Heaven on earth...

So this is where I was last weekend....beautiful Southern Vermont! Went up for the long weekend with hubby and the girls to stay with closest friends and we had a great time!! Much eating and much knitting, thanks to a stop at the Black Sheep Yarn Shop in Dorset, Vermont. Now, I have been to many an LYS, so imagine my surprise when I encountered at least 4 of the nicest, friendliest women, all wanting to help me-yet not too pushy where I wanted to run right out! Cute shop! Great selection of yarns-they had the shop arranged by weight of yarn, which I like-all worsted in one place, all bulky in another, sock yarns all gathered together...it was wonderful. I even managed to find some local yarn (I'm a sucker for local yarn-especially when on vacation) in a bulky weight! Really pretty pale blue yarn-don't know what it will become but I'm thinking a hat for my fair-haired little girl...we'll see...
I wanted something mindless to knit while watching the ridiculous movie, "Social Network" so I picked up some Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande yarn in a creamy, caramel color and a slipper sock pattern, some size 6 double points and now I have a souvenier from the weekend! We did get out of the house-we went ice-skating, shopping at the bookstore in Manchester, and the LYS, but for the most part, we stayed in. So, this project was the perfect way to remember the trip! And all of it was completed this week (should have been a weekend completion but I caught a wicked cold and was out of commission the whole darn right home in the car-5 wasted hours!!! Ugh)
Pics to come of this great yarn and that local bulky beauty...

Fetching for the bus driver...

Ok-so I'm a bit of a procrastinator...have been since elementary school and quite frankly, I'm positive this fault of mine is the sole reason why I haven't done really much with my crafty skills....I never seem to have enough focus to drive myself into success. I'm always getting distracted by people or things (mostly knitterly things) and this is why for at least 5 years now, I have felt like time has stood still as far as me moving ahead with my knitting/craft goals and dreams.

Case in point-this past week, while I should've been working on the summer top that I'm designing for a knitting magazine (with a MARCH deadline!), I chose instead to waste umpteen hours on the internet, reading blogs, searching endlessly for cheap flights to disneyworld (to no avail-I really think they don't exist b/c idiot parents like myself can justify spending $400 roundtrip per person for "memories."), etc. Then on a cold Monday, while walking my daughter to the bus stop, I noticed the bus driver lady holding her hands like they hurt. She had a cute little lap blanket on but that was all. She doesn't wear a coat, just a sweatshirt and I wonder why? Then, I thought of my emergency-car knitting project that has been in my car for at least 2 years. I put it in there, in case I forgot my knitting on a family car ride to or from NJ to PA or from PA to NJ. I used to knit it when bored in the car line at my daughter's school. But it never got finished. The project was Fetching http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/PATTfetching.html
I decided right then and there that I would whip up the other mitt and give them to the bus driver lady so that she could still grip the wheel when driving my precious daughter and stay warm! My husband thinks I'm nuts, but I love to spring unexpected knitted gifts onto complete strangers! Hope she likes them!!!

Working, working, working...

Yep-I've been crazy at it lately! Lots of UFO's completed and updated on my ravelry projects page and even some pattern designing going on-finally. Crossing my fingers that I can complete basic math with success, I don't procrastinate, and I manage my time wisely. I've got more teaching gigs lined up and need to knit samples for those as well and I do have to knit up a sweater for my younger daughter-to be fair. Managed to finally complete a pair of mittens for me so I don't feel like a total idiot as the knitter who buys store-bought mittens for herself b/c she just doesn't have the time to knit a pair for herself. I had knit one mitten of Bella's mittens (no, I'm not a Twilight fan-just love the pattern) last year sometime and wanted to get the other one done asap so I finished them over the weekend. Tried them out this morning on the way to the bus stop and they are nice and toasty. But-wouldn't you know, in my haste to get them off the needles, I made the right thumb too short and now it bugs me-pulls the whole mitten up some. I'm hoping some nice water and blocking (stretching!) does the trick.

Well, with Valentine's day around the corner, I've been thinking of gifts for my family. Hubby is going to get this:

The girls are going to get the hallmark love bug pouches filled with (hopefully) crocheted flower barrettes and amiguri love birds, along with some stickers, candies, etc. We are going to make some chocolate covered strawberries and red velvet cupcakes too.

My sis and sil are going to get these b/c well, every girl deserves some pretty jewelry on V-day, no?? I made these in a matter of minutes-so quick!! Hoping to get some on etsy real soon!

And my mom and dad will hopefully be getting some homemade macaroons-if, I can make them and get them mailed out to NC in time...we'll see!

Caio for now!

Whoooaa!

Ok-to catch ya'll up on what has happened over here....on the day that I posted my last post, I was feeling a bit under the weather-couldn't get warm all day and unusually tired. It was about a week before my little one was set to have surgery so I thought maybe I was just feeling stressed that I wanted everything to be done (i.e. the quilt she requested, like her big sis had for her surgery, the knitted bunny she wanted, the soft food grocery shopping and full house cleaning that my house really needed). So, I trudged through most of the day until hubby got home. Then I went to lay down for a bit and fell asleep for the rest of the night. Very weird for me. The next day, I couldn't lift my head off the pillow and that is when I knew it...I had the flu. Exactly one week before my daughter's surgery, I had the @#$% flu! What to do?? Well, nothing! I couldn't do a thing about it! I cancelled the knitting class I was supposed to teach, I couldn't knit(!), so I just laid there and cried and slept....and slept some more.
I got tamilfu from the doctor, who followed up with a phone call two days later, and told me that my bloodwork showed I had a sinus infection and the influenza, and he warned that I better do "nothing for at least 4 days and when I felt better to take it very slow." How?? My daughter was having surgery and so much needed to be done! Well, I found out the hard way that I should've heeded his words...The day after my daughter's surgery, I went overboard a bit and felt the same aches and pains that I had the week prior. It scared me so bad...but it worked. I dropped all housecleaning and knitting and just focused on her care and sleep and I'm finally beginning to feel better-back to my old, slightly tired self. I'm finally knitting again too so all is right with the world. And, daughter is doing so well post op, that I might be able to exhale a bit today...we'll see...

What's on my needles isn't necessarily what's in my head???

Yep-of course, like any other knitter, I've got stuff on my needles and umpteen projects in my head. So much so, that it is actually beginning to stress me out a bit. I've got my daughter's sweater to wrap up (currently on sleeves), my youngest is having surgery soon, so her request for a bunny trumped the sweater for a bit, I've got a beginner knitting class to teach on Friday and accompanying that is a scarf that is nearly done (needs a bit of blocking), two baby gifts to get done (the baby is almost a month old already, and a quilt for youngest (b/c I made one for oldest daughter when she had surgery-must be fair, right?).....These are the times I wish I had octopus arms and could just keep on knitting all day and night. I'm also playing around with some crochet earrings for my etsy shop (will make an appearance soon-hopefully) and upcoming projects for the shop for spring. Since I'm no longer working again, I've got the time to do this and hopefully make my shop run again. We'll see...

Wondering if anyone can help me? I'm looking for a good, comprehensive book on knitting stitch patterns-not patterns for clothing, just different knit stitches to play around with, like trinity stitch, brioche stitch, etc. Do you have any good reference books that you turn to? Let me know...thanks

Back to Life....

Yep, I'm back!!
Seems so long since I've been on here-so much has happened and yet so much is still the same. Weird??
This year comes with many hopes in all things yarny-one of which, is really fun and what I'm excited about. I'm hoping to hit one LYS in my area a month-yep, you read right-one different LYS a month and I'm going to review it each time I go. I will write about my likes and dislikes and hopefully, I will tempt you to visit one or all of these fine stores. This is to support my LYS's the best way I can b/c as so many small businesses are having trouble these days, it's important to support what stores we find so important to us.

On the needles right now: A cowl-neck tunic for my daughter in size 10, a toy airplane and hat for a new baby (daddy is a pilot), and two bunnies for my girls-their special request. Also hoping to get some thrummed mittens on soon for myself, thanks to the tempting shout-out Yarn Harlot gave them awhile ago. Which brings me to another conversation she just wrote about: startitis While I of course, subject myself to this sometimes, instead of satisfying my need to start the umpteenth project right away b/c I have no patience, it actually makes me quite anxious-not in a good way. I'm one of those weird-o's who prefers to tackle one thing at a time-knit-wise, and so I rarely cast on for more while working on another project. I know, weird, right? What do you do?? Are you a startitis victim or do you plod along, no matter how boring, until the task at hand is complete?

Just when I thought I was back...

I'm going to be gone for a little bit-well, until further notice to be exact. We are at the beginning stages of moving (!) to another state and I just don't think I'm going to have the chance to blog in between packing, throwing out, finishing up school stuff with the girls and yep, packing and unpacking my yarn stash. So, thank you for reading and I'll catch up with y'all sometime this summer!! Have a good one!!