An FO and an update and a package!

I did it! I finally finished my Candle Flame Shawl. But first, I'll start with the update.

I wasn't able to find the color way of Lana Grossa that I wanted for my Harvest Sock Swap pal. But I did find some nice Trekking that will work just lovely. See:

So, I have a pattern, I know have sock yarn, and some great ideas for goodies. So, since I have knitted a stitch since I finished the shawl, I'll be casting on tomorrow.

Now for the package. Monday evening, I came in late and there was a box sitting on the kitchen table. I didn't get to open it until yesterday, and wasn't able to blog about it till today, 'cause those blasted pixies ran off with my camera cord! Really, if anyone have a pixie bone grinder, please send it this way. Anywho! Here is what my lovely pal, Claudia from Rhode Island, sent me:

Here is the card that was in the package, along with the pattern for the bag:

Here is the bag, in the perfect colors. It will go with just about everything I have:

Here are some yummy goodies! Mmmm...... White chocolate, my favorite! I've had to fight off the girls and Mr. S. There is a good sized sail boat and 2 pumpkin suckers:

Here's some fibery goodness. Some Paton's SWS, which I haven't got a chance to work with yet. The colors remind me of Lorna's Laces Mixed Berries:

And here's a smell good. A great smelling Juicy Apple candle. I love candles:

Thank you, Claudia! I just love everything!

Now for the FO! The Candle Flame Shawl. I love this pattern. I would like to make another, some time. After I finished, I can to the conclusion that it looks a lot better in person that it does on the computer. It turns out fabulous! Here is a pic of when I finished it Friday night, before washing and blocking:

Here it is, after washing, and blocked on a piece of foam insulation board (which was Miss Amy's, and she graciously let me use):
Here is the final pics, washed, blocked, and modeled by the bushes in front of the house:

Here is a close up of the lace detail:

The specs:

Pattern: Candle Flame Shawl from Knit Picks
Yarn: Knit Picks Gossamer
Colorway: Leprechaun
Needles: US 4 circs
Finished size: 16" x 70"
Notes: I worked a Moss Stitch edging, as I hate garter stitch. I worked 15 pattern repeats to get the length needed. You can see all the pics on Ravelry. My profile name is Rosiegypsy.

And I was prompted to finish it so I could wear it to the Loreen McKennitt concert Saturday night. Which, by the way, was beyond fabulous. I have been to few concerts in my day (Kool & the Gang, George Jones, Fall Out Boy, Poison, several Metallica concerts, Limp Bizkit, Lincoln Park, you get the idea), but this was by far the best I have ever been to. The over all atmosphere was relaxed and fun. The band was having a great time just performing. And, we had dinner at the Claddagh Irish Pub. They had some pretty good Guiness beef stew, which was piled on sweet cream mashed potatoes.

So, it's Friday. Is it just me, or has this been the longest week?

Ok, so far this week, we still haven't found the pixies that have been pilfering items. In the mail, I received an old PS1 game that I have been looking for. I won it off of ebay for a penny plus $4.50 shipping. On the shawl, I remeasured and found that I only need 15 repeats, not the 18 I first figured. As of right now, I am half way through repeat 14. Which means that I need to bust a$$ to complete the final repeat and a half, 2" edging, wash and block. But the good news is that we got good seats for the show. Now I just hope everything goes as planned. We still need to decide where we are going to have dinner, and I need to find something to wear that fits my arse. But for now, I'm going to head to the conference room to work on my shawl.

Needed: 1 Pixie bone grinder

I'll explain the title in a minute. But, first. What a wasted weekend! Being that I was on call, I had 3 shipments to watch, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I had wait for a driver, coming from Philly, to load up 1 skid. Now, I figured that since he loaded in Philly on Friday evening, then he would be in early Saturday morning. Boy, was I wrong. I tried to keep myself busy, knitting as much as I could, but keep my hands free to drop and run at a moments notice. I told them that if he called when he was a half hour outside of Columbus, I could just meet him at the office. I finally got a call around 11 am, just to tell me that the driver would be in around 2. So, I thought I could buckle down and knit my heart out till about 1:30. At 1:15 I got a call that his A/C unit went down, and he was delayed and he would be in around 6 pm. So, the girls and I ran to Wally World with mom. Then, 6 o'clock rolls around, and I get a call from his dispatcher that he was just west of Zanesville, OH. I said, great. I can prep dinner, and leave around 6:30, he'll be there about 7. I was at the office at 6:45. By the time it was all said and done, I didn't get this guy loaded till 8 o'clock, 24 hrs after he loaded in Philly! I was a little angry. We hadn't had dinner yet, Mr. S was waiting for me to get done at the office before coming over, and all that lost knitting time! So, I didn't get the felted bag finished and in the washer until 4 on Sunday. But it looks great! See:

Before felting:


After felting:
I left the pattern book in for size reference. Isn't cute. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Kitchen Sink Bag
Size: Short
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino
Colors: Harvest (multi) & Leaf Green
Needles: 10 1/2 circs
Thoughts: I love this bag, I'll have to make another, for me. This was the first time I used this yarn, and it felts great. I would even use this yarn on a regular pattern.

Ok, on to the Candle Flame Shawl. Yeah, what can I say? I wasn't able to touch it all weekend. I tossed it into my Namaste purse and brought to work on at lunch yesterday. When I picked it up, I was on row 4 of repeat 10, of 18 repeats, 36 rows per repeat. Just a little over whelming. Between what I was able to get done at lunch, and what I was able to work on after pixie hunting in the kitchen (more on that in a minute), all said and done, when I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer, I stopped after row 6 of repeat 11. I am going to try to sneak in a few rows at my desk, as my boss is out on a golf outing today. Then, see how much I can get done at lunch, after running to the bank. So, hopefully, I will have fingers of fury for the next few days, 'cause I so want to wear this to that concert.

Now, for the pixie hunt. I thought I had left the blasted things in the old apartment, when I moved over a year and half ago. Apparently not! In the past month, 1 small frying pan, 1 medium frying pan and one of my Tupperware ice cream scoops (yes, I have 2, but I used to sell Tupperware) have come up missing. Between Miss Amy, Katie, Mr. S and myself, that kitchen has been torn apart more times than I'd like to count. Granted, my pans were about 10 years old and needed replaced, but I wasn't ready to replace them yet. The ice cream scoop wasn't in the best of conditions anymore, but it matched the rest of my hunter green Tupperware. When I finally do find these pixies, they'll be dust! Maybe I'll let the cats have one to play with, it'd serve the little buggers right.

Anywho. For my Harvest Sock Swap update. I have picked out the pattern, bought a few goodies, but I may have to order the yarn I want to use. I'm looking for specific color to go with the whole fall theme.

Ooh! The office manager just went to lunch, now's the time to see if I can sneak a few rows in. Later.

Motivation?

I think I have motivation to knock off 2 projects this weekend. Shall I explain? Why, of course I shall, because unless you decide to find some other blog to read, you're almost a captive audience. Hee hee!

Where to start? Oh yeah! My wonderful man. He loves to do things for me. Say I want to go see a movie (i.e. Resident Evil: Extinction - saw it this past weekend), he does his absolute best to make it happen. I was going on about wanting to go the Witches Ball at the end of the month, so he said we would go. Then, on Tuesday, out the corner of my ear, I hear on the radio that Loreena McKennitt is playing the Palace Theater *only* on Oct. 13th. I happened to mention it to him. And on Wednesday, he tells me that he would love to take me to both, but can only do one, and I had to pick. Mind you, I never said that I wanted to go to the concert (even though I really, really do), I just mentioned it in passing. So, now I have a tough choice. Although, that may be my own fault. See, when I checked Loreena's tour schedule, she will only be in the US this month. So, we may have to order the tickets tonight. And, if that's my choice, then I have to have something to wear. I was thinking that my Candle Flame Shawl would be perfect, but it's just over half way done. If I crack down, I could have it done, washed and blocked in time. However, right now I am working on my Fall Fiber Bag Exchange bag for my pal. So, that being the case, if I really crack down, I can have both done by Monday. I can, really. (I'll just keep telling myself that, and I may actually believe it.) So, in my delusional little brain, once I have my shawl finished, I will have to arrange an outfit around it. Because, as Katie pointed out, this isn't a Fall Out Boy concert, no jeans and t-shirt, because there will be no mosh pit. lol. And, to top it off, I'm on call this weekend for work. As of right now, I have 3 shipments to watch, and I have to come into the office sometime tomorrow (Saturday) to load a truck. So, what do you think? Can I do it?

Is this year over with yet?

I am sick and tired of being sick and tired! Last week, I feel down sick again. Face down, sick. I spent the week in bed. I'm just getting back to normal, or as close as I can get, lol. See, I'm starting to get a sense of humor back. Any way, I didn't even feel like sewing all the stuff I had to for our trip to the Ohio Renaissance Festival. I had to make 2 men's peasant shirts, a whole new wenches costume for me (as I've outgrown my old ones), and a whole wenches costume for Annie, consisting of a skirt, blouse and bodice. So, Saturday, as I was starting to feel really crappy and stayed in my pajamas all day, I pulled out the serger and sewing machine, and buckled down. I finally finished, the next morning. But, take a peek at the results below:

From left to right we have: Mr. S, Taylor, me, Katie, Chris, Cassi, Dylan and Annie down front.

Here, we have the girls. Ain't they cute?


And, of course, the mandatory silly pic.


Then, we have Mr. S and me.


Then we have my girls and me. Well, technically, Taylor isn't mine, but she's adopted me as her second mom.

And, speaking of my adopted daughter, she's good a sneaking pics. Can you tell how thrilled I am?


Then, my swashbuckling daughters swung into action. Here's Katie in the Safer Sword arena.


And Annie couldn't be out done.


The gown that Cassi is wearing in the first pic is one that I made about 8 years ago, for the year we sold at the festival. And ya know what? I actually enjoyed sewing, again. I haven't sewed costumes in almost 2 years.

Anyway, as I'm getting better, I'm started to get my knitting mojo back. That, and the fact that my bestest friend in the whole world, Miss PJ, told me last week that she is pregnant! After she gave up hope over 8 years ago of ever having another child. Now, I get to knit baby things! And I hope it's lots of pink things, as she already has a boy, she needs (and wants) a little girl!

Anyway! I need to get some rest, that way I can maybe knit tomorrow!

Back from exile!

I have my beloved laptop back! Yippee! Not to mention that last week I was on vacation. We didn't really do much, shopped the book stores, shopped the yarn stores, took Katie to her dentist appointment, those kind of things. In the mean time, I have lots of pics. So, let's dive right in, shall we?

To start off the excitement, here is my Summer Sock Swap package from Anne. Just look at all the goodies and the gorgeous sock.


Here is the fabulous skein of Opal she sent:

Here is a better shot of the sock she made me, from Trekking that she found while in the Netherlands. The pattern is Karen's Lace, and I love it:

Here is a tealight holder and yummy smelling tealights (I love candles):

Here's some absolutely great smelling soap:

A post card for my collection:

Some yummy chocolates (had to fight the girls off, they wanted to eat them right away):

A cute note card:

And, finally, the sock on my foot. Just like the socks Anne made me for my birthday (which are my favorite socks, I wear them all the time), they fit me as if I made them. Such a perfect fit:


This weekend, we are off the the Ohio Renaissance Festival. So, I have been busy cutting fabric, and I'll be sewing my little heart out rest of the week. But, Katie doesn't need a costume. After rummaging through my old customes and bits, she has decided to be a pirate wench. And with her attitude, it fits her. Have a peek:

I finished my socks for September for the SAM KAL 4. Another pair of Simply Lovely Lace socks for me:

Specs:

Yarn: Regia
Color: brown
Needles: US 1 DPN's
Pattern: Simply Lovely Lace from Interweave Knits Spring '06
Started: August 26, 2007
Finished: September 6, 2007

This past weekend, Miss Casi, the girls and I went to the Wool Gathering in Yellowsprings, Ohio. I took my camera, but only thought to take any pics at the end of the trip. So, here's Annie, entertaining everyone in the waiting area of the Golden Jersey Inn restarant at the dairy, with a puppet show. They were finger puppets that I bought her.

I did get another set of Crystal Palace US 1 DPN's, to replace the set of which I lost a needle at the Morris family reunion. I got another type of US 1 DPN's that I can't think of right now. I got some Paca-Peds sock yarn in fall colors. And I think that's it. I'll be going again next year.

Up next is a pic of Annie eating a home made waffle. See, during the time my laptop was down, I found a great little waffle iron for $8 at Wally World. I couldn't pass it up, and it's proved it's worthy-ness.

Next up is the package that was on the porch today. It's my Football Along Swap package from Holly. Yippee! So, here's what was in the box. We start off with some plates and napkins in the football theme:

Up next is Lorna's Lace Celtic Denim pattern, I can't wait to try this one:

Next we have some Kiogu Sock yarn, in colors close to the my favorite pro team, the Dallas Cowboys:

There was also a goodie bag! And she got all my favorites - York, gummy bears, Lindt's mint chocolate and M&M's:

She also sent me 3 of her family's favortie dip recipes, and they are all my favorite, too:

And, a blue candle, the scent is Blackberry Cobbler, yum!

In other things, I'll be sending out Harvest Sock Swap pals tomorrow. This is the biggest swap so far, there are 32 of us. This will be fun!

And, I got my Ravelry invite today! I played on it at work between things. It's addictive, with a capital A!!!! So, after I get the pals out, if I drop off the face of the earth, that's where I'll be. My Ravelry name is Rosiegypsy, if you'd like to say hi. Off to drag out my stash.

Quickie!

Just a quick post to announce a CONTEST!!!! Over on the Harvest Sock Swap '07 page. Stop in to see the details.

Later!

Another FO and other pics

School started this week for the girls, Katie started on Monday and Annie started today. And in honor of that, Annie got a hair cut. See:

She wouldn't sit still, so it's shorter than I wanted it to be. But she looks so cute! (In this pic, she's not too happy with me, as I wouldn't take a pic of her drinking her cool aid single.)

As I mentioned before, we had the Morris Family reunion Sunday. I wore my Josephine top, so I'll share the one pic that I was in, and the one pic I have of the finished top.

From left to right, we have: Mr. S, me, cousin Savannah (ducking down), my uncle Verlie (in the back), mom, grandma, my aunt Sebrina (Verlie's wife), Katie, and down front is Annie.

The next pic is of Annie starting a water balloon fight, Uncle Verlie was her target.


The next pic is of some Lorna's Laces that have inspired me. The color is Tuscany.

I love this color so much, that I wished that I have some worsted to make a scarf so this ball could become a pair of fingerless gloves, as it's a single ball. Well, some great Yarn Goddess must have heard me, because when I went to one of the LYS for lunch the other day (to get an idea for my Fall Felted Bag pal, and that's the pattern under the ball, hee hee) I found this:

Three (not one or two, but three) b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l hanks of Lorna's Laces worsted weight in Tuscany!!! Now my dream can come true. The next question is what pattern to use? Maybe this one? I'm still debating. What do you think?

Next up is another piece of Heaven. My Namaste bag.

Isn't it fabulous? I love, love, love it! And, yes, it's almost as wide as my couch cushion. It's on the large side, but I will never be without my knitting again.

And now, for an FO. It's my finished August socks for the SAM KAL 4.

They were a little long for my feet, for some odd reason, so Katie ended up with them. The specs are as follows:

Yarn: Lorna's Laces
Colorway: Argyle
Needles: US 1 Crystal Palace DPN's
Pattern: Plain Vanilla Ribby Footies

See how the striping came out different on each one. Kinda cool, huh?


Up next is a progress pic. Have a peek:

This is the scarf that the Mystery Knitter is working on. Looks great for a first project, huh?

Next up is the IHS I started for cousin Becky. I just completed the 12 pattern repeat.


The last pic is of the next sock that I am working on. It will most likely end up as my September socks for the SAM KAL 4.

It's a pair of Simply Lovely Lace footies in Regia, color brown, to go with my Josephine Top.

Ok, now for updates. The last space for my PIF Exchange has been filled! Yippee! Now, I can start getting ideas for those projects.

The Harvest Sock Swap '07 sign ups are still open, and doing very well. We have 16 people so far (including myself). And I am thinking of holding a contest. I will announce what it will be tomorrow, along with what the prize will be. So, stay tuned for further details.

I started my new work out program and diet yesterday. So far, so good. But I can tell how out of shape I'm in, 'cause I could only do half of the work out yesterday, and 2/3 of it today. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to complete it. Oh, and I have drank so much water (about the 8 recommended daily glasses, that I'm not used to anymore) that my eyeballs have been floating every half hour. But, drinking that much water does help to curb the appetite. So, look out, favorite pair of jeans that I can't fit into, here I come. I'll be wearing you soon. (insert evil laugh here) Ok, enough babbling for tonight.

May everyone have some Happy Knitting time. I know I will.

The verdict is in.......

It was the hard drive! Now we have to get a new one to install. So, at this point, since I have to replace the hard drive, I'll just upgrade the whold thing, rather than buy new. It'll be cheaper in the long run. We'll just pop in a new hard drive, then after a month or two, I'll upgrade the RAM and processor. Maybe get a new dvd/cd drive so I can burn the short home movies I take with my camera to dvd. Maybe I'll have it back soon.

My Namaste bag (the black one) arrived Friday! And I'll just say that I'm in Heaven! Never again will I have to carry 2 bags, as I can fit the entire contents of my purse and my knitting bag into it's lovely, spaciousness. Well, I won't have to carry 2 bags, as long as I'm not working on a huge project, say, like an afghan. The only issue I had was when someone (I think Katie) knocked it off the picnic table at the Morris family reunion yesterday, and one of my Crystal Palace US 1 DNP's fell out unnoticed. I went back to look for it, but it was gone. *sniff, sniff*

Last week I took the plunge and ordered something else. I ordered the Slim in 6 program. I figured that maybe the reason I haven't gotten off my duff and started working out is because I know what my current work out programs are, and they don't excite me right now. This one looks fun, and motivating. It should arrive by the end of the week, so I'm taking every opportunity I can to be bad before it gets to my door. And as akick in the pants to do soemthing, at the afore mentioned family reunion 3 (count them, 3) of my great-aunts asked me when I was due! Me? Have another child? Nope, 2 is enough, thankyouverymuch. It's definately time to do something about my weight problem, huh?

I finished a pair of footies that I had on the needles. I ended up giving them to Katie, because my gauge was off, and they were a little long for my short feet. Her feet are longer than mine, and the fit her better. I'll have to take pics and get them posted for SAM KAL 4 credit for August.

Just a reminder, the Harvest Sock Swap '07 sign ups are still open. You have 19 days left to sign up.

I still have 2 spots left for the Pay It Forward Exchange. If you'd like to sign up for that one, just leave me a comment with you e-mail address.

Maybe I'll swipe Mr. S's laptop later and try to post some pics. Hee Hee!

D.I.B. (Dead In Bag)

That's what my laptop is, Dead In Bag. In the past hour, I have completely wiped my hard drive and it's still doing the same thing. So, this weekend, my loving SIL from Dayton will be stopping by to pick it up and take it home to her sweet, generous husband, who is going to take it apart to test the hard drive, since we both think that's what's wrong with it. And trust me, it will be a good thing that it's leaving town for a while, as all day at work, I day dreamed about taking it onto the dock, laying it on the floor, and smooshing it with about 6,000 lbs. of fork lift. And, if I'd had the money, I would have bought a new laptop, today. But, alas, I am on the poor side. No new laptop for me, at least not for another 6 months.

For updates: I still have 2 spots let for the PIF Exchange, so sign up by leaving a comment.

My Josephine Top is finished, but I obviously can't post any pics right now. I'll post some as soon as I'm able.

Sign ups for the Harvest Sock Swap '07 are still open, and will close on Sept. 15th. So far, we have, roughly, a dozen people, and plenty of room for more. So, stop by the blog page and sign up.

In other news, I have started another IHS for my cousin in West Virginia, who was diagnosed with congestive heart failure last month. She absolutely loved mine when we visited in January, so I thought I'd make her one before the weather turned cold. I'm already a third of the way into it, so I should be able to mail it soon.

I finally took the plunge, and ordered that Namaste Knitting bag I have been drooling over for more than a year. In black. It's on it's way, and I can't wait. Yippee!

I have a second sock that has been on the needles since the end of softball season that I desperately need to finish. It's a footie, you'd think I'd have it done by now. Especially since I only have to turn the heel and knit the foot. And, I need the credit for the SAM4 KAL.

Also, tonight, as I was on the phone trying to trouble shoot and arrange the going away of afore mentioned dead laptop, my niece was in the back ground, clamoring to talk to me. When she finally gets her turn to talk, the conversation went like this:

Niece S: Hi, Aunt Tonia. I need another pair of fingerless gloves. (If you remember, I made her a pair in navy for Christmas '06)

Me: Hi S. You need another pair?

Niece S: Yes, I lost one. And I'll look stupid wearing just one.

Me: What? Don't you wanna look like Michael Jackson? Ok, do you want the same color, or another color?

Niece S: Same color, so it matches my scarf. (The one I made her for Christmas '05)

So, I'll be ordering more Knit Picks Essential in Navy.

Ok, since my laptop is down, if you need to reach me, please leave me a comment, or e-mail me at rosiegypsy AT aol DOT com. I check that e-mail all day long.

ETA: I wasn't able to post my Felted Bad Exchange questionaire until now, so here it is:

1. How long have you been knitting or crocheting? I have been crocheting for 20 years, and knitting for 13 yrs. How did you learn? I got bored and taught myself.
2. What was your first felted object, and why did you decide to try felting? My first felted object was a small hand bag, it was a Christmas gift for someone.
3. What are your favorite colors? Red, black, green, and pretty much all of them. Any you hate? none.
4. What are your favorite styles\types of bags? (Long straps? Short handles? Handbags? Totes? Embellished? Plain? Include links to patterns or photos if you’d like – give your pal an idea of what you enjoy!) I like all kinds of bags. I'm pretty much a purse whore.
5. What handbag or bag are you carrying today? A black, white & purple striped tote from Victoria's Secret. Do you use a separate bag to carry your knitting? For now, waiting for my new Namaste bag.
6. What other things do you enjoy knitting or crocheting? socks, socks, and everything else.
7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum) whatever is needed for the project, and I prefer bamboo or wood.
8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make? color work
9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with? Paton's SWS (soy wool)
10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? I try to spin, I make wire jewlery, I sew, cross stitch and bake.
11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything? tea cups and tea pots
12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to? my favorite sweet is white chocolate.
13. Do you have any kiddos? (Furry kind count!) I have 2 great girls (ages 12 & 6) and 2 furry babies (cats)
14. What kind of project best personifies you and why? not really sure, but I knit alot of socks
    
15. What is your favorite part of Autumn? You can also share a special Autumn memory if you'd prefer! I love all of Autumn, the mildly warm days, very cool nights, the leaves turning colors, and the change to gather around a bon fire.
16. Tell us 3 things you would do if you won 10 million dollars in the lottery. Visit Ireland, Scotland and England. Buy my own house. Open my own yarn shop.

Sorry if it's a little late.

Updates.... Now with Pictures!

I finally got the pics uploaded from my camera, without problems. Yippee! So, on with the show:

Ok, so where was I? Oh yeah, the Medieval Festival. When we go there, the first show we came upon, inside the gates was a Fire Eater show. I don't know if these guys were really brothers, but one of them looked like a really skinny Orlando Bloom. Here are a few cool shots I got in:


The one on top was the one that looked like Orlando.

Here is a shot of Annie and Dillon. Annie had to stand on her tip toes to look through the hole:

And, of course, we can't forget our favorite bare foot bag piper, Barrett:

He reminds me alot of my step-dad, when he was younger. Although, Barrett is probably the same age, if not a little older than dad.

Where else can you see guys in bras assisting a guy in a straight jacket:

We didn't take as many pics as we wanted. But then again, we were too busy shopping, eating and watching the shows as we passed to take a whole bunch.

On to other updates. I am still taking volunteers for th Pay It Forward Exchange. I only need 3, and no one has volunteered, yet. If you'd like to join, just leave me a comment with your e-mail address.

The Harvest Sock Swap '07 sign ups are still open. So far we are doing great. The sign ups have been open for 2 days, and (including me) we have 7 people. Just maybe I'll hold a contest if we reach 20 or more. I'll wait a couple more days to see how we're doing before I make that offical.

And, finally for an update on the Josephine Top. Here's a pic of where I was last night:

From here, I need to knit the sleeve caps (which I picked up the sts for the right sleeve and have it half done), the trim around the neck and the trim around the bottom hem. And for some reason, that whole middle section looks to be a different dye lot, but I made sure I got all the same dye lot. It doesn't look like in person, honest. Maybe if I get enough time this weekend, I'll get it finished.

And, in a bit of a teaser: I taught some one to knit the other night, but they made me promise not to tell who, until they have finished their first project. Drat!

Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't for get to sign up for the PIF Exchange and the Harvest Sock Swap '07.

Gone Kaput!

Well, I think my laptop has gone down for the count. I can start it ok in safe mode, but it has started freezing in regular mode, again. So, I am stuck using the work computer to blog with. Now, on with our regular blog......



I will be opening the Harvest Sock Swap '07 today. If you missed last year's, or any of the others, now is your chance. Sign up! Come on, you know you want to. And it's so easy to do. Just leave me a comment here, or on the swap blog, or drop me an e-mail at rosiegypsy AT aol DOT com (temp e-mail until I can beat my laptop into submission {insert evil laugh here}), with your e-mail addy and blog addy (sorry, blogs will be required this year. If you don't have one, now's the time to get one. They're easy and, best of all, free!). Please stop by the swap blog later today to see the rules and questionaire. I will update that page today as work and home life permit.

And, in other news.....

While make the rounds of my blog reading (before my laptop took a nose dive {I don't sound bitter, do I?}) , I found something that looked great, and I had to try to join. It was this:





I was over at Knitting Nurse when I was it. It was inspired by that great movie. And what better way to show that you care for your fellow man. Now, I will blatantly steal the rules from her page. They are:

"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! and it will be something yummy!! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

So, there you have it. The first 3 people to leave a comment that they want to join, will be in. Please make sure to leave you e-mail address in the comment, so I can contact you for your snail mail address.

Next up, we have this:



I think I'll join this round. I always have fun making felted bags, so why not? If you'd like to join, sign ups open tomorrow (Aug 15th), just drop by the Fall Felted Bag Exchange and sign up.

And last up is the update on the Josephine top. Well, I did take a pic, but since my laptop decided that it needed a vacation (it may be a permanent one, if it keeps it up), I can't up load them. But anywho, I have finished the left front and am working my way up the back. I may have that done tonight, and can start on the right front. After that is when I have to pick up all those stitches for the sleeve caps, neck and bottom hem. Oh, that'll be fun. But, it'll look great when I'm done. And, seriously, it is a fun pattern. I can see myself making a couple more.

So, to sum up, join the Harvest Sock Swap '07, join the PIF Exchange, join the Fall Felted Bag Exchange, and stop back by for updates on my lazy laptop and the Josephine top.

Falling apart....

I haven't been able to post pics, or even check my e-mail, as my laptop decided that it was a good time to start freezing on me. Everytime I would start it up, it would run sorta ok for about 3 minutes, then it would just sit and stare at me, not doing anything. So, after starting it in *safe mode*, and deleting anything and everything that I knew I could, and running a defrag, it has finally decided to start working with me. I think, that as soon as I can afford it, I'll be getting a new laptop. Granted, this one is only a year and half old, but I have outgrown the 60 GB hard drive.

But, anyway. We had a blast this past weekend. Saturday, when we started out around noon, it was hot. Really hot. As in hot with a huge, capitol H. Can I stress that any further? Normally, I don't like to run the a/c in the car, as it sucks too much gas, but considering that I replaced the spark plugs the week before (yes, I work on my own cars, and am getting pretty good at it, especially since the warranty runs out with in the next year or 8,000 miles), and ran some injector cleaner through it(as it had an annoying habit of hesitating every time I took off from a dead stop), I was all for it. I drove up, playing a few hands of travel Uno along the way. We got to the hotel around 3:30, and when we got to the room, I flipped on the tv and found Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on. And then I napped for the next hour, or so. About the time I woke up, Cassi and Chris arrived. They got settled in, and we took off to find something to eat. And, as always, anything with me is an adventure. We started out trying to find a local steak house, that was at some golf club, but we went down 2 different rounds, found 2 different golf clubs, and never found it. So, on the way back the way we came, we found a little pizza place. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't a steak house, either. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, and to the indoor pool. I know, you think indoor pool, great, right? Well, let me tell you.... By the time we left for dinner, it had cooled of drastically, by almost 20 degrees. The pool room, on the other hand, was as hot as it had been outside, earlier in the day. As I don't have a bathing suit to fit me, and Mr. S forgot his swim trunks, we sat pool side. Of course I was knitting, on Josephine. We stayed in there as long as we could. We finally had to flee to pool room, and ended up sitting in the semi-darkness of the breakfast room to watch the kids through the big picture window. And, at this point, let me just say, that the last time we stayed in this hotel (3 years ago), it was very quiet, and we had to the pool all to ourselves. This time around, there was a very diverse crowd. And I mean crowd. There were tons of kids with their parents, grandparents, etc., and a group of bikers. Needless to say, thank the heavens it wasn't a dry county, 'cause there were very few adults that didn't have a alcoholic beverage of some sort, us included. When the pool closed, at 11 pm, we went up to the rooms for the night.

Sunday started out sunny, very sunny. When I pulled the curtain back a few inches to see how the weather was, I was momentarily blinded. So, we all got up and got moving. We went down to check out and get breakfast (with everyone else in the hotel) at about 9:15. By the time we were done, we got the faire just as it opened. Mr. S was so excited, it was like watching a little kid on Christmas morning. At this point, I did start taking pics, but due to the above mentioned laptop problems, I haven't up loaded them from the camera, yet. I'll probably do that tonight. So, at this point, I'll leave you with a cliff hanger, and post later about the faire, with pics.

As for my progress on Josephine, I am on the last round of repeats for the bottom. I have about 10 to 11 more rounds before I can start the top. I'll take a pic or my progress later tonight.

Have you ever.....

had one of those severe ekkk moments? I had one this morning.

Just a little back ground. We (Miss Amy & I) live in a half double ranch. It has 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths. My room is the finished family room in the basement (making a 4th bedroom), that has a fireplace and 1 of the full baths. My shower is just a shower, no tub like the 2 upstairs baths. I was kinda excited about this when we moved in, because in the old place, I had glass shower doors on the tub, and I finally got to buy a pretty shower curtain, after 8 years. So, I went and bought one that was a dark taupe color with purplish flowers on it, and a frosted liner. I even bought the matching soap dish, liquid soap dispenser, tooth brush holder and trash can, and coordinating towel colors. Also, I have severe arachnophobia.

Now, for the ekkk moment. I got up and headed for the shower this morning, just like every morning. And after I made sure my hair was completely wet for shampooing, I opened my eyes and looked to my right. To my utter horror, I see between the liner and shower curtain, a spider about the size of a quarter (legs not included). I suppressed the urge to scream like a little girl, and (at the same time) pulled the cover off of the drain in the center of the shower floor, and removed the shower head from the holder to wash the sucker down the drain. I gave him a few minutes to find his way out from between the curtain and liner, and find his way to certain doom. When it looked like he was hopelessly lost, I continued my shower, keeping an eye on him the whole time. When I was finished, I wrapped the shower curtain around it's self, so that there was no threat of him crawling out onto me while I dried off. So, this evening, when Mr. S arrives, I'll make him search the curtain for the nasty little bugger. Normally, I'm not one to panic. Give me a kitchen fire or severely injured person, and I'm all action, no problems. But, let a spider wonder into my morning shower, and you'll see a serious pause. And I seem to sense them, kinda like a cat. You know what I'm talking about. Your cat can be curled up next to you on the couch, taking a cat nap, and suddenly, it'll open it's eyes, turn it's head and stare at a spot in the ceiling. And you just know it's a spider. I do the same thing, and it annoys Mr. S, 'cause he knows he has to stop what he's doing and kill it. I guess that cat-sense goes along with the cat-like reflexes. Maybe that explains why I have the irresistible urge to play with yarn. Hee hee!

I have made more progress on Josephine, but no pics today. I have gotten about another 3" added since the last pic. I'll take more soon. And, I am still loving this pattern. The rib and textured lace patterns are easily memorized, I don't have to keep looking at the chart to see where I'm at. I added the 4th ball of yarn at lunch yesterday, and I'm more than half way through the 4th repeat. I am going to make it a tad longer than the pattern calls for, and I made sure I had plenty of yarn, I only needed about 9 balls, but I bought 10 to make sure.

This weekend we are going out of town. It's time for the annual Great Lakes Medieval Faire, and we are headed up for the weekend. This is one of our favorites to visit. We always get a hotel room (preferrably at the hotel with the indoor pool) and stay overnight. Mr. S has never been to this one. I've been going to this one since I was pregnant with Annie. When Katie was about 8, we were heading east on I 90 along Lake Erie, Katie looked at the lake and asked, "Hey, mommy? What's over there?" Me being the smart a$$ that I am, said, "Canada!" She thought it was the greatest thing. But, we always have a blast, the food and ale is good, the shops nice, and the shows are great. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pics to share. Especially since Mr. S insists on wearing his kilt.

So, till next week, Happy Knitting!