Birthday Treasures Revealed...

I finally have a bit of time to post a few goodies! It's been busy around here with various birthday celebrations and prior to that-well, I think I already mentioned about the eBlogger robot kicking me out for a bit. Anyways, July 26 was my birthday...

So here, some of my birthday goodies!


Stilaholic Nartian gifted me the gorgeous Nature's Palette in the Orchid colorway! Thanks so much, Nartian! I think she knows my sock yarn stash is a bit weak in the 'nearly solids' category for handpainteds! And does it show? I used a gift certificate from another friend to get the other yarns shown-Koigu PPPM, nonetheless. Another friend got me this tea which I need to try, but the packaging is so cute that I am afraid to open it! (Note the two cute little cherry-figure motif boxes...) I also got some of this weird linen/viscose stuff called "Iside", which I am still trying to figure out...I originally thought how cool it would be for a cute little tank, but clearly I don't think it will be enough. There are 175 yds per skein and I purchased 4 of them, but: a) I am not a tiny gal b) this really doesn't seem to work well knit up at 4 st/inch. It seems to be headed for shawl/ette land...Gorgeous color, though!

And here is how I spent my day...

Making this...

And this...

And doing this...


Yes, it was an attempt to make a Bake Sale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich! (This past week's food section had an article featuring the famous sandwich-and much to my delight-included the recipe for it!) I confirmed what I always somehow knew in the back of my mind: the $8 per sandwich is well worth the price! Don't attempt this at home, folks!

OK, if you want to do it, go ahead...I dare ya! Even if you could execute it perfectly, you could not convince me it was worth the effort and cost of having to purchase those 2 quarts of vegetable oil to fry the chicken in, let alone the cabbage, red vinegar, olive oil, jalepenos, etc...not to mention the time you wait for the oil to heat up to 365 degrees Farenheit!

I like to consider myself a fairly decent cook, but I will confess that deep frying is something I have never become proficient at. I did read sometime, long ago, that it was a tricky thing to deep fry-getting the right temperature and holding it there. I wish I had tried it out sooner after reading said article, since the fine points seemed to have escaped me as I made my attempt to fry up the 4 chicken breasts that I had carefully double-coated with buttermilk and flour...Alas, my attempt resulted in somewhat anemic chicken breasts with oil-soaked, gooey (yet tasty) coating.

In my haste (and hunger) I then conveniently forgot to get any pics of the final product! However, remembering about the temperature issue with deep frying, I followed my instincts and heated the oil back up to the requisite 365 degrees and finished frying up the 4 tenderloins-each turning out much better than the earlier larger breasts. The smaller pieces definitely helped keep the heat up and fried up much nicer.

Here, what remains of the tenderloins.


The black specs are what got attached to the batter, since it was fried in the remaining oil from the earlier breasts. Despite the gummy covering of the large breasts, the overnight salt/buttermilk soak did pay off, and even the large breasts were still pretty tasty and tender.

The coleslaw is wonderful-much harder to mess up, though I am sure that the published recipe is a different than what comes out at the bakery-I don't recall the coleslaw being as moist, so I used the entire head of cabbage, since I love the coleslaw anyway. Now I've got more left over for snacking!

So...I guess this exercise had more than the one purpose of teaching me the true "Value" of a Bakesale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich...it made me work a bit harder to help burn off the 955 calories that the sandwich is supposed to contain! That's 23 "points" in Weight Watcher's language!-lol! (Which, BTW, I had the WHOLE sandwich today which exceeds my daily 'point' allowance by 3! But that's another story...) Oh-and the added benefit of going to Bake Sale Betty's to buy my fried chicken sandwich?-it is on the same block as ARTICLE PRACT! Fried chicken sandwich and yarn?! I'm THERE! Man, I sure hope she doesn't ever stop making these puppies!

OK, so I'll focus more on my knitting next time I post...

Blogless...ready to go?

Well, besides being busy celebrating my birthday, I have been blocked out of my blog! So here is a test to see if they have returned my blogging powers. If not, then I will save this entry like the few others past, to post when I am again allowed. Sucks, really...

So I thought I would share what a friend brought back to me from Hawaii. I picked him up the other week and he provided me these most-awesome treats! Friends should not start such addictions; then again, we do it with yarn all the time, don't we? ;)

Don't try them. You won't be able to get them out of your mind. My major weakness-shortbread. And the chocolate is absolutely creamy!

Taking the time...

So it appears I am again able to post to my blog-well, thank YOU, oh mighty Blogger! Glad you have decided I am not a spam blog. So...following, my previous entry...






I guess I can do what Stilaholic is doing and read my new HP book, instead of blogging, but I figure that I actually have something to prove I knit (and finish) *some* items! So here, a nice day project, the "felted cap" from Bev Galeskas. It was supposed to be for me, but I let it shrink too much! So it is a snug-fit hat for me, or...a cute 'ol hat for the Lil' Emperor, himself.

Lil' Emperor says, "It stinks!"...yeah, another reason not to knit him anything!

A Penny Returning to Heaven...

(Me, Pen and her sis, Car)

Early this morning a dear friend of mine passed on after an up and down battle with cancer. I just found out tonight. I adored her. I loved her; she loved me...I know because she told me so, and often...and because that is how she was-full of love and not ever forgetting to say anything she felt because she knew life is too short. Full of love, warmth, passion, mischievousness, generous...that was Penny. Towards the end, even more philosphical, though I think that happens when you face death so frequenty...Of course, there were so many other wonderful things about her. Hell-she was embracing life even before she was diagnosed with the beginning breast cancer. You couldn't help but love her and I know she is now in complete love and comfort on the other side.

I had just weaved in the last ends of the hat I had knit for her while on my Sock Camp trip, having seen her a week or two prior to leaving. That was the last time I saw her, and the first in some time that we had been able to get together. It was for Norouz-Sizdeh Bedar, the 13th day of (and ending the) Persian New Year. I wish I had gotten the hat to her earlier, as planned. Wish I had been in touch sooner. But I also do not believe in regrets in life and that it was meant to happen this way and in this order.

But don't let me kid you-my heart's breaking right now and I need to go grieve.

A Happy 7yo...

No cake or cupcake pics to share...I actually forgot to take pics, if you can believe that! Hopefully my parents or some other party-goers got the Emperor's Birthday captured on film/digital...I know my dad took a video...

But here is a Happy Lucky 7 Emperor!

(see the smile?...)

If You Don't Have a Knitting Buddy, Get One!

Ah, yes...now we know why 'buddies' are important. They enable us, and us them. And sometimes, when we end up in need of another skein of hand-dyed yarn (that the dyer is challenged in being able to re-dye anything remotely similar in color to...) because we decided to make larger socks than planned...our KNITTING BUDDIES can bail us out cuz, by George-they bought that same damn yarn at the same time you did because you were both drawn to it at the same time! (Nothing like sharing, huh?) So then the skeins are the same dye lot, too, cuz they were from that same batch! Well, whadda ya know?! Stilaholic Nartian came through with the Sanguine Gryphon Traveller yarn in the (trying to be re-done colorway, "Mali")!!! Thanks so much, Nartian!!! Couldn't survive this knittng adventure without you!

Oh...and another happy-happy to share...my Horcrux pair is finished-in time for the new movie and new book releases!

And I missed YPF-even purchased some yarn yesterday on the way to BINGO (yes, my friend got a bunch of us together to celebrate her birthday and play Bingo!). So I'll have to get the pics loaded to share. Guess it'll have to wait for next YPF...

Lookie what I got today!

A package from Sanguine Gryphon! What can I say? I saw the new "Little Traveller" fingering weight yarn and *had* to get a skein "Ghana" colorway! Threw in a bit o' batting (Wild Mountain Thyme) to justify the shipping... and there you go!

Well...Etsy can be bad for me. Very bad.

That same day, I saw this and this...LOVED them! HAD to get the sun one for me and the lady bug one for my friend's daughter who shares my birthday and who has always been the 'ladybug'...

Now, as if that wasn't enough, when I placed my order for the Little Traveller yarn, I passed up the "Brazil" colorway. Gryphon emailed me thanking me for the order and mentioned that if I had knit up my previously ordered yarn (Traveller in "Mali"), if I wouldn't mind sharing pics. Well, that very yarn was in line to be knit into Ann Budd's "Flame wave" (pic shown at someone's blog I found...) pattern from IK "Favorite Socks".

I got motivated to start them NOW, and got to it, failing to remember the cuff was only to be knit to 3 1/2"...So now that I am past the heel and into the gussett decreases, I realize I may not have enough yarn! (Picture coming soon...) Becoming so enlightened, I thought perhaps I should check Gryphon's site for more of the Traveller yarn and see what other colors exist that may work for Flamewave toes...No Traveller at this time, but one last skein of Little Traveller "Brazil", looking just as fantastic and irresistable as ever! What is a knitting sock-gal to do?! Self-restraint is not my strong point. Needless to say, it is on order and I asked Gryphon to hold it until I figure out whether a third skein will be needed for my Flamewaves or not...I know it will not exactly match, but I need the yarn type to match and I'm hoping she can dye up something that will coordinate, maybe in darker shades...Apparently she is due to dye up more of the Traveller yarn soon...

Did I ever tell you how dangerous Etsy is for me? God, I *love* that place!

Missing YPF...

As I prepare for the Emperor's 7th Birthday party! Cake, cupcakes, treat bags, food shopping...all that! But this is a once in a lifetime birthday, as he turns 7 today-July 7th! So I decided to give him a Lucky 7 Birthday Bash!

I did manage to dig out some yarn that was never flashed that came not too long ago...They are both from Zen Yarn Garden. Frosty Freeze and Creamsicle colorways. Oh...and let's not forget bootey I picked up as a result of Stilaholic Nartian merely mentioning Wool Girl...no sooner do I read about the site, I click the link and what do I see? Yarn from Pigeon Roof Studios in a colorway I could not pass up-"Atticus"! So several skeins later, I am checking out and have added on some Route 66 by Spunky Eclectic. I knew I was good, but I don't think I have ever impulse shopped any quicker than that! But look how stinkin' cute that stitch marker is? Who wouldn't want a lil' lambie marker?

And then, of course, knowing that Lis at One Planet was posting more goodies, I ended up with some Madelinetosh batts and a new Avi Wasserman spindle. I love the batts and have since finished the 'Cools" batt shown partially spun.

Must-get-sleep! (Even though I'm dying to work on the Flame Wave ala Paula socks I'm working on in some yarn I got from Gryphon...) I'll have to show off my Etsy purchases and the recent cupcakes and cakes...later...

Non-Knitters-Hrummmmph!

I had been meaning to post on this topic a while back but, you know, somehow there is never enough time just to blog!

So a non-knitting male friend of mine had seen my blog earlier on and wanted his friends to see it. He gets the addy (cuz, you know, he's male and a non-knitter, so he just could care less about my little ol' blog full of knitting and knitting-related stuff...he certainly didn't have it bookmarked! Matter of fact, he probably doesn't even know about bookmarks!)

OK, so he sees it again and is all disappointed that there aren't tons of projects posted all over my blog. "Just yarn..." Well excuuuse me! As much as you want to believe I just crank project upon project out, it takes a bit more time than that. Besides, part of "knitting" IS thinking about yarn, purchasing yarn, imagining all the yarny possibilities, finding just the right possibility, trying it out, realizing maybe it wasn't the 'right' possibility, frogging or not, figuring out where you left off...or not...you know? All the steps getting you to that final outcome-the finished product!

Some people just don't "get" it. I loves all you guys out there who read this and DO 'get' it! You are all wonderful people! Knitting is just so much deeper than some people realize...

It's NOT YPF!!!

But I'll share anyway because Terry would care...(Terry-I am assuming you are Blog-Free...?

I hadn't revealed my latest sock kit. I guess because so many people I know already have theirs up that I just figure it's old news. But here it is-and my pic of our pattern is from the back so that you can get a better view of the pattern (they use a larger pic on the back). The colorway is Firebird and the pattern is Summer Solstice, which is a slip stitch pattern. I am dying to start it, but with Nartian being the more focused one, she sets a good example for me and I am trying to at least finish my Horcrux before casting on for the Summer Solstice.

And remember how we were talking lemmings? Well, me following a lemming, I guess it make's me a lemming's lemming! As a result, a lovely new skein of merino/cashmere (Moonlight colorway) from The Knittery in Australia. If you can believe it, I only purchased one skein, despite the shipping...Yeah, every once in a rare while I behave! It helped that I wanted another merino/cashmere and I didn't truly 'love' any of the other colors left. Well-I did love a few, but they were probably too close to the color grouping I have waaaay too much of!

a Birthday Meme...

Stilaholic Nartian tagged me on this one...



The Birthday Meme rules are to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday month and day only. Then post 3 events, 2 births and one holiday that occurred on your birthday, then tag 5 friends.



So...on July 26...

1788 - New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
1803 - The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world's first public railway, opens in south London.

1847 - Liberia declares independence.



2 Births: 1943 - Mick Jagger, English musician (The Rolling Stones)-because everyone has to point out to me that it I share his birthday. He does have Leo-traits...

1964 - Sandra Bullock, American actress -yeah, she looks quite Leo-ish to me, too...and we were actually born the same day...(now I'm revealing my age!)



Based on the events I listed above, it stands to reason that one of the few Holidays on my birthday is Independence Day in Liberia!



Tagging 5 friends:

Most of my friends who even read this are blogless (or "blog-free" as Cat Bordhi would say...)
so I am sad and have no one to tag...sniff-sniff!

This one's for Alice...

I told Alice I'd post my new Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock" Backstabber colorway opened up. So here it is. Actually, the pic at their site is pretty accurate with the colors from what I can tell. But here is the skein opened up...

Some things just take time...

You have to know about the long road taken to knit these to appreciate them...Luckily, these were still a 'quick' knit and if they weren't, I probably would not have gone through this triple knitting exercise.

These are a pair of socks I finally finished for a little girl wanting "socks with no seams." Like I said before, a little kid says they want socks, says they'll wear them? I'm there!

So I don't do the recommended 'shop from my stash', as I think I had earlier explained. I knit one sock-the dastardly hole at the heel-flap rears its head-(is this a Cascade Fixation thing? It's my first time knitting socks with the stuff and so far, I'm a bit wary...). I push through the first sock anyway and start the second. I match up the cuffs, knit, match up the length, knit to the toes, kitchener up , weave in ends and SNIP that yarn! Yes, after closer investigation, I realize the two do NOT match up and the shorter length of the second looks quite obvious.

Well lucky me-I had purchased a second ball and one ball was enough for the pair! So I had committed the leftover yarn to my co-worker friend so that she could knit a pair for her grandaughter. Rather than tearing back another sock, I knit a third sock that -yes!- seems to match quite well. I gave the mismatched sock to my friend and now she only has to knit one sock. But she has to match it to mine! >;P

I know, I'm a big baby because I didn't have to frog a thing and I only had to knit one extra sock that is practically mini and done on a big gauge. I'm just bummed I wasn't more careful and that what I had hoped to whip out in a week, actually dragged out to 3 weeks.

So that's my story and I'm posting pics to prove I knit 3. They are small and they are DK weight, so it could be worse-like Nartian's ripping out a whole sock in smaller gauge! And no, I didn't play with my PhotoElements to fool ya'll...the striping is different in all three socks and it would have taken my inexperienced self waaaay longer to change the striping in the pics to fool you than to knit the third sock!-HA!

So much to share...

Sometimes there are days where I just have soooo much to share-and the time to do so! Actually, I realized I held out (I must be in denial that I could possibly have new yarn to post in a mere week's time...) and forgot about the pic I took of my STR order that arrived yesterday (well, and a couple from the prior week...). Of course, being a good friend, I have to post the pic so that Nartian can check it out, too. You know-I'd hate to have her wait until Monday to see it!-lol!

Brick, Silkie Socks that Rock (Puck's Mischief, Walk on the Wild Tide), Backstabber, Bambu (SeaBreeze).

And yet another post today...

because it's YPF!!! Well, no yarn-gasp! Well, actually, I can never disappoint! I have a couple of new rovings I bought from the Yarn Wench. (Yes, the Leming Syndrome that Nartian has made me aware of...) I popped over to Knitters Anonymous and read about how much Kristie 'loves' the Yarn Wench's rovings...so...I bought some! I really only purchased ONE...but then she posted more and so, of course, despite doubled shipping now...I bought ANOTHER. These are the 'Retro' and "Islander" colorways. So no new purchased yarn, but some roving and pics of some handspun yarn from the three lastest purchases of Funky Carolina "Toadstool", Yarn Wench "Retro" and Yarn Wench "Islander" rovings!

The colors appear in this pic a bit more browned out. Picture, if you will, a bit more yellow to these colors. So picture, if you will, the center "Retro" color REALLY looking, well..."Retro"-think back to the old days of harvest gold, avacado green and burnt orange kitchens/refridgerators...remember the upholstry? Kind of a furry, velvety type damask with the gold in it? Well, this yarn reminds me so much of that. It really is a swirl of those three colors! And definitely more gold/yellowish in color vs. the brown tone. And the Islander? Look above at the rovings, which are more true to the colors. I can hardly wait to get around to getting a whole braid spun, but since I am still only handspindling, progress is slow. Sock Camp was my splurge this year, setting the spinning wheel back for now. Definitely in the next two years!

Yay, ME!!!!

Well, I think if you read this blog, you know that I am not too clever in coming up with titles for my entries...Literary I am not. But-on to why I'm so proud of myself! I purchased, started and completed my Celtic Vest I purchased from One Planet Yarn and Fiber! AND...it fits! Here, pics of before and after blocking (or, what I referred to as 'reverse felting', since the wool/silk blend actually "grows" by about 20% when blocked!

I'm of pudgy, apple-y proportions, despite the waifly proportions of my little representative doll (but hey, they don't give pudgy body options when you make them and they are fantasy 'dolls', afterall...not look-alikes!), but hey-the vest fits and I like it! LOVE the colors and the feel of the fiber, too. Now-to either finish the ever-haunting sleeves of my origami wrap or to get moving on the Ribby Pully. My one excuse for not progressing on Ribby-Pully is that I'm waiting for Stilaholic Nartian to finish some things so we can do a KAL with it. But then again, considering how I still haven't finished my Kews and Nartian breezed through those, I could probably use all the head start I can get!-lol!

Have I reached SABLE?

Well, I think I reached SABLE (Stash Aquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) a looong time ago, but if not, I probably clinched it at Creative Accents. Well, today I went to tea to celebrate my friend's birthday. NEVER go out with a group of knitters because you will inevitably have cause to go the LYS (ImagiKnit)...which we DID...And I could not pass up some of the Jitterbug colorways that were in stock! And they also have the Sheep Shop Yarn Company bulky yarn on sale for $10 a skein. What was I to do?! Had to get some for a future vest! Yeah, I'm on a vest kick now.

Many pics to sort out-sure wish I were better at editing these pics and such...

OK, the first is today's acquisition. The second is my Smooshy acquisition from Knitter's Palette. I was a bit disappointed in the In Vino Verite colorway-not as rich as I'd hoped, but just as Smooshy! The next pile is my order from One Planet Yarn and Fiber-a Celtic Vest Kit, roving in Toadstool colorway, and Yarn Botanika Radiance in Amber. All gorgeous!

So...back to vests...I started the Celtic Vest kit! And it is coming right along. Let's see if I actually complete it!

Lastly, ONE Horcrux sock finished today! Now to cast on for the second!

Now What?

I just finished spinning and plying the last of the 2oz. of Chasing Rainbows merino/bombyx! I figure it totals around 150 yards. So what now? I was thinking lacey shawl shaped scarf, though I'm not sure if it is even enough for that..

Any ideas or pattern suggestions? I counted around 95+ strands at about 1 1/2 yds, each. I didn't figure out the wpi yet, but I think it is maybe DK I guess other options at this time is do nothing. Just toss it in with my other spun stash and maybe it will look good with something else I spin down the line and it can be part of a shawl...Well, not like I don't have other projects looming at this time...

An ALMOST Finished Object!

Boy, I sure love the quickie projects! I started this last Monday and got up to this point last night-that would be five days! A more productive knitter could have done this in a day or two, but I just don't have that kind of time to work on my projects. The fact that our household has been sick and the Little Emperor has had a fever over the past couple of days also boosted my down time to knit!

I didn't care for the ribbed cuffs and hadn't read about doing the provisional cast-on until after this was started, so this is the 3/4 length sleeve version. I may still try and pick up and knit the edge of the sleeves. Another thought is that I may just do a crochet edge at the neckline and sleeves in the cocoa color, since I like having the cocoa frame the brighter colors.

I found the collar suggestion (thanks for the tips search suggestion, Carla!), but I'm not sure if I'll go that route.

I also committed to making a pair of socks for a little girl. She has wanted seamless socks and well-if a little kid wants them and says they'll wear them, who am I to say 'no'!-LOL! She didn't ask me to make them-I offered!

Now, the sensible knitter would go shop in their stash first, which I did. The little girl's mom had said that yes, it probably was best to avoid wool. Well, I knew I had a bunch of Fixation and Esprit that would be just fine. I found a ball of pink (the child's preferred color), though it was a pale pink and I just didn't think it would match her mother's 'edgy' style. So, like any good knitter, I used it as an excuse to go check out Article Pract and their on-going Memorial Day Sale! I must say that I was rather behaved, having left with 2 balls of Fixation, 2 skeins of DK twisted Lorna's Laces (45% off-how could I resist?), and a coin purse that I couldn't resist. No other yarn.

Am I proud of myself? Hell yeah! Did I really *need* to go there in the first place? Well, that's not the point now, is it?

I did receive my two skeins of Smooshy, which I will have to flash for Terry. And I also completed a scarf that I made from some recently acquired yarn from the big Creative Accents Closing Sale Purchase, so I will have to post those later...

A little revelation...

OK, I think I admitted to being weak and finally caving and going over to Creative Accents for the big closing sale. I also seem to think that I didn't reveal what I got or how much, just that it was in character with my behavior-excessive! Well, I will slowly reveal what I purchased over time, I'm sure.

So...while I am at Creative Accents, Nartian and I see this very cute sweater-a Baby Surprise Sweater, nonetheless. So I end up buying 6 skeins of 2 color combinations to knit up into this sweater which I've never made before! Got the pattern, too, of course...

Fast-forward to yesterday--place: Beverly's (Crafts and Fabric) . It is Memorial Day and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the entire store is 25% off! So I see the Vanna's Choice ACRYLIC yarn by Lion Brand in some awesome colors! What do I do? Of course, I lay them out together and decide yet another color combination is in order for yet ANOTHER Surprise Baby Sweater (such named, still not even made by me...pattern untouched...). And yet-I have the pattern ON me!

Not only did I buy some Vanna yarn and yet another set of circs, I get a few other fun items. I get out the door and am immediately casting on for this baby sweater as my friend and I depart from the shopping center!

So here I am now, hooked on this crazy sweater! Thought I'd give my Horcrux sock a viewing, too, since I am now on the foot portion and oh-so-close to the finish of "a" sock! Ain't knitting wonderful?!

Mystic Sea Socks completed!

Well here they are, finally finished! I ended up tearing back the first sock to lengthen it a bit. Of course, I had already cut the yarn and had to add a new end to it, but I think it was worth having it a tad longer in length. Can I reiterate how much I love the Lunasea colorway?! The color got a bit washed out in this pic, but you can see the texture pretty well. I really like the way the heel flap is designed to taper in a bit, too. Great socks, great fit! And my first socks with STAR TOES! The pattern is great and combined with this colorway, there are absolutely no regrets with this purchase!

Now, as for resisting the closing sale at Creative Accents-well...my resistance had worn down and I finally made my way there. I won't discuss my purchases at this time, but let's just say that we all know how weak I am!

I've been holding out on ya...

I don't know why...I think it is because I started this first sock so long ago and took so long on the second. Maybe because they are 'plain vanilla'. Perhaps it was because I finished the second sock and my first Kew around the same time (on my way home from Sock Camp...) and have now misplaced my Kew and can't show the socks together!

Either way, I have now posted the latest PAIR of socks added to my sock drawer. I also have another second sock around the corner-just haven't had the time to complete the pair!

So this pair is made from some 'Watermelon' dyed sock yarn I purchased on eBay a while back. Watermelon self-striping was just coming in, and I was one of the suckers who paid top price for this stuff. I didn't mind, though, because as a crafter, I can appreciate the time, materials, money, effort and all that went into dying this yarn. It is really soft, too! I can't recall off-hand what I paid, but I know when I placed my bet I figured I could never make it myself at that price!

Now, this is kinda a funky pic and I decided not to crop because the perspective is so bizarre. See my feet below the socks? Don't they look tiny? They are ugly and pudgy, but I thought I would not edit it out just cuz the perspective is so strange...

Lots of food, a little spindling, a bit of yarn...

Well, I missed out on YPF-instead, I was spending the evening with a bunch of First graders! It's been crazy and I feel like I have been cooking non-stop since Thursday evening!

First, I made some Turkey Ragu spaghetti and an orzo salad for the Friday night potluck. I took the easy route and bought the pre-packaged salad pack, but it was still good salad! Helped serve dinner and clean up that evening. It was an overnight at the school, so I also tortured my back sleeping on the carpet-covered concrete floor.

The next morning I helped make waffles for the kids. There was other food, but I didn't have to cook any of the other stuff... Got home and took a nap, then thought it wise to get started on the Teacher's Appreciation Lunch food I committed to making! Started on the San Antonio Quinoa Salad and did some of the prep for other dishes, as well as purchasing the ingredients I still had to gather!

So today was spent making the BBQ beans ("simmer for 6 1/2 hours..."-this, after having simmered it for " 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours..."-yeah, I'm crazy...), finishing up the quinoa salad (well, actually, I still have to chop tomatoes and add it, but I don't want to add that too far ahead), and making a spelt salad. I still have to slice tomatoes and cucumbers and make some 'favors'. What was I thinking?! Oh, and I have to make some dressing, too...OK, what I was thinking is that I am a complete food snob and feel like you have to make things from scratch for it to be 'special'!-lol!

And...not that you care, but I had also told my son's teacher that I would use the leftover eggs and bread to make 'bread pudding'. I decided that is not happening for tomorrow. I guess I'll be making it for Tuesday! And guess what else I get to make this week? Oh...maybe 12 qts of Turkey Chili for Friday's Talent Show! Bad timing...! And yes, I do work, though I am taking some time off this week!

Now for the knitting news...BEHOLD! Ribby Pulli components! You know, not that it matters, but I still can't figure out how to describe this color! It is Color #4006. I went to the Cascade site and it is grouped with some random colors. Kinda 'blackberry', kinda brown, some blue and red in it...All I know is that it looked great together with Puck's Mischief!

I had to show off some new yarn I'm spinning! It is some Merino/Bombyx from Chasing Rainbows that I purchased the other week when I picked up the Cascade 220 that Purlescence had ordered for me. (You know-the Cascade 220 that I will be using with my BMFA "Twister" to make the Ribby Pulli...)

So, here, my latest roving and yarn!

What LYS is closing?

Hmmm...seems I forgot to mention the name of it, in case anyone is wondering! It is Creative Accents and is in San Leandro. I've only been there once (when it was up and running for regular business-no closing sales going on!). It was kinda funky because they do framing and sell yarn there. I have still resisted stepping foot in the store since I found out about the closing, but my 'in the know' (and going there on a regular basis to scoop up the savings!) tell me the novelties are 70% off and needles will go on sale towards the end. I think the last day is May 17th. Other yarns (as I understand) are 30-50% off.

Wha-?! Yarn Prn Friday Again?!

And I actually have something to share...? Yeah, Terry-I'm shameful, huh? See, I know that 'Terry" likes to come over and see my yarn, so I couldn't let her/him down now could I?!

So...my latest from a shopping spree at Rumplestilskein in Sacramento...Rule #1, if you are able to be good about avoiding the LYS that is closing down, don't go to an out-of-town PTA Convention with another knitter! They are sure to want to find a yarn shop to check out and will most surely enable you!

So today's purchases: some sale yarn for a slubby shawl or moebius-not sure...and some Fiesta Rayon Boucle (in Color 2117, Iris) and Cotton Twist (Color 8349) to combine into a Cat Bordhi moebius-cuz, you know-I just got inspired to knit one now that I've taken a workshop with Cat and have seen other knit moebiuses!

The green color cotton twist is more limey than what appears in the pic. Much more limey than my tastes usually go for. BUT...combined with the "Iris" color, I think it will be mellowed, while the Iris will get a bit more jazzed up. We'll see... Oh-and the pink stuff...yes, many of you who know my 'usual' palette will wonder, "What the...-?!" Well, I got this fun washcloth poodle pattern that I want to knit for my sister, so I thought I'd try this stuff out.

As mentioned a bit ago, the California PTA is holding its Convention in Sacramento through Sunday, so there I was up there attending workshops and general meetings-perfect venues for listening while knitting! Funny, too, how well-courted we were by the fundraising companies! The Exhibitors at this convention are out of control! Do you know how much wrapping paper and other goodies I ended up bringing home with me? Do you know how many cookie, brownie, chocolates, cheesecake, pretzel, pizza, coffee samples were left out for us to eat? One thing for sure-one of them needs to bring water next year.

I'm hoping to have a WHOLE PAIR of socks to show off within the next week, so I'll keep you posted!

And a closing 'let's share' thought...lookie what my brother made as invites for his upcoming 40th Birthday celebration...Yeah, he made ONE EACH; rather, one for each invitee-IOW, no duplicates going on here...And he sent them in individual boxes with some black nesting stuff. Brilliant! CRAZY!!! He spent weekends and free evenings working on these for the past 3 months!

New Day, New Post! YPF!

I just received my April Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin' Sock Club" kit yesterday-in time for YPF!!! The colorway is from the new "Tides" series and this colorway is "Walking on the Wild Tide". This is not just any old sock yarn, either. It is a new release (and we, the Notorious Sock Knitters, the first to receive it!) and is called "Silkie Socks that Rock", a merino/silk twisted blend!

So...I played a bit with my pics and was able to incorporate my skein of Silkie STR into one pic representing the skein as received, spread out (so you can see the colors in the colorway), then after I hand-wound it into a ball!

I also thought I'd show my Mystic Sea socks I'm working on in the med. STR "Lunasea" colorway...this colorway is really awesome! The more I knit with it, the more I enjoy it! The different colors that pop up and how the play alongside each other, changing their tones...I see dark teal, flecks of black, blackish teal, lavendar turning to grey (or is it grey turning to lavendar?), seafoam green, sage, yellow-green, pink...pretty amazing! And the pattern comes out so great. As for the color, you probably can't see what I do from this pictures, but at least you can check out the cool way the colors are pooling and how the pooling is interacting with the pattern texture! I'm really enjoying knitting these socks!

One last thing I had to share...embarassing, but at least it is progress...a moment I have been waiting for-to post pics of an almost-done sweater! (OK, this is partially to motivate me to finish this item! How's that for motivation?) It is the Origami Wrap Top I started (I don't know when!) and am hoping to soon finish. The body has been done for well over a year, but the sleeves were the big thorn in my side...I found an error (well, there are actually two, but I won't get into it right now...) and will have to frog back a few rows, but I am sooo close to starting the decreasing for the ragland shaping! The top came out really bright purple in the photo; the sleeves are a bit closer to what the color looks like in person. The pattern and 'yarn' are from Art Fibers here in San Francisco. The 'yarn' is "Origami", a paper yarn that kinda knits for crap since it doesn't stretch or glide along the needles well, but still cool to knit up!

Hmmm...that lasted-what?-a day or two...?

Well, here I was so good passing up a LYS opportunity yet when I went to drop off a couple of things to Nathania (you know, I had to drop her stuff off to her at Purlescence...), I of *course* had to purchase a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Twister" in the Puck's Mischief colorway. But the inspiration of being at Purlescence and being among all the lovely "Ribbi Pulli"pullovers, soon made me realize that I, too, would need to knit one for *me*! (You may or may not recall, but posted some pics on April 14 which included a lovely pic of Nathania wearing her Ribby Pulli whilst holding her lovely chicken 'medal'...) And I could not possibly pass up Jitterbug in the Castagna colorway...

So the Cascade 220 in the 'perfect' coordinating colorway is on order for me, and I walked out with a new pattern and two skeins of yarn! I swear, I am definitely off the yarn for a bit now, otherwise I will really be in financial misery...I do have a kid to feed...!