Learning new things

I'm learning a lot of new things ... some I would rather not know. Although it really hasn't been that much that's gone wrong with us trying to buy a house, but there are so many papers to collect and sign and checks to write and appointments and blah, blah, blah. This is a short sale, so at this point we've done all we can and now its up to the current mortgaging bank to approve of the sale.

Anyway, on to other learning, I am taking a class on fair isle knitting. And I'll have a new stocking to hang in my (hopefully) new house this year!!



While I was at the yarn store I picked up some of the new Harry Potter yarn, colorway "Tonks".

Updates on my Knitting Obsession ...

There's a woman I work with who knits and she has a quirk where she has to finish a project before she starts another one ... I told her fortunately for me, I don't have that problem, LOL! I do wish I did though!! If I did perhaps I wouldn't buy yarn for projects that I know I won't even start for a few months because I have too many on the needles at the moment but am afraid if I don't buy the yarn NOW I won't be able to find it again!

I am doing well on my Quidditch Sweater from Charmed Knits. I started this back in October 2007 for a knitting class. It sat and sat, but I took it to work with me one weekend (where I pretty much just have to stay awake overnight and answer the phone) and I got a lot done. Now that I see some real progress I am really motivated to finish it!



Here's another project that I started a few months ago for someone who was pregnant ... no I didn't tell them I was making it, because I know how that goes. Obviously it isn't done yet, LOL!! I think a friend of mine who has a 1 year old is going to get it instead.




And now on to my yarn buying addiction! Berroco now has Ultra Alpaca Sock yarn! So I had to get some of that. My local yarn store has a frequent buyer program where you get points if you spend over $20 ... well since this yarn is only TEN DOLLARS, which I couldn't believe, I also got some more Tofutsies.




I went to Michael's the other day to get some yarn for a sweater and while I was there I saw this glow in the dark yarn, how cool is that?!?! So I picked up a few skeins to make something for my friend's daughter. She asked her what she wanted since she is 4 years old, she figured she could decide for herself and she chose a hat. So I will be starting that soon so that she can wear it this year.



This is the yarn for the sweater. Its Patons Shetland Chunky which I used for a scarf before (and no ... the scarf is not finished, LOL) and its a nice soft yarn. They didn't have the color I was looking for, but did have this one and its nice for a wintry warm sweater.



I also picked up some Heart & Sole to try out since I haven't tried that before. I am thinking I will do two socks at once with these ones.

Where did the sun go?!?!

We saw the sun yesterday for a couple of hours, of course, this was after we got home and were inside again, LOL!! Now it seems like it will be another grey day. I went and got three pots of pansies, my favorite flower, before they were all gone. If you don't get out there and get them they dissapear quickly and since they are cold weather, Spring flowers, local places don't carry them again in the year. I am going to put them in a planter so that when it gets hot out I can move them to the shade and hopefully they will last longer.

I started The Firestarter socks yesterday ... though it was around 11PM so more like today, LOL! I had this yarn in my stash specifically for this pattern. I didn't really like the toe in the pattern, so instead I used Judy's Magic Cast On and the Standard Toe from New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Now I am going to check the length and the pattern info to make sure that this will work with the pattern. The yarn is J. Knits in colorway "Kansas".



I received my recent order from Knit Picks! I ordered More Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I also ordered another 32" US 2 needle and a 40" US 3 needle, as well as US 2 Metal DPNs. Then I got a Go Knit Pouch to carry my sock knitting around and DPN WIP tubes to hold DPNs (I always poke holes in my plastic bags when I carry those around). And lastly some Knit Picks Essentials in Pumpkin to make some mittens for a friend and some Felici in Coney Island that I think I will use for some Jaywalkers.



The Wee Tiny Sock Swap was last weekend. I finished my sock and mailed it out to Tawana. I was curious to see how self striping yarn would turn out in such a tiny sock!



This is the sock I received in the mail from Laura. She made this sock out of a lovely merino/silk blend that she hand dyed herself and sent a mini skein as well. This yarn is super soft and the color is just lovely. Check out the link above for her Etsy shop!


I updated my sock yarn stash in Ravelry yesterday, whew, but it'll be nice to be able to see it while I am looking at patterns. I often forget what I have in my stash and miss matching yarns up with patterns because of that.

Knitting Away

I am so loving that I can get knitting done at my part-time weekend job! I feel like I am not losing any "me time" while I am there, LOL!

I recently ordered some yarn from Amanda - NH Knitting Mama. The colorway is so cool, this photo really doesn't show it off, its called Wizard School and I can see why!



I finished socks for this month with only two days to spare! I like the lace pattern and love the yarn I chose, but I really don't like this toe, it comes out very pointy and I have long, thin feet, so this type of toe exaggerates that.

I am reading The Chronicles of Narnia right now in preparation for the next movie coming out. I have a "thing" where I have to read the book first, however, I have already read these stories many years ago. Its amazing how much imagination children have, I remember some things vividlty, but there's really not much of a description in the book ... so that was all me, LOL!!

I am UN-patiently waiting for the last season of Battlestar Gallactica to start next Friday! I can't fracking wait, LOL!!

Knitting Progress

My obsession / addiction with sock yarn continues to be a major life problem, LOL! My local yarn store recently stocked Flat Feet. The yarn is already knit into a flat and that is how it is used to knit socks with.



I am loving Berroco Comfort Sock. MY LYS only had 4 colors left ... two of which I already have, so I got the last of this blue toned one. I really like how my Seduction Sock are coming along and want to try other patterns with this yarn.

My Magic Lace Rib socks are coming along nicely. I hope to have these done by the end of March so I can start socks for my MIL for Mother's Day. At this point I have both heels turned and gussett stitches picked up and one gussett decrease round done on each sock.

I finished one mitten in the class last night, glad to have a completed item at the end of class. Now I can make the second one myself.

What day is it?!?!

This week flew by and now its the weekend again ... but not for long! I am working the overnight shift this weekend, which means I get next to nothing accomplished for the rest of the hours in the day that I am not working because I am sleeping ... or in a semi-conscious state.

I was debating doing it (only because of time constraints) but when I saw an article in the current issue of Knit 'N Style magazine that there was still plenty of time to sign up for Sock Wars III, I decided to give it a try ... at the very least I get a pair of socks out of it and get to try a new pattern!

I am taking a class at my LYS on Mitered Mittens. The pattern is in the Nashua Handknits Cobblestone Streets Winter 2007-2008 booklet which also featured the Cabled Earflap Hat that I took a class on recenlty. This class is only two sessions, so I hope to get my "homework" done tonight at work so I am ready for the class on Wednesday. The yarn I am using is Taos 100% Wool by Crystal Palace Yarns in color #14 Midnight Oasis. The colors are dark and hard to see in this photo, but its a variegated twist and the colors really go very well together.




These are the other things I got at my LYS ... can't help going early when I have a class to browse what's new! On Your Toes by S. R. Kertzer now makes a Bamboo/Nylon blend. There were not too many colors to choose from, I think the store only stocked a few to see how it sold. I also got another skein of Araucania Ranco because I noticed what was available has dwindled down to one bin and I wanted to grab more before it was gone. Its amazing how different colors look in the hank and then how they look when wound in a ball. I also needed another skein of Taos for the mittens and size 9 DPNs which I did not already have, so I choose to try out Comfort Zone needles (plus this size was in purple ... so I couldn't resist).



My next sock project will be with this skein of Berroco Sox. I wanted to make a pair for my MIL, she taught me how to knit and was amazed at the self striping yarns I showed her, so I wanted to make her socks for Mother's Day with some self-striping yarn.



My Magic Lace Rib Socks are coming along nicely! I have one sock on the gussett decreases and the other one started on the heel flap. I really like doing both socks at once on different needles (2 on 1 needle is too tangled up in yarn and a pain in my opinion) so that they are done about the same time.

I cast on Seduction Socks by Ann Budd for the March Sockdown on the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry. I think this color is going to look great with this pattern. To qualify for the prize drawing I have to finish the pair by April 30th.

And now I am back to getting ready for work in a few hours! At least the shift differential is good, LOL!! I don't really have a promblem staying up all night, but when I work first shift during the week, its weird to work overnight on the weekend. I only work every other, so I have one to recuperate!

The weather outside is frightful ...

Well its actually not so bad, but I thought we were done with snow for the year ... wishful thinking ... and we got about 7-9" yesterday and last night. So all the snow that just melted has returned.

I recently added to my sock yarn stash ... yeah, like that needed to be done!

1. Lang Yarns Jawoll Superwash in a dark green. I think I will use this for one of the sock patterns in "Knitting Vintage Socks" from Nancy Bush.

2. Berroco Comfort Sock - I have not used this yarn before, but it only cost $7 for a skein and it feels so soft!

3. Wildfoote in Rhapsody. I am making a pair of socks in Wildfoote at the moment and really like it, this color was really cool (hard to see in the photo) so I wanted to grab it before it dissapeared.

Here's what I've been knitting:

The above sock is knit in Panda Cotton, color "Roses" and I got it in a swap. I found this pattern on the Crystal Palace website, Menehune Socks. I think it might be because the gauge is so small (9 sts per inch) that is is taking me so long to knit these. Also I am knitting them on 1.5 Harmony Needles and I am a really tight knitter, so I think its slow going because I am concerned I will snap the wood, LOL!

These are the other socks that I am making in Wildfoote, the pattern is Magic Lace Rib by Natalie Wilson. I really like the pattern, its very pretty, but not so complicated that's its too much for TV knitting. I started the second one and hope to have them done at the same time.

This is the hat I am making for a class I am taking at my LYS. There is only one class meeting left. This yarn I also got in a swap and its working very well for this pattern. We learned how to make left and right leaning decreases on the ear flaps so that it comes out uniform. I also learned how to cast on and knit in pieces already done. I hope to be able to knit enough to get to the end or close to for the last class on Wednesday night so that it will be finished.

Cleaning up the WIPs!

Starting is good, starting is fun ... but if you keep starting, things never get DONE!!

I am determined to clean up all my WIPs fairly early this year so that later on I can work on gifts and such. I took photos of most of my WIPs ... some don't even have needles because I needed them for something else and had to put the project on stitch holders or waste yarn ... how sad is that?!?!

These are listed in no particular order, but I would like to finish them up before starting anything else! I also have a sweater I am working on for a friend's child, he will turn one mid-February. Another one not pictured here is an afghan that was the first project I started in Sept. 2006 that is also a UFO.

Project: Ted's Scarf
Recipient: For boyfriend
Yarn: Encore DK, Ultra Alpaca Light & Jo Sharp DK
Pattern: Odd Ball Knitting (book)
Notes: My boyfriend wanted a Dr. Who type scarf and I found this pattern, which uses several different colors and length stripes, but also has a stitch pattern on it, which I wanted to break up any monotony. Finishing this up would also help clean up some stash since this uses 12 kinds of yarn, LOL!




Project: Reversible Cable Scarf
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Ultra Alpaca (3 skeins)
Pattern: Cables Untangled (book)
Notes: This was originally for my boyfriend, but he preferred the one above, so I will keep this one myself (I love alpaca anyway).




Project: Peppermint Twist Socks
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Tofutsies
Pattern: Knit 'N Style Magazine
Notes: I started this sock to try socks on two circular needles. Its a fine pattern and I like the yarn, but it was put aside while I started other projects.




Project: Menehune Socks
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton
Pattern: Crystal Palace (website)
Notes: I got this yarn in a recent swap and wanted to start using it right away, so I went on to the Crystal Palace website and found a pattern.




Project: Monkey Socks
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Socks that Rock
Pattern: Cookie A.
Notes: I have had this yarn in my stash since Oct. 2007 and was looking for the perfect pattern for it - I really need to stop that otherwise I never use my sock yarn - I did see many people have used STR for Monkey socks and so that's what I am doing now!




Project: Jaywalker Socks
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Opal
Pattern: Grumperina
Notes: I jumped on the Jaywalker bandwagon once I saw someone else used this Opal stripe yarn for that pattern. I love the pattern and the yarn is nice, not sure why these went into the UFO box.




Project: Hoodie Scarf
Recipient: Mom
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky
Pattern: Knit Simple Magazine
Notes: This is a Christmas gift for my mom. I bought the yarn in December and told her it wouldn't be done by Christmas. I want to finish it up my March.




Project: Drawstring Bag
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Skacel Meditation
Pattern: Creative Knitting Magazine
Notes: This was one of the first knitting in the round projects that I started. The yarn is Meditaiton which is infused with lavendar, so its really cool to knit with.




Project: Art Yarns Socks
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Art Yarns Handpaint
Pattern: Art Yarns (comes with yarn purchase)
Notes: This yarn is just delicious. It is so soft and squishy. These are toe up socks and the pattern is provided with the yarn.




Project: Alpaca Matrix Scarf
Recipient: Self
Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca & Bernat Matrix
Pattern: Seen at LYS
Notes: I saw this scarf at my LYS and wanted to make one myself. I haven't worked on it in a while ...




I also wanted to update my Sock Yarn Stash List since I added to it recently.

1. Knit Picks Essentials - Dusk
2. Knit Picks Essentials - Pine
3. Knit Picks Essentials - Meadow Multi
4. Knit Picks Essentials - Peacock Multi
5. Knit Picks Essentials - Carbon Twist
6. Knit Picks Essentials - Volcano Twist, Black and KP Palette White (for Bucanneer Booty)
7. TV Yarn - Medium
8. TV Yarn - Bride of Frankenstein (Bellatrix)
9. Cherry Tree Hill - Maple Sugar (Fawkes)
10. Knit Picks Palette - Sky
11. Knit Picks Memories - Rocky Mountain Dusk
12. Trekking XXL
13. Berroco Sox #1476 (Marion Socks)
14. Berroco Sox #1474
15. J. Knits - Kansas (Firestarter)
16. On Your Toes
17. Wisdom Yarns - New York
18. Alpaca Socks - Fruit Salad (Purls and Lace Socks)
19. Tofutsies - #801
20. Sockotta #505
21. Regia Jacquard
22. Regia Spirit Socks that Rock - Fire on the Mountain
23. Crystal Palace Maizy - Iguana
24. Pattons Classic Wool - Harvest (Winter Socks)
25. Sunshine Yarns - Wildflower
26. Ranco Multy
27. Wildfoote - Sonatina
28. Clown - Pastel Blue/Pink/Green
29. Koigu

On the needles:

1. Socks that Rock - Monkey Socks
2. Panda Cotton - Menehune Socks
4. Jaywalkers - Opal
5. Artyarns Toe Up - Art Yarns Hand Paint
6. Peppermint Twist - Tofutsies

Falling Snowflakes

Its snowing out today ... I wasn't even sware we were supposed to get snow today! I don't bother watching the weather .. because last I heard it was supposed to snow Thursday ... um no snow Thursday and today is Sunday ...

Yesterday I went to the yarn store in the morning for the informal knitting group. I saw some of the regular ladies there and chatted about what we are currently working on, new yarn in the store, etc. I made a deal with myself that I could buy some Koigu for the Monet Twist Sock Pattern that I have and also some size 2 needles to match the set I already have. I don't really care for two socks on one needle, so I wanted another size 2 so that I can do two socks at the same time, but on different needles. They didn't have 40" in stock, but did have 32" so I just got that ... my other needle will be a little longer that's all, LOL!!

The deal is that I have to seriously go on a yarn diet. I haven't yet worked out the details of this diet! I have at least 30 skeins of sock yarn in my stash and am running out of room for it. Not to mention I could knit 2 pairs of socks each month this year and still have some left over. We are trying to save up money and pay off bills so that we can move ... hopefully this year. I cannot stand my neighbor and if I didn't hear her hacking up a lung at 3AM outside smoking or yelling at her dog all hours of the day or night for the rest of my life it would be TOO soon!! This is her being "quiet" too!

We met with a friend that we weren't able to see over the holidays for a belated celebration. We are all big Johnny Depp fans too so we usually get together to see his latest movie at the theater. Last night we saw Sweeney Todd. It was excellent as expected. I must also mention that I am a huge Tum Burton fan as well ... and he works with Johnny a lot ... if I had coffee and chocolate in the theater it would be a wet dream come true, LOL! The signing seemed weird at first (this was a play originally) but once the story started rolling along it soon became unnoticable and meshed well with the scenery and story.

Now that I am a knitter, I cannot help but notice any knitted costume accessories in any movie I watch. Johnny wore fingerless gloves (pictured above) as well as the young man, who also had a nice scarf on as well in one of the scenes. I would love to figure out the stitch patterns and make my own.

I found out a wonderfully mind easing piece of information yesterday when my friend called me to chat. He invited me to his son's first birthday party on 2/16 ... I thought his birthday was THIS coming weekened ... his sweater is not done yet. So I just found out I have 2 additional weeks to finish it up, whoo hoo! I am working on a color block sweater I found in Knit Simple magazine. I finished the back piece and started the front. Once that's complete I'll have the sleeves and then all the seaming, but it shouldn't be a problem for me to finish by the new deadline!

I found the most hilarious weekly blog post recently. Each Thursday Jessica enlightens us by finding a most ridiclulous knitting pattern and giving a most unique caption for it. Check out her blog on Thursdays for the Thursdays are for What the Hell is This? - or now for past entries - for a good laugh!!

Monday Meanderings

I took a vacation day today so that I could attend a workshop at my LYS on Continental knitting. It went very well. It was a two hour workshop and I am comfortable with knitting, purling and casting off. Well comfortable in the fact that I understand it, actually being able to do it efficiently and comfortably will take some practice :o)

My boyfriend asked me if that meant that when my right arm fell off from too much knitting if then I would switch to the other way, hahahaha!!

The shop is carrying a new sock yarn, so I could not resist purchasing a skein. I always feel like I accomplished self restraint when I only buy ONE skein, LOL! It was $16 for this skein and only one is needed for a pair of socks. It is called Ranco from Araucania Yarns.



The colorways were so cool! Most of them very dark, rich colors, but those are the ones that speak to me. An instructor had knit up a sample sock in this yarn, so after seeing that then I really couldn't pass it up!

I also picked up two skeins of Lamb's Pride to make myself a scarf trying out Continental knitting. I don't want to do Continental on any projects that I already have going in case my tension is different since its a different method.


Based on the colors in my new sock yarn, I picked out these two skeins. I am going to do a simple rib scarf with different size stripes.

Here's my two recent cats are weird photos.

Why he thought he would fit in this basket I'll never know. Don't quite know what he's thinking in this one!! Did he really thing this would be a comfortable place for a nap?!?!

Here's another, what are you doing?!?! She's got her basket or a pile of freshly laundered clothing (which they love) to sit on and instead she's teetering on the space between the washer and dryer!

My Sock Yarn Stash

I've been wanting to do this for a while and figured the New Year was a good time to get motivated. I went through my yarn stash and pulled out all of the sock yarn (at least I hope there are not any skeins hiding anywhere around the house!). Here's a photo of the stash laid out. I got a new camera too, so had to try it out anyway! There are also some socks on the needles at the moment, so there's more to this. I have some patterns picked out for specific yarns, but sometimes I find later that something else will work better, so this isn't set in stone.

Here's my updated list:

1. Knit Picks Essentials - Dusk
2. Knit Picks Essentials - Pine
3. Knit Picks Essentials - Meadow Multi
4. Knit Picks Essentials - Peacock Multi
5. Knit Picks Essentials - Carbon Twist
6. Knit Picks Essentials - Volcano Twist, Black and KP Palette White (for Bucanneer Booty)
7. TV Yarn - Medium
8. TV Yarn - Bride of Frankenstein (Bellatrix)
9. Cherry Tree Hill - Maple Sugar (Fawkes)
10. Knit Picks Palette - Sky
11. Knit Picks Memories - Rocky Mountain Dusk
12. Trekking XXL
13. Berroco Sox #1476 (Marion Socks)
14. Berroco Sox #1474
15. J. Knits - Kansas (Firestarter)
16. On Your Toes
17. Wisdom Yarns - New York
18. Alpaca Socks - Fruit Salad (Purls and Lace Socks)
19. Tofutsies - #801
20. Sockotta #505
21. Regia Jacquard
22. Regia Spirit
23. Socks that Rock - Fire on the Mountain
24. Crystal Palace Maizy - Iguana
25. Pattons Classic Wool - Harvest (Winter Socks)

I have decided to hopefully motivate me to use up this stash to place it in a place where I can see it instead of in storage in a plastic container! So I found this nice basket in my storage (stuck a towel inside to keep any yarn from snagging on the wood) and placed it in my bedroom on the bureau.

Some on the needles:

1. Crystal Palace Panda Cotton - Roses
2. Opal - Jaywalkers
3. Tofutsies - Peppermint Twist
4. Pattons Classic Wool - Winter Socks

A good Saturday for me :o)

While I would love to post pictures here detailing my post, my boyfriend has my camera with him and he said its not working so well anyway so I'm not even sure it'll work when he gets home ... so I'll try and find links for the yarns I am describing :o)

I accomplished all that I wanted to today, my plan was to put air in the one tire I couldn't yesterday because of the way cars were parked at the service station I stopped at on Friday to add air to my tires, go to the yarn shop and spend my points and a gift card I received, stop at Jo Ann's with a gift card and see what I fancied, stop at CVS and pick up laundry detergent and the cat's medication, all done!

At the yarn store I sat for a while with the ladies and chatted and knitted. Then I got down and dirty shopping. I wanted to pick up sock yarn for my boyfriend's mom, she always comments on the self striping yarns and how cool they are. I saw Berroco Sox in a colorway similar to what I was looking for that I thought would suit her #1476. And of course I had to pick out a funky one for myself, so I chose #1474 (it was a real toss up between that and 1473).

Then the instructor/clerk there that I hang out with when I go there helped me pick out colors for a Faux Dr. Who Scarf for my boyfriend. I found a cool pattern in Odd Ball Knitting for "Ted's Scarf". I liked this more than any I've seen that are like Dr. Who Scarves because of the pattern stitch.

The parttern calls for Mission Falls 1824 and while I do LOVE that yarn I didn't want to spend $80 on a scarf. So instead I substituted Encore DK that I already had on hand, bought more Encore DK today along with Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light and Jo Sharp to make up enough colors.

The Plymouth Encore DK are colors: 1415, 1444, 389, 517, 999, 670, 658 (which I now realize looks a lot like 670 that I just bought, LOL) and 355. I also have two other Jo Sharp here that I might subsitute instead since 658 is so similar to another color! Jo Sharp I have Ruby #326, Tangerine #003, and Glade #908. The Ultra Alpaca Light is #4294 and 4275. Now I just have to make sure to assign letters so them so that I can follow the pattern with my substitutions!

I also picked up Knit Simple Winter 2007/08 and a sock pattern Monet's Twist Socks by Julia Sprague. Anita's Stitch Markers were pictured in this issue of Knit Simple! Check out her Etsy shop.

Now I wonder what I actually spent on the scarf, LOL!! Not counting the yarn I had at home, I spent $31 today and $25 of that was a redemption of loyalty points, so really I spent $6 ... what a bargain!! I intentionally waited until I had accumulated points to get the yarn for this scarf ... yeah let's not discuss how much I spent to accumulate points, hahaha! We knitters don't think that way!

Another cool thing that happened today was a woman stopped in and dropped off loads of old knitting magazines that she wanted to be rid of but didn't want to just throw away. So we got to go through them and take whatever we wanted. I grabbed several issues of Knit Simple and Creative Knitting from 2004 and 2005. Some of the mags were just too old, yellowed and the patterns really out of date. But I did get a few good ones with things I will actually knit in them.

Once I made all of my purchases and signed up for two classes - Continental Knitting and Seaming & Finishes, I was on my way to Jo Ann's. When I parked in the lot I looked over to get my purse and noticed I parked next to a woman who attends Stamp Club with me, LOL!! She owns a landscaping business so her business name is on the side of her SUV. As I was wondering what store she was in I hear "Angela!!!" and there she was. So we stopped for a hug and short chat. Speaking of which I better finish the challenge we had since Stamp Club is this coming Wednesday!

Off into Jo Ann's I picked up some wire and beads to make more stitch markers. I picked up letter beads to make sock stitch markers to follow Cat Bordhi's new book "New Pathways for Sock Knitters" and I also found some cool examples of stitch markers recently using alphabet beads like "WTF" "OOPS" "I -heart- KNITTING" etc. I also picked up bent nose pliers, I have a combo tool to make markers with but its difficult to bend the wire around the bottom of the loop so I think these will work better.

I finished my stitch markers for the Winter Exchange and will be mailing them out next week. Since I don't have my camera here I figured I would try scanning them and found it much easier than trying to photograph them!

And last, but definitely not least. I received my Winter Wonderland Swap package when I got home from my adventures today! Unfotunatley because I don't have a camera I cannot photo all the goodies, but I could get the yarn in my scanner, LOL!! And its was a fantastic choice, Christmasy for sure and I have been wanting to try Crystal Palace Panda Cotton, so its even cooler!

Kim also sent Seatle's Best in Hazelnut Cream (hazelnut is one of my favs!), Hot Cocoa Mix, a mug with Christmas lights pictures on in and wrapped in a knitted cozy, a knitted Christmas ball that looks like one I'd seen in a recent magazine using recycled plastic bags to fill it, an adorable cocoa mug ornament and really pretty green and red stitch markers. Thanks Kim!

Waahooo its Chilly Out There!!

It is so cold out there today. The temp is in the low 20s and it was really windy out there today. I started out this morning by going to the yarn store with the intent of getting some knitting done, seeing the ladies and maybe picking up a skein of Encore DK to make more Harry Potter Weasely Sweater Ornaments.

I went to the yarn store, met a nice lady who is also addicted to socks, did some knitting on the socks I am trying to finish, picked up the Encore DK ... and some Jo Sharp DK on clearance (who can resist something for $5 that is usually $8?!?!) and some Eucalan because I hadn't seen it in a small bottle for $5 before so they must've restocked it. I will need it once I actually finish a pair of socks and get to wear them, LOL!





And my biggest confession ... a skein of J. Knits Superwash Me Sock yarn in "Kansas" ... oh what's that you say, "What happened to your self imposed yarn diet?" oh um ... I'm so naughty!! I just couldn't resist the yellows, purples, orange ... it was just too bright and cheery on this super cold day. So yet again, I have broken my self imposed yarn diet. I guess in order to actually not buy yarn ... I must not go to the yarn store, because as I already knew, I have absolutely no will power when it comes to this fetish, I mean addiction ... oh wait, its only a "hobby" right?!?!



So after that I was good and left when I was supposed to and went to work to get some overtime hours in. Then I came home and watched a movie that I rented, that I had seen previously ... duh!! It was pretty good though, I didn't remember seeing "Bean: The Movie" which is an older one, so I rented it, because I am a big fan of Mr. Bean ... and then realized that I had in fact seen it before!

I recently read "The Mist" by Stephen King, which is a short story that a recent movie was based on. It was very good. I also read a few others in Skeleton Crew which is a collection of several of his short stories.

Yesterday at Wal-Mart I picked up "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman which is a trilogy compiled into one book and includes "The Golden Compass" which is also a movie coming out next week ... do you see a trend here?? I will always read a story or book before seeing the movie ... that is if I know before hand that something was based on a written work. Wal-Mart has some really good deals on books by the way! This book was listed on the cover as $21.99 and I got it for $12.97!

Well I am off to go knit more sweater ornaments so I can actually get them out to people for Christmas!!