Wednesday, May 31, 2006

One less project to do

Well I got my tote for the Tote Exchange done tonite. All I lack is felting it. It's going to look fabulous. Of course I'll take before and after photo's to post. The most tedious part for me is the seemingly 300 mile long I-cord. I just hate making those but they sure make great handles on bags.

Now that I'm done until August on "mandatory" projects for swaps and other people I can actually make something for myself for once! Oh boy! What to make, what to make?? Hmmmm, there are just too many choices. I'm kinda thinking socks. On the other hand, I'm kinda thinking about a couple of cute summer tank patterns I've got. I'll have to do some thinking. I've got yarn for either.

I've had some good email exchanges with the person who I have for a pal in the SP8. She is a nice person and I've enjoyed getting to know her alot. She is my daughter's age but I find that we have plenty to talk about and share. Good match up Ms. Hostess.....thumbs up!

Monday, May 22, 2006

Take me out to the ball game

And so it begins......

Summer days of sweat, sunburn and many many thankless hours spend riding a chair behind a chain link fence watching teen age boys sweat. Oh joy. But seriously though, it is not as bad as it could be, and it is not near as bad as it has been in years past. This year, finally, both boys are in the majors and back on the same team. Thank goodness. That means only half as much time is spent at the ball field as we did last year on a weekly basis. PLUS, we have graduated to the big field and it has blessed SHADE!!! Well, most of it does.....part of the time......depending upon what time your game begins. So, like I say, it could be worse. It is nice to see the moms again. The boys have been playing with basically the same group of kids for the past 4 years so we have all gotten to more or less know each other and can at least have basic conversations out there. Me, I knit. Duh. Connie usually keeps score and Annette talks a blue streak. Good times.

In knitty news, I've contacted my secret pal but I haven't heard back from her yet. I'm good with that though because I know how it is to be busy and offline. I don't know who my pal is yet and am curious to find out. I'm dragging feet on my tote project. No reason really other than I've just not been able to finish this other little thing I've been working on....I had to frog it and start over and that set me back. I'll most likely be able to start it tomorrow so I figure once I start it won't take me too awful long to finish. I do have a good while though, so that is a plus. I'm taking a break from the dish cloths for a while.

On the health front, my doc is fiddling with my meds. I'm not quite feeling right and we think its most likely hormonal since this is a new situation. The patches just aren't sticking well enough so we have to go to pills. Great. That's all I need is another pill everyday but hey, if it works and makes me not feel better I'll take it. The way I feel right now is definately not acceptable. He also gave me some Lunesta so maybe I can get some good sleep. That would be nice. It has been a long, LONG time since I have really been rested. I may be a new woman with a whole new outlook and lease on life if my hormones and sleep get ironed out. I'm not sure what it would feel like NOT to be tired all the time.

Thats it for now. I've got a ton of email to catch up on. When the sun goes down a bit, I've got to mow and work some on some weeds I spied growing in my memory garden. More like crabgrass I think than weeds. Drat.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

SP8 has begun!

Well we're off! Another SP session has started. I'm always curious to see what type of thing my pal sends. To me it is a direct reflection upon their own personality. The reason I say the is because when I pick out a gift for someone, it is usually always something that I myself would love to keep. In fact, I have to admit that I'm guilty of having to buy somethings twice because after getting the yarn home, it just wouldn't leave my stash. It simply refused.

Now, here is a tip for my SP. To make things easier for you, it would be absolutely just peachy keen with me if you wanted to wait and just to one mailing of a large package. With the price of postage now days, mailing 2 or 3 boxes over a 4 month period of time is just nuts and would really add up! No sense in that whatsoever! Just let me know that's what your'e gonna do if that's the case and I won't worry ok?

Let's see........other knitting news. I'm totally doing nothing right now except working on the tote exchage project. I think I have enough yarn spun and dyed to complete the pattern I selected. If not, then I'll just have to go back and spin up some more. It took me a bit to figure out what to make for her because she has unique likes/dislikes. I hope I hit the mark for her. She'll have a bag that is totally handmade from sheep to tote when all is said and done.

Thats about it I suppose. Still trying to heal up. Still sore and don't feel too groovy yet. Sneezing and hard coughing aren't fun which kinda is bad because I think I'm either coming down with a head cold or sinus from all the stuff blooming. Great.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

SP 8 QUESTIONAIRE

I very nearly forgot that I had to fill out a new questionaire for my SP8 person. I would have if I hadn't gone to read my assigned pal's blog! Anyway, here you go...

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like soft yarns. I tend to lean towards natural fibers but I have to say that there are some real nice synthetic blends out there too. I am definatly NOT a fan of stuff like Red Heart etc. I like an acrylic/wool or a cotton wool blend. I am really wanting to try some hemp. I love pure wool for felting.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I don't have a regular needle holder. I just stick mine in a favorite Raku vase that I have.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

Somewhere between beginner and intermediate. I've been knitting for a little over a year now and I have a pretty good grasp of most things but some stuff still escapes me.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Oh yes indeed I sure do! I am a bookworm from WAYYYY back. If you are interested I'll let you know what it is privately.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I like to scent my home with either Mulberry or Tea Rose (similar to the Yankee Rose scent) and for my personal scent I like to use lavender in lotion and bath products.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I like Dove chocolates.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I am a spinner. I spin mostly on a wheel now days but learned to spin with a spindle so I like to collect different interesting spindles. I am also a soapmaker by trade, so that I suppose is another type of "craft". I make all kinds of bath and body products.


8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

My music tastes are very eclectic. I like anything from Faith Hill and Tim McGraw to Norah Jones, and Josh Grobin and Celine Dion to Jamie Foxx and the Eagles.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

I am not a pastel person at all. I like rich saturated colors. I like the jewel tones. Reds, blues, teals, purples, greens, topaz, maroon, deep pinks etc.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Married, 2 teenage boys at home, 1 cat, 1 golden retriever, 2 boston terriers.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Scarves, yes! Hats, sometimes..I am a Pink Hatter so pink is good! Ponchos....NO! Shawls, YES! Mittens, maybe if I had some.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Probably things to felt like bags.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Right now I am between projects because I am working on spinning up some yarn for an upcoming project. I recently finished a baby blanket.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Heck yeah!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

For most things I like circulars. As far as what they are made of, I really have a love affair going on with my Addi's but I also love my Bamboo's. I guess it just depends what the yarn is made of because sometimes bamboo is just to "grabby" for some yarns.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes

17. How did you learn to knit?

Friends and the internet and books.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

I don't have any of those. I am a very monogomous knitter and 99.9 percent of the time finish something before I start something else.

19. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas.

20. Is there anything that you collect?

Boston Terrier stuff, anything old that relates to soap like labels or tins, spindles

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

There is a new book called "Big Girl Knits" that I really want. I'm also dying to find the Elizabeth Zimmerman book that has got the Pi are Squared pattern in it. I can't remember which one of her books it is though. I'd LOVE to have enough hemp yarn to make something besides a scarf out of.....I hear it wears like iron and only gets better with age so I'm dying to make a top out of it. I subscribe to Interweave Knits and Spin-Off

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I'm going to practice two handed Fair Isle knitting one day soon. I have the instructions and a pattern and it dosen't look all that hard to do.

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Well, I have some beautiful sock yarn in my stash and I even have the needles and the Two Needle pattern book but I have never really sat down and taken the time to actually taken the time to go more than a few inches on a sock. I WANT to be a sock knitter because that is one reason I wanted to learn to knit......I am a total sock junkie! If I could knit nothing but socks I would be blissfully happy. I wear a size 9 shoe so that equals a 10 inch foot.

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

March 11th.