Beautiful Day!

What a beautiful morning!!!  It was actually cool when I woke up instead of the instant heat we've experienced as of late.  Summer has been very hot this year and I haven't been able to get outside that much because of the stiffling heat.  I'm looking forward to cooler afternoons and walking around my new neighborhood with the kids.

I spent the evening looking for a baby bootie pattern online. No, I'm not having another baby (freaked DH out when he saw me looking them up online) but a former coworker is.  Since I'm knitting so much now, I thought that I might try my hand at booties.  How hard can they be? I bought four skeins of a real pretty white baby acrylic on sale (I usually cringe at acrylic but this didn't feel like acrylic) and it has been waiting for me to make something with it.  I'll also make a tiny hat to go with the booties. We'll see how they turn out.  If I'm inspired, I'll make a little sweater to go with it. I only have a week and lots of WIPs that I need to wrap up so the sweater may not happen.

It was great catching up on my knitting buddies' blogs.  I feel like I've been away forever.  I'm envious of the Audrey that several are starting or have started.  I don't think that I'm ready to take the plunge yet though.  I guess I would feel more confident if I had a knitting buddy to help me through the rough spots  :(  Now that I'm more settled in my house, I'm going to work harder to find fellow knitters in the area.  There have to be Gen-X knitters around here. I just don't know where to find them.  I'm getting another package together for my KRSP.  Every time I go shopping I can't walk out of a store without buying something for her.  I need to exercise some control.

I was only able to finish one row of Berry Lacy (see the pictures of Pink Cloud and Berry Lacy ponchos below) last night while watching John Edwards address the DNC. Hopefully I'll get more done tonight.  I'm eager to finish at least one side by the weekend so that I can block it.  I'm debating about whether or not to add a lace edge in Koigu or if I should add a beaded edge.  If I get finished this weekend, I'm going to toy with it.  I also have some swatching to do for the bags that I've been commissioned to make so I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to commit to Berry girl :)  I'm off to gaze at the sun rising off my deck before I get start work for the day.  TTFN...

Pink Cloud is soooooo soft! 

Doesn't my Berry Lacy Poncho look like a little angel? 

Verizon is on my *hitlist

I'm so bummed that I'm having problems with my DSL service through Verizon.  It began in late May and since I've moved it has only gotten worse. My phone and DSL orders have been lost, cancelled, screwed up and botched since I moved  :(  Up until last week I at least had dial up but lost access to that too.  PLUS, they have billed me for the last three months for DSL which I obviously don't have.  They say that I'll have my DSL back any day but I don't believe them.  I hate not having internet access.  It's like losing an appendage. 

So, needless to say, I have a lot catching up to do with my blog.  As far as knitting goes, I'm at a standstill on my pink cloud poncho mostly because I can't find anymore of the K1C2 yarn right now (must be in popular demand).  However, I'm not upset because I made a trip to the beach to my favorite store http://www.eweknitkits.com and found the most beautiful Lorna's Laces (Helen's Lace in Berries).  It's 50% wool and 50% silk and knits like a dream. It's a variegated fuschia so it fades in and out very subtly.  I'm making a lace poncho of my own design out of the yarn.  I'm almost finished with the first half of it.  The lace pattern was challenging at first and I admit that I was ready to chuck it out the window.  However, I'm 6 pattern repeats into the design and am much more comfortable with knitting lace.  It definitely requires a great attention to detail and its harder to fix mistakes (which I've been able to somehow keep to a minimum) but the results are worth it.  Anyway, I spent almost three hours in Ewe Knit ALL BY MYSELF.  It was so wonderful fondling all of their yarns.  They have such a wonderful selection and are so patient with me when I come in and can't decide what to buy.  I've only visited 8-10 yarn shops over the last year but this one is hands down the best :)

I'm almost finished knitting a couple of totebags and a secret pal gift.  I've actually taken three orders for felted totebags in the last couple of weeks so some of my personal projects are going on hold soon.  It's a great way for me to supplement my expensive yarn habit (I've easily spent $150 this month alone) and build my little business. 

Bought my first knitting magazine - Interweave Knits Fall 2004.  Why haven't I bought a knitting magazine before now you ask?  I'm not quite sure why. I've flipped through them in the store but never felt compelled to own them.  I guess I was very fixated on felting and didn't want to be distracted with sweaters, etc.  I also didn't feel real confident in my knitting abilities to take up working on fitted clothing. That IS changing though as I realize that its okay to ask the LYS for help, its okay to make mistakes and - gulp- its okay to frog a project if its not correct.  I LOVE this editionof IK.  I'm itching to make the hoodie on the cover but the colorwork is somewhat intimidating.  I may change my mind though.  I'm also eyeballing the Floral Felted Bag (pg. 52), the Keyhole Top (pg. 61), the Heathery Duo Skirt (pg. 80) and the Lace and Tuck Ensemble (pg 94).  So many decisions, so little time :) In the meantime, I'm very happy with my lace poncho.  If only I could hit the lottery and just stay home and knit all day.  A girl can dream...

Had a wonderful time with our best friends (a married couple) from college who came from California to visit.  We haven't seen them in 2 1/2 years.  Not only is it rare for two couples to get along but its also rare to have friends that you can reconnect with after such a long span of time and yet its as if you've only been apart for a couple of weeks.  Their kids and our kids had a blast together.  We cooked, ate, drank and hung out on the beach the entire time - could life have gotten any better?  However, with the debauchery behind me, I need to get serious about losing some weight.  I was on Atkins but I'm not sure if I should go back to that or commit to doing something like Weight Watchers.  Several of the ladies in my Suppa Club do WW and have lost a lot over the past year.  Somethings gotta give or I'm going to be a butterball by the time fall arrives.  I'll decide by the end of the week.

Well, that's all for now.  I'll get some pictures up soon.  Can't wait to catch up reading my fellow knitters' blogs :)

 

 
 

Conspiracy theory...

I'm convinced that DH is conspiring against me. Since we moved, he's been a slave driver - we must unpack, put up, accessorize, clean, etc. every single night after he gets home from work. I love our new house but I am so sick of packing and unpacking. It's the LAST thing I want to do at the end of the day. All I want to do is release the day's stress by knitting. I mean come on, I get up fix him breakfast and see him off to work, get to work myself (I telecommute) before my 2DS wake up, fix more breakfast, more work, shlep the boys to music camp, run errands, more work, fix DH lunch (yes, he comes home for lunch since we live close to work), more work, break up a couple of skirmishes, fix dinner, more work AND THEN comes the fun of unpacking some boxes or putting up pictures until 11:30 pm. When do I get a break? I know, I'm whining. I should just suck it up and do my penance. My reward will be vacation with very dear friends next week on the beach. Lots of knitting will be had then so maybe I can make up for this lapse.

Don't think that I haven't done a LITTLE bit of knitting though. I'm still plugging along on my beautiful, wispy pink cloud poncho. I designed my own simple pattern for this dream girl. I've knit about 6 inches so far and I'm so in love with the feel of this yarn(K1C2). I know that it will potentially shed on whatever I wear with it but I don't care - beauty before functionality :) I also bought some hand dyed Bartlett yarn from furryarns.com. The colors are great but the bulky weight that I bought is TOO bulky - even to felt with. The upside is that I'm going to get a spindle and learn how to spin this down. I can't wait. I know that I'll probably flounder with it at first I may find a new addiction (just what I need now). I'll keep you posted :)

Weeeee - I got a package from my secret pal

I've been so busy coordinating all of the other secret pals activities that I'd forgotten that I had a secret pal - certainly not because my secret pal has neglected me though :) I am such a kid when it comes to getting packages - free samples, cards, anything that might contain a "surprise" inside. So anyway, I went to my PO box yesterday to find a key to one of the package boxes. I've ordered all sorts of stuff for my secret pal lately so I half expected that was what the box contained. SURPRISE! A big box from my secret pal (who is from Santa Clara California) was contained therein. I could hardly wait until I got home. My kids were jumping around - open it, open it. Here's what was inside:

* The sweetest card congratulating my family on our new house (thanks for being so thoughtful)
* Four brightly wrapped tissue paper parcels:
1.) A yarn cutter pendant (I have eyeballed these at my LYS for some time)
2.) A brass sheepy knitting needle/stitch gauge (another much coveted item)
3.) Three beautiful art glass beaded stitch markers (gasp, they are so beautiful)
4.) A felted fish kit from Patternworks (I actually squealed when I opened this one). It includes the cutest felted fish pattern and four skeins - bright yellow, neon green, turquoise and fucshia - of Nature Sport wool. These fish are so adorable. I can't wait for them to "swim" in my washing machine :)

Thank you for your thoughtful and creative gifts, secret pal o'mine. You brightened my day in ways that you can't imagine. I promise to get pictures up as soon as I recharge my digital camera batteries. Thanks again for spoiling me! :)

Home Sweet Home

As Dorothy said "there's no place like home." I'm so glad to finally be in mine. Sorry that I've been away from blogging but as you may know, moving keeps you busy. I was off from work until Tuesday doing nothing but unpacking, buying new furniture and lots of organizers for all of our stuff. The house is absolutely incredible. Triple the space that we had in our old house. Three additional bathrooms, my own knitting salon and office, lush, green forests surround the neighborhood (its in a hidden valley), my dream kitchen and the most romantic master bedroom on the planet - I've died and gone to heaven! I think that we're going to be unpacking forever though. If only I had a magic wand :)

I didn't pick up a single knitting needle until Wednesday. A week without knitting makes IndigoMuse a cranky girl. My "suppa club" met at a local bistro for dinner on Tuesday where I had the misfortune to see one of the girls wearing a beautiful, lacy poncho. I've been resisting the urge to make one because the concept of knitting two giant triangles wasn't very appealing. However, this one was drapey and wispy and made me drool. So needless to say, I bought some Berroco Cotton Twist and started my own freestyle poncho. After knitting almost one skein, I realized that this is not the yarn to use so I went on a mission. I found a soft baby yarn that I'm trying now though I'm not sure that its "the One" either. I also bought a gorgeous baby mohair and silk yarn (knit one crochet two) to swatch. I might fall in love with this one - it wouldn't take much :) I'm thinking about maybe some Lorna's Laces in Heaven or Helen's Lace but I'm not sure that I want to go broke experimenting with this yarn. Anyone have any recommendations? Like I need to start another WIP...

I have SYAS - Severe Yarn Addition Syndrome! I have two TUBS full of yarn and still feel the need to buy more. I guess the only thing that will stop me is that my yarn account (yes, I have a separate checking account for my yarn money) is hurting right now so maybe I'll stop until payday.

Gotta run. So much unpacking, so little time...