I have a few pictures for you

Because my digital camera needs new batteries again, I dont have an update on my latest endeavor. But I have a few pics of my little monster sweet daughter, and I just cant remember if I showed you where I left off with my now stalled lace project; since I'm so proud of both here you go:


My sweet little girl striking a pose.


Quite a mouthful of animal circus cookies, not sure how many animals she's crammed in there...half the circus probably


Must have been a lion or two, now she's roaring :)


She really likes having her picture taken.


And here is some knitting content for you, I'm actually starting to want to get back to this one, now that I've looked at the pictures again...

I'll try to get some pics of my newest project up...soon

Oh, I nearly forgot! Thank You Brianne!!! I love the pattern book you sent, I cant wait to check my stash and make Gracie one of those beautiful dresses - they are soo cute! (I'll get a pic of this up soon too)

I'm off to knit some!

Just cant resist these

You're Jane Eyre of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte!

Which Classic Female Literary Character Are you?

[sorry about the broken credit to quizzilla, I tried to fix it and lost it]

This one actually fits me to a tee, so now you know just a bit more about me :)
Good read too, by the way.

I have no excuses this time...

No more promises either...

The funny thing is I really do like blogging, I like clearing my head of whatever happens to be rattling around in there, and I like the sound of the keyboard doing its thing while I think - it's actually been doing a better job of obeying my desires lately too :)

So I guess I should start where I left off ~ we had a fabulous time at my Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary. I am so glad that we were able to make it after all (even if we couldnt afford it - it is one of those "once in a lifetime" events after all). Just about the whole family made it and a few friends from California, and Grace (as if on cue) took her 1st steps that evening back at their place. [For those new here, or who may not have a calendar marking each of Grace's landmarks ;) she crawled for the first time there too when we visited back in March - at least her daddy was there for this one] I really loved seeing everyone, I miss my family very much and cannot wait to visit San Diego again - this is the longest I've EVER been away.

The top I made for my sister came out much to small (as I figured), so I got to bring it back with me and play with it some more (Dr. Frankenstein time)...a few tries later, and after sitting down with a calculator I think I've come up with the closest formula that I can get without corrupting the design - I wanted to try short row shaping, but dont know how that works in a lace pattern yet, but all is well now I think :) I'm quite proud of myself, actually. And big props to Paton's Grace yarn - it has been through the wringer with me lots of visits to the frog pond and still looks good to me!

Now I'm juggling attempting the Honeymoon Cami from knitty.com with the Sirdar Duet yarn my mom got me for my birthday - I am going to attemt a striping pattern in peacock (blue) and lime (green). I'll keep you posted on that progress...so far I'm finding the yarn really likes to snag on the shiny part, so I'm having to really be diligent during those sections, otherwise, I really like it and I think it will have a very nice drape.

OH, last weekend we were watching the Bears game, and they did the 85 Super Bowl flash-back and I noticed Mike Ditka's sweater vest and casually mentioned if DH would like something like that and he got totally excited about it!!! So far, when I've brought up making something for him, he's been like "nah, I dont need anything, make something for yourself" but I finally found something he wants! I am sooo excited, now I just have to figure out what I've gotten myself into: am I ready to employ fair isle in my knitting or should I just duplicate stitch B-E-A-R-S across the front, I think I've figured out the basic shape and styling, but I'm still looking around.
Now I just have to get more yarn ;) - I certainly dont have any Orange just sitting around, and of course the other colors will need to coordinate, Knitpicks Wool of the Andes is a little "thin" but I gues I could double strand or look for a base pattern that will be happy with that gauge...

Things are definately looking up around here, Grace is a tornado, but she's having fun and that's what she's supposed to do at this age so I guess I'll hold on tight for now :)

Of to get a couple rows in, unti next time, Happy Knitting!

Hooray!

Hooray for Brianne!!! Knitting has finally clicked for her!!! I am very proud of her as she is one of my long time friends who I didnt know until recently was addicted to yarn too! I have successfully wooed her over from crochet only land and now she has two crafts to satisfy her yarn cravings :) Go over and congratulate her!

It is so humid/muggy/hot out here I am literally melting. And I just bought a bunch of wool yarn to make a cute sweater, but I cannot go near it, I must wait for the heat to subside :(

We also just got our first full summer month electricity bill, yikes! is all I have to say about that one...

I just finished the shawl I made for my Grandma just in time to take it to her as the family is all congregating in TX this weekend for their 50th Wedding Anniversary! Very exciting!!! The family is also stoked to get to see Gracie...she has grown so much since she's seen my family last.

I am also on the last row of my "potato chip" scarf...I'm not sure how I feel about linking this pattern with the copyright hullabaloo going on, so if you want it, go find it at www.knitpicks.com under their free patterns. I'm not sure if I'll be doing any more of these, cramming all those stitches in really made my hands hurt...and that's after extending my longest cord with the 2nd longest cord - I do not know how anyone does this pattern on straight needles, I wouldnt recommend trying it.

Now down to the final countdown to recieving my copy of The Half Blood Prince, my sister was so kind to buy it for me (she of course read it first...had to make sure all the pages were there and what not) I promise this will be a spoiler free zone.

Well, off to pack for TX, I've never been good at packing earlier than the night before ;)
Happy knitting, and I'll see you when I see you :)

Ha! I didnt forget you after all...

Gee, I really wrote a lot yesterday...sometimes it looks more intimidating because of the layout... but, you can tell I didnt get to talk to any "adults" yesterday - sorry about that :) Oh, and I hope I didnt hurt anyone's feelings that I'd rather knit than blog, I really care about anyone who happens upon my blog and hope to work out the regular blogging thing soon :)

Today was a lovely day, when Grace and I got back from our outing yesterday, I found a UPS tag on the door ~ not that it would matter if I'd been home anyway, our doorbell has only worked once since we moved in. So today I walked on over to the rental office to pick up the package - for John - and didnt think to put Grace in her stroller so it was fun trying to balance the baby and the box. Thankfully everyone made it home in one piece and now John has a bunch of cigars to keep him happy on the golf course. Oh, and while at the office, I mentioned the door bell situation (I'm tired of missing pkgs and we have Poker tomorrow night, so it was time to remedy the situation) and an hour later the maintenance guy had everything fixed - the connectors were dirty outside [like you really needed to know]
I took this latest arrival [John's cigars] as my "sign" that I do deserve to aquire the Denise set, so I finally made it to Kool Knits (my new fav LYS) and managed to resist scooping up some more yarn - very yummy stuff, but I was already pushing it - and I really love the set, I think I like the resin better than I like bamboo...I know blasphemy to some, but I love how light, slippery, and silent these are to work with.
While we were out, we made a quick stop at Trader Joes, and discovered Gracie loves blueberries! She is such a healthy girl, I'm very proud of her :)
Well, I'm off to dream about knitting ;)

Thought I Disappeared Again?

Well, I guess I did disappear again, sort of...it is amazing to me how much harder it is to blog during the summer. It probably doesn't help that the desk and computer are now in our bedroom in the new place, so I don't get much of a chance to be a late-night blogger anymore. Now you've found my secret, I prefer sneaking in knitting time to blogging, I'm sorry.

Honestly, I think the summer days just aren't as conducive to desperately seeking connection with others. Between the sun being out in all its glory, and all the vacations tucked in here and there, I've noticed many a blogger go MIA, I'm sure we will all be back to our regular posting once the weather locks us back inside ;)

Lots of knitting has gone on, along with some fidgeting with our "stuff" to try to get it to "fit" better into this place. When we 1st moved out here last year (yes, Grace and I have officially been out here in Chicago-land for a year now) I had no choice but to pull the "1st time mom" card, so we just dealt with our stuff being all around us at the old place and since the baby couldn't get into things, that worked out ok as long as we didn't really want to move around ourselves very much. Now with our 1 year old tornado, I devote much time every day trying to keep up with the wreckage in the wake of her fury of discovery as well as try to find "better" places to put things - ie: out of her reach, ha! Plus, we of course have poker night this week, and since they were the guys who helped us move, I want to show that I am making better use of this place than we were able to get out of the last one.
~but I digress again...

I finished the 2nd attempt at the Lace Up Camisole from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 05, and I'm not sure if I knit tighter than my swatch - honestly I swatched this time! - or if the pattern just wasn't written for a body that is not "flat chested" the measurements had me wondering in the first place, but I figured I was just not reading it right or it was a typo or something...and I'm still not sure, I now have a very pretty lace top that might fit if I had the proper "propping" undergarments ~ the intended victim does however, so I'm trying to be patient, figure I'll let her try it on and then go from there instead of rashly frogging something that may be just fine after all. My biggest concern came as I finished with a skein and a half left over. I had to re-read everything a couple times to make sure I didn't miss something somewhere, but nothing has popped out yet...so I guess time will have to tell.

Joann's is having a pretty awesome run of clearance yarn (in store) so I am finally accumulating quite a stash of cotton yarn...I have the rest of the week to decide if I'm going back to snatch up some more - if only I can find the justification for it, it is pretty hard to resist $2 skeins.

I've also recently become quite torn in the debate of continue to buy needles on an "as needed" basis (especially since my Grandma did help out greatly in the accumulation process), or whether to jump in on an interchangeable needles set which adds the great debate Denise Interchangeable vs Boye Needlemaster. There are so many pluses and minuses for both, I had nearly given up until I got home tonight, and got excited about starting Tempting or Lelah, and discovered that my size 8 circs are too long and I don't have either of the needles Lelah requires. Oh, what do I do, what do I do?

I'm really considering just working on some baby blankets and getting over myself - but that is no fun :)

I guess I'll just have to sleep on it - again! - and will probably wake up just as confused. I think I'm going to go to my LYS tomorrow and see what she suggests/and if maybe they have a Denise set that I can touch and feel and maybe then I'll be a little more comfortable with this decision...I've really been reading as much as I can find on both since I heard of them - well, first I was saving up for the Needlemaster set, and then I heard about the Denise set and that's when the frustration over the "right" choice set in. I am not much of a product snob, as long as I get the quality I expect for the price I spent I am happy, so the aluminum/plastic debate doesn't sway me much - my biggest deal is why did the Denise come up with non-conforming metric sizes, will this make much of a difference, and do I really need the convenience of interchangeability for my needles less than size 5 US?

ugh, well it is way too late (yes it is after 1am - DH is on a short business trip), I'm gonna get some much needed sleep so I can keep up with my tornado tomorrow.

Until next time, happy knitting! :)

I've been RAOK'd!!!

So, my mail carrier was late yesterday, and I didnt get my mail before DH came home so I havent had the chance to share my barely contained excitement until now...

Yesterday was just a normal day, running lots of errands and fairly tired, until my mail finally came and I found this on top of the pile:


~sorry it's blury, our camera doesnt have zoom - but the sticker says "Canada Post".

Now who could I possibly know from Canada?



no one other than the Yarn Harlot!!! I was so excited I floated all night - for multiple reasons, really:

1. I lovelovelove reading her blog, I may not comment, but that is generally because it takes me far longer (and in a very disjointed fashion) to do anything these days as Grace gets more mobile every day minute.
2. I of course (just like everyone else) love getting packages.
3. Inside this package was yarn - I am enabled to start yet another project!!!
4. This yarn is destined to be Grace's winter sweater...which I've been plotting for lately, and this neutral color is just what I'd be looking for if I was ready (and had the $$) right now.
5. I was real happy to get a birthday present :)

~By the way, there are 2 skeins, very exciting, I will probably add a bit of a "girly" color just for fun.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Stephanie!!!

---more knitting news to follow, but Gracie just woke up, Happy Knitting!

Quickie

...no, not that kind ;) Just had a chance to pop in real quick.

I almost have the 'swing' of keeping up with the charts for the Mystery Stole, instead of dealing with sticking and unsticking post its, I am just using paperclips to hold another page in place over the chart for where I'm working - and I have Chart B memorized. But, I am still only 18 rows in and have over 1,000 to go...yippee! I am also liking the color again, I was beginning to wonder if I was going to attempt dying it once this was done, but I think it was the lighting playing tricks on me. So now the big debate is whether this will be gifted or mine...I have plenty of time to figure this out, but I have compelling feelings both ways - so I guess we shall see [if I havent figured it out by the time I finish, I'll probably put it up for a vote].

I finally found a pattern that works for me right now for another baby blanket, I'd tried a few ripple patterns, but kept losing my count - I think one of them had some design flaws...oh the joys! So, I wandered online upon another near brainless pattern with just enough counting to keep me awake [;)] so this should be good.

We didnt end up seeing any fireworks this weekend...we were waiting until the 4th and then the drought decided to ease up a bit and we had some rain, which further dampened my mood re: the debate over whether Gracie would be up for fireworks this year since she is so deathly afraid of loud noises - the vaccum, drill, lanscaping equipment - when the festivities were beginning on Friday night, I took her out with me to see if we could see anything from our parking lot and she clung to me like she thought the sky was falling. So I took the rain as a sign to call it a night and we'll try again next year. There will be plenty more fireworks shows to come!

Gracie was so glad to have her daddy back home this weekend, 2 week long trips back to back were taking their toll on the little girl - she was missin' her daddy. We all had a pretty good weekend, and DH helped get our room put together, so things are really coming together in the new place - I can definately handle staying here as long as we need to.

Well, I gotta go find the baby, she's been out of sight and quiet too long ;) Hope you had a great weekend, and knit some!

I'll be 26 tomorrow!

How did that happen? I'm already on the "short side" to 30....all I can say is - you are only as old as you choose to be/feel - and boy does that become more and more evident the older you get. Some days I feel like I should still be in high school or at least college, and other days I just feel ancient and beat up. I do have a fair share of feeling how I 'should' and I'm trying to do a better job of enjoying the present, since I'm realizing how quickly your future starts to sneak up on you ;) ~especially once you have a child

I would love to show you my knitting progress, but the project I'm concentrating on right now is under cover (I'll let you see it when it's done and in the possession of the owner).
I was focused on the Mystery Stole, and totally addicted to lace knitting. Unfortunately knitting lace requires much more attention than I am able to provide right now [with the move and settling in], and I tried to push it this evening and now the project is frogged back to the lifeline and may be going back to scratch after a little more of a "time-out". I am also considering looking into getting some better needles for it, but that may be me just not wanting to take responsibility for messing it up tonight when the needles were working just fine before I gave in and tried to work on it again before I was "ready". ~bad knitter, bad, bad knitter, you know better!

DH didnt make it back from his trip tonight, hopefully he will get in tomorrow morning - he said he should at least make it in by dinner time, so we shall see. We may go check out Ribfest this weekend, it's a huge bbq picnic gathering with some nationally know bands performing and what-not. We are still debating whether we are ready to attempt staying out for fireworks on the 4th; I'm just not sure yet how open to the whole thing Miss Gracie will be so I guess we will play it by ear. She is currently scared to death of the vaccum and now a bicycle pump has been added (I'm not sure how that freaked her out), and I'm not sure how she will do with the loud bangs not to mention being out past 10pm (fireworks start at 9:30ish)

No exciting plans yet for the birthday...if DH gets home early enough, we'll all go out to dinner. If he hasnt gotten me anything yet, I may talk him into going by a bookstore to get A Gathering of Lace, or maybe I'll just wait til Saturday and get some yarn...I guess I'll have to wait to see what he has up his sleeve ;)

Well, I'm off to enjoy [sleep] the last 30 min of being 25. Good Night!

The yucky "bug"

I went online to see if I could discover the identity of the multi-legged creature that tried to get me last night. And of course, my mom was right, it was a centipede, rather a House Centipede.
[if you want to see one, click here]

If you would like to read up on House Centipedes you can do so courtesy of the University of Arkansas ARTHROPOD MUSEUM NOTES . They were the first one I clicked on when I googled "centipede". The other sources say about the same thing, that this is a scary looking creature, but harmless to humans and beneficial in that they eat spiders and small insects. I'm still not thrilled about seeing it, but hopefully it will hide better from now on - or better yet, move out ;)

Well, TTFN, just figured I'd update on my creepy crawly find :)