Blogging Sleep Deprived

I was on call last night, and got called in for an appendectomy at 4am.  Then, when I got home I had a hard time falling back asleep.  And then when I did, Sam cat felt I should be awake so he knocked all my stuff off my nightstand one by one between his meows.

I am going to a spinning guild meeting this weekend -- I am so excited!!

I am getting ready to frog some of my handspun.  I knitted with it about an hour and decided it wasn't fun in the pattern I was choosing.  I am nervous about how my handspun will hold up to the frogging... we'll find out.

Well, I wanted to update.  I think I'm headed back for a nap.

FO: Swallowtail Shawl (finally!)

I finally finished the Swallowtail Shawl!!! (I'm sure you are in total shock I finished anything!) It's a tad small, but I saw someone in Ravelry using it as sort of a scarf like thing, and it looked pretty good that way.

I love the pattern, and I may make another one but with bigger yarn and possibly adding a few repeats.

Things I learned with this shawl: lifelines are good, never set your lace down for long periods of time or else you'll forget where you left off, and I need to buy some blocking wires.

I went to the Indiana Fiber Festival last weekend, and had a great time. Bought lots of goodies. Hopefully, I'll have some spinning to show you in the near future!!

I need better pictures.

One of the reason I get tired of blogging is my picture quality. I am only home it seems when it's starting to get dark, and I have no natural light... plus, my skills just aren't that great. Then I see blogs with pictures that look so professional and perfect!!

I need better pictures. Maybe I should make a light box for yarn pictures?

I got my first Sundara Yarn from the Seasons Collection! I picked the "spring" season, and I received such a beautiful skein of sock yarn called "Beach Glass". It's perfect.




I also bought 2 skeins of laceweight Malabrigo on my way home from seeing my mom after her surgery.

I also picked my Swallowtail back up, after encouragement from the Stash and Burn group on Ravelry. Luckily, there was a lifeline in it so I could rip back to the beginning of a chart. My swallowtail isn't hard, I just got distracted and forgot where I was..... Though, I'm already thinking about another swallowtail. I won't put the next one down mid-way.

I love lace, but lately I haven't had the mind for it. I feel like I'm getting ready to implode. I'm being pulled in so many different directions, and when I get home at night I just feel ready for bed and nothing else. I have two weddings coming up - I'm in one and my husband's in the other. With those comes showers, one of which I'm throwing. My husband quit his job, and we are in the midst of setting up his office so he can go into private business. And our house - our house... always something going on here.

My second handspun

I finished up my second handspun. It was from Yarn Love roving, and spun on my Ladybug.



(Sorry about the dark photos, I took them last night after I got off call.)

Back from Chicago

You didn't even know I was going to Chicago? Well, neither did we. I got a vacation this week, and we had nothing planned. Friday night, we decided spur of the moment, - hey let's go to Chicago. We booked a hotel late Friday night, while frantically packing. And so, we left Saturday morning.

The view from our hotel at the Raffaello

We went to the Field Museum and saw Sue.

We walked down Navy Pier.

And viewed Chicago from the 94th floor of the Hancock Building at night. Which I cannot get Photobucket to put in vertically..... but you get the idea.....

And I did some yarn shopping at loopyyarns, and bought some Manos silk and some beautiful Koigu!

It was a nice trip, even if it was a spur of the moment decision!

WIP: House stuff

I have given up on ever having a knitted FO! Things are just so hectic here lately. Between work, this house, and life... well... *sigh* I barely have time to sleep.

So here is a before:



Here is a now shot:



This is the same room from this post.

Oh, and I do have some yarn happiness. I bought some Wollmeise off a Ravelry person and it should arrive this week. AND I got myself into the Sundara Yarn Club. The two yarns I wanted so badly! Yay!

Conversations in the Locker Room

This took place in the locker room at work as I was getting ready to leave:
Me:  Hi Liz, and yes, I have on two bras.  Don't ask.

Liz:  We have the weirdest conversations.

I will have photos of spinning stuff later this week!

The World Is Out of Balance

.. and hell has frozen over...

I joined a gym.  And I went.  And I hurt.

My First Handspun

I present to you - my first handspun yarn. I dunked it into a waterbath after this photo was taken. I am going to knit *something* with it. I'm not sure what, but I just have to knit it!

Also, my porch steps were very rotted, and here is a before:

Here is after:

A Funny for You

I love Natalie Dee. Here's today's:


nataliedee.com

Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly to MY Home

I said I wanted a ladybug, and my husband ordered it and surprised me with it. I didn't know he ordered it until it showed up!

I have never did any spinning, and I used to think I never wanted to learn to spin. I don't know what happened... like I need another hobby!

Here it is being unpacked.



This is where my ladybug sits (sorry about the blurred picture)




I needed help with the tension string, and some really wonderful girl named Abbyknitz on Ravelry helped me out.

First little bit on the bobbin - uhm, I guess it's good I can even get it on the bobbin considering I've never touched a wheel in my life. My first goal was to figure out how to treadle and just use the wheel in general.

Manic Bunny

The electricians have been here. It's been chaos, random rooms having electricity then the next day not.. And poor Loverbunny has been manic. He had to go on kitty pills for anxiety.

I'm slowly knitting on my Apres Surf Hoodie.

And I have to get on my soapbox a little. I'm frustrated about not being able to get certain yarns. I am working every single day, and I don't have time to check and check for updates (at work they don't let the nurses have access to the internet at all).  I keep missing out on Wollemeise and Sundara. The Wollemeise sold out on Loopy Ewe in 3 minutes! I guess I should just get over it, but I just had to vent my frustrations. I think I want it more now that I can't get it....

I don't need to be buying it anyway, because I plan on buying myself a spinning wheel soon. I am thinking about getting a Ladybug. I am a little worried I won't like it and be out lots of money, but I want a nice wheel to learn with. Originally, I was going to try and buy a cheap, used one, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'll be better off with a new wheel.

A quick before-work note

I'm not blogging as frequently now... this was supposed to be mostly a knitting blog, and the knitting isn't happening lately! I want to knit, I'm just busy with the house. I am thinking of making a new blog for the home restoration... I'm not sure.

Anyway, we opened up the back stairs... it had been enclosed by walls, and you entered another door to get to the outside door and stairs. It's gone now!  (I couldn't find a before picture so you could see what a dramatic change this is.)

The electricians have been here a week, and they are working upstairs. There is no power to the upstairs right now.

I wanted to wind some yarn to start some socks since it's so hot, but I couldn't get to my ball winder. It was upstairs in a pile of stuff that we moved for the electricians. *sigh* I have been working on my hoodie, but it's a slow go.

Another distraction is that I got Dance Dance Revolution for my Wii. I love it! I never knew I liked to dance so much.

Two WIP

I really am knitting, though it feels as if I never have enough time to knit!

The first thing is my started Apres Surf Hoodie. It kind of threw me for a loop because I never pre-think anything I knit (in fact, I never pre-think much of anything), and I didn't consider that when I decrease on my waist, I am decreasing every 8 rows, but it's a ten row lace repeat, and well it made for messiness. I started out trying to do it all tidy and mathematically but decided that was too much trouble, so I am just working it out on the fly now - as long as every yarn over has a decrease to make the stitches even, I go with it. I am hoping my seams will hide my multitude of sins.

I am using the Vivid colorway which doesn't get much justice in this picture. It takes on different colors on how the light hits it. Sometimes it seems very purple, and others very blue.

And I haven't neglected the Swallowtail. She's just slow, but I still love it.

I am just drawn to lace lately and I think I need to add in a plain stocking stitch project because I find it impossible to knit lace and watch TV at the same time. (Unless it's a very simple lace.....)

I have been busy watching "Knitting Workshop" with Elizabeth Zimmerman on DVD. It's one of my smartest purchases yet. It starts at the beginning with winding a ball of yarn, and works up to master classes like lace and aran sweaters. Even on the techniques I know, I've enjoyed watching her spirit.

Housework

First of all, thank you all so much for the comments on Max. We really miss the Pirate cat.

We've been working on the back upstairs bedroom.

Before:




Now:



We plan on stripping the woodwork (we are talking layers and layers of caked paint) and repainted a buttercream, getting the plaster repaired, then painting. We will also be having the wood floor stripped and redone.

I have knitting content soon... but will only be WIPs.

RIP: Pirate Max

Max had to go over the rainbow bridge today.

All work and no play makes me a dull girl.

I feel like I've been on call every day for the last month. In reality, I haven't, but I'm feeling very tired these days. Get this: I went to work yesterday at 9:30am. I left at 5:30, and was called back in as soon as I got home and ate. Went back in for three hours, came home and went to bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I got called back in. I was able to finally snuggle in at home at 4:00am.
So you will understand when I say, I've been too tired to knit.

So, where am I on the knitting? Nowhere, pretty much. I haven't made any progress with the Swallowtail, but I still love it. I just don't have the mental capacity to knit it after working 12 hours or more a day.

I got my yarn in finally for my Apres Surf Hoodie. Hooray! I hope to swatch tonight.

I bought some yarn on Ravelry for a good deal, and I now have Malabrigo Lace yarn in my stash.

And Michelle sent me the most awesome goodies from her contest that I won!!! (Best thing that happened to me all month, I must say.) They were wrapped individually and it was like opening lots of presents. I really should have taken a picture, but I was so excited I just started opening and playing with all my stuff instantly.

On the house front, stuff is finally happening. We signed a contract with the roofer last week, and he should be starting in a week or two. Electricians should be here in two weeks. The heating and air guy has been here and planning, and will start in a few weeks.

Family members are pitching in with stripping the ceiling and walls.

We ordered an oven, but I'm kind of ticked because they ordered the wrong one, so I'm still stuck without one.

There is a man on his way over to pull out these gas heaters that they stuck in front of every fireplace.

And I bought a rocking chair for $15 at a yard sale!

I think I need a vacation from my hectic life. Sam has the good life - ah, to be a loved cat.

Making nice with lace

If you read my blog, you may remember when I started the Swallowtail shawl that I ripped out. I started it out of Alpaca Cloud from Knit Picks. At first, I decided that I was going to cast lace out of my life forever. It was my enemy. Then, I got realistic... I know how to knit lace. I knit lace socks, I add lace panels to baby clothes... it wasn't the lace. It was just the yarn. Then, I decided I'd only do lace in fingering weight or thicker. No more lace weight for me. Then, I got realistic again, maybe it was just the lace weight I was using....

So, I started again with Knit Picks Shadow, which I had in my stash. I am loving it!! I think a lace monster may have been born.

I also just placed an order with Jimmy Beans Wool. I ordered yarn for the Apres Surf Hoodie!! I also ordered the Make It Modern pattern book from Classic Elite because they had it available, and I'm worried it'll sell out. I really love those patterns - I want to knit practically every one of those patterns.

Kitty update: We found the kittens mother, and sibling. It belongs to a neighbor a few doors down. At first the mother didn't want to let it nurse, but it seems like she has taken it back in now. We don't know how the kitten ended all the way down in our driveway?

And for a good laugh, here's a pattern for a kitty argyle sweater vest.

Anybody want a kitten?

Animals that are lost or sick always seem to know where to find us. They know we can not ignore them, and we'll take them in.

This was in our driveway. Sick, and hungry. He is sneezing and has pus in it's eyes and nose.

It didn't know how to eat so I went and got formula and a bottle and fed it a little. I gave it some Clindamycin drops we have for felines.

This is him after we cleaned his eyes out and his face off. My husband will take him to the vet on Tuesday.

We really don't want another cat, though. So does anybody want a kitten? :)

In other news, I went and spent tons of money today. I bought an oven, finally. (No, we haven't had an oven since we moved in.) I'm very excited because I used to LOVE to bake. I can't wait to bake again.

We also bought a new mattress for the second guest bedroom.

In knitting related stuff, I screwed up my Hemlock Ring big time. We are taking a break. Not breaking up, but definitely a time out.

I also knit about 7 rows of the Twisted Tulips sock, and while it's a beautiful sock, I hate it. I ripped it out, took it out of my queue. I think it's just way too complicated to satisfy my sock craving. I like my socks to be intuitive and flow easily. It's my relaxation knitting.

Fiber Arts Guild

My Fiber Arts Guild had a table display up today at something held at the county extension office. So much talent!

The quilters also had a beautiful display.

Now, I have to go organize and do some more planning. I'll be participating in the World's Longest Yard sale this year, as I live directly on this road. It's the first of August and I already have boxes of things to sale.  I think I'll go ahead and price some and pack them up in labeled boxes or I'll be overwhelmed come August.

Fun with Tagging

Michelle tagged me, so here we go~!

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was 19 years old, working on my art degree. I was having lots of fun. Age 19 was good to me.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

Go to work, ... uhm, that's all. Actually I'm feeling kind of bad today, so just getting through the workday was a good thing, and that's all I needed to do. My husband's making my dinner.

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Oh, I love anything chocolate. I had a delicious chocolate hot fudge cake with vanilla ice cream today. They gave it out at our staff meeting ( I didn't go to the meeting because I was in the PACU working, but someone brought me some). I also have a secret sickness of loving Stove Top stuffing. I freaking love Stove Top, and I would pick it over sweets most days. My husband thinks it's a frightening part of my personality.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I'd finish restoring my house. I also have a desire to work with AIDS patients (particularly children) in Africa, so I'd go do that and wouldn't need to worry about getting paid.

5) Places I have lived:

I've always lived in KY - grew up in Eastern KY, but now live in Central KY. I studied abroad in China, but I guess that doesn't count as a residence.

5 peeps I want to know more about: CTJen, Rachel, sheepishone, FreeRangeKnitter, and MostlySelfTaughtKnitter.

I have been knitting (slowly).  Still working on the Hemlock Ring.  I'm still not sure about what sweater I want to make. I've narrowed it down to three.  The Caitlin Pullover by Pam Allen, Apres Surf Hoodie from Interweave Summer 08 (look at Michelle's GORGEOUS version!!), and the Tweedy Aran Cardigan by Norah Gaughn.

I Need Yarn.

I have been having the urge to knit sweaters.  Everyone knows I don't have much of a stash, but I really don't have any sweater yarn stash!  I need to figure out what sweater to knit....  I can't choose!!!  Any suggestions?

I also had a birthday on Saturday.  I turned 29.  I got Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmerman!!!  I was so excited.  My husband got me the biggest, sweetest gift of all.  He gave me his mom's wedding ring.

Not much of a post today, but I am at a knitting stand-still.

FO: Saartje's Bootees

I finished up some of these super cute Saartje's Bootees. Sorry about the picture quality, it was cloudy and rainy today. I just snapped the pictures quickly because I took them to their recipient today.

Knitting toys badly!

I have been on this kick where I really want to knit toys lately. So I attempted to knit Little Knitted Sheep by Barbara Prime with some leftover yarns I had. This is what I have so far. I sewed her head on badly, but maybe I can hide that with a pretty little ribbon or knitted scarf. Also, I ran out of my leftover yarn, and so she won't get arms. Or a tail.

I also have been crazy obsessive today. I went and got some page protectors and started organizing all my printed out patterns. You can see that behind my poor little sheep.

Totally off toipic... I start my allergy shots next week. It'll be twice a week, two injections each time. Yikes. I am seriously allergic to the world!

WIP... uhm... Thursday?

I see all those WIP Wednesdays, and I always think it's a good idea. But, it seems I'm always busy on Wednesdays!!

I have been knitting, and I do have proof!

I have one sock done of the Embossed Leaves sock from Favorite Socks by Interweave Press. I am almost to the heel of the second one.

I also started the Hemlock Ring. I started the beginning using Magic Loop method. I have to say ... Magic Loop isn't my favorite of methods, but with this project, it was a lifesaver.

And it took forever to get pictures because Loverbunny kept bumping up against my arms and legs wanting attention.

Big Messes Everywhere

It seems like everywhere I look I have huge messes.

First of all, when one thing breaks, everything else goes with it. First, the laptop. Well, next was my car. It overheated on my way to work the other day.

$400 later.... it's fixed.

Then, today I was looking in the knitting basket I have sitting near my bed. Chaos. It's overflowing with leftovers, yarns I started something with yet never finished, and other misc. stuff. Huge mess.

I got out my ziploc baggies, and started organizing. I labeled each bag with the yarn name. I found a few things I plan on giving away to my fiber arts guild.

I feel so much better after this.

Blast From the Past

I got on the old desktop while our laptop was out of commission, and found a bunch of old pictures. I uploaded a ton of my late kitty, Amos to my Flickr.

I also found a picture of a gift I made for a family member. It was a little sachet thing of Noah's Ark done in needlepoint. (I used to be a huge needlepoint fan. But, knitting took over, and I think knitting is CHEAPER (and more practical).)

I had a really yucky day yesterday, and so when I got home I did a little retail therapy.  I bought some Cascade Ecological Wool from WEBS Anniversary Sale.  Whee!  Hopefully, I will do the Hemlock Ring Blanket.

Well, today is my allergy test day.  It's finally here, and a good thing too, because I spent most of the day with my arms broke out in hives yesterday.

If you don't like it, rip it.

After looking at the Swallowtail Shawl in my basket for weeks, I decided to rip it out. It's not the pattern, it's the yarn. I think this was Alpaca Cloud from KnitPicks. Just not my type of yarn.

I will make this shawl, but perhaps with something else. Maybe even some koigu sock yarn?
But, I will be giving this particular lace weight away to my friends at my knitting group.

FO: Garter Rib Socks

And Day 2 of no antihistamines.

I had one particular bad day last week, and to top it off... when I came home, my laptop wouldn't work. The power cord had gone bad, and our battery is sick. So these socks have been finished for a few days. I made them for my husband, and they are a little snug. I'm not sure he likes them... I hope they will loosen up with wear.
They are from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. It's in Handmaiden Casbah sock in Earth. I love this yarn.



This second picture is more color accurate.



And, as I mentioned I am on Day 2 of no antihistamines. I have my allergy testing next week. My eyes are pink and swollen, my head feels fulls, I keep sneezing, and my ears hurt. *sigh*

Yarn Harlot!

I got to see the Yarn Harlot yesterday. It was a blast. One of our fellow knitters in the KY group made us Ravelry name tags, and so people were wandering around finding out if we knew each other. One of the first things said to me was "Hey you are on my friends list!" and I knew then it was going to be a fun night. I met tons of people on my friends list, and had several more to add when I got home.



Stephanie was hilarious, as usual. Always worth seeing. She seemed tired though, and I felt kind of bad that she probably has the most serious jet lag ever. I mean, she was just in Denver, straight to us, and then she had to get up at 5am this morning to catch yet another flight. Writing knitting humor seems tiring.

I didn't make her wait for me to dig my sock out. You have no idea how long it would have taken me to dig out my sock in progress. Also, looking at this picture, all I can think is I need to go get my hair cut (which I've been planning to do for about a month now). And yes, I wore my Tangled Yoke, which Stephanie complimented and put me on cloud 9.



I also bought some new sock yarn yesterday because one of my LYS had a 20% off all sock yarn sale. I had being wanting some J. Knits for a long time. I had been checking out on the Loopy Ewe. I finally scored some! In the Miami colorway. I can't wait to knit with it.



Oh, I have to tell you about my horror hand story. I had blood drawn for my Thyroid levels on Friday. The girl is looking and looking, and says, "I can't find anything to draw from, but I see something in your hand... can I draw it from there?" The nurse part of me kicks in and says "Sure, draw it from wherever you can find something." As soon as she starts, my vein blows, and the knitter part of me kicks in and I think "My hand is going to be too sore to knit!" My hand hurt like hell for a few hours, but I did come home and put a warm compress on it and that helped. It was very very black afterwards, but it's fading very quickly. And I am able to knit, thankfully.

Charity Knitting

I finished up a baby hat for charity. They are taking them up at the Yarn Harlot event I'm going to tomorrow. When I finished, my husband said "But you didn't add cutsey stuff to it!" I didn't because I wanted it to be gender-neutral. That's why I picked this celery green, too. I want it to go to whatever gender needs it.

This is the Simple Baby Hat from Itty-Bitty hats by Susan B. Anderson. It's in Rowan Handknit Cotton, which is my favorite cotton yarn. It's fun to work with.

We had our leak fixed in our front porch roof, and it's a good thing. It's raining and raining and raining....