Runs With Needles

Instant gratification

Viola!



What: Instant Gratification Scarf
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. Nearly one skein of Denim and nearly one skein of Green Heather
Needles: Size 15
Lesson Learned This scarf knit up insanely fast. I cast on at around 1am this morning and cast off around 10pm tonight.

Pioggia asked if I still need a scarf at this time of year. Thankfully, no. This scarf is for Warm The World.

Pioggia also asked if the Denise Needles come in metric sizes. According to their website, they do not.

Now, I have to decide what to work on next. I want to start something new, but really should work on at least one of the projects already on the needles.

posted by Kathy at 5/29/2005 10:44:00 PM | 4 comment(s)

I need another project like I need another hole in my head

But yet, I have started something new. Late last night I was wanting an instant gratification sort of project. So I found the chunkiest yarn in my stash and started this scarf:




And a close up:




I'll probably finish this tonight and then go back to one of my already started projects. Sometimes I just love a quick knit!

The Knitters With Altitude met yesterday morning to knit and gab. All of us there yesterday are dog lovers, so we shared lots of dog stories! After knitting the morning away, I decide to go browse a LYS. Yeah, sure. Browse. We all know how that works, don't we? I came away with this:



I've been thinking about buying these for some time now and decided to just do it. So far, I'm very happy with them. They're going to make the Purple Blanket so much easier. I switch between size 5 and size 15 needles and now I can just pop on the new needle size and go! The Purple Blanket was also way too heavy for straight needles. I knit on this blanket at the knit group yesterday morning and my wrists were just killing me. I transferred the blanket to the Denise needles last night and knit a few rows. Viola! No wrist pain!

The weather has been pretty crappy today. It's cool and looks like rain, but no drops have fallen yet. It's been a perfect day to hang out and knit!

posted by Kathy at 5/29/2005 05:12:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Like a kid on Christmas morning

I just have to get through one more day of work and then I have three days off. I cannot even begin to express how excited I am. :)

The Knitters With Altitude are meeting Saturday morning and beyond that, I have no plans. That's the best kind of weekend!

Actually, I do have plans. The Three Stooges have to be brushed. I am drowning in dog hair. I need to get them all outside and brush out the loose hair. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll bathe them, too. This is harder than it sounds.

Samantha LOVES water. Giving her a bath is not a big deal. It's the other two that make it a chore.

I have to lift 80 lbs. of Kishka into the tub and then she howls the whole time like I'm killing her. If someone was standing outside my house they would call and report me for animal abuse. Kish is quite the drama queen.

Then there's Mr. Max. If I get him within 2 feet of the bathtub, he puts all 90 lbs. into his ass, sits down and won't budge. I can't lift/force him into the tub because of the arthritis in his hips. I have to literally beg him to get into the tub. Last time he got a bath, it took me almost an hour to get him into the tub.

I cast on for J's baby blanket the other night. I'm using colors that match her nursery and am doing a dishcloth blanket. J is due in September. Let's hope I finish in time!



Roxanne mentioned that I seem to have a 'bit of a purple thing going on'. You know, I think she's right. I'm got the Purple Ruffle Blanket still on the needles as well as the Burple Building Blocks blanket. Maybe that's why I wanted to start something new: so I could escape the purple!

Leisel's mind works like mine: she's also thought about knitting in the tub. I would LOVE to, but considering all the books and magazines I drop in the water, I don't think knitting in the tub is such a good idea.

Sue stopped by and said that she wants to come west some day to see the plains. Most people think the plains are boring and flat, but I've grown to love them. Of course, it helps that I have a view of Pikes Peak and the front range, but the plains have their own beauty. I really think I have the best of both worlds: the view of the mountains and huge sky of the plains. Come west, Sue! :)

Thank you to KnitNana for the pep talk. I'm usually very good at leaving work at work, but I've let it get to me lately. I'm doing better now, though. I will not let work ruin my long weekend!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my cloud pictures. I'm a total weather geek, so you can expect to see a lot more weather pictures in the future. Especially since thunderstorm season is just beginning.

posted by Kathy at 5/26/2005 09:44:00 PM | 2 comment(s)

Just Monday.

The Two Tone Blanket is done!



What: Two Tone Pink Blanket
Yarn: TLC Amore , one skein of Rose and one skein of Raspberry
Needles: 11 circular
Lesson Learned: I'm not sure about this yarn.

I don't think I'll use this yarn on another blanket. I really liked it while I was knitting, but now that I'm done, it looks messy and unfinished. I think a smaller needle size and/or a smaller project would look fine, but a blanket on size 11 needles didn't turn out as I'd hoped. I'm going to toss this in the washer and dryer and hope it looks better.

Introducing.................................



The Sassy Stripes Scarf! I'm keeping this project around the house to entertain me while I'm waiting on things. (Dogs to finish up outside, computer to boot up, etc.) I am not a fan of small needles and I'm using size 3 on this scarf, so time will tell if I ever finish it.

Even though I have four projects on the needles, I might start something new tomorrow night. I need to knit something in brightly colored yarn. I'm in a bit of a funk and bright yarn just might cheer me up. Actually, I'm only in a funk about my job, but I'm letting it get to me. I've got to stop doing that and just forget about work when I leave at night.

It was a stormy evening on the plains. All the storms were north, east and south of here, so there were some fantastic clouds.












And finally, Mr. Max:



This picture captures his usual expression perfectly. He may drive me nuts, but he's a joy to have around.

posted by Kathy at 5/23/2005 10:05:00 PM | 5 comment(s)

Lead me to yarn. I must knit.

My knitting obsession has been stronger than usual lately. I must knit. All the time. Being without it for 12 hours during the day is making me crazy crazier than usual. I just now cast on a scarf to have by the computer. Then I can knit while I read things online. I've thought of knitting in bed, but am afraid I would never sleep and I know I would end up knitting dog hair into everything.

What would you think if I told you I was thinking about keeping knitting in the loo?

Not that I'm admitting to anything. Just asking.

I managed to leave work early enough to arrive home before Mr. Sun had said goodnight. So, I took the dogs outside and let them play for awhile. When we came inside, I had three very happy dogs. Don't they look like they're smiling?





Max, as usual, had to stick his nose in a bunch of tall prairie grass and, as usual, had an itchy face all evening:



I've been working on the Two Tone Blanket lately. Here's what she looks like:



I'm hoping to finish her this weekend so I can cast on with some more Warm The World yarn.

Am I the only person who doesn't give a rip about the new Star Wars movie? I can't escape it. The 5am news started this morning with the Star Wars theme. Call me melodramatic, but it threw off my whole morning. I'm a major creature of habit and not waking up to the usual morning news music jarred me out of my slumber. I usually wake up slowly while listening to the news.

Or, maybe I'm just stuck in my ways and should learn to be more flexible.

A thought to knit by.

posted by Kathy at 5/18/2005 10:47:00 PM | 8 comment(s)

Well, this is interesting....

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

25% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern

0% Dixie

0% Yankee

What, exactly, is General American English?

I'm not surprised about the Midwestern part. I spent the first 24 years of my life in Northern Michigan. When I first moved to Colorado, many people told me that I had a Fargo accent. Now that I've been here for several years, I don't hear about my 'accent' much anymore.

Of course, I don't think I ever had an accent. :)

posted by Kathy at 5/16/2005 10:03:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

It's a gorgeous spring day. The Three Stooges and I spent some time outside this afternoon.

Max kept a close eye on everything:



Kishka ran laps around the house:



Kish and Sam chased some rabbits:



A fun time was had by all and all the exercise required drinking copious amounts of water once we came back inside:



It looks like it may storm later. There's some funky looking clouds building:



And there's more clouds over the mountains and Colorado Springs:



The Crayola Blanket is coming along nicely. It stepped outside today to catch some rays:



Last night I cast on for a new blanket! I dove into my Warm The World stash and came up with this:



And, a close up:



This new addition has been dubbed the Blurple Building Blocks Blanket.

The pattern came on a card that Roxanne sent to me. Thanks, Roxanne!

The Knitters With Altitude met yesterday morning. What a great group of people! I had fun and will definitely go next week. I was an hour late yesterday and am planning to be on time next week. Then I'll hopefully get a seat on the comfy couch! I'm really bad with names, so am not even going to attempt to name everyone that was there. I'm great with faces, but names just don't stick in my head. Meg did email me today to let me know that she was the person who left just after I arrived. Meg was working on her first knitting project ever: a bright red scarf!

Amanda commented that my Good and Plenty shawl looks comfortable. It really is, Amanda. I was wearing it last night while knitting and watching TV. It's very cozy. I should have made one sooner!

There will be lots of knitting going on tonight. The finale of Survivor is on! Hopefully I won't make too many mistakes since I tend to get engrossed in this show.

posted by Kathy at 5/15/2005 05:27:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Locks of Love

There's no knitting content in this post, instead I'll be preaching about one of my favorite charities. :)

Locks of Love provides wigs for children who have lost their hair to disease. These wigs are custom fitted and the children receive them at no charge. All the hair to make the wigs comes from people who send in their own hair, at least 10 inches of it.

I've been following Beth's blog as she approached the day she was going to cut her hair for Locks of Love. That day was yesterday and she looks fantastic!

I became aware of Locks of Love about 4 or 5 years ago. I decided to grow my hair out and donate it to them. I've had long hair (longer than shoulder length) my whole life. My hair, in a way, defined me. If I was with a group of people and there was another Kathy, I was always "Kathy With The Long Hair". I reached the required 10 inches of hair a couple of years ago, but just didn't have the guts to do it. I kept talking myself out of it with 'what if I regret it?', 'what if I look horrible with short hair?', etc. etc.

Basically, I was full of excuses.

Then, my life fell apart last year. I was spending too much time focusing on myself and my own problems, so I decided to chop my hair off and stop throwing a pity party for myself. I made my hair cut appointment during the time my mother was visiting (so that I couldn't back out of it) and apprehensively waited for the day to come. Here are the pictures from that day, October 22, 2004:

Before:



After:




I was able to send an eighteen inch ponytail to Locks of Love. That's a lot of hair!

Do I regret it? Heck, no. I love my new short hair and plan on keeping it this short. I do not regret it one bit and cutting off my hair was the springboard for me to move beyond all my problems and create a new life for myself.

The only problem with having short hair is that I can't donate it to Locks of Love. That's why I decided to promote them every chance I get.

So, check them out and check out Beth's transformation.

posted by Kathy at 5/15/2005 11:21:00 AM | 3 comment(s)

Friday the 13th

Finally, the end of a long, long week. I am in knitting withdrawal. I did make some progress this week, though.

First, the Crayola Blanket:



And the close up:



I really like how the Crayola Blanket is coming along. It's kind of a pain to knit, but the end result is well worth it.

The Good and Plenty shawl is finished!





What: Good and Plenty shawl
Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun, 2.5 skeins each of Boston Rose and Edwardian
Needles: 17, circular
Lesson Learned: This shawl knitted up quickly and without any drama.

This shawl is the first item that I've kept for myself. I'm enjoying it and am very happy I decided to make a shawl. I didn't think I was a shawl type of person, but it's perfect for knitting and watching TV.

This afternoon, I enhanced my stash:



That blue yarn is to go with my other Bernat Baby yarn to make a blanket for J's baby. Here's the color scheme:



These are also her nursery colors, so as soon as I figure out a pattern, I'll get this on the needles. Anyone have any pattern ideas? I need something simple, since my brain seems to have gone on vacation without me.

The other yarn in my stash enhancement picture is Sassy Stripes . I found it at Michaels and it was on sale: 50% off ($3 a skein). Yay! I've been wanting to try self-striping yarn for a while now, but I'm too damn cheap to buy it. I'm thinking this yarn will be a scarf for Warm The World.

Tomorrow morning the Knitters With Altitude are meeting and I'm going to join them. This is only their second meeting and my first meeting. I admit, this is going to be nervewracking for me. I'm actually a shy person when I first meet someone. Once I know someone, I don't shut up, but around strangers, I'm just a little mouse. I am looking forward to going. I can't wait to be around other knitters!

If you're in the Springs area tomorrow and want to join us, we'll be at the Academy and Vickers Pikes Perk. The knitting begins at 9. I'm sure I won't roll in until at least 9:30, since I'm a chronically late person. (Yes, I know it's not a good trait and trust me, I'm working on it. :) )

Jenifer tagged me, but it's with a meme that I was already tagged with. :( Scroll down for my answers, Jenifer. Feel free to tag me with something else!

In non-knitting news, look what I got from Freecycle!



A breadmaker! I found my first breadmaker at a yard sale a couple years ago and fell in love with it. Then, last year, it committed suicide by hurling itself off the kitchen counter. I don't know why the breadmaker was suicidal, but it was an ugly, ugly death. I only paid $5 for it, but was crushed that I couldn't make bread anymore and my budget didn't allow for a new one. Finally, last week, I got smart and asked for one on Freecycle. Three days later, I brought this beauty home! So now I can start making my own bread again. It's doesn't take much to make me happy.

posted by Kathy at 5/13/2005 10:14:00 PM | 5 comment(s)

Like a chicken with my head cut off

Ack! My life has taken over! Not much time to knit! No time to blog! I've got to win the lottery or something. :)

The GP scarf is off the needles, but not finished. Pictures to come, hopefully on Friday.

Thanks for the comments! I'll be back when the world stops spinning at 100 mph.

posted by Kathy at 5/11/2005 08:45:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Nourishment for the soul

Have you ever noticed that you don't realize how much you miss someone until you see them?

As I mentioned earlier this week, my best friend was here this weekend. I have not seen J since June of 2003. I knew that I missed her, but didn't realize just how much I missed her until I spotted her in the airport. Even though I've lived in Colorado for eight years, it was just so wonderful to have a piece of 'home' here; someone who knew me 'back when'. And in 25 years of friendship, there have been a lot of 'back whens'! We do try to forget some of them, (the 80's mall hair and pinstriped jeans come to mind), but for the most part, my history with J is full of laughter.

J found out on Friday that she is having a boy. So, of course, we had to go shopping! We found several adorable outfits and some nursery items. We went out to eat and we talked. And talked. And talked. :)

Knitting content to return with the next post. Hopefully tomorrow night.

posted by Kathy at 5/08/2005 11:57:00 PM | 1 comment(s)

Late night blogging

Okay, so it's not that late and I am a night owl (my favorite time of day is from midnight - 2am). However, I get up at 5am for work, so anything past 10pm on a week night is past my bedtime.

I was tagged by Pioggia .

Pick five and fill in the blank:

If I could be a scientist…
If I could be a farmer…
If I could be a musician…
If I could be a doctor…
If I could be a painter…
If I could be a gardener…
If I could be a missionary…
If I could be a chef…
If I could be an architect…
If I could be a linguist…
If I could be a psychologist…
If I could be a librarian…
If I could be an athlete…
If I could be a lawyer…
If I could be an inn-keeper…
If I could be a professor…
If I could be a writer…
If I could be a llama-rider…
If I could be a bonnie pirate…
If I could be an astronaut…
If I could be a world famous blogger…
If I could be a justice on any one court in the world…
If I could be married to any current famous political figure…

Now choose three more people to tag.


If I could be a scientist… I would be very, very happy. I have a degree in Wildlife Biology, yet I have an office job in a totally unrelated field. Yup. I sold out. Truth be told, this is one of the few disappointments in my life. However, once I'm back on my feet again, I intend to get back into the biology field. Whether it's a full time job or volunteer work, I will once again feed the science part of my brain and my soul.

If I could be a farmer… I would probably be a rancher. Hey, that's a cow farmer, right? I actually live amongst many cattle ranches and find it very peaceful. I love getting up in the morning to see the cattle grazing in the pasture across the street from my house. During calving season, I like to step outside and hear the mama cows bellowing. And, I'll be honest: I love a good steak and fresh steak is the best.

If I could be an inn-keeper… I would own an old lodge up in the mountains on a lot of land. The land would be used for snowshoeing, sledding and cross country skiing. When my guests came in from playing in the cold I would have hot cider and fresh cookies waiting for them. Then I'd serve a hearty dinner. Something like a beef roast or a roasted turkey with all the trimmings.

If I could be a librarian… I would be fired for reading books all day and not doing my job. :)

If I could be a gardener… I would fill my property with native grasses and flowers. I would also know how to get rid of that prickly crap that grows around my house. It pokes through my shoes and gets stuck in my foot!

Now, I'm going to tag The Fearless Knitter, Amanda and Jen.

Jesse cracked me up with his comment about my lack of a preference for UofM/MSU: "I hear ya on the whole U of M and MSU thing. I personally could care less about sports. If I had to choose, I'd say UM only because they have a better color scheme!"

Yay! A kindred spirit! I don't like sports, either. Well, I like participating in them, but detest watching them on TV. I have a particularly strong dislike for football. (Yup, that comment will get me run out of Colorado, I'm sure.) When I was growing up I always told myself that I wouldn't marry a man who was into watching sports. Do you know how hard it is to find one of those? Well, I found one. Unfortunately, he was the wrong one, so I'm back to saying I won't marry/date a guy with a sports obsession.

In knitting news...... my Warm The World stash is still calling to me, pleading with me to knit some of it. I almost succumbed to its siren song, but I managed to resist. I've knitted a few more rows on my shawl. If I was wearing it out and about, it would be big enough. However, I want to be able to wrap it around me while knitting or reading, so want it to be very big and cozy.

There won't be much blogging or knitting this weekend. As I mentioned before, J is coming to town, so there will be a lot of laughing and talking. No drinking, though, since J is incubating my niece/nephew. J and I have a 10+ year tradition of doing our laughing and talking over one a couple many margaritas, but I will gladly break that traditon to celebrate her impending motherhood.

P.S. While spell checking this post, 'late night blogging' was picked up as an error. The first suggested correction was 'late night flogging'. That's a whole other post, I think. :)

posted by Kathy at 5/04/2005 11:37:00 PM | 3 comment(s)

Oh, for cripe's sake.

Checking my blog template at work and it's messed up in Internet Explorer AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To those of you who use IE: I apologize for the funky layout (you can find my sidebar at the bottom of the page). This blog looks fine in Firefox. Perfect, actually.

Download Firefox. It's the better browser. (Link near the bottom of my sidebar.)

posted by Kathy at 5/03/2005 05:15:00 PM | 4 comment(s)

Is it the weekend yet?

I have decided that I can't start any Warm The World projects until I finish my Good and Plenty shawl. Current progress:



I think the end is in sight!

Pioggia asked what I'm going to make with the Warm The World yarn. They need blankets (baby, child and for seniors) and scarves (for next winter's giveaway), so that's what I'll be knitting. And what do you know? Those are my two favorite things to knit!

If you're a dog lover like me, make sure you read this hilarious post by Dooce. I've 'been there, done that' with my dogs and couldn't stop laughing when I read about her experience.

CynCyn stopped by today. She's also a transplanted Michigander and asked me that all important question: "Spartans or Wolverines?" Well, I fear my answer will result in me being prohibited from ever stepping foot in my home state again.

:: looking around::

:: whispering ::

I don't have a preference.

I'll wait for you to get up off the floor.

Yes, it's true. I don't care who wins a battle of those two teams. Shocking, I know.

For the non-Michiganders out there: The battle between MSU and U of M is legendary. When the two teams play each other it's been known to cause fights in families. It's not pretty.

But, I've never preferred one over the other. I attended a different university and had friends at both schools. I wonder if my admission will cause CynCyn to put me on a banned blog list. :)

The title of today's post ("Is it the weekend yet?") is indicitive of some fantastic news I received today. My best friend, J, will be here, at my house, on Saturday!!!!! She has a business conference in Denver next week and is flying in early to spend the weekend with me. Yay! I have not seen her since her wedding in June of 2003. She's the person I made the Baby Clouds baby blanket for. And, to add even more excitement, she's (hopefully) finding out the sex of her baby on Friday. Let's hope the little one cooperates and shows us his stuff/her lack of stuff! Then I can start on a gender specific blanket for her.

posted by Kathy at 5/02/2005 08:11:00 PM | 2 comment(s)