Runs With Needles

Block, block, baby.

Oh, lord. With that title I seem to be channeling Vanilla Ice. Someone help me.

Before I get into my knitting rambling talk, I just have to say something. I still have my horrible sore throat. Since I do a lot of talking at my job, I stopped at 7-11 on the way to work. I thought it would be a good idea to get a Slurpee to soothe my throat. The 7-11's Slurpee machines were broken! Isn't that against the law or something? Isn't 7-11 known for their Slurpees? And yes, I realize in the grand scheme of life, this is unimportant. However, it annoyed me this morning.

On the knitting front.....P's blanket is done! Yay! I finished it last night and it's blocking right now. Want to sneak a peek at it?

I'll take a finished product picture tomorrow.

I am really glad this blanket it done. Knitting it on straight needles was hell on my hands and wrists. I learned my lesson: circular needles from now on for all blankets!

Tonight I worked on the purple blanket.


And, a close up:


I know I sound like a broken record, but I LOVE this blanket! It's actually my only project on the needles right now. :: gasp ::

I want to say thank you to Melanie for assisting me with an html problem I was having with my blog. My sidebar thanks you, Melanie!

Pioggia stopped buy with a tip about seed stitch (thank you!) and to inquire about my home repairs. I haven't repaired the heating ducts yet. I was just too tired after work today to stop at Home Depot. I'm using space heaters to keep the chill out of the house until I can fix the ducts.

My mother often tells me that my dogs live better than some children. (That's such a sad statement, but it is true.) What do you think?


Tomorrow night is the premiere of my favorite show: The Amazing Race! So, I will be knitting tomorrow evening. I'll probably work on the purple blanket again. I'm really inspired by knitting this blanket lately.

Until next time, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

(I began the post by channeling Vanilla Ice, so figured it was appropriate to end it with a shout out to Casey Kasem.)

posted by Kathy at 2/28/2005 11:39:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

I'm a purling fool.

My knitting yesterday consisted of practicing my newly learned purl stitch. I practiced stockinette, ribbing and seed stitch. (Does the seed stitch look right?)




I didn't get as much practice done last night as I thought I would, because I was engrossed in Oklahoma. I had no clue that Hugh Jackman could sing! He has a fantastic voice.

Speaking of movies, I am going to knit and watch the Oscars tonight. I entered the Oscar contest in the local newspaper, so I need to keep track of how I'm doing. I'm also rooting for Kate Winslet to win Best Actress for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I absolutely LOVED this movie and was disappointed when it did not receive more nominations. (It's also up for best original screenplay)

I've spent most of today on the computer. I added a lot more blogs to my sidebar by using bloglines. I love bloglines!! It makes it soooo much easier to keep track of all the blogs I read.

Also today I've been downloading free knitting patterns and I now have about 10 more projects I want to knit. Help me. I am a woman obsessed.

posted by Kathy at 2/27/2005 03:20:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

I can purl!!!! (And I need an ark.)

Yes, I did it!!! I CAN PURL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you see me dancing with joy?!?

Thank you to Kitt for the encouragement. And yes, Pioggia, all my blankets have been done without purling!

I credit my success to this website. I watched the purl video several times last night. Finally, on about the 6th or 7th run through the video, I said "A-ha!! I get it!!" and I grabbed my needles and started purling. That's really what happened, I couldn't believe it. I purled a bunch of rows and then I made a very snazzy stockinette swatch. I'm so proud of myself! :)

I was going to see if I could do simple ribbing, but I got distracted. By the sound of rushing water. To some people, this would not be a cause for alarm (if you live near a river or ocean, for example). However, I am in landlocked Colorado and we're in the middle of a drought.

The drain hose popped off the back of my washing machine and flooded my laundry room, half bathroom, morning nook, kitchen and a little bit of the (carpeted) living room. The water was also pouring out of the basement ceiling. What a mess!

So, from 11pm - 3am last night, I had the wet vac out and was cleaning up a big, freaking mess. I was able to fix the washing machine, so that's good. However, the water got into a couple heating ducts and broke them:


I've been talking with my Dad today and also sent him digital pictures of the damage. He thinks I will be able to fix this myself, so I am awaiting a Home Depot shopping list and instructions from him. (He lives on the other side of the country, so I'm on my own with this repair.)

So, my joy at learning to purl has been tempered by the flood. I've got the mess cleaned up and it's drying nicely, so I intend to knit for the rest of today. Goodness knows I need to relax!! I'm going to try ribbing today and I'll probably start a ribbed scarf in that new Cranberry yarn I bought for myself.

My sore throat and cough are worse today. Damn my co-workers who insist on coming to work sick!! I hate it when people do that and infect anyone else. So, I don't think I'll be attending the Stitch 'n Bitch meeting tomorrow. I don't want to give this to anyone else. I was really looking forward to it. Bummer.

posted by Kathy at 2/26/2005 12:55:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

TGIF!

Yay! It's Friday! I am so damn happy about that. :-)

I knit during Survivor and ER last night. I'm still working on P's blanket. I want to get it off the needles, so I can start something else. Amanda stopped by the blog and asked about the yarn I'm using to make P's blanket. It's Lion Brand Homespun in the color Regency. Thanks for stopping by, Amanda! Check out Amanda's blog. She makes the most adorable animals!

Pioggia also stopped by. Thanks for the compliments, Pioggia. The blanket is just garter stitch and I am pretty fast doing that.

My goal this weekend is to master the purl stitch! I'm very optimistic, thanks to the videos on this awesome website.

I woke up with a sore throat and cough today. I really hope the creeping crud at my office hasn't hit me. I've been slamming fluids all day today, so hopefully I won't get any sicker.

I'm off to knit and watch TV. Have a great weekend!!

posted by Kathy at 2/25/2005 08:43:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

The Mad Knitter

Yes, the title of today's post refers to me. :) Work today was one of those days that just sucked the life (and brain cells) out of me. I came home (and once the critters were tended to) began knitting like a mad woman. Thank goodness I took up knitting. Otherwise the stress would have eaten me alive. I didn't even eat dinner. I was a woman with a mission!

Tonight I worked on P's blanket. Here's the current status:


Once I finish this (hopefully this weekend), I plan to move on to more exciting (and creative) blankets.

In Blog news, I have now alphabetized the list of blogs that I read. I'm anal that way....I like things in order. It's a sickness. Ask the dogs. I've been known to group their toys by color. And yes, dogs are colorblind!

New to the Blog list today are Dogs Steal Yarn and Northwood Knits.

Kitt, Rebecca, and Melanie all stopped by the blog today and all three complimented the puppies. (I'm such a proud Dog Mom.)

To answer your questions:
Yes, Kitt, they do make me laugh every day. My life would not be half as much fun without these furry faces to come home to every day. :)

You're right, Melanie, they are wonderful to nuzzle and pet! They are all great snugglers. Some days I could do without all the darn hair, but they are so soft and cuddly. :)

Okay, enough babbling about the mutts.......but you did ask! :)

It's time for me to hit the hay. Until next time...keep 'em clicking!

posted by Kathy at 2/23/2005 11:07:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Back to reality

Yes, today it was back to work, back to the reality of life. I worked late (again), but stopped at Jo-Ann on the way home. This tote bag that I've had my eye on for a couple months was on sale. The tote was marked down to $23 in the store. A girl can't pass up $17 in savings, can she? Here's the tote, once I got it home and filled it with my current projects:


I'm very happy with this tote, it's the perfect size and shape!

And, since I got a good deal on the tote, that meant I could check out the yarn, right? :) I came home with this:

This yarn is destined to be a scarf for me. It's a cranberry color, not the red color that the picture is showing.

The Apple Peacock Blanket is finished!


What: Apple Peacock Blanket
Yarn: Patons Melody Quick & Cozy , 1 skien of Apple Green and 1 skein of Peacock
Needles: #17, circular
Lesson Learned: I love this yarn!

I was searching the Internet this weekend for a knitting group in my area. I found a newly formed Stitch 'n Bitch Group in Colorado Springs and emailed the leader. They meet every other Sunday and this Sunday is their second meeting. They have 8 members so far and the leader was very friendly and welcoming in her email response to me. So, I think I will venture to town this weekend to see if I can finally hook up with some real life knitting buddies. (No offense to my on-line buddies, of course. ;) )

While I was cooking dinner tonight, the girls were in the kitchen with me, looking pretty cute. So, of course, I had to snap a picture!


Later on, Max was determined to get Samantha to play with him:


After about 10 minutes of him dive bombing her, she finally gave in and kicked his butt. (He loves this, the crazy mutt.)

I know I'm biased, but I think this picture of Kishka is pretty darn adorable:


This picture shows her severe widow's peak, which is how she got the nickname Eddie. As in Eddie Munster. (And yes, she answer to 'Eddie', as well as 'Kishka'.)

There was no knitting today. In lieu of knitting, I'm going to be responsible and go to bed. I'm pooped and have a hectic day tomorrow.

Until next time, happy knitting!

posted by Kathy at 2/22/2005 10:10:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Ah, a bonus day to the weekend!

Have I mentioned my love for three day weekends? I was actually up at a reasonable time this morning (8am) and had a leisurely day. I took a long, hot bath with Bob (as in Barker) while watching the Price is Right. Then this afternoon I enjoyed reading on my sun drenched couch and ended up falling asleep for a couple of hours. I spent the remainder of the day knitting and playing on the computer. (Note to self: next computer will be a laptop so I can knit and surf at the same time!).

Also this afternoon, I untwisted my circular needles. Here they are, drying over the curtain rod in my kitchen:


The first project I worked on today was the Apple Peacock Blanket and it's finished! Here it is, fresh off the needles:
.

I realize it's a bit small tiny and that's okay. I bought the yarn to test it out and now that I know I love it, I'll buy more skeins next time. Since this did turn out this size, it will be donated to a charity that gives blankets to preemie babies. The blanket is blocking right now, so final pictures will have to wait.

The other project I worked on was P's baby blanket:


I think I figured out why this project doesn't call to me like some other ones. I should have knit it on circular needles, so it's a bit of a pain to fit all the stiches on straight needles. I'm going to finish this blanket asap or else I know it will sit there forever.

Jane stopped by the blog today to inquire about the color yarn I used in my first scarf project. (To refresh your memory, it was this scarf:)


Jane is not the first person to ask me about what color this is, so I dug around online and discovered it is Red Heart Yarn, in the Girlie Girl color.

I also made a knitting decision today. I will not start a new project until P's blanket is finished! This will both motivate me to finish her blanket and also to keep my attention focused. (I have the attention span of a toddler.) I realized I need to stay focused when I almost made a huge mistake on the purple blanket. Instead of switching needles every 7 rows, I kept starting to switch them every 5 rows. The Apple Peacock blanket changed colors every 5 rows and apparently my brain can't handle more than one pattern at once.

In other news, it's back to work tomorrow and you know what that means.......less time to knit. :: sob :: I have got to get myself a Sugar Daddy or something. This working is for the birds! (I'm just kidding about the Sugar Daddy, by the way. It's just that work gets in the way of my life!)

Until next time, buy more yarn!!

posted by Kathy at 2/21/2005 09:55:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

Sunny Sunday

Today was such a wonderful day. I was up way too late last night (3am) fiddling with the html in this blog, so I slept in this morning. Most of the afternoon today was spent playing with the dogs outside and then this evening I knit while watching TV. The purple blanket inspired me tonight!


I apologize for the crappy quality of this picture, but you can see how big the blanket is getting.

I was looking over my stash tonight and I think I may be starting another blanket (what a shocker!) soon. The pink TLC Amore yarn
is calling to me and I won't be able to resist much longer. Perhaps tomorrow I'll cast on something new, since I'll be home. Yay! Three day weekends are the best.

I've been tagged by Pioggia:

1. What was the last book you read or are reading?

• I'm reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" right now.
  

2. Where did it come from (library, bookstore, gift, etc.)?

• A gift, from my mother.

3. How many books do you read per year?

• A lot less now that I'm knitting! I manage to get through 10-15 a year now.

4. What is your favorite genre?

• I hesitate to call it 'romance' since that brings up images of cheesy Harlequin books, but my favorite authors are Jodi Picoult, Kristin Hannah, Luanne Rice and Nicholas Sparks.
  

5. Who will you tag now?

• Melanie, consider yourself tagged!

This is all for tonight. I'm not very chatty this evening. Until next time, keep the needles clicking!

posted by Kathy at 2/20/2005 10:05:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Holiday Weekend

I love long weekends. I got all of my cleaning and laundry done this afternoon, so I can enjoy the rest of my mini-vacation.

I finally pulled out the needles this evening (haven't knitted since Thursday, ack!). First, I worked on the purple blanket:


For some reason, this blanket didn't hold my interest tonight, so I switched to the Apple Peacock Blanket:


This one is coming along so quickly, I expect to finish it this weekend!

I added three blogs to the sidebar today: Rabbitch, Froggy, and Michelle.

I joined three webrings today. Thank you to Pioggia
for mentioning Acrylics Anonymous and to Melanie for pointing the way! Melanie also pointed me to The Purling Puppies webring. During my blog surfing today I found the I Knit A Mile High webring.

Speaking of 'mile high', I should take this time to point out the obvious (since I joined the Mile High ring): I live in Colorado. Specifically, I live on the plains east of Colorado Springs, at about 6500 feet in elevation.

I'm not a native of Colorado (those are few and far between), but I moved here in 1997 from the place I affectionately call The Great White North. While I miss the numerous lakes and rivers of northern Michigan, I prefer the climate and landscape of my adopted state.

Here is my backyard:


On my drive to work each morning, I get to see this:


Nothing like those views to banish the blues!

I recently added a Stat Counter to my blog. This thing is so cool! And, it's free!

Now, for a truly random question. How on earth did I not hear about this nectar of the gods?

I have a new favorite drink!

For my final thought today, I'm going to plug one of my favorite charities: Locks of Love. If you have long hair and are going to cut it, please consider donating to this wonderful organization.

posted by Kathy at 2/20/2005 12:55:00 AM | 1 comment(s)

And the tribe has spoken.

Yes, I am a Survivor fan. The new season started tonight and already it's better than most of last season. I thought Survivor had jumped the shark, but I think they're finally going to shake things up this season. I hope so. Last season in Vanautu was rather dull.

Speaking of jumping the shark, tonight's ER was one of the better ones they've had in awhile. I hold out hope that this show will improve upon the last couple seasons. I'll watch even if it doesn't, though.....Dr. Luka is the finest piece of eye candy on the small screen right now. :-)

On the knitting scene....tonight I worked on the purple blanket. Current progress:


And a close up:


With a three day weekend coming up (thank you, George and Abe), I'm hoping to make a lot more progress on this blanket and also on the Apple Peacock Blanket.

Pioggia stopped by the blog today and asked if I've considered joining Acrylic Anonymous. This sounds like a 12 step program to overcome my yarn addiction. :) If that's the case, then no, but if it's something else (I'm thinking it's probably a blog ring), then yes. I am interested. Please give me more info and point me in the right direction. :)

New to the sidebar today is Jane. Jane is also a relatively new blogger. I just found her blog today and read the whole thing! Great job, Jane!

On the animal front, take a look at this picture:

I came home from work today to a missing shoe. The culprit is Kishka.


Looks innocent, doesn't she? Not exactly. She has a habit of hiding my shoes when I leave the house. She never chews them, she just hides them. It's actually quite cute, but can be maddening if she does a particularly good job of hiding a shoe. (Her best hiding spot so far was a shoe that was wrapped up in the blankets of my spare bed. It took me a week to find!) Tonight, though, the shoe was just behind an end table:


Until next time, remember: she who dies with the most yarn wins.

posted by Kathy at 2/17/2005 11:16:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

The Stash Grows

Yes, you read that title right. The Stash has grown. As if I didn't have enough yarn, I ended up at Jo-Ann on the way home from work. It's the car's fault, really. I was just riding along. :)

So, since the car took me there, I had to walk in the store, right? I was only going to buy one or two skeins of yarn. I think I need to relearn how to count. I came home with this:


On the upper left is Bernat Yarn in the colors White, Mint and Lemon. I'm thinking that this yarn will make a lovely gender neutral baby blanket.

On the upper right is Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in the color Boston Rose. This yarn is destined to be a blanket for me! I can't wait!

Finally, on the bottom is Patons Melody Quick & Cozy Yarn in the colors Peacock and Apple Green.

I was so excited about my new yarn that I came right home and started this:

This is hereby dubbed the Apple Peacock Blanket.

In previous posts, I've waxed poetic about my love for Lion Brand Homespun Yarn. Well, I fear that this torrid affair is over. Patons Melody Quick & Cozy Yarn has won over my heart and most importantly, my needles. This yarn knits like a dream. It's the softest yarn I've found so far and the colors are spectacular! I will be buying this yarn again (and again, I'm sure).

That's all the knitting I did tonight. I got home from work (and, *ahem* Jo-Ann) a bit late, but tomorrow night is my TV night. You know what that means? Three hours of knitting, baby!! I cannot wait!!

In other news, my dogs are apparently offended by one of their dog beds. I came home to this today:

I'm anticipating colorful droppings in the backyard tomorrow. Yuck.

Pioggia asked about my dogs. She is wondering about the sex of the furry monsters and their barking habits. Max the Shepherd is a neutered male. Samantha (Shepherd) and Kishka (Husky mix) are spayed females. Max is actually the barker of the bunch. He barks at the wind, TV shows, music on the radio, the voices in his head, the cats.....you get the idea. Samantha and Kishka aren't as barky (I think that's another Kathy word, not found in your local dictionary). Kishka "woos" (like a coyote) and Samantha only barks if there's something wrong (car in the driveway, antelope near the house, etc.) None of them growl very often. If their playing gets rough, they will growl to warn each other that they've gone too far. The only other time they growl is if there's something outside the house that they perceive as a threat. (And it really freaks me out when they do this!) 99% of the time they are wonderful dogs and they are very protective of me. That's a good thing. :)

Disclaimer: In the hopes of not being one of those Crazy Dog People, I try not to ramble too much about my dogs. If, however, you ask me a question about them, all bets are off! :-)

Ruinwen complimented me on my blog and now I'm blushing. Really. Thank you so much, Ruinwen. This is my first blog and I was very nervous about starting it, so the feedback is much appreciated! I've added Ruinwen to my sidebar. Check her out. :)

Addie stopped by the blog, too. Addie isn't a knitter, but was drawn in by the heart shaped cloud from Valentine's Day. I agree, Addie. I've got a copy of that picture hanging in my office at work.

Melanie asked about the pattern for the purple blanket. I was Googling one day for a simple baby blanket and found the pattern here. The pattern calls for #3 and #13 needles, but I'm using #5 and #15. Don't forget to checkout Melanie's blog. She's in the sidebar, too.

Another new addition to the sidebar is witchypooh. Witchypooh makes very cool bags and socks. I want to be like her when I grow up.

posted by Kathy at 2/17/2005 12:05:00 AM | 2 comment(s)

Another year older and a whole lot wiser.

I did not knit as much as I expected to today. I slept in and then spent much of the day goofing off. I finally pulled out the knitting in the early evening.

Tonight I worked on the purple blanket.

The more I knit this blanket, the more I love it. The pattern just looks better and better as each row is completed. I will definitely use this pattern again. I'm even considering knitting a very large blanket for myself with this pattern. I don't know if I have the patience for that, though!

Also, tonight, I frogged my Mindless project.

I decided I wanted to use the needles for something else. I have a couple of new blanket designs clattering around in my brain, and I'm just waiting for that key moment of inspiration where I know exactly what I want to knit.

I should have named this blog "Knits Only Blankets". I spent a far amout of time today surfing other knitting blogs. The various projects inspire me and make me want to knit sweaters, mittens, socks, etc. etc. However, when I step back, it makes no sense. As I said earlier, no one I know wears sweaters. I have quite a sweater collection from my days living in The Great White North, but I haven't worn a sweater in years. I also own tons of mittens, so no need for those. I do want to learn to knit socks, but am not feeling the urge to do it just yet.

So, for now, I will remain The Blanket Queen. :)

Speaking of blankets, here is J's finished blanket:

What: Baby blanket for J
Yarn: Three skeins of Red Heart Baby Clouds in color Pastels
Needles: #17, circular
Lessons Learned: Untwist circs before using them!

To answer Pioggia's question about what the new red and blue yarn will become: why, a blanket, of course! :) I'm visualing something in narrow stripes. And thank you, Pioggia, for the tip on washing it. I do appreciate it.

An unfortunate incident occured this evening. The dogs were playing in the house (which looks like this):

and one of them collided with a floor lamp and knocked it over. Who knew a floor lamp could crash/explode in such a spectacular fashion? It sent all three dogs scurrying to various far flung rooms of the house. Hmpf. And they call themselves watch dogs.....

Please note: no dogs are ever harmed when I speak of dog playing/fighting. :) The Shepherds get quite rambunctious, but there is rarely an injury. The Husky is the smart one: she stays out of the way and barks the commentary. ("And Sam is in with a bite to the left paw, Max goes down, but not without a fight!")

Until next time, keep the needles clicking!

posted by Kathy at 2/15/2005 11:22:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Blocking and stashing.

This morning at work a co-worker of mine stepped outside and saw a heart shaped cloud. Luckily, he had his camera phone with him and snapped this picture:


Here is a close up of the cloud:


A heart shaped cloud on Valentine's Day.....what are the odds? :)

J's pastel baby blanket is off the needles and is blocking at this very moment! (Pictures to come tomorrow.) I was very excited to finish this project and am very pleased with how it turned out.

Tomorrow I hope to work more on the purple blanket. For some reason, P's green blanket just isn't calling to me lately. I don't know why, but I'm just uninspired.

I may start another project tomorrow, too. Tonight I sketched out the color pattern for another blanket:

It's very basic, but I think it will look nice.

My stash grew today. :) I swung by Wally World to get some bread and milk and what do you know.........my feet walked over to the yarn. However, I was just looking.

Here's what I brought home:
2 more skeins of Baby Clouds to accent yarn I already have:


And four skeins of super soft yarn:

I am not a red person, but I love this shade of red. It's called "Autumn Red" and is just beautiful. I'm going to pair it with a deep navy blue. I don't know when I'll start this project, I'm still thinking about it.

I'd like to say thank you to Kitt for her encouragement in regards to my purling. Once I find some patience, I'll give it another try. :) Also, thank you for the tip on untwisting my circular needles. I have added Kitt's blog to my sidebar. I've actually been reading it for a few days now. Kudos to her for her breast cancer awareness skin.

The other blog I'll highlight today is Cheap Knitter. A knitter after my own heart! It's not about the fancy yarn you use, it's about the experience!

I'm taking tomorrow off from work, so I will be knitting! I'm tossing around a couple different blanket ideas in my head, so we'll see what appears on the needles tomorrow.

posted by Kathy at 2/15/2005 12:44:00 AM | 2 comment(s)

Sunday. Just Sunday.

I'm dead tired (why, I have no clue, I slept 12 hours last night!) and what am I doing? Finding new knitting blogs to read! I'm hopeless. Just hopeless. I have to be up in 6.5 hours and I'm not even close to going to bed. I'll pay for it tomorrow, I'm sure.

This blog seems to be turning into a diary of sorts, as well as my knitting blog. I think that's okay. I've kept diaries at various times during my life and always enjoy going back and reading them. Nothing with get too personal here, though, since my main focus is knitting. :-)

Today was another good day. I slept in and spent the afternoon and evening on the couch, knitting! My focus for much of the day was J's baby blanket. It's almost done, only 1/2 a skein left. Here's what it looks like today:


This blanket was a touch frustrating today. My needles kept twisting. If anyone reading has tips on how to keep circular needles from twisting, could you drop me a comment? Thank you!

I also worked on my purling tonight. It's confession time. I call myself a knitter, but I can't even purl! Actually, I can, but I just suck at it. The first time I tried to teach myself to purl was several months ago. The experience is burned in my brain as a horrible one. Full of cursing and eventually throwing the needles across the room in frustration. Tonight's attempt was a bit better. I actually did really well for about 3 rows and then just mucked everything up. It was ugly. I stopped before frustration set in, though, and will try again another day. I will master this!

This will be a short week at work. I'm taking Tuesday off and plan to spend it knitting. I think I'm obsessed.

posted by Kathy at 2/13/2005 10:32:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

Ah, Saturday.

Today was a wonderfully (is that a real word or just a Kathy word?) relaxing day. After the dogs got me up at 7am to go outside, I was able to sleep in. I spent my afternoon reading, watching TV, taking a long hot bath and even managed a short nap.

Once evening rolled around it was time to knit! I spent about 3 hours knitting tonight while watching a Seinfeld DVD. I always knit on the couch (I'm such a creature of habit) and the dogs always keep me company. Here's the weird part, though.....I think they've worked out some kind of schedule in regards to who gets to be on the couch with me. When I started knitting, Kishka jumped up:


About an hour later, she jumped off the couch and Samantha took her place:


Then, about an hour after that (are you catching the pattern here? :) ) Max joined me. Max, however, doesn't sleep. He has to keep an eye on the yarn to make sure it doesn't attack me:


An evening of knitting, dogs at my side and a good DVD....what else does a girl need to be happy?

I worked on the purple ruffle blanket tonight. Here is what it looks like now:


It's slowly, but surely, coming along!

When I was looking at it tonight I found (gasp!) a mistake!! In the first few rows!

That mistake is going to stay there because there is no way I'm frogging 98% of the blanket to fix it. :-)

I'm a member of the Knitting-Chicks Yahoo Group
and I highly recommend this group if you're looking for a knitting group. I'm a new member and the ladies are just wonderful and full of knowledge.

Today on the knitting group, the talk turned to dishcloths and what kind of yarn to use for them. I recommended Sugar 'n Cream yarn, even though I've never personally knit with this yarn. My late grandmother was a dishcloth knitting machine. Every member of my family has dozens of them and all were made with this yarn. While the group was discussing dishcloths today, I realized that the batch of dishcloths I'm using are the same ones I started using in my first apartment. This was in the early 1990's! That's some durable yarn! I took a photo of a few of the dishcloths to show how well they've held up:

The colors are not bright anymore, but this isn't the fault of the yarn. (It's due toThe Unfortunate Laundry Incident of 1998. :-) )

One of my favorite knitting blogs is Yarn Harlot

• The Yarn Harlot is just hilarious. Her recent story about the death of her family's fish had me laughing until I cried.

I also enjoy reading Med Student Who Knits

• This knitter is so talented that she can read and knit at the same time!

While I was reading knitting blogs today, I realized something. Most of the bloggers are making these gorgeous sweaters. I don't wear sweaters. No one I know wears sweaters. So, I guess I will not be knitting any sweaters. That's actually fine with me, though. As basic as my knitting is, I do love doing it and that's the important thing.

posted by Kathy at 2/13/2005 01:31:00 AM | 0 comment(s)

Finally Friday!

There was no knitting today. I worked late and then something very strange happened when I got home from work: I cleaned.

Not that cleaning my house is weird, but I always clean on Sunday mornings. Always. I'm glad I cleaned tonight, though. That means I can goof off all weekend! :)

Since I find most of the knitting blogs that I read on other knitting blogs, I've decided to start linking to knitting blogs that I read on a regular basis.

First up, fluffa!

• This is the first knitting blog I ever read. I can't even remember how I found it. But find it I did, and I was in awe. I'm still in awe. This woman is a master with the needles.

Next up is Jean

• I love Jean's sense of humor and she has a very interesting life outside of knitting. :: gasp :: There's life outside of knitting?!?!

The final blog I'll highlight today is Melanie

• Melanie is also a new blogger and we're both members of the same Yahoo knitting group.
  

It seems that I add new blogs to my 'favorites' list every day. I need to watch out or soon I'll be reading blogs more than I'm knitting.

I plan on doing a lot of knitting this weekend. My Netflix selections for this weekend are "Oklahoma!" (the 1999 Hugh Jackman version), the final disc of the 3rd season of "Seinfeld" and the final disc of the 1st season of "Little House on the Prairie".

Speaking of Netflix, how did I survive so long without it? I've only been a member for a couple months and I LOVE it! Three movies every weekend, delivered to my door. Life is good.

posted by Kathy at 2/11/2005 11:59:00 PM | 0 comment(s)

The great picture show.

I finally got the camera out tonight and took pictures!

When I decided to start knitting again, I picked up the cheapest yarn I could find to practice with. The three results are below:


Practice Piece #1
Wow. Look at those stitches! No wonder Grams lost patience with me.





Practice Piece #2
Looking better, but still nothing to write home to Mom about.





Practice Piece #3
I think I'm finally getting the hang of this!




After these three practice pieces, I decided to try actual projects. I present to you.......

Project #1
This was knit with the cheapest Red Heart available and size 13 needles.




Project #2
This was also knit with size 13 needles and I used Lion Brand Mohair. The yarn felt fine in the skein, but once it was knitted up it became very scratchy. I won't use this yarn again.




Project #3
I just completed this a couple weekends ago. It's a scarf/wrap. It's very windy where I live and when the wind is bitter cold I wrap this around my entire head, face and neck so I stay cozy warm. :)




This was knit on size 13 needles, using Lion Brand Homespun in the Tudor color. I LOVE this yarn and am already using it again!


I currently have four projects on the needles. I introduce you too..............

J baby blanket
J has been my best friend since we were 7 years old and she truly is the sister I never had. We live across the country from one another, but send dozens of emails daily. When my life imploded last fall, she was there to help me pick up the pieces.

J and G married almost 2 years ago and are expecting their first child. I'm going to be an Aunt!! I finally understand what being 'over the moon' with happiness means.



I'm knitting this on size 17 circulars, with Baby Clouds yarn in the color Pastels. I was skeptical about this yarn, but it is just wonderful. The blanket is so soft and fluffy. Just like, well, clouds! I have already bought more of this yarn.

Here's a close up:



P baby blanket
P and I are online friends. She lives in Australia and is pregnant with her second child. She's not a fan of the typical (pastel) baby colors, so picked out this bold greenish-bluish color for her.



I'm knitting this on size 15 needles, using that wonderful Lion Brand Homespun yarn. This time in the color Regency.

And now, for the close up:



Ruffle blanket
This started as a practice blanket, intended for me to practice this pattern. However, if I may brag, it's turning out just beautiful. If J has a girl, this blanket will also go to her.



This is being knit on size 15 and size 5 needles, using Lion Brand Pound of Love yarn in the color lavender. The color isn't exactly accurate in these pics. The color is the exact shade of lilacs. :) I'm very pleased with this yarn. I didn't expect it to knit up so well and will purchase it again. I've noticed a yummy raspberry color and that may find it's way into my stash.

Are you squinting to make out the pattern? No need, here's a close up:



Mindless project
None of my projects require a whole lot of brain power, but this is my 'mindless' project. I work on it when my brain is totally fried, or when I'm engrossed in a movie. I can knit this without looking and don't freak out if I make a mistake. It's going to be a large throw/afghan for me to keep. With three dogs, I'm always in need of blankets to toss over the couch.



I'm knitting it on circular needles (I think they're size 10 or 10.5) and basic Red Heart Super Saver yarn.


My last picture is of The Stash. Every self-respecting knitter has a stash and while mine is not very big (yet!), I do enjoy fawning over it from time to time:




Can you see them in the bin? There's my next seven projects!

posted by Kathy at 2/10/2005 11:28:00 PM | 3 comment(s)