Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This is me many many many years ago when I was waiting tables. I had fun seeing the reactions of my customers when they looked up from their menus!

It's all Eleanor's fault

When I came into work late this morning from my weekly DMV appointment I found this on my chair. What’s that you say? that box can’t be full of Noro Silk Garden, there has to be packing materials in there to fill space? Ummm, NO.

It all started a little over a week ago when I wore my Lady Eleanor Stole to work. Here comes my boss walking down the isle by my cubical and she sees her.

She grabs it hold it up and declares it the best thing EVAR and asked how many balls of yarn it took and how much did it cost. She paid me compliments and stated that a chair or couch throw 3 times wider than my stole would be fabulous to have. When I broke the news to her how much I used for my stole and the cost, she admired it a little more then laid it down and quietly walked away. Then as a stroke of fate or whatever you want to call it I get an email notification from Webs like 3 minutes after my boss walks away that Noro has discontinued 4 Silk Garden colorways and were selling them for $5.79 per ball. Are you F’ing kidding me?!?! So I called her back to my desk and showed her the email. I explained to her that you rarely see this yarn this cheap and if she wanted to buy the yarn then I would knit her the throw (more like an afghan.) I emailed her the link where she could buy the yarn and said I could not promise a delivery date but if she wanted me to knit this, here was her prime opportunity and not to wait to long to make the decision, the yarn will go fast. Little did I know when I made that statement how true that was.**

A few hours later, she walks by my desk and says, “I ordered the yarn,” with a big smile on her face. She proceeded to tell me what she ordered:

Boss: So this (Lady Eleanor) took you 15 balls right?
Me: Yes
Boss: And I would like it this long but three times wider.
Me: OK (doing math in my head)
Boss: So that would be 45 balls.
Me: Yes…
Boss: I ordered 60, 15 of each color, use what you need and keep the rest.
Me: WOW, ok (then I was speechless, I know that is hard to believe, but I was)

That box is FULL of Noro Silk Garden for the project that I will be calling Koo Koo Eleanor! Berroco has a blanket/throw pattern that is called Koo Koo and I am blending that pattern with the Lady Eleanor Stole.

**Webs sold over 4000 balls for the discontinued Noro Silk Garden in 4 days. Did any of you take advantage of that sale!

Orange ya glad??

It is amazing to me with my major dislike of the color orange, that I am STILL knitting with orange! But I ran across the Kürbis pattern and could not resist, it is too cute to not knit.

Pattern: Kürbis Baby Hat
Source: Sonnentaler

Size: fit a head of about 39 cm circumference

Materials: Cascade Cash Vero and Knit Picks Telemark

Amount: 0.75 skeins = 73.5 yards of Cash Vero in Rust (Orange) and

0.05 skeins = 5.2 yards of Telemark Cilantro Heather (Green)

Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm and US 7 / 4.5 mm

Start Date: October 22, 2008

Finish Date: October 27, 2008
Quantity: 2 Hats

This is a very easy and quick pattern to knit. The directions are clear and easy to follow which is important. I chose Cash Vero for a couple of reasons, one, it had a great pumpkin color and two, it is sooooo soft. The blend of merino, microfiber and cashmere makes it nice to wear next to your skin.

The top of the hat is knit with Knit Picks Telemark which is a sport weight so I held the yarn double to get the proper thickness. The recipients of the hats? Co-workers. No one in my immediate family have babies or toddlers, so one co-workers baby, Allicyn got the first one, she is 8 months old.

And the second hat went to my boss' niece, Genevieve, she is 2 years old.

She wants to be like her Aunt Patty, typing on the key board and making important phone calls!

I think the girls are way cute with the pumpkin hats no? Ok, I promise, this is the last orange I am going to knit with for a very long long time!

Go Giants...Go Bears

Pattern: Basic Sock
Size: US Woman's 8-1/2

Materials: Panda Silk
Amount: 1.25 skein Orange 0.5 skein Black

Needles: 2.0mm US 0 Hiya Hiya Circular 40” Magic Loop Method

Start Date: September 20, 2008 (approx.)

Finish Date: October 19, 2008

As a Thank You/Birthday gift to my boss, I made her these GO GIANTS!! Socks. She has given me tickets to see the Giants play many many many times and for that I am thankful. She is very warm blooded, her office you could hang meat in, seriously. She has admired many of my socks that I have knit in the past, but always commented that they were too thick for her. So I set out to find a really lightweight yarn that when knit would not produce too dense of a fabric but still sturdy enough for a sock; Panda Silk fit that bill nicely.

I CO 76 sts, knit with black for 1” of 2x2 ribbing, 1 round of knit in black so that the color change would be smooth then start with orange. The total length of the cuff and leg is 4”. I did a slip stitch heel flap for 2” and turned the heel in black. Picked up stitches with orange and did the gusset decreases knitting until I reached 7.5 inches from heel to beginning of toe. Knit one round in black and began toe decreases. Kitchner when 20 sts remain. She put them on and they fit her perfectly and she loved them. I guess I get to keep my job for a little while longer! (joking)

As I have mentioned before, I am not fan of orange, but I like my job and my boss, so I sucked it up. My dislike for orange started sometime during my teenage years. I was a cheerleader for many years and all the teams that I cheered for were Orange and Black. On any given week during my high school years, I could be found in my uniform at least 3 days a week. So I am a little burned out on orange, besides, I look horrible in orange, I am a winter.

Senior year, Varsity Cheer, Selma High 1990

All hail to Selma High, Our sons and daughters sing.... (I can't remember the rest of the song!)Go Bears! Cheer Forever!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my dearest Sensei. Though I can't stand when you leave wet towels on the bed after your shower, leave the kitchen cabinet door open after getting a glass and leave the TV on all day long, I love you for many many reasons. You make me laugh on a daily basis, especially when you do those little dances! This past year has been emotionally trying on the both of us, but it has brought us closer than ever. Besides, who couldn't love a guy who brings her a 3 Splenda wet cappuccino every morning?!?!?

Happy Anniversary!!