2007 Recap

Everybody's doing it...so here goes. My 2007 recap

1. Finally got to go on a honeymoon after 2.5 years of marriage. DisneyWorld in January. We had a blast!

2. Bought our first house in April. Love it still!


3. Took some cooking classes

4. Got my Ravelry invite

5. Finally got promoted to the job I've actually been doing all year

6. Finished a few knitted objects. Not as many as I would have liked.
Irish Hiking Scarf
Garter Rib Socks
Dishcloths

I don't really have any resolutions for next year. The usual - lose weight, get in better shape, be more financially secure, take a vacation, etc.

For knitted goals I would like to: Finish Branching Out, make myself another pair (or two) of socks, make my first sweater, buy some STR, and learn color knitting.

Here's hoping that everyone has a great New Years! Happy 2008 Ya'll!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last weekend we braved the ice storms to head down to Arkansas and spend the weekend with my family for our Christmas. It was a very short but sweet trip.

Now we have a few inches of snow in the KC metro and I am glad that we don't have to travel again. I ran out yesterday morning and finally finished up the Christmas shopping before the mess hit. Around noon we got freezing rain and eventually it turned to snow. Now everything outside is a lovely white. Today will be a great day to stay in and bake cookies. I might try Sandy's easy peanut butter kiss recipe as well.

Even if the weather stays bad we only have to travel one mile tomorrow to my in-laws and then about seven miles on Christmas day. Sometimes I actually am glad I live close to all of my in-laws. Not very often mind you, but sometimes.

Since I haven't been posting or knitting much I probably won't post again until after the new year.

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

FOs

Today is a sick day from work but a good day to finish things. Last night I finished up the socks for my mom for Christmas. We also put up the Christmas tree, outside garland with lights, and some inside decorations.


Today I finally finished up the Irish Hiking Scarf. It's a little short as I only used one ball of Patons Classic Wool. I may give it to DH for Christmas.

December

I can't believe it's December 1st. I am still working on my mom's socks, about 3 inches left on the foot of the second sock and then the toe. Good thing I wasn't planning on many knitted gifts this year.

the Lady Knits is having a contest for some great prizes. Drop by and enter when you get a chance.

Now that we are living in our first house I am so geared up to start decorating for Christmas. I have been putting it off until December but today is the day! I bought this cute guy last weekend.

Hapy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving! Ours turned out well, we hosted DH's family so we had 9 total. We also got our first snow of the season yesterday, just a small dusting, but it was pretty. Here's a pic of the tree in our front yard before it lost all of its leaves.

Happy Anniversary

Yesterday was our 3rd wedding anniversary. We celebrated by taking half the day off and having dinner at The Melting Pot. It was our first time there and it was a lot of fun. I am a huge chocoholic so I especially loved the dessert course. DH also bought me a dozen roses which was really sweet. We don't really do gifts except for Christmas so it was a nice surprise.


This past weekend we started getting ready for the holidays by purchasing new furniture. We got a new DVD cabinet that looks like a London phone booth (so cute!) and a pie safe for storage in the kitchen. We also bought a new range and overhood vent. The one in our house was original so it was definately time for a replacement. It's my first smooth top stove and so far I am enjoying using it.

Socktoberfest 2007

Socktoberfest is almost over and my goal of two pairs of socks has been missed by a mile. I did finish one sock for my mom. I actually finished it a few weeks ago but it was too short in the foot so this weekend I frogged the toe and increased the foot length and finished it again.


Since I had such a rough time with my Jaywalkers, I am going to put them on hold for a while. I might try the toe up pattern to see if I can get them to fit better.

Mitered Squares

Over the summer I didn't knit much because I was kind of bored. I wanted to learn something new but couldn't find a class that really fit my schedule. I signed up for a mitered square class in September but it was canceled and I was able to take one in October. We are making a felted bag based on the mitered squares found in the Mason Dixon book. Instead of 80 squares, we make 8 and then create a bag. So far, I've made 2 of my squares. They are a lot of fun to make and it's fun to work with colors I wouldn't put together.


Fall has finally come to my little neck of the woods. We've had the windows open and fall is in the air. It makes me very happy! I've even been decorating a little. Here's my mantle. My DH thinks I'm going a little pumpkin crazy but I love them. I can't wait to decorate more. I think I will really go all out for Christmas this year.

Fall? Has anyone seen Fall?

I love Fall, it's my favorite season. But here in KC we seemed to be missing it. The first weekend of October and it's 87 degrees and I have the AC running. It's kind of bumming me out.

I want to wear sweaters and go for walks to see the leaves change but even if you go outside you start sweating. I bought a dark red mum to put on my porch hoping that would help, but no, I'm still looking for fall. I've decorated my house with pumpkins but it still doesn't feel the same since that briskness is missing from the air.

I've been working on my Socktoberfest socks. I finished the garter rib sock but it's too short for my foot. I don't know if it will fit my mother so I haven't started the second one. I am tempted to mail it to her and have her mail it back to see if it fits but I am pretty sure she will think I am nuts for this.

I also started the basic sock from Knitting Rules for my mother-in-law out of Knit Picks Dancing I had in my stash. She asked me a few weekends ago if it was hard to knit socks. I thought instead of trying to teach her, I would try to make her a pair for Christmas. I know this goes against general knitter's opinion but if I tried to teach my mother-in-law something, I would probably end up divorced.

I knit about 3 inches on my Jaywalker and tried to put it on my foot. It wouldn't go over my heel. I had to rip back to the ribbing and start over on size 2 needles as opposed to size 1. I'm wondering if I should maybe even go up to size 3. It's knit in Trekking XXL and I'm a tight knitter. I'll give it an inch or two and see how it goes.

Beware the Clap

I spent the weekend in Arkansas visiting my family. I got a couple of inches knitted on my Jaywalker sock. My mom saw me knitting and now she wants socks for Christmas. I knit her a pair last Christmas and so now it looks like she's getting another pair this Christmas. I had my first sock from Sensational Knitted Socks with me and she tried it on and it fit, I just need to start the toe. If I can finish it up I can probably knock out the other one by Christmas. This is the first time procrastination will pay off for me. I never finished the sock for myself so now I can finish them for her.

Last week I signed up for the Second Wave Clapotis KAL. I've been wanting to make Clapotis for a while now so I thought this would be a good chance. I cast on with koigu and size 5 needles. So far I've done the first increase repeat. I had a little trouble with the pfb but I think I finally have it down. I'm going to make a scarf size Clap since I only have two skeins of the koigu in this colorway.

The Coolest Canadian I Know

Yesterday I made the three hour trek to see Wichita to see my new girl crush, the Yarn Harlot. By girl crush I mean the girl that you just know that if you lived in the same place you would be best friends and call each other just to say "Did you see the new STR colorway? Let's go get some right now!"

I had a great time and if you haven't seen it, got a bad picture of me posted on the Yarn Harlot's blog. I feel so special!!! (I'm right below Ingrid, the kniting soldier.)

So what does a whole lot of knitters in Wichita KS look like?


I met some nice women. Most people I met had trekked there like me from MO, OK, or other parts of KS.

When I got into town I stopped at the new LYS, Twist. It was a cool store. I bought my first skein of Tofutsies and this cool t-shirt.



Then I made my way over to Wichita East HS for the Yarn Harlot. I was early so I got in very close to the front of the line and had 2nd row seating. Great views of Stephanie.

She was hilarious!! Funnier than I even imagined and I've read all of her books. She even showed us how she knits and man does she knit fast.


There were, of course, the requisite sock pics. I cast on for my first pair of Jaywalkers in Trekking XXL and knitted almost an inch on them. (I had a hard time knitting because I was focusing on everything Stephanie said. Told ya, total girl crush!)




I got her to sign all 3 of my books and gave her the MO dishcloth I made for her. See the pretty picture! We had to explain to the Canadian a bit about where MO was in regards to KS. It's hard to imagine someone doesn't know where all of the states are (I'm a geographer by trade) but then again I don't know if I could name all of the Canadian provinces right now. (Actually I just tried and came up three short off of the top of my head. Now try naming the 50 states, tough huh? I can do it if I can write them down.)


I also knitted a hat that I got a really bad pic of at the hats table. It's the green and orange London Beanie third from the right. (I'm sure we ended up with more than this but I was at the front of the line.)


Overall I had an awesome time and would definately drive the distance again to hear Stephanie speak. If you get a chance, go see her. She's the coolest Canadian I know.

Yarn Harlot in Da House!

I just got home from seeing the Yarn Harlot! More details and pics tomorrow.

Happy Camper

I spent part of my long weekend catching up on podcasts and getting back into knitting. I finished another Missouri dishcloth and worked on a sock that has been on the needles forever. I also listened to the more recent episodes of Cast-On and got my knitting badges.

Woe is me that I never got to be a brownie or a girl scout or go to camp as a child. Those are things that I feel I really did miss out on. Girl bonding type things. When I was around the age for those activities I was being skirted to the country by a single mom working the graveyard shift to make ends meet so those types of things didn't fit into our lives. I don't have any real true female friends that I feel I can call when I need a shoulder to cry on and sometimes I wonder if that is why.
Anyway, I am now happy to have my Cast-On badges and to be a member of a happy scouting group. Check out Brenda's podcast and website and you can join too.

Ravelry updating

I've been spending a lot of time on Ravelry the last few weeks. It's really hard not to. There is so much there. This morning I got up and photographed my WHOLE stash. A little crazy. I ended up with 72 photos...one for each different type/colorway of yarn. Now I am trying to slowly catalog it on Ravelry. I did manage to get all of my needles cataloged this morning. Check me out when you get a chance, WhatRowAmIOn

Cute and cuddly

A lot of bloggers have pics of their cute and cuddly cats and dogs on their websites. I really enjoy the cat/kitten pics. We however, are the proud owners of two parrots. Cute and cuddly they are not. But they are very entertaining and playful. They talk, they mimic everything, sometimes they even talk back. They can call us by name, they greet us when we get home from work with "Hello" and they always tell us goodnight. Sometimes they even talk to each other. These are my kids and although I can't really cuddle with them and occasionally get bit, I love them all the same.

Hector, a 7 year old African Grey



Jasper, a 6 year old Blue-Fronted Amazon


Hector's favorite sayings:
See you later alligator.
Anybody home?
Hello.
Time to go night night.
Hey.
Night boys.
No bite.
Jasper.
Be good.
Hi boys.
Get in your cage.
Oh.
Shut up.
We'll be back.
What?
Booga booga.
Lots of different whistles.
Mimicking anything that makes noise: the telephone, microwave, birds outside, trucks backing up, phone dialing

Jasper's favorite sayings:

Hello.
Hi.
Hi Jasper.
Hi Hector.
What?
Are you okay?
What do you want?
Oh.
Watcha doin?
No bite.
Screams.

All clear

Regarding my last post, it seems we are safe for now. Hopefully we'll stay that way. Hubby headed out on another business trip this week so I met a friend down at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to see their newest exhibits celebrating the opening of the new Bloch buildings. If you're in the KC area before September 9th, it's definitely worth checking out.

Welcome to my sewer

Time for a rant. My house smells like sewer. It has since Saturday morning. After finally getting someone to come out on Monday afternoon it was decided that our 20 year old pipes are leaking sewer gas from their joints. Solution - put glue on them. Special pipe glue. We have done this. Twice. At night when we put on the glue, the smell is not so bad but that might be because we are high off of the glue. But during the night the sewer gas creeps up into the bedroom so it's the first thing I smell in the morning. Lovely.

I'm about ready to jump ship, or break down and cry, or start ripping black pipe out of my basement with my bare hands. Not sure just what yet but I am so sick of living in the sewer. I am not a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Ravelry

I got my Ravelry invite!! Not to brag for those that are patiently waiting...I waited too. Signed up on June 11th and got my invite on August 9th. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend! See you there!!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I finished it. Started at 8:30 this morning, finished at 10:30 tonight. Several breaks in between to catch my breath and process. I wanted to know but I didn't want it to be over. I will reread this book a million times.

Happy Reading!

Yarny Goodness

The Studio had their Christmas in July gumball sale today. See all of my yarny goodness! All of this totaled up to around $60. I got it for $6.50. How crazy and wonderful is that!! If you are in the KC area, stop by tomorrow as the sale continues. From 10-12 am you get an extra 15% off.

Here is what I bought:
Brittany size 8 needles (I like them because they look like wands)
Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton (probably for a Baby Bolero from One Skein)
Blue Sky Alpaca Alpaca/Silk blend (red and brown for the knitted bags in Last Minute Knitted Gifts)
Koigu KPPM (not sure what I'm going to do with this yet)

Beware of The Clap

Am I crazy to think I can make Clapotis out of two skeins of Koigu?? 'Cause that's all I've got...


I've really been wanting to cast on for something new but haven't. It's been so hot here and that causes me to be really lazy. All I've done lately is read (I've finished all 6 Harry Potter books now) and look at blogs.

Today I did manage a pattern repeat on Branching Out. That puts me up to a whopping 17 repeats. I think I started it last fall. Someday I will actually finish the project.

Let me know what you think. I will probably have casted on for the Clap but I'd love to hear everyone's opinion.

It's raining, it's pouring

And my stash is growing!

I've acquired a few new items over the last month. Take a peek.


A copy of Charmed Knits, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, and Casts Off. Also, two skeins of Jaegger laceweight in a light blue and a skein of alpaca in purple.

It's been raining here for several days so I haven't ventured out much except for work. We did catch a Royals game last night while the rain stopped for the evening.

I finished HP Book 5 and started Book 6 this morning and am eagerly awaiting the 5th movie and 7th book in July. In the meantime I knitted a few rows on Branching Out that I started last year.

Home and Garden improvement

Saturday the hubby and I went down to a really nice nursery near our house, Heartland Nursery. We picked up this bird bath that I had looked at previously when he was out of town.


We also found these cool glow in the dark garden decorations. I love how this one looks like a planet and this one looks like the man in the moon. They glow with solar light. It'll be interesting to see them glow as the already hot summer goes on. One of my favorite things about our house is that we can sit in the backyard on a summer's eve and just enjoy it. The duplex we rented previously was directly against the interstate and if you sat out back you got blown away by the wind and noise.


We've also been doing some small home improvements. See my new dining room chandelier. Much better than the old brass one. I like the pineapple motif.


There has been some knitting off and on. I'm trying to reread all of the Harry Potter books before book 7 comes out in July. I'm on book 5 and making headway to book 6.

I've been sorted, have you?

The sorting hat says that I belong in Gryffindor!

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."

Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous.
Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Home Sweet Home

I know this was originally set up as a knitting blog and I do have a little bit of knitting content but I also have some house and flower pics I wanted to share. We have now lived in our house for a little over a month and while we haven't taken on any major projects, we've made a few small things happen.

Here's the house (I love my front porch!)


Here's the flower bed we put in a few weeks ago (the flowers aren't doing so hot yet.)


Here's the back deck


Here's some containers I planted

And last but not least, the one thing no Southern girl can live without on her front porch


My husband is leaving early tomorrow morning and will be gone until late Friday night on a business trip so I have a whole week to keep myself occupied at night. Other than having dinner with a friend, I think I will spend most nights getting back into my knitting. I bought some Zephyr yarn in a deep blue and am now searching for the perfect lace pattern to do. I've also been going back through last year's issues of IK with the lace articles trying to get ready and catching up on knitting podcasts. In the meantime I have picked up a pair of socks I started last year and am now on the foot after finishing the heel and gusset over Memorial Day weekend. Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me,
Today I turn Thir-ty,
AHHHHH!!!!!


Okay so I know in the whole scheme of life turning 30 isn't such a big deal. But right now, it feels like a really big deal. I'll get over it I know but man, it's a tough pill to swallow.

I haven't been blogging or knitting for a few months. Besides getting older we bought our first house and I've been working like crazy. But I have been keeping up with knitting blogs and trying to catch up on knitting podcasts.

I'm starting to get the itch to knit socks again. And I just learned about the new Harry Potter themed knitting book so I am definately going to check that out. Hopefully I will have something knitting related to blog about soon.

MIA

So I've been MIA for the better part of this year. First there was bad weather, then the belated honeymoon to Disney World (only took us a little over two years), my collapse into the World of Warcraft, then more bad weather. And the job. My boss got promoted and then I got a new boss and then I got a lot more responsibility. I haven't technically been given a promotion yet but they left it dangling like a carrot. If I do well over the next few months hopefully I will be the next to get promoted.

So for now I am not knitting, not blogging, playing too much WOW and working a lot. Hopefully I'll get back into knitting this Spring. Oh yea, when I'm not trying to buy a house. I got my Spring IK and it was inspiring although I'm not sure I like the new format.

So for those few readers I have, I am gone but have not forgotten. I will return when life is a little less crazy.

New Year, New Me

Be forewarned, no knitting content.

I'm fat. I've been fat for a long time. I'm tired of it. I've been tired of it for a long time. I have managed to lose 15 lbs. since June just by switching some of my diabetic medicine. I'm ready to lose more. I don't belong to a gym because I always end up going strong for a month and then fall off the wagon. I usually walk for my exercise. When I saw that Rachael at yarn-a-go-go started the Run-a-go-go challenge, I thought what a nice way to get some exercise back in my life. I signed up this morning. While I don't forsee me logging any miles today, I'll be starting to walk again. 100 miles seems like a lot but I think if I break it down, I can manage.

Wish me luck!