Ravelympics

I've signed up for the WIP Wrestling portion of the Ravelympics!

I added ALL of my wips to give me some push to get all of these done soon!! :)

Wish me luck! Keep track of my progress on Ravelry or here with my progress bars over here --->

My First Hat

I finished my first hat this morning! Yay!! :)

It's really cute but I'm not sure if it will stay on my head - it is stretchy and the slippery yarn might mean it will be a Christmas present for someone else. :)

But, I did it!! This was my first go with knitting in-the-round AND using double pointed needles. Knitting in-the-round was easy because I have been using my circs for blankets and other things so the only new thing was using a stitch marker. I found the dpn harder to use and very awkward, but am glad that I didn't falter and was able to finish off the hat without a problem. I think it was more awkward because they are 8" long, but I'm not scared of using dpn anymore! :D

I'll get some pictures up tonight when Justin gets home.

Floods in the Midwest

Just liked this and wanted to share. I have noticed a big difference living in the south than the midwest so it feels good to have my concerns justified.

Limbaugh:
"I want to know. I look at Iowa, I look at Illinois,
I want to see the murders.
I want to see the looting. I want to see all the stuff
that happened in New Orleans.
I see devastation in Iowa and Illinois
that dwarfs what happened in New Orleans.
I see people working together.
I see people trying to save their property.
I don't see a bunch of people running around
waving guns at helicopters,
I don't see a bunch of people running shooting cops.
I don't see a bunch of people raping people on the street.
I don't see a bunch of people doing everything they can...
whining and moaning - where's FEMA, where's BUSH.
I see the heartland of America.
When I look at Iowa and when I look at Illinois,
I see the backbone of America."

I don't know anyone personally that was affected by Katrina, so I'm sorry if this offends anyone - but it does ring true. I went to college in a town that was recovering from a major flood that left most of 2 cities under feet of water, and they never had any of those horrible problems. I've grown up living near the Mississippi most of my life and had never seen people react to a flood like that.

Anyway, just something to mull over.

Survival Supplies

My package arrived from KnitPicks today!! :D Here is a pic of my fun new stuff.

I already put all of my needles away in my case and paged through the books looking at projects. I can tell I'm going to need to read the Mason-Dixon book, it looks like it's full of funny like Stitch 'n Bitch.

I can't wait!! I'm going to start a hat soon with my new little circular needle and dpns! :D

Progress Bars!

Check out my cool new progress bars!! :D
(Underneath my WeeMee)
NEAT!!

I need to run to the bank Monday and deposit a couple of checks. When they clear I can order wedding invites!! :D YAYS!!

I'm working on the Hoodie Baby Blanket for Ron & Kati's spawn like mad, I want to be able to finish it before my birthday. It's really helping my purling, I've gotten a lot faster. I've never done anything in stockinette before that wasn't on a loom!! :) I hope it turns out really cute, it is super soft. More pictures as it progresses!!



I'm also trying to plan my first sweater. I am going to try a 'To Dye For' from my Stitch & Bitch book because it is a really cute shape (bell sleeves & loose knit) and should be fairly straightforward for me. I'm actually going to knit from the pattern! :)

Your order is on the way!

6 little words to brighten up my day! My KnitPicks order is on it's way!! EEEEEEEEE!! Share in my excitement.

Here's what I ordered:

• Needle Cables 47inch
• Needle Cables 60inch
• One Skein
• Mason Dixon Knitting
• Wood 16in Circ Needle Sz 8 (5.0mm)
• Wood DPNs 8in Sz 8 (5.0mm)

The books are on sale and my main reason to spend money. I need the small circs & dpns if I want to make a hat. And the cables... well... I can never have enough cables!! MORE!! :)

I'm so happy. I'm going to be unbearable until they come but it's a welcome distraction from ticking off the time until my birthday (31 days...)

Hellboy & Care Package

I know my movie reviews are always so long and insightful, so I will keep sharing them. ;)

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army - rent it. I am a HUGE fan of the first movie - L-O-V-E-D it. But with too many voice/actor changes and a far-fetched plot I didn't really like the sequel. Too much like "Lord of the Rings vs Hellboy" which could have been the first working title.

The knitting care package arrived from my mom last night, full of cashmere! I've posted everything in Ravelry and will get pictures of everything once the sun is up again. The knitting portion of the box included 13 balls of Lion Brand Cashmere Blend (in Navy, Charcoal, Black and Cream), one ball of her new homespun (black w/green sparkles), a skein of one of her early homespun (the yellow w/purple), 2 circular needles, a cute Tigger applique (which Justin held up with a 'what the heck is this for?' face), 3 new knitting books and a pair of hand-knit pink socks! She also sent fun swag from her trip to DC from the Supreme Court and Smithsonian Air & Space Museum (inside joke about pink shirt). All-in-all, a super fun package! :) I'll post some pics once the sun comes up - i hate how they come out with the flash on.


Tigger modeling my new Smithsonian hat & my new hand-made socks.


Supreme Court pen & NASA patch, & Tigger applique

itlow

In the Land of Women

Watched this when I got up at 4:30 in the morning with nothing else to do. Very good, but I loved Adam Brody in Gilmore Girls, so I went into it liking his character already. Interesting story and inviting characters, not a 'must see', but a good flick.

We are almost through the 7th season of GG, only a few more episodes to go. It has given me time to work on my/Justin's Blue Blanket and I am almost finished with skein #4. I'd say almost halfway done. I want to start so many new projects but I think I need to get some more needles! I really am lacking in the straights department and don't want to do everything on circulars, but I really wanted to wait for Knit Pick's Harmony Straights to come out. :) I also need the smaller 16" fixed circs to make hats and things, but money is tight. I may pick up a few sets after my next paycheck while Knit Picks has all of their books on sale for 40% off (since I missed Interweave's book sale), since if you buy $50 shipping is free. :) Will post if/when I do!!

Harry Potter Band-Aids & a Window Perch

Justin, laying on the couch last week, asked me to go get him a band-aid for his arm. He had picked off a scab and it was bleeding. As punishment for making me go all the way to get a band-aid, he got a glow-in-the-dark Harry Potter lightning bolt band-aid. Here is evidence!

Also, I finally bought Tigger a window perch for the computer/guest room at PetSmart to keep him off of my desk:


Here is how setting it up went.
9 pm - PREPARE - Attach Velcro strip to window sill and wait for it to set

8 am - TREPIDATION - Attach perch to strip & adjust legs to fit. Tigger remains stand-offish and will not even touch it.


9 am - INSPECT - I put a hand towel on the perch to make it smell like home & confuse the Tigger. I place him on it and he proceeds to check it's stability by attacking the legs.


10 am - PLACATE - He will stay on the sill side of the perch unless I leave, then he runs after me.


2 pm - ACCEPTANCE - He hasn't moved from this spot in an hour. :)


Yay! :)

Dishcloths and wedding planning

I finished my set of ballband dishcloths this morning! I used up all but maybe 20 ft of the ombre and still have quite a bit of light blue left over - probably enough to make one more out of.

We had a fun 4th, our friends Rob & Brittany (married almost one month!) came over and we had drinks and lit off fireworks, and then watched some Gilmore Girls. I swear, I can get anyone hooked on my shows!! :) Justin got me margaritas (Cuervo Gold) so needless to say, my night was cheery!

When I showed him my finished dishcloths (and jumped around in joy) he asked me what project I was going to finish next and when I was wishy-washy about not starting any new ones so I needed to finish the ones I already had going he said that it sure would be nice if I finished HIS blanket!! I guess I will need to make a pink one for myself and have his/hers blankets!! :)

My BFF Jenni went over to David's Bridal and tried on dresses, in her attempt to force me to plan our wedding. :D Here's a sample of what I think looks good from her trip. I will try to get in and try on my own dresses soon!!

That's about it, just enjoying my 3-day weekend. We'll chill out around here today and probably start GG Season 6 and tomorrow I need to do some laundry. Fun! :)

Updates later if anything interesting happens.

Happy Independence Day!

Well, I haven't been doing much in my knitting world lately except working on my first Ballband Dishcloth, which I think will end up as a Ballband Hand Towel. :) I've done about 4 repeats now and haven't messed up anything that I couldn't fix so I am really proud of myself! I haven't used dish cloths outside of my grandma's house (I prefer scrubby pads) so I'm not quite sure what I will use them for. Guest hand towels? Gifts? I haven't decided yet, but I'd like to make a matching set. NOW I understand why old ladies have stashes of doilies and wash cloths sitting around!!

I'm also pondering making a separate blog for personal stuff, but I don't think I'd use it as much. However - people that read my knitting blog may not want to read the personal stuff!! :) I will still ponder for a while, as I'm not the kind of person who has enough to blog about every day.

I still hope to finish scarves for my immediate family (including my soon-to-be in-laws) for Christmas presents, but I am going to have to sacrifice working on blankets or other projects, I think. Oh well! :) Next year everyone will get dish cloth/hand towel sets!! Gifts are good for honing skills, I feel like I'm ready to move on to more patterns and am excited to try a 'My So Called Scarf' because the pattern looks pretty easy. AND with each new pattern I master I impress Tracy that much more so that she will finally learn to purl and make cool stuff with me. (Because once you can knit and purl, you're set!)

I am hoping to go to the Knit Together this week. They meet every Thursday at a local church that is not anywhere near being on my way home, but I want to go and see all of the cool things they make that will make me feel like the beginner that I am. I don't think I can get Tracy-poo to go with me because she picks up Shawn (her 8-yr old son) from camp after work, but I still hope that I can work up the courage to go, even by myself.

That's about it for the news around here, I think I need to go clean house as we might have Rob & Brittany over tonight to set off fireworks.

Have a great holiday everyone!! :)