Last Weekly Questions for SP12

If you were told you could never again buy yarn, what would your last yarn purchase be?
probably a whole lot of wool so that i could felt my heart out! but i also might choose to get something i haven't had before like something from socks that rock or something silk or cashmere. that is a tough question...let's hope it never happens!

If you were told you could never knit again, what would be the last thing you'd knit??
i think i would either conquer the lace shawl i am dying to work on or a cardigan for me!

In a given year, how many times do you buy yarn? And what is your favorite place to buy yarn from? A festival? A shop? Online? Dish your favorite places!!
OMG, i don;t even want to think about how often i buy yarn. probably at least once a month. i like to get stuff from knitpicks as well as the local joanns. there are also a few yarn stores in the area that i frequent more than i should, specifically Bliss Yarns.

Lastly, with Fall in full swing in many areas, what is the one thing you look forward to most?
oh my i love fall! i love the cooler temps with the chance to curl up with a blanket and my knitting. i am looking forward to minimal sweating! (i have sweat so much this summer!) i am also looking forward to knitting with wool again. it just got too hot for wool knitting this summer! come on fall!

The Results are in...

8 items entered into the fair and 8 ribbons won!

i am soooo excited! i won 8 ribbons at the tennessee state fair! 3 first (blue), 2 second (red), and 3 third (white). here is the what i took and what won what:

taking first place ribbons was a crocheted baby blanket that looks like ice cream to me. it is pink, cream, and white! yummmy!

next, another blue ribbon is a little crocheted baby hat in the shape of a hershey's kiss!

my last blue ribbon was for a knitted dishcloth that i had done. it was kinda neat with a little lacy pattern. it was part of the dishcloth-a-month group on yahoo.
taking second in this same picture is a pair of my clogs! these are a pair of the fiber trends felted clogs that i made during christmas last year.

the other second went to my first garment which was that little blue baby cardigan. the little purple one took third place.

another white ribbon was given to my little knitted baby hat with the daisy on top! ohh...so cute!

last but certainly not least one the the prayer shawls that my group worked on together took third place.

i was just so unsure how this was all going to happen, being my first time to enter, but it was an easy process and a lot of fun. the waiting was hard but it was so worth it! having said that there wasn't near as much hand work this year entered in the fair including quilts, crochet, and knitting! so next year i am going to push everyone that lives in this area to think about entering something! it will be fun.

in other news. two weekends ago was happening. the lutheran event that i take part in twice a year as the director. each time i try to make 4 prayer shawls for 4 special kids on staff. this time i made 2 and one of the lovely ladies at church made the other two. i made the 2 shawls in the middle!

that's about it for now! i have one more box to send out to my swap partner! which i hope to do maybe monday. more soon! i promise not to be such a stranger!

SP12 Question Catch Up!

Question of the Week #10
What Olympic event would best describe you knitting/knitting style?
Any of the short races from swimming to track. i seem to accomplish more by doing shorter projects than long tedious things. usually i start a long, big project and it never gets done. i have lots of things started that i haven't finished but on the flip side i have tons of felted bags and baby items done! short and quick that seems to be est for me!


Question #11
What is the best thing you've ever received in the mail/post?
i think honestly the best box i ever recieved was when we first figured out about knitpicks. omg that was the best box! we ordered sparingly, not knowing what to expect but received a wonderful surprise! good quality wool at wonderful prices! i think by the next week i had put in another order!


Question #12
I’m sure most of us have a proudest moment when it comes to knitting. A project or technique that you’ve tackled and completed beautifully. What is your proudest knitting moment??
well, i have a couple and both have happened within the last year. one was i finally broke down and made my first baby sweater and it turned out sooo cute! it was my first garment overall! so proud. the other was the fiber trends felted clogs. i am not sure what it was about those. the pattern just seemed daunting and then you had to make 2! whew!

And on the flip side? What is the one thing that you can’t get right? What is that one project that you’ve never been able to complete? Or that you did complete but then hid away instantly because it was too embarrassing?
i can't get cables right to save my life. i always have this huge ladder one one of the sides! there is this simple cable scarf that i have wanted to make for myself that i just can't get to work becuase it has a cable down the middle. i even have some beautiful misty alpaca for it and just can't seem to get it! i made myself some knitting goals for this year and conquering that scarf is one of them. so maybe i will get to it still!

To the Fair!

This week. our question is about your knitting... In many communities, "the fair" is a great place to visit and spend time with your family. It's also where many have entered one product or another (jams, cakes, even knitting)...

Oh my! i love the fair! the fair that we have here in town in the Tennessee State Fair. i have special memories of going to the fair with my dad. we always had a great time looking at all the exhibits from the photography to the baking, to the huge pumpkins and watermelons. it is funny that this was one of the questions this year because i have decided to enter some stuff in the fair this year. i am entering some knitting and crochet pojects. i am a little hesitant about leaving my stuff there but i am trying not to worry about it. i think it will be fun. i have always, always wanted to enter somethng in the fair so i am really looking forward to it!

i am hoping for one of these to take home:


Here is the link to the Tennessee State Fair website that contains info about the fair! See you at the fair! September 5-14, 2008.

Well I am back from a wonderful vacation! Before I tell you all about that let me do some catching up!

Before I left for the trip I received a wonderful box from my swap partner for my birthday.

It included whipped body cream in a dreamsickle scent, a body bar in grapefruit (which is one of my favorite scents), and a sample of the "naked" body cream. A big thanks goes out to my swap partner! What a lovely treat!

On the topic of birthday gifts I also received this haul from my friend, Learning from Chavah.

This gift totally included Colinette Jitterbug, an adorable bag that she makes, Kitty Knits, and some squeeze bottles for hand dying! What a wonderful gift! Her birthday is coming up (finally) and I can't wait to give her the gift I got for her. It is killing me not to blog about it but I will wait! Thanks girlie for the wonderful present!

Question #8: What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?
This is kind of a toughie. I have 2 really. Both are family recipes that we have perfected over time. One is my dad's fajitas which include his famous grilled chicken (preferably thighs), guacamole, cheese, and fresh pico de gallo! Yum! The second is fresh basil pesto. We started making this when we were growing a lot of basil in the garden but still love it even now! It has so much garlic in it that it is hot! That over orzo pasta with fresh sliced tomatoes on the side! Oh man my mouth is watering! Yum!

Ok so the trip! My friend Elizabeth and I left here last Monday morning and drove to Grayton Beach, FL. It took us about 8.5-9 hours which was a little longer than we had planned but we had a good time so it was not a big deal! The cottage we stayed in belongs to a friend of mine and was just adorable:


This is the living room. There was this room that attached to the kitchen. Then there were two bedrooms, and a bathroom that included a washer and dryer. So cute!

So once we got our stuff in and walked down to the pier for a few minutes we went grocery shopping for food for the week. This was a vacation on a budget and we did a great job! $130 for 3 people breakfast and lunch for 4 days and 2 dinners. We went out twice. Once we went into Panama City, shopped for a little while, and then met a good friend of mine, Anna, who recently moved to the area for dinner.

(Anna and I)

(Anna and her son, Jimmy)
It was so great to see her and her son while having a great seafood meal at Schooners! yumm-o

Each day we spent on the beach. The weather got progressively bad as the week went on to the point that we were not allowed in the water the last 2 days because it was so rough.

One of the state park officials told us that 2 people drowned in Panama City on Wednesday due to the waves and the undertow! Wow! We didn't risk it!

We all did a lot of reading while enjoying listening to the waves roll in. Friday we encountered a rain shower while we were on the beach but we got under our unbrella and waited it out!

here are Elizabeth and I waiting it out! it wasn't too bad! that evening we decided to get some dinner in Destin this time. we ate at Jimmy Buffet's Cheesburger in Paradise. it was ok. i would go back but i would get something different next time! in that same area were tons of outlet stores. i got a new watch at Fossil and i scored some silverware that i have been coveting for a couple of years now! i thought it had been discontinued but it was there! i was so excited!

Isn’t it pretty? I love it!


Here are the 3 vacationers: Leanna in the left chair, me in the right chair, and Elizabth behind us! Looks like we got a bit of color! Woohoo!

Saturday we got up, cleaned and headed out. Elizabeth dropped me off in Birmingham so that I could attend part of the staff training weekend for a youth camp that I am involved in (Happening). It was great to see everyone again! I hitched a ride back with some of the group that was coming this way! Whew!

and now it is Monday and it has not been a great start to the week. Got a speeding ticket on the way to work this morning, had to train someone on the electronic medical record while trying to see 6 patients this morning and doing all of their sports physicals! I am wiped out! not to mention that it is totally hot here and I HATE being HOT!!!! More soon! I hope to have a FO this week!

I am leaving you with a beautiful picture from the beach at sunset! Enjoy!

Questions 6 and 7

i am so far behind in blogging and i am so sorry!

let me answer the questions that i am behind on:

Questions #6
What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation? well thanks to the fact that i just got out of grad school i haven't been on many vacations lately, BUT with that said i have a trip planned for next week and i have 2 shawls packed and a scarf. i think that will be more than adequate!

If you’d like to share a story…Tell us about a time that you packed too much knitting or were stranded without knitting. being stranded without knitting is a gret fear of mine, maybe we should call it a phobia! what phobia name will it have...perhaps it will be texeraphobic (texere is the latin word for "everything that is woven")


Question #7
What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit? my favorite place to knit is on the couch at the house on the left side (if you are on the couch) so that i can rest my non-dominant left hand on the arm rest while the right hand knits away! i have basically a hole defeloping in that spot! this spot is across the room from the TV for perfect viewing as i knit!

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting? well there must be a beverage of some sort. preferably a ice cold diet dr. pepper on ice. the remote control must be readily available as well as the cordless phone so that i don't have to get up if someone calls. i like to have my little notions bag handy as well. it has things in such as a tape measure, needle sizer with guage thingy, point protectors, stitch markers, scissors, and a row counter.


i am headed to the beach on sunday so the blog may be quiet for a while. i will be back on the following sunday. have a great week yall!

Apologies

i am sorry i have been away for what seems like forever! i have been on a 7 day stretch off of work then before that i worked 6 out of 7 days! it has been nice to be off, but my home computer has been on the fritz so posting is a little harder than normal. oh well! i am here now!

i sent my SP12 pal's package out last week! i can't wait for her to get it!

Question of the week #5
1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday? well i really do love to travel so just about anywhere is an adventure. i loved traveling europe and wish to do that again. i also love vacations where there isn't so much going on. i love crusies and just time on the beach. i love love love the beach!
2) Where is one place you’d like to go? i am still dying to go to australia. i haven't been to the orient and i am beginning to think that i would like to go there. this sounds silly but there is an amtrak trip around the us that i would also like to do. check it out here.

more soon! i don't have any kntting to show! i will be working on that!

Fourth and Fifth of July

I had a great fourth! Dad and I went fishing together to a local river here in middle Tennessee, The Elk River. We had so much fun despite getting up REALLY early! it was about a 1.5 hour drive, so when we got to the spot that he normally fishes at we saw that there were tons of people already fishing that area! so we drove on and eventally found another river access point, down the river a great spot and there wasn't anyone else fishing there. there were multiple people that were using it has a place to take out of for boating. we fished in that area the whole time. dad found this really great spot that was loaded with fish. i got probably 8 or 9 out of that little spot. we only kept 4 between us to eat then the rest were cantch and release! it was fun! i caught them on a fly rod too!

then when we got home it was time to pick our oak leave hygrangeas. mom has historically sold them to various stores in the area and some at her mall booths in town, and i always help pick. we have them in various spots around the yard so we picked one specific site first so that we could go to watch the fireworks. so we picked and picked. i basically got in one of the bushes trying to reach all of them and didn't think a thing of it...until the next day when i had so many bug bites on me i thought i was going to die. i have 38 bites on just my torso alone. that doesn't count the ones that cover my thighs! AHHH!!!! i am itching like crazy!

the nashville fireworks were really good again this year. we go to a spot near us where we can see them instead of trying to go downtown and fight the crowds! here is my lame attempt at taking a picture of a firework!



Then there is July 5th! i got my first package from my Secret Pal 12 partner! it is so awesome! thank you so much secret pal!

in it i received 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a really pretty green. then there were some really pretty stitch markers. they are beautiful! also there was a funny wooden flamingo which i loved! and last was some euclan wool wash. i have never seen it here so i am stoked to get to try it as opposed to the Soak which i can get here. thanks so much swap partner! you did great!

SP 12, Question 4

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?
that could be a huge list if i let it but i can narrow it down to 4. first is blue moon sock yarn. i mean those are the most beautiful yarns i have seen. i think one thing that makes them seem even more wonderful is that they are elusive. no one here carries blue moon and i am dying to touch it! second is the handmaiden sea silk. i mean really...isn't that stuff just wonderful! again no one carries it around here either and i lusting after it! third is this sock yarn: watermelon self striping. omg is that not cute! and it is never available! Last is that Kauni. wow it is stunning. i love the rainbow colorway j


2) What yarn do you never want to be without? wow another hard question. instead of specific yarns i can think of categories i would always like to have around. yarn to make baby hats is a must. sock yarn would be in there for socks and baby stuff.

Two posts in one day???

The Instructions:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

What is your first name? Lindsey
What is your favorite food? fetuccini alfredo
What high school did you go to? Hillsboro High
What is your favorite color? Blue
Who is your celebrity crush? Brad Pitt
Favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper
Dream vacation? Austrailia
Favorite dessert? white cake from a box with white icing
What do you want to be when you grow up? Midwife
What do you love most in life? Family (including kitty!)
One word to describe you? funny
Your flickr name? lindyhill719
The results:




1. .lindsey.lati yellow lumi., 2. Olive Garden Fettuccine Alfredo, 3. Photos at Hillsboro High School, 4. Blue Morpho, 5. Brad Pitt 1, 6. Diet Dr Pepper Can Promotional for Indiana Jones, 7. Opera House (Sidney-Sydney-Australia), 8. White Cake, 9. Midwife by Eucharius Roblin, 10. Cat Family, 11. Funny things going on in my garden..., 12. me and the HARLOT!!!

SP #12 Question of the Week, #3

here is this week's question of the week:

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

wow that is a loaded question especially since i am suppose to be on a yarn diet. well i think my ideal stash would be contained in 2 of those standard size plastic tubs. these tubs would contain mostly yarn that i can't readily get (like nothing that i can get during an easy trip to jo-anns or walmart), sock yarn, stuff to make baby hats, other quick gift projects, and at least 2 WIPs such as a sweater or afghan. one must have stash yarn...what happens if the world collapses all around us and we need something to knit or we get 12 feet of snow and i can't get to the LYS?!?! scary! there must be stash! haha!

Finished Objects and a PARTY!!!

Ok well first things first. i have a finished object! it is a prayer shawl made the long way creating the fringe as i go! i love these! this one is for my second college roommate who lost her mother to colon cancer last december. she and i got into a fight during my senior year there at ETSU and really have not spoken since then. then about january i got a letter from her randomly and we have been doing the snail mail thing since then. it was in her last letter that she told me about her mom. i got to work on the shawl immediately. it is pink because that was her favorite color in college and i hope it still is! i hope she likes it. i am glad it is done!

so the party you ask? well the prayer shawl ministry that i started in my home congregation has turned 2 years old! i can't believe it has been 2 years since i got that going. in that 2 years we have been on tv, featured in our united methodist district newsletter, and have bless and distributed well over 200 shawls. i lost count long ago but at that point we were either near or just slightly over 200! i am so proud of our little group. there are only about 5-6 of us who knit regularly so those numbers are quite an accomplishment! to commemmorate the event i had a cake decorated and we basically sat around talking with each other and the few congregational memebers who showed up to show us some support (and to eat cake!).

on this theme i am also pleased to make a big announcement for our group. we have invited the 2 co-founders of the prayer shawl ministry to come to our church and present their workshop and they have agreed to come! i am so excited! they also have a book coming out in september and will have a book signing at the event! about the only thing we have down on paper at this point is the date: october 18th!! those of you in the nashville area please consider coming to this event! it is going to be a lot of fun! i will post more details as they start to work themselves out!

it looks like the question of the week has not been posted yet, so i will be back later in the week!

This week's question and other things.

this weeks question is: As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?

as a younger kid i relished the time not at school and also the time i would get to spend with my mom. she worked at home so we would spend the whole summer together. i also looked forward to staying up late since i didn't have to go to school the next day! i also looked forward to playing with my friends and having sleepovers. as i grew up and was in high school the main thing i looked forward to was staying up late and sleeping late! i still love those two things! i guess not much has changed!


on another note. i lost a dear friend of mine last week. she was a type 1 diabetic. she had a low blood sugar and passed out. her brother found her and did cpr. he got her breahing but she never regained contiousness. that all happened two wednesdays ago. her kidneys failed on thurday, and my friday she had developed a staph infection. she died saturday, june 7th. as her pastor put it at the funeral, "Courtney was full of life." she was a bright, loving, wonderful person. i know i will dearly miss my friend. i'll always remember you court!


on the knitting front there just isn't that much to show. i am almost done with that pink shawl and hope to post finished pics this week or weekend!

SP12 Question of the Week

In this round of Secret Pal the mistresses decided to do something fun and different. each week they will be sending us questions to post and answer on our blogs. it should be fun!

here is this weeks question: What is your favorite summertime drink?

alcoholic: hands down strawberry daiquiris

non alcoholic: diet dr. pepper with lots of ice! anytime, anywhere! i love lemonade and sweet tea but who needs all those calories wasted in a drink? i want to eat my calories! ;)

ok so i have long been looking for a website to make these cool mosaics. isnt' it awesome. i was browsing the internet today and found this site: bighugelabs.com where you can make mosaics anyway you want! so great! you all get ready there will be plenty more mosaics on the way! what a great way to show you everything i am working on in one picture instead of a bunch of pictures! ok enough about that!!

the mosaic includes recently finished objects as well as works in progress. i will describe the pics from left to right, top to bottom.

picutre 1 on the top row is a baby hat i finished. it is my variation of the umbilical cord hat from one of the stitch n'bitch books. i love the stripy pink and brown. it is for a friend of mine from nursing school who is having her first baby this year, a girl, and is doing the room in pink and brown! i think she will love it! it is caron simply soft in the soft pink and bernat satin in mocha. there are tons left over of both for more baby hats!

middle and thrid pic, top row and first pic second row are tiny socks i made as a surprise for some friends of mine. more about that later when i get them completely finished!

in the very middle are my first pair of finished socks!!!! those are the colinette jitterbug socks i have been working on. they don't fit too well so they will become a present for my mom! she said she doesn't even want to walk in them because they are so pretty! oh mom!

last pic on the second row is one the many flannel blankets that i have with a crochet edge around it in brown. the crochet is done in a crochet cotton that i bought awhile ago when i seemed to be collecting these afghan! again for the friend having the baby girl!

last row: the first pic is the finished gift for the friend of mine. i found a great pink storage box for 5 bucks at TJ Maxx a few weeks back which works jsut great to hold everything. in it is the flannel baby blanket, the cute stripey hat, a brown bear, and a cute little book about baby girls. it turned out really cute and i am pleased.

the last 2 pics are WIPs. the pink one is a shawl for a friend of mine who lost her mother in december. she loves pink! i am about 2/3rds of the way done with it!
the yellow is a progress picture of the yellow scarf. i really like this project. i jsut need to work on it more and make some more headway on it! in time!

well that was so fun! more mosaics soon!

Secret Pal Questionnaire!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

Loves: Koigu, Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Cascade 220, Caron Simply Soft, Joanns Sensations Angel Hair (i am really not too picky as long as it is soft or feltable!!)
Hates: Red Heart Super Saver, Dishcloth cotton

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

well i have multiple sets of needles such as the Denise set as well as both knit picks sets which stay in their original cases but loose circulars i store in a plastic bin/drawer. straights i store in one of those artist brush roll up fabric thingy!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

i have been knitting off and on since i was a senior in high school (8 years total). tht year in school one of the councelors started a knitting group that met during our club time. she was very popular and many people joined her group and began knitting in class. i had one of my classmates teach me and we knitted all through our senior year! it was awesome! that club still exists and now they knit things and auction the items to raise money for various charities.

i would consider my self an intermediate knitter with many things still to learn!

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

yes i do, find a link to the list on the right side of the blog -->

5. What's your favorite scent?

ocean smells and citrus and the smell of things baking in the oven

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

i am much more of a salty person (chips, crackers) but i do love those new Reeses Whips! yum! i also love fireballs, hot tamales, and gum!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

i am somewhat into scrapbooking, i don't do it as much as i would like mainly due to a lack of space. i dabble in some beading. i love to make earrings and stitch markers. i haven't gotten much past those two things yet!

i am interested in spinning and own a drop spindle. i haven't taken it out for a spin (haha) yet! i think i will love it but i just can't have another hobby right now! one day when i have more space i will get a wheel! give me time! ;)

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

i love whatever is popular at the time. i listen to lots of pop, very little rap, love country (i live in nashville ;) ), some christian. i hate jazz and blues! yes, my computer can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

Favorites: blues, greens, purples, pinks, brown, greys

Hates: ORANGE!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

i am a single almost 25 y/o who is trying desperately to pay off her enormous student loans by living with my parents, using the money that i would use for rent towards my student loans! i do have one cat that i absolutley adore! her name is alley!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

no to hats and ponchos. yes to scarves. i am planning a pair of those convertible type mittens this fall. i think i would love those! still functional and still cute!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

LOVE to make felted purses and other felted items! i also love to make prayer shawls. i also have a special love of making baby items even though i don't have one of my own!

13. What are you knitting right now?

on the needles right now is a prayer shawl, log cabin blanket, rib scarf, Koigu shawl

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

love handmade gifts! it is so special to receive something that someone has planned and made specifically for you!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

i prefer circulars hands down! occasionally i will want to work with straights but they must be the short ones! i love my denise set so i guess plastic but i also love my knit picks metal set. i love the pointy tips on both of those sets!

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

yes i have both! and both are well loved and used!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

well i have to admit 7 years old. i started a blanket not long after i taught myself to crochet. it is a single crochet solid color blanket and it is huge! what was i thinking???

18. What is your favorite holiday?

i love christmas because i absolutely love to give things to other people. i love planning christmas gifts, making christmas gifts, and giving christmas gifts! don't get me wrong recieving them is pretty great as well!

19. Is there anything that you collect?

things with butterflies or flamingos on them! i know it is odd but there are stories behind them both!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

i am intrigued by the lace patterns of Sivia Harding. i love the diamond fantasy shawl and even recently bought the yarn! one day soon i am going to work on that sucker! i have been dying to get my hands on some cashmere and the handmaiden sea silk.

i do not have a subscription to any magazine.

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

magic loop for socks, lace, double knitting, entralac, color work

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

i just recently completed my first sock class and i think i am hooked! what a great to go project!

my foot measurements:
- ankle bone to the floor (for the heel flap) - 3 in.
- around the ankle and it's narrowest (for the leg of the sock) 10 in.
- around the ball of the foot (usually about the same as around the ankle, for the foot part of the sock) 9.5 in.
- with the heel against a wall, the length of the foot using the tip of the longest toe as the end point (so you know how long to knit the foot of the sock) 9.5
- height from floor that the sock should go up the leg (this minus the heel flap is how long to knit the top of the sock) 6 in.

23. When is your birthday?

July 91th, yep it is during the swap time! yoohoo! i love my birthday! ;)

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

lindy719

The Middle Tennessee Sheep, Wool, and Fiber Festival

let's just say...it is not the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. not even close! but it was fun! a friend of mine called last week to let me know that the cost of one of the classes we were both looking at had been reduced from $60 to $45 plus the materials fee. so we decided to do it! so saturday morning she, i, and another friend of mine took the Dyeing Varigated Yarns class with Gail White. we had done some dyeing before with koolaid and wilton's cake dyes but never with the acid dyes. this was a great class. we each dyed 6 skeins. one thing that i really liked was that you dye the yarn in the wound cakes instead of skeins. that was new to me. so you put the wet skien down in one color...

then when that has all been absorbed you flip it into another color.

she had a little dye leftover and an extra few minutes so we were allowed to dye some of our own yarn if we brought it. i had 2 skeins of knitpicks bare in a sock weight. i did one skein in a vat of blue dye. one of the girls said it looked like smurk sphegetti. fa la lalalala la lala la...
the other skein i dyed this vibrany pink! it is to pretty. so those are the two that you will see in the pciture that are not varigated.

aren't they pretty! here are some snap shots of us during the class:

this is Learning from Chavah. she overdyed one of the varigateds. gail says anytime you don't like something overdye it blue! it turned out kinda pretty.

here i am with the smurf spaghetti yarn!
\
this is my friend veronica who went with me. she is skeining yarn with a knitty knotty!

after the class we did a little shopping in the vendors' booths. we got in the most trouble at Gail's booth (whom we took the class from). learning from chavah fell deeply in love with a merino yarn that was in it's natural color. you can see here that it is talking to her telling her that it wants to go home with her which it did minus the 6 skeins that i bought!


veronica fell in love with another of Gail's undyed wool. this time a bulky weight in the natural shade of cream. it is really pretty. she couldnt' figure out what to do with it exactly so she just bought all of it. here they are counting:


i bought a few skeins of the one that learning from chavah loved so much and i also bought this:


this is a superwash wool, bamboo, nylon blend that i am just itching to make the Diamond Fantasty Shawl out of. it is a brilliantly wonderful blue color! for now i am resistin starting it. too much stuff to get done with first!

ok here are the three of us as we are leaving our fun day at the Dickson Fiber Fest 2008:


FO next time...promise!

New Knitting Novel

(ok so i wrote this post earlier today and blogger erased it, so here it is again...the first one was better, though...sorry!)

last week while i was going through my junk email i found an email from one of our local bookstores, Davis Kidd. these are monthly emails that i almost never read, but this day i opened it. upon reading the email i saw that there was going to be a book signing by a new knitting novelist. there was to be a reading of the book followed by a book signing. sounds like fun! the new book is called The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, by Beth Pattillo.

i called up a friend of mine and we decided to go. it turns out that she is a local pastor here in town who ironically knows my pastor as they were in a group together of female pastors! the book is roughly based on a group of knitters at a local church (the church i went to preschool at) and also roughly based on a little tennessee town. it is really neat to have a local knitting novelist! there is to be a sequel due out in january 2009! here is a pic of her signing my book:

it was a lovely evening!

Sock!

only one exciting thing to report from the knitting front: one sock is complete!



but the bigger news is that it doesn't fit me. i mean it fits..i can get it on but it is stretched too much, but it fits mom! she loves it! who wouldn't? it is made from a beautiful skein of colinette jitterbug! yum! oh well. she will enjoy them although she said that she didn't think she wanted to walk on them! silly mom! i still have the other one to complete. i am decreasing on the gussett right now so i only have that, the foot, and the toe to complete. since the disappointment of the first one not fitting i am not in a huge hurry to finish that second one. this puts me in a bad place because i feel like i should be finishing that sock, so i feel gulity working on anything else. because of this i haven't worked on anything at all in 2 days. i have to finish that sock...it is making me nuts! hopefully next time...a finished PAIR of socks!

All Quiet on the Blogging Front

...because, I GRADUATED!!! Friday was the official Vanderbilt graduation. This famed event only occurs once a year, which means that even though i finished (and recieved my diploma) in August of 2007 this was the first actual graudation ceremony. i really had not planned on going but mom graduated with me so she thought it would be fun for us to walk together. i have to say we had a good time. first thing that happens is the big, entire school ceremony in which they confer the degrees, then they send the graduate and doctoral schools off to their own hooding cermonies. ours was very nice and there was a reception afterwards. i cannot believe how few people came. out of 5 of us in my speciality there were only 2 of us there. it was fun, but i am so glad it is over! here are a few pics.


Mom and I before the cermony! aren't we cute in our little outfits!


at the big university-wide graduation


my master's hood! (look how curly my hair is!)

there has been some knitting but not much noticible progress. my aunt that is here for graduation is a knitter and working on her first baby sweater. she and i went to knit at the downtown library with a group yesterday then hit 2 of the LYS. we had a great time! i think we may hit one more store tomorrow. we'll see. i want to show you all her baby sweater progress pics next time! so fun!

On the Needles

well i have startitis again! i have too many projects on the needles right now and the urge to start just one more shawl! somebody stop me! ok so here is the list:


first up are the Sock Class Socks which are coming along slower than i had hoped. our next class isn't until the 15th but i haven't even touched my second sock! why is it that the first part of the sock seemed to go so fast and this part has felt like forever?!? i don't understand!



next up is a yellow scarf. there is one of my happening kids that has been begging me for a yellow scarf so i finally started it. it is Mirasol Cotanani ( 60% Pima Cotton, 40% Merino Wool ) and feels wonderful! i am just doing a simple 3x3 rib. i really like how it is coming out!



this is a pink prayer shawl for a friend of mine from college. we were very close friends and roomed together for a year which was the downfall of our friendship. we had a falling out and stopped talking. she and i have been sending snail mail letters recently trying to piece back our friendship. in this process i found out that she lost her mother to colorectal cancer in december of 2007. they were very close so i know this is hard on her. i know how much she loves pink so i am making this for her. i can't begin to know what she has gone through these last few months.


last is another prayer shawl that i don't actaully have on the needles yet. all the yarn has been wound and is ready to go. this one i am doing with some friends. we will pass it amongst us and each knit on it a bit! lots of fun that way and i don't have to do the whole thing!

unfortunantely these are not the only things on the needles right now it is just my most recent additions. i also have 2 blankets and a shawl on the needles. urg! it kinda makes me mad at myself but i think i have knitting add because i love to switch between multiple projects! oh well! we'll see what i get finished first! i'll keep you all posted!

Life's To Do List

ok so i totally copied this from this blog! it looked like fun. i love these things!

Basically, the idea is to put all the things that you have done in bold.
Life's To Do List
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula (OMG NEVER!)
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg (seems like I should have done this in Alaska but I have no recollection of doing this)
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (usually my role)
42. Had amazing friends (had? still have!)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe (I had a backpack.. does that count?)
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers (NEVER!! Too scary for all involved!)
61. Gone scuba diving (does snorkeling count?)
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark (I kind of think I have done this…can’t confirm it)
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children. (do cats count?)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth (I have helped a human give birth, does that count?)
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach(um..no!)
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (do fish count?)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (I haven’t had one yet but I am planning on skipping them all!)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

not much new on the knitting front. i finshed the chicken yellow prayer shawl and the socks are coming along. this weeks class was the gusset and the foot. i am just now finished with one gusset and am working on the foot. not much progess to show off. hopefully soon!

Beware: Knitting Content Ahead!!

i know...finally, right? it is about time i had some knitting content to show off! before i get to that i must tell you of the Yarn Harlot's visit to Nashvegas! i can't tell you how excited i was to get a chance to see her...in person! she came a couple of years ago during a book tour but at that point i really wasn't reading her blog much and didn't make the effort to see her then. now i totally regret that but thank goodness the wonder publisist got us back on the tour for this year! yeah! so she came on a wednesday to Borders in Brentwood. i left work early and met Learning from Chavah at the McAlister's nest door for some dinner then we went over to Borders. we were there super early to make sure we got good/decent seats. the store cliamed they were expecting 200+ people! because of this they asked that we come early and buy the book and get a numbered ticket for the book signing. this ticket did not guarantee you a seat but it did guarantee that you would get your book signed. so i very sweetly asked dad to stop by early and get us the books and tickets. he very graciously did and we were tickets 31 and 32! so we sat and knitted as people gathered and chatted. then the big event...she was spotted coming it! we were all a twitter! she was in the building! right on time at 7:30 she came out! so exciting!

the podium as too high and she is much shorter than i had imagined!

she spoke for at least an hour. it was hilarious. i wish i had a great memory and could recall some of the funny things she said but i don't.

she signed all of the books of hers that i own! by the way they didn't even use the tickets! we were nearly the last people to have our books signed! arg! you will have to catch her in a city near you for yourself! so worth it! here is her recount of the event! look closely i made the blog!

The week after the Yarn Harlot's visit i started a sock class. the wonderful people of Threaded Bliss (a LYS) have agreed to host a beginning sock class just for me and 2 of the ladies from church! we have horrible schedules and they are working around our silly schedules! i am very grateful for this especially since normal classes are held on the weekends and i work every other! it is a four part class. this first class we worked on the cuff and the leg.

Leigh and Veronica at sock class!

i bought some wonderful Colinette Jitterbug in Jay. it is so pretty! we have another class on saturday and i am ready! i have 2 socks with the cuff and leg completed! ready to turn the heels, see:


i am still on my quest to destash but i am not doing a very good job of it at all! i did however make another baby cardigan out of some stash yarn! here it is:

Stats:

Pattern: Reynolds Utopia #82260, Ruffled Cardigan
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft Brites, color: Rose Violet
Needles: US 8s, 13 inch straights
Made for: I don't know yet, just wanted to make it
Timeline: it hs been about a month but i am not sure of the exact dates.

i really did not like this project. i learned a lot though which was really the point. i learned ruffles, 3 needle bind off, and some serious seaming. i am not happy at all with how the seaming came out but i am just going to deal with it. i might at some point do a similar type sweater again and take it to one of the LYS and see if they can show me more effectively how to seam! i also was unhappy with this yarn. i usually like caron simply soft but this time it has a halo like effect that i don't like. not a big fan of the color either! haha it sounds like i really hated this project, but i am really glad i did it ... i just won't be doing it again!

my UFO list has been growing lately so i am taking some time to finish some projects up. the first was that sweater! check that one off! next was getting both socks to the point to where they need to be for class on satruday! check that one off! next is finishing that yellow prayer shawl. here is the progress:

i quit working on it for a little while but am picking it up again to finish! i can't wait for this one to be off my mind and to it's recipient! hopefully i will get it to her by the time she graduates from high school next month! shouldn't be a problem!

there are more things on the UFO list but those are the only ones i am currently working on! hopefully i will get around to finishing more of them soon! i'll keep you posted!