Random Cat Generator

The random cat generator has a cold so was moving kind of slow, but at last results.

Ducky who is my cat that loves crumpled paper had her choice of 9 correct answers and chose Julie. The funny thing is Julie was my partner for the first swap I ever did the Knitters Tea Swap I. BUT to prove it was legitmate here are some pictures of Ducky in action.

The names waiting for the cat generator to appear




Ducky and her supervisor Boo checking them out

Finally, she has made her choice you can see it in her paws






So Julie from Maine if you send your Address to me I will send out your prize.

Other news, I have been knitting on sockret pal socks and I have been knitting on mittens and half mittens ...Pictures to follow of the mittens my memory card on my camera seems to be full.

New York

Rebecca and I had a great time in NYC. Rebecca thought I was never going to buy any yarn but I finally managed to buy 5 skeins, and she bought 5 skeins for a grand total of 10, so that means LimeDragon won the Birthday contest.

Now here is a second contest guess which picture below is Rebecca's yarn and which is my yarn purchased in NYC and a skein of yarn will be on its way to you. You have until midnite on Friday Feb 1 to guess....

Picture #1 to the left














Picture #2 to the right




So we went to 7 or so shops, we started at The Yarn Store on the upper west side, it is on the second floor up a steep flight of stairs. Personally an ok shop we have better here in Minneapolis. Then we went to The Point and Purl, in Greenwich Village and SoHo, both are cute little shops and both carry just a little bit of different stock from the other, The Point also has a coffee bar with soups and sandwiches and treats.

The next day we went to Seaport Yarns this one is my favorite. So much yarn that I am sure we missed some. It is at 135 William Street and on the fifth floor, it is one I visit almost everytime I am in NYC. Then we stopped at Habu, Stitches East and School House Products. We also went to the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting exhibit at MAD (Mueseum of Art and Design) It was not your typical knitting, there are lace sculptures made from porcelain, a dress knitted of shredded dollar bills and some teeny tiny greek gloves. Check out the link above.

Next a preemie hat update I am finishing up number 12 and then I will be done

I told you red is my color, thanks Meg for letting me ride in your hood...D

And for the final one here it is . . . The Bow Tie Hat

Birthdays and Preemie Hats

First tomorrow I am going to NYC with my friend Rebecca to celebrate our birthdays. So I decided to have a small contest. The person who comments with the correct number of skeins of yarn we purchase while in NYC will get some yarn what else. I will be gone until Sunday so you have until midnite on Sunday to guess. Winner will be announced on Monday evening or Tuesday in the morning.

So for a preemie hat update...I am up to 10 and here with my son Nick are two of being modeled by Boo and Ducky.


Nick I think mom has really lost it
this is a girls hat....Boo







and I really like the red one better so why am I in this one..Ducky










They both survived the ordeal and to prove it here is Ducky hard at work supervising my blog writing




It is so hard to get a nap in around here all I do is work work work..D

It's Cold Outside

The cold weather has finally arrived in Minnesota, but still no snow.

After reading on many blogs about Knitting from your stash all year I decided I agree with Charris that moderation in yarn purchases is better than none at all. So I am not going to purchase any yarn until Stitches West in February, but I have two exceptions



1) The skein of Jitterbug I just purchased for my birthday present to me shown to your left in Mardi Gras colorway.

2) If I find some in New York next week for socks or mitten or a scarf



I am also in the midst of preemie hats, they are being collected by Michelle and Jeanne and will be taken to United and Children's Hospital in St Paul. I set a personal goal of 10 and am at number 9 almost there.

Today I received my Knit Mitt Kit Swap package

Grandma look it has your name on it and it smells like chocolate

Here is what was inside


Some Lorna's Laces in nearly solid a skein of Claudia's handpaints in the carousel colorway, those were meant to be for Lucy Neatby's Fiesta Mitten pattern that came too, two kinds of dark chocolate, a really neat index card holder to carry in my knitting bag and a great small red project bag for my mittens when I start them. Although when I emailed Sarah to say thank you I did tell her that as a sock knitter it will be hard for me to use the Lorna's Laces for mittens.

How Time Flies....

I know it has been a really long time since I last posted. What is new you ask? Not much. I have been still working 10 and 11 hour days and usually at least 4 hours on my days off. But I hear as of Next week it should slow down...because I don't have any new trainees out on the reservations floor until the first week in January.

So how are Ducky and Boo you ask...Presenting the Christmas Kitties













Remember Ducky's Birthday Present, the cat house from IKEA well one day I was in the kitchen and I heard this cross between mew and chirp and it sounded distressed. So I went to the living room and Ducky had tipped the house over with the butt in the air and she was caught inside and could not figure out how to tip it back ... She has done it many times since and still can't tip it back the other way. Unfortunately no pictures were taken do to laughing too hard at the cat but from the tent wiggling furiously and not getting anywhere.

So on to Christmas Knitting...I made a Scandinavian Sweater outfit for an American Girl Doll

Grandma I know this is not for me but red is my color..D

Also my sockret pal struck again some beautiful hand dyed yarn from South America


Happy Holidays to All and to all a good nite

November is almost gone...

I am again working and working and more working. So many things to finish before Christmas and when I looked at the calendar today I realized YIKES November is almost gone!!!!!!!!!!!

I just have to knit more and work less....

So an update on my knitting projects, I finished a pair of socks, almost have a second pair done, I turned the heels and am trying to decide what to do on the cuff. For both of these I used Lily Chin's short row heels. There seemed to be some missing directions, as I could not figure out how to do the second set of wraps to turn the heel. It appears I was reading them too fast...So I missed some important parts. It appears however that Jeanne and Kate and a few other knitters also read them too fast as none of us understood what to do after the first row of wraps, to get the heel to turn. So finally one night when no one else was home, I got out a sticky note and went through them line by line...Finally the light dawned on how she did the second set of wraps and I got the heel to work out. It really is a nice heel and I really do like it, now I am in the process of rewriting the directions so the normal knitter will understand and hope to post them here soon.

Update on Boo and Ducky still hanging out together...They are true soul mates.

I will post pictures later this week when I get my camera back.

The Sweetest Thing

This is how Boo and Ducky nap everyday.

It's a Knit Mitt Kit Swap

Here is my questionnaire for the Knit Mitt Kit Swap

The Questionnaire:

What are your favorite colors?
Reds and Primarys all but purple

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens?
no about 5 yrs

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
no preference

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn?
wool

Where do you usually knit mittens?
work or watching TV

How do you usually carry/store small projects?
Smaller bags with ties or zippers inside a larger bag

What are your favorite mitten patterns?
Latvian or color work

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques?
Two at a time

What new techniques would you like to try?
Intarsia

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens?
Two 24" circulars

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Paton's Merino for felted ones//Dale Falk and Heilo

What yarn do you totally covet?
Malabrigo or Manos del Uruguay

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
Lucy Neatby's Fiesta or Paradoxal Mittens

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
Addis for circulars because of the great joins//bamboo for double points//Wood for Straights

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
Cashmere or Cashmere Blend or maybe Malabrigo it really depends on the day

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?
Dark Chocolate

What’s your favorite animal?
Cat specifically my cat Boo and then the grancat Ducky

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts?
Warm Mittens

If you were a color what color would you be?
Red


What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
Flowers not the shape but all the colors and color variations


Do you have a wishlist?
Not really

Anything else you’d like to share with the group today?
not really

Sir Francis Drake came for a visit

October must be my lucky month I received packages from all the swaps I am involved with plus my Yarn Aboard Box came.


And here are the goodies inside from Julie in Maine.


She sent me lots of good things from Maine. Brownie Mix, Maine Berry Tea and an infuser, a mug with scenes of Maine on it, 2 skeins of Jawoll sock yarn and one Cherry Tree Hill Sock Yarn and a post card with a picture of a friends Lobster shack.

Thanks Julie it was a nice surprise on a dreary Minnesota Day. Sir Francis is packing up and getting ready to head south.

On other news

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to MEEEE!!!!Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Sockret Pal Strikes again

So again all I am doing is working, working and more working.



But I did come home today to find this nice little fun package in my mail box. A bag of Halloween Treats and a cute little white tape measure to match my little black one from the Knitters Tea Swap.










Last weekend was my sorority from College Beta of Clovia's Semi Annual Bazaar and I managed to finish a few scarves and this very cute pumpkin hat.

Also the kitties have a new house, it was supposed to be Ducky's Birthday present she will be one on Halloween but as you can see Boo has taken it over.

Look what I got for My Birthday

If she thinks she is keeping this house to herself

Good news about Boo he had some black spots on his nose and the vet we saw in the spring said it could be pre cancerous, but it isn't. Boo was not feeling well, breathing heavy, not eating and throwing up, so of course I thought the worst and took him to the vet. Dr Hansen said he doesn't have cancer, but has freckles and an upper respiratory sinus infectin so he is on Amoxicillian. He seems to be much better today as you can see

Just checking out the package Mom and it passes the sniff test

KTS2 Package arrived

My KTS2 package arrived today in the mail what a wonderful surprise to get on Friday the 13th.

Here are the goodies see my post at Knitters Tea Swap 2 for full details.

Thanks Kathy for the perfect package!

Weekly Update

I seem to be managing about a post a week with all the time I have been spending at work, so here goes...

Finally, had two days off in a row, so we took advantage of it and headed to Duluth for the weekend with friends. It was beautiful, warm and sunny and had a great time. We drove to the French River and watch the Kamloops salmon or maybe pink salmon swim and jump in this little stream that feeds into Lake Superior.

Sunset over Lake Superior

Checked out both Yarn Shops one in Two Harbors and the other in Duluth. Playing with Yarn in Two Harbors was first, I had a nice visit with Judy the owner and Winnie her Yorkie. Yarn Harbor has one of the best selections of Dale yarn I have seen and it is a nice store.

Monday my sister from California stopped over nite on her way to Harmony Minnesota to go to an Austins Angora goats and Mohair farm. She really came for her nursing school reunion and this is just a little side trip.

I finished my scarf for the Red Scarf Project

Red scarf with hat for the Red Scarf Project

I used a yarn called Magnum from Borealis Yarns in St Paul, it was a wool and acrylic blend and nice and soft to knit with. I used a twisted stitch pattern and am really pleased with the results, I had a little left over so I made a matching hat.

And today my Sockret pal package arrived!!!!!!!!!!!


The kit contained two skeins of Southwest Trading Company Karoake and a great hat pattern and a really cute sheep card.

But for closing a picture of my kitties

It's a standoff and the winner is.....

to be continued

Knit Sock Kit and other ramblings

Today in the mail my KSKS swap kit arrived. Turns out my pal who did a wonderful job, asked her college age son to mail it and he forgot. Hey I understand I have two college kids and both forget things that I ask them to do. It was a wonderful package though. A cute flowered bag, just the right size for socks and inside was some yarn she dyed for me special called "Cherrie Pie", a yarn cutter, a tape measure (she must be a mind reader I just lost mine somewhere) a glow in the dark sheep some little post it notes and some smoked salmon. The kitties must have smelled the salmon because they were trying to open the box as soon as I brought it in the house.



Can you see
the glow in the dark sheep?
It is hiding in the yarn.










Next I won the contest at Jeanne's Blog to guess how many socks in her pile and here are the goodies that I got for my prize.

A sock blocker key chain, a sheep pin, a sheep pez dispenser with sour pez, a skein of Socks that Rock yarn and some greenies for the kitties, plus two mice and a sparkly ball and of cours Ducky had to inspect everything and as of today we are missing one red mouse, but I am sure it will turn up.






So what have I been knitting you ask well....


It seems I have 5 pairs of socks going
and one red scarf for the red scarf project.
Plus a baby hat (not pictured) .




You see I have the red socks for the Red-sock-knit-along, then the blueish denim kind of ones in upper right corner for fun, the striped ones are for my work and car project just plain vanilla, and the top is Regia Bamboo but I am not happy with the pattern so I am at a sticking point.

I usually do some socks for CIC but this year decided to do a scarf for the Red Scarf project and I think I have enough yarn left to do a skully type hat too.

And finally I do have a wonderful husband who even fixes kitchen sinks

Sockret Pal Questionnaire

I am participating in the Sockret Pal Swap and here is my questionnaire.

Sock-ret Pal Questionnaire

The basics:

How long have you been knitting? since I was 8 stopped for awhile then took up socks about 6 yrs ago
Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate, or have you been doing this so long you could probably knit a pair in your sleep? I could knit a pair in my sleep of basic socks and have been known to knit at plays and movies in the dark

The measurements:

While your pal may ask for some additional info to ensure a great fit, please provide your shoe size, or any other fitting related info you think is pertinent. 8-8.5 wide I will have to measure some socks, you see I knit until the sock hits the front of my ankle and then turn the heel and a short cuff usually 6 " or so.

(fiber related) Favorites:

What colors do you love? reds and denim type blues not overly fond of purple

Do you prefer solids or variegated? either

What fibers do you most love to knit with? wool and wool blends natural fibers not too crazy about cotton

Who do you consider your favorite yarn vendor? socks that rock, lucy neatby, trekking, lorna's laces, ellen's half pint farm I have not met a yarn I did not like

What projects (other than socks, of course*S*) do you most enjoy knitting? Hats mittens quick projects, although I am starting a red sweater

(fiber related) Dislikes:

What fibers can you not stand to knit with? To wear? none

What colors would you never wear? Yellow

The Tools:

Plastic or Metal? Bamboo or wood? metal and wood

Circs or Straights? circulars

DPNs or Magic Loop? Two 24" at once for my socks and usually from the toe up

Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like? I have to think about this because there are really alot of them but the first one that comes to mind is a sheep or cat tape measure

The Extras:

Do you have a wish list? If so, please share the link!

Do you like sweet, sour or salty? (or all of the above? *S*) sweet or salty, dark chocolate is my favorite

Do you have any allergies your pal should know about? (Certain foods, smoke, pet hair, etc) allergic to most perfumes and make ups

Favorite scents? Scents you can't stand? I am okay with apple or mint or coffee scented things

Do you collect anything (other than yarn and knitting toys of course)? I am not really a collector

When is your birthday? (month and day is fine!) 01/25

Do you spin? Dye your own yarn? dye my own when I have time

Your favorite author/band/vacation spot, anything you think will help your pal know you better...

I read a lot of mysteries. l work for an airline, so I have traveled all over the US and some countries in Europe. I really liked Denmark,Amsterdam and Paris, but have not got a favorite place to go, my favorite type of travel is a cruise, because you don't have to do anything if you don't want to or you can do all kinds of things. I listen to Jazz and Country, no particular favorite bands or artists. My favorite animal is cats.

Now there are two...

All I have been doing since California is working, regular shifts, overtime shifts and double overtime shifts. So I have not had much time to post sorry....

But for some news, Boo has a permanent roommate now, Megan and Cliff decided to let me keep Ducky. Boo seems unpreturbed about it and I think he actually likes having a roommate.




The two of them are always so innocent looking but don't let it fool you. They are frequently up to no good.

How could you say that about us ? We are always perfectly behaved



So like Chris I now have two cats, unfortunately both long haired and both shed alot....know anyone who spins cat hair, I may be able to be a supplier. They are both fun and it has been great for Boo he has someone to chase and he has even lost a little weight. Of course sometimes I worry when Ducky Body Slams him that he will get hurt, but it is good that she is not afraid to let him know she is queen. At least he lets her think she is ......

Friday Frolics

This is what greeted me as I came in the door this morning from taking Megan to work. They look so innocent it made me wonder what they had been up to.....


we just wanted to greet you because we love you so much.







The other day I went to put clothes in the hamper and here is what I found Ducky must have crawled in when the lid was up and it fell down. Yes Ducky is still with us, but maybe this weekend she will go home.




So for some knitting content, I started my scarf for the Red Scarf Project and it is going well, pictures to come later. As I was looking for some needles I discovered that I have 4 pairs of socks started in various stages, so I really need to finish a pair soon. The baby sweater is in the same spot it was last post.

I am still waiting for my KSKS Swap kit to arrive, maybe today will be the day.

Introducing the "SOCKTOPUS", I picked it up at IKEA and they call it JABBA. Not sure what IKEA intended it to be used for but it makes a great sock dryer.

California on my mind and knitting too

A few months ago when I got the email from Full Thread Ahead announcing the Yarn Harlot Visit, I emailed my sister and said Lets Go. My sister emailed back she had already reserved her spot and I shoule reserve mine.

So the original plan for the weekend was to go to California the Yarn Harlot. Then all kinds of other activities got added. My great nephew's first birthday, sorry no pictures but it was fun. A picnic and sprinkler party, complete with a slip and slide. Then Vintage Santa Clara an alumni event at Santa Clara University, they have local wineries and restaurants come in with samples and as long as you have a wristband and a wine glass, you get food and wine. We tried lots of varieties of wines and really great food, I might have to go back next year for it.

Okay back to the Harlot, Hollis the owner of Full Thread Ahead, had it set up really well. She arranged with the city of Los Altos to close down the street behind the store for the speech. I did not get a good picture of the street, but Cookie of Pomatomus fame(she was in line just ahead of us for the signing) did. There were about 300 knitters for the book signing and more attended the speech. Hollis had a Concierge to answer questions about where to eat and what else there was to do in Los Altos and for the book signing she handed out signing passes like this one:

The Harlot's speech was great, she is just as funny in person as on her blog. One of the knitters I met was on the Sock Team USA with me and it turns out she is in my sisters Weds nite knitting group. After the speech we got books signed and pictures taken,

I promised Stephanie a good beer the next nite in Wisconsin, delivered by Chris and Jeanne. Thanks for the delivery. The other picture I took was Hollis presenting Stephanie with a gift basket from the store. Notice the Tiara on Hollis all of the staff with the exception of her husband wore them so they were easy to identify.

It was a fun weekend, but I do have some knitting news to post. I finished 2 pairs of socks
The one on the right is for my niece made from Trekking from Church Mouse Yarn and Teas, and the other is Cotton Fantasy by Meilenweit.
And finally an almost finished 3rd baby sweater, being inspected by Boo.

why do these needles taste so good?

Trust me it was really the needles they are Swallow Casein needles and he really likes them.

California and the Yarnharlot

I am in California visiting my sister and we went to see the Yarnharlot at Full Thread Ahead. Details and Pictures to follow.

State Fair Update

I picked up my state fair entries tonite and here are the results and some comments from the judges. Almost all the points I was missing were on workmanship, and all the items said beautiful knitting and got maximum points for technique.

My pink baby sweater got a 95 (the maximum for anything is 100 and first place is 99, I know because I had first place socks last year. Only the Grand Prize is 100) the missing 5 points were on workmanship, the judge did not like the ribbon ties thought I should use a clasp or frogs.




Next up my felted bag, 93 and they felt the top flared and the bottom was too loose of a circle. It was also moved to the same category as Jeannes wobbly tote which took 3rd place
Lot 345, Adult sweater, limited use, color pattern cardigan.



My socks, got a 95. The comment was need a better join and cast on, I think they thought they were top down socks and they were toe up.


Finally my little pink hat, it took 4th place and a pink ribbon, final finish and crown not pulled tight enough was the comment and it got 93 out of 100.



Oh well time to start planning for next year's entries.