Earn Knit To Own It

...and two months later...

2008-07-01T21:33:00.002-06:00

Where to start? Certainly not at the beginning, that's a long time to catch up on. So here's just the latest.

I bought a new wheel, a Baynes. She's spoiled me.

I opened an etsy shop: earnknittoownit.etsy.com

I'm teaching spinning lessons from my "studio" (that's suburbia code for garage). I have two students signed up.

I'm working on starting a spinning guild here in Central Arkansas.

I have become the slowest knitter ever.

I took a class on handying yarn and made two stunning skeins called "Rotten Banana" and "Denim Americana".

I am loving life!!

...midyear resolutions: Knit during lunch at the library. Give in to dorkiness. Grin uncontrollably.

Prodigal Blogger..

2008-04-22T12:02:00.002-06:00

Um, wow. Two months. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, I've just been introspective. Here's the highlights.

Spinning - my Babe broke a few weeks ago. I've gotten really good at spinning. I'm trying not to be proud of it, because pride comes before a fall, and then snap, my wheel broke! That'll teach me. So I did what any sensible person would do: I paid my new Baynes wheel off and searched for a box big enough for the Babe. The Baynes is in the mail and I'm still searching for a box.

Knitting - I knit my first handknit into a baby pixie hat and a Calorimetry. I was surprised at the yardage. The Navajo plying left it a little rougher than I'd like, but the colors are gorgeous. Right now I have socks for Josh's birthday, Icarus, a slouchy hat, and the Gluttony socks on the needles. The Icarus is going to hibernate for a bit.

In other news, not much. It's gorgeous outside. I'm trying to get back to the park on Sundays and Tuesdays for swordfighting. It's way too much fun and quite a workout.

I'm also joining the Junior League.

Yesterday one of our rescue dogs had to be put down. She was heavy pregnant, full of heartworms and had a bullet shatter her elbow. I felt so bad for that family who found her. They gave her a week of life as a loved, indoor dog.

The cure for one disease is simply another illness

2008-02-22T09:25:00.002-06:00

So I cured my spinning addiction by becoming readdicted to knitting. After spinning all the fiber in my house, I purchased more fiber and picked up my pointy sticks. I finished my Monkey socks, a Quandt (the cool entrelac headband from Knitty), blocked two scarves, and am halfway through a second Kitty Pi catbed that I cast on over a year ago! I have all these items to cast on my head (2 sock projects from my sock club, 2 shawls, Pomatamous socks, thrummed mitts, Unoriginal hats) but I want to get these projects that I started and then dropped done. After the cat bed is the sock that I cut in half. That promises to be...interesting. My nieces have birthdays soon, so some baby knitting also needs to occur before April/May.

They're trying to make me go to rehab, I said no, no, no.

2008-01-30T09:12:00.000-06:00

Contest: First to give me the name of the song and the artist gets a yarny prize of either Lorna's Laces or Malabrigo. Your choice, but the color is green, because I have a bit of a green problem.

I think I have a bit of a spinning addiction. I'll do a photo dump tonight, but I've basically predrafted every fiber in my house. I've learned to Navajo ply, and then plyed on my wheel yesterday which was a workout. I've completely forgot about knitting, which is not good, I have a sock left to finish for the Loopy Ewe swap. In short, I need spinning rehab.

I had a wonderful time in Jonesboro at a knitting meetup. It was quite a little drive though. I am not fond of driving. Someone really needs to work on that teleportation thing.

The sleep study went well. I now have a breathing machine for nighttime. I feel like a completely different person. Well, not totally different, I'd still rather knit and spin then clean the house.

Which reminds me, I need to call around about finding a maid for twice a month, someone to cut down the dead tree in our yard, and a new lawncare worker. I'm spending my government refund check before I get it. Remember, kids, spend it on services or American made goods.

Use your imagination..

2008-01-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

It's tragic that the digital camera has bitten the dust. But, in a positive, silver-lining moment, I realize I have about 3 disposable cameras that are half finished, and a bunch of mystery film. Does anyone else have that problem where you have rolls of film that have been used, but you have no idea what's on it? So, I'm going to take some sock pictures with the ends of my disposable cameras and find one of those mail in places that uploads them to the internet to you. That will be my tragic version of the digital camera until I save up for one.

I'm knitting on some Monkey socks which are gorgeous. I love that pattern in a busy varigated yarn and the one I picked fits the bill perfectly. It's Yarn Love and the fabric it's producing is so soft and gorgeous. I still have Branching Out on the needles. When I knit it, my nose itches and my throat tickles. Possible mohair allergy? It's not bad enough to stop me from knitting and wearing it though. It's purple and green and glossy. So me..I can endure a bit of a sniffle.

My Babe wheel arrived! She needs decoration. I think I'll be going to the local hippy store to see if they have a triskele sticker or two for her treadles. I've been working on getting my pedaling smooth. Hopefully this weekend I'll try again at running some fiber through her.

The local yarn store, Yarn Mart, now carries Shi Bui Knits! I fell pray to a gorgeous navy blue semi-solid and took two skeins of it home. Sock yarn, of course. I also had a swap from Ravelry this week and received the crochet hook I needed to cast on for my Ogee Lace skirt. I've had the tape yarn since the Arkansas Knit and Spin meetup, but lacked the hook. Maybe I'll have it done by the Jonesboro meetup. Here's hoping!

What are you up to?

Well poo...

2008-01-13T11:12:00.000-06:00

I've developed another disease. Apparently I snore like a 70 year old fat man. Why has no one told me this until now? I also stop breathing and wake myself up constantly. So I'm exhausted. I have a sleep study at the end of the month. After almost causing a head-on collision Friday, I now have some nice drugs to keep me awake during the day. The sleep study can't come soon enough. The anatomy of my mouth and neck is to blame for all this.

My digital camera is DEAD. Really dead. So there goes any dream of making my ebay store a reality, unless I use stock photos.

So that means when the spinning wheel gets here, there will be no pictures. You'll just have to trust me that I'm actually spinning and knitting on this end.

Right now I'm working on a pair of Monkey socks and a never-ending Branching Out. That is all that's on the needles. After that I have a Kitty Pi to finish and the pair of socks I cut in half a long time back.

Sniffle sniffle...

2007-12-30T00:50:00.000-06:00

I caught a Christmas cold! Merry belated Christmas everyone! I just finished a pair of socks and got to reflecting on the past year of knitting...

10 pairs of socks knitted. Some of them were given away in swaps. I started sock knitting in February when Josh purchased me some Collinette Jitterbug in Lagoon and a sock class at Yarn Mart. It was all downhill from there. Besides the sock obsession, I finished a cat bed, several hats and scarves, and dishrags this year.

What's on the horizon? I have enough stashed for a sweater, several scarves and mittens, 7 or 8 pairs of socks, various baby blankets and the like, the Ogee Lace Wrap and Celtic Tote from Interweave Knits, Pretty as a Peacock Shawl, about 10 dishcloths, and who knows what else is hidden in my cedar chest. Unfinished objects left from 2007: an entrelac scarf, a Branching Out, and the beginnings of a Kitty Pi. I'd like to get some bigger projects going, along with the socks. I'd like to not overbuy this year. So here's my schedule, resolutions, or master queue for 2008. Needles up!

1. Finished Branching Out, the 2nd Kitty Pi and Entrelac Scarf
2. Keep socks on the needles at all times
3. No more swapping! Knit for Christmas instead.
4. Cast on for Pretty as a Peacock, Ogee Lace Wrap and Celtic Tote and finish at least one of them by Mid February.
5. More thrummed mittens
6. More hats
7. Use stash
8. Take more classes from Yarn Mart
9. Shop locally!
10. Avoiding casting on before finishing up an UFO or whipping up something small for the gift closet.

Tomorrow, pictures of the year in review and the story of Tick's missing ear.

As charming as a cactus, you're as cuddly as an eel....

2007-12-21T14:29:00.000-06:00

Describes me perfectly, no? Here's the latest news.

1. I bought some needles. I have yarn to make a large array of projects, but no needles. I now have needles of various sizes and brands. I cast on for the Celtic Tote from the Winter issue of IK. So far, so good. It's my first cabling attempt. This piece shall definetely be the back of the bag, something wonky happened in the first cable row. I also have the necessary needles to cast on for the Ogee Lace Skirt from the Fall issue of IK, but I don't have the needles for my shawl yet (see #3).

2. I finished one nuppy sock and cast on for the second. It's the oddest colorway (see picture in post previous to this one) but it's enjoyable. I wouldn't pick orange myself, that's what sock clubs are for! The purple and green in the colorway make it interesting and somehow work with the orange. I hope to finish up by Christmas and cast on my DK weight socks and finish those before coming back to work on Thursday.

3. I bought the Pretty as a Peacock shawl pattern. Yes, ambitious, much? I also just paid for some Zephyr from a nice person on Ravelry in Williamsburg Blue. I'm debating whether I will dip dye the bottom half a forest green, but I'll probably leave it as is.

4. I did not holiday knit. There shall be after holiday knitting though. I forgot about my Pay it Forward Swap, need to start on my Loopy Ewe swap, and I have a friend to knit a small project for. Add to that the two pairs of socks I have in my head, the tote, and a few other things and I predict a busy 2008.

brr...

2007-12-17T13:38:00.000-06:00

So today at work, we were without heat for two hours. It got down to a nice 56 in here. It made me wish I was at home in front of the fire, knitting away.

My husband is in Salt Lake City for the week. Yesterday I had the idea to finish up the shopping on Amazon. I was shocked to discover nothing will arrive in time unless I pay $180 for shipping. So I'm trying to get out and get a few presents each day at lunch. Today I was caught in bumper to bumper traffic, but made it to Sam's Club for a few things. Tomorrow will be Target and the post office, Wednesday Wal-Mart and Thursday lunch with a friend. So I suspect I will be doing some last minute shopping on Saturday when Josh gets back.

I finished my thrummed mittens. I was HATING them near the end. I suffered a knitting injury of a seperated nailbed on my left index finger. And one is definetely "better" than the other. Neither is perfect, but that is typical of my knitting. However, they are warm and very cheery, though not too functional, as they are STUFFED with BFL. I hope my swap pal likes them. I have cookies to bake for her package tonight and then off it will go to the cold North!

On Localness..a New year's Resolution

2007-12-13T10:48:00.000-06:00

It's easy to be caught up in the excitement over a Loopy Ewe sneakup or the latest Woolgirl shipment. I've been thinking lately about why this is and I've come up with some insights:

1. Dogs. Anyone whose had a dog knows that they, unless they are very stupid, are mirrors of our own emotion. My dogs don't jump on me, but when my mom comes to visit and uses that high excited baby-talk voice, watch out! A low toned voice is what I was always taught to use when training my dogs. Excitement is contagious. Maybe knitters and yarn addicts are even more so. I know reading everyone's excitement on Ravelry over a Sneak-Up and I find myself looking and loading up my cart even though I know I don't have money to spend.

2. Disconnect. There's something about getting something in the mail. Well, besides bills and junk mail. I'm convinced that online stores that cheerily wrap their items and include little extras make us think that these sellers are our friends. While they may be friendly, this is a cleverly crafted business model. Don't get me wrong, they are nice people, but they are nice people wanting to make a profit off of that niceness. There's nothing wrong with that, it's much better than the big box stores brusqueness and impersonality, but it's a means to an end.

So, where am I going with all this? Buy local! I've had too many stores in Arkansas close before I could visit them. I don't think it's my fault, but lines I can find in my city, like Regia or Noro, I need to buy in my city. There is my New Years Resolution. I'm still a proud member of Woolgirl's Sock and Yarn Clubs, because there is no way I'm finding Yarntini or MissBabs in Arkansas, but yarns I can find across town, I will order across town.

Still here!

2007-12-09T20:51:00.000-06:00

I'm still here. Between my stomach and massive amounts of knitting, I've been busy. I'll take some finished object pictures, I've finished two pairs of socks and almost finished some thrummed mittens.

In mail news, I received my last package from my SP11 pal, which Ace is peering into. It had the most yummy cookies, beautiful etsy yarn, dishcloth yarn and other coolness.

Then, I got my Ravelry Christmas swap package. Look at that knitting bag. With my name on it! As a Camille, it's a sad rite of childhood that I never had anything with my name on it. No one makes Camille pencils, bike plates, etc. That was before the dawn of the internet where that problem is easily solved.
Oh, there was also a mass of kitchen cotton (swoon! new brand I've never tried!), and purple and green Tofutsies. Purple and green always make me happy. The cookies are gone and I'm about to delve into a cuppa tea.

That blurry picture is my new sock project from Woolgirl's Sock Club. It's hard to see, but there's nupps on them. They are a royal pain in the wrist, but it's gorgeous. Just hard to photograph with my poor camera.

Work is busy, home is busy. I've been mainly happy with everything except my spending habits. This week I switch to cash only. I'll make any online purchases and then everything else will be cash. Fun, eh? I'm considering some other financial plans for the new year, but that's a little personal and not too yarn related. So that's where I'm at.

No pictures!

2007-11-17T06:09:00.001-06:00

I have no pictures to offer, but there should be some soon. I'm knitting my Dye Trying yarn up and it's self-striping! Gorgeous yellow and pink. I'm reminded of Easter, which is a great thing.

Lately I've developed a relationship with God. I definitely didn't have one before, but now I'm having tea and reading my Bible each day, going to Epoch, and really developing a love for Christ. When I'm not sick that is. I don't think I've been to church the last month, but I still feel like I'm learning a lot about truthiness. I used to think church was full of hypocrites. I hate intolerance, bigotry and it seems like sometimes Christianity separates people out to poke at them. I don't think that's my place. However, it's no reason to avoid being a Christian, it's just a reason to avoid some members of the fan club and stay true.

I have bad news on the spinning wheel front. I think the wheel has seperated from the hub/axle. So I have to find a repair-er. I looked in the phone book under 'spinning' 'wheelwright' and 'wheels'. Let me tell you how that went... A big fat zero. I'll be calling yarn stores to see if they know anyone when it's business hours. I suspect I may be shipping this wheel, so if you know anyone, even across the country, please let me know. Since the wheel was free, I can't complain about the repair too much. It is a gorgeous wheel, most similar to a Country Craftsman, though that's not quite it. (That website link has a great selection of tools, especially swifts and yarn winders, great prices too...and a neat link to their family farm)

Snoopy dance!

2007-11-12T19:08:00.000-06:00

While I still don't know the manufacturer of the spinning wheel, it is, indeed more than a pretty decoration. Wednesday I will be ordering some Ashford oil for it, and running to Hobby Lobby for string to construct a drive band. I've gotten so much help from great Ravelry-ers. A huge THANK YOU!

I'm adding some button things to the side of my blog. Go check them out.

Also, did you know The Loopy Ewe has a wishlist function now? Oh, you already knew that? Geez...oh well, here's my wishlist. Have you made one? Link to it in the comments. I love looking at other people's wishlists. It's an odd hobby of mine, but I love that 'list' function on Amazon. I redid my Amazon list too, to facilitate gift buying for my mother in law. Amazon now allows you to make a list of gift ideas for others too. That was very handy after spending time with Josh's family this weekend. I'm adding the Amazon list to my page. Sometimes, it's hard to learn about your secret pal, swapper, new knitter friend. Lists and memes are helpful, I think.

Mystery Wheel

2007-11-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

Help! What is this wheel missing? What type might it be? Who might I ask for help with this? The aged look is thanks to grease pencil and other antiquing methods. There are two cracks in the wheel base itself (one is pictured). The treadle won't turn the wheel with the foot alone. I tied the treadle to the footman using a method I found on the internet, and that still didn't help much. Are there parts missing to this?

Onward!

2007-11-11T12:58:00.000-06:00

So Friday I went to get the results of everything and got a clean bill of health. A month of meds and hopefully my stomach will have cleared. I quit my anti-nausea medicine, it was making me sleepy. So now I'm a bit nauseous. At least I can work and knit now though. I felt like I was walking in a haze last week. I have lifestyle changes in mind. Which is funny. I am one of the fitter people I know, but I suppose there's always room for improvement.

Guess what my mother-in-law gave me? A spinning wheel. Photos to come to see if I can get it working again, or if it's just a decorative piece. It looks to be a single treadle, I just can't get the treadle to um, treadle. I think I'm missing a drive band too. However, never having seen a spinning wheel in the flesh, I'm guessing wildly here. I now own a spinning wheel though. Pretty cool, huh? It looks similar to an Australian one called a Sleeping Beauty, or an antique Regina. However, I know next to nothing about spinning wheels. This will be an education, I hope. Pictures when we get back from Hot Springs tonight. Now I just need a swift and winder. Always something...

Was anyone else disappointed with the Winter IK? I only tabbed two patterns (the Celtic tote and the traveling cable socks), which is good, my queue is huge anyways, but still, that's less than the last few IK editions by a lot.

Checking in..

2007-11-05T18:32:00.000-06:00

Today was superfun! No, not really, here's why.

1. During his chauffering around town, my husband drove right by the LYS and didn't even slow down. I totally deserved a present. However, he made up for it by buying the cat food this week, and dealing with me referring to him as my "driver" while at the endoscopy clinic. Ha!

2. The ultrasound lady wasn't gentle. I know she couldn't be to see all the organy goodness inside, but I wasn't expecting it.

3. My liver is nonhomogenous. No, I have no idea what that really means, and neither does my doctor, so I have a CAT scan in the upcoming weeks.

4. I have spots in my stomach. Maybe ulcers? Maybe not, we'll find that out this week.

5. That medicine you ladies recommended I take was the absolute best. Two seconds after the doctor said "You're going to feel a little sleepy" I was out cold. It almost makes me look forward to getting my wisdom teeth out.

So that's what I learned today: I have a wonky liver and stomach, more tests, and new medicine with a double dose of the old one.

I'm still without appetite, but I'm about to make myself eat some spaghetti. Have you ever noticed how fall-ish foods are disgusting looking? Not spaghetti, but beef stew, chilimac, potato soup. They all look really gross, yet in fall, I crave them.

Bad News..

2007-10-31T18:46:00.000-06:00

I went to the specialist and I'm scheduled for an ultrasound and endoscopy on Monday. I'm not excited. Apparently my stomach and colon are broken and working very slowly. I'm..well, stunned might be the right word.

So I'm ignoring that until Monday. Between now and then I have two days of Continuing Legal Education. So I guess if I look at that and Monday as fun days, it's a five day weekend, right? Somehow I have an inkling that it won't be fun.

I finished my Kaffe Fassett socks. I'm casting on my Dye Trying yarn. I need plain stockinette therapy.

Picture Pages...

2007-10-27T14:04:00.000-06:00

So I'm still feeling wonky. Fortunately there is good news:

1. I have an appointment with a GI specialist on Wednesday.
2. I have my own office! With my own desk, credenza, bookshelf, and file cabinet. There might even been a chair involved. I left early Friday after getting sick. Hauling all my stuff to the new office made my stomach flip over in a bad way.
3. I have CLE on Thursday through Saturday of next week. That will be a fun change of pace, hopefully.
4. I have pictures of finished projects. I finished my Hogwart's Socks (not pictured) too.

But first, here is the picture of my package from my Secret Pal. That yarn? Purple and green mohair/wool blend which will soon be a Branching Out for me. Purple and green are my permanent favorite colors. I rotate out other favorites depending on the season. This summer it was pink and yellow. Right now it's browns and reds. The reduced fat milk was not part of the package. Folk Socks was.

These are my finished Waterfall socks. The pattern and yarn came from Miss Babs through the Woolgirl sock club. This was an awesome first installment. The yarn and pattern were accompanied by a sock club journal and pen, (which I use to write down names of books at Barnes and Noble to request from the library, notes during my daily bible study, or presents Josh or others mention for Christmas), lip balm from an etsy seller, and the most gorgeous stitch marker I've ever seen. Well, besides the ones I got in the package above. I don't think you can see them. I need to start a shawl so I can show them off. The sock pattern was simple and so quick with the sportweight yarn. They are shorter than I usually knit though with a longer toe than I prefer, but it was fun to try something new so I stuck with the pattern and I'm pleased.

Mr. Lulu is making his happy face, glad to have new admirers in his harem of women. Was it Chris Rock that said every woman needs two boyfriends, the gay one and the straight one? Mr. Lulu is very happy to be a gay boyfriend to any girl cats out there. He'd love to shop at Target with you, watch Bridget Jones Diary, or just eat some Ben and Jerry's. He won't judge you. If you share.

I've been putting together a final package for my Secret Pal. It's definitely autumnal in nature. I'm putting two more things in on payday and then shipping it out. There's no sense in going too over the top, is there?

I've been making....thrummed mittens! They are hell on the hands knitting the thrums through (say "thrums through" ten times fast!) but so soft inside. I can't wait to send these to my Ravelry Mitten Exchange pal in Minnesota. They would be essential here maybe two days out of the whole year.

I also found a pattern for the alpaca from my first Secret Pal package. Aren't these gorgeous?

Well....

2007-10-24T21:56:00.001-06:00

I am not better. It's not pregnancy or hepatitis. I'm getting a gastroenterologist referral tomorrow, or arrested. One or other. I have to see someone who knows what they're doing in the stomach department.

I finished two pairs of socks. Tomorrow me and my Gatorade are going to work. I can have that constant throwing up feeling there just as well as here. Though there aren't nearly as many sock projects at work. Just legal research.

In good news, I will be moved into my new office soon. Also it stopped raining here. That's all I've got. My tummy hurts.

Sick part II

2007-10-22T06:34:00.000-06:00

I've decided never to cook again. I'm ridiculously sick and I know my pasta salad last night is to blame. I feel bad about taking a second sick day this month, but my breakfast is not staying where it's supposed to be. Maybe I'll feel better after some actual sleep, it was a rough night, and then I can finish a sock or two and post some pictures.

I am almost ready to turn the heel on my second Hogwart's Swap 2 sock, which means they'll go out this next weekend. I haven't been knitting anything else.

Still here!

2007-10-16T11:06:00.000-06:00

I have finished two socks, and received one swap and one Secret Pal package and scheduled another swap (sent my end). I've cast on for the mates for the two socks, and the mate for my Hogwart's Pal. I've taken pictures of all of these things, but am procrastinating the upload so I can post some insights first.

1. Sport weight yarn is lovely for socks. This ends the very shortlived and nonexistant really, sock yarn fast. It knits up ridiculously quick. If I ever have a sock swap disaster, remind me to buy some sport weight. That will solve your problems in a weekend. I received sportweight from the indie dyer Miss Babs in my first Woolgirl package. I swapped for a variety of Bryspun DPNs with a lovely Ravelryer (sending her some Duets) and cast on. This yarn was jaw dropping amazing.

2. Regia. Where have you been all my life? I finished the first sock of the Kaffe Fassett yarn from my Sock it To Me Pal's package. I made it extra tight. The entire time I was knitting my husband kept commenting at how my knitting skills have improved drastically. I took that as a sign and swapped for some Regia in black to knit him some Christmas socks. I love the wooliness of it, and the fact that it's washer and dryer proof.

3. I'm being spyed on. I don't know by who, but whoever my Secret Pal is, she can read minds. I was knitting the Regia socks, thinking since it was plain stockinette I'd do a different heel and toe to learn a new technique. I did a band heel, which works nicely for my narrowish feet (they're really average width, I just like a tight sock). Then I couldn't find a toe pattern I could understand, so I just did my usual. Yesterday I arrived home to a package with Nancy Bush's Folk Socks in it. I instantly remembered that I had looked at this every time I was in Barnes and Noble because it had all the different toe methods clearly laid out. That was only the beginning of the package, but that's another post, post-upload procrastination. She also sent yarn that will become my personal Branching Out. I am still pondering the ball of alpaca from the last package. I wound it into a ball and I'm now plotting what it should be.

One Hogwart's Sock down, one to go..

2007-10-09T18:56:00.001-06:00

I am not casting on until Sunday though. I need a break from the project. Also, I know once I cast on it will be a mad dash to the finish.

In other news, have you seen the Knitty Halloween surprise pattern? Oh, you saw it already....nevermind. I may make it for my little brother in law. He's a huge Nightmare Before Christmas fan.

Lulu says hi. Here he is with his Sidekick II. Holla at ya boi!

*Old picture, no mohawk at the moment.

Mr. Lulu

2007-10-06T20:31:00.001-06:00

Who is cuter Mr. Lulu or Wendy's Lucy? I think Mr. Lulu, though he doesn't have his own colorway...yet. The above is when I decided the groomer should give him a cat mohawk. And that outside the window was our biggest snowfall last year. Two inches, I believe.

Mr. Lulu got his name because his first owner thought he was a girlkitten. Mr. Lulu was born in Spain. My friend Jenny found him while she was an au pair for a teacher at her college. Can you imagine a free trip to Spain as a babysitter? Me neither. Somehow, she decided to fly him back to the States, NYC more specifically. He has his own cat passport. Everything in it is written in Spanish. When she moved from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Washington D.C. I volunteered to take the Lu-ster. Nevermind that my husband has a cat allergy... I was/am selfish.

So, we call Mr. Lulu the "gay cat." His favorite designer is Issac Mizrahi. You say the name and he will meow and preen. He has been both neutered and spayed by a vet who didn't check his sex before making the spay incision. Yikes! That was prior to my adoption. When he's shaved down you can see his spay scar.

And yes, though no one asked, at some point, I will knit him a cat sweater. Probably in his favorite color. Hot pink.

He does have his faults though. He is randomly sexually aggressive toward our Pollycat. If the automatic litterbox gets stuck with the canister flap up, he will pee on the nearest squishy thing. He's prone to UTIs, and because of that, both cats are on a grain free diet (That's the alternative treatment to a Science Diet formula, but don't get me started on that. I'm a pet food snob to the extreme, though I do let them have some "junk food" every now and then like Pupperoni or Whisker Lickins.) The other alternative treatment for UTIs? A very expensive cat sex change operation. I'm not making this up. It's not funny because he gets so sick, but it's fitting he'd have something where the cure might be a sex change.

My goal this weekend is to finish two socks and cast on for their mates. I swapped some languishing Duets for a ton of DPNs on Ravelry.

I messed up majorly last month, being very irresponsible. I won't get into the details, but I'm glad to have a husband who lets me fuck up and still loves me. It's a financial boo-boo, a fixable one, but my budget now is limited to swaps, gas, and groceries. I'm going to be ebaying some things to try and pay back into our account what I messed up. The sooner I get it paid back, the better off I'll feel. Time to grow up. But I can still knit hot pink cat sweaters.

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed...

2007-10-02T20:56:00.002-06:00

...one stayed home sick, but look what came in the mail. Monkeys!
That's the box. Isn't that a boring picture?
That's the inside of the box. That project bag is absolutely fabulous. I was just thinking the other day that I either need less projects, or more bags. I vote more bags.

The loot! Swedish Fish. Evidence that I still feel awful: they're still here and not eaten yet. Two skeins of Regia's newest line by Kaffe Fassett, lavender shea butter, and a cute notepad. Oh, and the Monkeys:

They fit perfectly but don't photograph well. Ignore the half chewed dog bone in the picture. Photo composition may be lacking, but these socks are gorgeous. They are a true red and purple. Somehow together that photographs blue and pink with a dog bone. Strange...

I am so happy, thank you Channon!

In other not thinking about throwing up news, we have Mr. Lulu, who got a haircut a few weeks ago. He's thrilled. Seriously, before you get upset at someone who has their cat groomed, he's miserable in full coat. He carries around 4 lbs of hair, which produce painful hairballs, and those hairballs cause him to get seriously aggressive. This is about the best method we've found, in combination with a prescription hairball remedy.

No, I don't know why they left his full tail. Typically they just leave the tip of it fluffy. He looks like a squirrel now. Look at that man-cat fat!

In Socktober news, I will be knitting exclusively from gifted sock yarns. Yep, with the Kaffe Fasset acquisition today, that's four projects in one month in addition to the two sock projects already on the needles. I just cast on with the Kaffe, and I'm ready to go! I'm knitting in the reverse order in which they were gifted, so we have: Regia, handyed yarn, Panda Wool, and Tofutsies.

Tomorrow is payday. I am going slumming, in search of cheap yarn in which to make a shrug from. I'll report back from Hobby Lobby tomorrow. Unless I'm eaten by a fake fur monster. Or unless I keep throwing things up. (Things? Makes you wonder doesn't it. Could be anything..like golf balls, or paperclips, or whole works of fiction that I've eaten. Sure feels like it!)

Socks can die in a fire.

2007-09-29T22:45:00.000-06:00

All of them. I have nothing but hate. While doing the laundry today I found my other Ravenclaw sock, soft and happy from a trip through the washer and dryer. With a HUGE hole in it. Guess who didn't weave the end in quite right? Oh yes. I had to get out the scissors. At some later, more sane point in time, I will pick up the stitches and carry on with the extra yarn I have. Or I might just set them on fire.

Seriously, the only thing that could inspire more sock hate this weekend would be if one of my dogs ate my Lantern Moon DPNs.

I should have known it wasn't going to go well. I was stalking the mailbox for my SITM pal box and instead got our foundation papers. Sure enough, the part of our foundation that is settling isn't covered. So, before we ever sell our house, I'll have to come up with thousands of dollars to have the back half of the house piered. Fortunately, that's a long way off.

I'm grumpy. And that, folks, is why we don't keep liquor in the house. Or chocolate. That's also why I'm never doing laundry again. You never know when you might find a mangled Ravenclaw sock in the wash.

Con-testy

2007-09-28T18:17:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been lucky with the blog contests. I won some beautiful yarn from Knit Playground, and a fabulous gift certificate from SockPr0n (I already have the pendant I want picked out..unless I change my mind that is).

I've been knitting on the same things. I have castonitis. I desperately want to be DONE with these socks. I'm knitting the secret Hogwarts socks, and Hederas for me. I just washed the Hogwarts socks I accidentally made myself. The yarn is very washable, which was my pal's only specific requirement. So that makes me feel good. This is my first time knitting with a wool/nylon blend and I'm liking it. I don't like the splittiness of the yarn though..

Fortunately, my Hederas are being knit in Zen Strings Serendipity. The most unsplitty, tightly wound yarn I've enjoyed so far. It's just gorgeous. So they are a good contrast for each other.

So about not stashing more sock yarn..

2007-09-22T06:33:00.000-06:00

I lied. I bought 6 skeins of Lorna's Laces and just tried to buy another 6, but the buyer didn't take credit card paypal.

It's not that I don't want more sock yarn, because that would be crazy. I just want to start stashing sweater yarn!

A Package!

2007-09-18T20:05:00.000-06:00

So yesterday I came home sick at 3. The only thing worse than being sick is toughing it out until 3. Seriously, what's the point of going home at that point? I made a trip by the doctor for allergy medicine, painkillers, and then home. My husband had been home earlier for a meeting with the insurance adjuster, so I assumed my Secret Pal 11 package was not here. But it was! It was just small enough to fit in the mailbox, so my husband hadn't spotted it.

Inside was a gorgeous skein of alpaca from New Hampshire, a rubber band ball, a cool book on knitting lingo, Tootsie Roll pops in a neat lunchbox tin, Swedish Fish (now swimming somewhere in my stomach), and Petfinder.com bookmarks!

Thank you so much, whoever you are! I am thinking about making some driving mitts out of the alpaca. I've promised my husband mitts so he can type and have warm hands at the same time in his frigid office. I think though, that these mitts will be mine. I have to test the pattern first of course, right? Yep.

That's the Hogwart's sock that was not to be. That one is finished. i'm about halfway through it's mate. I should be done with them by the time the replacement yarn arrives and the knitting frenzy begins!

Sometimes I am not so smart...subtitled: I guess I wanted to be a Ravenclaw

2007-09-16T07:41:00.000-06:00

Lately my husband and I have been discussing what trouble people get in when they make assumptions. So I was happily knitting along on my socks for the Hogwart's Sock Swap 2, down past the gussets. Only then did I look at the size foot I was knitting for. So I have instituted Rule 2 now: Try and remember not everyone is your size, some are smaller, some are bigger.

So, to summarize so far, we have:
1. Don't join a sock club unless you have preloved their yarn (by ACTUALLY knitting it, not just stashing it).
2. Look at the request made for your swap or gift project and knit accordingly.

So, I was faced with the decision: frog or buy more yarn. I chose to buy more yarn. Honestly, I don't know how to make a pattern larger or smaller. So I'm going to rebuy yarn and go with my personal favorite pattern of the moment, it's very stretchy, with one extra repeat so I can have a bigger heel cup/sole and voila.

Fortunately, I really like the sock I finished. Maybe I did this on purpose? Unfortunately it means that the Hogwart's Socks will be my monogamous project as soon as the yarn gets in (hopefully before next weekend).

Hmm...Grover Pacman?*

2007-09-14T21:19:00.001-06:00

The new Knitty is up. You already knew? Oh...well....sorry...geez...

Just kidding! I will be knitting quite a few things from there. It's frustrating. My queue keeps growing. However, this issue of Knitty will solve a few "what am I going to make with this" questions I had about some of my stashed. I got some gorgeous handspun, which will be a Urchin hat. Should I acquire a lone skein of Malbrigo on my next trip to Fayetteville, or well, just because, viola Foliage. Foliage had me contemplate frogging Besotted to make my husband and I matching hats. I'm still debating it. Nevermind, he gives it the "too girly" veto. I think it looks elfin.

I had a bit of a sock club epiphany. I will not join a sock club or yarn club unless I have first tried and fallen in love with the yarn. For instance, I love Woolgirl, hence the joining of the club. I cannot understand WHY I am disgruntled that the Yarn Pirate sock club openings are this weekend when I don't have cash to join. I haven't even touched the stuff. Yet I want to join. I am a joiner. But I must introduce this rule to myself: no joining unless I have preloved. I prelove Woolgirl. So many indie dyers, different enough from The Loopy Ewe to justify a purchase. I also love TLE, so if I were to encounter a club sign up there, I'm allowed...

I'm package stalking. Apparently a package is on it's way to me. Actually, three are: SP11 (or is it 12 now? I lose track), yarn from Destash, and Woolgirl sock club.

*Do you know that reference? First to get it right gets an RAOK, and it's yarny. Though it's a toughy.

Destashing my life...

2007-09-09T13:43:00.001-06:00

No, no yarn for sale. I'm going to pack up some yarn that I have no idea what to do with and send it to Winter's Mill High School's knitting club. Here's the damage, while most of it is odds and ends from projects, there's about 10 whole skeins of yarnage. Lots of variety, from alpaca and acrylic to indie dyed sock yarn:

I destashed my closet last week. That was an ugly sight. It's amazing how many things I have that I don't use. I am going to take the clothing to consignment and Goodwill. Though I end up buying things at places like that. Though I can't complain about spending $5.75 on last week's haul: gorgeous Gap trouser jeans in a dark wash and bugle bead edged black Mossimo flip flops.

My mantra lately is "simplify, simplify, simplify". I read in a book on women and money (of the same title Women & Money by Suze Orman, see below with Besotted..) that being surrounded by things that are worthless to us makes us feel worthless. I can understand that.

Here is the long awaited contents of my Ravelry Summer Camp swap package. Minus the food. I don't know what happened to that.

And here's the other skein of Malabrigo, cast on for the Besotted Scarf. The picture is not true to color.

Oooh, a peeking out Hogwart's Sock Swap Sock!

In this corner, finished objects:

Pawprint washcloth:

Sock It To Me Sock Swap Hederas:

Love me some Madelinetosh sock yarn. Yummy stuff. I hope my pal enjoys these socks. I think they're gorgeous.

I've been attacked by a vicious yarn cat. Is there any remedy?

Oooh, look at me law!

2007-09-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I ran down to the courthouse and got sworn in. I'm officially a lawyer! I haven't done anything lawyerish yet though. I don't have my bar number, so I can't sign anything. I did change my footer on my email signature at work to add the word "Attorney" though. I sent a message to my boss commenting on the repair guy's overabundance of chest hair to test my signature. It was hilarious. Seriously, if it's poking out of your shirt, what makes you think that's appropriate? I guess it's the equivalent of jeans that ride so low you see butt cleavage.

I've been knitting Hederas. I ran out of Noro Silk Garden for my entrelac scarf, so that went on stitch holders and into the storage closet until I get more funds for two more skeins to polish it off. It's pretty gorgeous. I'm halfway through a dishcloth.

That's all the knitting news. I got a fabulous swap package yesterday for the Ravelry Summer Camp Exchange. However, you'll have to wait until pictures. Suffice it to say, anything edible in that box is long gone. Remember: lobster lollipops are temporary, Malabrigo is forever!*

*There was a lobster lolly in the box, along with emerald colored Malabrigo. Next payday I will procure size 11 needles and cast on a My So-Called Scarf.

I passed...

2007-08-31T15:26:00.000-06:00

..let the celebration begin!

Pay it Forward Swap

2007-08-30T20:49:00.001-06:00

It's Kris' fault. I'm part of the "Pay it Forward" Swap. This is a great idea to fuel my hat/scarf/washcloth obsession. So post a comment (even my anonymous swap buddies qualify, just indicate which swap it is, so once you're revealed, I can track you down)

"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

Hideousness!

2007-08-29T20:04:00.000-06:00

I shipped off my Ravelry swap today. I had everything except the yarn ready. My etsy seller ran into some shipping delays. I'm not a patient person. The 80 y of handspun she included she sent as a bonus totally made up for it. Now I have to decide what to make with it. Any ideas?

I've been spinning this hideous brown lint colored wool. Yesterday I had a nirvana moment. It's all in the pre-drafting. I went from lumpy slubbed coils to smooth perfection when that hit me. I'm thinking I am going to ply it with a bright turquoise embroidery floss.

I finished the neverending socks. They are truly hideous and I love them like only a sock momma can. I do like the Lorna's Laces much better than the Jitterbug. I will buy Lorna's Laces in groups of three from now on. One skein got me through one and a half socks. So three skeins could be two pairs of socks, or I could have easily made almost-knee socks from one skein. I'm eager to learn to knit toe up to see exactly how much length is in one skein.

Two days until bar exam results. I am a wreck.

Shh...I'm spinning!

2007-08-23T16:14:00.000-06:00

It looks like my first handspun will end up being some brown chunky one ply. I have no idea what I will knit out of this. I'd like it to be something meaningful. Maybe a baby hat? I think that's what I'll end up with. Pictures to come. Then again, lumpy first-time spinner one ply probably all looks the same.

The Wish List..

2007-08-21T20:17:00.000-06:00

When I was a kid, I used to love looking through catalogs and circling things I wanted. Not normal things, but entire lifes. Curtains, rugs, kitchenware, clothes, toys. You could design a whole life from the LookBook that came in the mail at Christmas. So here's been the equivalent of my wishbook lately.

First, I updated my etsy wishlist. Frequently, I'll favorite items I'm going to buy for other people. I removed all those, most of them by buying them.

Check this out:

Yarn, soap, a soap bag, a washcloth pattern. What more could you need?

Soak has a new wash out.

Yarn Pirate has fall colorways up. This one is so un-me, but I can't look away. It's stunning. Ever drawn to something inexplicitly? Like a moth to a flame...

That's all I've got. I've got socks on the needle. I'm working on the entrelac scarf. Scarf Month may not be as prolific as I thought it would be. It looks like I will have finished one and a half scarves unless I get into a tailspin and complete the Clementine.

SP11 Post - Contest

2007-08-16T15:16:00.000-06:00

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
Stitch holder by far. How did I live without one of these? I am fast seeing the need for double point end protectors though, especially with my new Sox Stix. They're so short it's a bit scary.

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? Ifso, how much and what type of project?
Oh yes, usually all my works in progress. Right now that would be two socks and two scarves.

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
Tibet! I really want to take my husband there. There's just something so peaceful about Tibet and Nepal.

4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
Mason-Dixon Knitting is my favorite that I own. I lust after Folk Socks and will probably request that on inter-library loan soon. I borrowed Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles from the library yesterday.

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?
Yes, Lime and Violet and Stash and Burn. I need to put them on my iPod for when I'm at work. I work in a cubicle farm at the moment and all the chatter is very annoying.

The Dog Days..

2007-08-15T21:32:00.000-06:00

I've had baby fever. Today it hit me though. I need action. And no, I don't mean lots of unprotected sex with the husband. Yes, he was disappointed too. Since we're adopting, action means paying off bills. So I am going to become a ebaying fool. I've also come up with some fun steps to save cash:

1. The library! I went today and got seven books, five of them knitting related. Reviews to come. What I'm REALLY excited about is the book "The Dog Whisperer" which is not by Cesar Milan, but some other guy. His approach is totally different than Cesar's which is good. I do not like Cesar's methods. Flooding a rescue dog is a dangerous thing. Rescue dogs have a lot of baggage that needs unpacking. That's best done slowly, carefully, and with thought. This book is really making me think about the way I've done things.

2. Grocery shopping! I spent $20 today (with double coupons, how mom-ish of me) to get frozen meals, oatmeal bars (review: yuck.), yogurt, and flavored water packages. I'll avoid eating out at lunch, and have fun books to read. Josh and I have picked out new recipes to try as well.

3. Garage sale! The Lab Rescue will be broke after two neuters, heartworm and flea meds. Yes, I owe $900 to us for Tick. However, in the meantime, we need cash. So, gigantic garage sale. Keep in mind it's been over 100 degrees for the last 10 days. So, the going has been slow. Hopefully the weekend after next I will have things together. Pictures to come. I've had 7 families donate items, so it's a bit insane now.

The long weekend was great. I needed it. I just finished two socks and cast on for mates. Tomorrow though, I'll be back at the scarves, I need a sock break!

Assimilating.

2007-08-12T07:59:00.000-06:00

So I'm here in Elkins, which is near Fayetteville. The drive up in a sedan with two dogs and a 42" collapsed wire crate was interesting, but we made it.

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. She expressed interest in learning to knit, so we went to Handheld in Fayetteville. They carry quite a few brands that Little Rock doesn't. Namely, Rowan, Koigu, and Blue Sky. I picked up two skeins of Blue Sky cotton to start my sweater, and Alpaca Silk to finish my shawlette. Lindsey grabbed Stitch N' Bitch, a set of Addi Turbos, and two skeins of Koigu. Her first project is the baby blanket from Stitch N' Bitch. She's cast on several times and has knit and purl down.

I finished the neverending sock and cast on for its mate. Today I will finish one of my socks for the Sock it to Me Sock Swap and cast on again. Then hopefully tomorrow I'll run out of Noro on my entrelac scarf and it will have been a very productive knitting vacation.

SP 11 Questions

2007-08-06T22:04:00.000-06:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love superwash wool, organic cotton, dishcloth cotton, and even acrylic blends. I'm not a fun fur fan. Simple is better when it comes to fiber content, I think. I really am liking the Alpaca Silk I have on the needles right now, and Noro is always a hit.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a needle folio that I'm going to put my needles in. I'd like a needle roll though.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've only been knitting since Christmas. I consider myself an advanced beginner. I still have some skills to learn, like cabling and finishing. I hope to start on my first sweater soon.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes

5. What's your favorite scent?
Lavender, vanilla, geranium, rose

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Oh yes, Swedish Fish. Yum.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Scrapbooking! I just got a spindle but haven't figured it out yet. I also love cooking and houseplants.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like most anything. Lately I've been into Belle and Sebastian, Ben Folds Five, anything acoustic with a folk bend to it.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
It changes. Right now it's green.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married with two cats and two big dogs.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Yes, yes, yes, and nooooooo

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks! No more sock yarn though, please. I'm trying to sweater yarn stash now.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Two scarves and two pairs of socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, who doesn't? I treasure my washcloth and socks from my LJSP and Hogwart's Swap.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Anything but plastic. I'd really like some 24" size 2s for socks.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Tragically, no. I wind yarn in a ball the old fashioned way.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
3 months socks...they never end!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
My birthday! June 22nd, so you're safe!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have no subscriptions. I love Interweave Knits, though I usually buy it as soon as it's out. If you check my Ravelry queue, I have 30 patterns. I don't have the yarn for any of them except the socks. I'll make a wishlist based on my queue soon so I know what to buy (and maybe you will too!). I like to receive things I'll use. So dishcloth cotton is always safe.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Cabling and colorwork

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes, size 9 shoe, regular width

23. When is your birthday?
June 22nd

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes, earnknittoownit

Yarnage

2007-08-06T18:39:00.001-06:00

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2007-08-05T19:28:00.000-06:00

Without pictures. I am an entrelac goddess. This scarf is so much fun! I should be ready to buy the other two balls of Noro when I reach Fayetteville on Friday. I am very excited about my trip. I hope to pick up the Noro and Blue Sky Alpaca I need to finish the entrelac scarf and Clementine shawlette. The shawlette is slow going but very satisfying. I wish I hadn't picked light pink as my color for this. I am not a light pink kind of person.

I decided not to take the entrelac class, and I'm so proud of myself for doing it on my own. Between this and my secret socks (which are a lace pattern) I'm gaining some extreme knitting self-confidence.

Will anyone be in the Fayetteville area? I should be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with the world's cutest niece.

Works in Progress

2007-07-29T17:37:00.000-06:00

I am enjoying knitting. I missed it. Here's the current works in progress that I can show you...

Branching Out

The neverending ribbed socks

I have to finish Branching Out before Thursday. I'm taking a class that I will need those needles for, so I have to finish it up pronto, or buy another set of needles. The class' pattern calls for a size 8 and these are size 9s, but I am usually such a tight knitter that I can stand to go up a size.

At first I was afraid, I was petrified...

2007-07-26T21:51:00.001-06:00

I survived, barely. Here's the highlights:

1. I vacuumed two keys off my keyboard before the test while trying to clean it. Keep to the compressed air, friends. Josh let me borrow his wireless keyboard. The laptop is still functional, and I'll have my dad sort through his pile of broken laptops for keys that aren't broken.

2. The night I checked into the hotel, Josh came down with acute sudden-onset walking pneumonia. He passed out cold in the doorway of the bedroom. He came to and went to the doctor Tuesday morning. Sometime that night, Tick soiled his crate. Due to his unknown and abusive past, this panicked him. He demolished the plastic tray of his crate and then mangled the side of the crate to get out. All that panicked him more, liquifying his stomach contents. I am told the room was a river of....well you get the point. I called a friend from work to come help Josh. He was pretty incoherent at the moment and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. How do you pay someone back for cleaning up *that*?

3. The test itself was pretty bad. The topics that our instructors told us would not be tested, were of course, tested almost exclusively. I am taking heart in the fact everyone took the same preparatory class, so they probably are as panicked as I was when I realized I had focused on the wrong subtopics when studying. It's okay though.

4. I am going to enjoy this month. August is Scarf Month here. I have an enterlac class at Yarn Mart I'm taking. I am almost halfway through Branching Out. I have almost all the yarn rounded up for my Clementine Shawlette. I have some skeins together for a Chevron Scarf too. We'll see how many get done.

Thank you all for the well wishes. I was well lavendered at all points of the test, thanks to many fantastic knitters. I am so grateful for all of you.

Now the waiting begins. August 31st I find out if I do this all over again, or celebrate.

Snorting Lavender..

2007-07-22T11:50:00.000-06:00

I've contemplated snorting lavender. If it would calm me down more, I would do it. But I won't. Instead I'll rejoice in this little bit of heaven that arrived Friday...

From my livejournal secret pal, an awesome pattern book for children's clothes using sock yarn. I already have plans to turn that gorgeous skein of Inca into a blanket. It's coincidental that there's a blanket pattern in that book using entrelac and I'm taking a class on that in August. I'm very excited. There's an adorable dog tape measure (I'm a dog rescuer so it's fitting), gummy bears (which are gone) and a bar exam survival kit. I still don't know who my swap pal is, except that she's from Kenya (at least, I think that's what the clue meant).

I have plans to drown myself in lavender. I've already packed the lavender away in my suitcase. I've been coating myself in lavender salve from my Hogwart's Swap package.

I am as cool as a Hindu cow. Having been to Nepal, which is a country predominated by that religion, I can tell you, they are cool. They lay down in the middle of busy roads. No one bothers them, they steer carefully around them. Children bring wreaths of flowers for their necks, and bring them gifts. Now that's calm!

Talk at you after the exam!

I found the camera..

2007-07-17T09:12:00.001-06:00

I found the camera in the medicine basket by the sink. Makes total sense, right? I finally went for the ibuprofen yesterday when my head was too full of Criminal law and there it was. So here, in order of receipt are my final SP10 package and my Hogwart's Sock Swap package.

Oooh, spindle! You can also see the needle case, craft organizer, and the (now digested) fortune cookies. The sock yarn and neat holder was missing from the pictures for some odd reason.

Yes, those are my swap socks and no you can't have them! I hear it was quite an ordeal knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, and knitting and ripping and then finally knitting these suckers. I'm wearing them under jeans today. It seemed sensible. I'm constantly freezing. Aren't they gorgeous though? It inspired me to assign the solid red Lorna's Laces I got off of sockpr0n's ravelry stash to a Cookie A pattern. I'm thinking Twisted Flower or Gothic Spire.

Remember my yellow and pink obsession? Yes, my Hogwart's Swap pal dyed this up for me. The colorway name? ..............................afterthebarexam. It's too too perfect. I think my camera's a bit off though. Typical...
Sox stix. Look at those pearly stitch markers! And that homemade sock bag. Believe me, when Tika opens her store, I will let you know.

Ribbon and the extra yarn (my usually oblivious DH suggested making a i-cord for the socks and putting a pretty button on one end and a loop on the other to help hold up the socks when I wear these with boots to work in the winter. Brilliant, because the ribbons would not fly at my office. The lavender balm is a godsend. I love lavender, and somehow am attracting mosquitos INTO the house. Lavender dries things up before I have a chance to scratch myself into a scabby state. Pleasant, no?

Ok, back to Commercial Transactions... Thanks to such great pals! I'm overwhelmed and inspired to do great things by the likes of you!

A ton of stuff..

2007-07-15T23:07:00.000-06:00

1. Bar exam: I'm studying for the bar. It's going. How is it going? I'll know August 31st. So staytuned for either a meltdown or a celebration. Either way, I am a studying fool.

2. Ravelry: I'm on Ravelry as earnknittoownit. If you're on, add me! If you aren't on, get on the waiting list! If you're on the waiting list: be patient, it's worth the wait, I promise.

Oh. I have an EXTRA INVITE to Ravelry. I accidentally signed up twice. I am not entirely sure that I can forward this invite, but it's worth a shot. First to comment that they want it get the invite, with me crossing my fingers this works. You have to promise to do the same when you get yours though. There are 17,000 people on the waiting list. That makes my head spin.

3. SP10: My SP10 revealed herself in style. What kind of style? I took pictures and promptly lost the digital camera. It's somewhere in this house, I just don't have time to find it. I am lucky that everyone in the house gets fed and I study for 12 hours a day. I am not even sure I'm wearing clean underwear right now. I just checked, I'm not..wearing any. That's honesty for you. Here's what was in the reveal package:

Interweave Knits Spring issue (I found my first sweater in there for after the bar.)
Another knitting magazine, a keychain from the Black Sheep festival
A spindle (!!!!) and various fibers in a beginners spinning kit
Scrapbook organizer
A yarn caddy with a skein of Plymouth sock yarn (a cotton blend..I had just been thinking why I hadn't looked into cotton blends as hot as it is here constantly)
A needle folio
Chocolate covered fortune cookies (these were SO good. )

I hope I remembered everything. The photographic evidence will emerge shortly. Teri is the best! Thanks for everything. The spindle is what almost caused me to pass out though. There was much screaming.

4. Other swaps - I am mailing my final LJSP4 package this week. I signed up for Hogwart's Sock Swap as a Second Year (which means my pal gets yarn, a sock pattern and a HP bookmark instead of the needles and stitch markers which go with the First Year package..all Years include socks), and am participating in Summer Camp on Ravelry, which is a one time swap, and Sock it to Me as well. That should do it.

Oh, and for Sock it to Me, there is a contest to post about how you learned to knit. How ironic! You are reading the blog of a person who just this week learned the knit stitch. I've knit two hats, two diaper covers, a pair of longies, a scarf, and two pairs of socks. Yet, I've been twisting every knit stitch. Every. Single. One. I figured this out in the middle of a cuff of socks, but refuse to frog. So when I cast on for the second one, guess what I'll be doing? You guessed it, twisting.

Back to the contest entry, because there's Socks that Rock yarn on the line... I learned to knit from the internet because my sister said someone had to learn how to knit because she was going to cloth diaper and her baby needed cute wool. As the best aunt ever, I obliged. I started with an alpaca hat with a seed stitch brim, knitted flat. It's one of my favorite patterns. On size 11 needles, it was an easy start. That was back in November, and I just now realized how interestingly I've been making things with my twisting.

This is probably my last post before the bar. All this law, so little time. :)

Hogwarts Sock Swap 2

2007-07-14T05:12:00.000-06:00

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

Second Years

What Hogwarts House have I been sorted into? Gryffindor
What are my foot measurements? Size 9-9.5 shoe, 9" long, 8 inches at the ball, 11" at the calf
My three favorite sock yarns: Yarn Love, Duets, Etsy and indie sellers
Yarn I haven’t used but would like to try: Scout's Swag
Varigated or Solid Yarn? Right now, semisolids intrigue me.
What colors would you like to add to your sock yarn stash?

I'd like some darker shades of blue, purple, or green.
What kind of sock patterns do you gravitate toward? Lace? Ribbed? Fair Isle?

I've only done plain rib so far. Really, I could go for anything. I'd like Cookie A's Rhiannon pattern specifically.
Do you have any allergies? (smoke, animals, etc.)

None.
Will your socks be exposed to cigarette smoke or animals as you knit them?

Yes, or no. We have a ton of animals, but I can knit them and assemble the package at work if need be. If I knit them at home, then they will definitely be exposed.
Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
Yes

I’ve graduated to the SECOND YEAR class.

We will be accepting FIRST YEAR applications through July 31st. It’s not too late! Come sign up!

Oops, and pictures

2007-07-07T20:08:00.000-06:00

I forgot to measure my foot appropriately. Here's the actual measurements for those playing along at home: 9" long, 8" around at widest part, calf is 11" around at 8" above the heel.

And here's some random internet findings. Not really random in it's things that I am nuts about, but semi-random. Camille-random?

And yes, I'm stealing bandwidth with the linkage. But the whole purpose of this post was so you would buy these things for myself, yourself, or a loved one. And I doubt any of the above vendors would complain about that! :)

Sock it to Me Questionaire

2007-07-05T18:10:00.000-06:00

What are your foot measurements? (Please give shoe size, length and circumference.) I am a size nine and a half, 9 inches long and almost 10 inches around.
How long have you been knitting? How would you rate your experience? (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced.) I've been knitting since winter of 2006. I'd say I'm a beginner. I have mastered kitchener, but am just starting some lacework with some problems.
What is your favorite color? Your least favorite color? My favorite color lately has been greens. Really though I like all colors. I like bright tones.
Do you have a favorite fiber? What type? I'd go with wool, or cotton.
Do you have any allergies to certain fibers? No, not that I know of.
Do you have an Amazon, or other type of, wishlist? (If so, provide the link.) I need to redo it.
What techniques, if any, would you like to learn? I'd like to do some colorwork.
Do you have a sweet tooth? What are your favorite snacks? Oh boy. Anything and everything. I love Hot Tamales and Swedish Fish the best though.
What is your family situation? (Children, Husband, Pets...etc.) A husband, two dogs, two cats in a cute little house in the suburbs.
Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Metal, plastic or wood? Circular, bamboo though I like metal because it helps my gauge be less tight.
Besides socks, what are your favorite items to knit? Dishcloths, washcloths, baby items, winter wear.
Is there a pattern, (sock or otherwise), that you are dying to try? Monkey!
Do you like to read? What are you reading currently? Right now I'm reading bar exam review books. Typically I like "chick lit" type books, or knitting fiction (Debbie MacComber).
Do you collect music? (On an iPod or MP3 player.) Not really, I have an iPod, but I haven't put anything new on it in ages. I do like homemade CDs and mix tapes though. I like everything, and I am not kidding (even country, much to my husband's chagrin).
What kind of music do you listen to? Everything. I really like books on tape/CD too.
Is there anything you collect? Charming Tails figurines
What are your hobbies, aside from knitting? Scrapbooking, cooking.
Are you participating in any other swaps or knit alongs? Hogwart's Sock Swap, SP10, LJSP4
Do you have a favorite scent? Vanilla, lavender.
When is your birthday? (You don't have to add the year if you don't want to, LOL.) June 22nd.

The (temporary) end of knitting

2007-07-03T20:34:00.001-06:00

Knitting news:

I'm not knitting until I'm done with the bar exam. Perhaps a row or two during the evening news on my trusty socks, but no focused knitting. I spent last weekend knitting. I churned out the mate to my Hogwart's Sock and then realized I don't have my swap pal's address. So, hopefully she will email me back soon. Her blog looks two months abandoned. I hope I'm able to track her down, as these socks need their home!

I cast on for Branching Out last weekend as well. It looks a bit off and I can't figure out how. Pictures to come (maybe you can detect where I went wrong) perhaps soon, or not depending on how busy I get before Saturday.

Bar exam news:

So, starting Saturday begins 12+ hours a day of studying. I'm nervous, I'm scared, but I'm ready. I will be a lawyer when this is all over with. That's worth looking forward to, to say the least! I am expecting a major case of cabin fever being locked in the same room for that long every day, but I have some lovely breaks planned. One day, a trip to study at the dog park, and one day Josh and I will take a break to go see "Sicko".

Tomorrow we are going to Hot Springs to spend time with family.

Summertime news:

You know it's summer when I get made fun of for my skin tone. There are raw chickens with more color than me. I can't help it, I'm allergic to the sun. Yet every year I get made fun of. It doesn't make me feel great about myself.

Josh and I are doing Atkins (I know, I know.) starting next week. Results to come. I hate it, but it works. Then again, doesn't most anything work when you stick with it?

2007-06-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

Hospital knitting was interesting. Josh's grandmother was admitted after she stopped breathing during her radiation treatment. When we saw her she looked amazing. She is such a strong lady. I sat and worked on my sock for awhile while we talked. We left when Josh's mom got into town. I'm glad things turned out well, it was a scary little bit there.

I'm still sick. Work called and is not letting me work after next week. I understand the need to cram. So, I had to call in monetary support from the family. It will all work out, I'm sure. I just have to keep focused.

In other news, have you signed up for the Woolgirl Sock Club? You should. I did (I think, unless she's full already), as an after the bar exam treat.

You know it figures...

2007-06-25T21:42:00.000-06:00

Just when I stock up on pink yarn for next year's adoption knit fest, we decide to adopt from South Korea. Where you can't choose your baby's sex. Just great.... so now I have to figure out what exactly is gender neutral. That is afterthebarexam. Please feel free to spam me in the meantime with your favorite gender neutral colorways. If it's a boy, Josh has picked the name Atrades. Pray it's a girl.

Ow..

2007-06-25T13:23:00.000-06:00

Lately anything has been causing the most painful bruises ever. It doesn't help that I'm majorly clumsy and pale, so everything turns a nice bruised banana shade. Right now, the top of my foot has a bruise from where Tick stepped on me with his giant claws. Ow..

I got my Loopy Ewe package today! Pictures are forthcoming. Yesterday I updated my Ravelry account a bit, putting all my sock yarn on there (except today's batch, of course). Here's the Yarn Love I never got around to showing...

That's all I've got. I've been studying my butt off. All Saturday was spent taking a practice MBE exam (6 hours of multiple choice questions). I scored a 55% unscaled. I need a 68% scaled, and there's no way to know how much they will scale it this year in my state. So...more studying! I studied last night on Property and moved my score from a 42% to a 62% in that subject to there is progress.

I'm going to throw something in the crockpot and take a nap. Then more Property and flashcards.

Gurgle, gurgle

2007-06-23T05:33:00.000-06:00

Have you ever drank a lot of water (or Capri-Sun in this case) just so you could move your stomach around and listen to that gurgling sound? No? Really? Oh. ...me either, I swear. Gurgle, gurgle. No, that wasn't me. I swear I'm not that easily amused. I'm a very serious lawyer knitter.

I cast on for a dishcloth this weekend for a quick project. I cast off on Hogwarts Sock number one. I must say my kitchener is vastly improved. I realized right before falling asleep that my first kitchener attempts were back when I was knitting through the back loop as my version of the knit stitch. So when I did kitchener, back in the day, I was purling every stitch. That completely explains why it looks like a line of purl stitching on the knit side. I had always wondered how I flubbed it so bad.

My birthday was, well, uneventful. I'm getting past the fun birthdays part, I guess. I spent the day drugged up and sleeping most of the day. We went out to dinner and Josh had to go back to work. I don't think he came in until after 1 am. I got three cards and half of my family called. My brother stopped by for two hours, but didn't mention my birthday. It's pretty typical, and I'm not mad. Birthdays aren't a big deal in my family. I definitely could have used a big deal type of day yesterday, but I wasn't expecting one. Sometimes you have to make your own kind of big deal.

Sick of Birthdays..

2007-06-21T13:01:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is my birthday. I am sick, sick sick. It's a combination of stomach sick and sinus cold. Strange combo. I dread the fact that I will feel bad on my birthday. Josh is getting reservations at Benevita and I've been promised a funny card. He and I are big "card people". For my 16th birthday he got me a card which said "Happy Birthday from me and the cat from hell". The front was an adorable orange kitten wrecking havoc on downtown Tokyo, like a kitty Godzilla. We have contests on our anniversary and Valentine's Day to see who can make the other one cry with their choice of mooshy card. Really all I want is to feel better. I'm about to take some Benadryl and pass out for a bit.

I also dread that I have a practice MBE on Saturday for 6 hours and am exhausted. Hopefully after a nap I can get 50 practice questions done. And all tomorrow until dinner. What a way to spend a birthday! It's okay because everything will be better. After the bar exam.

Lest I sound all woe is me, I picked up three skeins of yarn at The Loopy Ewe yesterday. Two of them are the Duets line she's carrying now (that exact colorway was one of my three, slightly different than my normal crazy color explosion choices), some Zen String and a stitch counting bracelet. Switching from one color to another for heels and toes will be a new skill for me to acquire. After the bar exam. I hate how I have to post-script everything I say with that, but that's okay. Right now life seems like the beginning of the Wizard of Oz, all black and white. I imagine on July 28th, walking out of the bar exam, everything will be in Technicolor, like the Emerald City.

I think I've amassed one (or more) of each brand of sock yarn I wanted to try as a beginning sock knitter. Socks that Rock, Tofutsies, Panda Cotton, Yarn Love, Duets, Zen String, Lone Star Arts (on the needles, so soft!), Lorna's Laces (on the needles, love it!), and some random indie dyers. I look forward to systematically getting my needles into all of it.

So, even AFTER my haul yesterday. I am still refreshing like a mad woman on Momma Monkey's etsy shop. Check it out and tell me you don't want one of those kits! I want three of them, the only one I don't want is the one with the orangey-ish colorway. I will be good and maybe just buy the Eugenia sock pattern and afterthebarexam find some solid color pink yarn to work it up in.

Oh help!

2007-06-20T21:24:00.001-06:00

I have a favorite brand of socks, that are nonhandknit. See them here. They are Maggie's Functional Organic Mantra socks. They're knee socks with sayings like "just breathe" or "i am calm" on the calf. My plan (and don't you steal it!) is to someday make a simple toe-up kneesock pattern with something similar in colorwork on the calf. Isn't that funny, me asking you not to steal an idea that I pretty much want to steal from the Maggie's people?

Anywhoo. The help I'm needing is to find another pair of these! They aren't available locally and I need three pairs, one for each day of next month's bar exam. It's a superstition. I have the black/justbreathe ones and the natural/iamcalm ones. If you have access to any of the others, please let me know. Normally I order mine through Frontier Co-op for $4.25 each, but the shipping on just one pair of socks from them is ridiculous.

I've decided to develop a costume for the bar exam. Same thing, pajamas, layered with a sweatshirt, these socks and my vegan fake Ugg boots. Comfort, and warmth is key. I can also study in the same clothes. There's trains of thought that studying in similar conditions can connect your memory to those similar conditions. You know, it's probably an excuse for new socks.

I am almost to the decrease on my first Hogwart's sock. I will have it off the needles by the end of the weekend. Or else. I'm serious.

I also got my grades back. I got an A on my paper on race-based jury nullification. That's only the second A I've gotten in law school. That was the best semester I had in law school. Oh the memories! To celebrate, I'm stalking the Loopy Ewe for a skein or three.

Baby Knitting..

2007-06-17T12:25:00.000-06:00

It looks like I may have a bit more baby knitting to do. Monday night Josh dropped a bombshell. He thinks he'll be emotionally ready to start the adoption process around this time next year. If all goes well, we should be financially ready as well. I tried to pick my jaw up off the floor, because the last time we discussed this, he was having trouble even contemplating applying for a China adoption at 30 (which means we might get our Ellie at 32 or 33 if the wait is anything like it is currently). And now he's thinking about having a baby at 28 and 29 (actually probably closer to 29 and 30 if I factor in the wait depending on which country we decide on)? It was a bit of a shock. That means, we could have a little Edmison-Wilhelmi around here in two years. It's a bit of a mindshock from the five years I had settled into.

So, I'm delighted, and I'm trying to get my mind around it all. We have a lot of time right now, and I can't let this distract me. I have a bar exam to study for. That doesn't stop me from bookmarking some fantastic baby knitting. I figure I can make most things in a slightly large 6-12 month size and pick things that can be rolled up or modified depending on where we go and which little angel we end up with.

A Tale of Two Packages..

2007-06-14T19:59:00.001-06:00

Look at what came in the mail today! Two adorable skeins of Panda Wool, the motherlode of office supplies, scrapbook stickers, Crystal Palace DPNs, a Lantern Moon project bag, all nestled in a larger bag. I noticed the name of the Panda Wool, Basil Curry and now I am hungry for Thai food. Thank you LJ SP! I was so excited over the office supplies, and last week I was wandering the Loopy Ewe looking at the Panda, wondering what it was like. I guess I'll find out soon! I am using the clever bag it all came in to stash my sock yarn. I was able to cram all my sock yarn into the bag, saving a lot of space in the stash closet.

The Hogwart's Swap sock in progress. I'm getting there. I'm nervous about having the other one done in time. If worse comes to worse, I will mail a picture along with the rest of the package.

Here's some pictures from my SP4's package last week during the camera death/battery recharging incident. Look at that yarn ready to be made into a monster, grrr!!

The best thing ever! A notebook with a cover page, with my name on it, spelled correctly, and lots of clear insert pages for patterns. I have found where I stashed all my patterns and am slowly filling this up.

This is week three of these daisies. Three weeks! I am not a daisy fan, but I've been on a big pink and yellow kick lately. Normally I prefer astromerias, but they don't last three weeks.

Thanks SPs!! You both made my week, helped me get organized and inspired. I couldn't ask for more. I'm going to go cover things in post it notes now.

Tagg-ed

2007-06-11T17:41:00.000-06:00

What a crazy weekend. That and the promised pictures are coming in another post tonight, I swear. I'll just summarize by saying it was crazy and post this up before I go walk the boys.

Here's the deal: Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I am addicted to office supplies. I try to stay out of Office Depot. The same addiction extends to scrapbooking stickers so I likewise try to avoid Hobby Lobby unless there is a sale. The promise is that there is ALWAYS a sale.

2. On Fridays when I'm working more I go to Target during my lunch break and stock up on sale items. My favorites are their earrings, shoes and tank tops.

3. I could honestly eat the same foods everyday. Gummi candy, spaghetti, and vegetables with dip of some sort.

4. I have a hard time eating sweets, especially chocolate without a big glass of milk.

5. I decided last week to give up vegetarianism. My body craved meat. Now I crave the budget to buy the properly raised organic meat, but in the meantime, I'll support Arkansas' own Tyson.

6. When I was young I walked like Steve Urkel (the dork from Family Matters) with my hips slung forward. I fear that I still do that though I've been told that I don't.

7. I am not ashamed of going out in public covered in pet hair. No shame!

I tag:
Mel
Nell
and my SP from SP10!

2007-06-06T17:47:00.001-06:00

Found a cool contest here. What is your favorite drink?

I finished the leg of one of my Hogwart's Socks. I stuck with it through all 7 inches. I'm proud, usually I get to around 5.5" and convince myself that's long enough. So I'm working on that heel flap. My other pair of socks has an inch or two to go before I start that heel flap.

I figured out what was wrong with my camera. The battery needed charging. I feel relatively dumb, it's charging though. In the meantime, I've had fun putting patterns in my pattern book. I keep finding piles of them randomly throughout my knitting room.

Yesterday my husband and I went to Barnes and Noble. I picked up the first copy I've ever seen of Interweave Knits. Oh. my. goodness. I put tabs on the pages where I wanted to remember to make those patterns. When I take a picture tomorrow you'll notice that is about all the patterns except maybe 7 of them. I don't know where to start.

Bar preparation classes have gone much better than last week's set. I really think I'm learning something. I wish all of law school had been like this. There's entirely too much "hiding the ball" in law school. I understand why, in real lawyering your client doesn't lay everything out for you neatly, sometimes you can't figure out what the applicable law is, etc. Still, bar preparation class reminds me of my undergraduate years and I like it!

2 days until Emma Grace, my niece arrives! I'll have lots of sock knitting to take to the hospital if she hasn't delivered by 1:30 Friday. She's being induced in the morning.

Pictures tomorrow of two socks, a secret pal package, some stash, and dog biscuits.

Furryness

2007-06-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

The camera is still resting. I'm beginning to wonder if something happened while it was in the hot car. I'm giving it another day and then I'll start calling the Canon people for help. I dread that.

I was a bit baffled by the nylon fun fur type yarn I got yesterday. You know by now that all the yarn in my stash must have some conceivable purpose. Except for the Peace Fleece which I have vague sweater or shrug plans for. I had no idea what to do with the Modea Dea Wild. I will completely admit to being a yarn snob and I looked at that yarn the same way my husband looks at vegetables, or the same way I did at street signs in China. I thought about the possibilities, maybe a hat? A scarf of some sort? A really fuzzy pair of slippers? (I nixed that idea when I realized nylon would be really slick and we don't have carpets, I'd land on my bony behind. I had about decided on a nice generic hat or a boa type scarf.

Then I found this. Love at first sight. I have two skeins of yarn and two nieces (well, one niece, the other arrives Friday unless she decides to pop out before then). I'll be buying some worsted acrylic at Hobby Lobby and casting on after the bar exam. Funny how everything in my life revolves around that. I'll stash the monsters away for Evie and Ella's Christmas.

Oooh, shiny!

2007-06-04T18:46:00.000-06:00

I got a package from my SP10. I am not sure why, but then the camera decided to die. I'm giving it a rest and will try again tomorrow. It was a $600 camera about 6 years ago. Now you could get the same camera-age for less than half that. Oh well! Here's the package contents in case I knit them up before tomorrow.

2 pretty skeins of Moda Dea Wild
1 skein of dishcloth cotton (yay!!!)
my favorite Bigelow Lip Balm from Bath & Body Works
Pomegrante lotion..yum
A magnetic weekly planner (my refrigerator is the height of organization now, pictures to come on that front too)
Soap! (it looks to be glycerin based and homemade..squee!)
And, for the grand finale.....a knitting notebook! Complete with personalized cover and lots of clear pages.

The strange thing is, now that I have this, I can't find my pattern stash. I know it's in my yarn closet somewhere..

Thanks SP10, you made my day! I was so excited pulling into the driveway and seeing that happy little priority mail box on the porch.

The Zoo

2007-05-31T16:23:00.000-06:00

So I've got two pairs of socks going right now. I'm about 2 inches into my Hogwart's Pal's sock, which I have to rave about briefly. This yarn has got to be the most nonpooling thing ever. Which is both good and bad. I love pooling. This looks beautiful though. So here's the etsy seller. All her colorways look just gorgeous and the stitch markers are unique (which is saying a lot, many start to blend together when you etsy surf). Her handspun is gorgeous too. I also like her use of white and/or black in her colorways. Every now and then the Hogwart's sock will pop up a little white stitch and then fade back to yellow or red. Gorgeous! I'll put pictures up soon. I'm all pajamanated right now.

My animals are driving me nuts. I thought Mr. Lulu might have another blockage. This worried me because it's painful and expensive. I've also done everything I can do as far as switch food, etc. Several times I caught him trying to "go" in inappropriate places, but then producing nothing. Today though, he took a squat on his Kitty Pi, looked me dead in the eye and peed all over it. So obviously, he is unblocked. I'm on a weekend mission to figure out why he is not using the litter box and why Pollycat has decided to poop on the dog bed or in DH's office. It's real fun around here.

Today is DH's and I's 4 year anniversary. We are 26 and 28 and met back at boarding school when I was 16 and he was 17. We've been together ever since. Our 10year "dateversary" was this year back on February 9th. We got engaged on July 27th, so our 10year engagement anniversary is this year as well. If you count things like that. Which we do, because we're saps.

12/17

2007-05-29T20:35:00.001-06:00

After listening to Con Law CDs all weekend (I'm still only on CD 4 out of 7 of the suckers), 6 hours of Christopher Walken on Constitutional Law last week, reading 100 pages of outline, and making a ridiculous amount of notecards, I started taking some MBE (Multistate Bar Exam for those playing along at home) questions today. Last week, I got 22/50 right. Tonight, 12/17. That's a drastic improvement from a failing score, to a more than passing score. I'm doing another 17 tomorrow morning and hopefully another 17 in the afternoon or evening. I hope today wasn't a fluke. I'd like to think all this effort is causing something to stick up there!

I decided on a simple rib sock for my Hogwart's Pal. She's got a rather large foot, and I want this thing to fit. That's the simplest way I know how to make sure it fits. It feels like a copout though. I tried casting on for some Jaywalkers but that was 92 stitches for the right size and I got very confused with that much going on at once. I'll keep it simple and throw in some fun random goodies.

The nice thing about these CDs is that I can knit while I learn. It also seems to be working.

In stash enhancement news, I bought my first skein of Socks that Rock off of the Destash blog. Barney Rubble. It's hanging out with my Yarn Love which I realized I don't have pictures of either. Maybe I'll take a study break and take some Ravelry pictures. So pretty.

Some more pictures. Josh and Evie.

Me at the graduation post-party with my grandma and some Indian beer.

The usual. Send office supplies and caffeine. I have dreams about finding the "perfect" Post-It notes and notecards, pens and highlighters. Yes, I've reached that point in studying. I'm disgusted that I've been through 3 expensive highlighters already.

I wear the pants..

2007-05-26T22:25:00.000-06:00

Who wears the pants? That's right, me. My husband would have thrown up several times, or just hired a plumber on Tuesday. Our dishwasher has not been washing dishes correctly and tonight I found the problem. The sink stopped, would not plunge out whatever was ailing it. So I removed the twisty part of the pipes under the sink (yes, that's a technical term). Other than the ridiculously gross smell in our house, I think I removed all the clog. Somehow a popsicle stick got in there and everything else stuck to it. I used every bath towel and my bathrobe when my brilliant idea to catch all the water in a garbage bag failed as I tried to transfer the water to a huge bucket (the bucket wouldn't fit under the pipes). Now I have to clean the kitchen, because it is a disgusting smelling mess. But hopefully, we will have clean dishes.

I have spaghetti bubbling on the stove. Some women prefer chocolate, others, like the Golden Girls, prefer cheesecake. For me, I am mesmerized by the pasta aisle in the grocery store. We recently had a Fresh Market open up. My little brother works in the back making vegetable kabobs and fruit displays. I chained myself to a $7 bottle of marinara this morning and refused to let go. Some artisan pasta also slipped into the basket.

In knitting news, I ripped the mock cable sock. It was way too small. I have the worst trouble figuring out what will fit. So I am going to stick with ribbed socks for my Hogwarts pair and my next pair. I've recast on in a simple 3/1 rib for my sock and will probably do a 2/2 for my Hogwarts pair.

Hogwarts Sock Swap Show and Tell

2007-05-25T20:09:00.000-06:00

After last week's fright at having both wrong colored yarn and stitchmarkers (if anyone is running behind and needs both yarn and sock markers for a Hufflepuff, drop me a line) I have regrouped and am casting on. Again. In the correct color. I checked three times. That is Ace up above showing what he thinks of all this Harry Potter talk.

Squishy, cuddly, it's almost a shame to knit it up. I will, but look how innocent it is in it's happy little skein. And yes, those are cat nail covers in the picture.

And those are mine. The etsy buyer I bought from did a buy one get one free. Totally unexpected! I now have two sets of stitch markers in non-Slytherin colors. Only two more houses left to collect!

Christopher Walken on Constitutional Law

2007-05-24T21:37:00.000-06:00

Imagine Christopher Walken giving a 4.5 hour lecture on Constitutional Law. Imagine him doing it again for another 4.5 hours tomorrow. Imagine me having to sit through it, paying attention like my professional life depends upon his knowledge, because it does, my bony butt aching from the hard plastic chair.

You have just envisioned both my personal hell and my current fate.

I also got $2,000 worth of books today. It's about 2 feet high and 50 lbs of books. In case you wondered what that big of a pile of books looked like. Personally, I'd rather see a pile of yarn worth $2,000. I guess that would only be 100 skeins of Socks that Rock, or 1,000 skeins of fun fur, or somewhere around 350 skeins of Manos Del Uruguay cotton stria (the yarn I both love and loathe). But no, instead of squishy yarn, I have books.

In other news, I worry that I may be ripping out another sock soon. It looks like the mock cable socks are too narrow. I'm near the middle of the foot. I could put some increases in, but I just don't know.

Inspired..

2007-05-22T19:12:00.000-06:00

I decided what to make out of the bumblebee yarn. I have to have something in mind for the odd skeins in my stash or it bothers me. Now that I've decided to turn them into Babylegs, I can mull over what to do with the bulky acrylic I rescued. It'd be too easy to do a bunch of hats and scarves in my favorite pattern (seed stitch for four inches, garter stitch the rest of the way) for Christmas backup presents. So I am still mulling.

I should make flashcards for Constitutional Law, but I long to mindlessly knit in garter on my pink and blue sock.

I am now on Ravelry. I have no idea how to link to it, but you might find me on there by blog address.

My package from my Livejournal Secret Pal has inspired me. Yes, I've been inspired by a washcloth. Well, it's more than that. I think I understand now why knitters really love handknitted gifts. I would never have thought to have knit up a washcloth. Now that I have one, in it's simple organic cotton, bone colored goodness, I'm a bit obsessed. I want more. I want to know what yarn you used to make that Secret Pal and I want to know NOW. I had a dream about a bath mat and a bath cushion cover last night. I've reached that point. I have yet to dream of organic cotton Kleenex box covers though, so I doubt my bathroom will become that level of covered in knitwear. Though it's possible. I hate to rule anything out. I dreamnt of CONES of the stuff. Are you scared? I know, me too.

And the soap...somehow my sneaky Secret Pal either figured out, guessed, or had sheer dumb luck to know that soapmaking is my lurking in the shadows possible hobby #3 (DH has threatened things if I pick up anything else besides knitting and scrapbooking until after the bar exam) that I have been reading up on, fantasizing about, and stalking. Yet I had not taken the plunge into an actual purchase. Begin the slippery slope! I've been washing my face with the almond soap that came in the package and the soapiness (is that a word?) has dried my overstressed skin out leaving it almost perfect.

So, I've been inspired. It's hard not to be when you take a good long soak in some ylang-ylang cinnamon bubble bath, with a good book, a candle, perfect soap, and a fascinating washcloth. I know, I'm fascinated by washcloths. This is troubling. This is almost as strange as folks who obsess about miters, stalk the Loopy Ewe, or....oh who am I kidding...I give up. I am officially a strange yarnburglar.

In other news, I wanted to make brownies but needed to make banana bread or toss out the bananas. The result? Chocolate banana coconut muffins. I'd post pictures but they look like poop muffins. I assure you, that they taste like a banana split.

Graduation and a surprise...

2007-05-21T19:37:00.000-06:00

Here's the pictures from graduation..

That's me and my brother. You love the hat, admit it.

I got this awesome package from my Livejournal Secret Pal.

There's two books, three bars of handmade soap, a candle, a handknit organic cotton washcloth, Jelly Bellies and my favorite Aura Cacia foaming bath. How did she know that's my favorite? I just put in a $1,500 coop order and my (tiny) part of it was a big jar of the stuff. There were also my favorite Lindor truffles, which melted. So I put them in the freezer and wiped them off the cover of one book.

They still look yummy. Wasting chocolate is a felony. I don't remember much about criminal law, but I remember that much.

Oh great.

2007-05-21T15:37:00.000-06:00

So I started knitting on my black and yellow Harry Potter socks. Knit knit knit. Two inches done then something struck me. Something wasn't quite right. Wait a second... I checked my pal's blog and sure enough, she was not a Hufflepuff, she was something else. So now I have bumblebee colored yarn and stitch markers and the correct colored yarn and stitch markers coming in the mail.

That's what happens when you buy things during finals.

I frogged the bumblebeeness and put it back in the closet. I keep trying to convince myself that I will at some point want that color of socks. I remain unconvinced. It's gorgeous yarn, great to work with, wonderfully soft, but not my color.

2007-05-20T11:55:00.000-06:00

My house smells like bleach. The poor cats are wandering around sniffing as if to say "What is this clean we smell?" The dogs are shaking their coats, trying to get another layer of dirt on the clean, looking annoyed at me for undoing all their handiwork. Typically, I use crunchy-granola type hippie cleaners, but for DH's disgusting shower (think 5 months of me refusing to clean it because I don't use it..I gave in) I had to cave and buy a bottle of Tilex. It works, but my throat burns now. Lovely.

I graduated yesterday. There are pictures of me in a tam soon to come. We had a lovely dinner, I received cash that I'm trying to decide what to do with, and a fun readymade scrapbook for dog pictures.

Tomorrow I start PMBR and Barbri classes. For those unfamiliar, be glad. Think 8 hours of videotaped lecture.

My phone has been ringing off the hook for the lab rescue. So many dogs, so little time and money. I'm getting back to cleaning and sorting for next weekend's garage sale. My poor puppies need some cash for boarding and lovely things like heartworm treatment.

I made my husband walk down to the LYS with me from our Sunday brunch spot. They've moved into a bigger space. It's HUGE. Fortunetely for my wallet, they were closed. I keep reminding myself that they don't have the things I want (Peace Fleece, Blue Sky and Socks That Rock) so I should stay out. If I wander in there, I'll convince myself to do something silly like make something out of the Big City Knits book or buy sock yarn that I really am not wild about, and I don't want to do that.

Memes

2007-05-19T21:22:00.001-06:00

Instead of a photodump. I bring you a meme dump. I found these here, so blame her, after checking out her blog.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Finished Longies..

2007-05-18T21:31:00.000-06:00

With all my whining, I really have had time to knit. I finished these today...

Simple ribbed waistband, the next pair will be drawstring.

Convertible leg for growing room...

And like magic...

I reinforced the crotch since the last pair had gaping holes at the edge of the kitchener. It's a bit sloppy but improving. I'm getting there.

These are on the needles. Lorna's Laces in Crazy Stripe in a Mock Cable sock pattern I found on the Tofutsies website. I'm about to cast on for my Harry Potter Swap socks.

Underwhelming..

2007-05-17T21:57:00.000-06:00

I finished my last final and am left with a feeling of being underwhelmed. Maybe it will sink in on Saturday when I don my jaunty doctoral tam in royal bright purple and get my diploma. Actually, I think the diploma comes in the mail and I just get the case for it.

I'm most looking forward to the afterparty. My parents are renting out half of the local Indian restaurant and we'll be enjoying some curry and naan. Yum. Hopefully there will be lots of presents. I will admit to my faults: being greedy and being mean.

I am a mean person. I did a happy dance when Jerry Falwell died. I also joked about Jeff Corwin's death last year. On the day of. That surely does not make me a nice person. However, it does make me honest. I am not sad Jerry Falwell died, and you cannot tell me that a guy who torments animals that are poisonous isn't going to get his ironically in the end. I'm not happy that Jeff Corwin died, he did amazing things for the animals and their habitats even though I thought he was careless and sometimes mean to wild animals for entertainment. I am however, on the fence about Jerry Falwell. But I'm not glad, I'm sure he had people who will miss him and I can't be happy about that. Still, I'm not sad. So that's the mean side of me.

The greedy side of me loves presents. I beg for them, I look forward to them and I pester about them. I'll even go to Target and buy myself a present, usually a tshirt. I get so much joy out of my husband coming home from Kroger with apples or my favorite magazine. It doesn't have to be big, I just love things picked out for me.

So there you go. I think it's important to be upfront about your faults. And those are my two big ones. How do they relate to knitting? Well, sometimes I think mean things about certain patterns. Usually they aren't things on blogs, but things on say, the Lion Brand website. Ahem. I have occasionally thought mean things about the socks on display at my LYS and some fun fur scarves that live in there as well. Generally, I think nice things about things knit by people I know. I even ended up liking Wendy's miter sweater, in the end. I will admit though to have mean thoughts about it during the process. There's my confession of the month. It was about the color though, not the talent or the pattern. Eventually though, the shape and the quilt-like nature won me over. That sweater looks so comfortable. I've been in a sweatshirt and pajama pant mood lately and that is the dressed up talented gorgeous version of a sweatshirt. It looks so cozy!

And greediness in knitting? I have decided one of my goals is to knit a Cookie A pattern by Christmas. I'm leaning towards Rhiannon. Bright red sock yarn... Instead of thinking about dying up some Knitpicks since it's going to take a vast amount of yarn, I think about how many pennies I'll have to save to make it out of Louet Gems or Cherry Tree Hill Supersolid. Once the brilliant frugal idea hit me thanks to my Harry Potter swap partner, the green eyed monster went away. I'm excited to dye my own yarn. There's nothing wrong with buying 1200 yards of Cherry Tree Hill or even Socks that Rock, but I need to be honest about my sock yarn budget for such a major project in the works. I have $900 in vet bills to pay off before Tick is officially ours, a car that's on the verge of dying, the rescue is always short on cash, and if I can save $30, I am sure I have something to put it towards instead of complaining about not having cash all the time.

The good thing about being a greedy knitter is that my end of the swap is very generous, it is a bit vicarious sending that package out and it feels good.

So there was my true confession. I feel better now, but still underwhelmed.

Thank you everyone for all the well-wishes. Law school is the hardest thing I've done, though I expect preparing for the bar will surpass it.

Not quite dead yet..

2007-05-15T16:40:00.000-06:00

I'm exactly that. Not quite dead yet. I'm about to take my second to last law school final ever. Tomorrow is the very last one, and Saturday is graduation. Then the studying begins in earnest.

With all this studying, all I want to do is knit. I sound so forlorn, don't I? I think my Hogwart's Pal socks may end up being a simple rib so I can knit during video sessions.

I spy with my little eye..

2007-05-12T22:15:00.000-06:00

Randomness from my websurfing today. Oooh, shiny things!

\

SAFF?

2007-05-11T20:44:00.000-06:00

I'm debating going to SAFF after I pass the bar exam. It would be a nice present to myself, a fun long weekend get away. I'm trying to decide what I need to pay for in which order: flight, classes, hotel room. I'd try to find someone to carpool with, but I don't know anyone who is driving halfway across the country. I found at least 10 hours of classes I'd want to take. I'm not sure what else is in that part of the country to tourist about. Anyone with any North Carolina connections?

I stocked up on the goodies for my Secret Pal packages. Now I'm just waiting on a squishy package with their yarn in it so I can get these boxes out on Wednesday.

Mail call!

2007-05-10T20:38:00.000-06:00

I arrived home to two packages today. One was squishy..filled with five huge cakes of Wool-Ease light blue acrylic goodness. I am a self-professed yarn snob, but this gorgeous yarn from Free Acrylic Wednesdays that I adopted/rescued will make great socks. Don't those look warm? I'm the cold feet queen. That looks to be the quickest pattern ever, I'll be whipping up stocking stuffers (pun intended) for the Christmas closet. Yes, I'm "that girl" who stocks up on gifts way before the holidays.

I'll be ignoring that contrasting color bit though. It looks a bit too Flashdance for me.

The other package was cat toys. They were very excited, since the dogs get most of the spoiling around here. Cat and dog secret pal is just as fun as knitting secret pals. Well, almost. Ok, not really.

Poor Tiny..

2007-05-09T22:08:00.000-06:00

"Tiny" is my overnight guest for the night. He lives two doors down and is anything but "tiny". He's easily 150 lbs of dog, with a huge St. Bernardish head and jowls, fat Labrador looking body and a tail that curls up like a fancy question mark. His hair is a bit like a poodle that's been cut too short. Slightly wooly. Perhaps he's one of my reincarnated brown recluses?

To make a long story short, I think his family is on vacation. He dug out of his yard, then dug out of my other neighbors yard and is now here. Tomorrow he'll go into the backyard dog pen. He has storm anxiety, we're expecting rain and I can't risk more property damage (this is the point in the blog in which if my husband were here he'd go "MORE? How could there possibly BE more dog-related property damage?"). So he'll be stuck with a doghouse in the rain. I don't know what else to do. The shelter isn't open before I leave for work, the dropoff for the shelter is insecure (so someone could take him) and I know if I were in the same spot, I'd want someone to keep him safe. So it's the pen for "Tiny" in the morning. Hopefully his folks appear soon, or I will have to check him into the shelter or boarding. He drools immensely which makes Mr. Earnknittoownit completely furious and grossed out. Did I also mention he's huge? He makes Ace's 90 lbs look shrimpy.

Book Review: Debbie MacComber - A Good Yarn

2007-05-08T14:53:00.000-06:00

I got this book from my Secret Pal from SP10 (It's hard to keep this straight now that Livejournal SP4 is going on) and I'll admit was skeptical. I am a serious reader people. I read things about regulatory mortgage compliance and jury nullification. Sounds a bit like cat yak, no? Yes, yes it does, but I love it.

Anyways, I was skeptical but put this aside for my bathtub reading. This book was so so so good. The characters came alive, the knitting quotes at the beginning of each chapter made me nod and smile in agreement. It was about sock knitting, complete with a pattern at the beginning of the book.

The book was about four women at a sock knitting class and how they worked through their problems together and became lifelong friends. My only problem was the nonrealistic ending. We're grownup women who can solve our own problems, without any fairy dust. So that's my only gripe, and I do enjoy a fairy tale, I just have to remind myself from time to time.

Apparently last month, Debbie MacComber published "Back on Blossom Street", which I think I'll have to find. It's about a prayer shawl class and sounds like a bit of a tearjerker. She also has two pattern books out as well, one focusing on charity knitting.

I am ashamed to say this was my first non-serious book since the Christmas before last when my mom gifted me a ton of chick-lit. I can't wait to pass the bar so I can get back into books, of both the serious and non-serious variety. I think though, that I shall always keep by the side of the tub, a tub book, there's always time for books.*

*Cheesiest thing I've ever typed, but I'm leaving it in for posterity.

Itchy and Insane

2007-05-07T20:55:00.000-06:00

I'm itchy and have started in on the heel flap of my second pair of socks. I think finals studying and paper writing has me delusional. I am researching the Bohus. This is with NO experience with more than one color of yarn. Insane, I tell you. Send help!

I should probably pick something more, well, LESS Bohussy for my first major colorwork project. Maybe Anemoi mittens? Not to mention the price difference, $160 for the Bohus kit v. 3 skeins of Lorna's or Koigu for the Anemoi. Yeah, I think I've talked myself into it. I'm thinking blue and white, like a bright dutch blue and a silvery white. Pretty!

Whew, that was scary.

HELP!

2007-05-06T19:35:00.000-06:00

Anyone know where I can get a nostepinne besides ebay? Help! I'm hunting one down for my Secret Pal. I bid on an ebay one, but it'd be more helpful if I could find one on a website that sold other knitting items so I could get some other items for a beginning knitter.

Ok, since I posted twice today, I give you this:

It's about knitting and it's work safe.

Spiders to Sheep to Socks

2007-05-06T15:22:00.000-06:00

Let's see. Last week Hobby Lobby had all of their knitting needles half off. So I went and bought up some sock DPNs for me and my secret pal.

I've been killing lots of spiders. When I do, I say a little prayer that they'll be reincarnated as a sheep. A nice, woolly sheep on a farm where they can get fat and old and their fleece can get dyed all kinds of wild colors to make socks and scarves for boys and girls.

It's finals time, so the knitting has been low. I've typed a ton of papers and will commence studying for my two actual finals soon. I've also been working a ridiculous amount to keep the paychecks at a decent level to fund me through the bar exam period.

Brown Recluses

2007-05-03T20:06:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, there are no pictures. However, our house is overrun with brown recluses. Normally I consider myself a bit of a Buddhist about animal killing. Yes, usually I extend my mercy to spiders. When I was travelling in Tibet I was in a temple, which smelled of yak butter candles, incense and was so peaceful, I felt like I was dreaming. All of a sudden, a monk screamed and ran towards me. I stopped, my foot in mid-stride. There, under my foot was a little mouse, eating a crumb. He picked him up and cradled him. We had a long talk about life, there under the thousand Buddha painting. Whenever I run across a pest, I think about that moment and trap and release the critter.

However, I feel compelled to kill these little devils. Yak butter candles be damned, I find nothing worse than poisonous spiders. I'd catch and release, but they'd end up in my neighbor's garage. The pinnacle of my rage occured when I was sitting in my nightgown, drinking a hot cup of tea. I glanced down and there, on my right boob was a brown recluse. I threw the hot tea all over Mr. EarnKnittoOwnIt and screamed. So, to the monk I met in Lhasa, I'm sorry.

I hope to finish sock one of socks 2.0 this weekend. I'm into finals time and it's been rather uneventful.

SP10 Package!

2007-04-30T19:19:00.000-06:00

I arrived home to this:

And opened it to find this:
Yes, the package contained all kinds of knitting stuff. Ignore the cluttered kitchen table.

There's a book, a pencil case which makes a great tool holder, stitch holders, a yarn cutter, tape measures, counters, a fuzzy little bundle of Bernat sock yarn...
The Stitch 'N Bitch calendar, a copy of Creative Knitting... I'm so excited, I'm putting together a knitting notebook with various patterns, how-tos and notes. I just have to find one of those photo albums with the sticky pages where you peel back the top. Do they still make those? I guess I could paper clip it all into a regular notebook. I can't wait to go through the four months of pages to pick out patterns, yarns and knitting tips

A magnetic notepad (very handy!), coasters, and notecards..
Lavender bath goodies (my favorite!), a bar of Bath and Body Works Raspberry soap (another favorite)..

And....scrapbooking letters! This is so odd because I was just thinking yesterday that none of my pages had titles to them. I think will fix it. Wow!

SP10 whoever you are, I love you! This was just what I needed....

....because, after I opened it, I realized that I had missed too many classes in one of my classes. I had to withdraw and pick up an hour of independent study so I can graduate and take the bar on time. Self-induced stress: my personal favorite. I'm really good at it. It's my specialty.

The Aforementioned Photo Dump..

2007-04-29T15:33:00.000-06:00

Starting with the gorgeous Tofutsies from Kathy...Imagine my delight when opening this. It was pretty remarkable. I think I'll turn it into three or four pairs of Fongs. Is that okay with you, Kathy?

I redid the front room. Mr. Tick has his own big-dog crate coming so he can no longer sleep on the futon, or eat the Dyson or crown molding. I'm ecstatic. I'd show before pictures, but it was too awful to photograph. Here's after. Note the comfy sitting space, plants and stash closet. There's still room for a pack and play when Evie comes to visit. I'm also putting a fountain in there and my stereo so I can listen to my hypnosis tapes and music DH hates. Edited to add: the stereo is broken. Not a huge surprise since we had it in an outdoor closet for a year at our old apartment complex, but still, disappointing.

Now with more cowbell...err..dogs..

Tomorrow, the Second Socks and Project Spectrum CD...

Oh no...

2007-04-28T20:07:00.000-06:00

Remember me going on about wanting a colorway to match my Polly-cat, my brown, grey, blue, every cat color ever tabby? It's here:

Maybe I will just email out my etsy wishlist for graduation? I don't need cash, right? Just yarn. Practicality sucks.

I ripped out the Second Socks twice. Then I finally figured out what I was doing wrong with my Baby Cable. It's not complicated but it's just a step up from what I know. I have to keep pushing myself because someday I want to knit up some Whiskers and Pawprints socks.

Bits..

2007-04-27T21:16:00.000-06:00

Nothing important here, just some bits. Photo dump coming tomorrow, most likely.

1. I got the most awesome present ever! Tofutsies from Kathy. I think it's colorway 786, a nice blend of orange, yellow and light red. Which is perfect, it's like nothing I have and is not sold in Arkansas (There's a lot of brands in that category, so I'm not super surprised. Though I should be nice, we have a ton of nice brands at the LYSes here: Koigu, Noro, Debbie Bliss, Reynolds, Twinkle, Colinette, Regia, etc. The ones I can't get are Malabrigo, Tofutsies, Cherry Tree Hill, etc.). It's so soft and silky. I have so many exciting sock yarns in the queue (Koigu, Colinette, thechickwithsticks, Yarn Love, Irish Baby Knits)

2. Yes, I stalk blog contests. Money is going to be TIGHT this summer with studying for the bar exam. So the only yarn I will buy until it's over will be Secret Pal yarn. So I rely on my stash, blog contests and my Secret Pals for retail therapy. I debated using graduation money to fund more yarn, but it really needs to go in savings. I have enough yarn to make 7 pairs of socks, and other yarn to make a ton of baby items, hats, etc. I don't have enough Peace Fleece in any one color to make a sweater, but I will likely buy more Baghdad Blue after the bar and find a sweater pattern for the First Sweater. I don't feel bad about blog contest stalking because I've found great blogs and I will more than return the favor to the knitting community.

3. Vegetarian Times in the mail today. Yum. I found about a billion recipes to try. My subscription runs out next month, but I have all these back issues to try out.

4. So sleepy. I had to rip out the Second Socks today. I cast on 44 stitches. I have no idea why. I have decently large ankles, the First Socks were a 60 stitch cast on. So I ripped, it was a skinny ankle sock already with just two inches on the needles. Now I'm working up a baby cable rib sock.

5. Goals this weekend:
a. Finish the rise of the baby longies
b. Knit more on the Second Socks
c. Work on the yard a bit
d. Sleep and hang out with the husband (he's worked until 3 am and then gotten back up at 8 am every day this week..it's been lonely)

Popularity Contest..

2007-04-26T19:58:00.000-06:00

I got a lot of fun mail today. My Loopy Ewe order arrived, all gorgeous and cuddly. I scored two skeins of Yarn Love and sample packs of Soak. It's so beautiful. I can't wait to get my needles into it. I also got three swiffer pads from Hippy Housewife. They're made of cute snail fabric with a terry cloth pad on it. So you can rinse and reuse. I already got two of them absolutely disgusting. It's muddy and I have dogs. I don't think I need to say anymore..pictures of all of that to come.

So what makes some yarns so popular? For instance, Yarn Pirate. My next sock yarn purchase will be some Yarn Pirate. Right now though, I have 7 other skeins to get through, well, maybe if I get through 4 then I'll seriously stalk the YP. But back to my question. Yarn Pirate stocked on Loopy Ewe today and sold out in no time. It seems to do that everywhere. Other brands like Yarntini also seem to do the same. Why? What's the allure? I will admit I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I stalked the Yarn Love and will see if it's all it's cracked up to be.

Other popular yarns, like Socks that Rock are always in stock in some colorways and very popular, yet never seem to sell out within the hour of their stocking.

The First Socks

2007-04-25T19:23:00.000-06:00

The First Socks. My feet are all warm and I'm contemplating wearing these without pause. However, that would be disgusting. So I'll work on some more and change socks, I swear.

The toes are not this odd looking in real life. The pointy toed sock was off center on my foot in my excitement to put on the First Socks for the first time.

One more shot because three is a great number...

The mystery FedEx package was a catalogue and huge full sized products from Frontier-Coop. I'm doing a Frontier Co-op and putting in an order on May 17th. Interested? Email me for a link. They sell herbs, spices, tea, Burt's Bees, Jasons Organics, etc. at huge discounts.

Here's my secret pal box from the Lab Board.

And the included new scrapbook:

Ok, that's all I've got. I'm going to cast on for another pair of socks, probably in the Lorna's Laces I have (I think the color is called Crazy Stripe). I'm going to hunt down a pattern that is a little different. I'd like to learn something different, I'm just not sure what. Maybe a baby cable rib with a slightly different heel or toe...

Whoodunit?

2007-04-24T15:44:00.000-06:00

There is nothing that irks me more than getting a FedEx notice but no package. Now I'm left to figure out what it might be. I know it's not my Loopy Ewe order, that just shipped today. I know it's not my Hippy Housewife order, that shipped yesterday. I guess it could be my blog contest prize of sock yarn, but I'm just not sure. I guess tomorrow, I shall be surprised, one way or the other.

Tools...

2007-04-22T21:08:00.000-06:00

What are your favorite knitting tools? Right now I have needles, some circular, some straight, all bamboo (I think all are Clover), and one tapestry needle. That's it. I also have some very sharp Cutterbee scissors that I borrow from my scrapbooking set when its time to cut yarn. For markers, I use safety pins or bobby pins. Hey, it works. I'm expecting markers in my Hogwart's Sock Swap and I've made do with eyeballing measurements for baby clothes and socks. Believe me, before I attempt a sweater, I'll invest in a tape measure or nine.

I've been rather obsessed with finishing this sock. I should have my first pair of socks done by Wednesday. Then I'm going to beat Branching Out into submission. I think I've got to be doing something seriously wrong. I may have to cough up the change to get some help at the local yarn store. I don't mind paying, but it'd be nice to have a friend to mooch free advice off of. I know it's something simple, I just can't put my finger on it.

I completely forgot about my other hobby: houseplants. I've scrapbooked some, but neglected my 27 houseplants for 3 weeks! Eeek! Everyone got watered today and I'm moving a good portion out to the screened in porch now that it's nice out tomorrow. I plan on putting in some hooks so I can move hanging plants out there as well.

I got a huge box from my Lab Board Secret Pal. The dogs and cats got a ton of toys, I got a new scrapbook. I also got a major haul from our next door neighbor's garage sale: two skirts, two pairs of nice work shoes (Nine West and something else..the only time I buy leather is at garage sales or resale shops), a picture frame and two rolls of nonskid drawer liner. I also bought my end of my Cat Lover's Secret Pal (which is not really a secret since I'm matched up with the person whose matched up with me, if that makes sense) which I'll wrap and mail soon. I have a garage to clean out for a garage sale for my charity and a retreat/yarn/scrapbook room to get together as soon as Tick's crate gets here. Needless to say, pictures are coming...looks like a busy next few weeks..

Some answers..

2007-04-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

Here's a few answers to some recently posted comments.

" Does your husband play World of Warcraft?"

No, he plays Vanguard. It's like WOW, but with less teenagers playing it. He used to play Everquest. In fact, he made a living off playing it, a fact he reminds me of. I made him quit to get a "real job". I'm a big meanie, apparently.

" You might just get that yarn ball winder from your SP10 so don't run out and get one yet!"

Wha what? That makes my yarn heart all happy. :) I hope so, but I understand if I don't. My SP is going through a seriously stressful patch at the moment. I realize right now I have a TON of yarn but very few knitting tools. I don't even own a tape measure.

In good news, my ebay sales are funding a new crate for Tick. So the room he's been living in will be mine again. I think we know what that means. Yarn haven! :)

That's all I've got. I finished one paper and started on another. Then I stalled out. I need more research. I've got one main article right now, and that makes it look like plagarism. So, I think I've got to do some digging or change topics. The current topic is the use of humor in mediation. In case anyone wanted to research for me. Any takers? ....didn't think so! :)

Flair!

2007-04-21T04:48:00.000-06:00

Remember my new obsession to find a pattern with Blue Sky Cotton as a recommended yarn? Here it is. It's so very Camille, with the tons of buttons (hello etsy wishlist, I'm sure I've got some buttons on there!) and flared 3/4 length sleeves. I think I shall flare the sleeves a bit more and find some amazing buttons to make this my own..

Now I just have to decide what color to make it. I'm torn between thistle and tomato. Tomato is so Razorbacky, which would be good for Friday gamedays at the office to get in the spirit but still be jeans business casual. Thistle on the other hand, is very Camille. I just don't know. I also don't know why I like to randomly talk about myself in the third person. It doesn't happen in reality, just in blogging. I like to see my name in print, it's one of my oddities.

I'm up at 5:30 in the morning polishing off a bag of Wild Oats Coconut Cashew cookies. Life is good.

My husband offered me the use of his ATM card for garage saling purposes. I think I'll be a nice wife and just go back to bed though instead of taking advantage of his temporary lapse in sanity. He came to bed at 4 something after a long night of online gaming. Everyone should marry a dork, they're the best kind of husbands, I think. Then again, my bias is clear.

In other knitting news, hopefully the second sock will be done this weekend. I do have 60 pages of papers to churn out, so I may stick with random bits of mindless baby knitting and finish the sock during the hour before the movies on Sunday (my husband is convinced you must go to the movies 1 hour before the start time to get a good seat, this means 1 hour of nothingness, then the 45 minutes of previews, then the movie...it's about a 3 hour process).

Yarnage

2007-04-18T19:22:00.000-06:00

I think it's time for more pictures of baby Evie and yarn. Two of the cutest fluffiest things in Arkansas and I have pictures of them..

Here, in the hat I made from this pattern, is Evie. She's also modeling a shirt from the Children's Place. The yarn used was my nemesis, Manos Cotton Stria.

The state of the socks. Ignore the pizza boxes and bits of lawschoolyery. Cross your fingers that I don't run out of yarn.

The newest project, longies in Llamajama chunky merino. I had to do my first knitting calculations. This is knitting up so much better than I expected. It's my first single ply yarn and I initially hated it but it's turning out gorgeous and very tight. Perfect for cloth diapering. I'm glad I got over my prejudice. It's much like Malabrigo and Manos is described and I'd hate to miss out on more yarn. We can't have that!

Latest yarnage: Sting colorway in this etsy seller's shop. Just the end of the skein poking out in the cedar chest, waiting, expectant. Gorgeous. I have no words. This will be socks for the Hogwart's Sock Swap.

I just noticed that this is sock yarn. It's my last month from the Irish Baby Knits Yarn of the Month Club. My subscription ran out, but this is a HUGE skein.

My teeny haul from Hand Held in Fayetteville. The Silky Wool is hand wound because the shop keeper had a fight with their yarn ball winder and lost. I couldn't complain at $4 a pop. I need my own winder. Check out the Koigu! ooooh ahh!

I cast on with the Silky Wool and about screamed. I cannot for the life of me figure out Branching Out. I worked the first row and did not have three stitches to knit at the end. Only two. So I ripped, started over. Same thing. Repeat FOUR times. I calmly gave up and will reattempt when I figure out what my problem is.

In other news, I have some Yarn Love from the Loopy Ewe on the way, in two different colorways. It remains to be seen what I'll ship out to my Secret Pal and what I'll stash for myself. Let's be honest. It's all mine.

Frogging Earth

2007-04-16T18:11:00.000-06:00

I recently finished sock #2 and frogged sock #1 to redo it into sock #3. While knitting with my freshly frogged yarn, I noticed how "off" it is. It doesn't twist like fresh yarn, it has the same stretch in the rib as sock #2, but something just isn't quite right from all the previous knits and purls that it held that are now no more. It's yarn, but it's not quite the same as the original.

That's what I was thinking about today as I drove home. In less than a day, a construction company bulldozed a new path off the boulevard and up into the treeline. The earth is a beautiful clay color, full of a ridiculous amount of rocks, just like my yard. It was all so quick. I'm sure the new subdivision will be pretty, but it won't be the same. It's frogged.

So that's what I was thinking about today. It's so quick to rip something out and so slow to truly create something the right way the first time...sometimes things don't fit back together.

Changing topics, the trip to Fayetteville was amazing. I have a gorgeous niece. I had a lot of fun burping her and waking up several times during the night to help with feedings. I hope I helped get her sleeping better. My sister's husband was able to sleep through the night because I was the feeding co-pilot.

The yarn store in Fayetteville, Hand Held was amazing. The house it's in is so cute, very well laid out and well stocked. The Koigu and Manos selections were incredible. I wanted to bury myself in the Blue Sky Cotton. Seriously, I have got to find patterns for all three brands of yarn. I picked up two skeins of Koigu in a very non-Camille colorway (it's a light blue one, nothing loud and parrot colored this time) and some Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool for Josh's grandma's Christmas scarf. It was 40% off and I should probably send my sister for another skein. At $4, that's a ridiculously cheap Christmas present, that I shall knit into this. I seriously am contemplating signing up for one of their classes and taking a few Saturdays up in Fayetteville to spend with them. There's a Knit-Out two weeks from now at the Square that I might try to drop in on. It's dangerously close to finals though.

Pictures to come of the niece and Koigu. My house is a disaster, so I have plenty to do besides knit sock #3, but I might just stick with the sock.

Winner winner chicken dinner

2007-04-13T20:06:00.000-06:00

I won another blog contest!. I love blog contests because I've found some of the BEST hidden knitting blogs by participating. Even the ones I haven't won, I still read. I hope to have my own blog contest sometime. I'll offer a fabulous prize, like a sweater made from homespun dog hair yarn. Seriously, I have enough white Akbash hair that I should start an etsy shop. But I won't. I'll spare you.

And no, just because I won a contest doesn't mean I'll avoid the yarn shop. That would be just silly.

My dog ate the Dyson cord. He no longer has out of the crate privileges. The Dyson is going with me to Fayetteville so my brother in law can mend it. It was REALLY dumb that I left the vacuum out. I'm lazy, obviously, too lazy to put it in the closet. Tick also scratched the crown molding pretty good. I'm hoping my dad will come by and help me rip it off and put up another piece.

2007-04-12T21:26:00.000-06:00

Tonight I'll finish a sock and these longies. I'm so excited. Then it's on to the next sock and next baby project. When I get to "me" projects, I'm not sure. Maybe I could do three projects at once. Baby gear is pretty mindless knitting, around and around and around. So it's feasible. I need to make the other Kitty Pi that I bought Big Kureyon for. I cast on and then shoved it in a bag. My goal this month is to make our house more pet friendly. The cat bowls are being moved on top of the washer, I'm putting up a baby gate so the dogs can't get to them. Things like that..

I am very excited about going to Fayetteville. I can't decide what I'll buy at Handheld on Saturday. Then again, people who go into yarn stores knowing what they want worry me. I've heard there's Koigu, which is non-existent in Little Rock/Conway so far as I know. It doesn't look like it's always in stock. I should leave money with my sister and force her to go buy it for me when it is there. I'll probably have Ace with me (large white crazy Akbash of a dog) so it will be a quick trip, followed by a stop at the Square to see if the Farmer's Market is in session and then out to Elkins to see the niece. Can you tell I miss Northwest Arkansas?