I'm a lazy blogger

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?

Lets get to know each other

Here's a fun questionnaire for you guys. You'll learn more about me and I'd like to learn more about you. So, here's the deal -- answer the questions and email them to me. I'll put everyone's name in a hat, draw out a name and send the winner a skein of beautiful yarn. Ready, set go!

Four Things about me -
Things you may or may not have known about me in no particular order

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. newspaper reporter
2. optometrist assistant
3. load planner for a trucking company
4. baker at the bakery

B) Four movies I would watch over and over: I could watch lots of them over and over, but I'll try to pick 4 favorites.

1. When Harry Met Sally
2. Anne of Green of Gables
3. Out of Africa
4. You’ve got mail

C) Four places I have lived:

1. Germany
2. Smut Eye, AL
3. Key West, FL
4. Montgomery, AL

D) Four television shows I watch:

1. Gilmore Girls
2. The Closer
3. Law & Order Special Victims Unit
4. Grey’s Anatomy

E) Four places you have been on vacation:

1. Holland
2. Oahu, Hawaii
3 Cozumel, Mexico
4. Disney World, Orlando, FL

F) Web sites you visit daily:

1. Knit Picks
2. The Blue Blog
3. Amazon (gotta manage my shopping cart, I dream big)
4. Dew on the Kudzu

G) Four of your favorite foods:

1. Sweet Tarts
2. Grilled steak
3. Peanut butter
4. White Beans (Navy) & Cornbread (When mom cooks them)

H) Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Ft. Walton Beach, FL
2. Hanauma Bay Park, Oahu
3. Scotland
4. Nova Scotia (Prince Edward Island in particular)

Remember, I want to hear from you guys.

Mystery Stole 2

This is my first experience knitting a stole. It's also my first "real" experience with lace. I've knitted lace socks before but never such a big lace project. This continues to be a fun knit-along and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product which will be awhile because I'm not knitting both sides of the stole at once. I've got too many other projects going at the same time -- must learn to pace myself. This way the knitting joy goes on and on . . . Anyhow, clue 3 is complete.

Sock Progress

I'm making steady progress on my Hurricane Sock Party Socks. I switched to a superwash yarn to match my pal's preferences and I hope to be knitting the heel flap later today. I like the way this new yarn is knitting up. The blues are pretty and the pattern is showing up nicely.

My fabulous Hawaiian Crocs, originally meant for my pal, will find a happy home on my own feet. Yes, I know there aren't any crocodiles in Hawaii. I just thought it was an appropriate name considering the pattern is Mock Crocs and the yarn is Hawaii.

I've also been busy knitting my Summer Sock Party socks. I'm more than than half way through the heel flap and will be turning the heel later today. I designed this pattern myself by selecting a stitch pattern I liked and creating a sock around it. This is my first attempt at designing anything. I'm sure, with practice, I will get better. I hope my pal likes them and can understand the pattern I wrote.



In other knitting news, I'm close to finishing the back of the Lotus Blossom Tank and hope to begin knitting the shoulders sometime next week. I'll also be working on clue three of the Mystery Stole. As always, so many knitting projects, so little time. I have been a knitting fool lately. It's all I want to do but life keeps getting in the way. Oh yeah, I've got to start knitting the bag for my Knit Sock Kit Swap Pal. Where will I find the time?

Oh Poo!!!

I've been happily knitting into the wee hours of the morning on my Hurricane Sock Swap Pal's socks. I'm loving the pattern and the yarn. I'm 4 1/2 inches into the leg when I decide to double check my pal’s preferences in regard to yarn. It is then that I realize her only real preference when it comes to the yarn for her socks -- machine washable. One thing the yarn I'm knitting is not is machine washable. It's hand wash only. Now, I could go forward with the current yarn selection with a total disregard for my pal’s preferences. But, that doesn't seem right. So, I've changed yarn but kept the Mock Croc pattern. This will teach me not to sign up for four sock swaps at one time. Here's a picture of the sock formerly known as my Hurricane Sock Swap Socks.

Lazy Blog Day

You Passed 8th Grade Geography!

Congratulations, you got 8/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Geography?

I'll have more knitting updates later in the week. I've started knitting my Hurricane Sock Swap sock. I'm using Knit Picks Sock Memories Hawaii and the pattern is Mock Crocs, a free pattern from Knit Picks. I'll also have a picture of the completed 2nd clue of Mystery Stole 2.

Clue One of Mystery Stole 2 Complete

Finally finished!! This project has been quite an adventure. After all the initial mistakes and starting over four times, I finished. Joy spread throughout the kingdom! And then I noticed a mistake near the bottom. I tried to reconcile myself to a life with this small error -- tried to console myself with the knowledge that this was my first true lace project so perfection wasn’t required. However, this mistake so disturbed the tranquility in my universe that it was necessary to rip it all out and start over. And, after seeing everyone else’s beautiful work, I couldn’t settle for less that perfect. So, here it is, completely perfect (at least to me). So, I’ve knit the first half of the first clue twice. I decided not to knit both halves of the stole at one time. I will finish the other half of the stole after I complete the final clue, which means it will take me at least twelve weeks to finish this project. I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to knit the next clues just once. Here’s the photo. I wish I were a better photographer.

What Handbag Are You?

I found this cute quiz while checking out Sarah's Blog. So, I decided to follow her lead and find out what type of handbag I am and share it with everyone. Here are my results.

You Are a Classic Gucci Bag

You've got style mastered - because you stick with what works. Like this Gucci Bag, you prefer classic items that stand the test of time. You're also a bit of a practical girl, who prefers function over fluff. You prefer a big bag, so that you can have your stuff with you at all times

What Handbag Are You?

Miscellaneous Knitting News

I've been trying to design my very first pattern for my Summer Sock Party Pal. I've chosen a lace stitch pattern and am now trying to decide how to incorporate that into a sock. Should I add some basic ribbing in between the lace panels? or not? Anyway, it's definitely a work in progress.

I emailed my Knit Sock Swap Pal almost three weeks ago and haven't heard from her yet regarding specifics on foot size or her mailing address. I think she was going on vacation but my email was sent before that so .... its just frustrating when you don't hear from people. I've selected a bag to knit and some cool knitted accessories to go with. What to do?

I've chosen the pattern and the yarn for my Hurricane Sock Party Pal. I hope she'll like it. It's beautiful yarn. I tell you, I am in love with this yarn. So much so, that I have enough to make myself a pair of socks. :-)

I've also started knitting my Mystery Stole. The first clue was posted on Friday. Sadly, I'm only on row five. I'd have made more substantial progress but I've had to frog it four times. Once, I realized I was kitting 2 togther when I should have been slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over; once, I just got lost and screwed up the stitch pattern; once, I ended up with 100 stitches instead of 99; and once, I just didn't like how it was looking. But, I'm off to a decent start now. I'll try to post a picture when I have more of the stole completed.

I wish I had more time for knitting this week but I've been helping my parents with a remodeling project at their house. A wall has been knocked down and new flooring installed. I wish we had taken before and after shots. The new flooring is really looking beautiful.

I'm also making steady but slow progress on the Lotus Blossom Tank. Maybe, I'll get that finished sometime soon. So much knitting to do, so little time. I'll try to post some pictures next time.

Bodies...The Exhibition

We're off to see celebrate the wonder of the human body! Yes, we are going to see Bodies ... The Exhibition today. I can't begin to describe how excited I am! This exhibition is going to be amazing. We will be able to see the inside of a human body. Here's what they do, they take a body and preserve it according to standard mortuary science. Then the body is dissected to show whatever it is that someone wants to display. Some examples would be, showing just the circulatory system or nervous system. I think one of the bodies is sliced into thirds so you can see cross sections of the body. How cool is that? Once dissected, the body is immersed in acetone to eliminate all body water. Then the body is placed in a large bath of silicone, or polymer, and sealed in a vacuum chamber. Under vacuum, acetone leaves the body in the form of gas and the polymer replaces it, entering each cell and body tissue. And the body will not decay. They also show bodies in motion, like when you play basketball, throw a ball or run. This way you can see how the muscles of the body work. You can check it out here: www.bodiestheexhibition.com.

Sleeveless Sweater Update

Here's a photo of my progress on the Lotus Blossom Tank by Sharon Shoji and published in the Summer '06 issue of Interweave Knits. I'm knitting the smallest size on size 4, 32" circular needles. I did not use the size 5 and 6 needles recommended because the lace design looked sloppy when I used the larger needles. It just seems to get lost and there was no definition. I also did not use the larger needle size for the first nine rows of the lace pattern. And, I am not using the yarn recommended for the project. I believe they are using a DK weight yarn and the yarn I’m using is sports weight. It is not a high quality yarn as I didn't want to invest a lot of money until I was sure I had the patience and skills to complete a sweater. It’s been a long time, after all, since I’ve knit any large projects. This sweater not having sleeves is a definite plus when it comes to patience. I have completed the body and front and really love the lotus lace pattern. It is so beautiful. If I make this sweater again, I'll use a higher quality yarn. The sweater is for my youngest daughter in her favorite color – lime green.

Other projects include designing a pattern for my Knit Sock Kit Swap Pal, chosing a pattern and knitting a sock for my Hurrican Sock Party 2006 Pal and my Summer Sock Party 2006 Pal. I'm also knitting a bag for my KSKS Pal. So, I'm going to be a busy girl.