Home Sweet Home.....

Miss Dashwood was a hit! I had a great time at my friend's baby shower for her soon to arrive home little girl. She and her husband are adopting and they have been waiting to go over and pick up their little bundle of joy for months now. I am very excited for them! Plus the whole thing gave me hope that if I someday can't birth babies it would be just as awesome to adopt.

Visiting people's homes always gets me thinking and this last weekend I was the houses of two friends I have not been to before. I came home from the second one thinking "my condo is a dump - why doesn't it look like their house???" I continued to ponder this thought and realized that for some reason whenever I go over to a home that looks like it popped out of the Pottery Barn I become insanely jealous. I want that furniture, that paint, those curtains - even the f***ing hand towels! I start thinking all of my stuff is crap and that I could never possibly be as stylish as aforementioned person.

This time as I was green with envy I tried to gain some insight into my feelings. I didn't figure things out completely but I did make some progress! I realized that I had also really loved the style of the first person's home I visited this weekend. Funny thing is - these two homes were wildly different in decor and style. Pottery Barn vs. Eclectic Woo Woo with a touch of Pier One and Archie McPhee's. I think I even felt more at home in the Eclectic Woo Woo house. But for some damn reason I feel like my life should be Pottery Barn.... and it just isn't! Somehow I now know that I need to come to enjoy my Eclectic Minimally Woo Woo Hand Me Down and Antique Comfy Cosy Condo - I couldn't keep up with the cleaning the Pottery Barn would require anyway! :)

She's finished!

Miss Dashwood is finally finished! Just in time to be given away tomorrow! Above you can see her without the earflaps down.

Here she is with her ear flaps down for extra cold days:

And the sweet sweet buttons I found that were just perfect for securing her earflaps when they aren't needed!

Hopefully little Torrin can wear this hat for many of the cold winter days ahead after she comes home to her new parents!

Miss Dashwood

Here she is... or at least most of what is done thus far. I have also finished the earflaps but I became so frustrated with the ties that I stopped and did the finishing on the hat and the earflaps (a definite sign of frustration when I am WANTING to sew in the ends!) She wasn't too difficult to knit. This picot cast on was sooooo much easier than the one in the Vogue Knitting book. I know there are a few mistakes in her but I am hoping a non knitters eye will not notice them. ;) Now if I can just motivate myself to make those ties. I frogged the first one two or three times already and considered I cord but I really want to do the one from the pattern because I think it is pretty.

What Do You Knit When...

You are on a cruise/beach vacation?

I am SO EXCITED!!! Two nights ago my good friend from High School Jill and I booked a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on Holland America! We got a pretty good deal and are going to be visiting some wonderful places and I am especially happy because when we are cruising Dec 4-11 in the Caribbean with beautiful warm weather it will likely be cold and rainy in Seattle. You can see the places we are going over there on the left - I haven't been to any of them before so I am really thrilled!

We will be sailing on the ms Westerdam in a room with a balcony! I have cruised before - three times to be exact - but never to such cool places on a nice cruise line with a fabulous friend and an AWESOME room! I am really really excited (if you can't tell)! The ship even has a Culinary Arts Center which is super neat because I love cooking and I am hoping I can watch or participate in something fun there as well as spending some time (and $$ of course) in the Spa. I swear this is going to be my dream vacation! :)

So now I am already thinking - what do I bring to knit? I know we will be spending a good amount of time hanging out by the pool and relaxing on beaches when in port - most sane people would read but I figure I can knit! Can't I? I know it might be messy so maybe it isn't a good idea but there has to be a way... Some project I can take with me to enjoy while I am sailing and sunning.... Any suggestions????

More Crumpets!

Here's the progress to date! The skirt is simple but taking a loooooong time! I am ready for her to be finished! As I was knitting away in a staff meeting this morning I realized two things 1) Knitting is like blood pressure medication or valium when in a meeting that is stressful 2) Holy Crap! I need to get started on Miss Dashwood because it needs to be done for a baby shower I am going to on the 24th! I really hope the pattern isn't too difficult otherwise I will need to run out and buy a gift! Ok I am off to cast on.... that darn picot thing again....

I have readers!!!! (and crumpets progress)

OMG! I was looking at my blog today for some reason and I noticed there were comments that hadn't arrived in my email box! How thrilled am I to know that there are really people who even looked at it besides my secret pal! (Not that I don't appreciate your comments SP!)

Aside from taking the photos of my stash additions and my cat Cider, I haven't delved into them yet. I am still working on crumpets - no major errors to report however the yarn got SUPER tangled the other night so I had to cut part of it and then spend hours winding it into a ball. I am a bit worried that all that bead stringing is going to have to be redone from my cutting but at least the yarn is usable again. (Note to self - NEVER buy cheap yarn again).

I was having another thought today as I was doing my laundry. Why is it that Knitters and Druggies have a "Stash"? Do other people with hobbies have a "Stash"? I have never heard my friends who are into gardening, or reading, or cooking refer to their "Stash" of plants, books or cooking utensils. Knitters however are a different breed - we hoard our yarn, frequently are "jonesing" for a new fiber, ohh and ahh over the different options we can purchase much as one might be thrilled in a "coffee shop" in Amsterdam if they were a pothead! Now maybe I am naive and other there are other hobbies where people are as fanatic about their "Stash" as knitters. However I think I know one or two people who seem as addicted to knitting or yarn as one might be to crack! (Not naming any names here) :) Maybe we need a new saying - something like "Rugs, not Drugs."

This Week's Additions to my Stash!

I wish I could say that my stash gets such wonderful additions each week, but unfortunately that is not the case! However, aside from the sale mentioned below I have added to my stash in a couple other ways this week!

First, my order from knitpicks finally arrived! I only say finally because it felt like it took forever - but it was still within the allotted time they quoted me for my free shipping. The Shimmer that arrived from them is beautiful and oh-so-soft! It will look great in my Clapotis and I am chomping at the bit wanting to start! However first I have to figure out how to wind it into a ball..... Any suggestions?

Secondly, I ordered some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran from Knit2 Purl2. I was SUPER happy with the fact that I got it on sale AND it arrived VERY fast! It came in maybe three days! I would definitely order from them again!

I am so excited about all of these yummy new additions I just have to show them to you one more time!!! (But this time with my cat too!)

The insanity of a Yarn Sale!

Today I had a very interesting knitting day. I woke up early (for me) and drove on over to Bellevue to visit a sale at what used to be Skeins Ltd. and will soon be Hilltop East. Although I have never been to the original Hilltop I the yarn and needles were on sale for 40% off so I figured I had to go! I arrived at approximately 10:15 AM - the sale was supposed to start at 10- and Oh the INSANITY! There were no parking places left and the store was PACKED! This place was the equivalent of Walmart on the day after Thanksgiving for knitters... There were people sitting on the floor looking at yarn, people crowding around yarn, people with multiple bags of yarn and luckily not too many rude people with yarn! :) I scored some great purchases (of course the stuff I was looking for was mostly gone but that didn't stop me from picking up other things) and then spent almost THREE HOURS in line to pay for said purchases. Yes, you heard me correctly - THREE HOURS!!!! The line snaked throughout the store and even though the store isn't that big it took forever! I could have just done all my shopping while standing in line to pay! By the end of the shopping extravaganza I was tired, cranky, my feet hurt and I was starving (I now know to NEVER head to a yarn store sale without eating breakfast first). However I had picked up patters for a buck each (score!) and two sets of Addi's, some DPN's as well as Manos del Uruguay, Cascade 220, Crystal Palace Squiggle, Classic Elite Bam Boo and one solitary skein of Noro Kureyon - all for 40% off!!!! Amazing! I am not sure what I am going to make with it all but that is half of the fun! I am eager to see what the store will look like in it's reincarnation and give kudos to the friendly staff for their hard work they did today! :)