HOLY KNITBALLS!

Return of the knitting mojo results in pre-Rhinebeck FOs!

2009-10-13T19:46:00.009-04:00

So I fully recognize I have been an awful blogger this year. Part of my silence has been due to my lack of crafting mojo. I never really intended this blog to just be a diatribe of my daily ramblings, but really my crafty endeavors. The mojo, well it was dormant for almost 7-8 months. You know what I mean when it's there, but it's not there? I begrudgingly got through some projects or was bitten by a lace bug, but the love really wasn't there like it was last year. I'll tell you though, after blowing out 2 sweaters in a month, I think it is safe to say that I am back to my 'ol sweater machine self. The mojo is back with a vengeance! Thanks for bearing with my silence while I "found" myself again.

First order of business, finished thingeys. My very first sweater containing my own handspun. I used the Garter Yoke Cardigan from Knit.1 as reference, but I was otherwise winging this baby. Some of you on Ravelry have probably already seen this, but I never really had a chance to talk about it. The yoke is my Pigeonroof Studios handspun corriedale in "Drift". I will probably wear this on Sunday at Rhinbeck. I did a little KAL with my friend, Sairy. She did the cardigan version with her Pigeonroof Studios in blues and grays. I want to steal it b/c I love the colors so much.

I am especially fond of this sweater for a few reasons. First I adore the colors in this handspun. It's probably my favorite colorwise to date. This was spun at the W.O.O.L. retreat on Lake George at Wiawaka.

The other special reason that I am proud of this sweater is because of this below. I won a ribbon for my spinning at Garden State Sheep Breeders! First place in the novice category!
My dear friend, Jessica, of Zarzuela's Fibers, encouraged me to enter b/c I would at least get some good feedback on what I do correctly and what I can do better. So I decided to pull a few skeins I was proud of together the night before the festival. Unbelievably, I ribboned on all four entries! I still can't believe it. From left to right below: Pigeonroof Studios corriedale won first place in Novice Category, Ramsden Farms Border Leicester won 2nd place in the Wool Plied Category, Pigeonroof Studios superwash merino laceweight won 3rd place in the Wool Plied Category, and last but not least, Zarzuelas's Fibers Merino/Silk won 2nd place in the Wool Blend Category. I received some fantastic feedback. I hope to compete again next year and hone my spinning skills.
Next up and fresh off the needles as of today: Fonn from the Lopi Book #25. Yay colorwork! I'll be wearing this one on Saturday at Rhinebeck. It's blocking and drying now so hopefully I can get some modeled photos before Rhinebeck to post. The yarn is Claudia's Handpainted in Sport weight that I've had in my stash FOREVER.
The colorwork bug strikes again. I had a KAL with my friend, Kelley although she kicked my ass on this one. She's already steeked and done. I'm about up to the armholes now. I'm a little nervous about the steeking part, but one of my new year's goals was to attempt a steek. Take a deep breath and jump in!

Lastly, but not in order of importance, we became fur-parents again. Meet Porterhouse aka Porter. He's a 17 month old English Bulldog that we adopted from a family that could no longer care for him. Trust me he IS a handful, but very lovable. He is playful, which I think can get on Cartman's nerves a bit. Cartman is our 8 yr old Bully. We still have Annie, the Doxie, as well, but she is getting older and started to lose her bladder a bit. Poor little girl.

More pics to come in preparation for Rhinebeck!

FOs: Swallowtail and Ishbel

2009-08-19T10:43:00.004-04:00

Yes, I know, it's been awhile again. Seriously though, I've been a busy, busy girl. I got bit by the lace bug. See what happened?

FO: Swallowtail Shawl

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in "Solis"

Started: July 5, 2009

Finished: August 17, 2009

Mods: None. I went traditional and did the nupps, but if there is ever a #2, there will be beads instead.

I really enjoyed it, which surprised me. I never thought of myself as a lace knitter, but I am so proud of my skills on this one. The picture below shows the reverse of the shawl.

Of course, there needed to be an arbitrary "shawl in tree picture".

This is probably my greatest knitting achievement to date. I think I am most proud of this project thus far.

Prior to Swallowtail, I finished an Ishbel in 3 Days! I ended up buying a gorgeous dress and then went to a yarn shop with a friend. She put this lovely Blue Heron Rayon Metallic in my face and said, "THIS WOULD MATCH YOUR DRESS!" So I guess you can figure out what happened then....

FO: Ishbel

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Blue Heron Rayon Metallic (has little flecks of gold in there)

Started: July 22, 2009

Finished: July 25, 2009

Mods: None. Did small stockinette, small lace.

Ok back to work. There are more pics on my Ravelry page. I have so much more show and tell for you if I can find some free-time to right more! Hopefully soon!

This is for the Soldiers

2009-07-04T07:38:00.007-04:00

This post is dedicated to our US service men and women, past and present, that have made unfathomable sacrifices so that I may live as I do. Bless you and your families.

Happy Independence Day!

FO- Vogue Twist Top

2009-07-02T18:36:00.008-04:00

I know what you must be thinking. She doesn't blog for months and now 3 times in a week! Seriously, I'm back folks. In the spirit of caring less about work, getting a new lease on things, and cleaning some skeletons out of the closet...here's one....a skeleton hanging in my closet since 2005. I swear I forgot about it.

Here is the finished product. I finished it in less than a week since finding this thing in a fiber/stash re-org. This is the #05 Short Sleeve Top from Vogue Knitting Spring 2005. Yes, very descriptive name, huh? So anyway, I bought the yarn at Wild West Wools when I used to travel to Salt Lake City every 4 weeks. At the time, the silk yarn used in the pattern was a wee bit more than I was willing to spend on a summer top....that you are going to sweat in at a temp of 90 degrees. So why not sweat in wool/cotton? I had finished the back of the top and then dumped it for something else.

Pattern: #05 Short Sleeve Top, Vogue Spring 2005

Yarn: 4 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in "Plum Patina"

Started: sometime in 2005

Finished: June 30, 2009

Needles: Size 6 circs

Mods: None. I will say Cotton Fleece is way low on the list of favorite yarns. It's splitty and bleeds like the dickens.

Next up, I decided to join the Summer of Socks 2009 started by my friend, Zarzuela Knits and Crochets. This is our banner and the theme is "LOW STRESS". That is so up my alley.

My first pair of socks are the Knotty or Knice Socks by Chrissy Gardiner from IK Fall 2008. After several false starts, I settled on this pattern to showcase my lovely Zarzuela's Fibers Shiny Sheep in "DC Sunrise". Seriously people, go get yourself some at her etsy shop.
I've had some progress on my Firestarter socks also in Socks that Rock.
Lastly, I joined yet something else, the Tour de Fleece. It starts this weekend and I'm pushing to spin a pound of natural black BFL I picked up from Twist last month.
Next post, I promise, I owe you birthday pictures, new puppy pics, and all sorts of stash enhancements. Also, to my anonymous commenter on my "Epiphany" post. I hear you girl. I was a mess when Freddie Mercury passed. I adored that man.

FO- Mickey Socks ----aka Tammy is no longer hopping around on one foot socks

2009-06-28T00:12:00.004-04:00

Seriously, the mojo is back and I finally finished the mate to my poor, SIL's Mickey sock. She's been hopping on one foot since February. I just lost any effort to knit and thank goddess it's back. Soooooooooo here they are and they are loud! They were fun to knit. These are my second pair of Leyburns that I've knit now.

Pattern: Have a Magical Day Mickey Socks, otherwise the Leyburn Socks by MintyFresh (Pepperknit)

Yarn: Knitivity Sock in colorway "Rodentia" (get it? get it?)

Needles: Size 2 addi circs (magic loop)

Recipient: MY SIL--her tootsie's modelled here (except the sock blockers, of course).
See how cute they are in Mickey Crocs?

You see I support her Mouse habit.

Epiphany

2009-06-26T00:00:00.038-04:00

You know, I've been meaning to blog. I've been thinking of it every night and then that night passes to the next. Not to say I haven't been knitting or spinning. The mojo recently returned, I had a great birthday, new furry addition to the family....but all of those happy pictures and stories I have to share with you seem dull and lifeless like I feel tonight. I need to blog what I feel and sometimes it just isn't about fiber, at least not tonight. With due respect, we'll keep the happy pictures and stories for another night.

Do you know some of the pop-iconic things that defined some of my childhood memories?

I can sing the entire theme song to the Golden Girls. I can recite Bea Arthur's lines in History of the World Part I verbatim. I wanted to be snarky like Dorothy Sbornak. Who wouldn't want to be that witty?

Gary Papa and Jim O'Brien delivered the news to our dinner table every night on Action News without fail for decades. That legacy came to an end last Friday when Gary lost his 5 year battle with cancer. My Mom had a horrible crush on Jim. He died in a skydiving accident in 83 and it was like equivalent to the the day Princess Di was killed in a crash to this local area. It's weird watching Frasier because Roz is Jim's real daughter and I can see him when I look at her.

I watched Star Search on my grandfather's knee and snuck out of bed to hear "Heeeeeeere's Johnny! " on the Tonight Show.

I wanted Farrah-feathered hair in the worst way even though mine was auburn, ragged and curly. I wanted to have a body like that and a smile that could light up the camera. I wanted to be the 4th Charlie's Angel. I'd squeeze right in between Farrah and Kate Jackson. I didn't think they would mind afterall.

I had a sequined glove and penny loafers with white socks that I bought from Trenton Joes. That's where we bought our Wigwams in the 80s, you know. "Soultown" is programmed in on my satellite in my car just to get the old Jackson 5, Jame Brown, and Quincy Jones songs. I know the entire dance to Thriller. I still have the Vincent Price dialogue memorized. It was the first full length LP that I bought with my own allowance money. I still have it and open it up to the man listlessly laying across the two-cardboard panels with a tiger climbing on his leg. I had those posters on my wall and it drove my Mom bonkers although she thought he was adorable. I played "We Are the World" until I broke the cassette tape. I remember sitting on the ugly green floor of our spare bedroom watching the Moonwalk for the first time and thinking it was complete magic (not the NASA-kind of moonwalk, of course I think it was in the desert of Nevada anyway. Another story). I wanted a red leather jacket with a million zippers and clumsily practiced the moonwalk in front of my full-length mirror while dancing to Billy Jean. I wanted to drink Pepsi and became really frightened of fireworks at the same time. A torrid life depicted in the media that never afforded him peace, strange behavior, questionable parenting, mental illness..... but who cares? That's HIS private life and how the media twists it. You can't discount that kind of musical talent nor the contributions to shape music. Janis Joplin was horribly depressed and mentally ill. Do we focus on the musical contributions? Noooo, we focus on the fact she drank herself to death. James Brown, lots of issues....musical contributions? Nooooo, let's focus on his personal life. Rick James, wow boatloads of media issues and substance abuse. Talent? Absolutely. Do we remember the musical contribution? Not so much. Do you get what I am saying here? We have been given a gift in music. Take the time to cherish it. You might never see that kind of talent again....all of them taken too soon, some a result of their own poor or intentional choices.

I guess I never thought I would experience the words that have come across the TV screen tonight. A different kind of shock. Ok, maybe I'm being nostalgic, but a piece of my childhood went dim tonight.

I almost feel like replaying the good earlier parts of my last 33 years of life by pulling out the My Little Pony dolls on the ugly green shag carpet with yellow walls, watch the A-Team on my old 13" TV with the rabbit ears on it, play my Toto "Rosanna" 45 record until my parent's ears bleed, and dress in my Jelly Shoes and snap bracelets. I want to demand my MTV, scream "Where's the Beef?", and yell "you sank my battleship!", and otherwise not have a care or responsibility in the world, except to be able to color in the lines. Simpler times. Maybe we shouldn't be so offended when our parents treat us like children even in adulthood. Maybe that is a gift in itself because I am still lucky enough to have them here to do that. Suddenly the memories of my youth all come flooding back into my consciousness, some drawing smiles, some nostaligic tears...but day by day every little thing becomes just that, a memory...memories on paper...on film...in my head. Shit is starting to get a little scary.

Generation X is all grown-up.

I'm all grown-up...

Lake Nockamixon

2009-05-09T14:13:00.005-04:00

Why hellloooo there. This time my absence was actually because I was doing something good for myself...a mini-vacation. My husband and I were celebrating our 8th anniversary on May 5th so we've had a little mini-vacation/fishing trip planned to Nockamixon State Park in Western Bucks County, PA. Truly only an 1 hr 14 minutes from our house, but you felt like you were much further away than that.

Back about 2 months ago, we were chatting about FINALLY going away to do something. The husband hates traveling, but he's compromising here so I only went a little ways away from home to break him in...LOL. I decided on picking something I knew would pick his interest like a fishing trip. So I went on the hunt for parks with cabins to rent and came across Nockamixon State Park. 1400 + acre "lunker" lake (as in big-ass fishing lake), secluded self-catering cabins, wildlife, a boat, and 3 days off from work...PERFECT. So we left on Sunday, May 2nd and headed off. I had this feeling the weather wasn't going to hold out and it didn't, but I wasn't goin to chance trying to re-book this as I would never get him out of the house again. I'm reasonable, but not stupid. We were going regardless.

We got up to the cabin around 2ish and it was right in the middle of the woods and 300ft from the edge of the lake.

You really can't beat the affordability of these cabins. I booked it right online and only cost about $200 for 4 days and 3 nights. Seriously, try booking the Hilton for less than that. You really don't get the same impact, you know what I mean?

Also, the Hub's bestest fishing buddy insisted (for weeks) that we take his boat instead of renting one at the marina. We finally gave in, but we are thankful because he probably saved us at least $500 for as much and long as we planned to fish everyday.

There was also a grill and fire pit out back. No TV, no civilization for a few miles, new places to eat and more fishing.I just had to get a picture of these wild dogwood trees. On such dreary, rainy days, the pure white blossoms dotted the foliage around the cabin.
That evening we had tickets for the Nightwish show at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA. Roland introduced me to them about 7 months ago and I fell hard for them. They are a Finnish/Swedish atmospheric metal band that sells out all over Europe and Asia. Sad that in the US, it's more of a club tour. They are excellent live. I took this video of one of two very Celtic-sounding songs on their latest CD. This is part of "Last of the Wilds". Funny thing is as soon as we rounded the corner we almost mowed down my favorite member of the band, the bassist, Marco when he darted out from the bus and right in front of our truck. Yeah, that would have been bad. I rather like Marco's voice.

So the next day was our first jaunt onto the lake. It was freakin' HUGE with lots of area to cover. We were really hoping to catch some Smallmouth. I understand they are fun to catch. Wish I knew, because I didn't catch jack crap. It was so rainy, the fishing was just poor. Roland did manage to pull out a few largemouth, weighed them, and then put them back in the water. (We are catch and release BTW). We don't believe in keeping anything.
Tuesday, our anniversary, we went back out on the lake and it rained again so out came the foul weather gear. Have I mentioned that I looked like the Morton Salt girl out there in my bright yellow slickers? Yeah, the fish could see me coming. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

We got back off the water and cleaned up for dinner. We decided to try Porterhourse Restaurant across from Peddler's Village. The food was pretty good. This is the view. I think it made the food taste better.

We also ran across a knitting/spinning shop I fell in love with at first site. Roland stopped the truck so I could check it out. He said, "I think I can at least drive you to a knitting shop after I've drug your ass across a lake for two days." Awww how sweet.

The haul? Just a few things, but I will certainly visit Twist again. I bought a beginner set of dyes to play with some undyed Corriedale roving I bought awhile back. I also believe in spinning local when I can. I walked past the commercial rovings and went right for the local stuff, some lovely chocolate brown alpaca from a local farm. It's about 4 oz. I can't wait to spin it. Even the husband kept petting it and commenting on the softness.

I also picked up 3 skeins of Cascade 220 in a chocolate brown to pair up with some Noro I gained in a yarn swap with another Raveler who wanted my blue-green I had in stash. I'm scheming. This is a good sign the mojo may be on the return.

So aside from lousy weather, we had a good time. There was no TV at night so out came the old board and card games. It was a good break from the boob tube. My only triumph for my bruised fishing ego was beating the master at chess. Of course, I only beat him 1 time in 9 games of Chinese Checkers....It was still time off from work!

Believe it or not, I've had progress on all sorts of things...

2009-04-26T16:01:00.008-04:00

As you all know I've been struggling with my knitting/spinning mojo that took an extended vacation without me. I've lost interest in all my pending projects. So what happens next? Vogue Knitting lands on my desk and the most unlikely item catches my attention, the front cover, Bontanica Medallion Cardigan by Shiri Mor. Figuring this is a good way to use up the 100% cotton lying destitute in my stash for the last 4 years, I picked up my needles and gave the medallion a whirl. (BTW, this is a better picture of the true color than the next one).

Two days later and voila! That's great right? Well not so much. You should see what the 100% cotton has done to the pads of my fingers. I may not have any skin left by the time this is done. So the question remains, is cotton just that rough that this happens to me every time? Am I allergic to it? Can't be, I wear cotton all the time, except I don't KNIT with it all the time. I'm plugging away at the peplum now, but having to take mandatory breaks to knit with my other wool UFOs so my fingers stop peeling. I am determined to knit and purge all of the cotton out of my stash now. Why not sell it? Well honestly, some of it is too pretty and I am rather fond of it. Onward!

I've been doing a little baking too. I think it's more or less, to ease the tensions going on at work. Lay-offs this week and next. As a manager, there's no telling how this will impact me as either the one cut or the one having to cut. Either way, I'm not at all happy about it. The morale is so in the toilet. Chocolate always dulls the pain for a moment. Chocolate bunt cake with strawberries. YUM! The Hubs loved it.

I also got a very nice surprise by the best SIL ever, KubusKrafts. An early birthday present to see Fleetwood Mac (Stevie is my favorite performer). What an awesome show, abet the two drunk Stevie wannabes behind us who talked (not their inside concert voice, mind you) the ENTIRE show and tipped some of their beer on us. It took every bit of self-control not to turnaround and rattle their cages...wasn't worth ruining my time or trying to rationalize ill-mannered behavior with a drunk and her drunk, slutty daughter. Nuff said. The concert was fantastic. I swear none of them have aged in the last 10 years. Stevie looked the best I've ever seen her and the special treat for me was that she brought out the "Go Your Own Way" top hat with the ribbons on the back. In all my years of loving them dearly, it was cool to see that. She was in top form, as was Lindsey, Mick, and John. Sadly, I confirmed that I still do not miss Christine at all. They seem to have so much more fun on stage without her. Curious, no?

Last weekend I had a fibery goodness gathering at Zarzuela's place. Spinning outside....in the sun...with a cool beverage...and sweets to snack on...Bliss.
And on my wheel, I'm still spinning the Corriedale batt I bought from her months ago now. Yes, those are actually my feet on my wheel and I'm spinning for the first time in months!

That day actually produced an FO, finished handspun. 2 ply corriedale that is about medium fingering. I am not sure what to knit with it, but the colors are cheerful so it should be a fun project.

Oh and also at the gathering, I finally met YarnyOldKim's companion, Stella. Can I tell you how hard I fell for this little girl? What a great, easy-going personality. How could you not fall in love with a furry face like this?
After the corrie came off the wheel, I joined a FreckleFace Fibers spin-a-long. Hello, I'm one of the moderators of this Ravelry group so I had been own up! On the wheel, went the Merino 64 in Verita. I have to say this is the finest single I've ever spun. I may actually be able to ply and get my first laceweight! JOY!

This weekend, I've been a busy, busy girl, partly to not think about the lay-offs coming on Monday and partly b/c this bed had gotten out of control which made me crazy. On Friday night, I realized Lowe's was having a sale on the bricks I wanted, so we gathered ourselves and ran out the door at 8PM on Friday. The price was right at $0.88! Last year, I spent $2.64 /each. I got away dirt cheap this time. Saturday I spent putting the bricks in and tidying up my neglected perennial bed. I added a few more plants and have some more filling to do, but it looks much more presentable on the driveway side now. I have some things still peaking through the mulch from last year. In total we have Butterfly Bush, Columbines, Tiger Lillies, Calla Lillies, red and yellow Yarrow, Carolina Bluebells, English Lavender, Russian Sage, and surprisingly, white Petunias, which must have re-seeded themselves because they are annuals.

Here's a super-macro shot of my Calla. Isn't it gorgeous? Well, I need to mentally prepare for tomorrow's festivities (not!) so I'm going to go try to work on some UFOs and enjoy the warmth on the back deck.
Next weekend? MARYLAND SHEEP AND WOOL and a 4-day vacation to Lake Nockamixon!!!!! WOOT!

HAPPY EASTER!

2009-04-13T08:57:00.006-04:00

You must all think I've gone into hiding or been kidnapped or something, huh? I'm still here, but have been doing a lot of traveling for work that I hope, *crosses fingers*, is done until June. I've been to Cincinnati for a week, San Francisco for a week, and then back to Cincinnati. Sound like fun? Not really. It was all for work, so other than some good wine and food after work, it was still....well, work. I had the most atrocious travel arrangements to California that didn't go so well after delays and luggage gallivanting to different cities without me. $125 later at the Gap in SFO, it turns out my luggage was delivered to the hotel before I even left. Niiiiiiice.

Anyway, I'm home and very happy to be. I am still struggling with getting my knitting mojo in gear again, but this might help a bit. I sat down, in March mind you, and finally pieced together the Placed Cable Aran that sat in pieces and unloved for a good month. The only reason I couldn't post yesterday is that is was raining here like a mofo and no pictures to be had. Such is life. These pics aren't any better, but it's what we could get with the wind today and my automatic timer on the Fuji.So one day post-Bobmas (Ravely turned 2 years old. Yay!), I present the Placed Cable Aran:

Pattern: Placed Cable Aran by Cathy Payson, Interweave Knits Fall 2007

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in "Petal Shower"

Started: January 13, 2009

Finished: March 31, 2009

Needles: Size 9 Addi Circs

Mods: I did not do the cable on the back of the sweater as the front b/c I felt it looked too bunchy. Also, I have to say, I love Dream in Color Classy. This is the second sweater I've done with the stuff. The first sweater was my February Lady Sweater in Happy Forest. The stitch definition is fantastic, it feels good on the hands, and wears beautifully. The downside, however, is this stuff stretches like crazy when wet-blocked so special care should be made to ensure you aren't eyeballing your measurements and then have too big a sweater. It took days to dry because I wanted to ensure it was absolutely bone dry before trying it on.

Overall, I'm happy with it and it's frigid today for a Spring day. It came in handy.

Next up: My St. Patrick's Day and/or very early Birthday present to myself. Meet my new love, my 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander SE.

She came home with me on March 17th and I feel she's got a lucky streak to her. :-) A lot of folks were shocked that we picked black (even my folks) because my husband is a car neat freak and black is so hard to keep clean. Let me tell you though, with the chrome accents, the Black color is sharp. So what if there's more upkeep with black? Does that mean there is less upkeep with any other color? A clean car is a clean car regardless of the color. I would rather have a clean black car than let the dirt hide b/c my car is white or silver. No matter, I still lerve my car.

I also am in love with the interior. I loathe taupe/beige/tan interior. It always looks dirty to me. I was overly thrilled when I found I could get black interior as opposed to my usual dark charcoal or gray. I really love the seats. They are like racing seats and hug to your body. They have leather backs with strips of micro suede down the sides and cloth in the middle. I think it's pretty unique.

Then lastly, the other thing I love besides getting built-in Bluetooth and satellite radio and still having my 6-disc CD changer and sunroof I love so much, the hatch is unique. My 2006 Rav 4 had a full door that swung open to one side. This has a hatch, which at first I wasn't crazy about, but discovered I love that the tailgate folds down like a pick-up. I think that's a great idea for not scratching the paint or just sitting on the tailgate eating an ice cream cone on a summer day.

So I want to say thanks to all you commented on my last post and expressed their concern, especially for my dramatic and sudden loss of knitting mojo. I am really ok now and, in fact, lost 11 lbs so far! I've been hitting the gym harder, changed my sleep schedule, cutting some things out of my diet that were making me sick (unbeknownst to me), and my life has normalized after quite a traumatizing January. I am hopeful for a better rest of 2009.

As for the mojo, I think my knitting will return. I was struck by the cover of the new Vogue knitting and think the Botanica Medallion cardigan might be the right dose of medicine. I need to jump start myself, two people have a cold left foot b/c their sock mates are still on the needles. I must get cracking on those.

Have a great Easter!

Has Someone Seen My Mojo?

2009-03-05T21:48:00.005-05:00

Did it go on vacation without me? WTF? I don't feel like spinning. I can barely get in a row of knitting? What is happening to me? Oh this is so bad folks. I received a blog award for how fast I knit normally. It's March and all I've given you is a measly pair of socks. IT'S MARCH AND ONLY ONE FO TO SHOW FOR MYSELF! *sigh*

Well, I can peg my lack of fiber mojo on a few things, but I am actually quite better now. I've lost 10 lbs, kicked my Diet Coke habit (it's only a treat now), kicked Sweet n Low, and get my ass on the eliptical for 4 miles a day on the weekend. My life and work are back on track so why cannot I not locate the whereabouts of my mojo.

Welp, when in doubt...hug a bulldog

...or three.

That always makes me happy. That would be Nesa (my friend Wendy's dog to the left), Lulu (my friend, Lexi's 6 month old), and Scrumpy (Lexi's male rescue bullie). I went to Florida this past week for Wendy's birthday and gots lots of bulldog and kitteh lovin' from Moo-Moo. I'll check back in this weekend and give you the skinny on the Jacksonville Highland games and a redneck tree swing. Trust me, it's pretty rich.

I did start the "Lauren" cardigan by Ann Weaver out of my yarn from Rhinebeck so I will photograph in the light tomorrow. It's a weird color to photo in the lightbox. I'm just hoping the mojo returns sometime soon....it was so rude of it to go on vacation without me. Boo hiss.

Good-bye old friend...thanks for the memories

2009-02-15T16:30:00.006-05:00

So this sad pile of camera parts are the remains of my beloved Fuji Finepix 5000. Bought in 2004 right before my first trip to Ireland, it has served me well. I even had a few pocket point and shoot cameras in addition to it, but I always came back to this camera. The zoom and macro were wonderful and the camera was well before its time when I bought it in 2004. It's been to Ireland twice, India, Germany twice, Aruba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and all over the 48 states I've visited at some point or another. The ccd finally bit the dust and could not be repaired, according to professionals. This is what is left after salvaging parts.

I loved this piece of electronics, but it was time to say good-bye and bring in the predecessor.

Not being able to break from the clarity and macro of Fuji, I bought its upgraded cousin, the Fuji Finepix 2000HD. It has a lot of nifty features such as face recognition and a 33 frame continuous shoot. Mainly, I chose not to go with the Sony counterpart for a few reasons. I don't like rechargeable battery cards. I prefer using rechargeable AA batteries. You can rescue yourself in a snap with batteries purchased on a whim should the others die and require some alone time with the outlet charger. I also prefer the SD cards to a memory stick. Lastly, I love the one-grip feature that has provided me with a one-hand steady shot. Although I love the features of my new camera, my old one served me well. *insert horns playing "Taps".Oh and I promised to show you the results of my little yarn dyeing experiment with Wilton's dyes. So I took some Zitron Trekking and some Wilton's icing dyes I had laying around the house and came up with a fun colorway. I made some of the areas of blue darker on purpose with a more concentrated blue, in case you were wondering. I used the standard dyeing techniques used with acid dyes to see if I enjoyed playing with the dyeing part. Surprisingly, I did.

Here's the result though. Isn't it fun? I went through all these names and finally decided on "John's Hawaiian Shirt", an ode to my brother-in-law and his happy, colorful shirts. I adore Hawaiian shirts and the louder the better.

Hope everyone had a good weekend. I'm off to finish knitting a sock and watch Caddyshack. I was glued to the TV earlier watching "Top Gear" on BBC America. Next to Alton Brown's "Good Eats", this is my next favorite show. You can't beat playing ice hockey with Suzuki Swifts and an over-sized puck or shooting a rocket-propelled old Mini Cooper down the ski jump at Lillihammer. Priceless.

I get by with a little help from my friends....

2009-02-12T00:04:00.009-05:00

So at time when you inwardly feel your life is in shambles in so many ways, unbeknownst to the outside world, your friends manage to pull you through without even knowing they've done anything at all but just simply be your friend. Sometimes that's all that really matters. Whether it be on Plurk, Ravelry, or in person, friends are simply amazing that way.

This past weekend started with a much-needed fiber day out at Zarzuela's for a February Fibery Goodness Gathering last Saturday. That's me tucked in the back left corner behind my little red-wheeled Ladybug. Oh, the food nom noms were tasty too! I didn't think to snap a photo, unlike me. That's why there's a nice linky to her site there.

We did manage to raid the fiber basement. It was a feeding frenzy short of sharks on bait fish. I swear I am a "fiber-magpie". I purchased two rovings, of which I had my eye on this one below. It's 6oz of merino in "Mauve Mayhem".

The second was something I'm just meaning to try to improve my spinning skill set. I've never spun from a batt before so I picked up this Corriedale batt in "Sherbert".

This is half of the first single all spun up. I need to spin up the other half and then I plan to 2-ply the yarn. I'm not sure what it wants to be, but I'm sure it will tell me when it's finished. BTW, her shop was mentioned on Lime and Violet's Episode #80! Congratulations Jessica!
Then onto an outing with my SnB group to Woolbearers and then brunch at the Robin's Nest in Mount Holly. I grabbed an undyed skein of Zitron Trekking to have a little hand-painting experiment with some Wilton's gel food colorings. I will present the results in the next post. The yarn be dryin' so I'll show you when it's all pretty and skeined up. I must say it went well, much to my own surprise. (That's me in front of the stained glass window).

I did promise to show you some more stash enhancements that occurred since the January post and it was all fiber. I'm on a major spinning kick and this one lured me in with its Falkland goodness. This is Spindlefrog Falkland roving in colorway, "Venice".
I needed to organize my circular needle mess so I picked this up off of an etsy shop. What a relief to have them contained in one tidy spot.

Lastly, FreckleFaceFibers updated her site and I went weak. This is merino roving in "Peony"...

...and BFL roving in "Jacaranda. I am also one of the moderators for the newly formed Ravelry group.

So I promise to show you my yarn dyeing experiment in the next post. All the weekend, I got worse with this sinus thing I've had lingering since last week. I've taken two days off from work now without much of a voice. The yarn experiment was a crazy fun cheer-up. TTFN.

Zombie Blogger

2009-02-09T23:13:00.006-05:00

Oh Hai, have you missed me? I've missed you. What can I say? Old habits die hard. Between work travel, several personal meltdowns, for reasons I won't bore you, I just really have cocooned myself without a whole lot to say. But anyhoo, so it's been awhile and I apologize for that. I do have a lot to show for myself, which is typical when I resurface from a blog hiatus.

First up, the first finished object of the year, is my Leyburn Socks. I am no longer a Socks that Rock virgin. Boy, do I love this yarn. This is a mill end I picked up at Rhinebeck in colorway "Lettuce Knit". I joined the Leyburn KAL for the Socks that Rawk! Group on Ravelry.

Pattern: Leyburn Socks by Pepperknit

Started: December 30, 2008

Finished: January 31, 2008

Yarn: Socks that Rock Lighweight in "Lettuce Knit"

Needles: Size 1 Addi Turbos

Mods: A few. The numbers had to be fudged because the pattern is written for Size 2 needles. Also, upon advice from a sock guru, did an "eye of partridge" heel. I like short row heels that do not involved wrap/turns. This one was ssk and p2tog. Glorious. Also, this is my very first toe-up sock and I love them. I *heart* Judy's Magic Cast-on and Magic Loop also!

My cuffs are a wee shorter than I like them because I discovered I had a severe loss of yardage on this particular mill end. Thank goodness it was a toe-up sock!

And since I can't seem to stop knitting socks right now, I finally wound up that ginormous skein of Knitivity Down Home Sock yarn in colorway, "Rodentia", you know for that Mickey Mouse lover in your life. Mentioned a little while ago, these are for socks for my SIL, KubusKrafts. The 920 yd skein was so massive, I couldn't help poking fun at its size prior to dividing it up into 4 individual skeins.

Not wanting to come off my Leyburn high, I used the pattern for these socks also. So, do you think you can see these socks through her Mickey Crocs? I do.
When I'm depressed, I shop. I shop for fibery goodness and this next picture is a result of when I tripped and fell on my face at Yarnissima's online shop. She puts together the nicest kits I've ever seen. It comes complete with a skein of Wollmiese in the "Spina di Pesce" colorway (bone of the fish in Italian), that was specifically dyed for this pattern.
I have been doing a lot of spinning in the last month also. Last post, I was spinning Zarzuela's Fibers "Stormy Dawn" merino. For our spin-a-long in the Ravelry group, the challenge was to learn to Navajo-ply and then knit something with the yarn you made. This is my first Navajo-plied skein and I don't think it's too bad at all. I am rather proud. This is definitely my new favorite technique and since you are plying a single onto itself 3-fold, there is no waste. The skein below is the first 2 oz out of a 4 oz braid.

I received my first installment of the Zarzuela's Fiber Club too. Now that everyone has received their shipment, I can blog about it. This is a 6 oz braid of Corriedale wool, a new fiber for me to spin. The colorway is called "Snowy Wood in January". Isn't it gorgeous? We kind of all agreed this would be a beautiful Clapotis.

I was oogling over this one for about 3 months now at Numma Numma's etsy shop and finally gave in. This is a 50/50 merino/alpaca blend and it's heavenly. The colorway, totally up my alley, is part of the baby food inspired colorways, "Peas and Carrots". OMG I love it.

Oh in case you caught the snark in my title, yes, it does totally poke fun at the whole "yarn dyer back from the dead" controversy going on right now on Ravelry. Note to self, if you ever want to fake your own death and live off of the charity of good-hearted knitters, pay the extra $8 a year to have a private IP address because we do know how to ping you, don't show up on flickr with your identifiable tattoos that your devoted pattern fans can pick out of a line-up, and finally, don't post from your Ravelry ID (changed 3 times since your death), and change your homepage to say, "Please leave me alone." Hi, guilty much? Don't f*ck with a bunch of good-hearted crafters. We are nice until you take advantage of our good will. Let that be a lesson to anyone considering faking their death and capitalizing on the donations. Am I opionated on this one? Yep. Is there enough proof to be opionated. Yep, check the LSG group on Ravelry under post, "She's NOT Dead". The title should be aptly renamed to "Warning: Shitstorm Ahead". Until the dead dyer speaketh, I have no choice but to decide on "guilty" in my head based on the surmountable evidence to prove she breathes...and lives on Ravelry with a now defunct pattern store (Rav pulled the plug) to which the funds were supposedly going to support her widowed husband and children. I do not like a fake. Period. Until there is evidence to prove otherwise, say exhume the dead dyer, I'm pretty certain to not be swayed on how I feel about this one. If you really want to read that whole thread and have a whole day of your life to get sucked into to it, let me save you the trouble and say go to page 100, round about where Casey puts the cabash on it.

Well, I just wanted to pop in, but I do have a sweater or two in progress to speak of and more stash enhancement. It was also a weekend of fiber-tastic proportions and there are pictures to prove it. Oh I was also given a blog award I'll talk about too. I haven't done much blog reading so if I wasn't emailed, I would have never known. I know I am a sucky blogger. Maybe tomorrow.....

Oh Halp! I Haz An Addiction

2009-01-17T00:23:00.005-05:00

No seriously, I have a problem. I might need an intervention. See below.

This is sock yarn I have managed to amass in 3 months and at least 3 are not included in this photo. This does not include the stuff I bought earlier in my knitting foray. This is just since Rhinebeck. Sheesh. I guess there are worse things I could be addicted to in life.

Guess you might like to know what the goods are, huh? Ok starting at the back, the brown socks are my Dad's Flying Trapeze socks in Lamb's Pride Superwash Worsted and the half finished sock is my Leyburns in Socks that Rock "Lettuce Knit". Front row left to right, Sheldridge Farm acquired in a trade, Socks that Rock "Puck's Mischief", tucked in btwn is Malabrigo sock in "Eggplant", Sophie's Toes in "Christmas Lights", Socks that Rock Mill End "Lover's Leap", Malabrigo sock in "Solis"(love that blue), Socks that Rock "Lenore", and the last skein of Shelridge Farm Supersock at the right. Not pictured: Wollmiese "Baba Jaga" , Zarzuela's Fibers Silky Sock Yarn in "DC Sunrise, and Knitivity Sock Yarn in "Rodentia".

This sock is partly to blame for the current sock fetish. Meet my Easter Egg Leyburns. This is quite possibly the most addictive pattern. I adore this sock. It's done in Socks that Rock lightweight in "Lettuce Knit", a mill end I snatched up at Rhinebeck.

I have also been spinning like crazy also. I briefly mentioned that I bought local Border Leicester fiber on Thanksgiving weekend. Well I did, in fact, spin and ply two of the balls. I was able to get a light fingering weight, 2-ply yarn out of just two of the balls. I still have more to go, plus the cream color. I think I would like to do a sheep to sweater-type of project and spin all the yarn. I was thinking of a cream and chocolate fair isle.

I also started spinning Zarzuela's Fibers "Stormy Dawn" in merino wool. I am going to finish spinning half of the braid and then trying to Navajo ply on the wheel. We are doing this as a KAL on the Ravelry page and then knitting it into a hat.

What else am I doing? Well, for one, I am traveling like mad right now. I went to Boston last week and then San Francisco and Iowa for this week. I come home Sunday and jump feet first into the next work week. Should be fun, no? Ok my jet lagged eyes are heavy. See you all later.

Keeping up with the New Year's Crafting Goals

2009-01-03T15:03:00.004-05:00

I guess since it's already the THIRD of January 2009, that maybe I should share the last finished objects of 2008, huh? Ok, ok. I can bring it. Before I do that, I hope everyone had a great New Year. Thanks so much for your kind words on my last post.

So remember the secret project for my MIL for Christmas? Well, I guess maybe not so secret because I did have her pick out a pattern that she would like asked for her modification wishlist. Here is it!

This is my mother-in-law's Knit Cardi Victoria by Fashion Martina. It seems I am the first Raveler to do the pattern. I did find some errors that caused a little frogging on the sleeves, but i need to go back and do my math to be sure before I email the designer.

The yarn is Oswal Winter King, a sturdy, fairly soft pure wool that I purchased while in Ludhiana, Punjab, India visiting with friends. They were SO excited to take me to every wool mill in town. And boy, did I bring home a mother load of it too. It was so ridiculously affordable b/c the Rupee is so much less than the dollar. I would have spend 800 here for that much wool in the rainbow of colors I brought home. Luckily, I knew I would be doing a black duster coat at some point and it's nice when you pre-plan to have it in stash for occasions like this where it takes up a bit of yarn.

Started: November 2007

Finished: December 23, 2007

(includes a nice long wet and steam blocking)

Modifications: A few. Firstly, I chose the smaller collar option. There is one pattern for an enormous collar that is really not Mom's style. I also modified the flair sleeve cuffs in the pattern to a straight sleeve per her request.

All in all, it seems to fit her the way she would like and she should be warm when we go to these drafty restaurants!

Next up is the longest running UFO that has now been made into the last FO for 2008. Trust me, there was a lot of happy dancin' when this baby was done on 12/31/08 after it's long blocking. The pattern is Rogue by Girl From Auntie aka Jenna Wilson. The pattern is definitely of the more complicated I've ever done, but the pattern is expertly written.

So I cast-on for this in March 2007 (Oy almost 2 years ago!) and it was fresh off the blocking mats on New Year's Eve. Unfortunately, I didn't feel well on New Year's Day or yesterday to want to be out in the cold with just a sweater for a photo shoot. I had good sun today so we did some quickie photos out back next to my neighbor's garage.

The yarn is Noro Cash Iroha in a toxic, lovely, Irish countryside green. I can say that, it really does remind me of the color of the grass there. Unfortunately, my choice of yarn for the project was a bit of a failure for 2 reasons. First, the yarn pills like mad and, secondly, the thick/thin texture of the yarn interferes a little with the clarity of the cables. It is soft and very comfortable though. I'm a little disappointed in spending this much for the yarn two years back and realizing it really doesn't fit the bill now. If you are going to do this pattern, I recommend a yarn that has an even texture, at least 2 or 3-ply, and a little less halo bloom when blocked, like Cascade 220 or McTaggert Tweed. There is just a little too much halo and uneven texture with this yarn for intricate cables.

I do like the sweater though, it is not my best knit because of my yarn match with the project. Also, I don't care for my grafting job on the hood. It's passable, but not where I want it to be. I found it confusing to graft the cables with knits/purls together in the middle. I can live with it though.

The cable design are without a doubt, stunning. They are simply placed on the sweater to result in the maximum visual impact.

Another thing I've been meaning to show you are the the fruits of my husband's new hobby, wood turning. He has been nuts over lathes ever since I've known him and is a very talented craftsman. He bought himself a mini lathe before the holidays and this was his first project, a bowl for his mother. It's red mahogany. It came out really pretty.

As far as new year's crafting resolutions go, I did cast on for Alice Starmore's "St. Brigid" from the Aran Knitting book as well as a new sock. Say hello to Leyburn by MintyFresh. I adore this pattern. I joined the Leyburn KAL in the Socks that Rawk! Ravelry group and we are each doing the pattern in a different colorway of socks that rock. No sock will be the same. This colorway is "Lettuce Knit". So far I am in love with this sock....part of my new year's goals. Oh it's also my first toe-up sock!

Ok folks, back to my sock knitting. At some point, I will have more to show for myself with St. Brigid and show that to you. TTFN!

2008 - A Year in Retrospect (in pictures)

2008-12-31T00:42:00.060-05:00

Go get yourselves a coffee, donut, and a butt cushion for your chair. You're going to be here awhile.

Let's start with the knitting content shall we?

2008 FO list

12 sweaters

5 cowls (1 is not pictured)

3 balls of fiber spun

1 pair of socks

1 shrug

1 shawl

1 christening gown set

1 baby hat

and 1 birthday cupcake

Not bad at all. Oh note, that the UFO picture of Rogue at the far right bottom is in there b/c, folks, it's FINALLY done. In fact, I finished the last sleeve last night. It's blocking and waiting for it's photo shoot on Jan 1,2008. After 2 long years, many fights, in and out of love, and many bouts of not being on speaking terms, I've ended the 2 year relationship and kicked the UFO status out. Yay!

Some notable knitting accomplishments for 2008:

I bought myself a Schacht Ladybug and learned to spin with my partner in crime, Sairy, thanks to Jessica (Zarzuela)and Christine CheekyRedHead!
I went to Rhinebeck for the first time and lost most of my self control with THAT much fiber/yarn.
I started my first large shawl project, the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl.
I am back in love with socks (thanks to Sairy).
I won the Ravelry Olympics for 2008 and 2006. I will compete in 2010.
I did more gift knitting this year. I finished sweaters for both my Mother and MIL.
I did some more detailed cabling this year.
Learned to start a toe-up sock (12/30/08, hey it still counts)
Noticed my knitting skills and speed have greatly improved compared to last year.
Joined Plurk back in October and has expanded my ties with even more knitters outside of Ravelry.

Two of the most notable accomplishments for me this year, knitting-wise, is finishing an intricately cabled sweater, Silver Belle, for the 2008 Ravelympics. I also made a fun YouTube video to accompany the Ravelry camaraderie on this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhJwx6geVE.

Secondly, learning to spin was a big deal to me. I have been bitten by the spinning bug and I love it. In fact, I am in (Jessica's) Zarzuela's Fibers Fiber Club and joined a spin-a-long for the same fiber. I think spinning has inspired me to bring my knitting/crocheting to levels. I'm proud of continuing my quest to learn old crafts and make them new. I love the idea of renewable resources and not necessarily being forced to rely on things commerically available. If I want laceweight in a specific color, by golly, I'll spin it. Maybe I want chunky, I'll do that to. The possibilities are endless, not to mention, I have a lifeline of talented spinners right at my fingertips. That beats the gym shorts off of having to take a class with an instructor I don't know any day.

For 2009, I am writing down goals this year, rather than post projects I want to knit. Since my crafting as evolved so much this year, I don't want to limit myself to things I may not want to make later on down the road. I don't think these goals are unobtainable or lofty either considering my accomplishments for this year.

2009 Crafting Goals

Cast on for St. Brigid (Alice Starmore) on January 1, 2009
Do a substantial colorwork project with steeks
Finish my lace shawl
Learn to spin lace weight and also learn to Navajo ply
Must.knit.more.socks
Knit a sweater out of handspun fiber
Attempt to make one of my design sketches a reality
Knit more from stash. I need to get my books/magazines under control also.
Knit Roland his first pair of socks. He picked Malabrigo sock. That's mah boy.
Get a little crocheting in. It the first craft I learned when I was 8. I miss it

This year has been a whirlwind. There's always the good and bad. The bad may seems the worst at the time, but you know what, the good stuff was what came to mind first. I think that's got to tell you something.

I got a bit of travel back in this year also, both work and personal. I went to my godson's christening in Iowa, went back o Ireland, the highlight of my year, I went to Disney TWICE, I went to Puerto Rico and lived through an earthquake on the 16th floor, visited my BFF in Florida, and got a chance to explore San Francisco while away for work.

I still don't have my stress level under control as I would like it to be, but that's an ongoing process. There were more things tossed onto my plate this year making the latter half of the year difficult. I really fell off the wagon of regular blogging and blog-reading, although Plurk has allowed me to stay in touch with folks. I am considering joining a 365 day project to get myself back into that. Unless I'm on my deathbed, there should be no reason that I can't pop in and say boo on a daily basis.

2009 Personal Goals:

Find the gym again and become more heart-healthy
Change eating habits to help my existing GERD issues
My work-life balance will always need work, although I have gotten much better
Return to Ireland in October and get Roland on vacation to the Grand Canyon in February
Try to keep my office a little more organized
Find a better sleep schedule and find a way to kick my insomnia
Get my vegetable garden going again. I miss it.
Renovate my office space. It needs a new, happy color and modern furniture
Get my pictures into organized photo albums
Volunteer and rescue another dog
Make it to Maryland Sheep and Wool
Finish some of my quilt tops that just need quilting
I guess we need to round out my last post for the year with a year in pictures.

2008 began with baby christening gowns....

...and much anticipated babies.

Special February birthdays...

...resulted in special surprises and lifetime memories.

The return to Ireland to see old friends....

...also resulted in new ones.

Life bonds were strengthened....

...and work bonds were weakened

Another healthy happy year past in human years...

...and in dog years.Knitting misbehaved... ...and was recklessly remedied.

History was witnessed.... and made just the same.We had angry pirates.....

And yarn ones....

...And very, very drunk ones.

We had knitter's weddings....

And knitter's festivals...
With lots of fiber friends....

....fiber craziness

...and more expensive fiber craziness.

There were Rhinebeck fiber hauls...

...SnB friends....

...and Ravelry friends ... ....that are also life friends...

....and the ultimate blackmail photo of the century.

There was more Disney in October.....and more fun in Tampa for Halloween

There were distant bridges....

....and bridging the distance.

And willing, I'll continue down my path for another year. Thank you all for your friendship and support, your camaraderie and laughter. I wish you all the peace, love, and health in 2009.

Yule Saying

A Bayberry candle burnt to the sprocket,

Brings warmth to the heart and wealth to the pocket.

Happy 2009 dear friends.

Thank You For Flying Wicked Witch Airlines

2008-12-30T15:07:00.014-05:00

Wicked Witch Airlines Safety Speech

by HolyKnitballs!

Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers

Thank you for flying Wicked Witch Airlines. Our cruising altitude today will be 10,000 feet. Prior to take off please ensure that your cat is securely strapped in to the rear of your broom.

Should you lose altitude, please ensure you don't fall off before your cat. Remember, they ALWAYS land on their feet and you do not.

Your broom is equipped with low level lighting should you not be able to find your way in any dense Boston fog. This flight will also be guided by winged-monkey air marshalls should we experience any turbulence.

We offer several lunch boxes on today's flight. Choose from Dragon's Blood Pudding with a Cat's Claw Beurre Blanc, Toadstool Tartar, or Cream Of Rose Hip Soup. Please use caution when eating, as exposure to steam may cause spontaneous melting.

Please use caution when writing any smoke messages in the sky to your arch nemesis from Kansas with the blasted gaudy ruby slippers from your crazy sister....um ah, please sit back and enjoy the wind in your hair.

Thank you for flying with Wicked Witch Airlines.

So how do you like my funny? It all started today over a discussion on Plurk with my dear friend regarding high winds in Boston and broom-riding. It turned into me being silly and pulling this out of my hat. BTW, I love the Wicked Witch of the West. Margaret Hamilton rocks and always will! Judy Garland is my thesbian idol. I even paid my respects to Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley's graves in Hollywood. Ray Bolger was a favorite musical actor of mine along with Judy. I am a BIG FAN of this movie so I just HAD to share! There are a ton of memories of me sitting on my grandpop's lap tied to this. To this day, he calls me to let me know it's on TV so I can watch it too. Very sentimental for me.

Happy 70th Anniversary

Wizard of Oz!

1939-2009

My most beloved childhood movie.

Banditas

2008-12-29T22:46:00.008-05:00

Yes, again another bout of blog silence, but for good reason. There was so much secret knitting going on....crazy, marathon, manic knitting sessions. There was some frogging involved. It wasn't pretty, but it's done. I hope you all had a fabulous holiday.

So now you must be scratching your head wondering what the heck that has to do with my post title. Please observe.

Suspect Profile #1: Clarabelle Cow-l Bandita:

She will rock out and then steal your Disney pins. This one has such a Disney fetish for pins, you had better lock your doors. Note the Tinkerbell purple cowl she is sporting. (BTW, if you call yourself a Disney fan and don't know who Clarabelle Cow is, then shame on you. Do your Disney homework).

Suspect Profile #2: Mommer Bandita:

This one can clean your house and render it spotless, blind-folded....literally, in a matter of minutes. She has a lot of that meticulous, Italian mother blood in her. Your laundry and any dust that exists in your abode should tremble in fear. She is also known to feed dogs lots of treats and has an affinity for a certain son-in-law, she aptly calls "son". The Mommer Bandita has a sidekick. The suspect's profile is a black and white Japanese chin/Yorkie mix with a ferocious appetite for alpaca and specifically handmade socks, much to the chagrin of a "certain" knitter. Some consider this yapper to be the brains of the bandita operations as he has the Mommers and Dadders wrapped around his paw for cookies.
Ok enough of my silliness. The first cowl is of my own design, just a simple garter on the top and bottom with stockinette in the middle. I did this because I know Tammy does not like tight things around her neck. BTW, that is my SIL, KubusKrafts in disguise there. It's made out of a lovely Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky in Tinkerbell Purple, of course.

The cowl on my mother...oh yeah, that is my mom hiding in the blue cowl and then modelled by her sidekick, Ozzy. The pattern for this is the Cherry Garcia Cowl by HelloYarn done in a mixed berry colored Cascade Baby Alpaca Chunky.

Also, you might not believe this but neither of two human pictures were posed. They were both random and done on different days, but I could not resist the criminal profiling spoof on count of the bank robber style we have going on here. BTW, I loved knitting cowls this year and it was instant gratification abound.

Next up, Dad got a pair of slippers that I decided to whip out at the last minute for no reason other than he complained his feet were cold. I haven't broken down and done another pair of socks yet after the dog ATE a hole in the alpaca socks and slippers I made for him WHILE they were on his feet and his was dead ASLEEP in the recliner. I kid you not. I couldn't make this crap up.

This pattern is called "Aran Isle Slippers" by Jennifer Lang from the latest Interweave Knits. I don't really care for the look of them, not the pattern, but more my yarn choice. The heathered olive Cascade 220 muddles the cables quite a bit. They fit Dad though and he liked them so that's all that counts.

I did finish my MIL's cardigan, which is posted to Ravelry, but I want to get pictures of it on her. It doesn't look good on me b/c it wasn't meant for my size. She is tiny and likes loose clothing so it looks much better on her. Hopefully, I can get those pictures tomorrow.

One last thing, today is 4 years that I've been knitting. Granted, I crocheted since I was 8 and my foray into knitting is really not that old, but I feel I've accomplished a lot in that time. So with that, my first FO was a seed stitch scarf out of a pure wool I can't remember. We decided to dig it out tonight and take a new picture. This was an FO prior to any Ravelry or blogging years so we actually needed a photo anyway.

We decided to compromise the dog's dignity since Mom was not feeling photogenic tonight, as evidenced by the bank robber pose above.And last but not least, Whistler's mother. Dont' worry, Ozzy will get a cookie for his dedicated services in the interest of my art. (read Mommer Bandita profile above on the cookie part).

Ok well, hopefully, I will have more tomorrow and then my year in retrospect on 12/31. Where did the time go?

Drive-by blogging (picture heavy post with gasp knitting content

2008-12-10T22:44:00.000-05:00

Well hello! Ready for your next installment of a blog post cleverly disguised with pictures from a crazed, busy, horribly bad blogger? Alrighty then, grab yourself a cup of java and cozy up to the flat screen.

After Thanksgiving and house-hopping, I got down to making my second turkey...EVER. And that bird was tasty. Molasses-pecan glazed and fairly moist, for a turkey. While I was doing this, I had to avoid stepping on or tripping over a small fuzzy house guest for the weekend.

Meet Daisy. Prior to her grooming appoint, might I add. She is so soft and fuzzy. She was my constant shadow for 5 days and, quite frankly, I miss her little ninja-dog pitter-patter at my heels.

We were playing on my futon up in my office. She was pretty funny. I guess she's about 8 months old and is part Japanese Chin, Maltese, and possibly Yorkie. Nevertheless she's cute.

A few days after her Mommy and Daddy came to take her home after a trip back from Chicago, she came to visit fresh from the groomers. She's so freakin' cute. Her face reminds me of a Schnauzer here.

I also accomplished a little spinning that weekend too. This is a single of Clover Leaf Farms combed merino top in the "Midnight" colorway that a snapped up in Rhinebeck this year. I found it really tough to spin being a newbie until I discovered spinning from "the fold". That helped a ton! Once I get the rest all spun up, I might try navajo plying it on the wheel.

I also went to a bulldog show the Saturday after Thanksgiving to see my friend's parents who are big bulldoggers. My parents, who had spent some time with them on the cruise through the Mediterranean last summer, came with me and we watched some of the judging. After that we met up with Sairy for lunch, who was home visiting her parents for the holiday weekend and hit a craft show at her former high school. We both scored several balls of Border Leicester fiber. I bought some balls in this lovely natural chocolate color and in an oatmeal color. My hope is to try out some colorwork with my handspun.
The spinning was set aside and used as a reward for milestone accomplishments on this beastie. This is my MIL's sweater coat. That's all you get though. (No more peaking for you, Mom. You'll see it on Christmas). The rest of you can check out the progress on my Ravelry page (HolyKnitballs). Otherwise, the unveiling won't happen until Christmas.

I did squeeze in a little cowl knitting to break the monotony and save my poor eyeballs from the black yarn. This is the "Unpurled Cable" Cowl. I used .5 balls of Woolbearers Sirena in the "Softball" colorway. Folks, if you are looking for quick, this is your project. Bulky yarn, size 11 needles, and 1.5 hours and you have a Christmas present. Voila! Instant gratification. I also hit Purl Soho a few weekends back, again with Sairy , for an Electric Six concert with her hubby and a friend from Brooklyn. I caved when I saw this lovely Lorna's Laces Fisherman's Wool. It has a killer 500 yards. I'm planning a Clapotis for me to match my black and white pea coat. I have been gobbling up yellow like it's going out of style lately. Now I just need to knit with it. I guess the solar plexus chakra needs some work since I am so bonkers for yellow anymore, a color that I hated for the longest time. Guess your tastes do change as you get older...and for more than just brussel sprouts and beets.

This colorful skein of sock loveliness is for my SIL's "Have a Magical Day" Mickey Mouse B-day socks. This is Knitivity Merino Fingering in the "Rodentia" colorway. Get it Rodent-ia. hehehehe. Perfect for the mouse-lover in your life. At 925 yards, I think I can squeeze out a pair of sockies for a certain Mommy-in-law as well, just in time for the next trip to "The Mouse". Now just to figure out a pattern. I am very open to suggestions if anyone has any.
We rounded out last weekend with a trip to Jessica's for a Fibery Goodness Gathering and Secret Santa swap. Kristy, Sairy, and I drove up together. HHWJ (otherwise known as "the boy") was Sant's Jolly Elf and did the Secret Santa matching so Jess could play too. Guess who I got? Sairy , of course. LOL. Our limit was $10, which can be tough, but I scored the cutest thing on Etsy and it didn't come by Friday as I hoped. So I had to go to plan B and will put the other gifty (that I can't talk about here) in her Christmas present. Starbucks card anyone? Yep. The perfect gift for your caffeinated knitter. It came complete with a plastic canvas snowman card holder I got from Tammy's craft show gig, which you can read about on her blog here.

Kim was my secret santa and scored me a new mod tape measure, which I needed since Mr. Sheepie tape measure needs to be retired in a big way. I got this awesome knitted sweater key chain and vintage knitting magazines. (Thanks Kim! Awesome gifts!) Have I ever mentioned I have a vintage magazine problem? I collect them. There are some lervely socks in there. I'll have to take some photos and show you later. We were cracking up over the turban pattern. I need to remind myself to take photos to show and tell.

I also bought some lovely BFL roving from Jess's fiber shop in a "Blueberry" colorway. I will start spinning this up after Christmas for Dad's handspun birthday socks with a firm threat to keep the "little beast" away from the handknits.

Isn't this just gorgeous? BFL practically spins itself. I now love the stuff. If you haven't been to Jessica's Etsy shop, you need to run, not walk right now to Etsy and have a lookie. She is also starting a fiber club, which I also plan to join.

And so I leave you with a pick of Jessica's cat, Simba, in a rather questionable pose. I think I may have interrupted some self-cleaning going on. She kind of looks guilty, no?

Ok got to get back to knitting the behemoth sweater. Catch ya later.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T14:33:00.016-05:00

And now we are going to go back about a month and talk about Halloween. LOL. Yeah I still have not showed you any Disney pictures yet. I suck.

So anyway, you all know my SIL and I went to Disney for the Not So Scary Halloween party, right? Well, as with all of our trips, the usually giddy stuff happens once we officially go into vacation mode at the airport.
And then by the time we sit down, the crafting comes out. That would be my Nutkin sock. Tammy had her snowmen with her to work on for the upcoming craft show.

After rolling into bed at 2AM when we arrived, we hit Epcot on the first day for the Food and Wine Festival. This is my favorite time to go to Disney. It's not ungodly hot, everything is decorated for the Fall, and I can eat/drink my way around the world. Not so bad right?

First things first. I had some unfinished business to attend to. We ran to Norway so I could redo my picture with the giant troll that I took in Feb when my camera was stolen. I love me some troll.

Then give two girls on no sleep frosty alchoholic beverages, caffeine, and a captive camera man and well....you see, we are very fun. :-)
We have fun regardless. The Disney high and tasty beverages just make it MORE fun.

This is the face of a very happy little girl below. I have my Moroccan food and I patiently wait to hear Mo'Rockin' in...shocker...Morocco.

My super-duper SIL videoed the entire performance while I happily stuffed my face with North African goodies. Nirvana.

The next day we headed to the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween party. I love the way they decorate for the Fall.

Of course, me and thousands of others dressed up for the occasion. Arrrgh! Fetch me rum ye swashbucklers!

Later that evening, we sat for the parade. I had "Boo to You" stuck in my head for two weeks following the parade. It's Disney and it's catchy.

The float below is one of my favorites. It's the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride.
These are supposed to be the ballroom dancing ghosts in the dining room scene of the ride. The coolest part were the gravediggers. They use shovels as a prop and scraped them across the concrete causing bright orange sparks.

This is Jack Skellington on a giant disco ball. Can I tell how much I love Halloween here? I love villains. I echo my SIL in that I was never a princess person. I always liked the Evil Queen or Cruella, Ursala.

Next we are on to my FAVORITE part...the pirates. I happened to catch Barbosa in there too which I wasn't expecting. He was um...very good in the part. wow.

YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! That's captain. Captain Jack Sparrow. *rolls eyes*

Tammy was very excited for this rare treat. Snow White and all Seven Dwarfs! You usually only see her with Dopey. And I met my very first, not so scary clown. Isn't Eyore adorable? I hate clowns, but how could be afraid of a sulky, melancholy donkey?

We had an awesome time as evidenced by the smiles here.

We also got to spend a little time with the kidling when he wasn't spiking a fever of 102. I kid you not.

hehehehe that's mah boy.

After Disney, I went to visit a bestest buddy in St. Pete and got to spend Samhain with her just like old times. (Yes, we left the plate of food out too for All Souls. If you want more info on this custom, go to my October 2007 archive). While there I was introduced to two new friends, and this guy. Meet Scrumpy. Isn't he a doll? He is a friend's newest rescue bully.

Of course, Nesa was none too thrilled over the attention Scrumpy was getting. She got over it. Nesa is my friend, Wendy's bullie.

As well as this cutie. She even tolerated us putting the little clip on horns on her for her Halloween costume. Kind of scary how they actually look like they are coming out of her head, huh?

And then there is Moo-Moo, the wonder kitteh. If it wasn't for the good care of some fabulous people, she might not be here right now looking so healthy. She has kidney failure and was diagnosed while we were in Ireland in April. She's had a rough year, but she is doing great now.

Ok well I'm going back to clean my pots and pans after cooking today. Have a great weekend and Happy Thanksgiving. I am certainly very thankful for the extended family of friends met through this blog, Ravelry, and Plurk.

Believe it or not, as busy as work has been, I have lots of knitting and pinning content to speak of next week. Some I can't speak of, but you can catch me on Ravelry to see what I am working on for the super-secret snoopers of the blog.

San Francisco and S- FOs

2008-11-19T00:01:00.009-05:00

As most of you know, I was in San Francisco for work all last week. I was in training for 8 hours a day. At night, the 4 of us from my company tried to get out and see some of the city by the bay.

Our preferred hotel is the Hotel Monaco right downtown. Yes, it is pricey and swanky, but we get a fantastic rate through corporate. See? Very trendy.

On day one, only 1 of my co-workers would be getting in at a comparable time to myself so we intended to shop when she got there. After a bit of a delay, she got to town and we hit the ground running. First up. What is the most touristy thing you could possibly imagine doing in San Francisco? There is nothing like hanging from the side of a trolley with 110 yr old breaks and other cars passing your back end within mere inches. What can I say? I live life dangerously on business. The view below is looking down to Fisherman's Wharf/Pier 39. That is Angel Island in the background out in the bay.

I love how they turn these buggers around. They hit the end of their route and are spun around by hand on a wooden turnstile of sorts. You got to love the smell of burning brakes and trolley operators throwing around huge gears. It's certainly part of the experience.

We ate at Neptunes that night on Pier 39 and took a night view of the local group of Sea Lions that call the docks at Pier 39 home. It was a gorgeous night and we headed back to the hotel to meet our 2 other co-workers for a drink at the hotel to say hello.

Over the course of the next two days, we ate at The Waterfront (swanky) and then The Slanted Door. I've got to tell you, the Slanted Door was my favorite of all nights. It was a Vietnamese fusion restaurant and the food was fab.u.lous. I ain't lyin'!

Please excuse the extremely blurry shot of the San Fran Bay Bridge at night near the Embarcadero, a trendy section of town on the water full of nifty eateries and place to "be seen". By the way, let me just mention the Garmin GPS sucked in this city with telling us to turn on one ways into on-coming traffic and at trolley cars. Yep, the Garmin was about chucked out of the window regularly. That bitch living inside the Garmin tried to kill us on numerous occasions.

One night we walked through Chinatown with our counterparts from another company. We walked through and ended up in a "little Italy" of sorts and settled to eat at the Mona Lisa Restaurante. YUM. Ravioli alla Zucca which translates to pumpkin-filled ravioli goodness in a sage butter sauce. This is truly one of my favorite Italian dishes. For whatever reason, the best versions I've always had of this dish have been in either Oakland or San Fran.
Of course, there was also a little yarn detour. I drug my co-workers into Artfibers. Thrilling company that they were, I did actually come home with this. It's merino yarn, 669 yards of it to be exact.

On Friday, we got out early enough to go play before going to the airport for red-eyes home. One of our counterparts from a nameless, competitor company was there from Poland and staying until Saturday night. She hadn't been out to see anything so we asked her to join us. She happily accepted so we schlepped her along to do more touristy crap.

We went back to Pier 39 to see our Sea Lion friends during the day. What a life.

Next up, we booked ourselves and hour ferry ride in the bay that took us around the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Angel Island. I had seen Alcatraz in the bay all week and was so dying to get a closer look. We were convinced the Golden Gate Bridge did not exist. All the traveling we had done to different places all week, we still had not seen it. The joke was that it was a myth, a bridge in the mist. LOL. Finally here it is in all its weekly hand-painted glory. Yes, you heard right. It's painted by hand, by two people, continuously. By the time they get to the other end, they have to start over.
BTW, have I mentioned that I love architecture and suspension bridges?

I have a ton of bridge pictures that I'll put on Flickr. I admit I am a picture snapper. What a gorgeous ride around the bay.

Here's a nice view looking back at the SFO skyline and my favorite building, the Trans-America building (the pointy one).

Finally, what I was waiting for was a close-up view of Alcatraz, made famous by the Al Capone, the most famous prisoner.

Next time I want to do the tour on the island and go into the prison. I want to see the solitary confinement cells and things. I think it would give me the creeps, but I would love to see inside.

They say that from the boat dock to the prison is like walking up a 13-story building. Yikes. We'll bring the tennies next time.

To round out the day, there were fruity drinks, of course. I was in good company for that. This is a "California Dreamin'" which went down entirely too easy.
We put the poor Polish girl on the trolley and made her live dangerously with the rest of us and hang off the edge. Hey, it's all part of the experience right? While on the trolley, we ended up at an intersection to allow the USC Marching Band do their thing through the city streets. There was a game there that weekend.
I got on my red-eye home, slept a little, and was reunited with my hubby and spinning wheel. I know. I know. A girl has priorities.

Before I left, I ordered a bit of fiber. I had to people. Seriously. It's from Cosmic Fibers and the colorway is called "Bog of Eternal Stench". Hello? I love the move "Labyrinth". How could I not get this?

Also, I came home and plied a bit, reuniting myself with Wenders, my Ladybug Wheel, aptly named after my bud, Wendy. The wheel was born on her birthday, hence the name. This is one of many skeins I made of Zarzuela Fibers in the "DC Sunrise" colorway. It's so purdy folks. I'm getting more excited as my spinning slowly becomes more consistent.

In other news, there is also a finished object to speak of today. This is the what I am calling the "Psychedelic Bunneh Cowl". It's actually the Crofter Cowl by Gundrun Johnson aka Shetland Trader. I used half of a skein of the agnora/merino blend I bought in Rhinebeck.

It's so warm and soft. I loves me some bun-bun fuzz.

Yes, I am a sucky blogger.....but I have finished objects so I can't be THAT bad, right?

2008-11-13T02:04:00.005-05:00

So after being gone for like the last 6 weeks, my mad travels between work and personal are finally coming to an end. Phew! Right now, I am two days shy of ending my business training in San Francisco and slumping like a tired heap in front of my spinning wheel, where I would rather be right now.

I'm going to fore go the vacation photos for this post to bring you FOs. First up is my Mom's Birthday sweater, the Lush and Lacy Cardigan. That's my Mom in her new sweater below.

Pattern: Lush and Lacey Cardigan by SweaterBabe

Yarn: 7 balls of yarn from India in a toffee color

Needles: Size 10 addis

Started: April 29, 2008 and then on hold until closer to her birthday

Finished: October 19, 2008

Mods: None. Mom loves her sweater. I did use clasps instead of buttons.

Second FO is the birthday cupcake. I made this for my MIL when I saw it on Ravelry. She happened to be celebrating her birthday this week. (Don't worry her sweater is coming along nicely too, but sssssh).

Pattern: Cupcake by Eva McDonald

Started: November 7, 2008

Finished: November 7, 2008

Mods: I did an extra two increased from the the bottom to the frosting to give it more of a heavily-frosted look. This is a quick, fun little project.

On another note, I started a new sock. Surprised? You should be. The sock mojo is back, yo. I started the Nutkin socks out of some pumpkin-colored Koigu.

Believe it or not, I have knitting-related content from my Disney trip also. I present the biggest honkin' ball of yarn I've ever seen. This was in front of Australia and New Zealand in Epcot during the Disney Food and Wine Festival.

Would you believe I walked past these ginormous yarn balls AT LEAST three times before spotting them through the crowds. Yeah, that is surprising to me too. Is that a snarky look on my face or what holding up my pet sock there?

I have also been playing with my Ladybug. I bought a ball of salmon-colored merino top at Rhinebeck and got this out of it. It's loosely spun and plied, but I am still getting the whole tension thing.
So then we moved on to Zarzuela's DC Sunrise and voila! We have about a fingering weight here. I started plying it before I left on Sunday for San Francisco, but didn't take any pictures yet.

There was a brief spinning sabbatical at my house on November 2nd. 3 little ladybugs sitting in the room....S-P-I-double N-I-N-G. Yep. Good times had by all. That's Sairy and Zarzuela (Jessica) sitting in my living room with me spinning away. Cartman sat there helpless and wanting attention.

Alright folks, I am outie. It's the equivalent of almost 3AM for me at home and I am fading fast. See you on Saturday and I promise the Disney and SanFran pics will be posted over two posts this weekend.

Wow so much to tell..so much to tell

2008-10-23T20:30:00.007-04:00

Let's start off with the first order of business, 2 FOs to talk about today. The first is the super secret blog-snooper project of September. It's Sairy's wedding shawl.

Pattern: Summer Lace Shawlette by Sandi Wiseheart (Interweave 2006)

Yarn: 3 balls of Plymouth Royal Bamboo

Needles: 10.5 Addi Turbos

The next FO was literally finished the night before the second day of Rhinebeck. (The first day I wore my Tilted Duster b/c I ruined my Silver Belle. More on that at a later date). I finished the sleeves and seamed the pocket. Voila! Instant FO.

Pattern: Wicked by the Zephry Girls

Yarn: 100purewool.com in colorway "poison". I love this yarn!

Needles: Size 6 Addis

As stated in the Rhinebeck poem, Sairy and I bought Schacht Ladybugs and Lazy Kates as evidenced below.

I bought some pencil roving to practice my drafting technique. Now I playing with plying. Here is the BFL pencil roving.

But now I am on to some fluffy, soft salmon colored merino. Yeah! Sorry for the blurry picture.

I can't tell you how much I adore the fall. I love apples, pumpkins, the colors, the slight nip in the air. This is my season for sure. Sugar Maples are my favorite trees followed closely by Japanese Stewartias. Why do I love Acer Saccharum so much? Take a look.

The best part of the weekend was the once in a lifetime photo the hubs let me take of him on my spinning wheel. Would anyone like to clone him? He did pretty good too. He's very supportive of my crafty endeavors, although my excitement over all things fiber cracks him up a bit.
As of tomorrow evening, I will be on a plane to Disney with my SIL, Tammy (aka KubusKrafts) to see my godson, Andrew, friends, Ruth and Joanne, family and later in the week, my friend, Wendy. We are going to the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Sunday. Bet you can guess what I am going as this year, huh? Was I too obvious? LOL.

YAAARRRRRRRRRRR Have a good week all!

(P.S. I'll tell Cap'n Jack you said hi)

A Rhinebeck Poem - The Weekend Recap

2008-10-21T23:06:00.028-04:00

Ahem.....

'Twas the Saturday of Rhinebeck, and in the Main Barn,

The Fold was stocked up on all STR yarn.

I grabbed two nice hanks off the hooks with great care,

To buy it all now, it later won't be there.

Jess at Golding and Kristy in the Brooks Farm craze,

Sairy and I wondered about in a fibery daze.

Christine had given us a lesson to learn to drop spin,

To prepare for the wheels we wanted to begin

When what to our fiber-crazed eyes should we see,

But two Ladybugs for sale at Carolina Spinnery

The credit cards ready for the Bugs and Lazy Kate,

My plastic came out as I claimed the Schacht's mate.

On alpacas, on bunnies, on Brooks Farm and more,

On cider, fried artichokes, and fiber galore.

As we trudged through the crowd with all our spinning gear,

The Ravelers all smiled and let out a cheer.

The spinners said congrats and smiled with great pride,

That these two knitter girls had gone to the dark side.

We nestled the Ladybugs, all snug in the car boot,

As we headed back to the booths to bring home more loot.

The parking for the Rav party had the neighbors all pissed,

So the meet-up that night we, unfortunately, missed.

Sairy on her wheel and I casting off Wicked in my lap,

Settled in for the night for a well-deserved nap.

On Sunday, we checked The Fold, who had recently re-stocked,

Sairy, a moment of weakness for the Socks that Rock.

To our dear fiber friends, adieu we do bide,

To start our way home for the 4 hour ride.

We re-count our yarn haul much to our own fear,

The yarn diet begins until Rhinebeck next year!

THE END.

I feel. the earth. move. under my feet.....(and it wasn't from all of the mojitos I consumed this week)

2008-10-12T23:09:00.000-04:00

6.1 earthquake. Seriously. Here's the scenario. It's 6:48 AM EST on Saturday, October 11, 2008 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am on the 16th floor of the Caribe Hilton Towers, ocean side. I was dreaming I was walking through a hallway on a cruise ship slamming into the hallway walls as I try to keep my balance on the rocking ship, as if to be drunk. I was rolling back and forth on my side in my sleep and the hangers in the closet were swinging and clanging. I thought I may have even heard the distance rumble of thunder. After a few minutes of that, reality kicked in that I was not on the cruise ship in Italy nor was I drunk. I was in a hotel room in Puerto Rico and my hangers were dancing in the closet. Ummm hello? So I opened one eye to see the clock read 6:48 AM, realized I was rolling back and forth on my side pretty badly, heard the rumbling, and started smacking my friend, Wendy to wake up. I needed validation I was not losing my mind or having hypoglycemic tremors. So I jolted her out of sound sleep, where she was being rocked in her slumber by the quake, and both laid in bed wide-eyed for a moment until the waves subsided. We didn't hear any alarms or yelling so we assumed everything was fine. Wendy, not feeling totally spiffy from a sinus cold, fell fast asleep as I lay awake through two more aftershocks lasting another few minutes or so. Eventually, I fell back to sleep myself and then hit the computer to google the quake when I was finally coherent an hour or two later.

We are pretty high up, see? We felt it more than folks on the ground since the center of gravity is less the higher you go up. It was the weirdest wave feeling and not the 2 second, like someone switched on a blender kind of feeling you get in California. We were swaying like rough waves going from port to starboard on a cruise ship. What was freaky about this particular quake was that it occurred on the 90th anniversary of the 1918 quake that killed 118 people in Puerto Rico. I also went to the seismic activity website and posted a report of the quake.

Aside from that excitement, I had a really good mini-vacation. I arrived on Wed., October 8, 2008. My status surprisingly had me upgraded to first for both segments which was a nice addition to vacation mode. I had one of those fully-reclinable seats in first that had like 14 freakin' buttons to control the seat. I hated these seats folks. Upright was not really upright. The upright position held you at an odd angle with your back unsupported, which for my back pain lately, was not a good thing. I felt like an adult laying in a baby carrier. It was that kind of angle so be forewarned if you have a bad back and have to sit in those seats. Grab yourself some pillows for extra lumbar support.

I was picked up and brought to the hotel about 2ish. The first thing I do is run smack into Toby Ellis, a bartending, flair, mixologist rockstar in my book on the way to our room. The International Bartender Association was having their annual meeting at the hotel so the place was h.o.p.p.i.n.g. I hit the on-site Starbucks for a quad-shot (yes I really was that tired), fired up the computer to work for the rest of the afternoon while my friend finished monitoring at her doctor's site, and sat out on the balcony for a few minutes. This was my view from the 16th floor, an old Spanish fort at the ocean's edge.

Here is the view of some of the high rise hotels on the beach in San Juan.

That evening the first order of business was to get myself a nice chilled mojito. We went downstairs to the bar before you walk out to the pools and met our mojito man, Jose. People, he makes the best mojitos I've ever had in my life. Hands down. We then went to an Asian fusion restaurant on property surrounded by banion trees, peacocks and koi ponds. The place was called Lemongrass and we had food that mixed puerto rican flavors with asian. It was damn good too. We had another mojito back at the Oasis bar and took in a local 8-piece Puerto Rican salsa band.

On Thursday, I worked up in my hotel room on the balcony, not a bad deal at all, and my friend monitored her other site during the day. For dinner, we returned our rental car to the airport that we no longer needed and met up with Wendy's local friend who took us to Old San Juan for some authentic Puerto Rican cuisine at a place called Raices. The waitstaff were all in traditional Puerto Rican dress.

This is mofongo. It doesn't get anymore Puerto Rican than this as far as home-style, stick-to-your-ribs, Puerto Rican comfort food. That yellow thing is a crispy plantain chip, which I love to begin with. Mofongo is served in a mortar/pestle style bowl. The plantains are mashed to form a bowl of sorts on the inside. In the middle, you can order different things. I had marinated skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. Our friend had the traditional pork ribs and Wendy had garlic chicken. People, I will just say YUM and leave it at that. To wet the whistle? Homemade sangria, of course, in super-chilled, peasant-style tin cups. What a yummy night. Vacation has officially started.

After getting back to the hotel, we go back to the Oasis bar to acquire some more mojitos and people-watch, which is like a freaking sport. The bar was virtually empty and Jose was off for the night so we were introduced to Rafael and Aventi. We go find two seats on the backside of the bar that faced out to the rest of the semi-open air venue and watched the activity. Tonight was the last night of the bartender conference and their gala black-tie event was just about over at 10PM. We figured the place will be hopping shortly.

Mojitos in hand, we start chatting. You know when you can feel someone staring at you, like eyes burning through you? Yes, we had noticed we were being pervertedly stared and smiled at by two older gentlemen in suits. I use the term "gentlemen" VERY loosely here. We ignore it and go back to our conversation when one of the younger bartenders, Aventi approaches us. He leans in with this apologetic expression on his face and says, "Ladies, the two guys over there told me to tell you that you are......goddesses." He shrinks back as though one of us would smack him. We looked at him like two deer in headlights. Wha? As if in slow motion, we look over at the two men, who then smile, drunkenly tip their glasses, and say "you are so beau-ti-ful with distinct PR accents. We nod thanking them for the compliment and quickly turn away. Aventi comes back again. "Um, they want to buy the drinks you just ordered." We told him we already paid Rafael and nod with gratitude to the men for the offer. Not wanting to really speak with the men who were already two sheets to the wind, we resume our conversation again. Suddenly, I noticed the men were no longer there and stiffened. A hand was on my back. I turn to Wendy and one man was near Wendy's back and the other was positioned between our two stools. So after dribbling about how we are goddesses (please, whatever drunks!) then start the small talk and we politely and cautiously oblige. Son of a ..grrrrr!. They both worked for pharmaceutical companies local to me which means the odds of me seeing them again are pretty high. So after they finish chatting us up and obnoxiously flirting with women at least 25 years their junior, they mosey back to their seats.

Meanwhile, some more people watching opportunities have established themselves around the bar. There was a wasted radiologist who starts to kiss the face off of a man she doesn't know and then smacks him. I mean, priceless and wildly entertaining. The bar is hopping with bartenders prepared to party it up on their last night in town. Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Australia, UK, Finland....all kinds of countries represented. Fun conversations, the music is playing and the perverts return....crud.

At this point, they are becoming more of an annoyance having dealt with the looks, drunken glass tipping, and smiles for the last two hours. Now this time, it's just the mustached pharmacist guy that kind of stared at us in a creepy, pedophile kind of way. He starts rubbing her back and trying to tickle her while conversing to which she quickly addresses him in a more curt manner than previously polite. He apologizes and then moves on to me. I ignored him until he blatantly put his hand on my right cheek through the back of the chair. I lurched forward, roughly grabbed his hand and addressed him. He apologizes again. Now I am feeling very annoyed and a little threatened. The bartenders had been watching them all night and would give us the eye if we felt they were being aggressive or troublesome, in a protective dad kind of way. Little had I noticed, but the 3 gentlemen next to me had also noticed the in appropriate behavior and caught Wendy's eye. By the time, the mustached pervert stuck his knee through the back of my chair and tried rubbing my butt with it saying something about "if the scenario were different". That was it. It's on beotch. This guy was about to get decked, but I wanted to keep my composure. Wendy addressed him abruptly on my behalf and he finally left. By the time, I felt the next hand on my back, Wendy was like no- no, it's ok it's not him since she saw me stiffen and be on my ready to slug the guy or lay out the law, totally out of character for me. Turns out the 3 guys next to us came over and asked us if we were ok. Once the perverts left the building the whole mood changed and we chatted with our new bodyguards, Icelandic bartenders, and Oasis bartenders for the rest of the night. I think it was 3 AM when our heads finally hit the pillow after all of the fun chatting.

Friday was the first official vacation day. We started the day with a fantastic double rainbow.

That is a smug "I'm on vacation look" if I've ever seen one, huh? So we started the day by heading out to Old San Juan again for some shopping and dining options.

Friday night we ended up eating at a Middle Eastern restaurant at outside tables. We had kibbeh, hummous, falafal, marinated olives, bread, baba ganoush and pistachio flan. Of course, more sangria was in order. Two Arabic gentlemen started a conversation with us and we chatted for a little while. We bid them good evening and got a cab back to the resort.

After the earthquake experience on Saturday morning and a few thunderstorms that rolled through, we hung at the resort and explored some more.
Here is the koi pond outside of the Asian restaurant I was talking about earlier.
They followed us all around as if to say, "Feeeeed me Seymour!"

A pair of black and white swans, who were extremely friendly, mingled with the fish, along with the colored and albino peacocks.

Saturday night was our last night in town. We decided to eat at the Spanish tapas restaurant on -site. We chatted with some folks in the restaurant and ate at the bar. We tried a red and white wine to go along with the tapas which were very tasty. After that, we headed over to the Oasis bar for one last mojito and bid our bartender friends good-bye. I am seriously not a lush. I really don't drink alot. I love mojitos though. It's my drink of choice next to Guinness if I am on vacation. Just like Guinness tasting like crap outside of being in Ireland, mojitos are a latin art form, eventhough the drink is really Cuban, but I digress. I get my fill since I know I won't have any for another year until I go back.
This is Willie. I finally got him to crack a smile. He's a little shy you see.
There was another salsa band and our bartender, Jose, would dance around the bar. He was such a friendly, nice man. He spoke to us as though we were his daughters.

We took one last picture with Jose before bidding him goodnight. Maybe next time, Wendy and I won't be so shy to take him up on that Salsa lesson. Thanks Jose!

Next up: RHINEBECK AND RAVELRY PARTIES! Where my stitches at yo???

The Tom Jones Effect and NJ Fiber Festivals- Weekend Picture-Heavy Wrap-Up

2008-10-07T22:51:00.011-04:00

Wow, still crazy busy over here at Chez Knitballs. I had a packed weekend and then just got home from a business trip tonight. Phew! Anyway, let's get to the details, shall we?

My Mom LOVES Patrizio Buanne, a young Italian crooner from Naples, Italy, who's style is reminiscent of the Sinatra, Dean Martin, big band and swing era. Certainly, as any Italian who's family elders grew up in the 40s, I was raised knowing the words to the Italian songs. Attend a few Italian weddings and tell me you don't hear Volare and An Evening in Roma. One of my favorite Christmas songs is "Dominic, the Italian Christmas Donkey" by Lou Monte. Yep, I drug that one from the vault, didn't I?

So anyhooo, I drove my parents to Atlantic City back in April for a show, from which now on in the is post will be A.C. as us Jerseyans refer to it. They loved it. I, however, sat agape most of the show in observing the severe Tom Jones Effect that had overcome the female audience members. I watched in horror waiting for the bras to get launched onto the stage. LOL. Patrizio is really good, don't get me wrong, but the people-watchin' is wildly entertaining.

My mom had checked his MySpace page a few months ago and saw that he added an A.C. show for this weekend, for which we promptly ordered tickets and I prepared to chauffeur "the rents". So I went to the NJ Fiber Festival in the morning to help Jessica set up and then went home to pick the parents up by 11AM and headed off to the shore. Ironically, on the way down, I recognized the person behind me in stopped traffic on the Garden State Parkway as my godmother. So I ran her cell phone and stated, "So do you always make it a habit to follow your god-daughter to Atlantic City?" She then realized it was me and the 4 of us had a full-on conversation in accident-haulted traffic.

We ate lunch over at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Taj Mahal once we arrived. Another dose of irony, is that I sat in disbelief as my mom proceeding to repeat the storyline of the Guns n Roses "November Rain" video that had just popped up onto the screen and commented that this was the song I used to play on piano. Wow. Impressive there, mommers.

Oh and mom is also part of this Buanne Babes club for Patrizio and my dad had this um...well 'very colorful' T-shirt made up for her that says, "I love my Patrizio." The paint splatters...well um I just don't' know what dad was thinking, but it's the thought that counts right, even the thought occurred oh say circa 1985? *shakes head* LOL.

Le Pole Cat.

So while I am at it, I guess I should provide proof of the Tom Jones Effect. Exhibit A proves he is, in fact, quite easy on the eyes. BTW, his eyes are the color of that ocean shot above.

Happy Pre-Birthday Mom. I hope you enjoyed the show.

Now...grab your coffee and spinning. On to the good stuff... NJ Sheep and Wool!

So on Sunday, after 3 hours sleep, I drug my sorry butt back out of bed to prepare for what would be a super fun day full of good friends, laughs, baaaaaaaaaaaa sheeeeep, and lots of fiber.

Sairy is representin'. Where my stitches at, yo? Here we have Cheeky Redhead, Christine and Sairy hamming it up for the camera. People, it was a quad-shot espresso day so the silliness began pretty early on. And Susan, was literally a walking billboard for Jessica's fiber. She can drop spindle like mad. People were fascinated watching her. She truly can "sell fiber to the devil" as was stated throughout the day.
Here is Jessica, ready for Day 2 of the fiber festival!
Ok, now bring out the tissues for the drool. This is only half of the wall she had. Look at the colorways. Are they not gorgeous? I bought some for myself too, fo shizzle.

"stoner sheep" as I refer to them.

This guy was like a fluffy teddy bear.

Don't let this angelic phase fool you. This is a ferocious sock-eating wee beastie, the infamous "Ozzy", my parent's dog.

Yoga dog demonstrating "downward-facing dog"

Eye See Ewe! I love me some Alpaca.

We had so much fun. Look out Rhinebeck!
Oh and as of this time tomorrow, I will be sipping a mojito in Puerto Rico........finally.

Knitballs OUT!

I have the BEST Sister-in-Law....EVER

2008-10-03T23:04:00.005-04:00

Because what other SIL would fill my need for rugged pirates, but a fellow enabler? Hmmm? See that faint glow there?

Tammy made me my very own pumpkin pirate! And guess what? That is not an actually pumpkin. It's one of those plastic ones so I get to have my pumpkin pirate every year!

Thanks Tammy! I LERVE him. I shall call him Jack....Captain....Cap'n Jack Sparrow

Savvy?

Stitch n Bitch n Hitched

2008-09-27T23:15:00.006-04:00

Sairy and her longtime beau, John were married today in a lovely ceremony in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. My SIL, Tammy and I have had the pleasure of knowing Sairy through our SnB group and have gotten to know and love her dearly. We have really been looking forward to being there on her special day. We can even clean up quite well.

"The hubs" looks spiffy, no?

And we finally got a picture of just Tammy and I at the wedding.

Here we are with our lervely princess bride. Isn't she gorgeous?

We were also rather mesmerized by the colorful "bears on parade" throughout the town.
Oh and since I know some of you have been curious as to my mystery project on Ravelry.....I made the Summer Shawlette from Interweave for Sairy. I didn't know if it would work with her gown or not, but I thought, "what the hell, right?" She wore it last night at her rehearsal. I neglected to get a picture to post to the blog and ravelry, completely unlike me. I will beg and plead for the lovely princess bride to send me a picture of her with it when she gets back from her honeymoon. *bats eyelashes and pleads silently to the princess bride*

Congratulations Sarah and John!

May you have a lifetime of laughter and happiness.

In lieu of a frontal lobotomy, a new haircut and WIP will have to do

2008-09-24T13:06:00.003-04:00

When I am stressed, I sometimes become irrational for a change in the scenery so I went and had like 6 inches chopped off my hair. Trust me, it was dry, raggedy and it needed it. They also straightened, added some long layers, and thinned it a little for me. I hardly straighten my hair anymore because it was like a horse's mane. I know I'm complaining about a gift, but geez trying to get a roll brush through this is a production. I have the mental battle wounds from my mom trying to comb my hair when I was younger.

Didn't think my hair could get that straight, did ya?

And with stress I also start new things as if I don't have enough to finish. New bright cheerful colors were the medicine I needed. After seeing Sairy's Wicked, it prompted me to want a comfy sweater with a kangaroo pouch, Remember that 100 purewool.com I bought a few months ago in the "Poison" colorway?

Yeah, hellooooooo lover.

Oh and just to clarify, that isn't a dye lot change in my mom's Lush and Lacy Cardigan. It photographed strange and I panicked when I saw it on the computer. All is well with that sweater in case you noticed and was afraid I would snap in two if you did. LOL

Ye Best Be Talkin' Like a Pirate, Mate

2008-09-19T13:50:00.000-04:00

I am taking a much-needed afternoon break to say Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!!! Ye best be talkin' like a pirate today mate sez Cap'n Jack Sparrow.

Jack was in a jovial mood today so I actually got him to stand next to Captain Morgan. There was a bit of scoffing, but he did it for me. Jack would like to remind you all... "It's Cap'n. Cap'n Sparrow...I be the greatest pirate in ....in....in all the whole world, love. Morgan is a scallywag. I be settin' Jones' terrible beastie on the hunt if I was scared for me own hide. That Scungilli...fishface."

You wouldn't have thought they weren't best mates shortly thereafter. Jack cozied up to the rum pretty quick. It was a rough afternoon on the island.
"The undead monkey is in me rum again. Where's me pistol? I want to shoot it..AGAIN. What's the use of shootin' the thing. It's undead....still. Tia Dalma didn't even want the beastie.
So once Jack be passed out from the rum, I be sneakin' off to knit sez I. Progress on me mum's sweater, Ms. Lush and Lacy. That sounds to be the name of pleasurable company sez I, but never mix with rum or ye be makin' it walk the plank.
Me and the Cap'n are going to go find more spirits today of the rum variety after we set sail on the Pearl. I be knittin' a mean sweater mate. Even me favorite captain thinks so.

'Tap, Tap' This thing on?

2008-09-18T13:50:00.008-04:00

Hello my dear readers.....the blog absence, not otherwise planned, is due to the overwhelming craziness that is my life right now.

I can sum it up in one word...But I'll let Billy do it for me..............

I happened to see this live in Philly back in the day. Good show might I add.

As much as it hurts to remember

2008-09-11T20:55:00.006-04:00

WE MUST NEVER FORGET

"My will is as strong as yours...........

you have no power over me."

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Hanna is not my BFF socks and a Weiner Weiner Roast

2008-09-08T20:41:00.007-04:00

As you scratch your head and try to make sense of my post title, lets get to the FO shall we? First up, the "Hanna is not my BFF" socks.

Pattern: BFF socks by Cookie A.

Yarn: Cascade Heritage Paints

Needles: Size 1 addi turbo laceweights

Started: June 22, 2008

Finished: September 8, 2008

Mods: None

Made the finishing rows Hurricane Hanna weekend, hence the name.

Next up, the annual New Jersey Weiner Weiner Roast sponsored by a lovely family involved in Daschund Rescue of North America. You see my lovely weenie, Annie, was adopted through DRNA some 6 years ago now. We were her foster parents while we were waiting for our other adoption of a dog named Cody to come through. In having her here, we fell in love with her sweet disposition and adopted her. It was actually fate as Cody's foster parents fell in love with him and adopted him to be his forever family. Annie, (at the time her name was Francesca then to Frannie then to Annie), was one of 40 dogs rescued in a raid of a St. Louis puppy mill. The female dogs were planned to be drowned for being older and no longer of puppy-producing potential. The ASPCA caught wind some how, raided the place, shut them down, and surrendered the dogs to DRNA for placement. One of the little girls she was rescued with, Donna Mae, still comes to the picnic with her forever parents. They sniff each other and then the tails start to wag when they recognize one another. The third of their rescued female trio passed to "the bridge" a few years ago from mammary cancer. This poor dog had been through the ringer. She was rescued with severe abdominal pain. When the dogs were sent to the vet for a work-up post rescue, they were able to identify that she still had a "petrified" puppy in her uterus that was never birthed! Can you freakin' imagine? Those jerks never took her for medical care following her 7-8 deliveries in her lifetime, nor did they our Annie.

So anyway, the loving family that are our contacts for DRNA in NJ have a lovely annual picnic that is invitation only to all parents and foster parents of doxies rescued through DRNA. Family members including non-doxie brothers and sisters are always welcome. Cartman is always one of a few non-doxies and man does he ever start a small dog ruckus when he saunters in. They have picnic food for humans and canines, a DJ, raffles, a canine massage therapist, reiki practitioner, micro-chipping professionals, a dog "communicator", photographers, and a caricature artist all free to everyone. We always have a good time seeing the other happy tails wagging that they now have their forever homes. They have a blessing of the dogs with a non-denominational priest and a memorial ceremony. All of the names of dogs "at the bridge" are stated around the circle while music is playing and they release biodegradable white balloons for each family as they state the names of their beloved pets. It chokes us all up every time.

We also have the weiner races. Here is a short clip. It's pretty hysterical seeing all of the hot dogs running amok.

Cartman was entered into the non-doxie race.....all by himself. He ran the other way and was finally lured to the finish line with a hot dog. Yep, that's my boy.

Good times, good times. Today was an interesting and rather trying day off so I'm going to go relax before walking back into hell at work tomorrow.

I should be on a beach in Puerto Rico with a tasty beverage right now....

2008-09-05T21:20:00.018-04:00

But NOOOOOOO, "Ike" is in my way. "Josephine" can't make up her mind and "Hanna" is a giant beotch. That's right. No Puerto Rico vacation for me. Wendy and I had to cancel on Thursday because it's just too risky of getting on the island but not getting off for like 2 weeks. It was due to downpour the entire time so I guess I will have to succumb to a mojito and sock knitting at home. Why you ask? Welp, I've even given you some theme music for this weekend....StormFront by Billy Joel.Storm Front - Billy Joel

Because I am too afraid of experiencing this again. This was the April 2007 Nor'easter's destruction of my newly finished off basement room. Brand new carpet a soggy disaster. That was 9 inches of rain in less than a 24 hour period. Tomorrow they are anticipating 7 inches at some point a few inches an hour. That's only an estimate as NJ will get some of the heaviest rainfall. Fabs, especially since my basement has been back in one piece since Fall 2007 after we got over the initial shock of the damage and cleaned up.

I'll be working at the KubusKrafts sweatshop, but certainly not venturing to far from home. Honestly, it will force me to finish the mate to this:

Yeah, I will be partaking in mojitos at home. *sigh*. At least my fellow crafters can cheer me up.

2008-09-01T16:04:00.006-04:00

Well first I would like to thank everyone for commenting on my Ravelympics sweater. Some of you I could not respond to for lack of your email address so know that I appreciate your compliments. It's been a long week otherwise, post knitting, as work took it's fair share of my energy.

I had been out in San Francisco prepping for a bid defense of a new study proposal. The time difference, even 3 measly hours, always gets me. Not too mention how my chair was kicked for 5 hours straight on the flight out there. The most annoying thing about it was the parents tried to use the "1....2.....3" method on a 24-month old. Sorry folks cognitive ability to discern right from wrong should be followed with an action, such as pushing your child's feet from the back of my chair while telling her to stop kicking the nice lady in the back. May I suggest a dose of Benadryl 20 minutes before the flight next time, perhaps?

Anyway, I took a mini-break from knitting to let my wrists rest after the Ravelympics and then yesterday I worked in my SIL's "sweatshop" prepping for craft show in Nov.

Today, we took the kayaks out to Assunpink Lake and had a good variety of wildlife in our path on this calm, sunny day.

Usually, these guys take off at a distance as you near them, but this Great Blue Herod, almost posed for the camera.

This pickerel just sat under the surface of the water and didn't even move as my bright yellow kayak drifted next to him.

Here is a Double-Breasted Cormorant, a common lake sighting, doing a little fishing off of a stump in the middle of the lake.
And I caught the cormorant taking off here.
Of course, there are always an abundance of swans, mostly to keep out the Canadian geese.

And I couldn't resist a lily (lotus) blossom, open in full-splendor. All in all, it was a good weekend and I have to prep for vacation this week.

I'm leaving Thursday for Puerto Rico until next Monday. It's great when you can turn business trip into a little vacation too. My friend, Wendy, and I will take in some of the local San Juan sites as well as forest zip-lining and bioluminescence evening kayak tour. I need the vacation, my peeps, trust me.

Ravelympics 2008- Holy Knitballs! Defends her 2006 Gold Medal! Unbelievable!

2008-08-24T19:21:00.006-04:00

Announcer screaming, "And she does it! OMG! One-one hundredth of a second at 3:30 AM EST on August 24, 2008. She does it! She defends her 2006 gold medal! Unbelievable! Sharon has done it for Team Obama and Team CESOB!"

Pattern: Silver Belle by Debbie Bliss

Yarn: 15 balls of Filatura Di Crosa 501

Needles: Size 8 Addis

Started: August 8, 2008

Finished: August 24, 2008

Mods: Left the color off but thinking I'm not liking it. I think maybe I will do a cable band if I still don't like it later.

Defending my 2006 Gold Medal

And now Bobicus Maximus Costas is on the floor, interviewing defending gold medalist, Sharon (aka Holy Knitballs!).

Bobicus: Sharon you have beat the odds and defending your 2006 gold medal. How did you do it?

Sharon: *out of breath from finishing* Well, Bob, I tried to maintain my focus and keep my pace conservative until the last 500 meters. Then I kicked it in and gave it all I had left.

Bobicus: Do you feel you ran a clean Sweater Sprint and Steeplechase?

Sharon: I gave 100%, but I did have a few errors where I lost time such as a miss-crossed cable and weaving in all of the ends. I could have had a better time, but I still broke my former record in this game. I also increased my degree of difficulty for this Ravelympics and chose an all-over cabled sweater.

Bobicus: Do you think you chose too hard of a project?

Sharon: No, Bob. I didn't want to choose something I could finish in 1 day. I would be cheating myself and not challenging myself for these games.

Bobicus: Well, congratulations on your consecutive gold medals. I expect we will see your face on the front of Addi Turbos packets everywhere real soon.

Sharon: Thanks Bob. *waves at cheering USA fans*

Reporter from crowd yells, "Sharon, you just won 2 gold medals at these games. What are you going to do now?"

Sharon: *yells*. I'm going to RHINEBECK!!! (what? you'd thought I'd say Disneyland?)

*Crowd goes nuts*

Whoot! It's done! I defended my gold medal!

2008-08-24T10:39:00.003-04:00

3:30 AM, but it was finished. I will post the official modelled shots later this afternoon. I'm running out the door for a baby shower. Stay tuned!

Ravelympic Progress

2008-08-23T19:42:00.001-04:00

No time to blog. Must.keep.knitting. Work took a chunk of my "free" after hours time this week so I am slightly behind where I wanted to be......back to the knitting.

Ode to the ArmRest Hog

2008-08-20T11:18:00.014-04:00

This is not an affectionate "ode" by no means, if you thought it would be. See, here's the thing. I used to be a road warrior for my job. I bounced from city to city monitoring clinical trials for a good 5 years of my life. I have war stories like you would not believe. I once had the Pacific Tsunami warning system, a missed flight from Seattle, a search just shy of an anal probe, lighting striking my plane, 6AM fire alarms while in the hotel room shower, being re-ended in the rental car on an exit ramp in MN, getting lost in Minneapolis..again, and a staff member dying at a site in Canada, thus, cancelling the next visit....all in one trip....and that was only up to Wednesday. My colleagues, still say I have everyone beat on the worst itinerary of all time and funniest, although there were tears and the constant update of my resume on this trip.

The traveling, although I liked it, got old quickly. Now I am in management, so my travel is limited to mostly bid defenses and such. I will say that being propelled back into travel mode for a critical project for the last two weeks and the next two weeks, has had me reevaluate my travel pet peeves, and notably, they haven't changed. Warning: business traveler snarkfest ahead.

Let me sum up the things that push my travel buttons in a few short bullet points, ok?

The moving walkway is not a carnival ride, people. Stand right, walk left, or I will mow you down with my matched luggage. I take no prisoners so I suggest you step aside.
There's lightning. We aren't taking off. DUH! It's for your own safety and the people on the ground that stand next to large metal tubes all day. I think there is a chance of them getting struck and resembling frizzled onions afterward. The universe does not revolve around you and your golf game, business meeting, or vacation. Shut your mouth, play with your Blackberry, wear your headphones, but shut the hell up. One more complaint and I'll shove the SkyMall magazine in your piehole and you can tell me how redemption tastes.
For the love of God, no one wants to smell your smelly dress-socked feet that have been sweating all day in your Huarache's. We can't wear perfume on the plane so we shouldn't smell your feet either, especially when the air conditioning isn't working. My God have mercy on my soul if you so as think to put your feet up on the back of my chair near my arm or head. I hate feet, especially other people's feet within minuscule inches away from me.
The "general public" should have to pass a written exam before attempting to navigate the airport. You can set a watch to how fast I can methodically manage getting through security. By the time you've even walked into the line, I've walked up with my jacket off, laptop in my arms, baggie of liquids in my hands, and shoes ready to be slipped off. By the time, I get through, you've tried to walk through the metal detector three times because you belt was still on, change in your pockets, and laptop not out of it's case. How long have we known to do this? Do you ever watch the news? Business people hate you. Go home and stay there. It's safer for you since you could get mowed down by a deranged business woman and her matched luggage.
And the grand-daddy of all peeves...the armrest hog.

How I despise a person not aware of their spacial surroundings. On rare occasion for a last minute flight or switch, I may end up in a middle seat. This are the days you wished you had gotten your free upgrade, but you knew the universe would not be that kind. So you manage to sit yourself between two business men, with their smelly, socked feet resting out of their huaraches, Blackberry attached to their ears, and newspapers opened well across the front of you in the dreaded middle seat. So once you've identified that your arms are crossed in front of you because of appendage spillage over the armrests next to you, the silent war begins.

Most people, myself included, do not speak up at the offender and kindly ask them to share a little space with you. Noooooo, we sit there and stew about the offending elbow...and so the silent armrest war begins.

But just think how many ways we can request a little space?

The Socialite Method: I say dear fellow, would you be so kind as to offer me space on your armrest? I can just tell you're a generous chap. My what a lovely Brookes Brothers tie...oh and yes, do you have any Grey Poupon?
The Vanilla Ice White Rapper method: Alright. Stop. Collaborate and listen. Get yo junk out my seat yo. Word to your mutha.
The Monty Python French Taunter (ridiculous French accent) method: Go away you silly kaaaaniget (knight) or I taunt you some more. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled like elderberries. I catapult livestock at you. If you don't a move your arm, I fart in your general direction *sticks tongue out*
The My Cousin Vinny Deer-a Hunting Method: Looking at armrest hog and states in a thick Jersey accent (which I do well, BTW cause I represent), "Pretend your a deer-a, your prancing along through the forest, you come across a brook, your put you little deer-a lips down to the cool wata, and BAM!, a bullet rips through your skull, your brains all over the ground in little bloody pieces. So I axe ya, do you share the armrest with the person sitting next to you or do you like your brain in little bloody pieces all over the seat pocket in front of ya? Did I also fail to mention that my family is in the concrete business?" *snaps gum and flips hair*
The Jack Sparrow Pirate Sword Fight Method: *said with a cunning smile and rum-drunken swagger*, "Say mate, how about you sharin' the armrest booty with me, says I. Join me crew. Together we be the greatest scallywags of the salt, mate....burning and pillaging our weaselly black hearts out, savvy? *armrest hog doesn't budge*. Avast me hearties, barrels of rum and pleasurable company. *armrest hog turns to look, moves his arm and realizes he'd been ousted off the armrest* Armrest hog, "Hey! You cheated!". Jack, *shrug*, "Pirate, mate."

See? Not so hard, eh? Nooo, we sit there and wait for them to move slightly so we can inch our arm ever so slightly on the armrest to regain our rightful piece of property. Tell me you don't do this? Ok red-eye is kicking in...naptime.

Oh and yes, I did win the armrest war. Huzzah!

Unbelievable

2008-08-17T00:14:00.004-04:00

Friends, again we witnessed history tonight. I am blown away. I was knitting faster. Screaming at the TV.

And multiple victory dances of epic proportions ensued.

Pride.

Tears on my side of the TV screen.
I am inspired.
Go Team USA!
Congratulations Michael Phelps for being the most decorated Olympian in history.
There were no loss of happy tears here either the other night.
And how I am doing with my Olympic foray? Sleeve one down and the right side of the yoke has been cast on. One sleeve and right yoke to go.

Sorry for the blog neglect. I have to give this all of my attention in between long hours I work.

Ravelympics- Day 6 progress

2008-08-14T13:09:00.004-04:00

I'm not dead. I'm still just plugging along over here on Silver Belle. The peplum is now finished so I am on to the sleeves and body. I had a little setback last night when I realized I had to drop down a cable that I crossed the wrong way 6 repeats down. I was none to happy about that, but it's fixed now.

Back to working and later tonight, more marathon knitting sessions. My wrists are going to be so cut by the time this is over that I could snap a man's neck with a flick of my wrist. LOL.

USA Men's Swim Relay takes the GOLD!

2008-08-10T23:34:00.016-04:00

Doing victory dance around room.

It upsets me when teams talk smack about each other. There is a fine line between friendly banter and smack-talk. I think it's unsportsman-like conduct. With that being said, the karma bus just visited smack-talk town and mowed down the villagers. So now the next decision is on the words that now have to be eaten...scrambled or sunny-side up? Just sayin.

Congratulations to all of the teams and athletes today. It was awesome to watch all of the events today.

Ravelympics and Olympics - Day 3 Progress

2008-08-10T16:03:00.015-04:00

I have not posted since my Countdown video just to get myself in good standing with this sweater. I had several false starts with casting on and setting up the cables rows for 480 stitches. Yes, you heard right. 4-8-0. Doesn't sound like much fun, huh? Well, it wasn't. I was cursing for awhile and then finally starting cranking things out as the opening ceremonies were about to begin. I had cast on ceremoniously at 8AM EST on Friday, but had to run conference calls and work the rest of the day, so there was no reunion with the project until after dinner that evening.

As of 11 AM this morning, this is where I was. Currently at 4PM, I am at row 36, which I don't think is too shabby especially since I am still dealing with a ton of stitches. I am only 6 rows away from the beginning of the massive decreases so these rows will go faster. The first 14 rows, I clocked myself at 45-50 min on the RS with the cables and 30 minutes for the WS. It seems terribly slow, but we usually don't have to deal with 480 stitches all at once. My goal was to make it to 85% complete on the peplum by Sunday night and I am within my goal at the moment. This part was the most time-consuming and I knew that.

Here is a close-up of the cables, but the color is true in the picture above.
And let me just say WOW about the Opening Ceremonies. I loved Sydney's opening ceremonies, but I will tell you that this was the most mind-blowing, artistic opening ceremonies I've ever seen orchestrated. From the very beginning with the Chinese drummers, my mouth was agape, and attention captivated. In fact, I barely paid attention to the sweater in the first hour of the ceremonies. The artistry was unfathomable. The performers were amazing and performed with a precision I cannot even comprehend.

I did take some photos of the parade of nations. Go Team USA! I also love the sportsmanship. No country was boo'd. Everyone cheered for each country. All these countries being in the sandbox together at once, I could only wish it could be this way outside of the Olympic stadium as well.
Proof that there was some knitting happening here. I got emotional when I saw our flag march in, but that's how I am. I have so much respect for the athletes representing us as a nation.
Did I mention, I liked the Ralph Lauren get up? Although, it did seem warm for 95 degrees at night in Beijing.

Oh and those red gowns that the Chinese ambassadors wore announcing each country were exquisite. I want one.

The fireworks were spectacular. I wish I had time to photoshop the TV monitor sides out of it. Otherwise, it looks like I was there.

A view of where the water sports would occur. I really dig this building alot.
The thing that blew my mind the most was the torch relay. The highest and final honor going to a former Chinese olympic gymnist who was lifted by wires and proceeding to run "in air" around the entire perimeter of the top of the stadium. It was such an emotional site to see. The crowd was insane. It was awe-inspiring.

And there he is at the base of the Olympic torch about to light the wire.
And here it is as the torch touches the wires. In a rush of pyrotechnics, the flames quickly spiral around to light the flame that will burn for the next 17 days.

One World, One Dream

Last night I watched my swimming hero, Michael Phelps win the gold! He was like a rocket in the pool last night. I've been watching him since the Athens Summer Olympics. He is now 1 medal away from breaking all kinds of records and being the most decorated swimmer of all time. Good luck MIKE!

Ok done chatting. Back to knitting. Oh and if you didn't see my Ravelympics video, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhJwx6geVE or simply scroll down to my August 8th post below . Leave me a comment and tell me if you liked it. I had fun making it.

Continued best of luck to Team USA, all of the athletes competing, and, of course, my Raveletes in the Ravelympics.

Ravelympics: The Final Countdown

2008-08-07T23:31:00.008-04:00

I created a little video for all of you in honor of the Ravelympics. I'm new to Pinnacle, and quickly realized it's a sucky program. My timing is slightly off, but you get the picture. Enjoy and good luck to the Raveletes.

Click to start the video, turn up the volume, and raise your lighters.

Oh yeah, eat my yarn fuzz.......Gooooo!!!!!

Update: If you have trouble viewing, please go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOhJwx6geVE

Leave me a comment too. I'd like to know what you thought of my little inspirational piece here.

FO: Hippy Chic Tunic!

2008-08-05T22:18:00.008-04:00

It's done. Finally. This was my SnB project to tote around since it was all stockinette and garter stitch, but it's been around since January so it was time to come off of the needles already. My goal was to have it done before the Ravelympics and I finished it on Monday. I was really cranking the sleeves out and seamed that baby at 1AM in the morning, because IT WAS GETTING DONE. Period.

Pattern: Hippy Chic Tunic by Norah Gaughan

(it's an older pattern for the Reynolds Odessey pattern support)

Yarn: 15 balls Jojoland Melody (held double)

Needles: Size 7 and 4 addi turbos

Started: January 10, 2008

Finished: August 4, 2008

Modifications: I modified the body to knit in the round. I also knit the sleeves in the round via magic loop (which I now love). I knit the body an inch longer and extended the garter stitch edge by a half inch. All photos courtesy of my awesome SIL.

Half-hearted smile. Not feeling so good in these pictures.

I am really please with how it turned out. It's a simple, cozy tunic that is sure to get a ton of wear in the colder months. The colors are really nice in this yarn too. The impact of the bright green and purple is very nice against the rest of the subtly plied color throughout the yarn.

Here is the close-up of the placket. It's very casual and comfy.

And I happen to love garter stitch so I liked doing the placket, cuffs and body edge to break up the stockinette. Overall, the pattern was clear and very well-written.

Winner winner chicken dinner. This will get packed for another month now until it can be worn.

I've been olympic training...no really

2008-08-04T23:35:00.008-04:00

I have been in ravelympic training. No really, I have. I have been setting small goals for myself in which to finish pieces of my Hippy Chic Tunic. The silence on this blog has been due to the fact I've been knitting like a girl on a mission. I wanted it off the needles before the Ravelympics. I gave myself until Thursday afternoon to finish it and I am done on Monday night. Not bad, eh? So it is now blocking an patiently awaiting a photo shoot tomorrow.

I had a good weekend filled with fiber and friends. I started the weekend off going to our favorite Indian restaurant and plugging away on my sweater. Saturday I visited Jessica for a little food and fiber, saw some familiar faces and made some new fiber friends. It was definitely a good fiber day. You may want to check out Chris's blog and Deb’s blog for more photos of food and fiber feeding frenzy in Jessica's dying room. BTW, you should check out Jessica's Etsy shop while you are there. She has some incredibly gorgeous colorways.

Later that evening I crashed on Tammy's couch and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Ah for the love of pirates....especially the "maybe it's maybelline" eyeliner-wearing pirates. (PS - her poll is still up on her blog. Please pay her a visit and vote for a project. K. thx).

Sunday I went out with Sairy and "the pants" over to New Hope, PA to partake in some tappas and the best mojitos over at Havannas all while people watching on a very busy day. Did I mention the mojitos were good?

Today I got a couple of presents in the mail. Check out this little gem. "Poison" by 100purewool. I'm thinking of doing "Wicked" by the Zephyr Girls out of it. Wicked Poison, has a nice ring no? It is purple, bright pink, and black.

Speaking of pink, I picked up a little iron on transfer of a Jolly Roger in New Hope and embellished the knitting bag. I love Jolly Rogers. I'm not morbid, but I really do love things with Jolly Rogers on them even before the whole Pirates frenzy. Anyway, stay tuned for FO pictures and pre-Ravelympics event coverage. Don't move that dial.

Retro Rewind Fridays

2008-07-31T20:42:00.011-04:00

Thank you to everyone for your vote of confidence on the Ravelympics sweater. I promise to give you as many updates as I can when I need to give the wrists a bit of a rest. As always on this blog, there will be some goofy posts lined up.

So I suppose you took notice of today's blog title? Well, I have had such a darn good time with the 80s meme and looking back at things from my childhood and teenage years that I decided to make every Friday's post fun with a little retro tidbit. It will most likely include a song and a pop culture tidbit. By nature, I am a very nostalgic person. Most of you have seen this as I ooze over my favorite places in Ireland. LOL. I enjoyed digging up some of this stuff so much, I thought I would add a little something every week for fun. It could be from the 80s or 90s. Don't get me wrong, I adore the 70s, but I was pretty young for the later half of that decade so most of the 70s memories was really captured as I got a little older in the 80s. It's always fun to have that "I remember that!" reaction to things you haven't seen or heard in 20 years.

So how about this little retro slice?

Bring a certain movie to mind? It should. "Holiday Road" was the theme song to 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation with Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, John Candy, Anthony Michael Hall, and a host of other movie stars of the era.It also happens to be written and performed by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac and Buckingham Nicks fame. Truth be told, one of my favorite solo Buckingham songs of the era.

Remember these 'legs' perhaps? They are the model legs of a girl in the ZZ Top video. I think this video began the lace bobby sock with reds stilettos craze for the "trashy tramp next door" look or shall I say popular form of the word "bimbo" in the 80s, "Bimbette".

Oh and before I forget, can you help a sister out and go over for here vote in my SIL's poll? She needs some opinions on projects. There is a poll on the right hand side of her blog and, while you are at it, drop her a comment and say "allo".

Happy Friday Everyone! Enjoy the weekend. I will be on a finishing frenzy to get off sleeve island...finally.

Rowan's bringing sexy back

2008-07-30T21:12:00.012-04:00

Sexy as in 1940s sexy, when women dressed impeccably, IMO. My favorite era. Rowan has finally dropped the "Where's Waldo?", over-styled photo shoots for classy and timeless 1940s and Renaissance-inspired designs for Rowan Magazine #44, which arrived on my doorstep today, much to my surprise. I LOVE the 1940s section. Each knit pays homage to a phenomenal actress of the era.....and just so you know, I was able to name the full-name of each lovely lady without batting an eyelash because this is the era where my passion lies as much as I ooze over the 80s on this blog. I was a woman of the 40s in my past life, I know it. I love the fashion, the music, the movies, classic Hollywood, WWII.
We have knits such as (Judy) Garland, my favorite actress ever, Greta Garbo, Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Lamarr, Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Dietrich, and Barbara Stanwick to name a few. The purple, bat-winged, cropped sweater above is "Garland" The one below here is "Lamarr".
This one here is "Bacall" which is another that caught my eye. I love the simplicity and classy styling.
This one below is "Raphael" from the Renaissance section. I don't know that I would do the embroidery, but I like the idea of the empire waist shaping.
Another notable feature? Gone are the days of the emaciated, saggy-boobed (and bra-less) twig models. Some models are a little more average-sized which I am more compatible with as far as an idea for fit of a finished garment. I have nothing against thin models....my nickname was "beaner" or "stringbean" when I was 20. I haven't heard anyone say that to me in years, for valid reason...it no longer applies. My favorite Facebook flair button is "I don't skinny dip, I chunky dunk", but I digress. In other news, I finished 1 sleeve for the Hippy Chic Tunic. 1 more to go and we have that one off the books! I also let a little swatch of Takhi Cotton Classic in stash get a bit out of hand a few weeks ago and it became part of the Lace and Cables sweater from Summer Vogue 2008. Like I need another WIP. *hangs head in shame*.
The other reason for my guilt? I joined the Ravelympics 2008. It coincides with the Bejing Summer Olympic Games. This is not the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics--that one is only associated with the Winter Olympics so that one will come in 2010. I did successfully complete a sweater for the 2006 games and won me a gold metal.

This is my gold medal sweater from 2006. It was a simple, stockinette seamless pullover with a front placket. Being I was only knitting for since Nov 2004, completing a wearable sweater in 16 days was a challenge. I won't lie and say my wrists didn't kill me when it was over, but knitting injury or not, I got my medal. I am extremely competitive with myself and my unrealistic goals.

Here is where I become certifiably insane. My "challenge" for this year is "Silver Belle" by Debbie Bliss from the cover of Vogues 25th Anniversary edition. I wanted to knit this the very second I saw it, but I also envisioned my version with 3 buttons and longer. I would also change the collar. I am not alone in my thoughts because most of the mods I've seen are Ravelry are just that. I purchased some Filatura 501 last year for the sweater so it has been in stash waiting for it's time in the limelight and, hopefully, on the medal stand. Have a lost my mind? I wanted to do something cabled and definitely a sweater, but man I bit off a lot here. The Olympics begin in just 9 short days. You can watch the festivities on Ravelry as well under the Ravelympics group. Wish me luck. I'll give you as many updates as I can but I will need all the knitting time I can get to finish this sucker in 17 days.

I am going to go breathe into a paper sack now.

Pegged jeans are still cool. Right???

2008-07-27T17:37:00.025-04:00

Remember those really fugly Monkey socks I said I made that resembled 80s Wigwam slouch socks? Well, just for Phyl's enjoyment, I re-enacted my pegged jeans, Wigwams, and loafers for ya'll with the said ill-fated socks. At first, Roland laughed at me and then offered to peg my jeans a little tighter for me. Apparently and thankfully, I am WAY out of practice. It frightens me, however, that he instinctively identified my pegs were too loose and began fixing them so I could be retro-stylin'. What the hell were we thinking when we pegged our jeans? The rain has stopped...the land is dry....why you wear your pants so high? (one of my friends used to say that).

Hello. I am a handknitted Koigu Wigwam. I am so rad.

My ill-fated Monkeys are a result of some sort of operator error and one of 2 reasons I left sockdom for the last year. Terrible, I know. You also only get one sock because it's mate was already frogged last year in a fit of rage. This one too will meet its demise in the pond of yarny death.

Check my gnarley pegs. Aren't they like sooooo far out?

Thank goodness I have returned to fitted sockdom. I hated when my pegged Jordache jeans would come undone at the most in opportune moments or when you sat down.

I decided to go a little old school on you today since we are fresh off the tails of the 80s meme. Remember this one? My favorite song by Dead or Alive. I thought Pete Burns was hot then. Is that so wrong? I must say though, he doesn't make the best- looking woman these days.

Speaking of men in make-up during the 80-90s, I also thought David Bowie was hotter than hell in "Labyrinth" (1986) as Jareth, the Goblin King. This is one of my favorite movies of all-time in the 80's era along with "The Dark Crystal". I remember seeing this for the first time at a friend's slumber party and I thought there was something wildly attractive about his get-up in the movie. Was Jareth falling in love with Sarah? I guess I never understood that. Part of me was like, "to hell with the baby, marry the goblin king. He's freakin' globlin-king, rocker hot." It's amazing to see a very young Jennifer Connelly play Sarah.

I don't know why I have such a men in make-up theme going on around here. I think Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow is the bees knees and I ain't lyin'. So I guess not much has changed even in the new millenium. (Note: My husband would not be caught dead in eyeliner so it appears this is only a rocker/actor thing for me).

Did you like my clever distraction from knitting content? That's 'cause I got nothing for ya people. Sleeve island is boring so maybe I will have a finished Hippy Chic Tunic by the end of the week....lofty ambitions....I have them.

80's Meme - 80's Hair Friday!

2008-07-24T21:07:00.050-04:00

Robin and I have been chatting about the 80s along with some of my other friends. The 80s references have been making it into a lot of discussion lately so we came up with a meme. Here we go, dude.HINT: TURN YOUR VOLUME AND CLICK HERERock Me Amadeus - Falco

Peg your Z.Cavarrici's, clutch that industrial size can of Aqua Net, and raise that lighter to the tune of a power ballad. Gnarley! We are going 80s today, people! Show us your 80s hair!

Here are the rules:
1.Expand on the questions as much as you can. It makes it more fun for the rest of us.

2.Show us your hair, whether it be preppy or skyscraper bangs. Post some photos and make it fun. We promise not to laugh, we have them too!

3. If you get the meme from a blog, leave a comment on that person's blog so they can see your responses.

4. Post links to any videos or music from http://www.youtube.com/ or imeem.com to your blog that help you and your readers to relive the 80s.

5. Party like it's 1999.

We are so stoked to see your responses.

Post your 80s hair here!

Giant dork with her colorguard flag for grammar school below. I can still flip a colorguard rifle like nobody's business. One day, I'm hoping that talent will be useful or something. And here we are for the spring social. Yes, this was my first kind-of-sort-of boyfriend....not according to my parents, however. Ahem. I was 13 and welllllll-developed here. What the hell was I thinking with a beaded, cocktail dress? I look like a frickin' flamingo with red hair. *clears throat* yes, his head is spray-painted out on purpose. *snort* Oh for the love of all thing holy......the picture with braces. I realize this is not a clear picture. *cough*. It's probably better that way. I wouldn't want you to cough up your breakfast or anything.

Here are the questions:
1. Preppy or Rocker: Both. Rocker when Mom wasn't looking.

2. Z Cavarricis or Guess Jeans and Espirit or Benetton?: Guess jeans and United Colors of Benetton. I would go to DEB, remember that store? I would score me something Benetton, but my Guess jeans, pegged, of course in front of mom, were purchased at Boscovs over in Oxford Valley. Yes, there actually used to be one there. When mom wasn't lookin', there were lace gloves, black jelly bracelets, flashdance sweatshirts, jeans ripped at the knees, and black cowboy boots. Not to mention the Covergirl skim coat of paint on my face.

2. Favorite Pop song of the 80s: I have a few.....ahem.
"Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats
"Walking Away From" by the Information Society
"Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco
"Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil
"Land of Confusion" by Genesis
"A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran (um hello loved his hair!)
"With or Without You" by U2
"Stand Back" by Stevie Nicks
"We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel
"Rosanna" by Toto
"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey
"Wild, Wild West" and "I'll Be There" both by The Escape Club
"Tom's Diner" Suzanne Vega
"Doctor Doctor" by the Thompson Twins
"Holiday Road" by Lindsay Buckingham
"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

3. Most Annoying Pop song of the 80s
"Mickey" by Toni Basil
"Naughty Girls" by Samantha Foxx
"Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy (my girl wants to partay all the tayme, partay all the tayme)....Dude stick to acting ok.
"Right Stuff" by New Kids on the Block ( I was so drug kicking and screaming that that concert. Believe me. I didn't own a record nor did I have the Jordan Knight dudee braid).
"She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals (that's what it did, it drove me crazy)
"Blame It on the Rain" by Milli Vanilli (....or was it? Ok I hate the folks that actually sang the song).

4. Hair Metal or Heavy Metal- Who was your favorite performer and favorite song?
A little bit of both, but I lean more towards Hair. Mark Slaughter was my major crush so since they formed in 1988. Before that, I took notice of them in the Vinnie Vincent Invasion. Since Stick It To Ya was released in 91, I will say that my favorite metal song of the 80s was probably Fallen Angel by Poison. I love pretty much all of the hair bands that began in the 80s. I would say I didn't start listening to things a little heavier from that era until I met my now husband. (strict parents to which rock music sounded satanic. smell what I'm cookin'?)

Taken in 1998 reliving my 80s dream y'all. The top pick my SIL took of Marc Slaughter and the bottom pic is me with Blando.

ooooh rock of love. harrrrr.

5. What posters were on your bedroom wall or college dorm room?
River Phoenix, the Monkees, the Brat Pack, Tom Cruise a la Top Gun ( he wasn't nuts then), Poison, Warrant, Nelson, Motley Crew, Judd Nelson, John Cusack (still love him) 6. What concerts do you remember most from the 80s?
Don't laugh..... Tiffany and NKOTB. I hated every stinking minute of that concert too.The "rents" wouldn't let me go to rock concerts much. I did see the Damn Yankees in 89 though. I went with a friend's family to see Alabama, who I always liked.

7. Favorite 80s movies
The Christmas Story, Goonies, Breakfast Club, One Crazy Summer, National Lampoon's Summer Vacation, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Spaceballs, Funny Farm, Three Amigos, The Great Outdoors, History of the World Part I, Blazing Saddles, Police Academy 1-4, Disorderlies, Top Gun, Ferris Beuller, The Burbs, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Naked Gun, Airplane, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Big, Stand by Me, Dream a Little Dream, E.T., The Jerk, Moving, The Jerk, Oh God You Devil, Ruthless People, Say Anything, Major League, Cannibal Run, Mannequin, Labryinth, Ghostbusters, Weird Science, Rain Man, La Bamba, Amadeus, Disney's Robinhood, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmos Fire, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure , Revenge of the Nerds

8. Favorite 80s movie quotes
"It's good to be the king"---King Louis from History of the World Part I

"Rocky Rooooad" ---Sloth from Goonies

"That cat had nine lives and he just spent all of them"---Eddie from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

"Merry Christmas. The shitter was full." ---Eddie from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

"Nothing could draw me away from the soft glow of electric sex in the window"---Ralph from The Christmas Story

"Can you describe the ruckus sir?" The Breakfast Club

"Yogurt, I hate yogurt. Even with strawberries"---Lord Helmet from Spaceballs

" What are you? BARF. Not in here mister, this is a Mercedes" - Spaceballs

"Hey you guuuuuys!" Sloth from Goonies

"Why don't you go find yourself a spin cycle!" --- Great Outdoors

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny f*cking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of *ssholes this side of the nuthouse. " - Clarke W. Griswald, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

"You killed Ted! You medieval dickweed!" - Bill, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Evil Duke: "Put them in the iron maiden."
Ted: Iron Maiden?
Bill, Ted: Excellent! [air guitar]
Evil Duke: Execute them.
Bill, Ted: Bogus! ---------------Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

"How's it going, royal ugly dudes" -- Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

9. Top 3 most memorable pop culture moments of the 80s for you.
Live AID
Challenger Disaster
Cabbage Patch Doll mania

10. Favorite 80s cartoon
JEM (Jem is truly outrageous, truly truly truly outrageous. JEM is my name no one else is the same...JEM is my name).

This was closely following by Josie and Pussycats, He-Man (by the power of GrayScull), the Smurfs, Fraggle Rock, and GI-Joe. I am also a big Looney Toones Fan. My favorite character was the baby vulture "Killer" from the Bugs Bunny cartoon.

11. Favorite 80s commercials
Life Alert "I've Fallen and I can't get up" (Oh c'mon I don't want to hear it. You laughed at it too. Horrible, horrible acting).

Wendy's "Where's the Beef?"

12. Boy George or Wham?
Boy George. ( I didn't think he was at all weird then. :-) In the church of the poison mind, in the church of the poison mind....)

13. Favorite one-hit wonder
"Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats

14. INXS or Depeche Mode
INXS...dun dun dun dunnn dunn dun I've got to let you know..I've got to let you know.....You're my kind....oh

15. Poison or Warrant
Poison....I'm a Bret girl

16. Did you ever meet a rocker or 80's pop icon? Where were you?
Slaughter, Warrant, Great White, Firehouse, Weird Al Yankovic, Dr. Ruth ( I slammed into her in the lobby of the Waldorff Astoria with her manly boyfriend. I think she came up to my waist).

Here's a blast from your past. I met Thom Bray from "Riptide" Remember that show????

17. Snap bracelets or Jelly bracelets?
Jelly Bracelets and they would match my Wigwams (multi-colored socks we would buy from Trenton Joes)

18. Fess up. Who had the garden weasel bangs? Did you ever measure your wall o' Aqua Net love?
Sadly, the Aqua Net was rationed between my mom and myself. My bangs weren't allowed too high although folks got a way with it in Catholic school. We had those horrible plaid jumpers, oxford shirts, knee socks, and super-baggy V-neck cardigans. We kind of all dressed like Neve Campbell did in "The Craft". I remember my Mom would smash my bangs down before I got out of the car when she dropped me off at school. That was cold man, especially after all that time with the crimping and curling iron in the morning. Bogus.

19. Favorite 80s sitcoms
Benny Hill (cause my dad let me sneak out of bed and watch it)
ALF
Growing Pains

Mr. Belvidere

Family Ties

20. Is Jon Bon Jovi still hot or what?
Hellz yeah. Jersey in the hizouse!

21. "Double Dare" or "You Can't Do That on Television"
Double Dare. Who would have thought would now watch Marc Summers on Food Network

22. Who was your favorite Brat Packer?
Judd Nelson, totally dude. Breakfast Club. hhhhhhhhot!

23. Jellies or Reebok Pumps
Jellies, totally dude. Along with my Madonna lace glove and flashdance off-the-shoulder sweatshirt.

24. Favorite pizza parlor arcade game
Miss Pac-Man

25. Deep South "Good 'ol Boys" or "L.A. underground vigilantes wanted for a crime they didn't commit"
Well, I loved the Dukes of Hazard. I had a soft spot for sappy 'ol Ennis always getting his heart broken by Daisy, but I loved the A-Team.......fool.

If you are reading this consider yourself TAGGED. If you are a regular lurker, why don't you take this as a opportunity to come out and introduce yourself? I'd love to hear from you. Let me know where I can reach you back though. Blogger has a nasty habit of giving the "no reply blogger" response.

Tagged---A to Z meme

2008-07-23T17:11:00.009-04:00

A to Z Meme
Kim tagged me with this A to Z meme. It's pretty self-explanatory. I am now tagging Tammy!

ACCENT: I hide my accent most of the time although it does come out when someone cuts me off on the Turnpike. It always cracked me up how people I would visit for work in the south thought that if I was from Jersey I would sound like Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny. Or I guess maybe more like Marissa Tomei. Imagine yawr a deerya and you put yawr little deerya lips dawn to the cawl wawter and then BAM!.........yeah. I don't wear the loud spandex catsuits though. I will say I get made fun of for sauce = which I pronounce "sawce", orange = arrange, and coffee= cawfee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq2EurArgDk (you must watch. I never get tired of it).

BREAKFAST OR NO BREAKFAST: I used to never have breakfast, but I changed. Must have been the whole traveling for a living thing. So my breakfast now consists of Special K Chocolatey Delight and my Diet Coke for the day.

CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: Backyard Poop Patrol. That's Roland's job. I will clean the bathroom with a toothbrush sooner than poop patrol.

DOG OR CAT: Dogs, Cartman, the smelly English Bulldog and Annie, the Doxie (aka T-Rex).

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: "Crackberry" (the new toy), laptop, cell phone and camera

FAVORITE COLOGNE: Lavender Essential Oil, but I mostly where scented body lotions. My new favorite is Sephora's Pink Grapefruit. I smell tasty. YUM. I really hate when people marinate themselves and then get on a plane. WTF? Just sayin'.

GOLD OR SILVER: Silver. I'm too pale for gold. I get a lot of Indian gold as presents from my friends in India, but it looks weird on me. It is really beautiful though.

HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: Sadly, I am a Coach whore. I don't have many, but I love the color combos. I have a patchwork bag with browns, pinks and aqua.

INSOMNIA: Absolutely. I get some of my work and knitting done that way. It takes a lot of Rum or Guinness to get me sleepy, although I have a cocktail maybe once a week after SnB, if that.

JOB TITLE: Clinical Project Leader (high paid baby sitter). Naw just kidding. Or am I? *insert evil grin*

KIDS: Negatory Ghostrider, the pattern is full....errr the shop is closed. I have two 4-legged and furry kids, a bullie and a doxie.

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: A tiny "house-let in NJ for going on 8 years. It's a two story colonial with a big backyard. Just redid the kitchen so I'm sure the bedroom will be next.

MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: Hmm I don't know. Snark? Humor? Actually, I am a very open-minded person, IMO. I'd like to think that other folks think of me that way too. I love experiencing cultures by listening to their music, eating their food, learning their language and customs, respecting their religion, and textiles. I really think it's just another way to promote tolerance and understanding of one another, not to mention enlightenment.

NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: Developing an early talent for gratuitous snark. My folks were not happy about that when I was 15, but now they think I'm funny as hell. Amazing how that happens once we bridge over to adulthood. Just for entertainments sake, my husband was the kid you never wanted in your neighborhood. Did you ever have your mailbox blown up or have your Christmas lights cut on your house? How about pulling the lights off of your house and running down the street? I am afraid to procreate. That gene could be passed down.

OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: Never. I am very lucky indeed.

PHOBIAS: Lightning. It's 10 shades of hell out there right now as I type and it's amazing I'm actually sitting here. This proves I have come a long way baby. I used to fly to Tampa all the time and end up frozen in time somewhere because I couldn't get to my car or out of a building. I freeze and can't move if I have to be out in the open like the lightning is going to hunt me down and get me.

QUOTE: “"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy sh**, what a ride!" --Mavis Leyrer age 83. I also like any quote by Hunter S. Thompson, American Author and king of gratuitous snark. I bow in the general direction of his grave. It was a sad day in snarkdom when we lost him to this world.

REASON TO SMILE: Puppies and kitten farts. Uh. Just kidding. So many reasons. Breathing comes to mind first.

SIBLINGS: Nope. Only child, left-handed, and a girl with strict, traditional parents. Do you feel sorry for me now?

TIME I WAKE UP: 6:45ish. I hate mornings though. 10PM begins my witching hour.

UNUSUAL SKILL OR TALENT: I have an uncanny knack for foreign languages. I can hear something once and use it years later. My most recent endeavors were Punjabi, useful during my India trip, and Gaelic, just because I wanted to. I have an uncanny ability to attract immigrant men too. Is it the hair? Who knows?

VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: OKRA!!! Bleh!!! I know it's not "supposed" to be slimy if it's cooked right but UGH! It's not a vegetable, but I hate cantaloupe with unabashed passion. Other than that, there really isn't a veggie or fruit I don't like in some capacity. I especially love my veggies.

WORST HABIT: Procrastination. Working too much.

YUMMY STUFF: Haagen Daz Pomegranate and Dark Chocolate Chip Ice cream. Batura, Indian bread that tastes like Italian pizza frit. Dove Dark Chocolate. Couscous with veggies. The Sharon and Roland Roll. Cheese, especially St. Andre, any Chev (goat), or my all-time favorite is ginger mango Stilton.

ZOO ANIMAL I LIKE MOST: Turtles and elephants, because I can't name just one.

If you read this blog, consider yourself tagged! Comment if you are going to play along so I can read your responses too!

Oh and don't forget to stop back here tomorrow or Friday morning for the unveiling of the 80s meme with Robin. Get your 80s pictures ready!

Concerts, Trainwreckin', Angry Pirates, and 80s Hair

2008-07-22T22:13:00.023-04:00

Grab yourself a chair and some rum. This will be a long one. This past weekend was quite interesting as you may have gathered from the post title. My weekend started off with a little rock n roll y'all. I went to the much-anticipated Shinedown concert at the Electric Factory also featuring Black Stone Cherry and Theory of a Deadman. (Check Kubus Krafts on my bloglines to the right here b/c I'm sure she'll be posting the other pictures of this weekend). I had forgotten how entertaining a good metal show was on so many levels. Music is what originally bonded my husband and my SIL, Tammy back in the day. We spent a lot of time over at what once was the Birchhill Nightclub in NJ seeing our favorite rock bands from the 80s and 90s. My SIL met her husband at one of those very shows as he was touring with an hair metal band. The rest is history.

So we left after 5PM on Friday with my Blackberry in hand, yes, the electronic leash came out for a little test run. We arrived at the Electric Factory in Philly and debated if we really wanted to stand in line to get in the door for an hours because I am starting to feel my age and not liking standing in 100 degree heat. We had a plan though. As soon as we were able to get inside, shoot up the stairs and grab three stools next to the railing. The Electric Factory is standing room only by the way, unless you are sitting at the bar, a few risers or the stools on the second floor where we planned to be for the entire show. You see, I have no desire to be on the floor anymore and caught in the whole human body pong thing. Not how I roll at all anymore.

So as usual, we are so strategic in our planning, the boy gets through his pat-down line quicker than the girls and shoots up the stairs and scores 3 stools at the 2nd level railing right by an industrial fan. That's my boy! So we settled in and let the snarkfest begin. If I were a comedian, I would have enough snarky material for the next year. It's a wonder Tammy and I are allowed out to play together. We are trouble. As the flair button she sent me on Facebook, we will be the ones causing chaos at the nursing home when we are older.

I learned a couple things since the last metal concert I had gone to was Metallica and Godsmack for Roland's birthday a little while back. Prepare for the snarkfest (the bulletpoints aren't working, sorry):

The mullet will never die. I witnessed several representations of it including the Farrah Fawcett mullet. No, it wasn't light, fluffy and feathered like you picture. It was on a guy in a Hawaiian shirt. It wasn't pretty. Trust me on this. Would I lie to you? (Whoop whoop this is the fashion police). The most fashionable mullet I've ever seen was on Bono. Good grief, who doesn't love that man? I know I do. Bring the mullet, sunglasses, and leather jacket....I'll bring the rum. The streets will have no name because we won't remember what they were. *snort*

Who ever said life is not a spectator sport is partially wrong. People-watching is a spectator sport.
To be a waitress in the Electric Factory, your underwear must match your outfit. How do I know this? Industrial fans, second floor, and looking in the direction at the wrong time. *shakes head* Just sayin'.
Watched someone do an interpretive dance of a cocoon opening up to a butterfly during Shinedown's "The Crow and the Butterfly". If the rendition was the crow eating the butterfly, that would have been much more entertaining for me, but I digress.

Opened cell phones have replaced the luminescent impact of lighters during the token power ballad.
The lead singer of Shinedown was awesome, but we couldn't help noticing he was channeling his inner Geoff Tate. Someone needs to pull the Operation Mindcrime DVDs away from him before they tour. LOL. No seriously, I adore Queensryche and Geoff Tate, but he had the whole black jeans, boots, black leather jacket, and slicked back ponytail thing going on. I was waiting for him to belt out "Operation Mindcrime".

IMO, 45+ women that are well-endowed should wear bras. Bra-less woman + alcohol + bouncy metal song is not a pleasant combination for the people around you. Trust me, they will pay attention to the perky 20 year olds. Pack it in and get yourself a demi or a push-up, but it ain't the bra-burning 70's anymore and I actually have closer connection with my bras in my old age. It's called gravity ladies. I would not want to see my 60 year old mom looking like a human form of pong under her shirt, drink in hand, and everyone around you gaping at the visual trainwreck. Someone could have lost and eye. This has been a public service announcement. I am Holy Knitballs and I approve this message.

In addition, dancing does not = tossing shoulders side to side demonstrating lack of said "boulder holder". When my husband looks at the both of us with a look of disgust on his face saying "I really didn't need to see that", you know it was bad.
There was a rather odd human body pong going on down on the floor, which I was safely processing, rum in hand, from our people-watching perch on the second floor. How does one mosh to Shinedown? Help me here.
Rum is good, but there wasn't enough rum in the room. Smell what I'm cookin?
We gave my brother-in-law hell from not grabbing us Dropkick Murphy t-shirts when he toured with them this year. We saw a shirt that said "Shamrock n Roll" on the back and we immediately wanted it. We both speculated if it was the Dropkick Murphy's. Out jumps the Blackberry between bands and voila! I want my Dropkick Murphy t-shirt. Nudge nudge wink wink oh dearest brother-in-law blog lurker.

Note I am getting old. We knew the set list and jetted out the venue during the last encore song well before the house lights came up. We were out of the parking lot before the Shinedown hit the bridge of the song or folks realized their drinks were empty.
Came home and celebrated BIL's birthday at midnight. Long live RUM. There's more rum later in this post. Lots of it.
Long live the ROCK FIST!

I had to attend a wedding. So use of the open bar and more people-watching fun was had by all. This time instead of lack of bras, it was a lack of a dancing pole and some decency. *shakes head* I just don't get it. 10 years from now everyone will remember the girl on the dance floor who practically sucked the flask wine with a straw between each song. Reaaaaal classy, let me tell ya. I happen to catch a glance to the dance floor and must have sucked in my cheeks in either disbelief or embarrassment for the girl, and the other girl whom I've known since marrying in caught my glance and proceeded to give me the "I'm watching you, Focker" meet the parents, put two fingers to her eyes, to mine, and back to hers. The whole time she was saying "oh I'm with you girlfriend". Somehow, I made it through that night.

Oh I remember, I also drowned my displeasure in a little fibah. Yes, I am a conformed Koigu lover now. (Thanks Sairy!) This is a lurvely orange color that I have a pattern in mind for upon spotting it. It's something I charted out, so we'll see how that works and get a swatch going to show y'all.

The other one is a little more of my "crush" yarn, Dream in Color Classy. This is the Petal Shower colorway. I've got my eye on using it for the Placed Cable Aran from Interweave.

The next day we had a little birthday gathering for my brother-in-law at our house. We grilled and I experimented with my mixologist skillz. For realz people, I made a mean drink. I found a recipe for something like a "Caribbean pirate" or something like that. My SIL and I are fond of rum when there is a drink involved. (What? Have you not noticed the presence of pirates on this blog?) I decided to make up my own drink and happily dubbed it the angry pirate since it was now reddish-orange.

Here's what I did and notice I give you no measurements, but the ingredients go from highest to least amounts. Bartenders are cringing now. I am one of those "throw it in the pot and see how it tastes" kind of people.

Angry Pirate (a la Holy Knitballs)

Malibu Coconut Rum

Pineapple juice

Banana Liqueur

Blackberry Brandy (a wee bit)

Grenadine for color and sweetness

2, 3, or 7 Maraschino cherries depending on how you roll

There were two pitchers of this potent poteen gone by the end of the night. YUM! These are dangerous.

I did buy this for my BIL before the rum was even a thought though. How funny is this shirt? We have this little joke thing about squirrels and this was a "had to get" as soon as I saw it.

Ok I'm tired now. There was entirely to much people-watching, dance floor trainwreckin', and rum for me this weekend.

Cartman sez,

Oh and with all of the talk of 1983 lately, I've decided to create an 80s meme. Raise your lighter in the air, peg those Z. Cavarrici's, and wave that can of Aqua Net like you don't care. Friday is going to be "80s Hair Friday". Dig out that picture of the garden weasel on the top of your head and your Wham T-shirts! I'll post the meme late Thursday night with my 80s picture of shame. Prepare to play along!