Knitting Hawkeye

New website and blog!

2009-07-27T19:48:00.002-05:00

Please change your bookmark to this address for my new website and blog!

My brother got married, scary. . .

2009-07-19T22:17:00.003-05:00

This past weekend my parents and I went down to Austin, Texas for my older brother's wedding. It was held on Saturday at 2pm. All I have to say is that the wedding was beautiful and Texas is WAY too hot for my tasted. Heh, seriously I nearly died in the 111 degree weather. Below are two images from the wedding. I'll post one of the couple when the professional ones are up.

And a picture of boy/FH and I at the wedding. No, boy/FH is not Jewish. I was sooo happy that he could be there with me. it was also nice to see him, because we hadn't seen each other since my graduation in May. The wedding was held by a Rabbi, but mixed both Alicia's Christian background and my brother's Jewish background.

Sorry, no knitting this time, but maybe later. I am currently losing my mind with two shows within a month of each other. Shoot me. . . <3

Dyeing, dyeing, dyeing and some knitting. . .

2009-06-25T00:53:00.005-05:00

The shop is down due to the fact that i am having it completely redone and customized. I have hired a professional group to redo and gut the website. it will be fresh, original, easy to get around and just plain beautiful. I hope everyone likes it when it is done. I expect it to be done by the middle of July. =)

I would also like to introduce you to my new shoe. . . yes, it's a hard soled shoe for my broken toe. It was horrible standing and dyeing yarn for hours with a broken toe. I am very glad to say that with this new shoe, the pain is down to a minimum. Yes, it does cause my legs to be different lengths when not wearing another shoe, but whatever, it helps! I have been dyeing quite a bit of yarn and spinning fiber. I will be introducing four new yarn bases at Sock Summit. I really hope everyone likes them.

ONTO KNITTING CONTENT!
These are a random pair of house socks I knit for 52ppIII.
Details:
Pair #3 for 52ppIII:
started: June 2nd, 2009
finished: June 12th, 2009
Yarn Jojoland Rhythm 2 skeins
Pattern: my own (24 stitches toe up)
needle: US 3

Below are a pair of socks I knit out of yarn that my very dear friend Karen (Lykkefanten) sent me as a graduation gift. She also sent me some Drops alpaca yarn and a Danish shetland/wool blend. Yes, she is the sock club designer. I will be taking her patterns with me to both Sock Summit and Stitches Midwest.
Details:
Pair #4 for 52ppIII
started: 8 June 2009
finished: 19 June 2009
yarn: Hjertegarn Strømpegarn Jacquard Print
colourway: 4499
pattern: Sock Recipe: A Good, Plain Sock done toe up with short row heal
needle: US 1 1/2 2.5mm

Thee are part of my never ending destash. I just want the yarn to be gone!
WIP plain vanilla socks with 64 stitches toe up
yarn: Spunky Eclectic Panda
colourway: Raisin Wannabe
needle: 1 1/2 2.5mm

More destashing, but I LOVE Kirsten's yarn bases. i really want to track down her supplier. . .
WIP plain ribbed socks with 64 stitches toe up
yarn: handgefaerbt.com Nature Pure Merino Medium
colourway: army of orcs
needle: 1 1/2 2.5mm

Boy is coming to my brother's wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =) <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

A broken toe and knitting. . .

2009-06-12T00:34:00.003-05:00

Sooo, yesterday morning after I fed the three dogs, I stubbed my toe extremely hard in the frame of a door. Afterwards, I literally passed out from the pain and slept half the day. When I woke up, my dad was home from helping pack my sister in Iowa. (That's a 2 1/2 drive mind you). So, I've been having great fun wobbling all over and trying to keep Mac from stepping on my left foot too often. Ugh.

Anyways, despite the set back I have been knitting. I finished these simple garter rib socks for myself, but I lost one of the socks. AAAAHHHH!!!! That didn't make me happy either. The yarn is yarn workshop's footscray that I randomly dyed. The yarn is kind of rough and not my favourite base. These are my first finished pair of socks for 52 pair plunge III.

These are a finished pair of Tadpoles in my Skye Sock Yarn in the colourway "Emerald Serpent." They're a little tight due to the fact that I continued the pattern on the back of the leg. This is pair #2 for 52ppIII.

Below are two pictures of my current and temporary workshop for the summer. I took over my dad's workroom under the garage. This may look like a lot of yarn, but it is nothing compared to what I'll be taking to Sock Summit in August or Stitches Midwest in September.

OOOO below is my new toy, next to my old toy. YES! That is my beautiful 6 skein winder!!! It'll pay for itself in the end.

BTW, 5 weeks until my brother's wedding! Scary, he's growing up! They're also buying a house. Very scary. . .

Graduated and working. . .

2009-05-28T22:24:00.003-05:00

I graduated, no pictures, sorry but my hair looked horrid. It was a nice, beautiful, sunny day. Since then, I've been working on building up MacKintosh Yarns. I have been knitting up displays for conventions. Mainly socks right now. I have 3 done and only need one more and all 4 mannequins will have socks. I also sent a huge order to The Backwards Loop. it arrived today. I also took an order to Crazy Girl Yarn Shop here in Iowa.

Below I knit my Mey Seacell in the colourway Victoria. The pattern is Tadpoles, but knit upside down because it was knit toe up. I like it better this way.

Then I knit this sock out of my Woodland Bamboo blend in the colourway Jasmine. The pattern is Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace Sock.

I am also knitting myself a pair of Tadpoles for myself in Skye Sock Yarn in the colourway Emerald Serpent.

Four Days until Graduation

2009-05-12T19:15:00.003-05:00

I have four more days until my undergraduate college career is over. Five years of my life and countless hours and dollars later, I am finally graduating.
To keep my mind off of the fact that i will actually need to make a living after Saturday, I have been knitting and concentrating on holiday gifts, etc.
My diagonal socks are coming along. i did need to frog back the second sock down to the beginning of the 6th repeat on the foot because i kept screwing it up. I redid the heel 3 times, but the only solution was to rip it back even more. I have finally caught up with the first sock and am hopefully going to finish them this week.

I also started my dad's holiday gift after much contemplation. I finally decided to use up the rest of my Paton's Kroy Sock yarn and make the socks striped. My grandpa's socks will be made out of Paton's Kroy also, but plain black maybe with a pattern, we'll see.

Boy and I were in Rockford this weekend. I studied most of the time, while boy slept, he's been sick. I did get to see my mom's face when she received the flowers I ordered her for Mother's Day. She REALLY liked them. I also helped my dad pick out a gift of his own for her.

Spring is definitely here. This is a photo of the pond in my parent's backyard. They just had it redone. There was a rip in the liner and the pond kept losing water. Not a good thing when they have fish in there.

Back to knitting since I'm done studying for the day.
Please remember! Everything in the shop will be on sale starting the 15th in honor of my graduation! It will continue until the 21st!!

Socks and holiday knits. . .

2009-04-28T22:51:00.003-05:00

Yes, I said holiday knits. It's almost May and the holidays will be here sooner than you think. As I've said in the past, my family celebrates the holidays over Thanksgiving. This means I need to start knitting right now, considering my family has become accustomed to hand knits as gifts. below are some of the yarns I've pulled so far. I have already received a request for socks from my sister, but she wants them out of a colourway of STR that I don't currently have. Gotta love requests.

y destash quest has continued. i am working on a bulky hooded jumper out of my Icelandic that has been sitting in my stash.

I am also knitting a pair of Spring Forwards out of some handspun I purchased a while ago. I think they're turning out well so far.

This snood is also a holiday gift. This is for my grandma who lives in Jerusalem. I need to finish it by August because thats around the time they go a visit her annually. The yarn is Paton's Silk Bamboo in Plum.

And lastly, I am also working on a pair of Wendy Johnson's Diagonal Lace Socks in Wollmeise 100% SW Merino in the colourway Brombeere. This yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year and a half. it was time to drag some of it out and use it. This is an extremely easy sock to knit and I can take it to class with me and not have problems.

Alicia's socks are done and drying. Hopefully tomorrow I can ship them down to Texas to her.
I am also almost done with my first wholesale order. It will be shipped out hopefully within a week. =)
Boy finishes up on the 8th, while i finish up on the 13th. I then graduate the 16th, oh joy. I hope he can spend the summer with me, but it all depends on whether my sister will move out of the condo early. It doesn't seem like she will, UGH!!! Frustrating situation.

Knitting and shop update. . .

2009-04-21T11:29:00.003-05:00

I did a shop update last week. I added several skeins of Chubby Sock Yarn, Skye Sock Yarn, and various fibers, including a new 100% Superwash Wool.

I've been knitting! I swear I have! I finished boy's socks last Thursday at 2am. He likes them even though they're green. They fit perfectly, which is awesome and the weather turned cold so maybe he'll ear them in the dorm. This is a horrible picture because he wouldn't cooperate and not cover his face! Blah!

My day yesterday started with all of these WIPs, including my dad's second pair of socks that I started last November. I actually thought that I had lost the first sock i finished. it showed up in my dad's car on the front seat. In order to finish the socks I had my mom measure the leg for me. I FINALLY finished them and am sooo happy they're off my needles.

Here's a pic of the second and lonely finished sock.

I also started a pair of socks for my future SIL, Alicia. This is also part of my destash. This is Knitterly Things 400 sw merino/nylon base. I'm not a huge fan of the base yarn. it is very splitty and dry when knitting with. The colourway is Dragon's Blood.

Ahh, a clean apartment. . .

2009-04-15T14:14:00.004-05:00

Yep, this past weekend my dad and I gutted and cleaned my entire apartment. It's nice having it clean again. i just need to keep it this way for 2 months until I move into the larger condo. The main part of the other condo that I am looking forward to, besides the fact that the dryer works, is the basement. it will become my studio for MacKintosh Yarns. I am going into the business full-time. Yay!

I received my second pair of mannequin feet yesterday and need to start knitting the socks for them. I am knitting up examples of my yarn to be shown at conventions. I am only knitting up one sock per yarn base. I also need to knit up my lace weight yarn and the two worsted yarns that are being shipped to me soon.

Granted I have been knitting quite a bit lately. Below is a random hat I'm knitting out of some of my handspun. I'm still trying to destash.

This is also a destash project, as this yarn has been sitting in my stash for over a year. It is Spunky Eclectic's Super Sport in Mud Season. These are going to boy. I'm going to be knitting him a few pairs this summer, during the destash.

And there has even been some spinning! I dyed this fiber up over the weekend and while trying to braid it, it ripped. Sooo, I figured I might as well spin it up. It is superwash corriedale and it just beautiful!

Yay, an order!

2009-04-10T22:46:00.003-05:00

Sooo, I received an order yesterday for my yarns and some of my fibers from The Backwards Loop. I will be sending her 100 skeins of yarn and 12 braids of fiber. This is extremely exciting!

I am also on the waiting list for a vendor spot at:

Hopefully I will get a spot, because it would be such a great honor!

On another note, it's spring here, kind of. It's been "warm?" Eh, maybe. it definitely has been breezy and yesterday I didn't wear a hoodie when going out. So sad, I want my snow back!! Seriously, I prefer autumn or winter. BTW Happy Passover!!

Btw, I have been knitting. I finished my Mountain Color footsies last week. The colourway is Bitterroot Rainbow and was knit toe up on size US 1 1/2 circular needles

I then out of nowhere grabbed two skeins of my Iona Sport Weight yarn and cast on for a second pair of Corazon mittens. I love this yarn!!! These two colourways, Taurus (green) and Bluebird (bluish purple) go so well together! I'm extremely happy with how they're turning out. Also, I knit the first mitten in a day. Now I just ned to finish the second one. =)

Happy Birthday Mac!

2009-04-06T12:00:00.009-05:00

Yesterday my precious little aussie turned THREE. THREE!!! I have had him for 2 years and 10 months. It seems like forever. =)

On Mac's birthday I also did a photo-shoot for my book. I am writing a knitting book called "Knitting Through College." Mac was cooperative (kind of) for the photo shoot and allowed my friend Anne to take photos with him. the one below is the best of the entire shoot. =) Mac is a natural model.

I also knit up my "Logical Beanie" for the photo-shoot. This is Wollmeise worsted in Rittersporn. This used up some of my stash, which made me happy. Luckily we were mainly shooting hats because it was cold outside. It kept Anne warm.

I have basically finished both heels on my basic toe up Mountain Color socks. Now I just need to finish them so I can continue my "use up stash" mission.

I also started another pair of my "Roundabout Socks" for the book. The yarn being used is Alpaca with a Twist's Socrates. This is a wonderful yarn! Very soft and beautiful. I bought it while up in Cedar Falls visiting boy.

I went and saw boy on Saturday and just had fun hanging out in downtown Cedar Falls. It's nice getting away and spending some quality time together. While we were in Crazy Girl Yarn Shop, boy walked around and FELT yarn. LoL I have trained him well. =)

Ahh spring. . .kind of. . .

2009-03-31T11:44:00.003-05:00

Claudia's colors for this month's package for the Wollmeise Sock Club is definitely bright and colorful. But unfortunately, it didn't match the weather outside. It was snowing, yep snowing. I had just gone up to see boy and go see a movie. When we exited the theater, it had begun to snow. =P

Over spring break I went down and visited my brother and his fiance, Alicia, for 5 days. Unfortunately I was sick the entire time and couldn't get pictures. After that, my parents picked me up from O'Hare and we went to the condo. On Saturday my dad and I went downtown to Navy Pier, which was a lot of fun.
Here is a picture of the ballroom at Navy Pier. Lake Michigan was gorgeous!

Picture of part of the skyline. It was such a beautiful, clear day.

Okay, yes, this is a picture of Mac's butt, but I guarantee there is a good reason for it. While I was home, we took Mac to petco for a bath and a trim. Usually we take our dogs to Petsmart, but they don't do that good of a job on Mac when it comes to trimming. So after we took him to Petco and they did an amazing job! No one has ever trimmed his butt this well. It is sooo wonderful!

I have also been working on some very simple projects right now.

New news is that I will be moving into my sister's old condo, which is much larger and nicer. I now get to find a job before I graduate in this area. I hope it won't be that hard. I am meeting up with an advisor who will help me spruce up my resume and help me with my job search. But, I am staying in Iowa, hopefully for a few years until the economy gets better. I mean, Iowa's unemployment is only 4.6%, which is low compared to the rest of the country.

Gotta Love the cold and snow

2009-02-23T15:02:00.010-06:00

As you probably know, I love the cold and adore snow. I wish we had gotten the large amounts of snow that went just slightly north of us. My parents and Boy got that and I was slightly disappointed it missed IC. So, plans have been changing quite a bit lately. My Valentine's Day was kind of boring. I watched movies all day. Boy was in upstate NY attending a memorial for his cousin who was killed on the 6th. And we're not going down to visit my brother for spring break, we're probably just gonna go to my parents condo in Chicago. It should be fun though.

I had to stop knitting my shawl because I finished the first skein and hit a snag. . . all of the other skeins I bought were an off white cream colour and not the white of the first skein. I just happened to use the only white skein for the beginning of the project. Soo, I need to go an buy some more of the white before I can continue.
I have been knitting though. I have finished a couple of projects below. I finally finished my dad's hat last night while watching the Oscars. Yay! It's soft, thick and beautiful. I hope it fits!

I also did some destashing and knit a slouch out of some Misti Alpaca Sport Weight yarn that I have had for years! It's a forest green colour and neither pictures show it very well. I have 2 more skeins left I believe and need to figure out what to do with them.

Mac was very reluctant to model it for me, but I managed to get a cute picture!

I also started another slouch based on one that Scarlett Johansson was wearing in a picture I saw. The first one is being knit out of Cascade Eco Wool, same as my first Ailidh hat. I'm hoping to make adjustments with Malabrigo for the second one before I write the pattern down.

Well, I need to finish going through my Marketing notes, because I have an exam in less than 2 hours. Ugh!
There was also an update in the shop on Saturday. Enjoy!

Rain??

2009-02-09T15:08:00.004-06:00

Today is a beautiful gloomy Monday. I love two kinds of days, gloomy rainy ones and crisp white snowy ones. I love over cast skies and cooler to cold weather. Those are both ideal to me. The snow is melting and it feels like spring, even though it's only February. Quaint eh?

I have been slowly but surely been working on my wedding shawl.
Details:
Pattern: Shetland Triangle
Yarn: Baby Cashmerino
Color: white
Needle: US 5 24" and 32"

Apparently the orange beanie That I knit a while ago doesn't fit my dad's head properly. Sooo, while I was home over the weekend I picked up some Debbie Bliss Como in grey and a set of US 13 circulars and cast on. The hat is 52 stitches and will be a basic beanie. The yarn is awesome and soft to work with, if only the skeins had more yardage.

Of course this post would not be a proper post unless I had a photo of my beautiful baby boy. He's enjoying the cooler/warmer weather, but not the rain.. This dog hates rain, baths and any other source of water that gets on him, except snow. odd dog.

For spring break I'm going to down to Austin to visit my brother and his fiance for a few days. it should be fun. =) Boy was supposed to come with but he never gave me an answer and I said screw it I'll go alone. Life does go on.

OMG Knitting Stuff!!

2009-02-03T14:49:00.004-06:00

Okay, yes, I understand that i REALLY have not been keeping up with my blog or anything fiber or knitting related. So here is a knitting post, omg omg OMG!!!!! Yeah. . . I hadn't been in the mood really to knit anything in the past few months due to stress. Lots and lots of stress.
Below is a new photo of my second Old Shale scarf that i still haven't finished. I am about 3/4s of the way done with it and it's still on the needles. Sigh. I've been dragging it to classes in hopes of finishing it as soon as possible. Also, thank god for movies and knitting while watching them also.

I also started a new pair of socks. Details:
Pattern: Tesserae Sock by Anne Hanson
Yarn: MacKintosh Yarn Mey Seacell Sock Yarn
Colourway: Victoria
Needles: US 1 circular

I also dyed up some sock yarn for my bridesmaids socks. I have 4 pairs to knit. I know all but one bridesmaids shoe size.

Mac has been enjoying the warmer weather. I've been opening the balcony door at times and when he's not out on the balcony, he's usually laying right in front of it feeling the breeze blowing in.

Haha, a few months back I commissioned some yarn to be spun at a mill down in texas. I commissioned sock weight yarn. . . .I received a call, paid and was sent the yarn. i looked at it confused and decided to dye some up to see how much it would bloom. The final product is below. Yeah. . . .thats sock yarn for who, a giant?

I also want to congratulate my friend Anna who is expecting her second child this summer. Grats!!
Also, I rejoined Weight Watchers after five years and lost 3.8 lbs last week. Granted most of what you lose the first week is water weight, but it still means something to me. =)

Ugh. . . stress. . .

2009-01-19T02:04:00.008-06:00

It's almost been a week since I had my surgery to remove my wisdom teeth. I have been surviving on vicodin for most of the week. My jaw still hurts, mainly in the evenings. So, boy forgot his coat at my parents condo and had to borrow one of my dad's until he could get his coat back. BUT, it turns out that his own coat doesn't really fit anymore. No idea why he didn't get a new one for the holidays because he needs it in the Iowa weather. Oh well, my dad said that he could borrow his coat until winter is over, but he wants it back afterwards. I did retrieve his coat this weekend when my parents and I went into Chicago for 2 nights. It's funny, he left it hanging in the coat closet. . . . yeah. My mom is a selfless person, she let him borrow my dads coat, paid for his way back to school, and gave him $100 for a taxi and food. Yeah, nice woman. He had to spend some of the money paying his roommate back though because he left his wallet at school and had to have it sent to my parents house before he went to O'Hare Airport, which wasn't what the money was for, but whatever. Oh well. Gotta love stress eh?

Soo, classes begin Tuesday for me and I'm hoping my last semester in college is umm relaxing? Heh, with two marketing classes I want it to be relaxing, we shall see. I haven't really been knitting lately due to my procedures and just lack of energy. I'm starting to feel better, but still have a long way to go. My mouth will probably be sore for eh another few weeks and my body is completely out of wack. Kind of wish i had another 2 weeks off to lay around on vicodin. Luckily I have tomorrow off. Yay I get to straighten up my apartment! Ugh. . .

Okay, some GOOD news! My brother Mike got engaged to his gf Alicia! They've been together for over two years. he bought her a beautiful .66 carat Tiffany & Co. engagement ring! Nice $5K ring right there! It's a classic 6 prong, platinum setting. They are planning a wedding for this fall. I can't wait! I'm dragging boy with me, because he still hasn't met my brother. Sigh. . . . Anyways, here are some pics of the ring below:

Btw, I guess I should start referring to boy as FH (future husband). Hmm I'll think about it.
Almost forgot, some of my wedding details:

Time: Winter (I'm looking into Dec 17th 2011)
Where: Chicago (looking into Navy Pier Lakeview Terrace)
# Guests: 50 (25 each side)
Colour Scheme: blue, white, silver
Announcements: sent out Spring 2010
wedding bands: Boys: titanium with silver inlays and engraved Mine: umm we'll see

More details as it gets closer. . . . <3

Hello 2009!

2009-01-09T21:25:00.005-06:00

Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a while and I am sorry. I haven't really had the urge to get on and post, considering I really haven't been knitting this past month. I spent my first week and a half here at home playing World of Warcraft and waiting for my grades. This past week and a half, well the first part of it was spent in my parents condo in Chicago with my parents, boy and the animals. We had a lot of fun. Boy and I went downtown and visited Tiffany's (bought my wedding band) and the Apple Store. It was COLD, but fun. This past week we've been back in Rockford enjoying rented movies and the snow. Today I had my colonoscopy, fun fun, the nurse had to stab my hand twice before she got a vein for the IV. It wasn't horrible, the prep kind of sucked, but it's over. Tomorrow boy goes back to school, classes begin Monday, I'm sad. =( My mom also guilt tripped me into agreeing to get my wisdom teeth out on Monday. . . the fun just keeps coming.
Well, some good news, the HAWKEYES WON our bowlgame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!

Yesterday, boy and I picked up my new and permanent engagement ring (2 pics below). I always wanted a sapphire ring and this is just gorgeous!!!!!!! Yes, my parents know, his still don't, but we have time to wait (3 years ugh!!).

And another pic of my dream ring!!

Still alive and kicking. . .

2008-12-16T23:02:00.004-06:00

Don't worry, I'm still here. =) Homework and studying have taken over my life. One more semester until my undergraduate career is over. That is a very sad thought for me. What will i do without college and naps and sleeping and and and and and college!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, onto what I've been up to. Winter break officially begins tomorrow for me. it started today for boy. Sigh, schmuck. I have the hardest and most stressful final this semester tomorrow at 4:30pm. yay for me. I went up to Cedar Falls and picked boy up today. Mother nature decided that I needed a challenge while retrieving him. It snowed the entire time, yep snow. At first it was dusty snow and then it became wet and thick. It took me 3 something hours to get him. Usually it takes about 2 something. Ugh.

I also knit and finished a pair of house socks. The yarn came from carrie of Funky Carolina. it's part of the handspun club she offered some time ago. I LOVED IT!!! She spun me shetland into a sport weight sock yarn. I couldn't put these down. They are sooo soft!!!

Here is my new ring, which I picked out and have been wearing since it's arrival. It's not official (as in parents don't know?), but I'm planning a 2010 wedding. yeah, okay, let's move on to more fiber stuff. (band is sterling silver, stone is a .47 lilac spinel, ring was handmade on etsy by jewelscurnow) I have a thing for handmade items. =P I'm getting boy a handmade titanium ring. =)

I LEARNED HOW TO RBAID MY FIBERS!!! I know this sounds sad, but it took me for frickin ever to figure out!!!! Now, I'm content. =P

New Camera and a winter wonderland

2008-11-30T17:08:00.004-06:00

As part of my Hannukah gifts, I received a brand new Nikon camera. I have never owned a really nice camera before and to be honest I LOVE IT!!!! Below are some photos I took today in the snow. The camera is so much fun and takes wonderful photos! It has 18x optical zoom vr, 10.1 mega-pixels, etc.
Mac entranced by a squirrel in the trees.

A cardinal at the bird feeders 20 feet from me.

Tree in the front yard at least 10 feet from where I was.

Photo of the backyard as the sun was going down.

I love snow!! I hope everyone had a wonderful week off and a great weekend. Yesterday was boy and my first year anniversary! =) He got back to Iowa in one piece, I hope everyone else did also.
And all of my projects and homework is done!!!!! Very very very happy about that one. Thanksgiving break = homework time.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:56:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's been an interesting week for me. I have gotten most of my homework and projects done, only a few left to finish. I also went to the gastroenterologist to figure out what's wrong with me. The doctor believes that it is IBS, but to make sure it's not IBD, I have to have a colonoscopy. . . yeah I shouldn't need one until I'm 50. . . I'm getting it done at the beginning of January. Tomorrow however I will be getting a lactose intolerance test done at 7am. . . joy. Gotta love this ugh. . .

I hope you guys are having a great holiday!! <3

Tis the season. . .

2008-11-19T21:55:00.006-06:00

Okay, I am holding a contest and the prize is this beautiful skein of MacKintosh Yarns Mey Seacell in the colourway Victoria. The contest is to help me come up with a new name for my World of Warcraft mage Lyxi. Please leave your choices (up to 5) in a comment. You have until December 1st. Please tell your friends, I need as many options as possible. Thanks!

BTW all Celtic Sock Yarns are on sale for $18 from now through Black Friday.

On another note, I'm sick, I've been sick and I'm not getting better. For the past several (since March really) I've been having problems that could be IBS or could be IBD. My stomach is more sensitive and so is my bowel. My lactose intolerance has gotten worse and it's just not fun being me. Next Wednesday I will be seeing a gastroenterologist, aka a bowel specialist to see what's wrong. I hope it's not IBD, I have an uncle with it and it's a rather frightening thought.

As I was saying in the header, tis the season. . . .for cowls. . .LoL
Below is a plain stockinette cowl that I am working on for myself. The yarn is MacKintosh Yarns Iona Sport Weight in the colourway Mulled Wine. I love this yarn!!! Sooo soft!

Here is a cowl I knit for my mom. It's the birthday cowl again, but in a yarn she chose while we visited Loopy Yarns in downtown Chicago several weeks ago. The yarn is Sublime Aran Merino Silk Cashmere blend. it's sooooooooooooooooooooooooo soft!!! Light, but also warm. Love it!

I also need some ideas on what to get boy for Christmas. . . yes, we're back together. . . .okay, I'm a sucker and I love him. It's kind of hard not to love him, he has the most adorable blue eyes. . . .damn him. . .

BTW bundle up!! It's getting cold!

Ahhh, November

2008-11-12T12:14:00.003-06:00

Sooo, it's been a bit brisk, rainy and even snowy here in the Midwest. Over this past weekend, my parents, sister and I were supposed to attend the Ohio State vs Northwestern game @ Northwester. The weather was cold, windy, snowy and rainy. Sooo, instead we just went and saw the condo my parents are buying in Lincoln Park and hung around downtown. I LOVE Chicago! Below are two pictures of the living room and the kitchen of the condo. It's basically a large apartment in Lincoln Park. The areas behind the building are gorgeous.

While we were in Lincoln Park, I found my dream house. Yep, huge and gorgeous! This house is worth around $3 million. Yeah, better start saving those pennies. Heh.

I have been doing some knitting lately. On Monday I started a lacy slouch in my Skye Sock Yarn in the colourway Lich. I finished it at 1:30 am this morning, washed it and blocked it on a plate. I worked 5 1/2 inches of the lace pattern and luckily when it blocked, it expanded. I love how it turned out! It didn't take much, I still have 72% of the skein left!

Boy and I are trying to work out winter break, etc. We'll see what happens. I just can't wait until Thanksgiving Break! I whole week off!!! Yes, I have to put up with family, but a whole week off!!!

New Website!!

2008-11-06T22:54:00.007-06:00

MacYarns.com is now open for business! I hope you guys like the website. i tried to keep it very simple and clean. I love the green in the background.

Here is a mosaic of some of the products in the shop right now. Lots of new colourways!!

I am currently working on another Old Shale Scarf in Woodland Sock Yarn in the colourway Jasmine. The sock below is probably going to my dad, with a mate of course. The yarn is Paton's Kroy Sock. I hope I have enough yarn, these new skeins only have 166 yards, which sucks.

The leaves are all falling and the trees are becoming bare. I love autumn and winter, so the transition is gorgeous to me. The weather is also turning colder now. It's supposed to snow Saturday. Yay snow!!!

Here is a picture of a sunny (70 degree) day on the way back to my moped after my production class. Pretty eh?

Update: Boy and I are talking. You see, love was never the problem with us, an online game is, among some other things. We'll see what happens. When we're good, we're really good, when we fight, we really fight. Unfortunately he's going home for Thanksgiving, his mom jumped right on it and bought plane tickets the moment she heard we broke up. Yeah, bitch. Anyways, I still need to fix my door. Luckily the jam is perfectly fine.

It's over.

2008-11-01T15:16:00.002-05:00

Boy and I broke up for good today. He did something that I request he not do at all this weekend. it resulted in me breaking the jam of my computer room door. Now I have to replace the door. He won't ever admit that he's wrong and he has a sickness and unhealthy obsession with the online game of World of Warcraft. I feel and my family feels that it is more important to him than I ever was. He told me to go fuck myself several times today. I even called the police at one point. He stormed out before that and walked around for hours before coming back, gathering his possessions and telling me to go fuck myself once more and leaving.

Great day. BTW Michigan lost to Purdue.

New Yarn Bases!

2008-10-30T10:18:00.006-05:00

Sooo, a couple days ago I received a box from Canada. In the box were four new yarn bases for MacKintosh Yarns. One is an 80/10/10 SW Merino/Cashmere/Nylon sport weight, one is 70/30 SW Merino/Seacell fingering, new chubby sock and a new sw merino called Mey. These are gorgeous yarns that will be put up tomorrow in my shop update. I am also ordering a fingering weight version of the cashmere blend. So Soft!

I have been making a lot of progress on my Faiye Twist Socks. I'm actually almost done. I just need to finish both cuffs to the height I want. Isn't the colour gorgeous? Two skeins will be put up in tomorrow's update. =)

Here is a skein of the 80/10/10 cashmere blend I dyed up the other day. This colourway is Mahogany. beautiful isn't it?

Also here is Moroccan Market wound into a hank. This is such a beautiful colourway. I can't wait to dye the new bases in this. =)

Here is lastnight's dying. There are 15 skeins there. I'm hoping to dye up some more tonight for tomorrow's update. =)

And I will end with a picture of mac, just because it's Mac. He's loving this cooler weather and so am I. I LOVE wearing my handknit items. Plus right now is the perfect time, except at night when I'm riding my moped and freezing. . .

It snowed!!!

2008-10-26T22:39:00.007-05:00

This has been a crazy weekend. I went home to study for my redo of my finance midterm exam. The weather is changing quickly. It has been very windy and brisk the past few days and tonight it snowed here in Iowa City. SNOWED!!
I got some knitting done. I finished my Old Shale Scarf yesterday. This made me happy, considering that I actually need to wear it now. The yarn used is MamaBlue Troika Sock in Little Wing. The only disappointing thing about the yarn is that there are small red specks throughout and it looks odd.
Here is it dry, it blocked out to 71 inches long and 8.5 inches wide. (the pic below, it is folded over itself)

Here it is blocking on the guest bed downstairs. Lots of pins!

I also started a pair of socks for myself. The pattern is just my twist sock pattern that I used for my high ocTang Hazel Knits socks. The yarn being used is my MacKintosh Yarns Celtic Sock Yarn in Faiye.

Below is also a new colourway I will be offering (one of many). It is called Moroccan Market.

In other news, thank you for the nice messages when I was feeling down. Boy and I are trying to work things out and restructure our relationship. The main time we fight is when we're apart, so yeah. LoL. Have a great week!

More yarn pictures coming soon. =)

Hanging on. . .

2008-10-21T16:01:00.004-05:00

My sanity is hanging on by a thread. Lately I've been depressed, not wanting to get out of bed or do anything. Not a great thing when I've suffered from depression in the past and it almost ruined my life. I'm also constantly crying over things. I seriously need this horrible feeling to go away. My relationship is also hanging on by a thread. I try and try and try and I feel empty, used, and thrown out at times. Kind of like right now. This really needs to turn around or I'm going to lose my mind.
I get to retake my finance midterm next Monday, thankfully. I was gone on the day of the review due to Yom Kippur and was excused. But I didn't really receive any notes about the review until Tuesday, the day before the exam. So, my professor is allowing me to take it again.
This image from a few days ago looks how I feel right now.

I have been doing some knitting here and there. Right now I'm really working on a Old Shale Scarf in Mamablue's troika sock in Little Wing. Yes, it's kind of soft and I like it, but I think the colour is horrible for socks. I think it's better for a scarf.

Here's a close-up of the pattern.

I also have 3 new colourways to put up and one of them is below. it's all Faiye (well, new and improved Faiye that is). it's one of my old colourways and I spruced it up to my liking.

I also took 5 large bags of yarn to Crazy Girl Yarns in Coralville to destash. It was a long time coming. I feel better after that.
Have a great week! <3 <3

Week of studying

2008-10-14T13:33:00.003-05:00

Sooo, I went home last Wednesday to study for my three midterms this week. I was actually supposed to go to Blizzcon in Anaheim, California, but because of my exams, i stayed and studied most of the weekend. I got a couple of breaks, but most of it was spent grinding entrepreneur finance into my brain. Yes, very fun. I have a midterm tonight, tomorrow and Thursday. I can't wait for the weekend to get here.
I did get some knitting done while I was home. I finished my dad's socks, finally. Here he is wearing them below. He likes them and will hopefully wear them. I did the garter rib from sensational Socks and knit them in Trekking XXL, forget the colour though, sorry.

I also finished my Corazon Mittens. These are a project for my production class, so thankfully those are done also. The yarn used is Nashua Julia. it's a great yarn and very soft. I'm quite proud of these.

My Sundara sock club shipment arrived today. While I like the name, I'm not fond of the colour. I'm not a huge purple fan, if you hadn't noticed. I'm willing to part with this one heh. I'll sell it for the normal price of Sundara sock yarn $23 plus shipping.

Last week Mac and I also had a photoshoot while he was laying on his bed outside. This was one of the cuter ones.

I am also in the process of destashing some yarns. These will included some Wollmeise, Hazel Knits, Plucky Knitter, etc. The images will be posted in my next post if you're interested.

Knitting and shop update soon. . .

2008-10-06T20:10:00.002-05:00

Here are two new colourways that will be in the update on the 19th. We have Lich and Crystal Flowers. These are both in the woodland base and each has 1 knot in them so they will be placed in the sale category.

I also dyed some roving a while back and will be putting it up also on the 19th. We have Pop Rock, Autumn in Door County, Blue Jay, Sacred Grove (Shetland) and Eire.

I have been working on holiday knits. I have a little more of the month to finish them. Yay. . . This hat is for my brother's girlfriend Alicia. The yarn is Cloud 9, a merino/angora blend.

These mittens are for my mom. They are Ohio State colours and will say OSU and the year she graduated.

This may sound odd for a lot of people, but this is a great source of fiber. . . my dog. Yes, this is Mac fiber. It is as soft as cashmere and I am trying to "harvest" enough for some handspun yarn. This way I will have him with me forever. This is quite a bit of fiber and it's only .65 oz!! Yeah, it's gonna take quite a bit.

Also, just to show you guys how part of my apartment looked before it was cleaned. This is my computer room and this was midway through cleaning. . . .yeah pitiful. Gotta love Mac's look there. . .it's clean now though. boy has also challenged me into keeping my apartment clean. . . oh this should be fun. . .!

Shut up shut up shut up!

2008-10-02T22:24:00.003-05:00

Yes, the apartment is clean!!!!!!!!!!! I spent most of the day today finishing up. I even screwed up my knee in the process. I have no idea what I did, but I'm going to try pain killers and a heating pad tonight. It hurts!! Mac came to me when I hurt it and kissed me and hugged me to make me feel better. He's such a sweetheart.

This was it earlier today, that was actually a lot cleaner than it was, yes very sad. So the question is: why did you clean it? Three reasons:
1.Sanitation
2. Boy is allergic to mac, so it helps with his allergies
3. Inspection tomorrow

To be honest, mainly 3 as sad as that sounds. =/ sorry boy. . .

I also knit something! Yesterday I started the birthday cowl in some Malabrigo that had been sitting in my stash for about 2 years, yeah. . .I finished sewing the edge this morning, gave it a nice hot bath and laid it out on my CLEAN table to dry. Key word there: CLEAN.

Tuesday Mac and I went up to see Boy in Cedar Falls to return some stuff he left over the weekend. he always leaves something, while cleaning I kept finding his socks everywhere. . . *cough* yeah. It was also Rosh Hashanah and I took the day off, not that I'm religious or anything. Ha Ha! Before we left, I forced Boy to go get his handknit socks and model them for me. He politely lifted his jeans up without even being asked and stood there freezing as I snapped the picture. He is definitely being well trained. =)

I am also working on another pair of dummy socks. These are Silkie Socks That Rock in Scottish Highlands. Gotta love the picture of my hot spiced milk with chocolate syrup in it while outside Java House. I LOVE hot spiced milk, unfortunately they took it off the menu and you have to special order it. *sigh* I'm also loving this cooler weather. It's wonderful to wear a hoodie outside and feel the crisp air on your face. Yes, I love fall, leave me alone!

Ok, off to put the heating pad on my knee and work on my mittens. I have also taken my dad's socks out of hibernation, well they're in my backpack right now, but I drag them to class! That counts right?
Also, applauding Sarah Palin tonight, she kicked ass! Yes, I'm a Republican, not a crime. . .I also hate the Cubs. . . not a crime to be a White Sox fan. . . =P

A heart, Football, knitting and sleeping. . .

2008-09-28T21:58:00.004-05:00

In my production class we are normally supposed to build a desk and some other things. Well, unfortunately we don't have a work shop due to the floods. hell, we don't even have a theatre. Yeah it sucks. So, we have been reaching for things to do. One of our first assignments was to make a stage human heart soaked in blood. Mine is below. I added vinegar to the "blood" mix which caused the colour to be closer and more consistent with blood. Doesn't it look yummy?

There was also a common theme this weekend, sleeping. . . I picked up boy on Friday and yesterday we went to the Iowa vs. Northwestern game with my sister. We stayed for the first half and then left because it was so hot out. We watched the rest of the game at my sister's and part of the Wisconsin game. Both Iowa and Wisconsin lost, not a good weekend.
Here is Mac sleeping on the balcony on Thursday I believe.

My two boys bonding on the floor of my sister's condo in front of the tv.

Mac on my sister's couch passed out yesterday after watching tons of football. It's quite a hard job. =P

I have been getting some knitting done between homework, papers, cleaning, etc. I knit my sister another Ailidh hat out of Jamieson's heather shetland. Great yarn!!! Love it!!

I also finished my first Corazon mitten for my production class. yes, this is a project for a college class. LoL Jim is allowing me to knit for a project. The yarn is Nashua's Julia. This yarn is a dream to work with! Love the colours also!

I also finished my orange footsies last-night, no pic yet, sorry. Boy also received his socks and loves them!!

I also want to give a shout out to my dear friend Karen and congratulate her on the birth of her son!! 10 lb baby!! Wow! Congrats Karen!!! <3 <3 <3

It's Autumn. . .

2008-09-15T08:39:00.002-05:00

Here in the Midwest we have been having autumn weather even though it technically doesn't start until the 21st. I'm actually enjoying it and so is Mac. Boy really isn't because he's sick, but that happens in dorms. =P
I've been knitting and spinning lately. Below is my dummy sock for class and then boy's second sock (which is actually a little farther now). The orange sock is Artyarns supermerino? It's not superwash, I know that.

And my spinning. On my birthday last week i taught myself how to navajo ply. It's actually really easy and it looks nice. =) I like it! The first one is BFL from Fatcatknits.

This one is natural Romney that I bought at the Fold. It spins up soooooo nicely!!!

Oh yes and we beat Iowa State on Saturday. =P Hawkeye State baby!

Wow, I'm 23. . .

2008-09-09T00:13:00.005-05:00

Yep, I'm getting up there. Anyways, this past weekend I picked up Boy and we went to my parents house in Rockford. On Saturday, the main reason we went, was to go to my local apple orchard. In January it was hit by a tornado and the buildings were leveled. So over the past 8 months the orchard cleaned up the area and rebuild almost everything. Yeah, that's dedication. They have award winning cider and apple donuts ( HEAVEN!!). They also have kickass fudge and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It's a tradition in my family to go every year and it was fantastic to go after such a devastating storm. Below are some pictures of the main barn outside and in. I also did a crap load of homework while home, yeah great fun *gag*. Oh well, thats what college is for.

That beautiful chocolate boy below is having surgery today on his left hind leg. He has a torn acl and has been limping since the spring. My mom and the vets wanted to wait until fall to do the surgery so he heals better in the cooler weather. Talking about cooler weather, yeah fall is here!!! Btw, his name is Indie (Indiana Jones).

And of course my family, boy and I celebrated my birthday with an awesome dinner of a roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and of course cake. My mom ordered the cake from mary's market, our friends own it and they used to have awesome cakes. Well, this cake had more frosting than cake. it was rather disgusting, not my mom's fault and I told her that, but just ew. I love sweets but frosting gets to me after a while and it was just too much. I asked her to get a chocolate cake and instead we got a frosting dome with some chocolate cake inside. yeah. . . .

Then Sunday Boy and I headed back to Iowa. We went on 20 coming and going, which is a beautiful drive I might add, because I wanted to cut some time off of dropping him back off at UNi in Cedar Falls. It cut off an hour, which made me happy. Below is a picture of Mac's crazy flying fur when the windows were open.

I also frogged the blue socks in the previous post because there were mistakes that were annoying me and also because I need some dummy (plains stockinette) socks to work on in class. Brainless knitting projects in class help quite a bit.

Also, sock club packages will go out this Saturday and there will be a shop update on Sunday.
Oh and HA HA to Tom Brady for getting injured at the beginning of the season and out for the rest of it. HA HA!

Shop Update!

2008-09-04T13:01:00.002-05:00

I added 3 more rovings, tons of Woodland sock yarn and some Celtic sock yarn. Go and have a look! Thanks!

First week is over. . .

2008-09-02T15:09:00.002-05:00

It was actually a pretty calm and easy first week of classes. The only big problem is that I have 2 finals on the same day at the same time, we're working on that though. So this weekend was Labor Day weekend and I went up on Friday to pick up boy. He goes to University of Northern iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It's an adorable small campus with nice buildings. it's easy to get around and has a population of 12,000. Not bad. It also has over 120 majors, that the great part for boy.
Now onto yarn for a few sentences. LoL. Last Wednesday I caught the Loopy Wollmeise update and purchased 13 skeins, yes, 13 skeins.5 of which have new homes and 8 that are so far staying with me. Fun fun.

The weekend went by at an even pace and yesterday boy had to go back to school. So sad. But I do get to see him this weekend because I'm dragging him to Rockford to go to our apple orchard. He's never been to one, so I'm dragging him. LoL. We also had great weather, which helped. While we were heading up there I worked on my groovy sock (I'm starting the second one today). I adore Wendee's yarn and her semi-solids. They look great with everything.

Oh and I forced boy to drive because I drove there and back when I picked him up. I also wanted to knit hahaha.

And Classes Begin. . .

2008-08-25T20:17:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of classes. Yay, my fifth year. Yes, I said my fifth year. I am finishing up my run crew and working on a certificate in arts management/entrepreneurship. I came back yesterday instead of this morning. Waking up at 6 am would have killed me. =/ But, it meant that I had to leave Stitches early.
Talking about Stitches Midwest, below are two pictures of The Fold's booth. The first shows my yarn display, right in the front! And the second shows the rest of the booth and the STR before we were mobbed repeatedly.

Awesome Toni helping a customer.

This was the damage from the first day. We're not even going to go there. I was better this year though. I bought somethings I actually needed and also thought of what i could knit out of some yarns before grabbing them. yes, good Liz.

This was my greatest achievement, it is Malabrigo Sock Yarn!!! Yes, they were giving out samples to Ravelry members and you had to request it. Isn't it gorgeous? It's like heaven in a skein. 440 yards of superwash goodness!

I was also working on this sock part of the weekend, along with my dad's sock. The pattern for this is Groovy Sock by SockPixie and the yarn is Hazel Knits in Beach Glass. I also finished my Raptor's Tower socks, but the picture isn't uploaded yet. =/

Boy also started classes today and so far, so good. His roommate is apparently nice, which is fantastic. I'm just glad he's back in college and determined to finish this time. I get to see him this weekend!!! We're going to celebrate my birthday. Hopefully *crossing fingers* I'll get him for Thanksgiving, we'll see.
Also, there will be a huge destash soon, so stay tuned!

Less Than a Week to Stitches. . .

2008-08-18T19:55:00.004-05:00

I was at Gencon, a gaming convention in Indianapolis, over this past weekend. I would have taken pictures if my camera were charged. . . oops? Anyways, before we went I finished dying up and skeining all of the yarn I will be taking to Stitches Midwest. There are about 120 something skeins. You can see some of my new colourways on the top. I really hope you guys like them. =)

While at Gencon, I walked around and knit most of the time. I got pretty far on my Raptor's Tower socks and started my sister's second sock. The cabling is basically done, except for one mistake that needs to be fixed.

The main draw for me at Gencon are the vendors, especially the artists. Jen and I walked around and found these awesome prints of "My Little Demons." I was and still am a My Little Pony's child and LOVED them!! I bought one for my sister for part of her Hannukah gift and these two pictured are mine. I couldn't resist LoL.

We also found a LYS in Indianapolis which was more like an unorganized warehouse than a LYS. It had tons of yarn, but the organization was horrible! It was messy and yarn was everywhere, sticking out of things and piled in laundry baskets, etc. I still bought some sock yarns and a skein of Malabrigo Chunky, which I have never tried before. There is also a skein of Aussie Sock ($12 for 400 yards!!!), a skein of Misti Alpaca sock yarn and 2 skeins of Regia Bamboo.

Last night I finally cast on my dad's socks for Hannukah. I'm farther than I thought I'd be for gifts. It'
it'll be nice to have them finished and knit for myself again, even though I have been knitting some for myself.

The sock club is definately going to happen and I hope everyone signs up. It'll be better than the last one with awesome new colourways, patterns (by the great and awesome Karen). There will also be great goodies included!
Boy and I both start classes next week, oh goodie. Hopefully I'll see him next weekend because I REALLY miss him. =/ Well, at least now we'll only be 1 1/2 hours apart instead of halfway across the country from eachother.

2008-08-04T22:42:00.004-05:00

This is going to be a short post with lots of pictures. I'm tired and want to go to bed soon. I have been dying up lots of yarn for Stitches Midwest and even had to order more. I'm mainly dying yarn back in Rockford because I have things the next 3 weekends. I hope to see some of you guys there.
Talking about dyed yarn, the yarn below needs to go. I'll sell each skein for a low discount of $13. Each skein has 400+ yards and are all superwash. Message me if interested.

My otherorder of Handgefaerbte.com and Spunky Eclectic club packages were waiting for me when I got back to Iowa yesterday. I love the Handgefarbe colours and adore the Romney wool Amy sent. *drool*

While I was home I took a visit to The Fold and found this, a Blue Moon Fiber Arts skein of sport weight with 620 yards. I heard holiday gifts for Boy, my dad and brother. 620 yards!!! Yeah, it came home with me.

I have been knitting a lot lately. I have a plain vanilla pair in my handgefaerbte.com Merino extra fine. The colourway is Raptor's Tower. You get 574 yards! I may have enough left over for another pair. Wow. . .

I am also trying to finish some of my holiday gifts before school starts. Ugh! Below is the first, yes still first, sock of my mom's Brigids. I love how they're turning out and the colour is perfect for her.

I have also changed to the handspun given to me by Sarah of Bellaknitting.com. The colourway is Tulips from Spunky Eclectics fiber club. I believe it is from 2007. The wool is corriedale and I LOVE how it feels. I wish it would stripe more, but oh well. She'll like them anyways,

It is now 6 days until I see Boy again. I miss him a lot. =/ I also miss Mac who is in Rockford staying with my parents while I'm gone for a few days. It's soo lonely here. =(

Feeling Better. . .

2008-07-30T09:17:00.005-05:00

I am finally feeling better and my cold sore is almost completely gone. Everything else is healing up nicely. I was excused for the first week of performances for Fuddy Meers and just laid around and let Boy do most things. =P I did it for him back in December. He was great about going and getting food, drinks, etc. So sweet of him. =) I am done with run-crew now!!!!! CELEBRATE!!
Boy is back in New Jersey for two weeks and I miss him terribly. It's amazing how I got so used to him being around.
But it's not all bad, this is what I woke up to yesterday. Cute eh?

I haven't really been knitting much lately because I just wasn't in the mood while being sick. It kind of sucked because now I feel behind in my plans of holiday knitting and marina's socks, etc.
Below are Boy's socks. I finally started the second one. it's a really easy knit, I just have to force myself to do it.

I also started a plain vanilla toe-up for myself in my handgefaerbt.com yarn. The colourway is Raptor's Tower. I think she may play World of Warcraft. . .

I also need some help. I don't like the yarn i originally chose for my mom's socks. Help me! Below are some selections I;ve come up with. One is a handspun given to me by Sarah of bellaknitting.com, one is STR lightweight in Knitters without borders, the other is Cascade Heritage. Which do you think?

I also need some help choosing here also. I hate the Lion Brand sock yarn. it's horrible! I pulled some other yarns for my brother's gf Alicia. She lovespink. The skein in the back is some I dyed up and named after her WoW character, the self striping is Vesper yarn and the pink is Koigu that I was about to get rid of. Which do you guys think I should use?

And this is what I fell asleep to after I dragged out all of the yarn and knitting. . .yeah, the face says it all.

Bed Rest and lots of fluids. . .

2008-07-18T20:59:00.005-05:00

Yes, I am posting for the second time today. I went to my doctor's appointment today and was told I need bed rest and also to drink tons of fluid. I have been running on gatorade and powerade with the occasional tea. Boy is nice enough to go out and get me a tea from Starbucks and also get me dinner. Of course he's driving my car and using up my gas. I'll forgive him because I am on strict orders that I'm really not allowed to leave my apartment for the fear of being seen by someone I work run-crew with. That order came from my parents and I agree with them. I'm glad I have the time off to get better. I do have a bed-mate to keep me company. His picture is below:

Here is a picture of boy's first sock. As you can probably tell, it's too big for me (the toe is standing up on it's own). He loves it and the colourway. The yarn is STR Mediumweight in Lucy in the Sky. He likes blue. . .

I hate being sick. . .

2008-07-18T11:49:00.004-05:00

I had a sore throat on Wednesday because of my post nasal drip. I knew thats what caused it, but when I woke up yesterday I felt like I was dying. I could barely move and was coughing up a storm. I called my dad and told him what is wrong, I also looked up the symptoms of a sinus infection and it at times fit the bill. I'm taking cough syrup, my dad prescribed me and bactrim for now. I'm going to be checked out today at 1:30. The sucky thing is that I still have to work run crew. Last night I was released early because I was so sick and I have been excused from working the rest of the weekend because I received a doctors note. Oh! And on top of being sick, I have a cold sore on my upper lip also. Life is so grand, isn't it? Boy has been helping me by getting food and cleaning the apartment while I'm ill. It is greatly appreciated. This morning I woke up and was losing my voice.
I finished my first pair of toe ups and to be honest, I like it more compared to cuff down because the socks hug my foot better. I also have had a problem with the heel of my cuff down socks slipping while walking. These socks turned out gorgeous!

I also started Boy's second attempt at socks. The first sock pictured below is actually finished, but because I'm sick, I haven't had the energy to cast on the second. He really likes the first one and it fits perfectly. I knit most of it during run crew, so knowing it fits perfectly feels awesome!

I bought 3 skeins of yarn from handgefaerbt.com. It finally came today. The yarn is gorgeous and soft. I love her yarn base. I bought it in Green Elve, Dark Elve and Raptors Tower. I can't wait to cast on with it. =) She also added another skein in with the package. It's super soft superwash merino. Love it!

Below is a picture of all of the finished yarn I've dyed so far. Unfortunately, dying has come to a halt because of my illness. I hope to resume shortly, or when I don't feel like I'm coughing up my insides everytime. I doubt I'm contagious, but we'll see.

Yay yarn. . .

2008-07-10T13:18:00.002-05:00

My life has been dying, sleeping, eating, and more dying. Below is a colourway that I made for Stitches this year. It's called Cocoa Swirl.

Below is a sample of my new lace weight, 45% merino, 55% silk. The colourway is Witching Hour. I like how it's come out so far. It contains 900 yards each skein. I have yet to come up with a price though.

We have my mom's sock. The yarn is Tempted Glam Girl in Roxanne. I'm not really liking how it's knitting up, it has a felted look to it. I assume thats from the silk content.

More holiday knitting. My dad's socks will be knit out of my Wollmeise Amazonas. The cotton will be knit into dish cloths for my grandma, if and when I get to them. I have 3 skeins.

I will also finish the second Ohio State sock for my dad. I knit the first one over a year ago. . . .

And the Dying Begins. . .

2008-07-06T15:13:00.005-05:00

I have over a month until Stitches Midwest, but it would be nice to get the dying done this month. It hasn't been as stressful as last year's because I now have my Fricke and I've cut down on how many variegating yarns I produce.
Below is today's dying. We have Sex Kitten and Camo Girl. I'm starting with 5 of each colourway and then moving up when I know how many skeins I have total. I am only taking two base yarns this year, Celtic and Woodland. My Woodland yarn is on it's way here. I am also going to be trying a lace weight soon.

I have been experimenting with the roving I have. I've finally made the decision to dye it. Oh fun. . . LoL

I have put Boy to work. I showed him how to work the Fricke, how many yards go in each skein, how to tie the yarn and where to place it. Below is most of his progress. Impressive eh? These skeins are just waiting to be dyed.

I frogged the other toe up sock for multiple reasons:
1. I didn't like the colour.
2. I didn't like the non-existent pooling
3. While working on run-crew we only have black lights backstage and the dark yarn made me think I was going blind.
I started over on Friday with Hazel Knits Artisan Yarn in High ocTANG. I'm liking how this is coming out. Some of the heel stitches are looser than I'd like, but oh well. Next time. It's more snug than my cuff down socks and because I wear a size 10 1/2 to 11, I'm always afraid of running out of yarn. Not anymore. =P

OOOO and I'm off until next Friday. YAY!!!!

Goodies!!

2008-07-03T13:57:00.002-05:00

I finally took another step in my yarn business and purchased printed cards instead of printing bands. The bands were becoming expensive and took forever! This way all I have to do is write (hoping soon print) the colourway names on the cards. Below are pictures of them. Tell me what you think?

A close up.

I have started my first EVER toe up sock. Yes, I am a sad one. I've been knitting socks for quite a while and never could figure out the whole toe up thing. =/ I used This Tutorial and used it for the toe and will also use it for the heel. This is the easiest and most understandable way to do short rows for me. It's in plain english. . .thankfully! The yarn is Plymouth Happy Feet. I'm not very fond of how the yarn is pooling, or not pooling, but oh well. I've started it and might as well finish it.

I have also added to my stash, like I need more yarn. I bought another skein of Hazel Knits yarns because the stuff is just addicting! I also purchased some Cascade Heritage. I've read great reviews about it and had to try it myself. Everyone knows that when you buy a skein of yarn in a solid, you need to buy another skein. I ended up with 4. =/

Below is a picture of 12 of my new colourways that are currently up in the shop. the colourways will remain at least until Stitches Midwest is over. I will be helping Toni at The Fold again and my yarns will also be for sale at her booth. Thanks Toni!

Ahh. . .Holiday Knitting. . .

2008-07-02T13:29:00.003-05:00

Yes, I said it. It's July and I have until Thanksgiving to finish all of my projects. Most people will be receiving socks or a hat. My dad will hopefully be receiving a sweater and socks. We shall see if that is a little over ambitious for me. Below is a picture of most of the sock yarn that hopefully by November will be in the actual shape of socks. We shall see.
The red Sparkly yarn (Tempted Glam Girl inRoxanne) is for my mom, the green STR being knit into Brigid's is for my sister, the purple and yellow (spunky eclectic) is for my grandma, the yellow is for my grandpa, the Numma Numma is for my brother, the pink is for my brother's girlfriend, and the other green ones ended up being for me. Not pictured: boy's STR in Lucy in the Sky in mediumweight, dad's sweater, and cascade heritage that is still in the mail.

Here is a close up of the Toasty and Glam Girl yarns. This was my first order from Loopyewe.com.

Below we have three beautiful balls of merino/mohair blend fiber from the Spunky Eclectic fiber club. It;s beautiful when it's in a ball, but when I drafted it and started spinning it, YUCK. The balls of fiber are not the same and it looks bad being spun because the colors don't blend well. =( So sad, such soft fiber too.

Sign-ups for the next MacKintosh Yarns Sock Club are up in my etsy store. This is limited to 25 members. The sign-up will be up until August. Thank-you!

44 1/2 Hours

2008-06-29T20:13:00.003-05:00

In the last week and a half, I have spent 44 1/2 hours working on run-crew. I spent last weekend working on it and then had a day off. Then on Tuesday we started again and have been going since today. We had a matinée today. I now have three days off for knitting, sleeping, and dying. Yay! I have finished a couple of projects, finally.
Below are 8 out of the 15 new colourways in my new collection.
We have (left to right) Seedling, Bamboo, Taurus, Witching Hour, Artery, Reef, Mist, and Senka. More Colourways to come.

I finally picked up boy's hat and finished it. It only needed the decreases to be finished. He really likes it and it fits well.

Today during the performance I finished the second of my Hedgerow socks. The pattern is great and easy, but after a while it just becomes droning and boring. The socks came out beautiful and I love how the Hazel Knits yarn in Lime Granita looks.

Soo, everyone is raving about some silver sock yarn. The other day while at my LYS, I picked up the skein of Kraemer yarn again and decided to buy it. The owner has had the yarn for quite a while, it's an undyed skein. I brought it home and automatically dyed it. I love green, if you hadn't noticed. I don't know what it will be yet, but I'm looking for patterns. it's not as soft as I would like, but oh well. Let's see if it's really worth buying a dyed skein for $30.

OOO and the flooding is finally going down enough for my roads to be open again. Coralville and the arts campus of the University of Iowa are both disasters, but at least my roads are open!

Exhaustion

2008-06-24T12:17:00.003-05:00

This past weekend my Run-crew started. Run-crew is backstage work that is required for my Theatre Arts degree. Well, because the arts campus is flooded and probably won't even be open this fall, the theatre department has moved their productions to West High School. Yay. . . Thats not the only problem, the first production I am working on has back breaking work. My body has been aching since Saturday. I have so far worked 17 1/2 hours and have 7 more hours tonight, then 5 tomorrow, etc etc etc. Yes, so much fun. I have been trying to relax and take it easy between shifts.
Here is what I've been up to:
I have three more skeins added to my sash. The first one is Sundara Silk Lace in Granite Falls. This is from the Seasons Club. I honestly have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with it. =/ The second is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock Yarn in Weekend Warrior. This will become socks for my brother for Hanukkah. And the last one is some beautiful handspun sock weight yarn I purchased off etsy.

I have been working on these socks off and on, but during run-crew, even when I get to sit, there are only black lights. It's very hard to see what I'm doing. I make start plain stockinette socks and take those instead. This is Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Lime Granita. I love this yarn and the Hedgerow pattern is soo easy, but the lack of light doesn't help much.

In my spare time I have also been preparing the first part of my new line of colourways. I am going to limit it to about 12 colourways. Most will be semi-solids and some will be variegated. Sex Kitten will be the only one of my previous variegated colourways that will remain.
Below we have some of my new semi-solids. (names Left to Right) Bamboo, Taurus, (new) Artery, and Mist.

Below is another of the new colourways. I wound this one up because it will be knit into lace socks for a friend who is getting married in August. I'm unable to attend the wedding because my classes start the following day. =( This colourway is Jasmine.

I also have an oops skein below if anyone wants it, just email me at gbutlernet@yahoo.co.uk. Thanks!

We're Alive. . .

2008-06-19T19:47:00.007-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Last Wednesday, 2 days after getting back to Iowa City, Boy and I made the decision to leave again. I was afraid that Coralville would flood (which it did) and cut off our only exits to the highway. So, Boy and I returned to Rockford last Wednesday. It was a wise decision because the flood waters really rose on Thursday and crested on Saturday. I kept my eyes on the pictures on the internet and was shocked at what I saw. Luckily my apartment is on top of a hill away from from the waters, but as you can see below, the arts campus is flooded and that is at one side of the hill and the river is on the other side. I'm a theatre major and this is horrible to see all of the art buildings surrounded by water. These pictures were taken this evening.
Here is the Art Museum.

Rocky Shore, one of my exits from my neighborhood.

The new Fine Arts Building.

The Theatre Building.

You can see how far up the waters were when they crested.

Because we were "refugees" as my dad put it, we decided to join them this weekend and visit my grandparents in Columbus, Ohio. It was quite a weekend. . . . We left and arrived on Saturday after 9 hours of driving. After we unloaded the cars, put Harry in her cage and took the three dog out, my parents wanted to drive around and look at the suburb where my grandparents live. My grandma came with the 4 of us. On our way back down a main drag that goes by their house, my mom's cell began to ring and as my dad tried to find it, my mom saw a dog in the middle of the road walking towards us. It was Mac, yes my dog Mac. Somehow he had gotten past my grandpa and ran out of the house (I blame my grandpa because they have 2 doors, one onto the porch and one outside from the porch). Luckily it was all timing and we found him. I jumped out of the car while it was still moving and called his name. I grabbed my dog and got back into the car. It's kind of a blur right now because I still can't believe the irresponsibility of my grandpa. Seriously!! Mac is alright and we believe he was out looking for me. My parents then would only allow one of the 4 of us to take him out, etc.
The next day my parents took my grandparents to a brunch at Ohio State University Faculty Lounge for Father's Day and they dropped Boy and I off at Noodles to walk around and fend for ourselves. It was a good day. Finally Monday my dad took Boy and I to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. It was great getting away from my grandparent's house for the day and spending it looking at animals, etc. We had tons of fun. We then left Ohio on Tuesday and went home. We were all happy to return. I love my grandparents, but over the past few years they have become more bitchy and picky about everything. Below are some pictures from the zoo.
The beautiful female Amur Tiger. (less than 400 left in the wild) =(

My Dad being bombarded by Laurikeets. This was fun feeding them.

And my dad conversing with a female gorilla. This was HILARIOUS!!! <3

That is all, thank-you soo much for everyone who asked if we were alright. Greatly appreciated. I am also going to be putting yarn in my etsy store up discounted prices so I can start my new line of colours.

More Rain and flooding. . .

2008-06-09T15:03:00.003-05:00

Below is a picture from Thursday before Boy and I went to Rockford for the weekend. Yeah, more roads are closed in Iowa City. I have only one way to get to highway 6 from my apartment and it happens to be a long and winding detour that goes way out of the way. It kind of sucks.

While we were in Rockford I took him to Burpee Museum of Natural History, the home of the most complete juvenile T-Rex, Jane. She is only 60 miles from Sue in Chicago. It's great. He really liked her.

Below is also one of their other projects, a juvenile Triceratops named Homer. They also found a Stegosaurus and something else to work on.

I have also been working on a pair of Hedgerow socks using my Hazel Knits yarn in Lime Granita. I'm really loving this yarn. It's soo soft and beautiful.

To finish this post off, my parents were in Serbia last week for my cousin's wedding. The only thing I requested was yarn. Below is the yarn that they found. The Marija is a wool/acrylic blend, St. George are cotton blends and the Mare is 100% silk.

It's Raining, It's Pouring and the Old Man is Snoring?

2008-06-03T14:31:00.004-05:00

Okay, no old man. . . but damn did it pour this morning. About a week ago boy and I went and visited The Fold after we went to Woodfield Mall. Of course, Toni is a doll and I adore her. I bought some Mountain Colours fiber, two "hanks" of it. The colours are GORGEOUS!!! I'm already spinning one of them, hence the reason I'm only showing you one. Unfortunately none of the hanks are named colours and you can't buy the same colour in two hanks. Only crappy part.

Here is this month's fiber from Spunky Eclectic. It's called Rosebud. It's beautiful. For some reason I have 12 ounces instead of 8. I need to email Amy about it. But I still love it. It is corriedale wool.

I also purchased a skein of STR's Knitters without borders. It only comes in lightweight though. Blah! Toni also gave me a skein of Lucy in the Sky because one of my Raven skeins was full of knots.

Here's a random picture of all the meds I take in the morning. I'm 22 people. . . .and yes, one is a vitamin.

I purchased a new camera last night and love it! It takes better pictures than my old one. My old camera got the crap beat out of it at Disney. Here is a picture of a funky tree in my "backyard."

OH YES and DAMN the Post Office for raising package shipment to $4.80!!!!

Narnia and Socks

2008-05-17T18:44:00.005-05:00

I finished my pair of socks while watching Narnia yesterday. I even stitched the toes. LoL. I am good, yes there are some mistakes I'll deal with later. Luckily both heels were turned and decreased. Below are the finished socks.

Pattern: 48 sts knit in the round
Needles: US 4
Yarn: Lovesticks Falkland Sport
Colourway: Kitty Claus

Because my air-conditioner isn't working, I'm working on small projects. Hopefully someone will come on Monday to check out what's wrong with it and soon we'll be basking in coolness. Below are another pair of socks I've started. It is STR Mediumweight in Romancing the Stone.

Okay, Narnia review, it's short:

The graphics were brilliant, but there were moments that could have been cut out. There were also jokes about certain characters that could have been left out because it just got old. IT IS 2 1/2 HOURS LONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAYYY to long. Boy and I were about to fall asleep during the slower parts. I'm happy I had my socks with me. Ben Barnes who played Caspian is hot an was hot all the way through. Some characters were annoying, but oh well. No I'm not telling you anything from the plot, just be warned about the length and bad jokes. <3

BTW: Anna (Stuck in Illinois) I need you to message me your address on Ravelry. <3

Oh and the bleeding is back, I seriously love life, so much justice and sincerity. . .
Oh and happy 43rd birthday to Trent of NIN =P

Yay allergies!

2008-05-16T10:47:00.003-05:00

I wanted to thank all of you for your responses to my last post. On Sunday I will be going back to the pill, either Ortho-Tri-Cyclen or Yasmin. The problem with one is that I get migraines and Ortho definately brings them up. I don't know yet, but definately going back on the pill. Btw, the bleeding stopped. LoL Yeah, started with stress and after 3 to 4 weeks of stress, it ended right after my last day of finals. It's strange. =/
Boy is suffering from Hay Fever and my allergies are kicking in slightly. I am giving him some meds, hopefully they'll work. Boy is just miserable, but yesterday I made him clean. Yeah, I'm evil. . .But he's from the east coast and here in the midwest we tend to have more random fields full of wild vegetation than New Jersey.
Anyways, onto the knitting:
I have been knitting a little bit. I started an easy pair of socks in Lovestick's Falkland Sportweight in Kitty Claus. The yarn is very nice and soft. These will also be great this coming winter. Yes, I know it's summer, but yeah. They're socks and no one can ever have too many pairs of handknit socks right?

Here's another image of the stripes. Pretty eh?

At 1pm, Boy and I are going to see Prince Caspian. I'll give all of you a review afterwards. All I know is the guy who plays Caspian is hot!

Horror Story?

2008-05-13T18:03:00.003-05:00

Boy, dad and I went to Chicago on Saturday because Boy had never been there before. It was a pretty good weekend, but when we got back to Iowa, I literally have felt like shit since. You guys know I haven't been feeling well. I'm going to tell you why below, if you don't want to read it please stop here.

Okies, sooo I take birth control for more than uh birth control. I take it for cramps and all that fun stuff. Soo, I thought depo provera would be great for me because there are no pills. Yeah. I was warned a head of time about side effects, etc, so I can't yell at Planned Parenthood. I got my shot on March 4th. This is a 3 month shot and the crappy thing about it is that you can't reverse the effects once it's in your body. My dad, the doctor, fund out AFTER I got the shot and told me I was nuts because these kinds of shot have tons of side effects. He was right. . . damn parents. =P I have IBS and the shot for some reason made it worse for the first month and a half and then everything was fine. In the past three weeks I have started to receive other side effects like breakthrough bleeding and I have been fatigued to hell. I am actually very proud of myself because I was been making it to class, doing my homework, and living my life despite feeling like complete shit. I have less than 2 weeks till my second shot is supposed to be due, I'm going back on the pill. My side effects have worsened, most likely the start of withdrawals. Yeah, I feel like crap and yesterday I had the migraine from hell that made me vomit and want to shoot myself, but I still went and did my senior seminar performance and survived. Why am I telling you this stuff? Umm, I dunno, I won't say the shot is for everyone, I just want to say be careful of what you do get because every person reacts differently to a medication. I haven;t really had the energy or desire to knit in the past couple of weeks, hopefully after finals week and my system goes back to normal, I will. The depo shot is in there for 3 months and it slowly releases the man made progesterone into your system. Yeah, great not to take pills, but the great thing about pills is that if you have a reaction, you can stop them that day. There is nothing to stop this but time. It sucks, but you never know until you try. Hopefully everything will go back to normal within the net few months and I'll feel fine. We'll see. But, I will tell you it's kind of nice receiving free back massages from Boy when I feel like crap. . . hahaha. . .

And yes, I will dye yarn if you want me to Janice. =P <3

Here's a pic from lastnight after the performance. I'm in the black in the middle.

I don't really know. . .

2008-05-04T20:25:00.003-05:00

I've been feeling blah lately and yet the weather is beautiful. But, the funny thing is, I've been getting out of bed and been living. In the past 3 days I've baked 3 loaves of bread using the no knead bread recipe. It's an awesome and easy recipe! Anyways, onto yarn goodness. I have also been cleaning my apartment, it's almost done. Even though I feel like crap things are getting done. Boy comes on Tuesday, so I still need to clean my car, vacuum, and finish the computer room. Oh and change the sheets, Mac isn't going to be sleeping on my bed anymore for the rest of the summer, poor boy. =/
Below is some Sundara sock yarn in Peach Nectar and Graphite. Yummy!

I also received another skein of Mountain Colours in Elderberry. Love this yarn!
I've been spinning a lot lately also. I don't know what it is, my nerves or my body just feeling like crap. But oh well, more movies, spinning, tea, and sleep for me.

I gave myself the challenge of trying Tiennie's scarf pattern that she just posted. The yarn is Yarn Treehouse Luster Alpaca in orange. It's very soft and you get 330 yards in each skein. I have 4 skeins. . . I seriously need to get rid of it. Talking about getting rid of yarn, your sock yarn shall be in the mail tomorrow ladies. Sorry for the delay.

Mother's Day is coming up and in my baking mode I thought I would buy my mom this book. I don't have it myself, but it's supposedly just like the no knead bread but with tons of recipes. There's even a recipe for Challah, and being Jewish, most store bought challahs are dry and ew.

Ahh storms. . .and finished objects

2008-05-02T00:45:00.005-05:00

Well, some good news, my stress level is lowering. Two financial plans were turned in yesterday, one mine, one theirs. Oh well, two is better than none.
I have a couple of finished objects. I finished my Wonky Cable Cabin socks that I started in August. Yep, in August. I finished one of the socks then and I had started the second sock back then. Now I have finished the second one, yay!

I also finished my Mountain Colour socks today, I mean yesterday? I had to finish them before I took my nap today. I'm happy that two more things are done. Now I need to dig for more yarn to knit from my stash. I frogged the other Mountain Colour socks, I don't know, but just couldn't knit them.

Another view.

My fiber from Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club came. Soon I'll receive 8o instead of just 4o. It will be so much nicer! Yay, 2 ply yarns!

I love how it starts raining as I post this, like really storming. I've also been spinning some tonight. I never seem to spin during the day, which is strange.
I need to straighten up the apartment this weekend, boy comes Tuesday. I miss him a lot. =(

On the edge of reason. . .

2008-04-28T15:21:00.005-05:00

My stress level has risen to unbelievable heights within the last 36 hours. I'm supposed to be doing a group project with two guys. Well, let's see, in the past 2 weeks we've met up three times. One of them, Dan, has a 2 year old and works and has a full schedule. I can understand having a full schedule, but trust me, this is too fucking much. Today our first part of the assignment is due. We're writing a business plan and the Market Analysis was due today. I mainly did the survey, I mainly wrote the paper and proof read it and researched all of the info for the demographical area. I did it. They wrote two little paragraphs and Mike did a little bit on the survey (I wrote the questions). Well, our FINANCIAL PLAN is due Wednesday. Yeah, the only info we had as of last night were costs that I researched and wrote down. I mainly came up with the list also. Well, let's see, the only time Dan can meet up is 11 PM TUESDAY NIGHT! Now, he may have written his 12 page paper the night before it was due and stayed up till 7:30 am, I don't care cause that didn't effect MY grade. I refuse to write something past 10pm because my mind begins to go big time. It is extremely unfair that we can only meet up at that time. I sent an e-mail to my professor about it last night and have yet to receive a response. I am writing a financial plan and will tell David, my professor that I wrote it and they didn't contribute. Let them write their own. I am tired of trying to work with someone else's schedule when they have rehearsals, class, work, and can;t find a babysitter. He can miss a goddamn rehearsal. They both graduate in less than 2 weeks, so they really don't care and I'm tired of it. Thank-you for allowing me to bitch and moan, I am seriously on the edge of reason and just want to sleep till the end of the semester!
I have been working on my dad's sweater, slowly but surely. Homework and stress has caused it to be a night project. I think the yarn is perfect for it also.

My Mountain Colour socks are also moving along nicely. The second sock just needs to have the heel decreases finished and then I get to start on the foot. I adore this yarn, so soft and squishy!

I was looking through my sock stash and thought I would give in and start a Project Spectrum project. This is Mountain Colours Twizzle in Tamarak. Very pretty and thick. It is being knit on US4 needles.

Then we have what came in the mail today. This is from Amy's sock club (I get the fiber club also). It's called The Perfect Storm and is a sw merino and bamboo rayon blend? WTF is bamboo rayon? I don't know if I'm going to keep it or not, we'll see.

Next Tuesday boy is coming for the summer. I need to find the sanity and energy to straighten up the apartment. oy. The sock club has been sent out and all of the beautiful yarn below has been claimed. Thanks girls, hopefully that yarn will be sent out by Friday. Sanity remember? Sorry! Oh, and it snowed today! SNOWED!!

Welcome to My Garden

2008-04-26T18:49:00.002-05:00

Below is a picture of my garden. Okay, so it's in pots, so what? I have lavendar, tomatos (six plants?), a strawberry plant and some herbs. Yep, this is the closest I'm going to get to a real garden for a long time. But at least it works. I love fresh tomatos and am looking forward to herbs again this year. Strawberries and lavendar are my newest plants. I also cleaned up the balcony and rid of most of the leaves left over from months and months of wind and snow and rain. I purchased my plants from both our co-op and Lowes. The co-op plants are not pictured, sorry.

Boy has been sweet again. He bought me another skein of HazelKnits sock yarn. This is Lime Granita. Sooo beautiful! I also have some great news! Boy got into a unviersity close to here and will recieve a $4k scholarship every semester if he attends. SWEET!!!!! Congrats Boy! <3 <3 <3

I also recieved some Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Carbon. This I bought from Ravelry for $21 including shipping! Okay, yeah couldn't resist! Plus, it's pretty!

I am also starting the largest project for me yet. I've been promising my dad something for a long time and just never got around to it. I did give him the orange beanie though. Soo, I was looking around and found the Cobblestone Sweater by the one and only Jared of Brooklyntweed. I had a skein of brown ecological wool from cascade and calculated how much is needed. I had to buy 2 more skeins! Yeah, a shitload of wool for this sweater. Anyways, I have cast on and I really need to knit this. I owe my dad a lot and he would wear anything I knit him, maybe even pink socks *thought*. Anyways, help me stay motivated on this thing! =p

Meet my new "Scare the birds away from Izzy's bordfeeders because they're already chubby and it's fun" employee. Yes, Mac has a great time sneaking up on the birds at my birdfeeders and scaring them away. It's kind of cute actually. LoL!

Also, MORE DESTASH! Yes, this is sock yarn below. There is some Sockotta, tons of Gypsy Girl Knits, some Schaefer Anne, and crystal palace, etc. If you would like some of this yarn, you MUST pay shipping!!! I will calculate the weight and send you an estimate of costs. Thanks! Remember to e-mail gbutlernet@yahoo.co.uk with your address.

Rain Rain Tornado. . . .

2008-04-25T16:42:00.004-05:00

My research paper is done and was turned in yesterday. More rain. I actually love rain and the cooler weather it brings, so I'm content. So it Mac. We did have another tornado warning today though, which kind of puts a damper on things. Yeah, bad pun there. Yesterday I finished my Sex Kitten socks. Granted, one of the heels is screwed up because at 3am I forgot how to turn a heel. It amazingly fits and these are house socks, so who cares. More yarn out of my sock stash!

I have also been working on my Mountain Colours socks. They're coming along, the second one is getting closer to the ofirst as I keep working on it. I completely forgot how soft and beautiful this yarn is. Yum!

I also started another pair of socks in my handpainted Opal that I recieved from Cindy for a tea swap that we did. Mybe these will be Monkeys, my only fear is that I have wide feet. I have heard that they tend to be tighter than other socks. We shall see.

I have been searching for some missing yarn. I wish I could blame the dog, but he ignores every piece of the stuff. I did look through a bag of some dyed Harry potter yarns today and found all but 2 halves of the yarn I'm missing. While searching, I found this awesome green colour with them. I can't remember when I dyed this, but damn do I love it! It's 5oz of yarny goodness too!

Here are the two missing their mates. I cut my skeins in half so I am able to knit 2 socks simultaniously. The pastel one is from Spunky Eclectic and the green is Wollmeise. This is the yarn that was a gift from Claudia, so I am damn determined to find the other half! Plus it's pretty!

OMG!! I have chives! I never knew that they came up every year. I'm soo happy that they did though, fresh chives are wonderful for cooking. I also planted my other herb seeds and some wildflower/butterfly garden flower seeds. Hopefully these will start sprouting along with my strawberry and tomato seeds.

I will leave you with Mac wishing he could go outside and play.

Happiest Mood on Earth. . .

2008-04-23T21:27:00.004-05:00

I worked at the happiest place on earth and now am in the happiest mood on the planet! Yep, every woman knows how happy we are certain times of the month. Let's see, I;ve yelled and ripped into my boyfriend, been bitchy with my parents and yelled at my dog for eating my Chinese fried rice while I was in class today. Okay, the dog definately deserved it, but the other 3, dunno. My parents have been helping me with my beautiful 12 page paper due tomorrow. I did get the rough drafts done and since Sunday we've been revising everything. They, as usual, have been a huge help. Boy just annoyed me today, don't ask why, he just did.
Okay, onto knitting!
I recieved a request for PACKER Yarn! I know there are a few of you who read theis blog and are fans of a horrible team like the Vikings *cough( Janice *cough* but oh well. I just hope you can admit it's pretty! I can tell you that the yarn is super soft. I hope the woman who ordered the 5, yes 5, skeins likes it also.

I went and saw Tartuffe Friday for a class and took along two skeins of worsted weight and some circular needles. I started another hat. I'm liking it so far. Over the years I've learned not to take dpns to dark theatres. I forget how many times I've dropped them or my yarn cake has slipped out of my purse and rolled down underneath the seats in front of me. I love knitting in the dark. . .

I will leave you guys with a cute adorable, happy photo. This was Mac at about 3 months old? It's only a little while after I got him. Who knew this cute innocent looking thing would turn into something that eats my Chinese food and gets into brownie mix!!! Oy. . .

My Sex Kitten socks are almost done and I have been also workig on my Mountain Colour socks. I also started a third pair to take the place of the Sex Kitten socks when they're done. Yay, destash time!

Ahh boys. . .

2008-04-17T20:18:00.003-05:00

I recieved my shipment of yarn last Saturday and began to experiment. I love to yarn bases! Below is a picture of the first worsted weight skein I dyed. It is pretty soft and has a great sheen to it. I don't know what to knit with it yet. It also has about 260 yards, but that will change with cones.

Boy bought me yarn!! I have been wanting to try Hazel Knits yarn for a while. Yes, I am getting rid of yarn, but so far I've been pretty good at not buying tons anymore. I am working through it, slowly, but surely. The colourway is Shady Verdant. It is soooo soft!!! I LOVE it!

The Sex Kitten socks are coming along. I'm on the picot heels and soon will be turning them. Turning the heel for me basically says "Yeah, these will be finished soon." It makes me have to finish the socks.

I started another pair of socks today. These are 3x2 ribbing on size 2 needles with 60 sts. This Mountain Colours yarn has been sitting in my stash for quite some time. I thought it was time I knit with it. The colourway is Mountain Twilight. After these socks, 2 more pairs to go.

Below are two pictures of my new 15/85 silk/merino sock yarn. I'm calling it the Selke Sock Yarn. Below is Kiwi Melon and Sex Kitten. The yarn is 325 yards. Soo soft and beautiful! These skeins are both in the shop as well as other colourways in my other yarn bases. I really updated the shop. Please go have a look. =)

It's also raining again, yay.
Okay for those of you who want free yarn (unless you have already done this) please e-mail your address to gbutlernet@yahoo.co.uk. Mostly I would only charge shipping of the yarn. I have a little bit of sock yarn left and most of it is worsted weight and bulky. Thanks!

The Yarn NEEDS to GO!

2008-04-12T22:57:00.005-05:00

I have 3 envelopes waiting to be sent with some of the yarn from the pictures. Below are two more pictures of all of the yarn that needs to be gone from my apartment!!! Please ask for some if you want it. If not, it's going into the garbage, I know, horrible.

Some sock yarn is still left.

Below is the majority of my stash. I had 2 of those bins full in my closet, now with the drawer storage I have cut that down to 1 large bin.

Below is the majority of my sock yarn in the purple drawer storage. Amazingly, yes I am cutting down. *sounds of shock in the background*

My parents came today and now after over a year and a half I have new blinds and CURTAINS!!!!! And they're GREEN!!!! Yay!!!!

I have also decided to show you some new colourways that hopefully will be making their way into the shop along with the new silk/merino blend sock yarn and my new worsted weight also. =)

Sun and Cold

2008-04-09T15:14:00.002-05:00

The sun is out, but it's still a wee bit brisk out today.
I usually have a pair of dummy socks going for when I sit in class and stuff. Lately the socks have been replaced by hats, but I decided a new pair of socks was needed. Below is my new pair. The colourway is my Sex Kitten in my new sock base for the Celtic Sock Yarn. I am also going to be adding a silk/merino base and a worsted weight merino to the collection. I hope you guya enjoy them.

I bought this pattern today because I always wanted to try it. I'm using Bernats Cottontots for the bears. Its a really beautiful and soft yarn. I definately suggest peple knitting for babies use it. =)

Rain

2008-04-08T13:26:00.003-05:00

I love rainy days. These days just make you want to relax and chill. It's glorious.

The nice thing about rainy days is I get to wear my hand knit socks. I'm starting another pair in Socks That Rock.

About the yarn, it's being randomized and the people who actually posted their e-mails will recieve one tonight asking for addresses. Sorry, but you don't get to choose which yarn you get.

More Stuff. . .

2008-04-04T10:46:00.005-05:00

Soo for some reason I've actually felt like cleaning lately. Yesterday the room I was really working on was my kitchen. There's a reason there's no before picture of anything because the only clean room was the hallway. I also starting finishing the laundry, most of the dishes are done and I really need to vacuum. Oh well, LOOK A CLEAN KITCHEN! Yay! Oh! I can also sit on both my futons now. . . . frightening isn't it?

I've been wanting to purchse this book for while, not because I'm pregnant (hell no) but because everything in it is so beautiful and soft looking. So I finally went and bought it. I bet I'll use it when I actually do have kids, but thats not for several years. =P

I'm starting with the baby blanket in a natural blue sky cotton that they had. The dyed cotton is sooooo bright and actualy hurts my eyes. I love bright, but for a baby I think mute is more beautiful so it doesn't take away from their cuteness. Yes Anna, I said babies can be cute. . .

Here is Steve's beanie so far, I added 4 stripes instead of just 2. He LOVES blue, so I think it'll work. =P

I was asked about my orange beanie pattern. It's really simple to create. I'll give you a rough pattern right now:

Materials:
1/2 skein of Cascade 220 - colour 1
1/8 skein of different colour in Cascade 220 - colour 2
size 8 16" circular needles
Tapestry needle

CO 80sts.
In colour 1 - knit 2" of 2x2 ribbing.
Knit 3/4" of stockinette.
Knit 3 rows of colour 2.
Knit 2 rows in colour 1
Knit 3 rows in colour 2
Switch back to colour 1 for 3" of stockinette.
Then begin decreases:
Every 9 stitches K2Tog
Knit row
Every 8 stitches K2Tog
Knit row
Every 7 stitched K2Tog
Knit row
(continue to decrease the number after every knit row until you are down to 8 stitches, then take your tapestry needle and run it through all stitches, then pull tight and weave in all of your ends)

Also about the YARN, it would be great if I had EMAILS so I could CONTACT people and also you guys don't get to choose which yarn you get, you just get it. . . .

More hats. . . .

2008-04-02T12:43:00.004-05:00

This is what I saw before I fell asleep. =P

Yep, I already finished the orange beanie. Again, these are all stash busters. I am also going to be giving away a crap load of yarn this week. So stay tuned and read all of this post. =) Yeah I'm tired and I bet you can tell.

Top of the hat

Steve's beanie that I'm working on. It will consist of 2 dusky blues and a navy. I hope he likes it when it's done.

Here is the yarn that is being given away. I'm paying shipping, I just want it gone =P. So basically everyone who wants yarn leave a comment please and I'll give it out as people leave comments. Some is sock yarn and some isn't.

Ahh Spring. . .

2008-03-31T16:07:00.003-05:00

I was walking Mac earlier today when my eye caught something on the ground in front of the house enxt to my apartment building. I had to look a little closer to see if I was right. Yep, I was. Flowers from bulbs are already coming up here and to think a little over 2 weeks ago the ground was still covered with snow. Amazing. . .

Spring = Benadryl. Enough said.

I am addicted to knitting hats/beanies, I get it ok? They are easy to drag with me where ever I go and they're fast and useful. Sorry it's such a crime.

This is what I get fir feeding, walking, playing, etc with Mac. A cute adorable "innocent" pair of brown eyes staring up at me while his head is resting on my leg. Yeah, it's sick how cute he is. =P

Post Spring Break

2008-03-30T17:44:00.003-05:00

My parents, sister and I headed out to Steamboat, Colorado for spring break. It was gorgeous! There was one slight problem tho, and it actually turned out to be a rather big problem. My ski boots didn't fit anymore. I bought them junior or senior year of high school and now they don't fit. Well, I have wide feet and wear a size 11 shoe, so this was tricky. I ended up buying a pair of guys boots, but hey they fit my feet and skis so no biggie. Below are some pics from our vacation.
Here is down at the ski resort.

Random while driving.

Sun setting after our sleigh ride.

Halfway up the mountain. My dad and sister are both wearing hats I knit. =P The one my dad is wearing is actually mine hahahaha.

I've lived in Illinois for most of my life and have gone to O'Hare way too many times to count but I have NEVER seen them place down cots for people to sleep on. My dad and I had to take pics it was so funny!

While we were there it was Purim and something possessed us into making Hamantashens. They were damn good though!

Yes, I bought yarn while out there. The brown is a mystery yarn I got at a book store, but the girl claimed it was wool. I think it maybe burly spun by Cascade. The green sock yarn is Araucania and the blue is Cascade 220 Superwash.

The baby blanket I had in my projects pile for almost a year has been frogged and became the below. I figure I'll try to knit up a blanket when Steve and I have a kid, but right now I'm not really in the mood and lack the drive. =P

I also purchased some red Cascade 220 Superwash and some needles and knit my mom a hat. I actually finished it tonight but most of it was knit while sitting at the airport in Steamboat praying we get home. I am also not feeling great so I thought a semi-scary/semi-funny pic would work best.

Below is the top of the hat.

And here is Mac enjoying the warm/cool weather of March.

Spring Break 2 Days away. . .

2008-03-12T11:00:00.005-05:00

I am sooo thankful Spring Break is coming up because the past few weeks have been hell. I'm actually writing this post thirty beautiful minutes before I take a midterm. Yep, midterm season! Ew. . .anyways, so this past weekend my 2007 Ford Focus died on me and I ended up half way sticking out on Burlington, which is a major road is Iowa City. Yeah, I had to get it towed to Firestone, the Ford dealership isn't open on the weekend ooo. The alternator died and so the battery was bad. $740 and 3 1/2 hours of my life later it ran. But today I have to go and get a differ battery because the one in it doesn't fit perfectly. Yay life.
Yesterday this cute little package arrived at my door, literally. I won Janice's contest on the cutest memory of your pet. I won Shi Bui yarn! and an awesome cake carrier. I've never used Shi Bui yarn before, but it feels like Koigu. It's beautiful, my only concern would be that my Koigu socks didn't stand up as well as my other scks. We'll see how this does. =) It's the perfect colour for my brother's girlfriend Alicia, she LOVES pink.

Here is the yarn up close.

The hat below is being knit out of some of my handspun from Spunky Eclectic's fiber club. It's called party dress and I spun it to stripe. It obviously is striping beautifully. The hat is actually almost done, this pic was taken yesterday morning I believe and I only have a little ways to go till I cast off. I love the feel of the wool and it knit up soooo fast. I love it!

I actually finished another hat already. Friday I had to go and see a university production of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." I had to see it for 2 classes actually. I'm a theatre major and love theatre, but this play was 3 hours long and started at 8pm. Sooo, me being me, I dragged along circular needles and yarn, it was only the neon green yarn. Great stash busting project. I can sit and knit stockinette for hours without looking down at it. My friend Barry was in it and he mentioned he saw me in the front row fiddling with yarn. I asked when I'm not fidling with yarn. hehehe. It was very good and the knitting kept me frm falling asleep.

Damn, it's already March

2008-03-07T17:04:00.006-06:00

It's only 1 more week of classes and then SPRING BREAK!! My parents, sister and I are going to Steamboat, Colorado to go skiing, should be fun. I love being in the mountains. I believe we're renting a condo for the week while out there. Yay!! I think everyone needs a break from this semester, it's been long and winter is even longer. I LOVE winter, but the ice is getting to me. I have been knitting, amazingly, I forget when I started this hat but finished it last week and thought I would show you.
This was a great stash buster. It is made from some yarn Jo Ann Sensations Dolcetto I picked up last year and some left over Malabrigo. I have enough for mittens still, I believe in both colours. It will most likely fit a pre-teen or young teenager. I may send it to my cousin.

Inside stranding.

I am also working on another hat that I believe will fit me. Yeah ok so I didn't know stranding peices would be so tight, lesson learned. The other hat was knit with 80 stitches, this is 120. The dark veriagated green is Wollmeise Merino-Lammdochtwolle in Farn and the light green is Jo Ann Tesoro. This is also a stash buster because I've been trying to figure out what to do with all of the Jo Ann yarn I own, trust me, it's a lot. I believe I have 7 skeins or so of the Tesoro in this green. Yeah, a lot.

I hve also been thinking of knitting up a pair of thrummed mittens. I have the patterns from interweave knits and it would be such a great way to use up my left over (mind you left over means enough to basically make anything except a sweater or long scarf) Cascade Ecological Wool I used for the Ailidh hat. The fiber in the picture is some of the 7.38 or so ounces of Alpaca I bought while home in Rockford. The fiber is from a local alpaca farm and was really cheep and beautiful. I had to buy. I am going to be working on the hat pattern during my holiday, so hopefully will have that out soon also.

I thought I would end this with a picture of tired Mac. He and I are about to go take a nap, except he's already beaten me while sitting here. He's currently passed out on the floor. I am ging to go see a university production of "The Piano Lesson" by August Wilson. It is a three hour play. . . .better to take a nap and NOT fall asleep during it I would imagine.

PS, Yes I am sad that Brett Favre has retired, he's a great player and will be greatly missed. Hopefully because of this development, the Packers will not suck this coming season.
And Boy socks have been put on hold while I go through my continuing hat phase. . .

I adore Claudia

2008-02-22T14:38:00.002-06:00

I have finally knit something using colour work. Yep, 2 strands at one time. i know it's a simple pattern, but it was still a big step for me. The hat is for Boy's sister Kate, no idea if it will fi. I may knit about one (considering I have enough yarn) and send this one to my cousin Jackie. Here's the outside:

And the inside:

Everyone in the knitting world knows who Claudia of Wollmeise is. She and I have had two yarn swaps since August. The first time she sent me sock yarn and this time she sent me her worsted weight yarn. I have a huge love of Malabrigo, so this yarn is heavenly! She sent me 3 colours: Farn, Rittersporn, and am kaltan Polar. They are gorgeous!!!

Omg a finished object. . .

2008-02-21T12:26:00.005-06:00

Yeah I have been doing a little bit of knitting in the past 2 weeks. Not as much as before. But, oh well. Below is a Cherry Garcia knit out of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky. It's actually really warm.

Boy's socks are coming along slowly, but surely. I knit a lot of this sock on the plane trips. Yeah, fun. . .

I started knitting a scarf out of the left over Brown Sheep from my Hunter's Cables hat. I may rip it and knit another hat, tempting considering I hate knitting scarves.

I also have been doing some spinning, below is some wool/tencel blend I dyed up and spun. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but didn't turn out exactly how I wanted.

Below is the Spunky Eclectic fiber club. This is Icelandic wool and I LOVED it. It's not the softest wool I've even felt, but I adored spinning it.

I also purchased a pound of grey Shetland wool from Amy to try and because it was pretty cheap.

Below is also a pound of Icelandic wool I purchased from Amy also. I can't wait to dye this up and spin it. =)

Boy's younger sister Kate turned 15 on the 17th and I was thinking of knitting her something, maybe an Ailidh hat. Her room is completely pink, so I pulled a lot of pink yarns. I'll figure something out to knit.

Lost in Manhattan. . .

2008-02-19T17:27:00.007-06:00

Soo umm. . . yeah. . . I went to New Jersey this weekend to visit Steve and my Valentine's Day gift was a play in Manhattan. We went and saw "Crimes of the Heart" directed by Kathleen Turner. It was actually a very well put on play at the Roundabout Theatre. It was quite an adventure actually finding the theatre. . we kind of had the wrong address (my genius boyfriend's fault) and wandered around Manhattan for most of the day. It wasn't bad, considering I hadn't been there in ten years, but still =P I did get to see the new Apple Store (gorgeous outside, hot as hell inside and crowded). We also wandered to Times Square, yes wandered and other places. Overall it was quite a fun day. Mac stayed with my sister in Iowa while I was away and apparently was actually good for her. . . .what's with that dog?
So bring on the pic I guess. . .
Central Park, just because I thought it was pretty in he fading daylight and I figured I needed pictures. . .

Times Square

Manhattan while trying to find the theatre. . .

Times Square again. . .

Mac's namesake. . . beautiful isn't it? =P

And an EXTREMELY tired picture of Steve and I, yeah my nose is huge, I've learned to live with it *sigh*

SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!

2008-02-06T09:54:00.000-06:00

It took the University of Iowa until 9:15 this morning to cancel classes!!!! 9:15!!!!!

Below are pictures of our lovely snow, oh and we're supposed to get 6 to 10 more inches by 6pm tonight. Lovely eh?

Mac is 19 inches tall from his shoulders to his paws, not a tiny dog. He swims/bouncing around in the snow. Thats how tall it is. Beautiful eh?

Today is a day to work on homework, knit, drink coffee, play World of Warcraft and watch movies. . . .ahhh snow days. . .

Oh yes, almost forgot. On Monday I went to the post office and my car battery died. I had to wait over an hour for a jump. Then yesterday i went to get a new battery and the one Sears had is a little too tall, but is secure and should fit. Only the plastic cover doesn't fit and the guys told me it shouldn't make a difference. Yay. . . also if I have trouble within the next few days to take it to the dealer. Ew, too bad I won't be driving today. heh

Boy Knits and Where the hell is this snow coming from??

2008-02-03T18:23:00.000-06:00

Below are pics of knits for boy. Yes, they are all blue. . . he likes blue. I personally am a green girl. But, yes BLUE. First we have 2 pairs of socks, both superwash thank god.

Then we have the beanie which I ripped shortly after this photo was taken. There were too many stitches and it was too loose. The yarn is my Sundara sports weight.

I also pulled out my sock scraps for no apparent reason the other day. I have no idea why, but I thought I'd show you.

Hahaha, yes I finished these socks finally. . . .took me long enough, but they are definitely cozy and soft.

I couldn't resist pics of Mac. It's been a while since I put up a pic of him and thought it was time. Actually, I put up a few today just because I thought he was cute as hell. =P
Mac inside and dry.

Mac today in the snow, he loves running around and eating it. It's sooo adorable!

More snow from today. . . hope classes are canceled tomorrow. . .

Snow this evening. My car got stuck going up the hill to my building earlier and I had to turn around and go a back way. It really sucked. =(

And Mac in the snow this evening. He obviously is happy the world is white. =P Drivers today may not have enjoyed it, but I know the kids in my neighborhood will love having class canceled hopefully tomorrow and going down the big hills on their sleds all day. Ahhh childhood. Miss being a kid during these kinds of days.

And no, I didn't watch the Super Bowl.

Ailidh Number Two

2008-01-31T22:00:00.001-06:00

Last night when my class New Ventures in the Arts class started I was about four rows into my second Ailidh. I was using this one for the pattern to remember everything I did. I actually purchased this yarn specially for this hat. I like how it shows every twist and cable perfectly. I finished this evening and wanted to show everyone the hat in a different colour. Yes, I knit 2 of the same hats in 2 days. Kind of scary. . .
Here is the picture I took when I left class and it had begun to snow. Yep! More snow! I really love the colour of the yarn.

Here is the finished hat. I tried to take a pic of it on me, but I look really tired, so I said screw it. I put my natural light on it to show the cables better.
The pics are basically because boy has been bothering me all day about this hat. It's named after a char I made for him on World of Warcraft. I have to give him credit, he is willing to step into and try to understand the crazy, obsessive world that is knitting to me. Trying, not completely succeeding, but have to give him brownie points anyways. =P

Pattern: Ailidh
Needles: US 8 16" circular
Yarn: Cascade Tweed 220
Cast on: Jan. 30
Cast off: Jan. 31

This is what happens when you don't do your laundry for a month. Yep, hasn't happened, but will this weekend. I'm also cleaning up my apartment because for some reason a certain canine resident of the apartment seems to be getting into things he shouldn't. This included eating an entire bag of milk chocolates that were for my sock club. So I'm cleaning up so it'll stop. Plus, I haven't cleaned since Steve left because I guess I've been wallowing in my own sadness that my boy is gone. Seriously been sad. Not fun.

Last, but not least, I leave you with snow. Enjoy!

I also turned in a manifesto, which I have no idea what a manifesto really is and I'm glad classes are back in session. Life is kind of getting back to normal, whatever normal is.
Oh and I hope both the Giants and the Patriots suck on Sunday. Thanks!

Meet Ailidh (pronounced A-LEE)

2008-01-30T12:41:00.000-06:00

Yesterday around 11am I cast on another hat. I was trying to rework the sheddy hat into a design I really like. Well, I started knitting and just continued to knit the hat all day. I knit in class like I mentioned before and was just randomly knitting a design out while talking about great dead theatre visionaries. I was amazed at how quickly I knit this up. This morning I only had a little bit left to finish, soo I basically finished it up in lecture this morning.
Here is a finished picture of the hat. The pattern will be available as soon as I am able to write it down. Hope you guys like it. =)

Here's a pic before I went to bed last night of the hat in process.

Pattern: Ailidh
Needles: US 8 16" circular
Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool
Cast on: Jan. 29
Cast off: Jan. 30

Also, this morning on my way to lecture I wiped on my moped on a busy street in Iowa City. OW! Must have hit a piece of ice I didn't see. I completely smashed my left mirror, and scraped my left knee and right elbow. I amazingly went to class. Hahaha I'm dedicated. My elbow doesn't hurt much anymore, but there is a stiffness in my left armpit as I type. i hope that goes away soon. =/

Tale of The Sheddy hat

2008-01-28T15:22:00.000-06:00

Okay, on with the shedding hat. I'm really liking the design I'm coming up with, it's just the yarn doesn't seem to completely fit the pattern. I love the colour and the yarn is warm, but I tend to have sensitive skin and anything remotely fuzzy annoys me. I'm going to finish this hat as a preliminary of the design and then reknit it, with improvements and hopefully no mistakes in a different yarn. Don't I just look ecstatic in this picture? I am amazed my makeup looks semi-descent. hahahaha Considering I only got about 5 hours of sleep also, not horrible. Mind you, my hair is in a ponytail and is sticking out of the top of the hat, so that maybe why I look a little odd. I dunno.

Here is a blurry detail pic of the hat. It will change I think tp the point where there are more variations between where the mock-cables are. It is amazingly a quick knit, I don't know when I knit half of it. I mainly only remember doing the ribbing. =P

So the search began by going through my two large bins of non-sock yarn in my bedroom closet. mind you, this stash has actually started to go down. Shocking, I know. considering my life revolves around sock knitting. This bin is of yarn for me-projects. Aka, basically the nice yarn that most people wouldn't notice, like omg that's Karabella cashmere or wow, that Cascade yarn is really very beautiful. Great choice for that project. Yeah, the yarn snob bin.

Here is the second bin of "gift" yarns. No, not all of them are crap, a lot of them are actually pretty descent, just not as expensive or destructive as the other bin. Some of these are acrylic or part acrylic, I believe I mentioned in an ealier post that I don't trust most men with wool, this would be the bin with their yarn. Some are cotton and most are wool blends.

I pulled out these yarns below. Two of them are my beloved Malabrigo that I need to use up, Berroco Foliage, the yarn my sister got me in Turkey, and Cascade Tweed. I love the tweed, but I'm not sure the pattern would show up as well on it and I want it to show in my final design pictures. I most likely will go with either the plain beige yarn or the blue/white Malabrigo. Tell me what you think.

Oh yes, classes are in full swing, yay? Actually its kind of nice getting my mind off of pathetic mundane crap and actually feeling worth something. =P
And no, I still haven't finished that "Half Blood Prince" sock. I will one of these days, I promise! Just kind of in a "hat" swing right now.
I knit in class. Not ashamed, I'm ADD as hell and it helps me listen. Being in an "art" based major, more people understand than don't. I sat, listened and participated in my class tonight while working on my hat. I did happen to finish the hat. Amazingly, which I am seriosuly surprised about is that I made the hat the perfect length which is sweet! I am awesome or just lucky as hell. hehehe Here are two pictures of the finished hat below. I'm going to rework it without all of the mistakes and see how it goes.

New Colourways

2008-01-27T16:36:00.000-06:00

I thought I would give you guys a glimpse of some of my new colourways that will be put up in my etsy shop soon. I hope you like them.

First we have "Fireball"

Murloc

Totem

Faiye

Pond Scum

Hydra

And Blush

Me being me, I purchased some yummy Malabrigo while I was home in Rockford last month with Steve. I'm thinking the orange will be a Foliage, because I seem to have a love of orange hats or something. The other 2 skeins will most likely be a scarf or mittens or whatever I come up with.

After seeing Anna's new hat, I amazingly cast on one of my own. I really need to use up this yarn. She bought me a couple of skeins for my birthday back in September and I purchased a few more afterwards. I started a hat, but ended up ripping it. Hopefully ths hat will be finished soon. This yarn is very sheddy and kind of itches, but it's beautiful and soft.

And a pair of fetchings for my sister I believe. Let's see if I can finish them this time. Both other times I only knit 1 mit and not the other. . . oops?

To live and love or never love at all. . .

2008-01-25T15:27:00.000-06:00

To be honest it had been almost exactly 2 years since I had a boyfriend when Steve and I got together. Yeah 2 years of me being me and accepting the fact that I am void of love and feeling. Okay, not completely true, but I had gotten used to being single. I have always had the habit of pushing people away and not wanting to deal with them, not a good choice, but I do it at times without even knowing. I don't really trust many people either. I guess it's youngest syndrome where everyone is against you. Its kind of weird having a bf again. I have been pushing away, but he's kind of sticking around. . . .funny eh? I owe him a lot and want him to stick around I'm just not used to this frame of mind of having someone outside of my family who actually cares about me. I just need to calm the fuck down and let life be life. It's hard though. I don't know, I'm going to visit him on the 14th, and we're already making plans for him to go to Gencon with us in August. If we're making plans that far ahead, yeah I think he'll still be around then too. He's a genuinely sweet guy. Amazing eh? I really love him and I just want my behavior to change, cause I REALLY value him.

Okay, enough of the boyfriend banter. Onto KNITTING! and spinning. . .
Lately I've been spinning up my fibers and my spinning is actually becoming more consistent. Below are two skeins I spun within the past week. The red, green and blue one I spun up last-night. it is superwash corriedale from Spunky Eclectic's fiber club. I love being part of the club because it gives e the opportunity of spinning with fibers I normally wouldn't spin with. The other one is superwash merino that I dyed a few weeks ago. Both around arounf 160 to 18 yards in light worsted weight.

Here's a close up:

Okay, sooo my brother finally asked me for a pair of socks, this is Alicia's boyfriend. You can see her socks on an older post. I don't trust most men with wool. Sorry, but no. So I went to Crazy Girl Yarn Shop today to pick up some lace needles and saw that they FINALLY got the Cascade Superwash 220 in! OMG, I pounced on it and grabbed 3 skeins of the navy blue for 2 pairs of guys socks. 1 pair for Mike, 1 for Steve. Blue is blue.

I also grabbed some yarn that was in the 50% off bin, funky scarf I would say or hat or something nice and warm to help with the weather here. Yeah, it snowed AGAIN today. . .

Almost done with the second "Half Blood prince" sock, which then means I can start a new pair!!!! Yes, life is good.

Snow, hats, and sock yarn. . .

2008-01-23T14:15:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I haven't really posted in a while and I'm sorry. Life has been very interesting since my holiday started. Funny enough my holiday officially ended yesterday. I am kind of glad that classes have started again. it gives me something to put my mind on that isn't a video game. Over the holiday I didn't get tons of knitting done, just basically chilled, watched movies and played World of Warcraft. I did get a hat finished, which I'm happy about. One can never have too many hats. I also love that it's bright orange. I made the pattern up and it's REALLY easy.

Pattern: "Hunter Cables" ( My own)
Yarn: Brown Sheep Burly Spun (1/2 of a skein)
Needles: 16" US 11 circular

Pattern in a nutshell:

Cast on 56 stitches.
Knit 4, P1, K2, P1* repeat this in the round for 4 rounds.
C4B, P1, K2, P1* Repeat until the end of this row and then repeat the first 4 rows.
Continue this until the hat reaches 6" in length, then begin decreases.
Decreases:
K4, P1, K2tog, P1* Repeat till the end of the row
K2tog, K2, P1, K1, P1* repeat till the end of the row
K1, K2tog, P1, K1, P1* repeat
K2tog, P1, K1, P1* repeat
K2tog, K1, P1* repeat
K1, K2tog* Repeat
Then after this row weave the end through the remaining stitches and pull to close opening. Weave in the ends.

Next is my first sock ever knit with a picot heel. I really love how the heel compliments the different colours in the colourway. the colourway I'm knitting this pair of socks out of is "Half Blood Prince." I'm really loving how the yarn is striping around the foot. This is by far my favourite colourway yet. Unfortunately I have decided to discontinue my Harry potter colourways and go more towards semi-solids and some variegated colours.

Yes, I have added to my stash. Sundara Yarn!!!!! yeah, it's pricey, but soft and beautiful. The "Wine" and "Green Tea" are sock weight while the blue is sport weight. Unfortunately I need a second of the blue for anything really. I'll have to keep a look out for another skein. It is sooo beautiful though!

I also gave in and am trying Dream in Colour's "Smooshy Yarn" in "Happy Forest." The pattern I am knitting is a dream in Colour pattern called "Sleepwalker Socks." The pattern is beautiful, but the yarn is dryer than I thought it would be. I don't know what it is, it just feels a little dry in my fingers. That's actually one reason I don't knit with some yarns, they dry out my hands quickly. I'll finish these socks one day, I promise. =)

I also knit a simple pair of fingerless mittens. They are quite nice when it's really cold out and my steering wheel in my car is freezing!! I hate touching it because it makes my fingers hurt. I love the yarn, it is di.Ve Autunno. Very beautiful, soft yarn.

Here is the mate to the first "Half Blood Prince" sock. I'm just about to start the heel. This lot came put extremely vibrant and I'm completely in love.

Also, the sock club yarn is dyed and waiting patiently for the pattern. The goodies included are also almost done. I'm spending Valentine's Day with Steve in New Jersey, so the packages will be sent out before the 14th. Thanks!

BTW the Packers deserved it more than the Giants, The Patriots don't deserve anything!

Below is some of the yarn that will be going up in my shop soon, once I find time this weekend. Yay!

Winners and I am alive!

2008-01-11T23:27:00.000-06:00

The winners of the contest are:

AmyLou61

&

Katrinalafferty

Please e-mail your addresses to GButlernet@yahoo.co.uk and I'll get your yarn in the mail for you. Thanks for contributing guys!!

I've been sick and busy and everything. Steve went home on the 3rd, so I'm a little depressed also. I have a little over 1 more week of holiday and I think I may spend it lying around my apartment moping and knitting. =/ Sounds like fun eh?

Boys, snow, sick boys, and more snow. . .

2007-12-22T23:42:00.000-06:00

Sooooo my bf Steve is here until the 3rd and everything was great until he suddenly got sick yesterday. Just my luck eh? Have a sick boy with me when a blizzard goes through Iowa and everything is gorgeous, blah blah blah. =P Nah, we're still having fun doing stuff like catching up on movies he didn't get to see, etc.
I dragged him to see P.S. I Love You, a book I fell in love with long ago when it first came out. Gerry Butler is hot as usual, I'm not sure I like Hillary Swank in the role of Holly tho, oh well.
OH and SWEENY TODD ISN'T PLAYING IN IOWA CITY!!!!!!!! WTF??????????????? oh yeah, upset!!!! Anyways, I just wanted to give everyone an update.

The sock club has been sent out and should be to it's recipients soon. I am making up a new box for my Harry Potter swap partner, damn the mail. The socks aren't HP colours tho. I hope you still like them, knitting the fastest pair I know. =P I hpe to have that in the mail right after Christmas.
Umm and yeah, I'm ALIVE!!! amazing. . .

and the bf has requested fingerless gloves with the fingers cut off, get what I mean? Yeah, never done fingers before. . . .this should be interesting. . . heh started them tonight while watching "Knocked Up." Great film hehehehe. Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

Oh and contest announcement will be right after Christmas also.

Ahhh Gotta Love Iowa Weather & Free Yarn!

2007-12-11T22:05:00.000-06:00

Soooo the weather has been crazy here in Iowa lately. First we had an ice storm, I lost power for 3 hours, then we had a snow storm, which was pretty and THEN today it rained and the university only canceled afternoon and evening classes. That pissed me off because it's harder to get somewhere in the morning when nothing is cleared. Whatever grrrr. . .

I'm not too sad because some of my STR came in the mail the other day. Yay! I bought 5 skeins for me and one for a dear friend who's birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday Anna!!! Three of the skeins are from the Raven Clan while the others are Grinchy and 1 I'm too lazy to look at the name of. . .

I am also going to be putting up some more yarn on my etsy shop. Below are two pics of "Diabolical Christmas" and "Judah Mac'abe." These are the Woodland Sock yarn which is a superwash bamboo/merino/nylon blend. These will be going up soon.

Below is yet another pair of socks I'm working on. These are for my sister's bf, Mike. The colourway is my own "Half Blod Prince" on size US2's with 64 stitches. I like how it is coming out so far.

Talking about boys. . . .my boy is coming to visit me for 2 weeks on the 18th. I am sooooooo excited!!!! I have to knit him a hat before he gets here, oy. Luckily I picked up a skein of Encore bulky in light blue, soooo it'll be a fast knit. =)

FREE YARN!!!

Yeah, so I bought more yarn obviously and I'm not knitting it fast enough. So, we have free yarn to give away! Each set has enough yarn for 4 pairs of socks! Here is the question (the best 2 win the yarn) Tell me the most romantic day you have ever had with a significant other. Goodluck! <3 Please place this on your blogs also, place the name of where you saw this contest in your comment also. Thanks!

Oh, GO PACKERS, HELL YEAH BUCKEYES ARE GOING BACK TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND I WANT THIS DAMN SEMESTER TO END!!!!!!!! PLEASE LET THE 18TH COME SOONER!!!

Need a vacation from my vacation. . .

2007-11-27T13:29:00.000-06:00

Yep, vacations are stressful! Okay, my family usually has an initial fight the first day we all get together. That day was Wednesday of last week. After that, we mostly calmed down and got along. The most stressful aspect of the entire week was the fact that I have a 22 page paper due at the end of the semester and I had to work on it. Okay, maybe there are actually 2 stresses over Thanksgiving Break, my grandparents got on everyone's nerves. I love them to death, but they are getting bitchier with age. No idea why.
Sooo I took some pics of Thanksgiving day and thought the ones below came out the best. I like them =P

I finished my grandpa's scarf finally and gave it to him. I believe he really liked it. My grandma loved her scarf with the pin. I'm glad those were a hit. My mom also LOVED her Buckeye socks, even though the scarlett was a little dark. . . . oops? She's probably wearing them right now. The Mountain Colour Socks she stole from me have definately been worn A LOT! I think she felted them by wearing em. Weird eh?

I also finished Alicia's socks. Here is a pic of her wearing them right after I finished sewing up the last toe. She doesn't like getting her picture taken. =/ She's adorable and we all adore her, so I think this pics cute. She loves the socks and wore them right when she and Mike got back to Austin because it was in the 40s. =P

Yep, a week of finished objects. I finished my Socks That Rock socks. The colourway is Farmhouse in Mediumweight and the pattern is one I randomly came up with. Here's a brief idea of what I did
needles - US 4
Cast On 48 stitches
stitch pattern -

Rows 1 through 4: K4 P2, repeat until end of row
Row 5: K 2 through the back and then rework the first stitch before taking it off of the needle. Repeat once more then P2. Repeat this until the end of the row
Repeat Rows 1 through 5

It's pretty and basic and it breaks up a boring rib. Oh and Ohio State beat Michigan again and Lloyd Carr is retiring. =/

3 more days until vacation!!!!

2007-11-13T11:19:00.000-06:00

Yep, I said it, 3 more days until an entire week off from class!! Damn I love Iowa! When my sister Jen was at Wiscnsin they only got Wednesday, Thursday, Friday off. Hawkeyes get an entire week and a half off including the weekend! Yay!!!!!!
Okay, onto the knitting update:
I have a shitload of Socks That Rock that I need t knit up. I grabbed my mediumweight Farmhouse and started knitting. These were going to be for my dad, but as I kept knitting I said to myself, "Hell no, I'm keeping them." Sorry dad, I'll knit up something really quickly for you. You may notice that it isn't just a 4x2 rib, the knit stitches actually are mockcaled twice in a row to break up the monotony of ribbing. I think it looks cute and does what I need it to do. It is also easy enough to knit while in class. Yes, I knit in class and none of my professors have said anything because I take notes and participate.

Below are Alicia's stockinette socks. I knit these either in class r when I'm really bored. They're almost done, so that will be one more thing to strike from my list. =)

I'm knitting my sister one of the chunky hats also because she watched me knit mine and mentioned, key word there mentioned, how she needs a warm hat for winter and wishes, another key word, I would knit her one. I love guilt trips. . . . .

Class, classwork, midterms, papers, brain seeping out of ears with info I wish I could hold onto. Yep, that's college! I actually love college and am going to miss it when I enter the "real world." =(

Mac is loving the cooler weather and constantly wants to go out on the balcony and try to cat one of the birds on the birdfeeder. Blah, typical dog, except he sucks at hunting. hahahahaha

Note to Susan, I'm hoping to have your package sent out by Saturday. Thx soooo much for your patience with me. =)
Ashley awaiting your sock club package, yours will be sent out latest by Thursday with the extra skein of yarn, again thank you for your patience. =)

I play World of Wacraft and thought this was cute! Click on the pic to see the entire thing.

OH we beat Minnesota!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!! Wisconsin beat Michigan!!!! yay!!! OSU lost to Illinois, bastard Illini, but they still have a shot at the hampionship, which is good and if they don't go there they'll go to the Rose Bowl. And the Packers destroyed the Vikings!!!!! Life is good! Sorry Janice. . . . =P
John got a job at a law firm in Madison so we happy now.

And we have finished projects! Yay!

2007-11-08T23:21:00.000-06:00

Yep, I said it, finished projects. Two of these were on a whim and were knit in the past 24 hours. . .I need a hat, it's COLD! Anyways on with the pictures. Btw, I'm really tired, so I apoligise ahead of time for everything I say in this post.
Below is a picture of my mom's Hannukah gift, Ohio State socks. Yes! I finally finished a pair! They're knit with worsted weight, so they should be nice in the winter. The pattern is a mock cable pattern that I forget the name of right now.

Okay, yeah this is the Yarn Harlot's "Unoriginal hat." I knit it on 6.5 mm soooo I am not sure if it will fit my sister. If it doesn't I'll knit one on size 11s. I don't own 7.0mm or 7.5mm. Oh well, we'll see.

I said I needed a hat, well this would be the one below. I knit it with some handspun I did when I first got my spinning wheel. I'm shocked at how much I have left! Seriously, I'm amazed! I like it, thick, bog, bulky, love the colours, and it covers my ears. =P I can wea it with a ponytail also. Yay!!!! Sweet eh?

And another that includes a very tired me, oy. . .

Anyone watch tonights Greys Anatomy? Sad eh?
Oh, we play Minnesota Saturday and Wisconsin plays Michigan. GO HAWKS!! GO BADGERS!!

OMFG It's November!!

2007-11-05T19:16:00.000-06:00

Yep, I'm back. Took long enough eh? It's been a LONG and STRESSFIL October!! Every college student right now is wishing it was Thanksgiving break. Today was no exception to stress. I had a mental meltdown in my lighting class and didn't present my lighting project. I have finally calmed down, was crying my as off because of all of the stress and medical problems, and am about to go to my sister's and watch Heroes. Yep, and knit of course. I'm on KNIT HOLIDAY GIFTS overload. My family gives gifts over Thanksgiving Break because we're not together over Hannukah.
Below are socks for my brother's girlfriend, Alicia. We really like her and hope more happens. Hahahaha. They live together down in Austin. She LOVES pink! Sooo I pulled out my Chewy Spaghetti yarn and started knitting. She also wanted socks btw.

Below is my grandpa's Irish Hiking Scarf that is practicaly finished. It has a few more inches to go. . . I have yet to finish it. I have until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to finish. Thank goodness.

I'm also working on my Harry Potter Sock Swap Socks. I have 1 done! The other is in process. I missed the October 31st deadline. Damn migraines and stress and life. aaaahhhh!!!! Below are 2 pics of the ones my pal sent me. Aren't they soooo Hawkeyeish? They're warm too!!!! I wore them to both of my classes today. =) I LOVE them!!!

Btw, the Hawkeyes have won 2 Big Ten games in a row!!!!!!!!! Hell yeah!!!! John now works at Wandos in Madison. . . .we happy? no. . . .

eewww

2007-10-01T00:48:00.001-05:00

I've been sick for the past week and a half and haven't gotten anything done. I have some orders that need to be sent out and I apoligise for not getting them out. The fact that I am even able to type is amazing. The sock club shipment will most likely be sent out a week later than stated because I'm behind from being sick. I don't want to send you contaminated yarn, that would suck. *I wash the yarn so when I'm well don't worry*
I have:

sinus infection
swollen mouth
cold sore (painful bitch)
fatigue
stress
more stress
swollen throat
migraines
etc

don't really want to continue

one positive, the Packers are undefeated and Brett Favre is still hot for a 37 year old man. =P

How time flies. . ..

2007-09-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

when you're half asleep most of the day and realise you just went through 5 hours of classes. . . .weird eh?
So I'm 22, thanks for the birthday wishes everyone! Below is a pic of my cake. Yay! Yes, it's Hawkeye themed, wow, shocker. . .
Anna also got me some yarn, Cascade Pastaza, which is 50% llama & 50% wool. It's soo soft! I bought some more so I can make a hat, mittens, & a scarf if I finish my grandpa's.

Below is a pic of the scarf. I'm just about to finish the second skein, only needs about 1/2 of another and it should be done. It's kind of slightly growing on me. . . I still hate knitting scarves!

What else have I been up to? Below should be an answer, but I've also been working out, walking Mac, doing homework, trying to sleep, etc. The usuals when you're in college, except ordering in pizza for breakfast, lunch & dinner constantly. =P Yay for Smart Ones.

SOCK CLUB!!!!!!!

The sign-ups for he sock club will only be up until the 25th. They will be taken down by the evening of the 24th! Thanks!

Oh and Yay to the Packers for winning & Brett Favre is still HOT!!!!!!! hehehehe I'm heading up to Madison, Wisc this Friday with my sis for the Hawkeye vs Badger game. It should be awesome!!! Go HAWKS!

Holy Shit I'm 22. . . .

2007-09-09T12:48:00.000-05:00

Yep, today is my 22nd birthday. Scary eh? 10 years ago I was 12. . . .damn that is frightening! In 8 years I'll be 30, holy shit!!!! That is a really scary! Anyways, I'm having some friends over tonight and chilling, drinking, eating pizza, cake, etc. Fun fun. Yesterday the Hawkeyes destroyed Syracuse, yay! My sister & I went to the game and had a great time. Michigan embarressed the conference once more yesterday and now Chad Henne is injured, wonderful. Enough of football. . . .
I have been working slowly, but surely on my grandpa's scarf. I took yesterday off from doing anything constructive. Below are 2 pics of the scarf. I'm about to start the second skein.

Detail shot:

Here is a pic of my grandma's scarf (yes, it's folded, it was blocked & then curled again damnit!) But it's still pretty. It is 52 1/2 inches long. I may never finish her footsies, but at least this is done.

Detail shot:

Below is a pic of my brother, Mike & I. Just thought I'd add it. I never see him much anymore because he lives in Austin, Texas. This is from last weekend. I miss him. =/

I'm done for the day. Kind of in a daze for some reason. . .

Hate/Hate Relationship. . .

2007-09-06T14:04:00.001-05:00

I HATE KNITTING SCARVES!!!!! It's just boring!!! I finally finished my grandma's Cedar Scarf, which is blocking right now. Unfortunately the light in my bedroom is dark, so the pics didn't come out.
I am looking for rather simple holiday gifts for my family. . . .My sister bought me 6 skeins of wool yarn while she was in Turkey. It's not a colour I personally would wear. Sooooo, thinking about holiday gifts, my mind set on my grandpa. I thought, hey, he's a former colonol, why not? Sadly, this is exactly what I thought. Soo today I started an Irish Hiking Scarf for him. It's not too boring, but still. Ye know? Anyways, the pic of it soo far is below. Very neutral. heh. . .

This past weekend I also met my brother's girlfriend, Alisha. She's sweet and nice and everything I'm not. =P j/k I asked her what she wanted & she said footsies, so begins another pair of socks. My second pair of Wnky Cable Cabin Socks have gone on the back burner. I'm using my August Spunky Club olourway Celebration. She loves pink, and it has pink in it, but can also go with a bunch of other things.

Winners of the Hawkeye Football Contest. . . .

2007-09-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

Knittysue chose Drew Tate. I had a class with him last year and he got me through lecture, don't ask. He is also our former quarterback. Hot tempered Texan. lmfao. . .

Next winner is Knitting-Up-A-Storm. Anna chose Adam Shada. Cute, sweet, adorable guy from Nebraska. (I tossed a coin for that one)

3rd winner is: Sarah who chose Devan Moylan. Sorry ladies, he buzzed the cute hair off. =P, coin toss again 3 way.

The last winner is Thea_Midnight who chose Charles Gofrey. He kicked ass at the game and flashed his hair while workin it.

Btw, WE WON!!!!!! Ladies please ,message me your info and I'll send out your prizes tomorrow. Thanks!!!!

I'm not a drunk. . . .

2007-08-31T08:52:00.001-05:00

I'm a college student who gets drunk. . . soooo Thursday nights are the big "drinking" nights at most universities. Being the first week of classes I had to go out. Anna, her boy Joe and I went to a bar called Brothers. She'd been trying to get me to go for a while. . . .me = stupid sometimes. They have a mug club every Thursday where you buy a mug for $5 and every refill is $1. That was sweet, except the fact that their mixed drinks suck. No offense Anna.
Anna, who may I remind you guys is the pattern designer for the sock club. lmfao

Anna & her boy Joe. . . .we won't ask about the tongue, really. By this time she had had a few drinks.

Joe's friend Jim. . . .I have no idea wtf he's doing with my camera. I barely remember this. Think I was trying to get a pic of him.

Jim & I, he's cute and I have his number. HA HA. Yeah, that will NEVER happen, but he's sweet. Btw Anna, I'm not rough around the edges, I just get defensive about my beer! =P

My sister came to my rescue and drove me home. I love having her in town. I walked to Anna's dorm and mind you I was wearing 4 1/2 inch Steven Madden heels!!! Never again. I'll wear flip flops next time. Screw heels in a bar. I have sores on my feet now. OW!
There are a lot more pics, but that's for a later time. Also there will be knitting content, sometime again in the near future. Cheers!