That was HARD!!

I just cancelled my subscription to the Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club. It was tough because I love getting yummy fiber delivered every month. But, I joined eat.sleep.knit's Malabrigo Club which is starting in January and I'll only allow myself to be in one club at a time while the economy is sucking wind. Plus, although the colors are nice, and it was nice getting a different type of fiber every month, the shipments weren't always what i would have chosen for myself. I do the clubs to stretch my imagination. But, like with the Yarn Pirate's Sock Yarn Club I was finding myself less excited after the package arrived. I didn't like more than I did like.

I have high hopes for the Malabrigo Club. The info for the club said that there would be at least one "sweater" shipment and I am hoping for their new sock yarn. Maybe I will luck out and that will be the first month!

If you want to sign up, I think today is the last day! There's a link to the site in my sidebar.

Free Mitten Charts

I've been looking at awesome mittens on Ravelry and wanted to have them all. So, I decided to try my hand at charting so I COULD have them all. I used the Norwegian Mitten chart that Hello Yarn has graciously shared with the knitting community to chart them on but I plopped them into Microsoft Excel instead so that I could keep them digitally.

A few of them I charted form the mittens I saw and then I designed a couple of my own. I decided to share them with you all. Mitten yumminess deserves to be shared!

These first ones were inspired by mittens I have seen, but the planning, and charting are my own.

Tulips

Ribbons

Retro

Stars

From there, my brain went crazy and I came up with the following ones on my own (if they look like any you have seen, please let me know. They are pretty "average" geometric designs so, anything is possible)

Floral

Kitchen Wallpaper
inspired by my new wallpaper

Enjoy! I hope you like them. Link back to me if you knit any and send your friends....

Weird coincidence...

Anybody out there watching the new Show, "Life on Mars"? I've been watching it. I love anything that has to do with the 1970's because it brings back so many memories from my childhood.

Well, tonight I was watching this past Thursday's episode on my DVR and I noticed that my new Kitchen Wallpaper, is in the main character's kitchen. It's just a small piece on the back of a door that is covered with shelves, but you can see it anytime he is sitting at his kitchen table.

Let me know if you see it!

Crazy Daisy

My Cat is an oddball! LOL PEEAKABOO!!

She climbed inside this bag and then couldn't figure out how to get out of it (she's not the smartest cat in the world, apparently.

She tried to come out through the handle and got stuck. I happened to have the camera in my hand because I was taking picture for my Rhinebeck post below and couldn't resist getting a couple shots.

Rhinebeck 2008

I spent the day, yesterday, at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY with three of my best friends. We had an awesome day. The weather was perfect, the fiber was yummy, the foliage was beautiful and the day was rounded out with an awesome Ravelry Party in Red Hook.

We arrived just after 9am and beat feet over to Building A to snag some Socks that Rock Sock Yarn at The Fold. I got a Mill End in Medium Weight that I think might be "Downpour". The next two pictures show each end of the skein. Do you recognize the colorway?

The next two pictures another STR yarn in Heavy Weight (Sport) and is called Storey-time. I just couldn't resist this color!

We wandered through the rest of Building A. All of us tried our hand at a Golding Wheel (which was a religious experience, to quote Lexi). It was so smooth that if you took your feet off of the treadles, it still spun for you for quite a bit. Lexi bought a Golding drop spindle. I resisted for now since I am a wheel spinner and have not mastered the drop spindle yet. Instead I bought this Schacht Drop Spindle for 1/5-1/7 th of the price.

If I find I like to use the drop spindle I will either invest in a Golding or I will get a Lily Spindle. The Lilies are GORGEOUS! Gilbert Gonsalves hand carves them out of wood and Formica countertop! He explained that by thinning out the flower in the center and leaving it thicker at the edges you get a much smoother spin. No matter what size you buy, they are all the same price and closely match Goldings prices.

Also in Building A we found Stefania of Handspun by Stefania. She sells these awesome kits including yarn she handspun herself with Jacob Wool and Great Pyrenees Dog Hair. The mittens looked like they were knit with Angora, they were so hairy/fluffy and soft. I bought the kit below for Plaid Glitten (flip top glove/mitten). Mine is in Orange and Natural and I can't wait to knit them.

Then we found Galina Alexandrovna Khmeleva of Skaska Designs Limited where I found this awesome Wool Laceweight in a Clearance Basket for $8. It is 1080 yds/60g or 65/35 Superwash Wool/Wool. I also got 65/35 Yak/Silk Lace weight. That was $35 but WELL worth it! It is so soft and so shiny and beautiful! That is 1675 yds/100g. Her stuff is truly a treat!


I decided that since I was going to venture into the drop spindle world, it was also time to start learning how to process my own fiber. Lexi and I split the cost of a 4 pound Merino Fleece that we will divide between us. Now I will have to learn how to wash a fleece, and have a need for hand carders, so I bought my first set. They are from Strauch Fiber Equipment Co.


I also bought a 1.38 pound Shetland fleece that was already washed. I think I will start out by carding this one before I try my hand at the other raw fleece. I'm excited! I also have 4 oz of paca-vicuna that I got form another spinning friend who bought a whole fleece and wanted to split it with someone (hoping to get 4 more oz from her). So I can card that one now too.

In another building I found Silk Hankies and I have been wanting to try my hand at spinning these. I bought an orange/hot pink colored one, a brown/blue one and 2 natural ones that I will leave natural or dye myself.



Days like this are also filled with many opportunities for laughter. It seems that everyone was vying for the top spot for the person who could wear the most knit items without regard for how well they matched each other. We saw tons of people who felt they needed to wear a sweater, shawl or scarf, hat, AND fingerless mitts. LOL! We had decided early in the day that we needed to find the gaudiest knit item and we found it while buying a soda. There was an unfortunate woman who thought that it would be a good idea to knit herself a huge cardigan with different colored blocks of fun fur. EEK!

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I was thoroughly amazed at the number of February Lady Sweaters I saw on people. They were in all different sizes and colors and as long as the knitter followed the pattern, it really flattered every single one of them from the biggest person down to the smallest. The pattern is definitely a good choice, so I am glad I am in the middle of knitting it myself. If you decide to knit it, follow the pattern and trust the designer. Don't modify it so that the garter stitch extends down below your chest because you think you need to cover up more of yourself. It really looks nice when it stops above the chest. It's also not a good idea to alter it to add buttons all the way down the front. Just having the buttons on the top is the best choice. It looks fabulous! Trust me!!

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After Rhinebeck, we went over to the Ravelry Party. I think there ended up being at least 500 people there. We were 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th in line to get in, so we got one of the gift bags, but unfortunately didn't win any of the door prizes. We're convinced that our tickets were stuck to the bottom! The gift bag had all sorts of discount coupons, a "Bob" sticker, a "Got Bob?" pin and a Della Q accessory bag. The door prizes were awesome, so it's too bad none of won one of them. But, we were satisfied with the food, open bar and gift bag. The sponsors provided us with a fun night.

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There was a strange woman who sat with us and did her best to know everything about us. We spent more time laughing than talking though and I almost killed Tammy because she was laughing so hard she couldn't get a deep breath in. That was scary because at first I thought she was just kidding like all people when they say, "I can't breath" because they are laughing so hard, but she really couldn't breath! Thankfully she was able to get a deep breath and get herself back to normal breathing. As it turns out, she was just diagnosed with asthma. (dingy didn't tell us)

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It was amazing how something as simple as size is not understood to some knitters. We saw people with sweaters that were too big (meant to be worn as snug fitting) or too small for their size. We saw a woman who had knit a beautiful Arwen Sweater, but she either bought too few skeins of yarn or decided that having it end just about her waist would be a good idea. Unfortunately she was very large and it was not a flattering look on her. I took a picture but decided it would be best to leave it to your imagination (plus that would just be mean and the day was just about fun, not being mean).

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So, the day was pretty great. I haven't had a day that fun in a long time. I've definitely found the best group of friends. It's amazing that 5 women (we missed you yesterday Jenn) could be so far apart in age and have so much stuff in common and so much fun together. Mary Alice summed it up when she said that we were family. It's true. We just click....and my god we're funny together!! ;0)

Thanks gals, I had a blast!

My cute and crazy dog!

Look at these pictures. LOL 'E' was just sitting on the couch watching some TV and Lila climbed up on her and laid in the strangest position. I couldn't resist taking a picture. It just made me laugh. She has a thing about blankets. I think she thought she was hiding under it and that we couldn't see her.

Just LOOK at that face! It melts my heart!!! I love my little wiwa-woo-woo.

Two More Sock Kits

Woolgirl puts out some awesome specialty kits. Jen is so clever when it comes to picking themes. The first one I have shown is a Woodstock Kit. It is based on two 'Woodstocks'. Charles Schulz once said that he named Snoopy's little friend after the big concert in the 60's known as Woodstock. So this sock kit had a bit of both. I didn't snap pictures of everything.

The kit included a disc of music from the late 60's and a package of candy that was popular at that time. Then for the little yellow Woodstock theme, there was a pattern created by Lisa Dykstra called Woodstock Socks and a little knitting bag form a place on etsy (I lost my paper so unfortunately, I don't know which shop).

It also included a cute little Woodstock key chain.

and a Woodstock Stitch Marker from wee ones on etsy.

And finally, White Oak Studio TVyarn in a special Woodstock colorway.

The second kit is shown below. It is based on The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard Oz. This one is just in time for Halloween and soooo cute. I labeled everything in the picture below and got more pics of the individual things for this kit. I don't have a close up picture, but there is also a wee ones Stitch Marker that looks like the Witch and some black and green jelly beans.

This yarn is also White Oak Studio TVyarn. The colorway is Wicked Witch of the West.

This kit included the cutest notepads ever. One says "Don't Make me get the Flying Monkeys" and the other says "I'm Melting, I'm Melting". LOL I brought them to work and have been writing notes to myself and other people so they are slowly making their way around the office.

This picture shows an adorable bookmark (and I love to read). It's perfect because I can never find a bookmark when I need one so I have been moving this from book to book since I got the kit. The quote on it is perfect.

This is a close up of some of the other things. There is Hot Chocolate that turns orange, A Wicked Witch PEZ dispenser, a little note card in the shape of the witch and a pen that looks like a broom that says something on the other side. Since I have been writing with this in all of my meetings at work (LOL) I don't have it here at home to look at the saying right now. In the upper left corner you can see a bit of a project bag that was included. You can see it better in the top picture. The material has the witch all over it and it is shaped like a men's shaving kit bag. Very cool.

The picture below is my favorite part. I love this metal tin. I think I am going to put Ibuprofen in it and keep it in my purse.

If you ever get the chance, you should sign up for one of her future kits. I know she is doing a Peanuts Christmas kit and a Peppermint Patty themed kit. A lot of the ones in the near future are already full but if you keep an eye on her blog, you may find other opportunities in the future.

Awesome blog

I just spent about 20 minutes blog hopping...following links from one blog to another to another.....

and I happened upon this blog. You have to visit it. It's VERY clever! Definitely going into my all time favorites.

Update on my kitchen...

I picked out the paint for the Kitchen. I decided on a lime green that matches the wallpaper for the other three walls, white for the trim (the cupboards that will be turned into shelves and the door and window frames) and TURQUOISE for inside the shelves and the ceiling. I hope it looks as good as I imagine it will. I also bought a really cool ceiling fan to replace the VERY dusty piece of crap I have now It's Black and silver and will match the black and silver in the wallpaper. They had another really cool one that was all silver with 3 spotlights but they took halogen bulbs and we try to use fluorescent only to save money and to leave a smaller carbon footprint. So, I settled on the black and silver one. It'll take 2 60w candelabra base bulbs which come in fluorescent which only use 13w of energy to burn (and they last at least 2 years).

Do you know anybody who is interested in buying a diner style table and two sparkly red dinner type chairs? My 'old' kitchen is/was red.

I also bought the purple paint for one of the kids' bedroom and a new ceiling fan for it too. Back when they were little, one of them tossed a stuffed animal across the room to hit the other one and it hit the fan instead. It has been unbalanced every since and is very noisy. No matter what I have tried, I have never been able to balance it, so for $20 I bought another one. Nice and cheap!

Cool Mittens (soooo me!)

I love these mittens. They're from Patternworks. I have a mitten kit for semi-felted mittens from Morehouse Farms. I think I'll add this fringe on with a crochet hook before felting.

Satan in da' hood????

We were sitting around the table tonight having a conversation about ancestors. 'M' said, "Did you know we're related to Adam and Eve?" Which brought us to the topic of Noah and his ark and then 'M' said, "I don't believe in Satan, he doesn't exist." So, 'A' says, "yeah he exists. His name is Ludacris."

LMFAO!!! (this is obviously not funny to you if you have no idea who Ludacris is but I thought it was hilarious!!)

A bit addicted??

So, I have this little problem....

I lived outside of Atlanta for 3 years back in 1993. While there, I enjoyed many southern foods and miss things to this day like Fried Okra with Hot Sauce, Red Velvet Cake and many many other things.

One of these many, many other things is Luzianne Decaf Iced Tea. I LOVED the stuff and went many years without it and missed it terribly. One day, a couple of years ago, I was talking to a group of close 'internet' turned 'real-life' friends of mine about how much I loved this stuff, and ever since, two of them who happen to live in the South (Texas and Georgia) have been supplying me with it.

I have a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot and need to have a full pitcher of tea on hand at all times. I have even trained my kids how to make it. BUT no one is allowed to drink it since it is so hard to come by. LOL

Well, I just ran out of tea bags again and needed to get some before I drank the rest of my last pitcher. I did an online search and found that I can buy it online at a place called The Cajun Grocer. The shipping is steep at $7 so to make it worth it, I bought three boxes. With $7 I could have bought almost two more boxes at a grocery store, though!! Too bad I can't get free shipping with a certain amount ordered like I can with my coffee. But, if I could it might turn into another situation where I buy $50 at a time in order to save $7. LOL

I've got mail!

I came home to 4 packages, a replacement debit card and a new Lowe's credit card. LOL
One package was wallpaper (a 1970's retro print) for my kitchen. (see below) I am going to do one wall and have to decide what to do with the other walls. I think green would be too much. But. it's all white now and I don't want white. I 'think' I want to paint the ceiling a 'color' and have it darker than the walls (I have high ceilings) but I am not sure what color. My house was built in 1916 so it has a lot of character. I have a pantry off of the kitchen and no cupboards. The previous owner built some cupboards that have no doors They are just a box with 4 holes in it and no doors. I have been seeing these cool looking shelves in kitchens in lieu of cupboards, so I think I want to modify these so that they are shelves instead. I'll just have to buy new dishes so they look good sitting there on exposed shelves. LOL (so what color should I do the walls, ceiling and trim?)

The next package was my new 'skeiner'. I had it hand built by the husband of a raveler named KnittinDeb . If you're interested, you can send her a message on Ravelry. I'm not going to quote the price in case they ever have to change, but it was well worth the price and I had it (freshly built for me) in about a week or so (depends on his project load. I think he is quicker at times but I was happy with the week!!) I'll try to remember to take close up pictures of it's features but you can probably see that there is a knob on one of the arms for you to turn it easily, and it is adjustable if you want to make skeins that are wound smaller than 2 skeins per turn. Also, the arm that slips over the wheel is lined with felt so it won't scratch the wheel (clever man). I love it! I really wanted this because you can take it apart VERY easily to store it flat.

The third package was from an etsy purchase I made at goodwiu . They specialize in 'recycled' goods. This is a vintage clutch that I fell in love with when I happened upon it and it was only $12! Isn't it funky?

and lastly, I finally got my Joe Cool Sock Kit from www.Woolgirl.com (the 'finally' is only because it took me so long to pay for it LOL). I'm a big Peanuts fan so I signed up for all of them that she has scheduled so far. The candy and sunglasses have already been claimed by my youngest (pictured below). The patterns look cool. I have to find out who designed them because I couldn't find it on the pattern anywhere. The yarn is from White Oak Studio. It also included note cards that look to be hand stamped, and a really cute square project bag with a drawstring and a Joe Cool keyring.

and just for laughs, I thought I would include a picture of my baby with her 'George Washington' hair. LOL Somehow they figured out how to do with while in the pool. LOL

Back to Quilting....

So, last weekend, I was looking around for decorating ideas, wallpaper, etc and happened upon some blogs that were based on quilting, sewing and other fabric crafts and I found so many fabrics that I just loved. After "link-hopping", I landed at a site called Pacific Fabrics where I bought the 11 fabric prints below. I only bought a 1/4 yd of each so it cost me less than $3 a piece. I think I might make this quilt I found on one of the blogs. There is just something about it!