News Flash

The LL socks are FINISHED!!! YIPEE. But look and see how much yarn is left...what to do with it? Maybe little girl socks? Don't know. I do know that I can now cast on for the 1st of 3 pairs of CF anklets for my friend!
Oh Boy, I looked in the stash, I have so much sock yarn!
I feel like I'm living in the SocksInTheCity podcast with Carrie!!
The 2nd sock went much faster than the 1st.
Started June 4, Finished June 16, 12:55pm (just as the baseball game was ending)

Big News! Big News!

My secret pal is (was) Patty!!! aka MidwestKnitGirl.
She was the best pal ever! She was so good at keeping her identy secret. Though, I did read her blog at the end, she had emailed me about joining her "friends" swap, and I did, how funny. Very cool, check out her blog. See all the great stuff she sent in her reveal package:
Cherry Hill sock yarn and pattern, homemade candles, candy bars (yum, now she likes these!) t-shirt and pencils for the Mall of America (she lives 5 miles from there, no yarn stores though). I had such great fun in the SP10! Can't wait for the next one.
And, the 2nd best news!!! I am currently working the toe decrease on the 2nd LL sock! YES, I will be finished with it today!!! happy happy joy joy. Then I can concentrate on the ITE IV tote and all those CF Anklets for my friend.

Double the fun!

Here are 2 packages I received yesterday.
First is my Stitch marker swap pal, Nicola, from England. She personally dyed this yarn for me :) see the beautiful green color! It also has yellow and white. It is Blue Faced Leicester laceweight, I'm looking for a pattern for a shawl or stole, any ideas out there? Also received some adorable stitch markers, all shoe related (in green) and some English chocolate that was total liquid upon delivery. It is in the fridge trying to regain its shape!
The second package is from my Swap-bot small knit kit pal Terry-Jo. I received 2 skeins of CF Mardi Gras, sock patter, needles, stitch holder and my favorite gum. Plus a cute little bag to hold the socks while they are being made up!
Thanks to both of you! Off I go to finish my current projects, LL sock #2 and the ITE IV tote.

Updates

My 10 year old took this picture in art class! I love it so much I had shutterfly make notecards.

Well, today is the last full day of school, i.e. the last full day of MY vacation before the boys are home! Yikes, where did the year go? It went by sooooo fast. I am so looking forward to not having to drive them back and forth every day. They don't go to our neighborhood school, I chose to put them in the school where I work, so that means no bus service, no pushing them out the front door while standing in my robe, holding my coffee. I must physically get dressed (well, pj's covered up by sweatpants)and take them myself. It was not that bad, only seemed to be a pain since I finished up preschool.

Knitting is being accomplished. I just keeping going round and round on my ITE IV tote, a few more inches, then I start the decrease and then the pocket and the trim. Should (should) be done soon. I don't think I'll have much goodies to put inside, because I don't know what she likes.

SP10 pal says a box is coming my way soon and I will be very surprised! Maybe she is coming in the box?

News and Views

Not really, it just sounded nice :)

I am going to turn the heel on the second LL sock tonight! I don't care that it's not going to match the first one, I think I'll send them to sister who doesn't mind when things don't match! (not really) I'll keep them, I love the yarn.

Then I need to make 3 pairs of CF anklets for my friend and finish up my ITE IV tote. I did a lot of work on it this weekend, even worked on it Saturday (Knit in Public Day). I was the only one knitting at the baseball game. 12" of round and round, I think I'm at 8 or 9".

I've joined another swap, the Notions Bag Swap, my SP10 pal told me about it, her friend is running it, so I joined. Got my pal's name tonight.

Still waiting on 2 packages, one is coming from England, hopefully this week, the other, I don't really know, I lost my upstream's name, and I haven't heard anything since the "hello I am your pal" email. Maybe this week.

Really loving the podcasts! But that Socksinthecity is DANGEROUS!! I finally broke down and went to Etsy; and bought some pretty pretty yarn, hopefully that will come this week and I'll post pictures.

Off to get the boys in bed; this is THE LAST WEEK OF MY VACATION, school is out on Friday. We did join the pool today, so I know where I'll be spending lots of time :)

Stripey VS. Blotchy

OK, I don't know what to do. The first LL sock came out all nice and stripey-like. The second sock is coming out more blotches of colors, and the colors are not exactly the same. The red is more vibrant in the 1st, and there seems to be more brown in the 2nd. I have no idea if they are the same dye-lot, can't find the other tag, but this is the yarn my hubby bought for me in CA, and I'm hoping the ladies at the yarn store would have checked to make sure the two skeins matched. So when I'm finished, I will have a pair of socks that are basically the same color but they will not "MATCH" each other. I am big on matching, things must match, they must look the same (very Type A, that is me :)
UUUGGGGHHHHH all the time put into these socks.

WHAT AM I GOING TO DO??? and do not even think for one second that I am going to frog this 2nd sock. I want to be done and move on...I treated myself yesterday to some Koigu.

I think I should just stay away from any type of patterning sock yarn, I can never ever get them to match, even when I find the pattern and try to match. Solid colors only for me.

IT'S DONE!! IT'S DONE!!!

Yesterday evening the sock mojo fairy paid me a visit, I just started knitting and kept moving along at top speed (maybe that socks in the city podcast helped? I just found her and I love the podcast). But looked what I did, the LL sock is finished!! See how beautiful it is? and it fits like a dream :)

Here are the specifics:
Started: I don't recall, maybe March??
Finished: Monday, June 4, 4:10 pm
Pattern: Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush, Lichen Ribbed Sock
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Color 107 Red Rover
Needles: size 1 dpn

Only a few modifications to the pattern, I did 7" on the leg (not 8 1/2") and for some reason, I picked up additional stitch so on the gusset I had to do 1 additional decrease.

I love it!!
Now, off to cast on for the mate before I lose the sock mojo :)

Finally....something is finished!

Here are some CF socks for my friend, she didn't want anklets, so I used two different colors and made them taller! How cute. I have some yarn left, so I guess I could have made them even taller.
Now, off to finish that LL sock (but not the mate) and cast on for my ITE IV tote!
Happy weekend.

Trouble with a capitol "T"

Have you seen this??
Could be BIG BIG trouble :)

Happy Endings

This is going to be long....

Can you believe it? Hockey is over, we had our final game last night. Now we are hockey free until....................June 5. HA, the boys are skating once a week in June & July, because you know, the season never really ends :) and then we are back to training camp early August. Oh well, I will savor in my 5 rink-free days. Back to cooking every night, oh, except Tuesdays and Wednesdays (baseball).

Yesterday was also the last day of Preschool, we had our "Teddy Bear Picnic". All the classes were there, playing games, eatting lunch and saying goodbye to friends. Some are off to kindergarten, some are off to different preschools and some are off to different teachers (but within the same preschool). I had a GREAT first year and I'm looking forward to a whole new batch of children next year. I couldn't have done it without all the love and support and friendship of everyone in my classes, so THANK YOU to all the moms and Mrs. T too!

SP10 is also winding down, I think June 15 is the end. I've had a great time, even though my pal figured me out early on, I still had tons of fun making up her packages and sending her notes. My upstream pal has been very secretive, she finally will reveal herself (I think) in the last package.

I've sent off my swap-bot small knit kit to Chile, should be there in 5-10 days, I'm waiting for my package. I know LaurieC received my beaded stitch marker package, my package is coming from England, so I know it will take awhile.

ITE IV matches were sent out earlier this week, I've been in contact with both up and downstream pals :) I'm bouncing back and forth between 3 patterns, I'll have to chose today, as I'm off to the LYS to buy the yarn.

Comerica Park is participating in Stitch & Pitch this year!! YES, I've got my ticket for the Sept 9 game vs. Seattle. It's going to be a blast, hope the weather is nice and the Tigers are winning. I have no knitting friends locally, would any of you cyber-pals like to make a trip to up for this fantastic event?? It'll be fun.

And finally, I am knitting, I have 2 different socks on the needles, that darn LL sock, I have turned the heel, finished the gusset and am making my way down the foot. I can't even believe I'm going to have to make the mate uugghh
I've also got some Cascade Fixation going from my friend, she wanted taller than the ankles, so I'm making 2-tone, very cute, I'll post when finished. Then my friend, the chef, wants me to make the ankle socks for her and her daughter. And if that's not enough, I even bought more yarn to try the Magic Loop method. I really need help here, does anyone have a pattern for easy Magic Loop socks? I'm not sure I'll be able to translate a regular pattern (all that changing needles and etc.) Let me know if you do.

There, that's it! Told you it was long. Since I'm not working T/Th/F anymore, my second grader wants me to come have lunch with him, so I'm off for popcorn chicken!

Dishcloth swap

Received my package this week, in the midst of the electronic issues!
Beautiful cloth and wonderful goodies! Thank you so much!

I've got my package ready to send to Chile for the swap-bot small knit kit exchange, I'll go to the post office on Tuesday.

And FINALLY names go out on the 29th for ITE IV!! Cannot wait. I've got a few bags picked out, I just need color choices from my partner.

So sad, last day of preschool was Thursday. We packed the school away that night, and now we have the big picnic to look forward to! That is going to be on Wednesday. My kids get out of school on June 15th, so I have Tues Thurs and Fri all to myself until then!! I still work at their school on Mon and Wed.

P.S. HAVE YOU NOTICED? MORE BOOKS ARE BEING READ THAN PROJECTS ARE BEING KNIT AND COMPLETED. I HAVE 3 MORE BOOKS ON THE SHELF TO READ!!

Electronic issues

I have been having MAJOR electronic issues these past few days. Computer has been "iffy" too many updates and it doesn't like to work.

I had purchased myself a brand new ipod nano last Monday, it decided to stop working today (or yesterday or Monday after I loaded the KnitPicks podcast) needless to say, I was at the gym, ready to get on the treadmill and the darn thing was stuck between 2 screens.

I came home and tried everything listed on the Apple website to make it work, nada no good zippo. Called Apple, explained the situation, and the girl makes me go through EVERYTHING I HAD JUST DONE!! Finally she realized it was majorly messed up and said I could return it to Target for a new one.

After working all afternoon to get this new one going, I think the original one I had purchased had been returned...hmmmmmm maybe because it didn't work properly?

Anyway, funny story, I had purchased the lime green one (HA you even had to ask) and the original Target store had only pink, silver or black, would I care for one of those? I said, Miss, see what I'm wearing (lime green shirt, green ring, fancy green bracelet from my sp10 downstream and my green keychain) do you think I want pink or green or silver? I think not. :) So I had to call another Target and put the only green one they had in stock, on hold (see, green is everyone's favorite color).

ITE IV - REVISED

. Name and blogger handle: Leslie aka LeslieJ

2. Blog URL (if applicable): a purse a day

3. Do you want a purse that is felted/not felted/surprise me: Love felted!!

4. Color/fiber likes and dislikes: I love green (really?), or any color, except orange, OK, I HAVE DECIDED I DO NOT HATE ORANGE SO MUCH ANYMORE, A LITTLE BIT OF TRIM OR MAYBE SMALL ACCENT OF ORANGE WOULD BE OK :) (see I'm branching out)

5. Do you tend to be dressy or casual? Very casual, I work at a preschool

6. Prefer a pal who lives in the USA or international? Either works for me

7. Miscellaneous info (anything you want to tell your pal): This is my second ITE exchange, I had lots of fun in the first one and can't wait to get started again.
I have 2 boys who play hockey, so I am always driving them around.
I (sometimes) scrapbook and I love to read.

And another post for today

Just received this package from my SP10.
Very cute stitch markers (beach themed), spices, a bookmark and a tiny scrapbook kit (really need to get back on track with that)
Thank you so much. Who are you??

I will be sending a package to my SP10 on Monday, also my Beaded Stitch Marker Swap package to TADA....LaurieC! (Hope it wasn't a secret swap)

SP contest #6

Here is my current (and only WIP) and it has been in progress for almost 2 months.
It started out as a "Sensational Knitted Sock", but it was going to be too big (I wrote earlier about the frogging). It is now a Nancy Bush sock, but I am getting bored with it. I did actually start on the heel a few nights ago, but I haven't been back. You will notice the sock is RED, but the one pictured is GREEN. I am branching out (teehee)

Also, I have decided that I am not totally against the color ORANGE. I received some Orange flowers last week at preschool (from the kids) and I think they looked quite lovely. So I may try and branch out and start using maybe a SMALL amount of ORANGE as an accent color in my next big extravaganza (that's a 3's preschool word) I'm not planning on knitting any orange socks or anything :)

I WON!

How cool is that? I won contest #5 for SP10. My hostess Robyn, has sent me a virutal sock pattern for winning! (Now, if I could only figure out how to retrieve it! I am having issues with Adobe)
I'll keep you updated!
9:52 am - we are good to go! Robyn re-sent the pattern and I have received! Now, which yarn to use?? :)

I've been tagged!!

Here's how it goes. . .each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag 7 others & list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you tag a note in their comments letting them know they have been tagged & to read your blog. So here it goes! Here's my lucky 7:
my downstream sp10, my upstream sp10, Jane, TeAntae, Anne, Juli, Robyn

1. Before I read a magazine, I have to tear out all the inserts
2. I only turn LEFT into parking spaces
3. I have to have syrup on my bacon
4. I pay off the credit cards every month
5. I only chew 1/2 a piece of gum at a time (even Trident)
6. I plan a menu for 2 weeks and make the grocery list accordingly
7. I live on a budget of $100/week

Mother's Day Lunch at school

Yesterday I had a very special day with my 2nd grader; Kevin.

We had lunch with our special 2nd grader, we watched a video of how they've changed this past year, we were given presents, we were sung to, and we danced together.
And if not enough tears were shed, the teacher closed the presentation with this book.

I don't know how she was able to get through the entire book, but she did and it was great.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH MRS. P FOR A GREAT MOTHER'S DAY LUNCH!! XOXO

My sp10 pal..............is the best

Now, mind you, this is the pal I send packages to, she figured me out a while ago, and she has been sending me packages!! Is she great or what? This latest package was for Mother's Day - a great magazine, stitch markers, smelly soap (she makes it), a bath mitt and car air freshener.
The boys have stolen the mitt, they say it makes a great goalie glove! Oh well.

This next week will bring lots of mail to my inbox: ITE IV pal, swap-bot pal and stitch marker pal! YES, means more packages arriving for me! I will be sending my dishcloth for the Yahoo exchange on Friday.

Who wants to take a guess as to how I'll be spending this Mother's Day? Yes, hockey rink! 10am game and then hopefully a championship playoff game at 1pm.

3 questions

1 - What is a sock blocker?
2 - Do I really need one?
3 - Where would I find one?

I'm making good progress on the new LL socks, but then I had to frog back almost 10 rows due to dropped stitch UUGGHH couldn't figure out how to get it back on track. I was reading ahead in the pattern and at the end it says to "block on sock blockers" is this important? Help me out all you much more experienced sock knitters. Thanks.

Reading Reading Reading

Well, I am just cruisin' through all the books by Monica Ferris, just finished the latest one, A Murderous Yarn. They are quick easy mystery reads and I love to read entire series. Just put the next 2 in the series on hold, Hanging by a Thread & Cutwork. I also have upstairs to read: Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh (it's the May read for Whoduknit) and also The Memory Keepers Daughter.

It was tough, but I had to frog the Lorna's Laces sock that has been sitting untouched for over a month! Well actually, my hubby frogged it while I re-wrapped the yarn. I cast on a new sock, less stitches (the first one was going to be way big) from the book my good friend LaurieC sent for my birthday, by Nancy Bush. I have finished the K1P1 ribbing and have finished about 5 rows of the pattern; K3P1 (way easier) I'll keep you updated.

Sent a small package to my SP10 pal for Mother's Day, she said she mailed me one today!! Yea! Trying to put together her May package, and then only 1 more to go :( I can't believe it's going to be finished soon. Had her give me some additional ideas for the last package.

SP Contest

My favorite place to knit is stretched out on the couch! I love to knit while watching baseball (Tigers) or hockey (Red Wings), but since my hubby usually has control of the clicker, he whips through all the channels and we really don't get to watch anything! I've been known to also knit at the hockey rink (practice only), tennis/golf lessons and riding in the car while on vacation!

Thanky thanky sp10 pal!

Look at the very yummy sock yarn and the cool sock book I've been wishing for......it came in the mail yesterday; courtesy of the very best sp10 pal!! Thank you so much, can't wait to get started.

Yes, I'm still here

Here is the finished cable purse from the yarn ball swap :) it is very cool. Just need to finish it off and we are good to go.
Trying to finish a pair of baby booties for sister's friend. I have finished one and the second is started.
Waiting for my partner for the Yahoo dishcloth exchange, I am very excited to start, I have the pattern, just waiting on the colors.
Signed up for ITE IV, partner's go out in mid-May, I have a few purses in mind.
Signed up for an invitation-only swap at swap-bot, I think that is mid May also.

I read the Whoduknit? book, Crewel World, last month in Myrtle Beach; I really liked it, quick easy mystery read (i.e. no gore). So I went to the library and got the next 4 books in the series! I've got 1 more to go. I also picked up the May book, Died In The Wool. I think we're doing a group project, dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid!!

Knitting

Yes, knitting is being accomplished, what with my busy travel schedule and birthday celebrating :)
I am just very lazy and I do not want to go upstairs and get the camera and download the pictures. I have finished the very easy cable purse from the magic yarn ball swap; I don't know why I was so put-off by cables, they are very easy to do. I am also in the midst of knitting the MDK kimono turned cardigan. I'll post when it's done. Lorna's laces sock is still sitting there looking lonely.
OH, sister made me a very nice GREEN shawl!
So maybe someday there will be pictures of everything.

MSU Hockey Champs

Because of all of my travels, I forgot to mention this: oh, LaurieC and MSU, will you forgive me??? This t-shirt came today, one-half of my birthday present from hubby.

More packages!!!

Yesterday I received my Magic Yarn Ball from JoAnn!! Very cool. I have started knitting to get to the goodies inside. The yarn came with a purse pattern (teehee) that has cables (my learn-how for this year) and they are quite easy (am I doing it wrong?)



I received this package from my sp10 while I was in CA, it's a birthday present! A cute sewn bag and some candy and some very cool ice cubes! She made the bag (said I was her test case).


Wow! My actual birthday is tomorrow, it'll be pretty low key. I have a few cards to open and that's it, oh bonus, hockey at night :). I traded all birthday and Mother's day presents in exchange for the CA trip with sister :)

I'm back!!!

Oh my golly. I've been gone for 2 weeks, first to Myrtle Beach, and then to sunny CA!!! I feel so lost.
Yes, I was here from Wed-Fri with my sister from Chicago. The show was great!!! It is very exhausting work, what with having to do all that dancing and be exciting and smiling for an hour! But it was worth it.
Our show was taped Thursday, and then aired on Friday. My sister taped it, and said you can see us twice within the first hour, she still has to watch the second part. My SIL taped in for me and I'll get the tape on Sunday.
Thanks to LaurieC for the shout-out on her blog!! I finally got to speak with her after emailing for the past 6 months. It was wonderful to hear her southern accent :)

I've been found!!

My downstream SP10 friend has figured me out! How did she let me know?? By sending me a birthday package, and it is filled with lots of goodies, the likes of which were on my questionaire! Thanks for everything!! You are the best. Now it is my turn to send your birthday package! Everyone loves the one skein cupcake!

What to knit?

So, I seem to be in a knitting rut, don't feel like making socks anymore (GASP!! I have all that gorgeous Lorna's Laces that hubby brought from CA - don't worry, I'll use it). I like the Cascade Fixation, quick and easy to make a pair of socks in about 2 days. I have even pondered knitting a dishcloth! Trying to find a purse pattern I like, as hubby commented "Of all the purses you make, you had to go out to Target and buy one??" So, I have a pair of CF on the needles and a pair of LL, I go back and forth daily, trying to finish them. So as I am blogging this afternoon the wonderful ladies from MDK blog about this and feel inspired to use some of the stash I received this past month. I will make some mitts and maybe a hat from the brown alpaca yarn. I hope I can do it, the deadline to ship is Mother's Day. Won't you help?
Also, my birthday is not until next week, so all you pals, you are not late :)
and I think my sp10 figured me out.

Happy (Early) Birthday to me

Look what I received from my very bestest knitting friend in the world that would be LaurieC.
It had been sitting at the post office, because we were out of town, and they were going to ship it back to her if I didn't pick it up TODAY. So I rushed right out (not realizing it was the weekend before tax mailing deadline uugghh long lines and no parking) but I finally secured my package and couldn't wait to see what she could possible have sent me:
Lots of green cotton yarn (for dishcloths, guess I'd better start making them again, I haven't done one since January, think they'll kick me out of the KAL??), yummy Hershey's kisses with caramel, spa-type hand lotion and bath and body works shower gel and lotion, and Knitting Vintage Socks (for all that sock yarn sitting upstairs)..she is so into spoiling me. She was my partner way back in December for the Winterwonderland dishcloth swap, and we've become good friends, emailing and sending packages back and forth. Thank you very much Laurie!!

Congrats to TeAntae!

My ITEIII swap partner TeAntae has won the Knitters Choice Award for the tote she made for me! Everyone in the swap just loved this tote, they asked her for the contact information for her LYS so they could get their own copy of the pattern!

All the rage

Do you own some of these? I highly recommend you do not succumb to the pressure of buying your children these. You will be fighting with them to gain control of your computer! You will not be able to blog or go blogging! And worse yet, you might start playing the games too!! BEWARE.
But they are just so darn cute!!

What was I thinking ??

For my sp10 group we are supposed to post a picture of a knitting project that we either loved or hated. My project was so awful I have destroyed all photos and the actual project!! You'll just have to trust me on this one.

It was my very first knitting project, my LYS had a class to make a beach tote. I signed up and went to the class. For some reason, I ended up needing about 4 extra skeins of yarn and then the darn thing was so huge by the time you put stuff in it, the bag was too heavy to carry (I tried once, really I did) so that got chucked into the trash. The worse part, the LYS still has their bag on display (it is much smaller than mine ever was, my tape measure must have been off or something) and I have to look at it everytime I go into the store. Makes my stomach hurt :)

SP10 package - thank you MN

Here is my package from my SP10 pal!! OMG, everything is just great!!!
2 skeins of Patons yarn, grey, 2 skeins of Cascade Fixation (love this yarn for making quick ankle socks), yummy hot chocolate, smelly soap, smelly candle (my favorite scent), tape measure, pencil with facts about MN, pasta that is shaped like the state of MN, beautiful green stitch markers, chibi needle set, book on how to do cables (now, how did she know this? it is freaky, learning to make cables is on my list, my sister wants me to make her a scarf!) I think that is all. She is a sneaky one, I promised her I would throw away the return address so I wouldn't be tempted to try and figure out who she is, but with over 600 participants, I don't think I would even come close. Thank you so much!!!

Package from England

Here is what I received in my wonderful package from Marylyn in England
A skein of sock yarn, purple, locally produced, a skein of alpaca yarn, also locally produced, a beautiful felted bowl that she made, and a cell phone charm, now, I think I may be able to take the individual charms off as they look like stitch markers! Marylyn was my partner in "Deb's crochet swap blog". Thank you so much.

Gotta love that mailman!!

Will post more tomorrow, but I received 2 wonderful packages today!!
One from my sp10 pal, she's so tricky and she's from Minnesota :)
The other from Marylyn.
Pictures and bragging tomorrow, just returned from hockey.

Back to knitting

I have recovered from the scrapping, slowly but surely I have picked up the needles again. To borrow a phrase from "trek", I am knitting under the radar, no pictures, things are being knit for sp10 pal and I don't want to give anything away. Suffice it to say, I am working on 2 projects, 1 for her and 1 for me.

I can't believe Easter is next week, this bunny better get to the store for some basket fillings! The boys have asked for new video games, great, costs way more than candy! But we'll need them for the big spring break vacation! Myrtle Beach.

I have read up on airline security measures and it seems I can take my knitting with me. But I should be prepared with a self-addressed stamped envelope in case my particular security agent feels the needles (dpn's) are too dangerous. Check out today's yarnharlot for a good yarn!!

Scrapbooking - What's that???

Saturday was a very fun day. I went scrapbooking with my good friend Amy. I used to scrap all the time (bk - before knitting), so I had quite a bit to do. Both hubby and kids have been complaining that there was nothing new in their books.
So I packed up what I had, and off we went. We used to go on these 3 day scraps, but this was just one day benefiting Breast Cancer. We went to Scrapbook Memories, the owner donated the space, so the fee went directly to the Run for the Cure. Great cause, Amy is a breast cancer survivor :), I met her at preschool, our kids went through the 3's and 4's together, and we've stayed friends ever since, our kids even have the same name; Kevin. So they were Kevin Mc and Kevin J. My guy still goes by Kevin J. Also, she is the one who got me hooked on scrappin'!!!
You're probably wondering if I'm still knitting, all these posts about packages, but no posts on knitting. Yes, I have started a pair of socks with the yummy Lorna's Laces, the red one, slow going as it is like knitting with thread on toothpicks! I'm going to start another quick project to send to my sp10 pal.

4th package - worth the wait!!!

Nah nah nah nah booboo!! This bag is mine, all mine!!! YES.

It is totally awesome, all the pockets for me to put stuff (and room for all that kid stuff I seem to carry around). And done in my favorite color green!! Bonus: came with 2 beautiful Rowan Felted Tweed (green) and some OnLine sockyarn (also green), a book I've been wanting and also a super duper large bag of caramel kisses!! A very nice note too!! Thank you so much TeAntae!! You were very secretive and it was worth the wait.
Here's the scoop:
I saw the mail truck down the street and paced the kitchen floor for a few minutes, opened the door and the truck was waiting at the end of the driveway, I ran out "do you have a package for me??" as I jumped up and down, he said yes, slowly got out of the truck and went around back, there it was, all by itself in a bin, just waiting for me. I told him I was waiting all day for this package, he wanted to know what was in it, I told him a purse, he said, big deal, does it have money in it?? :) HA, no, I then explained about the swap (he rolled his eyes) got back in the truck and off he went. I told him he was lucky I didn't bring my camera out to get a picture!!

Now, what to do with all the beautiful yarn I received this week? The mailman did comment that I had received a lot of packages this past week!

3rd of 4 packages

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Here is the rest of my Winter Scarf Knit Kit from LaVerna. She went above and beyond the call of an angel. Look at all this great stuff:
2 skeins of Cascade Fixation
1 skein of Sugar N Cream
1 entire bag of Hershey's Kisses w/caramel
1 bag of various teas
1 canister of Spicy Hot Chocolate (sounds yummy)
2 towels that say "coffee"
1 cinnamony smelly candle (love them)
1 bag of spicy hot cinnamon Jolly Ranchers
1 green flowery coffee mug
1 package of bunny tissues
1 very cute stitch marker
I think that is everything!! Thank you very very much LaVerna.

Now, all I need to do is figure out who that darn ITEIII secret pal is....are you lurking?? Who are you :) and what bag is mine?? I'm going bonkers trying to figure it out!!
AHA - I figured it out, but I'm not telling until the package arrives :) thanks so much..

Fave Knitting Accessory

This is very off-the-wall and different, but my very favorite knitting accessory has got to be my Maytag washing machine :)

Since I started knitting like gang-busters in June, I've made 20-25 felted purses. It seems I was making "a purse a day" (hence the blog's name). I couldn't have done any of it without my trusty machine.

2 of 4 packages received

Ok, so today of all days the postman did not make our delivery until 7:00PM, yes PM, fyi - we live less than a mile from the post office.

Here are the 2 packages I received:

First, my SP10 pal sent a hello package, lots of yummy Hershey's Kisses with caramel (love them) and some little bottles of Burt's Bee's lotion to help soothe my hands after a tough day of knitting (or working). Can't wait to try and figure out who she is. Don't think I will be able to though, there are over 600 SP10 pals!!

Next, oh my goodness!!

LaVerna stepped in to be an angel after my original Scarf Knit Kit partner bailed. She outdid herself! I received 3 skeins of BEAUTIFUL Cascade Quatro in GREEN (you can almost see them, they match so well with my kitchen counter) and a

pattern to make a Hoodwink; scarf and hat combined. How cool is that! I can't wait to make it. Also, the yarn store, Angelika's sent some catalogs with very cool patterns and a free sock

pattern, and like I'm not addicted already, lots and lots of Lorna's Laces you can buy!!!

This was the best day ever!!! And my ITEIII partner emailed to say my tote will be shipping Wednesday and LaVerna also emailed to say her part of the package shipped today!!

Thank you very much La Verna and SP10 pal.

Finally finished!!!

The never-ending anklets are finished. I was bound and determined to finish them today. I can now concentrate on the tote for my sister. After that, on to Lorna's Laces sock yarn. :)


These are from my SocktopiaKAL, they are called "short and sweet and always in my heart" There are little hearts all around the ankle (but you can't see them here). Also, this was my best attempt yet at getting the yarn to match up on both socks; only off about 4 rows. I was NOT going to frog it for perfection. The ankle/heel is a little funky, so I'm going to pass these on to sister (with the tote). Her feet are a wee bit smaller than mine, so the ankle/heel thing should not be an issue for her.

I love the postman

Well, at least I will starting next week.

1-I've heard from my scarf knit kit angel, 2, yes 2, packages are coming my way. One from her and one from an online yarn store. Thank you so much for filling in La Verna!!!

2-SP10 started yesterday. I've been in contact with up and downstream partner. My upstream partner said she has sent me a small package!!! yea

3-ITEIII tote should be coming next week, the deadline to mail is Monday, and my partner has been very very secretive :) I have no clue who she is or what she is knitting for me.

Gorgeous PS yarn

Look at this beautiful yarn I ordered from here . The colors go along with Project Spectrum, so I will be receiving 4 shipments of sock yarn. (Like I don't have enough already) I'll add this to the pile :)

updates

It was 75 degrees yesterday!!!! But, going back into the 30's by this weekend.

Well, we have determined (the swap coordinator and myself) that a package is not forthcoming from my original swap partner for the Scarf Knit kit. She has lined up an angel, who is currently putting a package together for me. Thank you so much!!!
Funny thing, it turns out Debb (sassy sock yarn pal) was also flaked over by this same person!

Received my sp10 pal's name last night!! Can't wait to start putting together a package to send out.

Finally, hubby is complaining about me not using "all that yarn I had to bring back from California" I am knitting as fast as I can on those darn anklets.

Plus I still need to finish the tote for my sister, she is coming at the end of the month!

Whirlwind Saturday

Son #1's birthday day was quite the whirlwind.

Started off with son #2 league championship game at 9:00 am. I did not go, as son #1 was busy playing with his new lego's, so I waited anxiously by the phone for the results. I tried calling my friend (who happens to have 3 sons on the team we were versing). No answer. Phone rings at 9:45, hubby calling, we won, 4-2 and will be bringing home 2, yes 2 (as the coach receives trophy also) gold 1st place trophies. Son #2 scored the winning goal.
1st playoff game is Tuesday, 7:00pm.

Next up, floor hockey game, 1:00pm. Son #2 loves it, and scored 6 goals.

Then, home for a few minutes, back to the hockey rink for 3:00pm practice (even though they had played at 9:00 am. Coaches decided to have this ice time; rather than the 6:15AM today).

After practice, rush to The Green Lantern (great pizza place) for son #1 birthday dinner (they get to pick their dinner, either home cooked HAHAHA, that's funny), or out-for-dinner.

After dinner, rush back to the rink for 6:15pm hockey game (we lost 4-1).

PHEW. We haven't even had birthday cake yet, we'll do that today.

As promised

Here is the beautiful yarn I received from hubby's CA trip. I cannot wait to start some new socks, but I cannot seem to finish my current pair. I am using Sockotta, making anklets no less; and they are taking FOREVER. It does not help that I had to frog the first one all the way back to the ankle ribbing and start over (I was 3/4 done, about to start on the toe decrease) but I did not like the way it was turning out, so I started over using smaller dpn's.

If my special order Addis EVER come in (they were ordered on Dec 27, I have no clue what the holdup is....) I will learn the "magic loop". And then I have still have to make its mate. Oh well.

I did not get any knitting done while hubby was away on business, and we have been to the rink almost everynight (can't knit during games, to much stress) and we are now going full steam ahead into playoffs, I'll be lucky to knit once a week this month.

Received email(s) about sp10, waiting to matched with someone, looking forward to spoiling someone and being spoiled.

And lastly, son #1 (turning 10 this weekend) is having issues about sleeping alone in his room. Late last month he was in our room, on the floor, in a sleeping bag; he had to go, he was keeping me up. He moved to his brother's room, all was fine. Then one morning last week, we woke up to this:

Oh, I am so lonely....

My ITE III partner is MIA...where are you?? :)
I know she is feveriously working on my bag and has no time to "chat". I check the blog everyday to see if I can spot "my bag", but no luck, she has been good about protecting her identity, I have no clue who she might be.

Big news today..... I called to check on a recipe for my crock pot, and found out:
1) I have had it for 7 years (YIKES), it sat in the cupboard for about 6 of those years.
2) There is a recall on it; I will need to cut off the end of the plug and send it back to them. In return, I will receive a brand new base!!! But I like the old base, it matches my kitchen. And I need to use it again next week. How boring am I? :)

YIKES

Hubby used the debit card for the wonderful yarn purchase - $71.00. Good thing it was him and not me. I can't get into trouble, I only asked for 2 skeins. :)

And I completely forgot, I won some Magic Stripes Yarn on the Whoduknit? blog a few weeks ago, that arrived today, Thanks Jane!! More yarn and it didn't cost me a thing.

Lenten Yarn Diet

I have decided to go on a yarn diet for Lent. I really do not NEED any more yarn; I have 2 wonderful skeins of Lorna's Laces Sock yarn from Debb, I am currently knitting a pair of socks with some Sockotta yarn I bought a few weeks ago; I am anxiously awaiting my package from here , with some Project Spectrum themed sock yarn. And my WONDERFUL HUSBAND, who is traveling in CA, stopped in here (thanks to Debb) and purchased 6, yes 6, skeins of green-colored Lorna's Laces sock yarn for me. Now that's love.

The purpose of this yarn diet is two-fold, the first being Lent, the second being my sister and I are going here for the April 19th taping, I need to save money, so yarn was the first thing to go :).

P.S. Guess what? I need/have to buy dpn's in size 1 (don't have those) so that I can knit up all this wonderful sock yarn...off I go to the LYS :)

Knitting Fact -
1 out of 3 women knows how to knit or crochet. The number of women who do these crafts increased from 34.7 million in 1994 to 38 million in 2000.

Blocked scarf

Here is the enrelac scarf, it is not this dark, it is wet. It looks very nice.

This will be the last post with pictures for a week. Hubby is going on business trip to CA, taking our only camera with. I'll post lots of pictures when it returns.

Sassy Sock Yarn Swap

Oh my golly. Look at all the goodies I received from Debb my upstream partner in this swap.

The kids took the pencils and light up keychain. I get the rest. Thank you so much!!!

Please check out Debb's blog she is starting up her own swap blog and needs members! I see that a magic yarn ball swap is in the works for April. I'll be signing up for that!!

ITE III tote leaving

Here is my tote, all boxed up and ready to go. Lots of goodies inside. The blue yarn is to make another tote, sister saw postings of tote and she would like one. She's coming end of March, so I have a little time (how many socks can I make before then??) :)

So all my packages are done and sent, I just need to sit back and wait for mine to come to me.

socks #2

Here are the socks, done in Plymouth Encore Colorspun, color 7022, pattern free from the internet.

Finished Northern Lights, now I need to finish the Whoduknit project, that darn entrelac scarf.

Then I can get started on socks #3. Love those socks, so quick and easy, instant gratification.

Hopefully I will be receiving my swap packages this week, which means more sock yarn and hopefully, scarf yarn.

2nd pair of socks completed

I'll post a picture later. I finished my 2nd pair of socks, how exciting. I had to frog the entire 2nd sock back to the heel flap...I must have knit too many rows because when I got to the toe decrease I had run out of yarn (gasp) and the heel was way too big. I did finish it tonight, and I had enough yarn.
I was going to get all prepped to make my next pair, I have the yarn and the pattern (Socktopia) but I cannot find the dpn's I bought last week, I thought I had put them in my sock bag...but they are gone, not in the drawer with all the other needles...don't know if I put them in one of the packages that I sent out for swaps today. UUGGHH Senior moment (I'm only 40 YIKES). Have to go back the the LYS to purchase more.

Oh well, this leaves me free tonight to try and finish "Northern Lights", and tomorrow while son #1 is at tennis, I can work on the entrelac scarf, I've been neglecting it all week.

I did survive Tuesday at preschool, I was the teacher. None of the kids complained and everyone said I did a good job.

ITE III tote

Here is my finished tote for the ITE III swap. It was fun to make; once I got past the cast on UUGGHH. Need to collect a few more goodies for the package, and I'll be ready to ship it out next week.

Happy Valentine's Day

To my 3 boys: Bill Alex Kevin :) Love you xoxo

Snow day today, so we'll be making cookies for the 4th grade trade fair, also doing laundry, reading "Northern Lights", and knitting; socks and entrelac scarf KAL.

Entrelac scarf

Here is my scarf. This is almost one skein of the Noro, 2 more to go. Not sure I like those 2 little spots of brown, but nothing I can do now. I finally broke down and bought (another) pair of Addi Turbos, I just couldn't knit another stitch with my other circulars, it was no fun. So that brings my total to 4 Addi Turbos (big bucks I tell ya). But I love them and use them lots, so it is worth it.

What else, I am almost finished with my ITE III tote, I should be able to send late this week or early next. It isn't due until mid-March, but might as well get it finished and out the door.

I won a contest at Whoduknit yesterday, I guessed the closest to the number of knitting needles in the pot :), some bamboo dpn's are on the way to me (my favorite for making socks and mittens).
Heard back from sp10, I'm in!! Yea.
Finally, my preschool teacher is ill (I'm the assistant) and I will be teaching class tomorrow (and maybe Thursday). Pray for me, and for her to be back on her feet soon.