On Winners and Winning

Well, this contest was exciting for me.  We had 30 entries and “guesses”  You all were right – 17 links (not too tricksy, was it?).  With the help of a handy dandy Random Number Generator thingamabob, we have two Winners.  Elaine from Elaine-Knitting and Robyn from Knitting With Corn. Ladies, I’ll be emailing you to find out your color preferences so I can make your markers up.  Here are some examples from the shop.

 

 Thanks to everyone that entered and left me a comment. It was really nice to hear from you and meet some of you for the first time.  I’ll try to keep it interesting enough to keep you around. 

That’s the Winners for today. 

 Knitting Meetup was yesterday.  Jeanne came by and picked me up a bit early so we can head out to lunch first.  We headed over to Applebees and had a nice lunch.   I delievered her stitchmarkers and pin to her – and she was nice enough to bring her new Veronik Avery book for me to thumb through – now I want it, of course.  But I really needed to see it first.  I had read the reviews and it really sparked my interest.  Look out Amazon…..Anyway, after a quick dash into CircuitCity, we headed over to meetup.  Leslie, Elise and our newest member, Mary were there.  We really had a great time.  Even though the group was small this week – it was so nice to be able to chat with everyone. Leslie brought her new Harmony Wood needles and they are just beautiful – OH!  And I did hear back from Knitpicks about the pricing.  They said that the 3.99 price on their ad was a “misprint” and was the price on the cables only.  –   Jeanne mentioned on the ride over to lunch, something like “I’m going to crush you”.  Or maybe those were her exact words.  And someone, I’m not saying who (but who do you think?) might have picked up someone else’s sleeve and started to unknit it.   I’m not sure, it’s all kind of fuzzy from the stress of this Cobblestone Race.  Anyway, Rox is thinking of calling her “bookie” and Wanda has dubbed this a true “Smackdown”.  So I shall refer to this incident as the “Cobblestone Smackdown” from here on out.  While I believe that Jeanne has an excellent chance of winning – simply because she has the next week off from work – I am determined to win Scones.  I don’t think Jeanne realizes the Power of Scones.  And I’m hoping the weather will be nice and Jeanne will be preoccupied with playing her new favorite game of Golf with her DH.  She really should be playing a lot of golf – after all, how many DH’s encourage you to participate in their favorite hobby and support you and enjoy your company??? (distraction might work here) Plus, I’m going to totally distract her on Friday, when I take the day off from work and get to go have breakfast and yarn shop!!! (it’s possible someone could misplace her knitting in all the distracting I’m going to do….)   Smackdown’s need a plan and I’m working on mine……Perhaps we need to organize some kind of contest where you all get to pick who you think is going to win?  Hmmmmmm……

As I mentioned above – the Harmony Wood needles are lovely.  And I do think I may order a few pair of tips.  I’m glad they responded to my email.  I don’t know if anyone received a “corrected” ad after their misprint, but that is the explanation they offered to me.  The tips seem pointy yet not too terribly sharp as to split yarn.  The finish is just so smooth and feels really nice in your hands.  I plan on rewarding my weight loss accomplishments with ordering a few needle tips here and there – better than food rewards, which totally screw up the whole weightloss thing. 

It looks like another beautiful day is in the works – so me, my sleeve and the dh are probably going to head out on the motorcycle for a bit.  Enjoy your Day!

Did You Hear That?

 I think that was the sound of Jeanne saying “Bring it On”.   Seems like she’s trying to get out of making me my scones and has issued a challenge:

 Finish my Cobblestone before she finishes hers.  Then She will Bake me Scones. 

You can check out her sleeve here. (and also as a nice backdrop on my laptop for the  photo of MY sleeve)

You can look at my sleeve below:

The gauntlet has been thrown down.  I had set a personal goal for myself to finish this sweater for my husband for our 23rd Anniversary on October 20th.  I’m pretty sure I’ll make that deadline.  Infact, unless I break both my arms in a freak telephone dialing accident, I’m almost positive I’ll make that. 

Will I beat Jeanne to the Cobblestone Finish Line?

You tell me……………….

Well, what do we have here?? Sleeve Number One!  It’s been Broughten, Jeanne.   19.5 inches of sleeve, plus that itty bit above – on sleeve numba TWO.  These knit up quite fast with the incentive of Scones.  I’d like them hot, with butter please.  Mmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm – I can practically taste them.  While you’re wandering around over at Jeanne’s, make sure to take a minute and wish her the best on her new job!

And not to distract you from the contest with all this sleevery, there’s still time to enter!

Contest Countdown

Just a sampling of the markers you might win by scrolling to my last post, guessing the number of links (not too hard, lots of guesses to refer to) and submitting a comment.  Two winners to be chosen this Sunday and each will get a set of lovely stitchmarkers.   This is easy, peasy, lemon squeezies!!  Thanks to all of you guessers who’ve already commented and guessed. I really love it when I hear from you’s!  We’ve got 4 more days and lets keep ‘em coming!!

In knitting news – I’ve finished the body on Cobblestone and cast on for sleeve numba one.  I do not like the sleeves so much, but these aren’t too bad.  But the heat, it makes me not want to have this wool in my hands right now – it’s over 85 degress today.  And frankly – that’s malarky for the first week of fall.  Can you tell I’m not one of those last days of summer types of gals?  I’m perfectly satisfied with the summer weather we were so graciously given, and I’m ready to move the hell on to Fall.  Enough with the heat already.  I need to finish this sweater by mid October – this heat is not helping in the least.  If the heat continues I will be forced to cast on for yet another project just to console myself.  I’m just sayin.

Ok – this is short and sweet – I don’t want to distract you from the intense counting you must do below to enter a guess – so – all you who read but just didn’t comment – go for it!

Cascade Mountain and A Contest

Enough of the health issues – this is a knitting blog, after all……

Yep.  That is a Mountain of Cascade 220 yarn.  And, if I want to totally fess up – that’s maybe a third of the Cascade I have in my stash right now.  But this is the “active” pile.  The top three skeins of Natural are slated for use in working up the swatches for my Master Knitters Level 1 course that Jeanne and I will hopefully get started on soon.   The middle three skeins are what is left to be used for Bob’s Cobblestone Pullover - I just wound and started the third skein of 7 last night.  I’m heading into the homestretch on the bottom part of the body, before I get to start knitting the sleeves.  I hate sleeves.  Well, hate is a strong word.  I don’t like sleeves.  They are tedious, but necessary.  The bottom 7 skeins of that dark blue Cascade – that is for DS’s Wallably, which I’ll be casting on for just as soon as Cobblestone is off the needles.  See, I’m trying to be organized about my “active” knitting projects. 

What is in my “inactive” pile?  Since I know your just dying to find out………First up is the Central Park Hoodie.  Once the Wallably is well on it’s way and on schedule, I may just take a weekend and finish this up.  It really would be a quick sweater to finish, now that most of it is done.  Then of course we have the MS3 and the Shoalwater shawl.  Hemlock is sitting in the inactive pile too, but not for lack of wanting to finish it.  Just because it’s just a little tooooooo much for this fogged up brain to handle right now – sad, but true.  But it will be done this winter – I think I’ll need it to snuggle under on those hopefully cold winter days.  I always have a sock on the needles, so I don’t really count that as active or inactive – it’s just there, handy whenever I have a spare bit of time to sit and knit, but not enough time to drag out one of the bigger projects.  Right now, my sock in action is currently in the car – waiting for what, I don’t know, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. 

But there is a third catagory of knits for me.  The “I wanna make it” pile.  I don’t know where to even start with this.  First, there is the Twinnings Stole, The Bee Fields Shawl, Peacock Feathers and I’m staying away from looking around at lace just because this seems like enough to contemplate for now.  Then there is the other Ribby Cardy I want to make for myself from that beautiful Green Cascade that’s in the stash, the Minimalist Cardy from the latest IK, the Chinese Lace Pullover, a button down cardy of unknown pattern origin that I would love to have in my wardrobe, another Chevron Scarf, more socks than I can mention and I’m really thinking I need to knit another Clapotis. 

Whew!

Now, for the contest.  Send me a comment with the number of links I’ve put in this post.  It’s really not tricky at all.  If you’re a lurker, take a minute, count ‘em up, and send me a comment with your answer.  I will randomly pick two people next Sunday with the correct answer,  and you’ll both get a set of my own, handmade Stitchmarkers!  Now, come on – it’s a set of stitchmarkers, you can never have too many of them, and they’re Pretty, too!!!  If you need to see what I make, go stop by the shop – I have plenty of stitchmarker examples listed.   Feel Free to spread the word – let’s get this contest going!!!!!!!

And thanks for reading, commenting, lurking, bloglining and generally putting up with my whiny complaining the last little bit. 

It’s Tuesday All Over Again

Flippin freakin doctors.  Need a new one.  I feel like I did on Tuesday.  Why?  Because the doctor said there was nothing wrong, so I stopped taking the antibiotics.  And therefore woke up this morning feeling like I was reliving Tuesday morning. Pain, pain, pain.   Dammit.  And I really think, as I did Tuesday, before “kidney stone” was mentioned that it’s an infection.  I had a LOT of them aways back and I kinda know this feeling.  Soooo, talked to my “other” doctor and I started taking the antibiotics again and will finish them.  Will call my YOUrologist Monday and splain everything – which is probably what I should have done Tuesday.  Dammit.  Did I say Dammit yet?  Well, Dammit again. 

The upshot is, I’m really getting a good bit of rest and getting to knit quite a bit when I’m not wanting to sleep too much – which is ok.  Cobblestone is closing in on 12 inches and I’m hoping to really make some headway on it this weekend.  I dug out my Central Park Hoodie and really contemplated ripping it out – but Jeanne talked me down from the ledge.  I do have one sleeve and the hood to do.  By my #8 needles are being occupied right now by Cobblestone.  I was going to order the new Harmony Wood Needles from Knitpicks.  But – and maybe someone can explain this to me before I fire off an email to them – the email I received from them said “incredibly affordable with tips starting at 3.99″ – and for the life of me, I cannot find a single Harmony WOOD needle, circular or whatnot that has that price. And I could swear yesterday when I looked at the tips they started at 5.99 and today they are 6.99?  What is going on Knitpicks???  Why would prices almost double since September 8th????    So, if I’m missing something – if there really are “tips” out there on the Knitpicks site, please point me in their direction. 

I’ve been surprisingly good by not ordering Yarn.  I just want that duly noted.  I have, however, encouraged others in buying yarn.  This is just my way of being helpful and supportive.  It is not to be misconstrued in any way as me shopping vicariously through them or trying to get them to buy me yarn.   That’s just Crazy Talk. 

Is anyone else hooked on the show “Cash Cab“?  I mean, I really want to go to NYC and find this cab.  And play this game show.  I could so win maybe.  I mean  I know a lot of weird trivia like things.  I totally had the answers to most of the questions the other night.  And you should always go for the video bonus question.  I haven’t seen anyone lose one yet.  Honestly people.  If your lucky enough to be in the Cash Cab – and you make it to your destination – please, do the Video Bonus Question. 

I would.  And if you know where the Cash Cab hangs out?  Tell me!

This too, Shall Pass

Well, lets hope so.  I’m supposedly dealing with a Kidney Stone.  Ow.  Sorry for the delay in answering your lovely comments.  Ow.  Going to try work today.  Ha.  With strainer in Hand.  Double Ha.  Percocet?   Can’t take it during the day. 

Did I mention the Ow? 

ETA:  The tests came back Ok.  So either I passed it before the ultrasound (9 hours later) or I’ve got a mystery disease.  But, I am feeling much better and I thank you for all your get well wishes!!!

Life Lessons

This week just flew by.  There were quite a few incidences of “allergies” – so much so, that the teacher and I, ahem, were feeling the effects and hoping we didn’t come down with allergies ourselves!!!  I know the pollen counts are high, but people, allergies don’t usually cause fevers.  Ok?  Enough said. 

I would say the trickiest part of working with kids is teaching them to be kind to each other.  What a hard lesson to learn, especially when your “bestfriend” becomes friends with other kids.  Then there is the jealousy factor.  The concept of having more than just a friend or two is such a new lesson for some.  So it’s hard to bring that concept across.  The other one is, just being kind, even if you don’t exactly warm up to someone?  So hard to let them know that you don’t have to be friends with everyone, but being kind to them would be what’s expected. The old adage, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”?  I really wish a lot of kids would learn that from the get-go.   Oy, the manipulations I see, even at this age!  I forgot that stage of kid-dom.  Hopefully, most will outgrow this stage and learn how to manage their social lives.  I don’t see too much of that behavior in the adults I know, and when I run across it, there is no end to my amazement that grownups can act that way.  Luckily – I don’t run across it too much.  I really don’t have patience for being manipulated myself, and passive-agressive crap just sends me running in the other direction.   

No new photo’s of knitting – I didn’t think you’d want to see the additional 4 inches I knit of the Cobblestone while we watched “Night at the Museum” with the birthday boy lastnight.  We did have a really nice dinner – and thank you for all the Birthday wishes for him.  The oldest went back to the dorm today and I had to do my “homework” for school tomorrow – a poster about ME.  Too funny.  The weather is absolutely the best, even a bit nippy.  I can’t believe the forecast says it will be 80 degrees by the end of the week – I hope that changes! 

 Tomorrow is the start of the “Biggest Loser” at work.  I’m joining.  I need to shed some pounds – many, in fact.  And I really have already started – made subtle changes in my eating habits that I hope will become a good habit – and I’ve lost a few pounds already.  I really just want to be healthy – I’m not even going to set a “goal” number, because any weight I shed will be welcome and setting a numerical value right now would just set me up to be disappointed if I couldn’t reach it. I’m not thinking of this as a “diet” because that’s just a temporary fix and it’s never worked for me.   Better off than on, and that’s what I’m going for.  Incorporating exercise more frequently – I have been exercising, just not as regurlary as I want.  Just generally adopting better living habits – that’s my goal.   Wish me luck! I’m still figuring out how I can combine exercising with knitting…………….without getting injured!

Cobbling Along

Cobblestone Pullover – cobbling along.  This isn’t such a great representation of the color – it’s actually a little more browny than gray.  But it is working up nice. I love knitting this – it is soothing and productive at the same time.  I don’t feel guilty about watching TV when I can make something nice for someone I love.  And  I love me the Cascade 220 (220 yards!).  I’m hoping – and I think I might be able to do it now that the weather has cooled – to have it done for our anniversary in mid-october.  Probably just jinxed the hell out of myself, but I’m gonna give it a go.  I’ve been knitting on this – since it’s cooled down – and the garter rib sock – when it heated up again last week.  Bleech.  Sooooo glad the weather has taken a turn towards the fall.  I know, technically it’s still summer, but going back to school and especially having recess with the kids – it was HOT.  Hotter than the heat of 7 suns.  Honest.  I’m not exaggerating at all.  It was sooooooo hot……….ah forget it.  You know what I mean. 

For some reason, my comments aren’t coming through to my email – so if you haven’t heard from me – it’s because I keep having to sign in to wordpress to see if I have any comments.  Don’t know why – my settings are still the same.  But – thank you all for such lovely comments, the support, the sales!  I’m more grateful than you know.  And I have to say thanks for the special requests and orders – I really love that you feel comfortable enough to ask me if I can make something special for you, and I especially love working together on pins or markers – it’s just such a great feeling. 

Since school started it’s been a whorlwind – so much going on – a lot of karma at work – good stuff, but I’m always amazed at how things inevitably work out.  Even things that may have started out on a bad footing – really have a way of turning up something positive.  I believe more than ever that the universe has a way of balancing things – good, bad, whatever – it does manage to strike a balance.  I’m feeling a little exhausted – and of course my time for knitting, socializing, cleaning, laundry – well it’s all got to be sorted out and re-scheduled, but it will work out.  I’ve made time for the now weekly chiro visits – and I’m feeling a bit better.  There are sniffles going around (already!) at school and I’m hoping the achy feeling I had today is just the flare hanging on and not the ickies settling in.  Thanks for all your get well wishes – they really do help!

 My youngest turns 16 (!) on Saturday, and I really am enjoying watching him grow into the young adult.  We worry so much, as parents, did we do the right thing, what should we do next, are they going to be ok, just so much.  It’s really nice to be able to take time out from the worry and just enjoy them.  And Birthdays are the perfect time to look back at where we all were, see where we are now, and look to the furture for what we can be.  It’s always been a tradition in our family that the birthday person picks the dinner menu etc.  I love it when my family actually picks something I cook because it’s become their “favorite”.  And the favorites might change – but it’s so nice to be able to do that for them. 

Tomorrow is blessedly Friday.  A full week back at school has passed.  We had school Every Day.  Every. Day.  That’s hard.  I think we need to consider a 4 day school week.  We were wondering – who invented the “workwork” vs. the “weekend”  and why such a big difference in numbers?  I think it should be evened up a bit.  I heard a little rain might be on the way, and I intend to take advantage of being inside with more knitting time – in between laundry and cleaning, of course! (That’s just Crazy Talk, I know) 

I Shall Go On

I am heartbroken.  Mike didn’t make it to the final round of The Knitter’s Hunk contest.  Sigh.  We Mike fans tried our best, but we were outnumbered by Hugh fans.  So go cast your final vote.  Let’s hold our heads high!  Maybe we can educate all those who said “who’s MIke Rowe” in time for the next contest!

 In my saddened state, I’ve managed to further update the etsy shop and add quite a few new Shawl Pins – go take a look and let me know what you think.  I love fall, and can’t help but be preoccupied with leaf shapes this time of hear.  I think they look so nice on everything.  There are a few new prong pins too, and I’ll be adding some beaded copper and nugold pins in the coming weeks.  I’m really gearing up the stock right now, so if you don’t see something  you’re looking for – just contact me and I’ll make sure I have it available for you.  It’s never too early to get ready for the Holidays!!!

I should get myself working on Cobblestone – DH is on a charity run today, and I really could get a bit done on it – as long as it stays cool in the house.  Yesterday was a scorcher and we were really missing the pool.  I’ve also added these nifty percent bar counters to the side bar, courtesy of Yarn Tomato - I found them a few weeks ago, and haven’t had time till today to figure out how to get them over there.  It really isn’t that hard – I just needed a block of time to be able to do it. 

And I just have to share two new to me Etsy finds – White Oak Studio - who I found on Ravelry in the Etsy Shops Group.   She has the neatest looking TVyarn Sock bags and some really nice looking yarns.  (I badly want that bag for myself but I’m trying to resist).  Another shop that just really caught my eye is On The Wing Jewelry - a wonderful selection of handmade jewelry in the most beautiful color combinations – go give them a look see – I don’t think you’ll be sorry.  Etsy is really chock full of wonderful artists!

Blogus Interruptus

You girls (and guys?) Rock!!!!  Now, there are a few more rounds of THE KNITTER’s HUNK to be votin on, so get thee over to HandEyeCrafts toot sweet!!!!!!!  It’s Mike vs. Hugh and Johnny vs. Alan.  Admirable foes, but alas I am dedicated to my quest.  Help me, Help MIKE.  Now I know he’s up against a worthy Man, but you can’t just turn your head on the Dirty.  And If you don’t know who Mike Rowe is, please, for the love of all that IS Dirty – do some research first!!!!  Don’t just cast your vote uninformed.

I thank you.  Mike would thank you if he knew – I’m sure of it.

 I just did a HUGE shop update on my stitchmarker inventory.  HUGE.  Did I say it was Huge???  Quite a selection – Genuine Semi-precious stones and Glass – go take a peek!