In my imagination...

goals for weekend:

1. make berry pie (blackberry?)
2. do oodles of yoga to counteract pie.
3. eat oodles of pie to counteract yoga.
3. make progress on quattro bag.
4. finish ribbon shawl.
5. finish bookmark.
6. organize beads.
7. wash car.
8. laundry/dishes/vacuum, etc.
9. eat more pie.
10. do more yoga.
11. rinse, repeat.
12. finish a few chapters in sherlock holmes and start Anna Karenina.
13. find sugardaddy to take me to opera.
14. revise list to reality.

Off to eat Indian yumminess and watch a video while working on shawl.

--
secretpal: Wasn't ignoring you. busy week. I don't know much about 'recycled yarn.' I'm new enough that I kinda need gauge/fibercontent/washing instructions, and enjoy something somewhat resembling a 'new yarn' smell. Not destroying the world to create new while the old languishes is a good thing, I agree. (straddling the fence, I know. Guess my answer is: it depends!)

working on it

I have a job!

Take that for granted in your world?
Don't.
In the past year I've watched 5 or 6 friends struggle with this alongside me. Responsible, educated, "with it" adults. Jobs aren't a for-sure-thing anymore.

but,

I have a job!

The company I've been temping for since last summer finally gave me a permanent position. Mostly, I'll be doing the same job, but there will be extra responsibilities now. And a desk in my own cubby. And lots of new stacks of paperwork trying to cover it.
Did I mention I have my own desk now!?!

Woo-hoo. Ms. WhimZ has a job.
===
On the knitting front:
I haven't finished anything this week. Have done a few more rounds on the bag. Have done a few reps of the orange bookmark(?) pattern. Have read oodles of blogs. Have shopped for my secret pal. Have joined the freakshow of Cotton Ease hoarders.



quattro/cascade bag in progress, next to the cute li'l pillow from Mom/Dad!

I found some plastic circ's at JoAnn for 1.99....has anyone tried these? I bought a few for giggles this weekend (in sizes I don't already have) with 50% off coupons...So, even if they're icky, I can use them in a pinch. If anyone has experience with these, please let me know!

Hopefully I'll get the ribbon shawl going again this week. I have a fantasy of finishing it this week and wearing it to the opera next weekend. Wow, tho...opera tix are PRICEY! I've promised myself to learn to like opera and have gone to one each of the past 2 summers. The other night I watched a PBS special called "operatunity" that was fantastic (heehee...I don't like reality TV, but this show could make me a convert!) By the time I am rich and old and distinguished, I'll be crying like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman at the grand musical experience!

I think the notion of doing a top is rapidly approaching. I have a sweater in mind, and a tank top is a possibility (to use up some of the Cotton Ease!) I'm nervous about jumping to that level. I better watch it, or I'll be doing socks before I know it. Hey, Bob...how ARE the socks? (echoes of "phoenixphoenixphoenix" are heard in the distance.....)


Bob's sock is coming along. If he finishes it, how can I tease him?


Must.finish.phoenix! ...or, too many shots at starbucks. your pick.

[This post was written 6/18 and just posted 6/23...that's a hint of my life in new-job-land. The shawl is growing, the bookmark is almost done!]

...and the livin' is easy.

The mini-break from knitting was a good thing.

I got the garden pretty well in. It was fantabulous to get to play with the flowers while chugging my *grape cool-aid.
I ran away with Huck Finn for a few hours.
I went on a yarn outing with Bob and found a goodie for my secret pal and some dirt cheap THIN orange yarn for moi. I sat at Starbucks w/my *Chai playing with said orange yarn (it's on its way to being a bracelet or bookmark or such.)
I had brunch with Bob and Jeff before getting some chores done while watching a very used tape of Truth about Cats and Dogs.
I cooked dinner for the first time in eons.

I sat on the porch tonite watching a storm roll in, sipping a *glass of wine with dinner. it was soooo relaxing. I pulled out the felted bag for the first time in a week and it was really nice to play with it again. An old friend. Did 3 rounds while watching the sky turn stormy pink, feeling the wind coming up, catching bits of thunder/lightning here and there. Right as I came inside, buckets came down...hurrah...my new garden wanted a *drink!

[*4 beverage references. 3 for me, 1 for flowers.]
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I know, I need to post pics. and be funnier. but...not tonite. Hanging on to this 'escape' mood and turning computer off during storm!

g'nite all!

lazy hazy days of Spring

blogging -
not so much.
knitting -
not so much.

I have been reading and finally made it to the grocery. My apartment is at lower hurricane levels than frequently observed. I have slept.

The weather is hot. This doesn't make me whiny like most around here, but it does slow me down a bit. It makes sitting on the porch sipping a *beverage, kicked back with a book, knitting 1 row an hour, seem like good livin'.

I finished a washcloth tonite. Nope, it's not getting posted. I experimented with yarn choice and edging. It's not ugly, but it won't be the gift I'd intended. I bought backup yarn. Maybe that version will make it to blogville soon.

I only went to one SnB this week (yeah, I said only.) It was a good time. I miss the other groups, but being home to eat/sleep/read/live/play with kitties has to fit in somewhere. I'm gonna put my garden in this weekend hopefully. And clean the closet. And blogstalk other knitters. And watch some videos I've taped. And read a teensy portion of the mountain of books. And play outside at the park. And...I'm sure they'll be some knittin' in there, too.

you didn't doubt that, did ya?

---
*something I need to add to my about me: I neglected to mention my fondness for coffee/tea. Fondness, she says. I'm rarely seen without a coffeecup in hand, tho sometimes that cup has hot tea/chai in it instead...(or grape cool-aid, in current weather. Or adult beverages. Or maybe that swell new lime pepsi.) hmmm....I just like to drink. all. the. time.

Unexpectedly Fine Knitting, part 2

...part II.

While under the influence of these marvy knitters, I got quite a bit of knitting done myself.
My version of the to-be-felted bag from Simple Knits for Sophisticated Living is 6" tall now. I started out with Cascade quattro, double stranded, and then switched to 1 strand quattro, 1 strand Cascade 220 blue. There are some more color shifts planned during the next foot or so I need to knit. Then a strap, then the felting, then I'll be stylin' with me very own bag, hurrah.



but wait! What are those orange dangly things??? Hmmm.....must be Bob's BLO stitch markers! Let's take a closer look at that one on the left....



oooooh. pretty. But, gee, I don't remember seeing that in the BLO inventory...hmmm... must be because I got to play in Bob's bead box and design my very own set of markers, weeeeeee. Thanks, Bob!!!

The marker designing event took place after a very festive evening at Taste of Cincinnati. We did a first walk around for the appetizer/entree/beverage selections. Then, unlike your average Taste attendee, we had the decadent pleasure of getting to head back to the guys' nearby apartment for a knitting break before heading back down for the Dessert round. ...can you say STUFFED? 'Twas great fun, and Bob and Jeff were swell hosts.

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Last week I stopped by the LYS and found a yarn that I just COULDn't resist. The 'clearance' price was more than I'd normally go for, but it was ...just....tooooo......soft. With dreamy colors. Saturday afternoon I decided to play with it, and 45 minutes later I had a Scarf. hmmmm....not scarf season. I take that back. I had a Belt! I wore it to Taste and even got a compliment on it, woohoo!

The yarn is called Costa Rica, so the postcard Mom/Dad sent me from there landed in the pic. I wish the colors came through in the picture (it's much more oceany pale)...it's a very wonderful colorway of blue/green/cream with a hint of pink. yummy.


pattern: 5 stitch wide drop stitch (3 K rows, *k1,YO* row, *k1, drop YO* row)
yarn: Gedifra Costa Rica color 3808
needles: festive red acrylic US15
dates: 45 minutes of 05.28.05!
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Also OTN is a shawl that I started with the yarn I picked up at another LYS sale. With 40% off the store's entire inventory, I think the majority of the town's knitters were lured! I'm not using a pattern for the shawl (yeah, we're going there again.) I'm happy with it so far. No pics, alas. It's a burgundy/black/gray/pink shiny ribbon yarn. Very...ummm...flamenco-like. I'll keep ya posted.

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so, there you have it. An Unexpectedly fine week of knitters and knitting!

Unexpectedly Fine Knitting, part1

There was some fine knitting going on last week.
I'm not just talking about the sticks 'n yarn either.
(Tho, that wasn't too shabby.)
I'm talking about the fantabulous KNITTERS. I went to 3 SnB groups last week (even if they don't call themselves such,) and all 3 were...fantabulous.

Monday was Cincy SnB nite. I felt icky, but knew just being around these folks was medicine. Some good mint tea was the rest of the cure. I cast on the felted bag, and enjoyed hearing the others' tales. Kendall's sweater is gonna rock, I tell ya.

Tuesday I played hooky from my usual group and went to Nancy's gathering. What a hoot....great ladies, great knitting, great time, and, Nancy? great cookies! Nancy is one of those people you get to meet that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy when she smiles. I was gifted a KnitPicks catalog (since I've signed up twice and STILL not received one...,) and Nancy offered moral support for my first picked up stitches along the base of the bag. Yeah, I think I missed a few, but everyone assures me that's the glory of felting!

Wednesday was the Cincinnati Knitting Group. Nancy dropped off MORE of those divine cookies, and Amy cheered me on as my bag started into its first few rounds. Bob was there for the usual laughs, and we finally got to see Liesl. The whole gang enjoyed the knitting and jabbering, and hopefully some cool felted items will be showing up soon. Afterwards, Starbucks beckoned yet again for some wind-down knittin' and chattin'.

Those 3 nites, and the extra-curricular knitting time with Bob, have just made me feel so blessed and excited about the world of knitting! When I started knitting, I never imagined that it would include this huge wonderful community of people. I really doubt most hobbies give a person access to so much generosity, laughter, education, support and friendship. Do joggers and tennis players and bookclub members have blogrings devoted to RAOK (random acts of kindness)? Do they know there are others out there cheerleading for them? Do they gather to swap stories and presents and guzzle coffee? I've stumbled into this world...lucky me!

This coming week I get to be a part of a NEW group of knitters. I joined SP5. It's a Secret Pal program in the land of knitblogs. For the next 3 months, I'll get to spoil another knitter somewhere in the world (haven't received my giftee yet,) and someone will be spoiling me! I'm so excited about being involved in this! I've read knitblogs constantly over the past 4 months, and I kept stumbling along posts of SP4 folks. They seemed to have such a great time both finding gifts for their pal and having Unexpected packages arrive. Woohoo! let the games begin....

phwew. All that, and I haven't even got to the knitting itself, or the weekend!
This calls for a 2-part post, I'm thinking.

...until then!

giddy!

There was a whole lotta giddy goin' on last nite.

this should be prefaced with the acknowledgement of my reputation of being easily amused.

I already mentioned my new furniture. That caused lots of happy dancin' to start with.

THEN, I took (after my skeptical comments) some knit-buds' advice and stopped by HalfPriceBooks on way home from work (yes, on saturday nite, and I-who-have-no-life volunteered for that shift,) and found my craved needlework book!!! CHEAP! Woohoo!
Insert more happy dancin'. A co-worker had loaned me that book, and I taught myself some crochet from it in 5 seconds. I very reluctantly returned it to her. It has oodles of pics and detailed instructions on every needlecraft (knit, crochet, embroidery, quilting, etc.) Love it. And now it's mine.

THEN, home to my furniture, too much pizza, and purring kitties and my VCR. Can you even imagine a life more fantabulous? (shhhhh....leave me here in giddyland.)
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Here is the mouse I made for Bob last week. Murray agreed to do a bit of modelling, but didn't agree to be enthusiastic about it.


Thanks, Murr. um....but, wait....we need to give that mouse to Bob's kitties. REALLY, we do. You have the OTHER mouse I made, remember? Please, Murr? Can I have the blue cable mouse back? backs away slowly...



pattern: Catnip mouse WITH CABLE! from WendyKnits (with improvised i-cord tail, ears/nose/eyes)
yarn: cascade 220 color 8887/cascade quattro color 9432
needles: I forget! US7 bamboo?
dates: 05.13.05-05.15.05
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Still finishing up Jen's slippers. I had a knitter's fantasy-come-true last nite. (this should probably have been included in giddy section.) I got paid to knit. Ok...the pay wasn't for the knitting itself, but I was pretending to be a receptionist and had plenty of downtime to knit. I nearly finished the slipper while I was there.
OH!OH!OH! The cool side to that act of KIP:
one of the guys that came in saw that I was knitting and said
"you do that stuff?"
huh? oh, knit!? yeah, i DO THAT STUFF.
"want some yarn?"
you have some!? this is an older guy that I'd never take to be a knitter...
"yeah. My wife passed away and there's a bunch of that stuff in the closet."
...he also has stored either embroidery or cross-stitch stuff, I'm guessing, from his description. He's going to bring it in for me. I figured at the very least I could use it for some charity knitting or give it to a school/sr center. Hurray for KIP!!!
(see, Jen, the good things your slipper has accomplished already?)
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I'm hoping to cast on my purse today. (first felting project, first picked-up stitches, first knitting-in-the round. all sorts of glorious newness. Thank goodness for my new book and knowing the great gals of SnB have my back!)

giddiness, I tell you!