I know it has been a long time since my last post. I have been going through some serious personal upheaval lately. Please bear with me while I deal with my issues. I have been doing some knitting so I thought I would share a quick update with you. I finished the first Tempted sock. I really liked the way the colors pooled. I don’t think everyone would. I will have pictures soon. I’m pretty sure that they are grey and blue. I also decided to start some socks for my Dad for Father’s Day. I’m using some Regia that I got from the Loopy Ewe. I’m using a garter rib pattern. I quickly realized that the 2 skeins that I had were not going to be enough yarn, so I emailed the Loopy Ewe to see if I could get some more. Sheri totally took care of me and the socks will be able to be finished in time for Father’s day. I LOVE the Loopy Ewe so much, it is by far the best online store I have ever dealt with and I will only buy my sock yarn from them in the future. A special thank you to all my friends and family who have been so supportive in the past couple of weeks. It means more to me than I can ever express in words. I will get through this transitional time and the future is so bright. I love you all!
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was trying to “go green”. This has been a far more challenging project than I could have ever imagined. Almost all of the products that I use for skin care/beauty have Parabens in them, which has been found in breast cancer tumors. So just trying to become Paraben free has involved much research and trips to many different stores. Some good sources of Paraben free skin care include Whole Foods (formerly Wild Oats). They care a limited amount of skin care/beauty items and I think they are all pretty much Paraben free. L’Occitaine is another wonderful line that doesn’t add a lot of extra chemicals to their products. Origins also is a great source. Just reading the labels on products has been quite the eye opener.
Onto knitting, I finished the Coffee Shop Socks. I simply can not convey how much I enjoyed knitting with the Numma Numma Baby Boo yarn. It was a joy to knit with so soft and silky. I will be ordering more when it comes back in stock at The Loopy Ewe. Here is the finished product.
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I used Wendy Knits Frog Warts pattern and knit them on my Harmony Size 0 double circulars. I really liked everything about this project.
I started my Tempted Socks. When I started out I was going to use the Bavarian Rock Star Sock Pattern. I quickly realized that this was way too complicated to be a traveling sock pattern and it just really didn’t look very good on such darkly colored socks. I started again with just a garter rib pattern and then realized that the colorwork is the star of these socks and they should be just plain. Here is the first one so far.
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Here is a close up of the colors. I still have not decided if the dark is navy or black. Too close to tell in my opinion.<a href=”http://
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They are moving along quite quickly.
I was glad Kristie won DWTS last night. I think I picked her at the very beginning to win. I don’t know who is going to take home the Idol tonight. If you’d ask me before last night’s show, I would have said David C. for sure, but the format of that show really played into David A.’s strength’s. Big ballad singers have the edge on those kinds of shows. I really don’t know who is going to win.
I have some quick photos of the boys because their fans have been clamoring for them. Here is Simon checking out my photos of the Tempted Socks.
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And Oscar being shy?
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I have a new music alert for you all. The artist’s name is Duffy and the CD is called Rockferry. We are carrying the CD at the coffeeshop and we had a free download of her video “Mercy”. I really like the CD. Our information compared her to Amy Winehouse, I don’t really agree with that, no one is as dark as Amy Winehouse. It sounds very retro, like 60’s soul. If you like female pop singers, check it out.
And finally, thank you so much for all of your kind words and deeds regarding DHC’s brother. It meant so much to both me and Carl. We are very fortunate to have such kind and thoughtful friends.
Everyone have a fun and safe race weekend.
Sorry I haven’t posted in two weeks, bad blogger. There have been a lot of things going personally and I just didn’t feel inspired. But the good news is that I have been knitting like crazy and I have some things to show you this morning. I finished Mike B.’s Earth Day Socks. He loves them and says they are very comfy. I’m waiting on him to take an excellent photo so I can share it with all of you. I quickly started on the Coffee Shop Socks. I’m using my Numma Numma Baby Boo yarn in the Spinach and Brown Rice colorway. I love this yarn sooo much! It is a blend of merino wool and Bamboo. It knits like a dream. I’m using Wendy Knits Frog Warts pattern from The Loopy Ewe. I love Wendy’s patterns, they are written clearly and are easy to understand. This has been a very fast moving pattern, here is the first completed Coffee Shop Sock.
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And I turned the heel on the second one while watching tv last night.
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Here is a close up of the yarn and the frog warts pattern.
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I have also been working on the hemp blend socks. They are not nearly as much fun to knit. I turned the heel and am working up the leg.
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You would think that with two pairs of socks currently in play that would be enough for me, but as usual, I’m already thinking about my next pair. I have some yarn I’m considering using. It is Tempted Yarn purchased from The Loopy Ewe in the Paris colorway. Here is what it looks like.
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Sorry about the crummy photo. This is very strange yarn. I originally bought it thinking it was shades of black and grey and that I could knit it up as socks I could wear to work. When it arrived, I realized it was shades of grey and navy and more like the colors of Georgetown University. Today when I took it out to photograph it, it really looked black and grey again. I can’t figure out what colors are in it, maybe it will show up more when it is knit up.
I also made the most meager attempt at starting a Perfect Sweater from Mason Dixon Knitting. I wound up a ball of the Cascade I’ve had in my stash for a year and a half. I knit a gauge swatch people! And I knit maybe 3 rows. It’s in my knitting basket, making friends with Icarus. Maybe I’m just not meant to do big projects. We’ll see.
I think the right people are in the finals of DWTS. And I think that tonight the David’s will be in the final of the Idol. I voted for David Cook last night. I have loved The Kid through the whole show, but I don’t think he has enough range in his voice. The songs all sound the same to me. I would buy an album by David Cook I think. I remember thinking that about Taylor Hicks too, yikes!! Anyways, I like David Cook to win it all.
Finally, please keep my Darling Husband Carl in your thoughts. He lost his brother Rick last night after a very long period of illness. We are relived that the suffering and pain are finally over and he is in a better place.
I hope everyone has a good week. I’ll try to be better about posting, promise.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Well last night was the big night. Stephanie Pearl McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot was here in town to give a speech to promote her latest book, “Things I Learned from Knitting … whether I wanted to or not”. Her talk was great, more intellectual than I thought it would be. She talked about how knitters have mental advantages over other people. It was both funny and fascinating. I think that I saw my friend from the comments Melissa from Banana Migraine. Melissa, I was too shy to come and talk to you, you looked like you were having a fun time with your friends. I got The Harlot to sign my book and had some pictures.
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My personal highlight was after she handed me my book she said she really liked my sweater I had on that the flames “rocked”. That was awesome! The Harlot liked my sweater!! Wow!!
Now on to my knitting, I have photos for you. I finished the first Earth Day sock for Mike B. I started on the second, but am running low on yarn. It takes a lot of yarn to make socks for a size 14 foot on size 0 needles! Here is my progress so far<a href=”http://
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I worked on the second version of the hemp socks while I waited and while The Harlot spoke. I got a lot done. It is pretty rare that I just sit for a few hours and knit without interruption. Here is a shot of where I am and I tried to get a close up of the pattern for you.
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I also have some new yarn to share with you. At the coffee shop we had “fun sock day” last week. That made me think that I would like some socks that match my uniform I have to wear. After much searching on The Loopy Ewe, I decided that Numma Numma Baby Boo in Spinach and Brown Rice was the perfect shades to match my apron and the coffee.
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I have been trying to “go green”. Mostly in my cleaning and personal care products. It is really unbelievable when you look on the back of most facial and body products how many chemicals they have in them. I’m trying to avoid products that have anything with paraben in them. It is almost impossible. I have found some things, but it has really opened my eyes. You think because companies know you put these products on your face and body that they are safe, but I’m not sure that is their first concern.
I’m gonna go downstairs and watch last night’s Idol. DHC said that David Cook was the best. Have a good week everyone!!
I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the service I got from Knit Picks regarding my broken Harmony needles! I initially emailed them to see if anything could be done when the first one broke. Then after the second one broke I decided just to send them back in to see if I could get replacements. I got my new needles on Monday one week after I sent them in. I received several emails following up. I am only going to use Knit Picks needles in the future. I will just have to plan ahead and work on being patient since I have to order them and can’t have them immediately when I want to start a new project. I am thinking about getting the Harmony interchangeable system. Does anyone have it? I’m curious to know if people like it.
I am not nearly as pleased with the lack of good customer service I received at Stitches and Scones. I went to return the needle I bought when the first Harmony snapped and was told that there are no returns or exchanges of any sort on needles. Now I kind of understand why they do this, so people won’t buy needles, run home knit like the wind, finish their project and bring them back, but seriously. There was nothing wrong with these needles, they were barely used, they could easily be resold. All I wanted was a store credit, which is all you can get their for anything. So now I am stuck with a set of Size 1 12″ Addi Turbo needle that I paid $14. for. Which is about what two of the Knit Picks needles cost by the way. There are lots of local yarn shops, I just will choose not to give Stitches and Scones my business in the future.
I have started some new socks since finishing the Easter Egg Socks. They are for my friend Mike B. He loves the flame socks I made him this winter, but wants something a little less warm for Spring and Summer. I am making him a pair of socks using Austermann Step, the yarn with Aloe and Jojoba mixed in with the fiber. It is lovely to knit with and I don’t notice the conditioners in the yarn, it just feels soft. I will post a photo when one is finished. They are in blue tones, so I’m thinking they will be called Earth Day Socks. Speaking of Earth Day, did you know that most commercial fabric softeners use beef fat to soften your clothes? Ewwww! Now I need to rethink my Downey habit.
I so enjoyed Earth Day, the weather was just incredible!! I feel like I griped so much when the weather was bad this winter, that I need to give Mother Nature some props. Love this weather we’ve been having! It is so gorgeous and fantastic!!!
I’m am getting so excited about the Yarn Harlot’s visit next Tuesday. I’m planning on going early, between 3-4 to get a place in line. I almost completely messed up tho. One of my fellow yoga teachers ask me to sub next Tuesday night for her. I initially said yes and then remembered when the date was. Turns out she wanted to go see the Harlot too! For all you non knitters that read the blog, it is going to be a big event. Barnes and Noble has no idea what is going to happen to them.
American Idol made a bad choice last night with the Andrew Lloyd Webber songs. I think that it’s between Jason and Brooke who is going home. Everyone enjoy the weather and have a great week!!
I actually have a fair amount of things to talk about today. I finished the Easter Egg socks. <a href=”http://
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They are Zen String Serendipity in the colorway Reflections. I knit them toe up using 2 circular size 0 KnitPick Harmony needles. If you like these at all, the credit goes to Angelina at Zen String. The colors are amazing.
I was working away on the hemp socks on Saturday when one of my Size 1 Harmony needles snapped in half. I was very sad, but hustled to the yarn shop and bought a replacement size 1. Then when working on the heel flap I realized I had made a horrible error and would have to tear the entire heel out and start over. So as I was picking my stitches back up and starting to knit again, my other set of Harmony’s broke off right at the join to the cable. I’ve sent both pair back to KnitPicks. I’ve never had a problem with my size 0’s so I can’t imagine why both sets of 1’s would break like that. In frustration, I ripped the entire Hemp sock out, rewound the yarn and started again on metal size 0 needles.
I’m not very excited about tonight’s Idol. Mariah Carey? Really? At best, it will just be awright for me Dawg. I was very, very surprised about Michael Johns last week. He has never been one of my favorites, but I didn’t think he’d get voted off before Kristie Lee Cook.
I am very excited about going to see the Yarn Harlot next week. Her blogs about her book tour are highlariously entertaining as always.
Simon is having a bad day today. He was hiding in the closet when I got home and is very skittish today. Somedays are like that, but not very often so that is good.
Yes, I’ll admit it. I have a serious clutter problem. I’m messy and I tend to just pile things up. But I’ve been reading “It’s All Too Much” by Peter Walsh. As much as I read anything. Well, this past weekend I threw out 5 large garbage bags full of junk. Expired medicines, old food, phone books, stuff I was never going to use again. I still have to tackle my closet, it completely overwhelms me, and my office. I have so many past issues of magazines they fill up a couple of bookshelves. I think I may talk to Half Price Books and see if they will take them. The thing is I never read them so they are just taking up space.
On the knitting front, not much to report. I’m still working on the second of the Easter Egg sock and not working on the hemp sock at all. I did go through some of my knitting stuff in my clutter clearing. I found sock yarn I completely forgot I had. Oops! I guess I’m okay for awhile. I also really need to update my Ravelry page. It is woefully behind. I would love to work on it, but when I have free time, I feel like I want to knit, not be on the computer.
I thought that last night’s Idol was pretty boring. No one person really stood out for me. It might be Carly Smithson that gets voted off. She should really have invested in some long sleeved tops. That might have saved her for a few more weeks.
Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. Darling Husband Carl and I have been married for 8 years and together for 20. Needless to say, time goes very quickly. Happy Anniversary Darling!
- Lately my fancy iPhone’s battery has been running down at a somewhat alarming rate. I don’t use it A LOT, I think I maybe use it an average amount. But the battery has been running down completely every day. So today I made a trip to my local Apple Store to talk to them about it. They were actually nice (shocking)!!! I was afraid I would have to send my phone into Apple to have it fixed and potentially be without a phone for weeks. I don’t think I could handle that. But it turns out that I have to give them my phone for a couple of days for them to check how fast the battery is going down. If it is 50% faster than it should be, boom, they just give me a new phone. My fancy Apple Club card did help make the process go smoother, maybe I am getting my $100 worth out of that thing. I just hope that if (when) we have to switch phones all of my photos and info can be transfered easily.
- Not too much new on the knitting front, still working on Easter Egg sock two and haven’t worked on the hemp socks at all. Been thinking about some new projects tho, I’m starting to get a case of startitis.
- I was totally okay with Ramiele getting voted off Idol last night. Now Kristie Lee Cook really needs to go.
- So it seems like I’ve become a once a week poster. Sorry about that, I don’t really know what happens to all my time. I have been knitting a lot lately, I finished the first Easter Egg sock, on Easter Sunday no less. I decided to go with a picot edging, very girly.
“>I’ve started the second but haven’t gotten very far. And I started the hemp socks. I’m using a 2.25mm needle (Size 1). The pattern I chose was Wendyknits Double Eyelet Pattern which is a free download on the Loopy Ewe website. I am liking them so far, I figured I can actually wear these to work and hopefully when I wash them they will soften up and not be scratchy.
“>Sorry, I realize it’s very hard to see the pattern on the solid black yarn. Maybe if we get a superbright sunny day it will work. But that is not today, very rainy and cloudy.
- Simon continues to improve, thanks for all of your words of support. It is slow going, he is still very afraid of any noises that come from the kitchen. But he is showing signs of his playful nature and that makes me so happy I can’t even describe it.
- The Yarn Harlot is coming to the Barnes and Noble in Carmel on April 29th. If you don’t know who Stephanie Pearl McPhee is, click her link on the side of my page and check her blog out. She is one of the funniest writers I’ve ever read and she is pretty much a rock star of the online knitting world. It is a really big deal that she is coming to talk and sign her new book and if you don’t have plans, I seriously suggest you attend.
- I finally found some (old) new music. Brendan Benson is a member of The Raconteurs with Jack White, but he is also a solo performer. His CD “The Alternative to Love” is amazing and the song “I don’t know what I’m looking for” is featured in the new iPod Touch ad. Check him out, I dig it a lot.
- Not surprised by Chekeze getting voted off of the Idol. My favorites to win the whole thing are the David’s and Brooke White. David Cook is just impressing me more and more every week. He could be this season’s Daughtrey.
- Happy Thursday Everyone! p.s. Simon is up on the desk helping me blog. That makes me smile!!
Filed under: Pets
Just wanted to give you a quick update. Simon is doing much better every day. He is still extremely skittish and will run and hide when he hears a noise he doesn’t like, but he is now coming downstairs and playing with his toys some. Oscar is so excited and wants him to be well right away, so they can resume their Cat Wrestling Federation, but Simon isn’t quite ready for that yet. We are trying to keep Oscar entertained so he will let Simon be until he’s ready to play again.
