Check this out...

Lorena (my spoilee from SP10) and her pals are opening a new yarn shop in Florida. If you are ever in Gainesville check out Hanks Yarn and Fiber. They have been busy!
I can tell you this is a fun bunch of gals! Check out the shop blog and see what they are up to!

SP10 Angel

Well I told my SP10 Hostess that I would be an angel for someone whose swap partner did not come through. When checking over her blog I found out that her SP9 pal did not come through either! I feel so bad for her. She lives in Australia so maybe her pals were put off by overseas shipping. She can't get Knit Picks there so I will be ordering her some things from there to send to her. I was so lucky with both upstream and downstream pals. How sad that not everyone had the great time I had. When I get home from work I will post a link to her blog so we can all send the SP love her way.
I still have not got a confirmation for SP11 yet. Not sure why. If I don't hear by Friday I will have to check it out.

HSKS is wrapping up. I have not heard from my pal in a while and she has not updated her blog in a while. I hope everything is ok, I know she had a busy summer planned. One day soon I hope to be knitting Harry Potter socks.
Speaking of Harry Potter, I have finished book 7 and I loved it! I have heard people felt JKR bumped off more characters that she needed to. I must say I disagree, It is war after all. I will leave the Harry topic for now but this weekend I will do a full post about it. I don't want to spoil it for everyone else

Thank You Beth!

My SP10 spoiler has been Beth at knitsmitten.blogspot.com




She sent another great box of goodies!

We have 365 Knitting Stitches, which is something I wanted. I get tons of ideas just flipping through. There is also stitch markers, point protectors(I needed these!), cute little buttons, A new size 8 circ 24".( I was going to buy one of these this week for the body of Tubey). There is also a very pretty silver charm and books for MB and MG. the books are not in the photo because I could not pry them out of little hands. The yarn is very soft and squishy. It is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in color 135 Merlot. I love it! It is a wool/silk/cashmere blend.

Thank you Beth! This whole SP10 has been so much fun. I was glad to see you were so well spoiled.

Everybody meet Lorena...

My SP10 Spoliee got her box and is posting about it right about now. She is the very cool Lorena of Snarkland. Go check out her blog. She is knitting some pretty cool socks right now. It has been so much fun getting to know her these last 3 months.
I was inspired to try to knit socks again and now I just can't stop.
Even her regular readers and friends have given me a shout out in the comments. Lorena you have been a joy to spoil. you will now see my comments with my name. Yeah!

This knitting thing ain't so hard

So here is the Rib Warmer. I am very pleased with the way it came out. It is comfy and fits well. not bad for my first garment. The pattern is so easy to follow and the sewing up bit did not take long. I didn't really block it. the garter stitch takes care of itself. I would make it again. EZ's pattern calls for 4 sts to the inch. mine is 5. I think I would go up a needle size or 2(I used an 8) to knit this for someone else. it is a little short. I plan on wearing it in the Rockies later this summer. should be the perfect thing for june.

In answer to some questions from my SP10:

I do play poker. Mostly at home online for no $$. I go out to play very rarely (I have not been in about 10 months) and only for small stakes. I would say I'm pretty good but it takes a lot of luck!

I don't want to say what I sent Mom cuz I haven't got it in the mail yet and she reads this. I will say I posted it very early in the life of this blog and it is long and wool. hehehe.

Also I have knit 2 baby bibs from MDK. I will post them later. oh and your dish rag is now gracing my desk at the office. It is doing its job rather well under my soda and tea mug. I have had co workers ask me if I knit it and when I tell them my SP10 made it for me they think I am a little crazy. silly muggles. I just wanted you to know that I will use what you sent me everyday. thanks! btw blue and white were my university colors. Go Sycamores!

The Birthday goes on...

My SP 10 sent me another box today. She knit me the washcloth. I have made some washcloths but not like this. The pattern gives it a nice bumpy texture. I also got Mason Dixon Knitting. I have not had a chance to read it yet but the photos are beautiful and there are many fun patterns to try. there is also a little knitting basket that I hung up on my mirror and a box of candy! yummy! Thank you so much SP 10. You are the best!

SP10 strikes again!

I got home today to find my Secret pal sent me a box! Yeah and still 3 days till my birthday! Inside was this book of sock patterns (20 in all) all of the patterns were made from hand spun yarns. Very nice, in fact I think my spoilee might like this book as well. I will have to see if I can locate her one. is that cheating? I think I might try one of the patterns in the yarn my pal sent me. There was also a bag of Trader Jacks Apple Chips. Take my word for it they are yummy. Thank You Secret Pal. you made my day.

In other news... I am going to New York City! The boss is sending me to a dealer training for 3 days in June. I should have some time for a yarn buying adventure.

Note to self and what is coming

So I am going to send my famous mint toffee cookies in to the Mrs Fields cookie contest. I have it all written up and I will test bake this weekend with MG. I will need a test baker to make sure I got it right so Mom and Lynn watch your email.

On the draw string bag... both of my readers have said I should write up the pattern. I have done it and will post it when the MK's are sleeping.

and to my SP10 thanks for reading and commenting. I am new to blogging and it cheers me up to know there is someone out there:) I am also having a great time being a SP. my upstream pal is really fun to spoil.

Oh I got the books I ordered 4 weeks ago. 3 by Elizabeth Zimmermen. More on EZ later... I love her. I feel like a real knitter now.

Some body really likes me...

Look what I got in the mail today!My Secret Pal sent me a box. I was a little worried when I saw it because it look like the FedEx guy sat on it but all was well within. Check it out.

I got a cute little Easter Basket with an egg that will grow into flowers. MG will love this, there are some Dove eggs. um some may have not made the pic. a set of size one bamboo DPN's, the little curly things to keep my DPN's together and the must beautiful sock yarn I have ever owned. I left it upstairs but I believe it is Artyarn in shades of red. My fave! I was stunned by its beauty! I am in love! The color in the group shot is closest but let me tell ya it is gorgeous. I spent a few minutes just petting it.I am going to knit one pair of practice socks and then these babies will become socks for me. I am not sure what kind yet but I want them to be perfect. Selfish I know but the yarn was given to me so...

Thank You so much to my SP10! I hope you are being well spoiled by someone.

I have also sent a box to my spoliee. I do hope she likes it. This exchange has been fun. I really tried to pick things I think she will like. And I loved everything I sent. What fun! I am always stunned by just how wonderful people can be to people they have never met. I can not wait to "meet" my pal. I hope she gets as good as she gave...

Purple Urple

So here is my first hand dyed sock yarn. The yarn is 100% merino wool from Knit Picks. I was going for all purple but the dye seemed to crack in the pot and I got this beauty. I wish you could see the range of colors, from pale violet to bright indigo. This pretty will become a little bag for a friend who is having a baby. I dyed the yarn with her in mind. She does not want baby stuff as she has tons from her first 3 kids. so I am putting together a Moms luxury bag for her to take to the birth.

In other knitting news:

I just finished a little bag for my babysitter. her hubby got a great new job but it is in Cleavland Ohio. MB will miss her and his little buddy Trenton. We have a new sitter but we will miss Tina. I will post a pic of the bag after I have given it. I designed it myself and am quite proud of it.

The sock goes on. I am working on the foot. 2 more inches to go before the toe shaping and then grafting the toe. I can do that, right?

Oh and I started my holiday knitting. I know it is early but this is a quick knit. I am almost done with a neck warmer in hand dyed yarn. I will not say for who but this is an other one of my custom dye jobs. can't say for who but I am pretty sure they don't read the blog. FO pic and pattern info to come with the babysitter bag.

Had a note from my SP10 today. she sent me a box. can't wait...

So looking back over my blog I see I really haven't put much up here other than knitting and the furry middle child. So I sat down last night and typed up a nice long post about this last week... Blogger ate it, the bastards! So here I sit to give it another go. So I work for a theatrical supply company. I handle all rentals of scenery and rental equipment. Let me start by saying that I am very lucky... I have the job I wanted when I was studying theatre in college... And I love it, most of the time. Here is a sample of things I had to do last week:
Fix up some fake palm trees. this involves hot glue,moss, paint and a lot of foul language.

Repaint the busts of the weird sisters, I will have to get a pic of these

Order, pick up, put together and learn how to use a brand new follow spot.

Give a tour of the building to big time clients and explain that yes that really is the Trojan horse they see being built, and a big red barn and a fire truck...

Deliver one cow to a high school

buy and install a new steering wheel in Grease Lighting.

Paint rocks

This is the fun stuff... well I also handle sales and some marketing but...Pretty cool eh?
However let me say that working in a place that has 7 women and 30 dudes is quite interesting. The men folk seem to all have a defective chromosome. This is a theory my Mom and I have had for a while... Girls you know what I mean...
Don't get me wrong they are a great bunch of guys who help me out a lot, but boy there are days...

On the home front. Hubby the monster kids and I will be going to Chicago in two weeks! Yeah! We are going to see my folks and take the kids downtown. Winston will go to the doggy spa (vet) for his checkup and bath and grooming. The people there are so nice and great with him. The first time we boarded him there MG was very upset to leave her dog so I called ahead and told them... they greeted MG at the door and made a big fuss over Winston... they even let MG go back to the kennel. very good service...gotta love that
MB has just removed all of his clothes and is running in circles... Ah to be 3 now if he would just use the potty...sigh

Well I hope this gives you an idea of what my life is like, we are off now to the store to buy yarn to dye for my secret pal and something for the kids to make a mess with...of course this means I have to clean the kitchen first...

Irish Hiking Scarf

So here is the scarf.I like the simple cable design, not too fussy.

In other news I got an e-mail from my pal for SP10. Yea! This should be fun. I also sent an e-mail to my spoliee. from her blog she seems like a cool person. gotta go for now kids are home, I hear yelling...