I'm going to be a Zia again!!

I'm so excited! My baby sister called me to let me know that I am going to be a Zia *zia means aunt in Italian* again in November!

She's having a Thanksgiving baby!!

I'm laying odds that she's having a boy :)

OH!! What to knit first for this little one!!

and second....

and third....

you know ;)

CONTEST ALERT!
Leave a comment with a suggestion for a baby pattern and suggest a yarn for that pattern. If you mention this contest in your blog with a link back here I will add you name to the draw twice ***Be sure to leave a link to your blog post!! Contest ends Saturday, April 12 at Midnight :)

Speaking of contest - check out the contest on the Countdown to Sheep & Wool blog! Go there now, yes right now... oh wait, make your suggestion(s) here first and then go over there ;)

Baby, Fairies and Little Flexible Girls... Oh My!

Baby Booties!! I used leftover Tofutsies yarn and size 1 needles. A simple 2x2 ribbing. Aren't they cute! I think anything that small is cute! Except cockroaches and other crawly things! *shivers*



I finally finished that Fairy blanket!!

ALLELUIA!!!!!

ALLELUIA!!!!!

Can I get an AMEN!



This is the little squirt it was made for, but as you can see, she was too busy showing me that she could put her foot behind her head! Oh to be young and flexible again! As my sister and I say - tight asses and firm tits are wasted on the young! My sister really needs to get this girl into a Yoga class to keep her this flexible!



And then I just had to share this. I laughed so hard when I read this note posted on my sister's fridge. I mean really....



Sorry about the shakiness.

Yarn Disaster!

OK, so if any of you have been following the thread on the Ravelry Yarn discussion board on Mystical Creations Yarn you know all about some of their yarns bleeding very badly. Well, I have several skeins of their yarn in my stash and I have pulled out these four skeins of red/pink to make a shawl with early in February, but I had put that project on hold when I started reading that thread. I cut a little piece of the yarn to test and it bled like a MoF**ker! So, I went to the grocery store, bought some vinegar and big aluminum turkey pans and decided I would try to fix the error. I soaked two skeins in a 50/50 vinegar and water combo over night. The next morning I dumped the water and filled the pan with plain water and let the yarn soak over Easter weekend. Can you see where this is going yet?

I came home the Monday after Easter and apparently there was a leak in the pan. Yeah, not good. My counter tops was HOT PINK! I freaked and panicked! The water had leaked from the pan, across the counter, past the sink to the other side of the counter, down the wall onto the floor. If I hadn't been flipping out so badly over a hot pink counter top I probably would have thought to take pictures, but I was thinking BLEACH! Bleach has to work right. I mean we use bleach to get stains out. I dried everything off, threw out those two skeins of yarns, grabbed my keys and drove straight to the grocery store.

Luckily, the bleach DID take the dye out of my counter tops. My house reeked of Clorox for 3 days afterwards, but at least I have my counter top back to normal -not that it was anything spectacular mind you. I mean I am hoping to redo my 1970's kitchen this summer, but I still didn't want to look at hot pink counter tops for several months.

When I started to breath normally again, I thought about pictures and there was still some dye on the floor. Now, take that pink hues that you see in these pictures and multiple that by oh a thousand!





Lesson learned - never leave bleeding soaking yarn unattended!

Wet Your Lips and Make Love to the Camera!

Who rememebers this?




Work it Girl!!


Well that is exactly what me and several members of my S'nB group did early Saturday morning! *yes, 10AM IS early for some of us*


There is a local couple that wrote a book on knitting groups and apparently found our group listed on Meetup! The husband came by last Wednesday night to talk to us and tell us about their project. While he was there he took some close-up shots.... of the knitting or course! You think any woman is going to be photographed for a book without prior notice! *giggle* He asked if memebers of our group would be willing to meet early Saturday morning for a photo op. About 10 of us showed up Saturday morning - all wearing a hand knitted item of some sort, of course. It was a hoot!

We took some picture down by the lake, under a gazeboo, at the outside tables of a resturant and another by the blooming daffodils. Poor Denise though, she got yelled at for taking her hands off her knitting. *giggle* We'd be talking and laughing while the guy was taking pictures and then Denise would get into a story and she talks with her hands, so when she getting animated her hands would come into play. Then someone would say "Hands on your knitting!"


We laughed about fake knitting *I think we all had to tink back whatever we were working on in those photos cause you really couldn't watch what you were doing*, modeling jokes *Denise I have your vasaline for you!* and of course it was a tad chilly so there was the nipply factor *PhdKnitting fix that scarf!* All in all, we laughed, even when we weren't told to!

We did come to find out that one of these photos is going to be the book cover! How exciting!! We might all be getting a complimentary copy when it's finally published too! Even better.

Lace and Socks and Yarn Crawl!!

I went on my first official Yarn Crawl this weekend with the Central Maryland Knitters Guild. We all met at the Barnes and Noble in Ellicott City at 8:20 in the morning! On a Saturday!! What was I thinking when I agreed to go?! I am so glad I went, my wallet obviously isn't, but I had a blast with all the girls!

We headed up to Eldersburg to meet up at another knitters house (Laurie) for breakfast!! She made us a yummy breakfast of blueberry muffins, and some yummy egg dish! Her home was warmly decorated! There were some gorgeous quilts hanging on her walls!! And of course, I barely had my eyes open at 8:15 that morning that I completely forgot to take my camera with me!

We hit four yarn stores between Eldersburg to Frederick! We started at the Knitters Nest, then it was off to Knittin' Chicks in Mt. Airy. Afterwards it was off to Frederick. We stopped for lunch first. Don't even ask about the troubles we had trying to find the Vietnamese Restaurant that Laurie's co-workers had raved about, and don't even think to ask about Laurie's navigation system in her car! I don't think Ellen, Laurie or I could tell that story without cracking up! OK, OK I'll tell you about the GPS system!

Laurie never learned to work her navigation system when she bought the car two years ago, because when she plugged in her home address the GPS system told her the location didn't exist! So she never bothered after that. Can't say I really blame her. Do you think if I called my mortgage company and told them that my GPS system (if I had one that is, I'm still old school and read maps, I know. Don't faint) told me my address was none existent and I shouldn't have to pay a mortgage on a place that doesn't exist that they would understand and release me from my mortgage and let me keep my house that is at a non-existent place??? Hmmmm....

Anyhoo, Ellen was sitting in the front seat and has a GPS in her car so she tried to fool around with it and she sort of got it to work. She managed to find a listing for a Vietnamese restaurant in the area!! We weren't sure it was THE one we were looking for, but since we didn't have an address or a restaurant name we thought "how many Vietnamese restaurants could there really be in Frederick?" So we followed the GPS to the location. For those of you that have not encountered a GPS system, I know, hardly likely but you never know, usually the system has a voice that tells you when turns are coming up. Well, we couldn't get Laurie's to talk! So we followed the map route and we turned into what looked like an office complex. We slowed down to read the building numbers when low and behind it spoke! It said "You have arrived at you destination!" ..... We were parked in from of a family doctor's practice! The three of us busted out laughing. And then Stacey and her entourage pulled up next to up and found us in fits of laughter. We ended up going to a Thai restaurant that we drove past. It was de-lish!!

After lunch we headed to Keep Me in Stitches. This time though, the GPS started talking and telling us where to turn! We did know where it was trying to get us though! Then Ellen turned off the voice.... or so she thought till it spoke again! You would have thought our car had just been filled with laughing gas. We were in fits of giggling again. Finally Ellen did turn the voice off!

I think Keep Me in Stitches was my favorite shop on the route! It was a small shop that was defiantly packed with yarns and at great prices! The last stop on the expedition was Eleganza Yarns. This was definitely the most unique building on the trip. It was a really old log cabin house turned yarn shop! Very quaint and the shop owners were very happy that we had put them on out route!

I came home with 12 more skeins to add to my stash. 5 of those skeins are earmarked for 3 pairs of socks, 4 are for 2 different shawls, and 3 will become baby items! Sorry, don't have a picture of them right now.

Now on to knitting news!!

Clue 3 is complete on the Secret of the Stole ii KAL!! Just 5 more clues to go. I highly doubt I will be knitting with cobweb lace again any time soon!!



Next up - my 2nd pair of socks!! Aren't they cute! The yarn is Tofutsies on size 3 needles. I think my other Tofuties skeins will be knit on size 2 thought. So far both pairs of socks are slightly looser than I would like, but I guess that's better than being too tight! And they certainly weren't knit for a giant, so that's a plus too. *giggle*

OK, all you sock knitters out there, how many more pairs am I going to have to knit before I really get my socks to really fit my feet?!?

I have to say though, wearing these 2 pairs of socks has certainly felt very different on my feet. I feel like I can feel each and every stitch on the balls of my feet. Is that normal for hand knit socks?? Will this sensation eventually go away??



Here's a pic of my baby. He was trying to help me knit up my lace project. *more like he was waiting for me to get up and leave the room so that he could pounce on my yummy yarn* But look at that face!

My First Pair of Socks!!

Socks, socks, socks! Since the Sock Yarn party I have been going sock crazy!! I have been collecting sock yarn for a while now - you would think one would knit socks BEFORE stashing socking yarn. Nope, not me. When I see a yummy yarn in a yummiliscious colorway, I just can't resist. My thinking was that if the crazy ladies in my S'nB group didn't convert me to a sock knitter I could always use the yarn to lace shawls and scarves! See, no yarn wasted in my stash!! *don't worry, I think I need to be committed too, but until someone actually drives me to the asylum, I'm safe*


I have finally finished my first pair of socks!! And wow were they a quick knit!! I had cast on at the Sock Yarn party that was on March 15th and I cast-off and weaved in all my ends Easter night!! This yarn is SUPER yummy, soft, gorgeous!! I am so in *heart* with this color too!! This is soooooooooooooooo a me color! Wouldn't you agree KozyKitty? :)





Pattern: Tidal Wave
Yarn: Sheila Rovelstad Designs Sock yarn (Ravelry link)
Needles: Addi Turbos size 2 - 12"
Modifications: I switch to a short row heel and I carried the pattern down the top of the foot.

Apparently Frisco thought this was a photo op for him!



While I was going through my stash to see what I would cast on for next I found my long lost first sock, or rather the 2nd sock to the first pair that I cast on back in October of 2007! Denise, a woman from my S'nB group had me *really she ordered me too, but shhhhhhhhh let's just keep that between us cuz she really was The Sock Lady in our group at the time* immediately cast on for the 2nd sock so that I wouldn't commit the dreaded "Second Sock Syndrome."


Well.....


That didn't exactly work because Christmas was around to corner and I started concentrating on gift making and the bag with these socks got lost! or so I thought! But I found them and worked on them last night! Of course, I don't remember what heel Denise had me doing on the first sock so I really hope she remembers!


Frisco was the model for this sock photo, you can see that I took the picture just in time to see him trying to sneakily play with the yarn! I can't believe I might actually have 2 pairs of sock finished by the end of Spring Break!

Easter Weekend

Happy Easter Everyone!

I went home to the folks in NY this past weekend. My sisters and my cousins from MD also came up. The Easter dinner table was set for 21 people!! We haven't had that at my house in quite a while! It was so much fun.

Saturday, my mom had all the kids making their Easter breads. In Itlaian we call them Paloma (but I'm not really sure of the spelling). Traditionally, Easter bread were shaped into a girl for little girls to decorate, bunnies for boys to decorate, bastets for older kids, and braides to give to other adults. Easter bread is brushed with egg to give it that nice shine while it cooks and it helps the decorative candy sprinkle to stick.

After the Easter bread making, Mom made homemade pizza for all of us for lunch. Sorry, I was too busy eating it to get pictures of it ;) Afterwards, my sisters, cousin and I took the kids to the local park to let lose some of that energy they had! I took my knitting along with me. You see the poicture where I have a little Starbucks bag on my wrist? Well that was my little knitting bag to carry the socks that I was working on! I now understand the need for this little project bags! Needless to say, that I surfed Etsy and found several cute little project bags and bought one. Of course, after I purchased it, it dawned on my that I could have just MADE one myself!! Oh well, if I need more then one that's what I will do! Ooohhhhh - maybe that's what I can make for some knitting friends for Christmas gifts!

One of my cousins really should have been a baker becuase she just loves to bake and she's so creative! Just look at those adorable cupcakes she baked and turned into nests complete with eggs and even a few peep chicks!!

Saturday's Sock Yarn Party

Yes, a Sock Yarn party! Sheila, the woman in the pink sitting behind the cash box, dyes yarn and she is starting her own business. So the wonderful ladies that I knit with on Wednesday nights decided to give her a big hand!



Look at all those beautiful colors!! And those really neat sock blockers were made by another woman in our group, Stacey! I so want a set of the ones with the flipflops!!



You can see more of the gorgeous yarns on Needle-dee's blog entry on the Sock Party. Here are can see some of us that just couldn't wait to start knitting iwth our new yarns!!





Look at what I bought! Looks like I will be knitting sock in my future!



I even started!! I soooooooooooo love this teal. I just might have to order a few more in this color to make myself a shawl with!

Hands on Dying!

Back on March 8th I took a dying class over at Lovelyarns. It was interesting and fun and I'm actually hoping to do a little more experimenting with dyes when the weather gets a little warmer.

Here is what I did on my first attempt. I was going to and brown/purple colorway. It's tricky getting the dye to go all the way through the skein which is why there are some blue spots in there, but for a first attempt I still pleased with the outcome.





My second mixing of colors created this rich red. I was totally in awe of this color. I'm such a red person! It almost looks like blood. I dubbed this colorway Blood Red Fade. Now, if only I can recreate this red to make some solid colored skeins when I experiment again. I highly doubt it since when we were mixing colors we were trying to make the brown for the first skein. When this red came up I said "oooooooo save that for my 2nd skein!"



The skeins are both fingering weight (100 grams, approx. 450 yards). Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to turn these skeins into!

If you have a pattern suggestion PLEASE post it :)

Finally Fetching!!

OK, so I'm a little behind on the band wagon when it comes to certain patterns. Earlier this month I finally pulled out the 2 skeins of Frog Tree Merino that I purchased eons ago to make a pair of Fetching. I really, really love the feel of this yarn, but because it's a one-ply yarn they have already started to fuzz up and they look worn. They are very soft, and warm, but they don't look like a project that has just been taken off the needles. Oh well, and I still have several other skeins of this yarn in my stash.


My assistant at work took this photo, I think she was trying to capture the new manicure more than the mitts!


Pattern: Fetching
Yarn:Frog Tree Merino
Needles: Lantern Moon DPN size 6
Notes: bound off on smaller needles to tighten around the fingers.

I couldn't believe how quick these knit up that I already have a 2nd pair on the needles!

More Fairy stuff!!

Just had to share this new bag that I got! I found this Etsy. It's the work of Michele Lynch
It's currently holding my more portable knitting projects :)

Waves Scarf is FINALLY Finished!!

Finally!! This scarf/shawl was started back in December and was put on hold because the pattern called for 6 skeins of yarn, but after checking around on Ravelry 6 skeins wasn't nearly enough!! I ordered more yarn and ended up using 10 skeins!! Then I had to frog back 20 some odd rows because I miscrossed a cable! But it's finally finished and I couldn't be happier if I didn't have to knit 2x2 ribbing again for quite a while! *grin* I love the final results, but I don't think I'll be fooling around with 24 stitch cables anytime soon :) I think my sister is going to love it. It is one HEAVY shawl though! The shawl is blocking nicely on my dining room table as you can see :)


Pattern: Waves Scarf
Yarn: Cadena from Knit Picks
Needles: Knit Picks Options size 9
Notes: pattern calls for 6 skeins, but I ended up using 10! Check around on Ravelry before making for yourself to make sure you get enough yarn.

Happy Valentine's Day

Sorry I haven't been around this last week. I have been down and out sick! It came on suddenly Thursday night. I just started coughing and couldn't stop and it just got worse from there. Of course, flying down to Florida over the weekend for my fahter's birthday didn't help any. Two plane rides later and Sunday night I just wanted someone to bury me. I haven't been this sick in a long time. I mean so sick and weak that I couldn't open a bottle of water! Knitting even seemed tiring to me! I am happy to say that I'm finally starting to feel better. My fever is all gone and my head is starting to clear up. There is hope!

I did want to wish you all a Happy Love Day!!

Berry Baby Hat Started and Finished!!

Here's another FO! I cast on for this at 7pm tonight while I was at my S 'n B group and weaved in all the ends around 10:30PM. It's blocking now so that hopefully tomorrow I can get it in the mail and off to the head it was made for :)


Pattern: Berry Baby Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style (Lilac and Asparagus)
Needles: bamboo DPN, size 8

Here it is being model by an old friend :)

What do Super Bowl Sales, Knitting & Jane Austen have in common?

They were all in my weekend adventures :)

Yesterday, KozyKitty and I went to our LYS for their Fabulous Football Weekend Sale - 25% of EVERYTHING!! Did you hear me... EVERYTHING in the store. Last year, this sale was a serious danger to my wallet! I'm happy to say that I showed much restrain this year. I bought a set of Lantern Moon size 6 Ebony DPNs, a couple of skeins of Cascade Venezia in a gorgeous eggplant purple and some Debbie Bliss cashmerino chunky in a dark gray. THAT'S IT!! Can you believe that! I actually walked out with one little bag and spend under $90!! *pats herself on the back* I think we were there for about an hour. It was packed and I would say about half the customers were women from my knitting group!

On my way home I stopped by Blockbuster and picked up both versions of Pride and Prejudice (1995 & 2005). Sat in front of the tv for the night with my knitting and wishfully watch Mr. Darcy. They just don't make men like Mr. Darcy anymore.... if they ever really did to begin with, that is. Matthew Macfadyen *sigh* I mean, wouldn't you sigh if this was walking toward you?



Now that definately causes flutters in the lower extremities *wink* As hot as that is, I would definately, hands down, prefer to have this walking toward me.



Colin Firth. Now THAT it definately breath catching, moisture making, forget every thought in your head with the exception of jumping his bones and riding his like a stallion, swooning, down right S-E-X-Y! Oh my! *fans herself* Let me tell you, HE can eat crackers in bed! *fades out to a sexual fantasy here*

Moving on to knitting, which is the real reason you come here to read :) Here are two more FO for this year. The first is the WhoDuKnit Mystery KAL. (and a stash-buster to boot!!) This will be someone's Chrsitmas gift this year.


Pattern: clues were mailed to us, but there is a similar keyhole scarf in 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heather, colorway: Midnight
Needles: Boye size 8

Yesterday, I finished this little cutey. The Thumbelina Hat. I found the pattern through Ravelry. It was another stash-buster!

Pattern: Thumbelina Hat
Yarn: KnitPicks Merino Style
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 8, size 8 DPN

And lastly, for today that is... my first official lace project!! One of my knitting goals for this year is to knit lace. I don't recall how I found this lace KAL, but somewhere in my net surfing, blog reading or Ravelry perusing, I came across the Secret of the Stole ii KAL (SOTSii). I joined, read all the requirements and set off to the LYS to find some yarn!! I came across a skein of Skacel Merino Lace in the most striking berry red color!

Silly me bought cobweb lace for my first lace project. The poor woman at the LYS where I bought the yarn tried her best to deter me from buy cobweb lace for my first project, but I just fell in lust with the berry-red colored yarn that I closed myself off to any sensible advice and bought it. Payment for my stubborness?? ... I have frogged and cast-on 5 times already!! *sigh* I somehow kept adding stitches or losing stitches! And I wasn't even drinking alcohol while knitting this lace, so I can't even use that as an excuse!!

I'm taking it much slower this time and counting and recounting my stitiches every other row, and I have learned all about "lifelines" with lace knitting. I WILL be adding these into my lace knitting practice! This first lace project has been so frustrating and yet I am determine to knit lace, so fuckin' crazy determined that I joined two other lace KALs! (Dem Fischer sin Fru & Mystic Light Mystery Shawl) Color me crazy! Dem Fischer has startered, but I am still waiting for my yarn to be delivered, so now I will be behind with both KALs! Luckily, Mystic Light won't be starting till March. Hopefully will have both of the other laces completed before I start this one :)

Here is clue 1 of SOTSii!


And now, I think I will go watch a little more of Mr. Darcy.... *fade to black*