Knit-togethers, Sweaters, Temptations, and XBOX 360

Yesterday was belated Christmas around our house.

First thing in the morning I spent a couple hours at Firehouse coffee with a knitting friend. It felt so good to sip coffee, knit, and chat. We compared the lace chart with the written instructions for Swatch 1of the Spring Surprise Shawl (SSS) KAL (which is starting 1/1/08 woooohoooo) and found an error with the written instructions. So since after the first clue is given this week the weekly clues will be published on Tuesdays so I bet Wednesday night knitting group there will be a side bar to go over the weekly clues since there are several of us knitting this SSS.

Next Jimmy and I went out to Temptations (a LYS). I wanted him to pick out the new worsted weight wool so that I can reknit his Koolhaas hat. The first one has a couple problems. It was knit with a variegated yarn and the cables are lost in all the color distractions. Second it is to darn small. So that first one will be donated. I also picked up yarn to make a special pair of socks for a 2008 Christmas gift so I can't give out too much details. (Yep I am already thinking about 2008 Christmas knitting).

Next we went to lunch at a little Irish Pub next door to Temptations. I only mention it because I had something very different. Imagine the insides of a Ruben and then picture the outside casing of an egg roll. Now take the insides of the Ruben and insert them in the egg roll shell. Yep you get Ruben egg rolls. They were very good and were served with a side of 1000 Island dressing.

Next we went on the search for the XBOX360.... Jimmy's belated Christmas gift. Well it wasn't suppose to be a search Jimmy had spent some time calling around yesterday morning and was told the Hillard Meyer store had the one he was looking for so there we went. When we got there we were told "oh no we haven't had any XBOX360's for a while". So there was some minor confusion. So out to the parking lot we went and we sat in the car while making more calls for 30 minutes. Only to find out that the Sam's across the street from the parking lot were were sitting in had 14 of them. I am very glad we didn't start driving around and thank God for cell phones with Internet. Check out the happy gamer:

Is that some cheezen or what?

At home I finally finished seeming my sweater:

Just in time to welcome in the New Year......

I will be getting my belated Christmas gift in the middle of January. We are waiting for Mac World on 1/15 because there are rumors of a new 13" Mac Book Pro to be announced and if that happens there will be a new one "under my tree" that evening. :-)

Spring Shawl Surprise Starts 1/1/08

I have decided to try my hand at knitting a lace shawl. I have joined a world wide Yahoo group to start on 1/1/08. Currently there are over 1,500 folks set to knit this together.

It is a surprise because we don't know what it will look like until we are finished knitting it. Weekly for approximately 12 weeks the author of the pattern will published the weekly pattern clues. I have purchased my lace weight yarn. It is 100% merino wool in a dark green. Perfect for spring time wouldn't you say?

Below are pictures of swatch #1 being blocked:

Best Lights In Columbus, OH!

www.bestlightsincolumbus.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Jimmy and I have developed a tradition where we take a car ride to view local residential lights. We normally take this drive on a Saturday evening in mid December. We have had the privilege of do this in 3 different states: New York, West Virginia and Ohio.

Last night was our annual ride and we took a similar route we took last year. To our disappointment, even with the fresh snow fall, we found the "display" to be very very LAME!

So Jimmy has created the link above in search of the best lights in Columbus, Ohio. Please be sure to visit it frequently and add any locations you believe are worthy of viewing.

WOYNW 12/5/07

Well it has been a few weeks since I have posted a WOYNW post. Without further delay here we go....

I finished the alpaca gloves. These were my first pair of gloves and they ended up being a little snug on my hand so I had a friend try them on and they fit perfectly so they are now hers. I had intended to have anyone I knew try them on kind of like Cinderella and the glass slipper. :-) Here is a picture of the gloves on her hands:

I won an Ebay auction for the yarn used in the project below. It is 60% merino and 40% alpaca in a sport weight. The pattern is this: http://www.knitty.com/issuespring05/PATTsoleil.html Unfortunately I didn't pay attention and made it a tad to short so it doesn't fit yet but it will soon when I lose a little more weight.

Monkey socks. I love this pattern. I knitted the first sock last week. Here is the pattern: http://www.knitty.com/issuewinter06/PATTmonkey.html

And finally.... I have been bitten by the knitting a sweater bug. So this past weekend I decided to start a sweater using the wool-ease I have sitting around from the scrapped Miter Square project. Here is the pattern I am using: http://www.masondixonknitting.com/archives/images/PerfectSweater101206.pdf

Sinus Misery

Today I went to see a ENT Surgeon (ears nose & throat) after 20+ years of chronic sinus misery. I have been treated for numerous sinus infections over the years ~ three this year alone. A couple weeks ago I had a CAT Scan of my sinuses and today I was able to view the slice by slice pictures of them. Very creepy. The best part of the appointment was when the doctor sprayed numbing crap into my nose and throat. Then ran a scope into my nose to my sinuses and down into my throat through my sinuses. That was special! Basically I didn't learn anything new today. Yep I have a pretty bad deviated septum which is smashed over to the left side of my nose. I had someone ask me today if I have ever been hit in the face. I can't recall but its not out of the question.

Anyway before any decisions are made on what course of action we are going to take I am going to have a couple more tests. Next week I am going to have an allergy test. The great thing about this test is that for six (yes that is 6) days prior to the test I can't take any of my sinus meds. This will leave me pretty useless by Wednesday night. Oh boy I feel sorry for Jimmy. I am miserable enough with the meds right now just think what it will be like later this week. Fun wow! I am also being scheduled for a sleep study. I have been told this isn't so bad if you don't mind things glued to your head and people watching you while you sleep. Oh yeah and you have to spend the night in a strange place.

On my daily checking the news I found this article on the main page of the news site. How apropos: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22101005/

One of my Mom's kitties

Ok so my Mom sent me these pics tonight and I just couldn't pass up sharing them. How cute are these. She said she got out of the shower this evening and found him like this:

Gloves, Kitties, Christmas Tree & Nephew

Below is a picture of the finished alpaca gloves. They were a tad to small for my hands so I gave them to a friend. Her hands fit them perfectly. Of course she wont need them on the beach this week. Below is a picture of them on her hands:

Check out the kitties at play on their catnip blanket.... They are playing so nice:

This is our Christmas Tree:

Over the weekend Jimmy and I drove 2.5 hours south to watch our six year old nephew play his very first basketball game. He is #2. Aren't they darling?

#2 in motion:

#2 up close! Tell me he isn't going to break some hearts someday:

Good Reads

Ok so you can blame this all on Lindsey..... Good Reads.... Are there any readers out there? Oh I know there are! Well check out this site: http://www.goodreads.com/

Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another place to suck time on the Internet BAMMMMMM (speaking of which I read that Food Network cancelled one of Emeril's shows this week are they crazy?) Oh getting back to the Good Reads. This site is way cool. Check it out and before you know it 2 hours of your life will be gone. :-)

Oh yeah and don't forget to add me to your friends: clbrmba@gmail.com

I am a Knitting Adventurer ~ what are you?

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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Thanksgiving week is here.....

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

What will you be doing on this Turkey day? I am cooking a traditional meal with the help of our friend Arla. As I write this post there are many things to be grateful for this year. The success of Jimmy's surgery earlier this year, family & friends (old and new), health, home, kitty cats, yarn & needles and happiness. As you make your way to where it is you will spend this holiday what are you grateful for this year?

picture obtained here: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=cartoon+turkey&_adv_prop=image&sz=all&ei=UTF-8&ni=20&qp_p=turkey+cartoon&imgsz=all&fr=my-myy&b=1

Bills vs. Pats and Wolverines vs. Buckeyes

This weekend the football is going to get a little wild. First off anyone who knows me knows that I am a die hard Buffalo Bills fan. This coming Sunday the New England Patriots are coming to Buffalo. Now this isn't anything new since they are in the same division they play each other twice a season. What is so different this time? Two things. First, the Patriots haven't had a loss yet this season. Wouldn't it just rock for the Bills to hand them their first loss of the season in front of a home crowd? Hey a girl can dream..... Secondly, in it's wisdom the NFL is trying out a new feature this year. During the last part of the season they are selecting one Sunday game a week to move from its original time slot to the Sunday night game slot. Yep the Bills and Pats have been moved from 1 PM to 8 PM on Sunday. Wow...... LETS GO BUFFALO!

Now for college football.... GO BLUE!!!!!!! I am sure this will not sit well with all of my lovely Columbus friends and I pray they don't hold it against me to much! :-)

WOYNW 11/14/07

This week has been a busy one. Late last week Jimmy and I decided that I wasn't finished with Christmas knitting as we thought. We decided to make mittens for our Nephew, my sister-in-law, and mother-in-law. So off to the yarn store we went. I have finished knitting all three pairs and I am sewing up the last pair tonight:








Updated picture of my Alpaca gloves and Cafe Curtain Socks:



I was able to do a little tiny bit on my super secret project last night. I did not worked on the Cozy Wrap this past week.

Coffee and Yarn Swap Packages

Today I received the final package from my Coffee and Yarn Swap pal.... Darcy sent me many many wonderful items. Thank you so much Darcy! The package included French Roast Coffee, Earl Grey Tea, Godiva Dark Chocolate (mmmmmm I ate it all gone last night), a very cute hand painted coffee mug (in which I have some needles/hooks), and a hank of Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn. It is in the Cherry colorway and is 100% Merino Wool. I can't wait to knit a pair of socks with this yarn since I have been itching to get my hands on some of it.

I think I will go brew a cup of the tea and knit some!

Knit Geek T

Is this me or what?

WOYNW - 11/7/07

Welcome to November.... Wow where did this year go? Not much done on the Cozy wrap this week but I did work on the super secrete project. I would say its about 80% complete now. Here is a pick of the Cozy and for the secrete project check out Ravelry for a picture.

Jimmy and I worked in the yard over the weekend to start winterizing. ACK.... I dread the snow. With that on my mind I discovered that I need some warm gloves. In October I purchased some Baby Alpaca yarn and so on Sunday I started a pair of Interweave Knits Progressive Gloves. These will be the first pair of gloves knitted by me.
Pattern:

Progressive Gloves by Interweave Knits Winter 2003

Yarn (double strand used):

KnitPicks Cloud

Moss Heather

http://www.knitpicks.com/Alpaca+Cloud_YD5420108.html

Picture:

I am working on a pair of socks. The pattern is called Cafe Curtains:

http://www.kurrajonghandcrafts.com/Patterns/Cafe%20Curtains.pdf

Frogged this week:The white scarf was frogged and the brown sock will be frogged when I get around to it.

The Knitzi

Ok this is way cool.....

This is a sock in progress holder for those of us that like to carry our knitting along with us. I just know eventually I am going to break a DPN or drop stitches while my knitting is in my purse. This will eliminate the risk. Check it out here: http://www.knitzi.com/

I am going to put this on my Christmas list!

Coffee and Yarn Swap Package ready to ship

Below is a picture of a Coffee and Yarn Swap Package before shipping to my swap pal. That is a 1/2 knitted sweater keychain (hard to tell from the picture). The coffee was roasted at Whole Foods on 10/26/07. YUMMMMMM Fresh roasted coffee.

WOYNW - 10/31/07

Its time for the weekly update of WOYNW.

New castings:

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTcozy.html

I casted, ripped, casted, ripped and casted the Cozy project this week. I am into the fourth lace repeat for this pattern. I am really enjoying it now that I have a handle on the pattern. I would like to thank Molly knit7stitchestogetherallatonce for helping me get back on track with this project Friday night. I was very close to scraping this pattern and I am so glad I didn't.

Progress picture of Cozy:

In progress:

Surprise project

I have made huge progress on this during the week. I would say it is 80% complete.

Progress picture for surprise:
hahahaha NOT here (check ravelry)

Head Scarf
No change

Shell
No change

Projects in limbo:

Brown socks for DH. Well I finished the first sock of the pair and DH tried it on. Well he tried anyway. I guess I went down too much on the needle size. He had told me the first pair were a little big so I made an adjustment. I am close to being over the denial and then I will rip out the first sock and reknit it.

I feel like a princess today....

Today is my birthday and I feel like a princess today. It is a beautiful day here in Columbus Ohio. The sun is out and it is almost 60 degrees. It is somewhat funny. I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario in Upstate New York and I always wished for snow. About 50% of the time, my wish came true. Now that I am older and wiser, I dread snow and thankfully this birthday I will not see any.

When I woke up at 5:30 AM today I found my husband next to me and a cat on either side of my feet. This was a perfect way to wake up. I think it may be a first for the two cats to be sleeping that close to one another. Ahhhhh all is right in the magical kingdom.

At lunchtime, my wonderful husband arrived at my office to take me to lunch. In his arms, he carried red roses too.



After lunch a Knitpicks yarn order arrived. Oh all the wonderful sock yarn so that I can participate in the KAL (knit along) I joined starting 11/1.

This evening we are having dinner with a couple friends at the Bone Fish Grill. Before dinner we are meeting at my friend Arla's house for cocktails. What a wonderful day it is.

Below are some pictures from Arla's house:

Jimmy, Arla & Greg ........................................... Jimmy, Cath & Greg

I feel very special today.

WOYNW - 10/24/07

Hello....

This week has really been a week of unfortunate news on a couple fronts. First we learned Jimmy's step dad has Stage 4 Cancer. Second we had an update on Kiki's (our lovely kitty cat) first mom is in ICU and very sick. She is on a waiting list for a liver transplant. If you are the praying type please keep them in your prayers.

Jimmy is leaving Friday to make the 2.5 hour trip down to visit his folks. I am staying in town. I have invited anyone from my knitting group to come over to sit and knit on Friday evening. There have been two yes and one maybe responses so I am pretty excited. Something happy in the gloom of news.

Now to the fun stuff...

Finished this week:

A pair of socks for Jimmy ~ I haven't been able to get finished sock pictures since he has worn, washed, and worn them again since finishing them on Friday. :-)

A pair of socks for myself ~ I finished them at a little Sit and Knit we had on Sunday. I have them blocked as they were a bit snug but all comfy now. I am going to wear them on Wednesday so that I can show them off at our knitting group Wednesday night. :-)

Whats on the needles:

Brown socks for Jimmy:

Secret project: I did frog the original pattern started for this project. I found another pattern that I like so much more than the original one. The name of the pattern is totally fitting too. I am so excited about this project.

Head scarf for me: No change since last week

Dishcloth for gift: Ripped out old and started new. I love this one much better.

Shell for me: No change since last week

Frogged this week:

Original dishcloth started - frogged

Dork Alert

I feel like a big dork. Anyone who knows me can attest that I have been goofy about the lace weight yarn from Scouts Swag in the colorway Van Gogh. I have been planning to make the Cozy Wrap from Knitty with this yarn.

http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTcozy.html

Well just by chance I ran across the listing in Ravelry for this very pattern and the yarn weight (the pattern at the Knitty site only lists the yarn used to make the pictured finished product and didn't list the weight) listed is WORSTED not LACE. DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I should have had a V8! Lesson learned... I must research the yarn weight rather than assume. ASS+U+ME

The good news: I have somewhere between 750 and 800 yards of worsted weight yarn left over from Jimmy's Cobblestone sweater that I can use. It will be tight but I will make it work.

The bad news: Now I have to find a project for the 1,000 yards of lace I adore.

Van Gogh - OMG it has arrived!

1,000 yards of lovely lace weight - Zephyr Wool/Silk - VanGogh

http://www.scoutsswag.com/

Westside Columbus Knitting Group

Pictures of the folks who attended knit group tonight. We had a great time as usual! Go here to see the rest of the pictures that turned somewhat ok. http://www.flickr.com/photos/11682716@N08/

WOYNW - 10/17/097

Knitting Finished:

Cobblestone Sweater (pictures soon I promise)

In progress:

Shell using leftover yarn for me - I have worked a couple rows of on the front of this project. http://www.berroco.com/189/189_leah.html





Illusion dishcloth for a gift - No progress in weeks. I am actually thinking about ripping this out and casting on a new dishcloth pattern from the Mason Dixon book. I am not wild about how the current dishcloth is looking and there is a really cool pattern in the book that I like and I think the gift recipient will too. http://chickybabe.org/driveby/patterns/chart.html


Socks for Jimmy. First sock finished and I am currently working the foot on the second sock



Waterloose Socks for me using the Yarnsmith sock yarn I purchased at Jennifers' 1/2 price yarn closeout sale. I have finished the first sock of this pair.

Head scarf for me - I was inspired by this pattern: http://www.berroco.com/180/180_headscarf.html but I have made to major modifications. I am using the 90% silk and 10% viscos blend yarn I purchased at Jennifers' 1/2 prices sale rather than the yarn called for in the pattern. Also I am knitting this in garter stitch rather than what the pattern calls for. I am more than half way finished with this piece. My right index finger needed a rest from DPN's (or should I say to heal from all the abuse from the DPN's).



Super Secret Project. 5% done - I have a feeling I have messed up the first repeat of this lace pattern. I am dreading it but I think I have to frog and start over. I am in serious procrastination right now. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (((psssst new pic on ravelry)

From sickness to the land of the living

Boy does it feel good to do something normal and not be sleeping 18 hours of the day.... Prior to last Wednesday I had been feeling crappy. On Wednesday I couldn't take it anymore and went home from work after being there for 1 hour. I went home and slept and slept some more. On Thursday I broke down and called my doctor. As unluck would have it he told me I had not only a sinus infection but a lovely ear infection too. I filled my script for antibiotics and then went back to bed to sleep some more. By Saturday I was feeling a little better and today I feel much better. I so look forward to starting the work week tomorrow and returning to the land of the living.

I managed to catch Poo and Kiki sweetly playing with one another during one of my breaks from napping. Believe it or not there wasn't one hiss involved in this play time.