! Being able to talk to anyone over the age of five, especially another female was just fantastic! I really had the best time ever.
car had broken and down, could I break into their house and get something for them? lol Well, I didn't always have such good taste in men, and one of my previous boyfriends had been of questionable caliber. At leat he taught me how to break into a house! :) It came in pretty handy, after probably 5-6 minutes of fiddling with the door, I popped the lock. And with minimal damage. I thought my filing system was a mess! Just a box of papers, which also contained broken glass, Sully, you're weird. What an interesting thing to do on your last day on vacation, right Lesley? After a few more hours of procrastinating, Lesley and Sym packed their things into the car. Kyran cried, he wanted to go too, poor guy. Sym cried, she wanted to stay, just one more day? Heather kept asking if 
Sym could come back tomorrow. I think Lesley and I wanted to cry too, we are both on our own for the time being and it was just too much fun havinig a friend around. Lesley gave me a gift, a little can for needles, notions, or whatever I want, that she decorated just for me!! We added a little memento from our time together, it's kind of like an inside joke. hehe What a great way to spend the weekend. The rest of the day I just kind of moped around the house. But at least Dexter was on, so I had something to look forward to. 
see something cute that is crocheted I curse. Then Mouse made this. If you remember correctly, my learning to knit was spurred by just one handknit hat that I fell in love with. That's all it takes to motivate me. There are a few crochet hooks I've picked up for making chains and picking up stitches (though I hardly use them for the latter), so I figured sure why not. I'll start out slow. The night Lesley was driving, I was practicing single crochet. After that I figured, well, I should make something. But...what? A granny square, sure. That's like a scarf, only a heck of a lot smaller. It's totally wonky, but that's okay. I tried.
is. I think, well, there has to be a crochet mouse pattern somewhere, she won't know the difference and I need to practice. Yay Ravelry! I found a simple pattern (I verified that with Mouse) and grabbed my hook and some black yarn. Heather then makes it clear that her mouse should be pink. Pink? Yes, pink. Do I have any pink yarn, I wonder? It's not exactly my favorite color, so I buy it very rarely. But yes, I do have some, it was purchased to make baby booties that I never made. It's acrylic too, so not a big waste of my money. Perfect. Of course, I have to put the project in Ravelry. Can't neglect that, I mean, I did find the pattern there. Project name...well gee, she'll probably name her mouse. 
Labels: accidents, blogging, crochet, friends, funny, granny square, hanging out, kids, Lesley, mouse, rambling, updating, weekend
In knitting news, I did start Mad Color Weave with Amazonas. Actually, I started them later that evening. There were several "false starts", I couldn't decide which size to do, then I couldn't wrap my head around the pattern. It's funny because it's such a simple pattern. Could have something to do with using 3 needles instead of 4, ya think? All that is left now is the toe, then I can start the second sock. They are a little snug, but that can actually be a good thing. Thelonious has a tendency to sag a bit, and I hate that.
started another pair for a friend's baby, and nearly threw the yarn across the room. Why on earth did I make the toe so complicated and ridiculous?! Oh yeah, because it looks good. >.< Anyways, I ended up modifying the pattern so it could be done in the round. When I am through with all of my posting I will go add those alterations to the little pattern so that it can be done either way. Still a lot of ends to weave in, but at least there is no seaming. Finishing the second booty is part of my goal for today. Which includes: finishing the booties, finishing the first Amazonas sock, swatching for the Somewhat Cowl, and knitting at least 1 rep of the pattern on Goddess.
you how much I loathe it. It is only 4 rows, and I'm lucky if I get half a rep done. I'm trying to do at least one a day, I should need about 13 total. Right now there are about 4 of them...so only 9 to go! If you don't see a FO post about Goddess in two weeks, start complaining. Apparently when I put things into hibernating they go in there for several months. Currently in hibernation (thanks for reminding me constantly Ravlery), I have the Uber-crop Raglan, Butterfly Headwrap, Harley Quinn, and the Martha/Nermal socks. I guess 4 out of 57 isn't bad, right? That leaves 47 things I have finished (4 in progress, and 2 frogged), including mom's top. If I can finish that I can finish anything. Once the cold starts to hit, I'll probably pull Harley Quinn back out, they are actually almost finished. Just gotta do the entrelac cuff on the second sock. Okay, now I am just rambling!
Twinkle's Big City Knits for a skein of CTH Supersock in Yellow. I think I got the better end of that deal. :) This is why I love knitters though, we were just pondering sweaters together and I mention thinking about buying the book. She says, "Ah, I have that and can't use it! Would you like to swap?" Would I ever?! Oh, but what do I have to offer? A quick look over the stash 
Labels: alpaca, blah, blogging, booties, Goddess, gratitude, procrastinating, progress, purchases, rambling, Ravelry, socks, swaps, Wollmeise, yarn
Labels: blogging, life, updating, wool/fleece/roving
Anyways, I have loads of pics for you. What is stranger? That I haven't posted in three days or that that is unusual for me? My knitting and spinning mojo was gone for a little while. Now I am back! I am feelin it again. Probably because I started my Twisted Flower socks over the weekend. The miles of stockinette on that sweater were KILLING me. I couldn't even start the Ribs and Lace Tank that I bought some Cotton Ease for because all of my Denise cords are being used. Oh well, it's purple which isn't until August in Project Spectrum anyway. Right?
I love it. What I'm not loving, however, is the Koigu. It gets talked up a lot, I just don't think it's worth all of the hype. Many of the indie-dyers have better qualilty yarns in my opinion. Of course, you have to try something to know how you feel about it. So I will use what I have and just not buy any more. Wollmeise is still my all time favorite, it will be the first thing I buy after my self-imposed mini yarn diet.
Knitting Lingerie Style and Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting. Then I took them to my husband, guess which one he chose for me to keep? Of course the one with lingerie. lol I thought he'd pick the new Yarn Harlot book because it was cheaper. Though I'm seriously glad he didn't, I want that book, but Knitting Lingerie Style is a beautiful book. The patterns are lovely, and it includes a few simple sewing patterns, which is lovely. Check this book out, not everything in it is underwear, there are some lovely lace tops, a skirt, armwarmers, and yes, a whole section of socks. :D This is one of my favorite patterns in the book. How sexy is that?
are pictured with the Knitting Lingerie book. My stupid webcam doesn't show them off properly. Oh, I have some TOFUtsies yarn that I bought awhile ago, and then promptly forgot to photograph. I don't know why I bought two, I think they were packaged together like that. Is that weird?? Maybe I'll just give one away or destash it. Dunno which though. Anybody want it?? lol Alright, I'm off to do a few more rows of Twisted Flower, update my Ravelry, and hopefully get a small kitchen scale for weighing my fiber. We'll see what Mr. Shad is up to. He's got a cold that's kicking his ass and won't admit it. Oh, and here's a picture for Kat, since she says she hasn't seen many of the bugga baby.
Labels: babies, blogging, socks, Twisted Flower, yarn
Kitty's Story
On My
PRGE Questionnaire (the third?)
8 in 2007/0 in 2008
