My first swap package and a FO sock!!

First off I got my first swap package ever from Beth from the Football-a-long swap. The goodies she sent me were perfect. She sent I can't believe I'm knitting socks, 2 skeins of Volcano Twist Knit Picks Essentials yarn, 2 circular needles size 2 from knit picks, a skien of Sugar n Cream in Holiday Stripes, a pencil holder, a glue stick, pencil sharpener, and the cutest little football bag.
She did a great job with the package and Thank you again Beth!!


Second I finished my first sock!!! I had some trouble with the yarn, a dropped stitch, and some trouble with the grafting of the toe but I finished and it looks great. It's a tad bit too small but it fits ok. I love the way the color knit up. I'm off to cast on for the pair.



Happy Knitting!! and Football watching!!

GO BUCS!!! Did you see my Bulls friday night?? OH YEAH!!!

ARG!!!!

So, last night I sat down to knit my sock and watch Grey's. I got through about 15 minutes before I notice that the center pull on the knit picks yarn wasn't coming out. I tried to get the yarn out and it was DISASTROUS!!! I stopped after I knew I had created a mess and I couldn't fix it on my own. I went into Special K who was watching a college football game. We sat there trying to untangle the yarn for about 2 hrs. I was proud of him for not giving up until we were both tired and ready for bed. We ended up getting to sleep at midnight and I didn't get to watch grey's or ugly betty until this morning. That's ok though because I had the day off.

I am upset that I've been having such a hard time getting these company done center pulls to work for me. Remember the post about the baseball game and Special K having to help me with that yarn as well. Does this happen to others?? How do I prevent it?? Do I need to rewind it into a center pull ball before I cast anything on?? HELP!!!

I've decided to put aside the last mess of yarn because Special K is actually much better at untangling it than I. I made it worse. So...I'm UPSET that I can't finish my sock. I'm half way done with the foot part and almost to the toe.

Sorry if this sounds like a whiny complaining post but I'm just disappointed that it didn't pull out easier.

Trying to Happily knit!!!

PS. I still love the feel of knit picks yarn, just have to figure out how to get it to work for me and not against me.

I don't have any pictures of the mess because my camera is dead. I'm charging it up and will try to get a pick of the last bit of mess before it gets untangled.

Dogs on Thursday cont!!

Just had to share the conversation I just had with Progress Energy. We just moved and we got our first bill. I didn't put it up like I know I need to and Jackjack got a hold of it and ate it!! So here I am calling progress energy and having to tell a nice woman that my dog ate my bill. She started laughing naturally but when I told her that I'm a teacher she had to turn and tell her coworker. "I have a teacher on the phone who's dog ate here bill" she said. Yes, I heard laughing and I laughed along. :) She issued me a new bill and hopefully this one will stay out of Jackjack's mouth and I'm able to pay my bill. Thank goodness I have until the 10th to pay the bill.

Happy Knitting and Blogging and Training my pups!!!

Progress Energy

I just had to call and have them issue me a new bill because of course Jackjack got a hold of it and ate it. :) Yes, the lady laughed when I told her that I'm a teacher and my dog ate my first bill no less. I just had to share!! It's in the mail and not due until the 10th. :) That's good.

Have a great day!!!

Dogs on Thursday!!

Been kind of a crazy week so I didn't get a chance to take the pictures I wanted but I found these that I figured couldn't hurt. :)

Abigail went to last years Field day and the kids had fun with glasses and the photographer had fun with his lenses. :)


Jackjack has the cutest eyes ever!!

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!!

Tuesday night softball.

Last night we had a 9 o'clock game, a late one. We played hard but still lost in extra innings. A friend on the team dislocated her elbow in a collision at second so that slowed the game a little as well. She was taken to the ER by a friend that wasn't playing this week. We finished the game and Special K and I started heading home. As we were leaving the field we noticed a bunch of police around this one house and a young boy getting interrogated by the police with his parents there. So, today I found the story on the Breaking News blog. Check it out over here. It's a pretty crazy story and it's scary to know that this happened while we were playing.

Just thought I'd share the local news.

All is well with me and I'm knitting away, working a lot, coaching volleyball, and spending time with Special K. :)

Hope everyone has a SAFE and happy week.

Another swap type fun!! Sock Wars.

Ok...so honestly between you and I... I've been trying to not add any more swaps to my list for a bit but when I saw this one I couldn't resist. I've seen all the Star Wars and I'm a fan. I'm also a fan of knitting socks now...even though yes, I'm not done with my first one but I know I like it!!! :) You all need to go check out the fun here. I signed up and am ready to play WAR!!!

I have two more packages to send out for my other swaps. They're being worked on in the background between the knitting, blogging, life, and spending time with Special K. :)

Happy Knitting!!

I'm off to knit on my sock before Special K gets home. :) I'm almost to that toe.

Quick Sock update!

My first sock is so pretty!!!

Just wanted to share my Sock with the world. :) I turned the heel successfully now I have to work on the gusset. I had a little dare I say knot in the Knit Picks yarn while turning the heel that for a second I swore bad things about the yarn. Special K came to the rescue and my love for Knit Picks yarn returned.

The heel was surprisingly easier than I thought and I was happy that I watched the sock video on Knittinghelp.com which really helped me get past the confusing parts in the pattern.

Happy Knitting!! I'm off to get some ZZZZs in.

"Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth - Monday Topic #3

Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?

Well here in Florida the seasons really don't change but it has begun to get a little cooler. The rain has also come. We haven't had any hurricanes yet, thank goodness but they are bound to come around sometime. The only good thing about that is hurricane days at school. It's a day off and an excuse to spend the day inside this time it will be knitting away!! It's nice what knitting has brought into my life. I enjoy car rides and waiting so much more now because it's a time that I can knit. Oh back to my favorite things about Autumn and Fall must be the cooler weather and the beautiful afternoons you can spend outside without sweating all the liquid out of your body. :)

Happy Fall/Autumn!!!

Knitting at the baseball game.

I don't have much time to post but wanted to share some pictures of me knitting at the baseball game. Special K was actually ok with it. He helped me get the knot out of the yarn. I didn't take my sock because I knew I'd get to the heel part and didn't want to have distractions. I cast on for my nephew surfer boy's hat which is green and in the same pattern as Special K's hat.This is Special K's dad sitting with us. Never got a pic but Special K and his bro was there to. :)
Happy Knitting

Random catch up!!!

Friday was great!! I spent the morning sleeping in with Special K. He made breakfast and it was great. I took the dogs to the dog park and got in some dog park knitting.

Then I spent the afternoon at my LYS knitting my sock. I'll get up pictures tomorrow. I love the way the Knit Picks is knitting up!!! Have I mentioned that I LOVE Knit Picks?? Oh yeah, I did already just wanted to remind everyone. :) Anyway, I had a good time hanging out at the LYS and talking to the owner and a friend. The late afternoon was spent cleaning up the house and making dinner. We hung out at home Friday night and I got to the heel of my sock but haven't started to divide for the heel. I'm nervous. :)

Today I finished knitting a dishcloth for my sister Fleas' birthday which was last Monday. Purple is her favorite color and I loved this color. I made up a pattern on my own just for fun. I like it.



I also tonight finally finished knitting Anne's dishcloth for the contest on her blog. It's taken me a while because it was my travel knitting. :) I liked this pattern and I like how the color I picked knit up. I used clover bamboo needles size 6 and I knit Continental Method. If you haven't seen the contest on her blog head over and check it out. She just extended the deadline until the 30th. I finished this today thinking tomorrow was the deadline. :) OH well. I'm glad it's done and off the needles. :) I'm having finishitis trying to avoid the heel on my sock. :)



It's crazy how different the colors look when I took the pictures outside. I think the pattern name should be crossing borders. :) I don't know why that came to mind but it did. Only god knows the workings of my mind.

Thank you so much for all who commented about my Jackjack. I think he's in a great home and the more we spend together and the more confidence I see him build the more I know that bringing him into my life was a great thing.

Oh, my football knit along pal Andi got her package. I had forgotten to take pictures of the stitch markers that Special K and I made her because I was too excited to send the package. She sent me a picture. I wanted to show you what Special K helped me make. :) His first time helping me in my knitting world. I was so proud.

Well...I'm going to get back to hanging out with Special K and his brother. I might even brave starting the heel. :) We'll see.

Happy Knitting!!!

Knit Picks review....My first sock and more...

Knit Picks Essentials yarn is WONDERFUL. I have fallen into the "super affordable, wonderful yarn trap!" as Nicole pointed out. It's soft and easy to work with. I actually cast on my sock and do not feel like I already have to frog it. The first sock with the Sockotta yarn was frogged after 5 rounds. I am loving knitting with this yarn. I will definitely be ordering more.


For my first sock I am using the Flying Needles Simple sock pattern that I got with the Sockotta yarn. I figured I have it printed out and there are so many sock patterns that I just have to go with one. For those of you who don't know me personally, I have a tough time making decisions sometimes. On some things I can be quick but others I can sit and think and go back and forth and end up still not set on my decision. I'm getting better but it's a work in progress.

I'm very excited about tomorrow. I put in for the day off to spend time with Special K's brother while he is here and they are all at a golf scramble but Special K's step grandfather offered to spend the day with him instead. I still have the day off so decided to take a mental break day. I've had a really stressful two days and I know if you read this blog it doesn't seem this way. I try to keep it to mostly knitting. :) Last night I had a tough time sleeping because I was anxious and worried about work stuff. Today was great though and I was able to finally get to stuff that I hadn't been able to finish before. BUT I'm still ready for a break tomorrow. The plan if Special K goes golfing or works is to take the pups to the dog park if it doesn't rain. The rest of the day is hopefully knitting and relaxing. If he does take the day off as well then we are planning to head to the Dali museum and/or others in downtown St. Pete. Hopefully that includes some knitting as well. :)

Well...happy knitting.

PS. While knitting this sock I finished the last chapter of Harry Potter 7 audio. :) IT WAS SO GREAT!!!

PPS. I have decided to keep the Regia yarn. It does have that wonderful blue mixed in like Carol said and it's self striping while the knit picks is not. :)

Dogs on Thursdays!!

I was going to wait until January to show this picture because I picked Jackjack up from the SPCA in Largo, FL four years this January but I can't wait. Now is a good of time as any to tell you part of our story. :) He was a beautiful sweet boy who was too excited outside and SUPER skinny when he came into my life. I saw him and just knew all he needed was LOVE and I had plenty of that for him. We've spent a lot of time with trainers and working on getting him to calm down. When I got him he had CRAZY eyes as I called it when he was outside. He would shut down and couldn't focus on anything. In the almost four years I've had him he's changed leaps and bounds. Getting Abby was a great addition but took them a while to figure out how to relate.
Here he is in our old apartment in Jan of 05. He was only 65 lbs.

Here he is on his couch this past week Sept 07. He's filled out at 85 lbs. He's the first dog that I was completely responsible for and for a long time it was just me and him. We've added Special K and Abigail to our pair and now we are four. We are happy to have a bigger family but Jackjack will always be my first pup love.
I had to add a picture of Abigail because it's only fair. :) This is relax time at our house. Notice Special K's legs on the couch.


Hope everyone is doing great!! Happy Dogs on Thursday.

(be back later for a review on the Knit Picks and response to comments)

NEW YARN!!!!

So, I came home to a package from Knit Picks. My first order ever! I can't tell you everything I got but I can show you the lovely sock yarn I bought myself.


It's Knit Picks Essentials in Tuscany Multi. The colors are so pretty and it's so soft!! Now that I realized that it's so easy to order from them and it really didn't take as long as most people had been saying. I might have to order me some Harmony needles. They look so beautiful!!

Umm...a dilemma in a way. :) Last weekend I went to Knit n Knibble in Tampa and purchased sock yarn to work on as well.


Regia Design Line in landscape fire. I like this color but I think because it's similar to the one from Knit Picks I may end up exchanging it for a different color. :)

Well..I'm so excited about new sock yarn from Knit Picks because I've heard so many great things that I'm off to cast on my first sock ever!! (this doesn't include the first cast on with the sockotta yarn that was a fiasco...and was frogged) I'll keep you all posted.

A quick thank you to all who have been commenting on my blog and reading all my tales and nonsense. I'm really happy I have readers and that everyone is SO supportive. I never realized how much the knitting blog world would bring me. Thank you.

KnitMap - Fun Fun Fun!!!

Patricia of Pischi Days left a comment about this awesome website this morning. KnitMap is a new site that allows you to search all the yarn stores in an area. It's user added yarn stores so their database is growing. You can rate stores and add comments and pictures. I spent about 30 minutes on and off this morning on this site. I added pictures of the yarn stores I have and rated them. I also added my favorite LYS Needles and Knobs, that wasn't there yet. :) Everyone go over there and check it out. The website creaters are The Yarn Traveler and her boyfriend. Check out her blog too. I think this is a great site for us Yarn lovers and we should help support her.

PS...I realized while I was on there that if Ravelry is this site plus more...that I might be in trouble when I do finally get my invite because I won't want to do anything else. ;)

New buttons. :) , stitch markers.

So...I took a quick break and made some buttons. :)

One is for my blog. :) Grab it if you'd like!!



The other one is for my Yarn Crawl Post. :)



Hope you like them. :)

I made stitch markers for my swap pals this weekend. Well...I didn't make them all. I went and bought some nice beads and sat watching football and started working on them. It's my first time making stitch markers and I had fun but I had a tough time getting the wire completely wrapped like I wanted it. I think the beads were too big. Special K noticed and asked if he could help me. He got it and ended up taking over. :) I was so happy. Not that I didn't like making stitch markers but Special K has not always understood my knitting but tries to be very supportive. This was the first thing that he did knitting related and I couldn't get the smile off my face for a while. I packed up my goodies for my Football-along swap pal and dropped it off at the post office on Monday. I hope she likes all the goodies I sent her.

These are the ones I had him make me with the left over beads. It's also a tease for my HSKS 3 swap pal!! Didn't Special K do a great job?



Happy Knitting.

Ravelry update!!

Found you!

• You signed up on August 6, 2007
• You are #23449 on the list.
• 9538 people are ahead of you in line.
• 10169 people are behind you in line.
• 40% of the list has been invited so far

Is it sad that I'm excited that there are more people behind me that in ahead of me?? 9538 more people to go before I get my invite!!! I'm almost there. hehehehe.

"Fall into Autumn" Dishcloth - Monday Topic #2

"FIA" Dishcloth Swap Monday Topic #2 When you knit or crochet dishclothes, washclothes or face clothes, what do you use? What size needle or hook? Wood? what type? Metal? Plastic? A specific Brand? Why do you love that needle or hook so much? Is there one you are dying to try? Is there a particular yarn you love and use all the time for clothes? What is so special about it?

I just started making dishcloths and I've used Cascade Luna and Sugar n Cream. I really liked the Luna because it was nice and soft. I gave the only dishcloth I've made with it to my sister and haven't actually used it so not sure how it feels when wet and in use. I have only kept one dishcloth and I knit it using Sugar n Cream and really like it. Sugar n Cream is special because I can find it most places for cheap and it comes in tons of pretty colors. I've begun a pretty large collection of it so for now any dishcloth for my gifts and me are knit with my stash. Mainly i use Clover bamboo needles in size 6 and 7. I've also used some cheap metal ones that I got for fun and did not like using them at all. I'd really like to try some wood or nice metal needles.

The Yarn Store Crawl - 9/8/2007

THE YARN STORE CRAWL!!! I know I've been teasing about this but here's the story.

The crawlers: my sister Fleas, my niece Surfer Girl(Sammy), my nephew Crazy Boy, and me.
Fleas is a crocheter who is learning to knit because her daughter, her son and I do. I think she's enjoying it but has always been comfortable with crocheting since learning with our grandmother.

Surfer Girl got interested in knitting when I started and it was all I talked about. I've written about her before in my blog but she came with my to free lessons once and has knitted ever since. She's still hesitant to purl much but I'm trying to guide her along. She's in 6th grade and has orders from all her friends for bracelets and the latest is doggie collars. I've given her some dishcloth patterns to try and she is interested in knitting on circulars. She has a knitting animals book that she is going to try.

Crazy Boy is a bit young at 3rd grade and has a short attention span but he's started learning to knit two weeks ago. I was sitting for two girls and they wanted to learn. One is his friend so he naturally wanted to try it as well. He's coming along and seems to enjoy it when he's not frustrated.

About our Trip: We live in St. Petersburg, FL and the plan was to start in Palm Harbor, FL and hit all the yarn stores we have not been to. (I will do another post with pics and stories about the two I frequent) I googled all the yarn stores and planned a route. I stuck to those in a general area and cut out the ones that would make the crawl too long for the younger ones.

We started out at about 10:00 am and hit Chick-fil-a for a healthy breakfast of chicken!! From there we headed to our first stop, Uncommon Threads in Palm Harbor. As we were getting there I realized that I had forgotten the one thing other than my wallet that I really wanted to bring. A CAMERA!!! I took the pictures of uncommon threads from my cell phone and after hitting the store we stopped for a disposable hence why it took me so long to get this post going. Ok... on with the Yarn Crawl. (ps. I've been writing this post for two days)

Uncommon Threads was probably one of my favorite yarn stores on the crawl. It was located in a strip mall and the sign outside that says YARN does not represent the quality of the store. When you walk in there is shelves and shelves of YARN!! There was plenty of places to sit and when I walked in I spoke with one woman who worked there and she was very helpful. It was a Saturday afternoon and it was packed!! Everyone seemed very friendly and there seemed to be a little group gathering in the back for snacks and knitting. They have an amazing selection of needles and the YARN!! It was so pretty. I saw some Shuibui Sock yarn that was amazing and should have grabbed it for my HSKS 3 pal but it was my first stop and I felt like I had to wait. (If I have time I may go back and get this for her because it was a great color) Surfer Girl really liked this yarn store as well. No one purchased anything but I think only because it was the first of four not because of the selection.

Second stop was The Yarn Gallery in Dunedin. I have wanted to visit this store for about three months and was glad it was open when we got there. (I called all stores ahead and made sure they were open) When I was working up in Dunedin this summer this store was closed for a month I believe because of a pregnancy. The lady who owns the store was so nice, extremely helpful and informative. The selection of yarn was pretty amazing. The store is roomy with three separate rooms and a table on one side in the middle room to sit and hang out but didn't seem as welcoming to strangers as I'm sure it may be. There was some amazing bags and needle rolls there as well. This one type of needle roll was made from recycled material and was a patch work pattern. The lady in the store was very nice and made a copy of a pattern for a sock with no heel for me. We all purchased some yarn at the Yarn Gallery.

Next stop was PIZZA at Cristino's Pizza in Clearwater. We weren't really planning on stopping for lunch here but Fleas had read a review of this place in the local newspaper a couple weeks before and we were all kind of hungry and ready for a break so we stopped. The pizza was wonderful as well as the atmosphere. We ordered a half mushrooms with sausage, a quarter cheese and a quarter pepperoni pizza. Fleas and I got salads for starters. For dessert the kids got gelato and Fleas and I helped them with it. I knit a little while waiting for our pizza. I would definitely recommend eating here if you are around Clearwater.

Next yarn store was Flying Needles Inc. in Belleair Bluffs, FL. This store was most needle point but had a pretty nice selection of yarn. With any purchase of sock yarn, you get a free pattern. I bought sockotta yarn and ChiaoGoo Bamboo double point needles in size 2. Surfer girl bought some circular needles. The two ladies who worked there were friendly and helpful. Fleas spent a bit of time speaking to them about their needle point. They had some high quality hand painted needlepoint patterns. The store was set up with one big room and had a table to sit and hang out.

The last but not least yarn stop was Knits n Krafts in Seminole, FL. The woman who owned this store was the nicest lady I have met. She was an older woman who was eager to help and wanted to make sure we knew that we could come and sit, knit and learn whenever we would like. She said she has taught many of people to knit. The selection of yarn was not as high end as the other stores but there was a wide variety and lovely colors. There was a nice selection of wooden and bamboo needles.

We all had a lot of fun on this yarn crawl. By the end we were tired and yarned out but eager to go home and knit...at least I was. I hope you have enjoyed our little store of Yarn Crawl 9/8/07. This probably will not be the last.

Happy Knitting!!!!

Dogs on Thursday!!

This is an old video of Abby swimming. She loves to swim in any water available. We haven't had time to go the beach but after watching this video again I think we might have to venture to the beach this weekend. :) We'll work on it!!!

I took these pictures in our NEW backyard. Jackjack is always so "proper" until there is a squirrel or cat around. :) hehehe

Abby just likes to run around and it's hard to get her to stay still when there is so much to see and explore. :) But she is just so adorable.

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!! I love these posts.

Quidditch - Round One!!!!

For the HSKS 3 swap there are Quidditch matches for those of you out there who aren't a part of it. So, every couple weeks I'll take a break from my exciting normal life and answer some HARRY POTTER questions. :) Here we go!!

1. Who is the Hogwarts teacher that Voldermort performed the Avada Kedavra curse on in the Deathly Hallows?

b. Charity Burbage

2. Who replaces the Muddles studies teacher in Deathly Hallows?

c. Alecto Carrow

3. When Harry meets Mr. Olivander for the first time, which wand law is introduced?

c. The wand chooses the wizard.

4. According to Mr. Ollivander, what is not necessary to take true possession of another wizard's wand?

a. to kill the owner

5. If you know anything about Harry Potter, you will know that Harry's Patronus is a stag. But what is his best friend Ron Weasley's Patronus?

d. Jack Russell Terrier

6. Now for the third member of the trio. What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

a. Otter

7. What did Mrs. Wealey make to eat the first night that Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place?

a. Stew

8. In book 5, at the start of term feast, what is Ron eating when trying to talk to Nearly Headless Nick?

c. Roast potato

9. A half-giant called Rubeus Hagrid takes you to Diagon Alley for the first time. To get there, you go into the courtyard of a pub called the Leaky Cauldron. There, Hagrid taps a certain brick on the courtyard wall three times with his pink umbrella, revealing the entrance to Diagon Alley. As he decides which brick to tap, he mutters instructions to himself. What instructions does he mutter?

b. 'Three up... two across

10.The first place you go in Diagon Alley is Gringotts bank, where you can withdraw money from your vault and Hagrid can withdraw a top-secret package from Vault No. 713 on Dumbledore's orders. On the second set of doors leading into the bank you notice a poem written. These are the first two lines:

Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
What is the next line?

d. 'For those who take, but do not earn

Picture Scavenger Hunt

Rolanda Hooch

Firenze

Argus Filch

Moaning Myrtle

Colin Creavey

There we go!! NOW GRYFFINDOR LET'S WIN!!!!!!!!

Blogging....toilet problems.

So. lately most my blogging time has been logged over at Barknknit. This poor blog is feeling neglected but I just can't bring myself to not have it. :) I know some of you who love me and read my blog could careless about what I'm knitting and what kind of yarn I like. So...you'd rather just hear about me. :) I know you love me!! Well. I'll try to be better at posting over here.

Update...Life is good. This past weekend was lovely to be HOME. Spent time with Special K and we went over to his dad's for dinner. I really like the new house but it's come with some problems we've had to fix. Mainly this weekend was the problem of the TOILET. Sunday while I was already at church, Special K clogged the toilet and went to plunge it and I guess all kinds of fun stuff happen and it stopped working. He also looked under the house and saw that it was leaking. The fun part was that it backed up into our tub. GROSS!!! SO...this was fun to find out. We called our landlords to find out what we could do to get our shower and toilet back. They proceeded not to call us back until LATE Sunday night. We showed and you know...at Fleas house and then slept in the house without a toilet or shower that night. The next day when I got home from work nothing had happened and the landlord had not called like he said he was. I waited and called all the landlords phone numbers finally getting a call from the plummer saying he was way up in Palm Harbor and wouldn't be able to get to us until TUES!!! I casually mentioned that this is the only toilet in the house...which he was not informed of before.

So...he called me Tuesday early and said that he would be at my house at noon. I only teach two classes so I could be home by then. As I'm walking into the house at noon, he calls to inform me that he forgot that he has to take his son to the doctor and that he won't be able to make it until later. So, I said ok I'll wait, just call when you are heading here. I wait and wait and wait until almost 2:30 when he calls to say he's on his way!!! I have volleyball practice at 3:30 so I call and get someone to sub. He shows up at almost 3:30 and spends time figuring out the problem which seems to be a back up in the main sewage line. UBER GROSS!!! We just move in...it's not our grossness in there. So...he goes and gets his snake and returns and unplugs the sewage line and then replaces some stuff on the actual toilet which is broken. He finally heads out at like almost 5:30. Was a fun afternoon but we have both a working toilet and a lovely shower. :)

While he was there I managed to organize the office and bedroom more and get some boxes unpacked. I also graded papers and added stuff to the webpage. All in all it was a fun afternoon...note the sarcasm. :)

Thank you Fleas for letting us use your restroom!!

Happy day!!! Happy Day!!!

FO alert!!

I finished Special K's Warm Ribbed Winter Hat!! Doesn't he look great it in. He didn't want to flip it up at all so I finished it off earlier than the pattern called for. He loves it though!!!

This was my first time using circulars which I used Addi's Size 7s. LOVED THEM!!!! To finish it I used ChiaoGoo bamboo dpn size 7s. The yarn is Cascade Yarn Superwash wool in Jet. I liked this yarn because it's pretty soft and easy to work with.

Check out my ribbing!!! This was a fun knit and I'm glad it came out as good as I'd hoped!!!

Here's a shot of my Sock Yarn that will get cast on sometime tonight or tomorrow. I fulfilled my promise to myself that I'd finish Special K's hat before casting on for my first sock. GO ME!!!

This isn't the greatest picture of it but the yarn is Sockotta but not sure what color. I'm sure the number won't help you. :) The pattern I'm using is Flying Needles simple sock pattern which you get free when you purchase sock yarn from Flying Needles in Belleair Bluffs, FL. :) Part of my Yarn Crawl that I keep holding out for the pictures to tell you the trip details. Soon!!!

Swap topic.

"FIA" Dishcloth Swap Monday Topic #1 Now that in some geographic locations the weather is starting to turn cooler, do you change the type of yarn(s) you knit/crochet with? If so, what do you now knit/crochet with instead and why? If not, why do you not switch and what do you knit/crochet with?

I live in Central Florida. It's not really going to get that cold here but it will get a whole lot cooler. :) I haven't worked with too much wool so I don't think I'll start now. I have used some washable wool from Cascade to make a hat for Special K but that's about it so far. I will probably try some more wool blends and washable wools for a scarf and hats but nothing too hot. I'm really into making dishcloths using cotton but I'd like to try linen, corn, or bamboo. I also starting socks so not sure where that will take me in the yarn world. :)

I bought some pretty Sock yarn this weekend and new needles and plan on casting on for them this afternoon. I still need to develop the pictures of our Yarn Crawl but I have to take a couple more pictures to do that. I'll get that up soon.

Contest over at HollYarn

Check out the contest, which is super easy over at HollYarn and remember to mention that I sent you over. :) Have fun.

Keep posted for the Yarn Crawl. I forgot my digital camera so I ended up grabbing a disposable. I have to get them developed. It was great fun and I have tons to say. :)

Keep my nephew, Skater Boy whose in 7th grade in your prayers. He's in the hospital and is not getting better as quickly as we'd all like.

Happy Knitting/Football watching.

Follow-up on DOT, on Friday...Saturday Yarn Store Crawl!!

Thank you all for your comments about Abigail's skin. :) We use Benadryl now to manage her itchiness and plan on saving up for the testing. The vet recommended us doubling her flea meds to make sure it's not a flea allergy. I'd love her skin to get better and for her to be as happy as she can be. :) I'll keep you posted on her progress when we get started.

It's also nice to get comments about my cute puppies. :) Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting.

Tomorrow, Fleas, Sammy and I are going on a LYS Crawl. We are heading as far North as Dunedin, FL and then hitting all the yarn stores on the way back to St. Petersburg, FL. We have 4 new ones and maybe stop in to the 2 we already frequent. I'll take tons of pictures of our little crawl. Stay tuned.

Happy Knitting!!! or as I will be tomorrow Happy Yarning!!! heheheh

Knitting!!

On friday, I had picked up the last of the bins that have been in the garage at our old apartment. One was full of all my christmas decorations, the second full of winter clothes and then the third was a jackpot of sorts. It contained some of my old decorations that I had in my apartment out in California. It also contained my old knitting. I might have mentioned before that I tried knitting about four or five years ago but didn't have help and got quickly discouraged and gave up. Well...here is what I found...

Not only did I pick metal needles but I picked out chenille. Of all yarn to pick, I pick fuzzy stuff. No wonder i had a tough time. Without help and on slippery needles with fuzzy yarn. I looked at my stitches and they were not bad but I remember frogging (which back then I had never heard the term) this like ten times. I'm proud of the small swatch I created back then. I fell like mounting it for prosperity. heheh. Look how I kept the knitting on the needles too.

OH goodness how far I've come with a little help and encouragement in the last two month. :) Thank you Knitting BLOG friends for all that you've brought to my life.

On to knitting today...
That's this months, Monthly Dishcloth KAL. It's a birthday cake. I think I need to try smaller needles for my next dishcloth because they all turn out short and stumpy. Any suggestions on why?? (my gauge is off)

Happy Knitting

Dogs on Thursday!!

We had a vet appointment yesterday, just their annual with all the shots. My local vet has a two for one so it's nice with two big dogs. Special K came with us for the first time. He's one step closer to adopting them. When we get married(we are not engaged yet but talk about it) then the dogs are ours but until then they are always mine when they are bad and ours when they are cute. :) Natural right?? Well...after all the commotion of the vet visit, which took over an hour and half because she wanted to talk about Abigail's allergies. Abby has bad skin and reoccurring ear infections. The vet really wants to have her tested for allergies to find out what it is and move on from there but that's a bit too much money for us right now. We just moved and the top priority is getting a washer, dryer, and a dresser. I told her I'd like to manage it until I can save some money for the procedure. Here are the pups while after they ate dinner. :)

Sleepy puppies.

They are my cute babies!!

Home Sweet Home.

I'm back home...it's my first night back after the adventures in babysitting since thursday. I'm happy to be home. I love home. Special K made me a wonderful steak dinner for my return home. We ate really late since the parents didn't get back until after 8 but the dinner was worth it.

I'm heading to bed but wanted to throw up a picture of some knitting I finished up this weekend. I also knitted two Mandy Candy Bags up for the two girls I was sitting for but didn't have my camera. :( Oh well. One of the girls even started learning to knit. I won't be there for the follow thru but she has casting on, knitting, and binding off. She's only 8 so she's going to need more coaching.

Also here are the two Paw Print Dishcloths I've knitted for my co-teachers. I have 6 more to go but they are a quick knit. :) We are the Red and white Panthers and I wish I had started doing them all with Red but didn't have time to pick up red yarn before I wanted to start them...so here we go..


Have a good night!! Happy Knitting!! I'm off to get some ZZZZ's in my own bed with new pillows...YummO

Gryffindor Trivia

My weekend has been crazy but I've gotten to knit plenty. :) I don't have my camera with me so no pics for now..

The hardest question on the Crossword puzzle was #5 What troublesomme character is left out of the HP movies?? Took me five people and lots of brain power to figure this one out. :)

Have a good weekend and stayed tuned for pictures!!!

Happy Knitting