Friday, March 28, 2008

It's Raining, It's Pouring

I'd rather be in bed on days like this when it's raining and thundering lightly. But I don't have that option, so I'm at work, watching it rain and lightning outside my window. I changed purses this morning too, so I forgot my camera. Just use your imagination and picture a sock just past the heel and you'll get an idea of how much knitting I did last night. It wasn't much, but I did at least work on the sock.

I'll probably work a lot on the Kiri shawl this weekend. Hopefully I can get a lot accomplished, if not finish it by then.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Knit on...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Writing, Not Knitting

Yeah, so I went on a writing streak last night. Apparently lack of sleep will really help me write more on my first novel. I've been working on this thing for a few months anyways, but I finally got a first chapter that I'm fairly happy with. Yeah, I work slow, but it's just for fun anyways.

So needless to say, I didn't get in as much knitting as I'd hoped. I hope to finish another repeat of the Kiri shawl tonight, but I'm not too confident in my ability to finish the shawl this weekend. I may surprise myself, but I'd rather surprise than dissappoint :oP

So, since I have no new pictures to show, I'll leave you with a video that DF sent me this morning. We definitely have to go to Japan now :oP



Oh, and don't forget the contest. Leave a comment through March 31 and I'll draw for a winner on April 1. If you haven't noticed, DF (aka Brian) has been leaving comments. He really wants some yarn of his own. He's been stashing at least 10 skeins of Lorna's Laces in Korea, so now he wants his own stash! :oP

Knit on...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The Shawl Grows

I finished one more repeat of chart 2 on the Kiri shawl, so it's up to 10 repeats now. Just four more to go and I can finish the edging. I'm hoping to get one repeat done at SnB at lunch today and then work on it some more this evening.

I'm lazy this morning and haven't taken any pictures, so it'll be a short post today. I'm still recovering from the sugar rush of Heather's CoCola cake, Jessi's banana nut bread, a couple of Peeps, and lots of cheese. Yeah, what diet? Shut up...

Pictures tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have an almost done Kiri to actually show you tomorrow.

Knit on...

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Stitchin' and Bitchin' at Panera

So last night, since I needed to run out to Best Buy anyways, I headed over to Panera to meet up with Renee and Kim for some stitch time. Renee and I had the wonderful idea that lace knitting in a public place is a good idea, but by some miracle, I don't think either of us ended up totally screwing up our projects. Kim was the smart one who brought a plain sock to work on, but we all had a good time anyways.

I worked some on the generic sock for Erica:I'm rather glad that this sock didn't fit me. I was comparing sock yarns this weekend and realized that Lorna's is pretty much all I want to wear on my feet. I even made my grandmother pet yarn to feel the difference between the Lorna's Laces and the ONline that I'm working with now and she could see why I've become a Lorna's snob. I just found a yarn I like and whenever it goes on sale or I have extra money lying around, I'll keep picking up more of it.

Anyways, I also finished the 8th chart 2 repeat on the Sunset Kiri:Yeah, I did put in a lifeline before I started knitting on lace while in a public place. At least my brain wasn't totally fried to remember to do that. The shawl is growing rather fast and I only have 4-5 chart 2 repeats left before I think I'll be ready to work on the edging. It's probably me being way too optimistic again, but it'd be great to finish a nice lace shawl by this weekend so that I can spend some quality time blocking it. I'll see if I can get a couple of repeats done tonight too.

Knit on...

Monday, March 24, 2008

Finished Monkeys and a New Project

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I managed to actually get in some pretty good knitting time this weekend even if we did have a big family dinner on Saturday. I finished the Monkeys:I really like how they turned out. I should have gotten someone to take pictures of them from the floor angle, but you get the basic idea anyways. They fit perfectly even though I knit them on 1.5's instead of 2's like the pattern called for. 2's would have been too loose I think.

I also started on the Kiri shawl out of the Kauni yarn:I really like how it almost looks like a sunset so far. The yarn is gorgeous with the color changes and it's really knitting up fast. Hopefully I'll be done with this soon so I can have another finished large lace project under my belt before picking up that dragon shawl again. No, I haven't forgotten it, I'm just procrastinating. I think it might make for good summer knitting when I don't want to see heavy wool.

Lastly, I'll leave you with my favorite picture from this weekend:That's my grandfather and one of the newest editions to the family, Chloe. She's just now walking and had to find the candy in my grandpa's hand.

Knit on...

Friday, March 21, 2008

Happy Good Friday

I always feel weird saying happy Good Friday since it's kind of a solemn day for Christians. Easter is the big one where everyone is happy, but Good Friday is always that time where you focus on the death. Anyways, happy Good Friday and a happy Easter to everyone out there. I'll also say happy any other holiday that hits around the Spring Equinox.

Anyways, I'm lazy and I don't have any pictures of the monkeys. I almost finished them last night, but the Seder meal went longer than I thought it would and I was just too tired when I got home to think about anything aside from sleep. I crashed and was asleep by 10, up at 5 and exercised this morning. Maybe at lunch I'll be able to get them done. Either way, I'm casting on a shawl this weekend with the Kauni yarn, so hopefully I'll be able to finish the other sock too, but if not, oh well.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Knit on...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Missed It By That Much...

Quick, someone give me the reference to that quote up there!

Anyways, my plans of getting done with the second monkey sock last night flew out the window when I ended up being super tired by the end of the day. Getting up early sucks. I know I have to just stick with it and my body will adjust, but the next week or so is still going to be rough anyways.

Here's the sock, three repeats away from the toe decrease and being finished. I should be done tonight:Yeah, forgive the poor photography. It's early in the morning and I'm still tired...

Tonight I'm going to a Jewish Seder meal that my church is putting on and I'm taking Erica with me since she has been wanting to convert to Judaism and I figure she might get a kick out of it and find it interesting. We'll see if I can stay awake through it.

Knit on...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Lack of Sleep

So the past few days, I've been dragging my butt out of bed early to exercise. So far so good, but this morning I really didn't want to get up. Probably has something to do with not going to bed until 11, even though I had started trying to go to bed at 9:45. I just sat in bed, staring at the ceiling until I finally drifted to sleep. Hopefully my body will get used to this, but I'm not stopping even if it doesn't. I got my first comments yesterday from Jane at SnB asking if I had started slimming down because she could actually notice a difference in my body. Hearing words like that always make you more motivated. I bumped up the exercise this morning from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, so we'll see how sore I am tomorrow!

Anyways, I got three pattern repeats done on Monkey number 2 last night and my goal is to be done with the sock tonight. It's rather ambitious, but seeing as I have nothing else planned except to sit on the couch and knit, it's entirely feasible. Here's the sock:And before I get to work this morning, here's a pun that came out of last night's SnB courtesy of Jessi who was on her A game.

What is a knitters hell? A: Darnation

For non knitters, darning sucks. Holes in knitting suck when they aren't supposed to be there.

Knit on...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Monkeying Around

Yep, that's what I worked on last night. I picked up the poor forgotten monkey sock and finished the first one. I almost immediately cast on for the second if it wasn't for the fact that I had determined to get my butt up early this morning and exercise before going to work. So, I went to bed at 9 and woke up at 5:30 this morning. I actually exercised, which is scary in itself, and I'm not too tired right now. I am longing for my first cup of morning tea which is brewing right now, but not needing it necessarily.

Anyways, here's a finished Monkey sock:You really can't see that much of the striping in the actual sock. That's a flash effect for you unfortunately. Here's the sock on my foot:I can't get over how good this fits. It is snug, like the jaywalkers, but fits better on my foot than the jaywalkers do. It's a really nice pattern, works up fast, and seems to be not too lacy for my liking.

Anyways, tonight is SnB, so hopefully I'll get some more monkey work in and will have a finished pair of socks this week. I really want to cast on with the Kauni yarn I picked up at the swap, but I'm forcing myself to finish a couple of projects on the needles right now. Namely both pairs of socks, which are both 50% done now.

To answer Emily's question about the miters, they have gone on stand still. I think it's going to be one of those things that I'll work on when I want a change or need to get a groove back again. They are addicting though, which is why I stopped them cold turkey in favor of the socks :oP

Knit on...

Monday, March 17, 2008

A Weekend of Knitting

So aside from going to go see 10,000 BC at the theater this weekend (it's meh. Wait until the dollar movie to see it), I knit. I knit quite a bit. First up, I finished Little Slip of a Thing:Here it is pre-felting.And post-felting. This thing shrunk like the devil. It is a tad smaller than I like a bag to be, but it's not too bad and I'm using it today. It's just not quite big enough to get all my normal purse things in plus a ball of sock yarn, but that's OK. Here's a close-up of the squares:If I had to do it all over again, I would have probably cast on a few more stitches and added another square or two in width to make it big enough to hold all my purse things and some yarn.

I also made two dishcloths from the cotton that I picked up from Ann at the yarn swap a couple of weeks ago:I have enough left to make a third one, so I'll probably work on that tonight. These are for my great-grandmother who asked for more dishcloths after I made her four for Christmas.

That's the knitting for today. Remember that if you leave a comment on my blog in the month of March, you'll be entered for the handspun contest that will be drawn on April 1!

Happy St. Patrick's Day too!

Knit on...

Friday, March 14, 2008

Take That, Lack of Knitting!

I could not go the whole weekend knowing that there was no knitting pictures on my blog for a whole week. There ya go, a freshly finished first sock completed at lunch!

Yarn is OnLine sock yarn in very primary colors. Probably wouldn't have picked out these colors myself, but heck, I'll never complain about free yarn and the chance to try something new!

Have a good weekend!

Knit on...

Um, yeah....

Guess what? Still no pictures! I didn't knit again last night! Instead, I helped Erica and Sam put together their new patio furniture and we all sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day that was yesterday. Today it's supposed to rain and storm, so I think I'll be getting in some knitting tonight.

Sorry I've been a bad knit blogger. Not too much knitting going on right now. I've been on Ravelry constantly, looking at other people's pictures of knitting, but not taking any of my own. I do promise pictures on Monday and really will have a finished sock, and I'm really hoping, a finished Little Slip of a Thing bag.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Knit something!

Knit on...

PS: Happy birthday to Maggie. She has reached 25 today and thus will not be aging anymore like me!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Killer Rabbit, Run Away, Run Away!

Yep, I just joined in the Killer Rabbit game. We'll be crocheting little fluffy bunnies of doom then sending them out to be killer rabbits, very similar to Sock Wars. For those of you who do not understand the Killer Rabbit theme:




That should help. You can either sign up on Ravelry (look for Killer Rabbit group) or look for the yahoo group of the same name. Currently it's crochet only, but sounds like they're trying to make a knit version too.

Killer rabbit, run away! Run away!

Did I Say There Would Be Knitting Content Today?

Uh, yeah. I had planned to finish up the sock I started in Florida, work on Little Slip of a Thing, and then take pictures of the progress made on each and post them up on here. Key word there is planned. Turns out that my plans rarely ever come to fruition, so as always, there was a diversion.

After dinner, when I was just about to sit down and enjoy the last four girl scout shortbread cookies I had left, I got a phone call from someone wanting to look at the blazer. So, I pick myself up and go show the blazer. Good thing I did too since he bought it. I have a check in my hands for a down payment and he's supposed to bring the rest in the form of a cashier's check from the bank so that I know the check is good sometime today if he gets the time off work. I'm just glad it sold, and for way more than the other people who never did buy it offered for it.

So after that, I went to the store to pick up food. Seriously, I think I was out of everything that I normally keep on hand at work. I had no snacks, no microwave dinners, nothing, nada. When I get down to that point, I start to raid the vending machine, which is no good for the Weight Watchering, so I needed to hit the store. I also was picking up some noodles and rice for DF to ship over there. That and instant mashed potatoes. You can never have enough of those over there!

I got home around 8 and then just was in no mood to knit after packing away the snacks and stuff to get ready to bring them to work today. So, there was a lack of knitting once again. Maybe tonight I'll get that sock done over at Erica's. I'm even at the toe decreases, so there really isn't any excuse to not finish the sock tonight.

Anyways...

Knit on...

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Weekend Catch-Up in Pictures

OK, since I forgot my camera yesterday, I'll post some pictures from the birthday party and stuff here today. Tomorrow there will be actual knitting content, I promise!Grandma at the party. Looking pretty good for 80, huh?The birthday cake.Make a wish!And a kiss from your granddaughter!

Happy birthday, Grandma (technically her birthday is tomorrow, so happy early birthday, Grandma!)

Knit on...

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Surprise!

Well, I forgot to stick the memory card reader in my purse this morning, so I do have a glaring lack of pictures today, so instead, you get a wordy recap of the weekend.

The mystery destination was Florida. I flew down on Friday after an hour delay and de-icing a plane twice and my mom picked me up at the airport. I hung out all day with her at the paper and we had lunch and watched the big bad storms start moving in from the northwest. We left in time to grab some Steak 'n Shake for dinner and then came home for the surprise.

You see, this week is my grandma's 80th birthday. She actually turns 80 on Thursday, but they were having a big party at my dad's church on Sunday, so my parents flew me in as a surprise. I walked in to find Grandma on the computer and mom introduced me as their present to her. She cried and cried and cried. I'm just glad I didn't give her a heart attack or something!

Saturday I met up with Courtney and her husband and two kids. I gave her a multi-colored baby kimono which I don't have pictures of (yeah, insert stupidity here) and gave her son the Nautie Nautilus I had made a while back. He was having entirely too much fun with the knitted squid too. After they left, Mom and I went shopping and came home empty-handed aside from some coffee for the morning (SB, I brought you Barnie's coffee that is unflavored!).

Sunday was the party and it was pretty fun. There was lots of food, cake, and people there to celebrate her birthday. I think she had a good time, but she was exhausted by the end of the day. So, Mom and I took her home and then we went out for some sale shopping at Sears. For me, two skirts and a shirt later, and for Mom, two shirts and a pair of pants later, we returned home and crashed for the rest of the evening.

Yesterday, I took my grandma and dad out to lunch before I had to fly out. I flew back home last night and realized Florida is much warmer than Kentucky this time of year (insert DUH here). I did get some knitting in too. I almost finished a plain sock out of the OnLine yarn I got for Christmas. There will be pictures tomorrow.

Anyways, that's about it. Time to get back to work. Blah.

Knit on...

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Hey, Hey, It's a Monkey!

Yep, the Monkey was the only knitting I got done yesterday, but I turned the heel and got through one pattern repeat anyways:I tried to knit on a baby sweater last night, but it was not to be. I cast on 108 stitched, then realized to double it, I needed 216 stitches. Riiiiiippppp. Then I cast on 216 stitches, knit for three rounds, straightened it out and realized, um, didn't join without twisting. Riiiiipppppp....

So, ripped is where the baby sweater stood. I might work on the baby kimono today and see if I can finish that. I'll be gone tomorrow through Monday, so there will be a lack of blogging. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Knit on...

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

We Came, We Saw, We Grabbed

Yeah, so last night was a big SnB yarn swap. It had started out with Ann and me wanting to trade wool for cotton, but it turned out to be a huge event. Want some idea of scope? Here ya go:And this was after several of us had started grabbing and trading already! It was a giant table of yarny and crafty goodness, and some of it spilled over onto another table. I came out pretty good:From left to right: Kauni in fall colorway(Jessi got the other hank of this stuff. I think we both have similar shawl ideas floating around in our heads right now), unknown sock yarns, cottons, lace weight something or another, and some crochet thread.

I was pretty happy needless to say. I also worked on the monkey socks and I'm at the heel flap. I should be turning the heel at lunch SnB today and then I'll be rolling right on down the foot.I'm still trying to debate on what yarn to take with me to ****secret destination**** on Friday too. I'm thinking about a skein of the OnLine sock yarn that DF's mom gave me for Christmas. We'll see what I'm thinking on Thursday night when I pack.

Knit on...

PS: Don't forget, leave a comment during the month of March and you'll be entered up to once per day for some insubordiknit hand-dyed, hand-spun by me yarn!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Slightly Delayed

Yeah, I meant to have this nice bloggiversary post or what not yesterday, but I was hit with the creeping crud that has been making its way around the office. I'm better today, but it just made for a day where I mostly slept and nothing else. Anyways, the blog is now 2 years old! Wow, I haven't stopped rambling about knitting, crocheting, or what not for 2 whole years now...

Anyways, there will be a little contest. If you would like to enter, just leave a comment on my blog for this month. I'll count one comment per person, per day for an entry. Then I'll randomly draw a name from a generator and you'll win some of my handspun. It is hand-dyed from Insubordiknit and I've been secretly spinning it for a little while now. I'll have pictures of it when I do a reminder about the contest.

Anyways, I did get some knitting done:Monkeys have another repeat done now. It'll have more for sure after SnB tonight.I also started Little Slip of a Thing from Knitty over the weekend.And I worked on my dragon cross stitch some more yesterday. Zabet was working on something that inspired me to pull this poor forgotten dragon out of the chest and start working on her again. She's almost done too, so I might be cross-stitching some tonight too to see if I can knock out the rest of that tail and start working some on a border.

That's it for today. More progress pictures tomorrow, and maybe some new yarn. We're having a stuff swap at SnB tonight, so that should be fun.

Knit on...