Das Boot

Y or Y not? I would think that these are more of a wtf!!!??? I'm all about knitting everything possible - but boots, in Iowa? Not even the finest of wools will keep my tootsies warm during the snow in these. I was out shopping at a local mall this weekend and found these lovelies in the clearance rack. Not really a surprise there. I started to whip out my camera, and the store associates made me put it away, so my boyfriend and I had a little covert scheming to get this photo.

Boot construction was not bad actually - but please note - the only thing that was hard on those boots was the sole! I have a feeling they would have lasted mere hours if they were seriously worm by someone. It's too bad.

a finished object

Yeah, my mind is not on knitting these days. This is my psychedelic washcloth with a heart on it! Pretty, isn't it? I think it's rather hideous in color, but when you have only peaches and cream yarn in this color that you can use, that's what you use. The pattern did get my thinking though - if I could enlarge it, it would make a really cute baby blanket. I think somewhere out there I've seen a pattern for a ducky as well. That might be cute. Photo cropped for detail - the pattern was really easy, found it in some book. It was a rather quick knit - I did it off and on while watching Thursday night TV.

green photo

Green Clasp Close Up 2
Originally uploaded by The Knitting Fool.

O.k. - I tried, but couldn't get this photo up through blogger, so I'm doing it this way. The good news is that I can upload small photos to flickr from home, and publish them to my blog at work. That means I can post from home now (or at least partially - I'll still have to publish from work!) Yay!

what a fraud!

O.k. - I admit that this is supposed to be a knitting blog. I'm a little obsessive with my new craft though, so this jewelry thing is taking over my life!

I made two bracelets last night - one is pictured and the other will be soon. Blogger is misbehaving and won't let me post another photo! The green one (coming soon) is Swarovski crystals and I LOVE IT! And the white is just a fun little bunch of teardrop beads. I am making jewelry to gift to people, and I need to find owners for both of these. I have someone in mind for both of them, but we'll see. You would think that I would keep all of this for myself, but I don't really wear jewelry. I don't know why, but I don't. That might all change soon, but who knows.

I think it's the instant gratification that gets me every time. I can make a bracelet or necklace in an hour - sometimes even less. For knitting, it takes me much longer, and there is a lot more effort to put into it.

I did knit one row on the baby blanket that I have been working on forever. Then, the three yarn balls got tangled like you wouldn't believe, so I spent an hour and a half untangling and re-rolling them. Next time, I'm going to put all three strands in one ball right away. Then I won't have this problem.

Storage Solution

Storage Solution
Originally uploaded by The Knitting Fool.

This weekend, I started the task of reorganizing my stash. Very fun. I did give some yarn to my local Goodwill store because I know I'll never use it, and I don't think enough people read my blog to justify posting it here for a swap or to sell.

Anyway, I found these Hefty Brand 2-Gallon plastic bags, and they fit a sweaters' worth of yarn in them! The photo has my camera cozy and lipstick for scale - those bags are huge!

I also sent the final package (revealing myself) to my pal in Secret Pal 7. I would like to post who it is here, but I want to wait for her to get it. I haven't received my final package from my secret pal yet, but she's been the best pal so far, so I'm sure I won't be disapointed! It's really great to see what all of the people in the exchage are getting - and it gives me lots of ideas. When SP8 starts up, I'm certainly going to join!

St. Patrick's Day

So many things to write, so little time. I do not wear green on St. Patty's Day. I'm not Irish and green looks terrible on me. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale, pale skin. So I'm at work today, having our annual St. Patty's Day breakfast, and people keep pinching me. Is there something in the employee manual that prohibits that? I wore pink today - that's my color.

So, here is a photo of the little bit of knitting that I have done recently. I made a little holder for my digital camera. Of course, you can't see the camera because I'm taking photos with it. The tube of lipstick is for scale. I have a pretty small digital camera. It took me about an hour. The pattern was easy. Cast on 15 stitches, make a stockinette rectangle long enough to cover both sides of the camera, bind off, sew the sides up, pop the camera in. Hopefully this will keep my camera's screen from getting all scratched up.

she's crafty

Oh, yes she is. As you might already know, I added another hobby this weekend: jewelry making. I swear that I'm a one-woman artist! (But just not very good!)

So, these are photos of the necklaces that I made. I already have plans to take one of them apart (the brown one.) I got these little necklace making kits on clearance at Target for $6.34 each. Then I got the tool kit for the same price. They're o.k. - I will probably never wear the pink one, but I really like the beads in it. And now that I know how to do it, I will remake the brown necklace into something a little more fun.
On Monday after work, I went to a local store that sells gemstones and bought a DVD on how to make jewelry and real tools to work with. That store is enchanting. I can't find their Web site, or I would link to it, but if I get there this weekend, I'm going to see if I can take some photos of the inside (with the owners' permission, of course.)

I did knit a little bit, but I'm saving that for another post!

why i hate dial-up

Yeah, so I know that the majority of people out there in blogland have hi-speed internet. But I live in Rural Iowa, and that is not an option for me unless I want to pay a $500 install/equipment purchase fee and $100 a month for the service.

That's why I don't have any pictures. Dial up does not allow me to post photos from home. Boo.

So, it's Sunday night, 7:25 p.m. and I'm anxiously awaiting and evening of fine television with Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. My dentist appointment on Friday went fine, and I was over-energized the whole day! I got a lot done around the house. I'm not done yet, but I'm close. My main project was a craft area to contain my hobbies. As you know, I knit, scrapbook and love photography. This weekend, I added jewelry making to that list. I like making jewelry. I think I am going to take a class in it just so I can get better, but I did make two necklaces. I'll take photos and post them this week.

i am alive...barely

I have become one of those people who promised to blog a lot, and hasn't done in in too long of a time. Bad girl. Well...where should I start? Here is what is happening in my life these days:

Another person quit at work. That makes 5 people in 5 months. Guess how many we have hired in 5 months. 0. That's not a joke. We're dying, slow, painful deaths. I cried when the last person announced they were leaving. I'm a bit stressed.

My boyfriend is on vacation this week, he's been gone since Sunday and won't be back until late on Monday. I'm scared to stay home alone. My worst nightmare is coming true - I'm turning into my mother!

I have to go to the dentist tomorrow to get 8 cavities filled. Yes, 8. The remarkable thing is that my dentist insists that I have "great" teeth. She rates them an 8 out of 10. Huh?

Since my boyfriend is out of town, I got the bright idea to clean up and clean out the house. So, I made a huge mess on Sunday cleaning out this one bedroom, and now the kitchen, dining room and living room are messes because I haven't cleaned up the terrible mess I made! I've been lazy as a dog all week!

So, that's my life these days. Working, cleaning, sleeping and eating (until tomorrow, at least.) On a knitting note, I did buy that Debbie Bliss Cashmerino for the Something Red pattern I bought. I got it for about $6.75/skein when a LYS was having a sale. I bought the "Red Wine" colorway.

In other knitting news, we have another LYS opening in Central Iowa sometime very soon. It's called Knitted Together, and it's less than 3 miles from where I work. I have a feeling I'll be spending several lunch hours there knitting.

the good, the bad, and the ugly

The good - I did start to organize my stash this weekend. I think I might have mentioned a time or two that over Christmas, I took my Grandma 4 shopping bags (not grocery bags - SHOPPING bags) full of yarn from my stash that I decided I wasn't going to use anymore. Well, since then, I have purchased more yarn, and there is more to get rid of. I do not have photos. Yet. I will be giving away/selling a lot of it. I just want it to go away!!

The bad and the ugly. Work is stressing me. I took half a day on Monday just to go home and rest after I had two allergic reactions. First reaction was on Sunday to a face mask that was supposed to make my skin nice and pretty, but instead made it red and burning. I've used it before, but this will be the last time I use it. Second reaction was to shaving cream. I used a brand new razor, brand new shaving cream, and my legs broke out like you woudn't beleive. The itch and hurt.

I did go hang with my friend last Friday. I didn't knit though. Sometimes, I'm just not in the mood. (OMG, did I just actually write that???) I will post this week with photos. I promise.