Friday Night Happy Hour... and other stuff too

Wow, what a week! Work has just been C-R-A-Z-Y!! Can I just say, I hate, HATE my schedule this year. Did I mention that I hate my schedule? About the one things that actually saves my sanity each day is that I get to each lunch with one of the teachers that I really like :) She's a trip. Here she is eating a not-very-sweet orange for the sole purpose that an orange is good for you. PUCKER FACE DANA! *heehee*



Moving on.....

I just discovered that one of the teachers at my school owns one of these....



DAMN DOUG! It's a '71 Corvette Stingray. Can you say NICE! *I certainly can, too bad he's married with two kids* Course I'm wondering how a teacher affords a vette, but more power to him! Unfortunately this baby didn't want to start for him Friday afternoon! :(

After work I headed out to a tapas bar on the other side of the county to meet up with some girlfriends for Happy Hour! We sat inside, but restaurant had all their door/windows open to the courtyard and we got to see and hear this band while we were there.

Here they are doing a sound check before the actual festivities got started. The dude in the plaid shorts was cute! Didn't catch the name of the band, but it was one of those "ska" (I think at least) bands. A bit of reggae, hip hop and pop. I could really hear the reggae in the music. I just love that!



After dinner and drinking, we walked around the square. My gf Karen and I hung out and danced a bit in the square. The other girls were too embarrassed and went window shopping. It's a tad hard to really be embarrassed when you *HEART* dancing and music *and several Long Island Iced Teas in the system doesn't hurt either* ;)





When I got home from Happy Hour, I found this package on my front porch! *squeal* I love packages!



Here's what I got from my WhoDuKnit swap pal!


Moving on to knitting/crocheting projects....

Here are 2 dishcloths I made this month. I really like this pattern. It's called Elvish Leaves Dishcloth from Kelley's Yarns. I made one in a Sugar'n Cream ombre and the other is made in Berrocco Touche. The made with Touche is Soooooooo freakin' soft! I love it!



Next up is an update on the baby blanket. These patterns are fairly easy to follow. I scanned and printed out large copies of the three charts that are required for this pattern. I laminated them at work so that they would last for the duration. I use a sticky note on each chart to help me keep my place and I mark the number of repeats on the sticky notes. I will probably be using this pattern following technique in the future to mix and match patterns! Oh! And I really like working with this yarn! Super soft and touchable!

I learned the hard way that you really should not try to follow charts after you've been loaded up on Long Island Iced Teas. I came home from Happy Hour last night and did a few rows before crashing on my bed. This morning, I had to rip out all those rows cause I totally goofed on the floral patterns. The floral pattern is 29 stitches and I had 31 stitches between my stitch markers this morning. If I wasn't so anal, I probably would have try to find a place where I could have just K2tog, but I am anal and ripped back till I have 29 stitches again.

Does this mean that I won't drink and knit at the same time in the future? *HA! Fat chance* I just need to pick up WIP that have much simpler patterns *grin*



I have 23 squares made for the Stained Glass Afghan. 334 more needed and then I get to join them! Color me crazy for picking that pattern! Anyhoo, a few squares here and a few squares there and I should have my afghan in about 10 years *LAUGH*



Next on the "To Make" list is this ripple blanket for my sister. This is going to be her Christmas gift. So far it's 60" wide and 11" in length. I like how the print yarn breaks up solids! It's super soft and it should keep her nice and warm in the NY winters!



Still working on the Tunisian Baby blanket for a co-worker. I have GOT to get this one finished this week. She's due this month!





And last up.....

Frisco! Apparently he loves the ripple blanket too! *the little bugger grabbed the yarn and ran pulling out half a row of stitches!* That's what I get for trying to get a cute picture of him with yarn. I should have known better!

July Goals Met!

I know I haven't been around much this week. Had a lot going through my head. I did get a lot done while I was mulling over everything. I can't believe it, I truly can't, but I managed to complete all my goals for this month!

July Goal Updates:

* Knit the Monthly Dishcloth KALs (I have such a HUGE dishcloth stash. They knit up 2 dishcloths a month starting on the 1st and the 16th. I don't usually knit the 1st cloth of the month because I'm not big on "picture" cloth, so instead I find an older pattern off the site to knit for the 1st and then I follow their 2nd one) - FINISHED!!

2nd dishcloth completed!

* Knit the Monica Tank for my niece - FINISHED!!

* Finish knitting that same tank for her younger sister. (I needed to make some minor adjustments on the straps and weave in some elastic around the top) FINISHED!!
* Knit a bag for my Secret Pal - FINISHED!!
* Crochet 20% of an afghan for my parents for their Christmas gift - FINISHED!!

* Knit a square for Rebuilding Greensburg - Block by Block FINISHED!!
* Crochet 5 squares for the Stained Glass Afghan. The afghan required 357 squares! - FINISHED!! (23 squares complete! - 334 more to go *faint*)

Crocheting and Plants

Crocheting
Hello everyone in Blogland! Here's a quick look at what I have been working on with the crochet personality. *having muliple craft personality disorder can be a real biotch sometimes* My crochetting personality has been the dominant personality this week, so not much news on the knitting front.

First up: The Larger Than Life Bag. Here are the squares that I have so far. I'm not totally crazy about them and considering frogging a few to start over. Can you tell I really liked the green yarn? *laugh* I think that's what's throwing me off, too much of one color. I also need to figure how to tone down some of the brighter colors with a complimentary darker color to that my bag doesn't turn into the Louder-than-Life bag *laugh* I'm using KnitPicks Merino for this project. I reworked some of the squares last night, but didn't take an updated photo because I was feeling lazy. I am hoping to finish the squares off by Friday so that I can go pick out fabric and a zipper this weekend. Then I'm going to bribe my older sister with a pitcher of Margaritas to help me with the sewing and lining *giggle*



Next up: Stained Glass Afghan from Vanna's Afghans A to Z: 52 Crochet Favorites. Here's the reason to call me crazy *giggle* I have to make 357 of these squares! 357!! But it looks Oh-so-pretty. I have been wanting to make this afghan for years and actually had the yarn for YEARS! I've had the yarn so long that they no longer make most of the colors! So, I guess it's good that I'm a stash ho :) *LOL* Did I mention I have to make 357 of these little squares!

Here's how many I have so far...


6 down, 351 more to go *falls over* I'm pretty sure it's safe to say it will be a while before I post an update on the blanket *giggle*

Plants
My Lipstick Plant has bloomed!! I get so excited each year when this plant blooms. This plant requires such little maintenance and it producing the cutest looking flowers.

I'm sure it helps that I have huge windows in my library and we get lots of natural light! I have lots of houseplants in my library and the kids love 'em! Here's my Purple Passion *I just love that name*