Saturday, March 31, 2007

my 1st Secret Pal 10 package!!!!



What a great 1st pg my pal sent me. Handspun & handpainted merino sock yarn, from All the Pretty Fibers...& just look at those colors...are they me or what? & it's a huge hank!
a yummy thick hand cream from Burt's Bees, 1 of my favorites, but I have never seen this particular cream before...& it's wonderful!
last but certainly not least, chocolate..Lindt 's to be exact. now how great is my pal, I ask you? along w/a wonderful note too! thank you so much, dear pal!!!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

March is almost gone!!!!!

wow, I can't even beleive that April is just around the corner.....& I've been so behind in posting....not that anybody ever reads or responds anymore (my peeps, you know who you are!!!!)
In the process of just finishing up a pr of the Regia silk sox....doing the ribbing as we speak.
but joe's feet have been so swollen lately...he's going in for a vascular doppler test to see if there's a clot or some other gosh awful thing going on. anyway, I started a pair of the Regia Stretch in a lite blue denimy color on size 1's & I'm whipping my way down towards that ol heel (from the toe, of course!)....it's been hard because I'm away from home & sitting on a motel bed trying to knit & my spine is hurting alot. ok well, I guess I better head off to the motel...I'm being very sneaky at work, accessing the computer....wish me luck!!!!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Favorite Knitting Accessory

wow, that's a tuff one........I like the curlicue point protectors because they stay on & look so cute.....I like my lil addi needle sizer because I don't always know which size to use & any other needle sizer just won't measure the add's correctly...I like my extra sticky Post Its to mark my spot on my pattern...I like my knee-sel that sits on my knee & gets velcro'd on & holds my pattern up close where I can see it....is it ok to like more than one?? I hope so!!!!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Secret Pal 10 Questionairre

The Questionnaire .....sorry new secret pal...you were given the greediest of all folks & I feel sorry for you.


1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
no acrylics or acrylic blends please.....I love most merinos & alpacas....fleece artist, karabella, jitterbug by colinette, gems by Louet just about anything soft, lovely & colorful.....no cashmere is necessary...see, not all THAT greedy!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a Circular Solution for my Addi Turbos for which I have more than enough....but would love to try the Suzanne Circulars!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
over 40 yrs...learned by videos mostly....intermediate in some areas & advanced in others.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No. I buy all the new books pretty regularly...cept for the new yarn harlot book...I do covet that!

5. What's your favorite scent?
I like vanilla mostly...not crazy about fruity scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love chocolate. milk, not dark...chocolate & peanut butter is wonderful. chocolate w/nuts. Nips or Werthers too. & Lifesaver peppermints.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
nothing. just knitting. sock & lace mostly...& collecting lace patterns. that's my whole boring life. very sad actually.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
no, too picky about my music. send yarn instead.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I lean toward the FLAME colors...red/orange/yellow combo....I also like the baby blue/purple/pink combo....but colors is where I really am the least picky. I love solids too so don't dismiss them. color is good. no bad.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
none to speak of. it's all about me right now. me me me.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
delicate lace scarves...otherwise no, this is arizona after all.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
lace shawls & scarves & sox.

13. What are you knitting right now?
lace shawl, still, which I really need to finish already & sox...many sox...

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
if it's lace or sox....I would love some nice handknitted sox...I rarely get them....in a nice tight thin merino sock yarn...no cotton or acrylic please....just plain, nothing fancy...& short is fine too, like a tennis sock....for a size 8 foot...that would be just lovely.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
circs, addi turbos or rosewood or ebony (yeah right)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I own both because I prefer hanks of yarn & wind them right before I use them.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
6 months approx. but I really am still working on it

18. What is your favorite holiday?
would have to be Christmas

19. Is there anything that you collect?
hanks of lovely sock yarn....lace patterns...Fiddlestick lace patterns....Just 1 More Row Patterns are nice too! Socks that Rock...Claudia Handpaint...Brooks Farm...damn, I am a greedy so & so....yarn is really my true desire.....

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
glad you asked: hanks of lovely sock yarn....lace patterns...fiddlestick lace patterns....Just 1 More Row Patterns are nice too! fleece artist, Socks that Rock Light, jitterbug by colinette, gems by Louet just about anything soft, lovely & colorful.....check out etsy for goodies too! no magazine subscriptions needed...I just get what I like.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
too many to mention...I love to learn. let me recommend lucy neatby, elizabeth zimmermann to name just 2....I have their dvd's already but for you, it would be wonderful!!!!! learn all you can, is my motto!!!!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I am a sock knitter....size 8 sock would be fine...or 40 in the euro size I would guess. if somebody knits me sox you can bet they will fit me. no matter what. I will cut off my toes if necessary. no, really.

23. When is your birthday?
march 7...I am a Pisces...I am wishy washie....as greedy as I am I am still very nice. just ask my friends who I have threatened w/bodily harm.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

birthday thank yous!

I have been properly chastised from all my good buds for not posting anything about my birthday....I am very sorry....& yes, it was lovely!!!! wabbit wrote a very detailed & wonderful description on her blog & I just didn't wanna repeat what she already said, is all.
but all in all it has been a great birthday month so far w/lots of exciting happenings. I guess I'm just feeling a bit confused & overwhelmed by it all. after this next week when I see how everything goes, I'll hopefully be back to my old self again.
at the same time I have swaps going on & I'm trying to stay on top of those too....nobody shall get passed over, no sirree bob!!!! I shant forget to send to anyone!!!!!! I did do a really stupid thing in the swap I sent out last week tho. I put some tape over the stamps because they looked like they could use it. how was I supposed to know you can't tape over stamps???? dumb stupid ol post office w/their damn stinkin rules. so it cost me DOUBLE to send it. dumb stupid ol me too, since I guess I shoulda known better. but really, how can I be upset when all things around me are so wonderful!!!!???? I tried but I can't. shuddup wabbit, I'll be gushy if I want to!!!!
well ok that's about all for now.....I'm still trying to organize myself into what I need to pack up for next week & what can wait. later guys.....

Friday, March 09, 2007

WARNING.......adult content


I finished a willie warmer for a friend who's trying to impress her boyfriend to be??!! who knows. but here's a pic.
I also made a bra/bikini top/whatever you wish to call it, out of the same yarn a few yrs ago, but for some reason Joe refuses to model it for me. it's Fixation by Cascade & it's an elastic cotton...easy to work with as long as you don't overstretch it.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

too much going on


I've been way behind in posting....so much happening at the moment & nowhere to begin to tell so I have a feeling I just won't post much until everything settles down. I really don't like putting alot of my personal life on my blog. my close friends are aware of my situation so I shall save the blog for just knitting stuff.
I'll be teaching a toe-up sock technique class again this coming tuesday nite...my birthday eve since you asked!!! ha ha ha!!!! yeah, I know you didn't but that's ok too. I have just 1 woman signed up & she is very sweet so we'll have a good time I'm sure. I have 2 pr of sox on the needles at the moment; 1 pr are pretty bed sock w/holes & bumps (pic included) & the other are just plain w/a built-in stripey pattern. very simple but as always it takes me forever to do anything.
today is also 3 weeks of not smoking & wouldn't you know, I'm putting stuff away & stick my hand in the lil thingee we have hanging in the kitchen for keys & crap & find a 3/4 filled pack of my smokes. well I broke off the filters, dumped them in a bowl & preceeded to douse them w/water, crumple them up & flush em. I am very proud of me. I really don't miss the smoking as much as I miss the act. it's a mind thing for me I guess.