I want, I want...

Seriously, did you see Lolly's sweater? GORGEOUS! Beautiful! She did a fab job! Makes me want to get that book! I really, really want to knit a sweater, but I want to lose weight first (that way I can knit a smaller size :)

Maybe I should just find a really cute baby sweater. I have two friends with little babies right now, so that's what I'll have to do! Anybody have any pattern suggestions?

My 1st Secret Pal 9 Gift!

My secret pal has been fabulous so far, e-mailing me a lot, sending me postcards from all of her travels, and this weekend, I got a package from her with the (literally) yummiest stuff you have ever seen... Yummy thing #1 - Brittany knitting needles, in a size that I desperately needed!
Yummy thing #2 - REAL Vermont maple syrup!
Yummy thing #3 - Not pictured because me and my boy ate it too fast - a GIANT bar of Ghiradelli Chocolate with citrus - YUMMY!!
Yummy thing #4 - a Glow in the dark sheep - it's so cute! I tried to take a photo of it glowing, but it didn't turn out very well!
Yummy thing #5 - Super cute notepad with a hologram-type cover - I'm using that notepad for my grocery list now!
Yummy thing #6 - Burt's Bees soft hands kit - LOVE IT!
Yummy thing #7 - A CD of some of her favorite tunes...I'm listening to the CD at work today, and I like it a lot!
Yummy things #8 - Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Yarn in blues/greens! I'm so excited about that because I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge into sock knitting, and this yarn is AWESOME!! So soft! I took photos last night of winding it into a ball that I'll post later because they're pretty funny.

So, thanks secret pal! I hope that you don't have to travel too much over the holidays!

I want this sweater!

I want it in black, size XL. But they only have it in red in that size. Heck, I would even be o.k. in grey. The question is, do I buy the red so I have something to look at while I MAKE MY OWN, or do I just pout?

And...

I guess I forgot to add that I'm going to be gone again for the next few days, heading home to St. Louis for family and friend time. So, no posting until I get back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Pattern

I love Berroco yarns. I don't really know why, because some of them are rather cheap and acrylic, but some of them are so soft and nice. Case in point: Pure Merino! I want it in every color. And today the Berroco Knit Bits newsletter came out with this fabulous pattern! I think I might try the scarf if I ever get my hands on that yarn!!

Fall Cleaning

So I was on a business trip last week and got back home on Wednesday. I should have gone back into the office, but instead I took Thursday and Friday off work to clean and organize my house. I got less done than I hope for during those two days and the weekend, but nice weather forced me outside for a while to help the boy-toy clean the garage and work on completing our shed in the backyard.

As part of the organizing, the yarn stash was unearthed. Here it is in it's glory on the island in my kitchen: That stash isn't as huge as I thougth it would be but it is stuff that I have things planned for. I have a little bit of everything, so I bagged it all up and put all of this into ONE rubbermaid container. Isn't that pretty?? There are definitly "mixed" yarns in some of the bags, but I tried to keep them all with the same fiber, etc. For instance, on the bottom bags, we have the soy wool bag first, then the cotton, then I'm not sure what's next, then the sock yarn, then another bag that I can't tell what it is, and then the denim yarn. The best part is, it actually all fit, and I can put a lid on it! So pretty, and it takes up a lot less space! My new rule is, no new yarn goes in until there is room, because that bucket is BURSTING at the seams with yarn!!

I entered a contest!

My SP9 hostess, Patty, challenged us to make a dish rag by Nov. 22. I did it! I made a washrag! I used peaches and cream yarn (or sugar and cream, I never remember which one I used) in my favorite color - the bright ombre! I used the pattern for Chinese Waves found here. Several glamour shots abound - the first being my new dishrag (on the left) with an old one that I made a year ago in the same yarn. I do like how the Chinese Waves pattern makes the colors pop a little more. These are close-ups of the pattern stitch on the right and wrong sides. The way the pattern works, the slip stitch side (the right side) looks like this: But I actually think I like the wrong side better. It looks like this: I think this pattern would make a nice baby blanket pattern as well, and it goes so quickly! I would say it took me a few (very interupted) hours to make this. If I didn't have knitting ADD, I bet I could have finished this in under an hour.

I'm back!

And I got to knit on my vacation! Since I'm at home, I can't post photos, but I'll get some up when I'm back on a computer with high speed access!

Thoughts on...

The weather - that photo was taken at lunchtime today with my camera-phone. It's snowing. Three days ago it was 75. I thought that only happened in St. Louis. The good part is that it's the big, fat, wet snowflakes that are so pretty. The bad part is that people in Central Iowa forget how to drive when it is starting to snow...

My secret pal - She sent me a postcard from Vermont! She was vacationing there, and it sounds like she had a great time. The photo on the postcard was a beautiful fall shot of red and orange leaves. She kind of left me a hint - that where she lives, it gets brown....wonder what that means??

Knitting - oh yes, I knit! Last night, I almost finished my fingerless mitts. I just need to finish the thumb part on the last mitt. It's just 1x1 fib for five rows, and it's only 11 stitches. I should have done it last night, but I was watching...

Grey's Anatomy - Thank goodness for that ending!! I don't want to ruin anything if you haven't seen it, but I was going to scream if Derrick saw McSteamy at the bar and walked out! I was also going to stop watching the show if McSteamy and Mer hooked up. I haven't been in love with the show this year like I was the last two years, but that episode seemed more like old times for me! Mer/Der all the way - can't wait for that steamy bathtub scene next week!

Work - I've been having some trouble with someone at work. Because I don't know who reads this blog, I'm not going to say who it is, but let's just say that today I am making a really assertive move to get the problem to stop. We'll see what happens. I'm out of the office all next week because...

Business trips - I'm heading to Salt Lake City for a business trip. I think it's going to be a fun conference. I have about half a day of sight-seeing time, so I'm going to try to hit up some yarn and bead shops while I'm out there. If anybody knows of some good ones, leave me a comment!

So that means I will not be able to post the week of Nov. 13-17. Stay tuned for an update later in November and since I'm doing a significant amount of flying, I should be able to get some knitting done!!

quotes

I was in a class yesterday, and the instructor had two quotes that really struck me, so I thought I would share them...

People often undervalue what they are, and overvalue what they're not.

It is up to you if you are going to let a moment wither you or blossom you like a flower.

I don't really know why those stood out to me so much, but I really liked them. The class I was taking was for Dale Carnegie. I took it a year ago, but never officially graduated, so I had one make-up class. It was very nice!

I HATE SWEATERS!!

I actually only hate store-bought sweaters. I love real sweaters. The ironly is that I don't have a "real" sweater for myself - no hand knitted sweater for me! I really need/want one, too, but I need to lose weight first (so I can knit a smaller size!!)

My problem comes with pilling and shaping and sizing and..ugh, just everything I have wrong with the other clothes I buy. Isn't that the freedom of knitting? That you can knit it to fit you, and not have to buy it off the rack where it fits around your chest but is far too big on your waist?

Knitting is going to have to be my freedom. I will knit myself a sweater one day. I do have the yarn and pattern for a summer sweater, I've just never knit it. Maybe this spring!