CCC

I'm not enjoying knitting the Curiously Clever Clogs. In fact, I'm renaming the pattern to Curiously Complicated Clogs. Actually, it's my own fault they are complicated. I've only been knitting a year & this pattern's difficulty level is a 3 out of 4. Just when I thought I was doing well, I realized that I forgot to knit all the wraps for the short row shaping on the clogs. So, my project went from this:










To This:










I haven't given up on them though. I spent $7 for the pattern & I'm going to knit them until they are complete. No matter how long it takes!

You must check out Lynda's Starsky. WOW!! I honestly didn't like the look of the pattern when I first saw it on Knitty, but after seeing Lynda's, I now have to add it to my must knit list!

Remember a few posts ago that I said I was going to my LYS to buy some SOAK? Well, I'm never going to my LYS again! When I walked into the store the other day, it was empty other than the 2 employees or owners or whomever they were behind the counter. One of them said "hi" when I walked in, but after 15 minutes of looking through their yarn (I couldn't find any sock yarn to save my life) & feeling ignored, I went over to their counter & asked where the SOAK was. They looked at me dumbfounded. I said again that I was looking for the SOAK wash talked about in the newsletter I received a few weeks ago. One of the women reached under the counter & pulled out several of the trial sizes of SOAK & said "this?". I replied yes & she says "oh, it's not in yet." I wait for her to offer to give me or sell me one of the many she's holding in her hand, but she places them back under the counter. I ask when it will be in & she states that she doesn't know. I stand there for a moment looking at her & when she doesn't say anything further I say thank you & walk out of the store & vow to never return. What the hell happened to customer service? When you go to your LYS do the women there talk to you or ask you if you need help finding anything? Am I expecting too much?

Please go to FlutterCraft's blog & donate a dollar or two to her Salvation Army Kettle. Or you can follow THIS link. I love dropping my change in the bucket this time of year, but what I love even more, is if you donate through Flutter's kettle online, you can print out a receipt for the tax man! She has a kettle goal of $100 so let's help her EXCEED it!

28 days

I'm starting to panic. Christmas is in 28 days & I just realized that I've only purchased 2 gifts so far.

I'm wondering, do you purchase gifts for your mailman, gardener, hair stylist, etc? If so, what do you normally purchase and/or how do you determine how much to give? I was thinking of gift certificates but from where? How much should I give? Why is this giving me stress?

Contrary to what my blog has shown lately, I HAVE been knitting. Unfortunately, this project is taking FOREVER! It's the Forbes Forest Scarf from Interweave Knit's Scarf Style. I'm using KnitPicks Merino Style yarn & although I like the yarn, I'm bored to tears with the scarf. After seeing several photos of it, I thought I was going to ooh & aah the entire time I was knitting it, but now that I'm halfway through .. I just want it done! It seems to be sucking up all of my knitting time & I can't wait to finish blocking my other projects so that I can start something else!

I received my confirmation receipt from Stitches West 2006 that I have successfully been admitted to my class. I wanted to take more than one, but at those prices, it would've cut into my yarn spending money, so I figure, one is better than none! My class is called Pattern Customization: Your Yarn, Your Gauge by Gwen Bortner. This will be my first knitting class EVER. In fact, I've never even knit with anyone except myself. DH won't let me go without him and I have NO IDEA what he's going to do while I'm in class, but I'm SURE he'll tag along at the convention center rolling his eyes at the prices of all the yarn I buy. Is anyone else planning on attending? Have you ever brought your significant other to an event like this? Any recommendations?

Comforting Jenn

I can't believe I forgot to post a note about this! I first read about it on Karen's blog (thank you), and after reading Jenn's story, I couldn't help but participate.


Please go read Jenn's story on Cathy's blog.
Believe me, it's worth your time!

Black Undies

HELP! I'm being held captive by my MIL (mother-in-law) & now I only have time for blogging at "o-dark-thirty" when she FINALLY goes to bed!! Why is it that older people only sleep for 4 hours every night?

My day began with trying to prepare her a breakfast she would like butof course I don't have the "right" kind of oatmeal, so she just settled for toast. The highlight of my morning however, was a trip to get her hearing aids cleaned. I know that's always on the top of everyone list of things to do with their MIL. Next was the search for a purse that was lightweight & inexpensive. Since I know her, I knew that SEARS would be the perfect store for that quest, but even I was shocked when she told me that $36 was too much money for a purse (pocketbook, handbag, or whatever the hell else she calls it). Doesn't she realize this is an item she uses EVERY day and it's okay to spend a few dollars on it? Then if all of that weren't enough, we ended up in the "intimate apparel" section where I got to select silky black granny underwear for her in her size! I thought at the time nothing could be worse, but just a few minutes ago she walked into my office in nothing but her sweatshirt & her new undies. Where's my knitting needles? I need to poke out my eyes!!!

Is it just me, or when you get mentioned on someone's blog, do you jump for joy a bit? I was doing my usual reading of my favorite blogs & The Giving Flower made mention of my Sugar-Free Cocoa Socks. Her post was more or less about being crafty and staying fit.

Lil sis wants me to join in her torture of being a runner (since our theory is there's no such thing as a "fat" runner), so she just started a program called The Couch to 5K Running Plan. Well, since I'm initimately acquainted with "the couch (sofa)", this program may be just for me! Day one is a brisk five-minute warmup walk, then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. I'm taking both dogs with me. They'll either love it and want to keep going or hate me & drag our sorry butts home.

Obituary & Reality Check

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Thanks Lainie. I couldn't resist posting my obituary either. If we were older though would this be funny?

I was reading through my bloglines & clicked on So Much Yarn, So Little Time since I saw she'd updated. She just test-knitted the cutest Kimono Sweater. Did you click on it? Isn't it cute? Now, click on the Tatami pattern link & look at the price.

Is my monitor broken or does that say $12.00?
Is it just me, or is this a lot of money for one pattern?
Am I being cheap?

Feel free to tell my your honest opinions. Sometimes I need a reality check.

Got Gauge?

I hate to swatch (which obviously includes knitting, washing, blocking and measuring). Actually, let me be more clear. I HATE TO SWATCH!! Normally, I don't swatch but every once in awhile if I DO swatch, I rarely go through the washing, blocking & measuring portion. I usually just knit it & measure it.

However, I purchased KnitPicks newer yarn "Swish Superwash" and had read on Brooklyn Tweed's blog that even though it's listed as superwash, it shrinks. So since I considered making some sweaters for my grandsons for Christmas & wanted them to fit (if not be a bit roomy), I decided to do a REAL swatch.

Keep in mind, these are MY test results.

Needles: US size 6 (4.00mm) KnitPicks Options
Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash
Gauge Before Washing: 19 sts / 26 rows
Gauge After Washing: 20 sts / 29 rows

Yes it shrunk, not considerably, but doesn't superwash imply it WON'T shrink?

I was listening to the Lime & Violet podcast & my recommendation when listening to their "yarn p*rn" section .. FREEZE YOUR CREDIT CARDS IN A LARGE BLOCK OF ICE. They referred me to Fearless Fibers & after viewing the colorways, I couldn't resist Sublime. So ... I bought it. Can you believe that you can buy 550 yards of HAND DYED superwash merino wool for only $14.50? If she charged what it were worth I probably wouldn't have purchased it. This yarn is BUTTA!! Seriously!! In fact, hurry & go purchase some before she realizes that she should raise her prices!!

Style

I just found out from the Scarf Style/Wrap Style KAL blog, (which I don't even belong to) that in February 2007, Interweave Press will be releasing their 3rd in the "style" series books. This one is named Lace Style.

I loved Scarf Style so much that I sincerely hope this book is more like that one and less like Wrap Style (which should have been named "Cape Style" in my opinion).

Speaking of style, I feel like I'm a little bit more "in style". DH & I received our new cell phones from our new wireless carrier. I will admit that a few years ago you wouldn't have caught me DEAD with a pink cell phone, but I think knitting has changed all my views on color. In fact, I think there's a LOT more color in my wardrobe now than ever! I used to be all about the black wardrobe (it's slimming don't you know), but now I figure that no matter what your size, color just makes you feel happier! I wonder if this is just me though.