Its all about the caramel corn...

This past Tuesday night, July 22, was the Stitch n Pitch night at the San Francisco Giants game. I had not originally intended to go this year, even though last year was a memorable night, see here. But the day before, my boss asked me if I wanted our companies season tickets on the club level of the stadium.....OF COURSE I DO. So I made contact with knitters that I knew didn't get tickets to the event, Karol (Rav link), Jill and Teenuh. Jill works in the city, so Teenuh, Karol and I took the train up and meet her there. Teenuh has a much better recap of the whole event.

But the best thing about the Giants game is the fresh hand tossed caramel corn that you can ONLY get on the club level. I have been fortunate in the past to get tickets to the games and made attempts to include my good friend Nathania but it never worked out. So she had to hear about this caramel corn from others. Well Tuesday night she got her caramel corn thanks to my club level seats. I bought the corn, took the elevator up to the 5th floor and meet her out in the concessions area of her section.

I went back to where she and the other knitters were sitting to wave hello and then took my happy ass back to my club seat!

The weather this year was much better than last year, the Giants beat the Nationals 6-3 and it was a great night with good friends.

Relayed out and the winner!

I am almost recovered from the Relay for Life event over the past weekend. It was a great event, I was happy to see such a great turn out for support of the American Cancer Society. I am most appreciative of all the people that supported my efforts in knitting caps and monetary donations. I blew it and did not get any good pics to share with you of the entire site with the Luminaria's all lit up, trust me when I say, it was a beautiful site. I stayed out at the relay all night to the ending ceremonies on Sunday and there were lots of people walking in the wee hours of the morning. If you have never been to one of these events, I recommend going, you don't have to be apart of a team to participate. Check out their website to find an event close to you. Here are a couple of pics that I did manage to take of our little space.

And now what you all have been waiting for... The lucky name drawn is Kristin Leamy!! Congratulations Kristin, I will be contacting you to see which yarn you would like and thank you for your support!



A little knitting progress other than hats and such has occurred. I have breathed new life into my Carbon Copy Monkeys. I went up a needle size, changed the heel flap type and I believe this time I will be successful. I am about to turn the heel so we will see!

Last Chance Effort and Yarn Giveaway

This is my last chance fundraising effort. I am participating this weekend in the Relay for Life in Campbell, CA. Relay For Life is a 24-hour event whose mission is to raise money which will be used towards research, education, and programs which support those undergoing cancer treatment. I have committed to raising $500 for the event, I am close but with your help, I can meet and or exceed this goal.

My father died of lung cancer in 1992 when I was 20 years old and my mother is a two time ovarian cancer survivor. I know first hand the struggles of those with cancer and those friends and family members that are there to care for them. This cause is close to my heart in many ways. Cancer is life altering and we all know someone who is or has been affected by this disease.

One way of supporting the event is the purchase of a Luminaria. As the light dims over campsites and team member’s complete laps, the night is brightened by the glow of lighted bags called luminaria, each of which has a special meaning. You can honor a cancer survivor by placing their name under "In Honor of," or you can remember someone who was lost to cancer by placing the name under "In Memory of." Each individual’s name will appear on a luminaria and each will be lit at the ceremony to shine as a beacon of hope for others. You also have the option to send an e-card to inform family members and friends of your special gift. To purchase the Luminaria or make a straight dontaion click on this link.

Anyone that comments to this post AND makes a donation, I will pick one random winner and give them a choice of a hank of either Blue Moon Fiber Arts or Malabrigo. Go ahead and make a donation, help the American Cancer Society and possibly get some yarn!!
EDIT: THIS WILL CLOSE ON SATURDAY JULY 12TH 2008 AT 8AM PST

Parade of Socks

Long time, no post. I have been away a bit for 3 good reasons.

Reason 1:

Reason 2:

I kept my niece and nephew. We had a grand time! We went to the Oakland Zoo, Chuckie Cheese, the drive-in movie theater to see Wall-E and a couple of parks for play time. To see photos if you are interested, you can view them here.

Reason 3:

I have been working a TON of hours and I then took ill. Come to find out, I have/had a sinus infection and ear infection. But I am on the mend, got my antibiotics and all is getting right in my world.

Now, on with the important stuff - knitting content.

Here are some photos of socks that I have completed and never posted about. Sensei's House Socks knit with Dream in Color Classy in the Cocoa Kiss colorway. I knit them on a US5 using a 3x1 ribbing. Ravelry Details.

And these are my Torrey Pines/Buick Open Socks. I knit these while watching Tiger Woods play in the Buick Open at Torrey Pines on our trip to San Diego. They are knit with Socks that Rock in the Ravenscroft colorway. This is my plain basic sock pattern knit on 2.5mm needles. Unfortunately, I got lots of wear on these prior to taking proper blog pictures, please excuse the slight felting on the soles. Ravelry Details.

And finally, my Lucky Green Socks, well at least I hope they will be! I started them a long time ago and never finished them. While I was in bed sick all weekend I decided that it was time to finish them; besides, I only had half of the second one to complete. The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in the Happy Forest colorway (I think.) The pattern is Corded Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. Ravelry Details.

On a totally sad note, I had to frog my latest sock, Carbon Copy Monkey, because it was too small. There is a funny unattractive photo of me frogging the sock that will not be shared here. Trust me, it is funny but much more unattractive. However, every time I call Teenuh it pops up on her iPhone, gives her a laugh. Cookie gave me a tip on fixing my too small issue, I will be casting back on soon!

2nd Knitiversary

July 1st was my actual Knitiversary, but I was WAY to busy at work to post about it, so it is a day late (just like most things in my life.) In honor of my 2nd Knitiversary, I thought that I would do the following knitting meme to see all that I have accomplished in 2 years.



1) Bold things you’ve done
2) Green thing you are currently doing
3) Red out things you’ve abandoned or will never attempt
4) Italicize things you want to try

Afghan
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Baby items
Bobbles
Button holes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Cardigan
Charity knitting
Continental knitting
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Darning
Designing knitted garments
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Dyeing with plant colors
Dyeing yarn
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting
Gloves
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Hair accessories
Hat
Holiday related knitting
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
I-cord
Intarsia
Jewelry
Kitchener
BO
Knitting a gift
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting for a living
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting in public
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting socks
Knitting to make money
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Machine knitting
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Olympic knitting
Participating in a KAL
Pillows
Publishing a knitting book
Purses/bags
Rug
Scarf
Shawl
Short rows
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slip stitch patterns
Slippers
Socks: toe-up
Socks: top-down
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Stuffed toys
Swatching
Sweater
Teaching a child to knit
Teaching a male how to knit
Textured knitting
Thrummed knitting
Toy/doll clothing
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Writing a pattern

Our Dogs are better than yours!!

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but I have to give props to my hometown boys, Fresno State Bulldogs. They just won the 2008 College World Series beating the Georgia Bulldogs 6-1. When I grew up in the Central Valley I had went to many baseball games and to see them now win the College World Series, their first national title, that is fantastic. I may now live in San Jose, but my home is Fresno.

Not a fan...

Before anyone decides to post bad comments regarding this post, let me just say, to each is own and I respect peoples love for certain things in their lives. But I am putting it on record that I am not a fan of the color Orange. Never have, never will. I don't own anything orange, it is not a flattering color to me at all. Many people have knitted beautiful projects with different variations of orange colored yarn. One person in particular I can think of is my friend in Texas, Twisted Knitter. She did the Irish Hiking Scarf in an orange colored yarn, looks great, for her; me not so much. So a true test of friendship is when you ask me to knit orange colored yarn.

Granted it was just some finishing work, but still, it was ORANGE. Actually, it was Texas Longhorn Burnt Orange color and you will see it knit up in a book sometime next year. Only for YOU (you know who you are.)

But I have devised a list of 10 things in random order that are orange in color that I do like so you can see that I am only prejudice to the color...

1. Oranges (the fruit)
2. Gerber Daisy
3. Golden Gate Bridge (yes it is orange!)
4. Orange Bell Peppers
5. Pumpkins
6. Thai Tea
7. Chloe and Eddie's Honda Element
8. Koi
9. Sun Setting
10. Clown Fish (Nemo)

So tell me, what color do you not like to knit?

Relay for Life

A knitter friend of mine put together a team called Cap Off Cancer to participate in the Relay for Life, an event supporting the American Cancer Society. I have two very personal reasons why I decided to participate, my parents.

Dad passed away from lung cancer in 1992 when I was 20 years old and my mother is a two time ovarian cancer survivor and is currently in remission.

Cancer is something that has altered my life significantly as it does to many many others. So I am doing my part in the fight against cancer by joining the Cap Off Caner team in the Relay for Life event July 12-13, 2008 in Campbell, CA. Here is my event page for more information if you would like to make a donation, purchase a Luminaria in memoriam or in honor of someone special or donate a chemo cap. Also, you can contact me with any questions.

National Bring Your Dog to Work Day

Today is National Bring Your Dog to Work Day, so I brought Mugsy with me to work. I was watching the Today show this morning and they made the announcement so I grabbed my phone and text message my boss and asked permission, she said yes. She is the greatest boss EVAR!! I just wish that we could have our pooches at work more offen, makes for a fun place to work.

Mugsy at Mazda

Making good on a gift

This post is to inform you all that I am still alive and there has been some knitting going on too. For about 3 weeks now, I have been working 10-12 hour days six days a week. Why all the hours? Well, I am sort of behind at work for one and two, the dealership group that I work for, they are consolidating all four accounting offices into one location. With that said, part of my work is going to be handed off to another person and I will be doing more of one specific part of my job. So in preparation for the move, I have been working long hours to make everything go as smooth as possible. July will be a much better month, I can feel it!

As for knitting content, I am making good on a long awaited present. Let me give you some background. The first Christmas that I knew how to knit (2 seasons ago) I was on a felting spree. I made a pair of Felted Clogs (Ravelry link or blog link) for my Grandmother. Well, I stupidly while making the first pair, said that I could make Sensei's dad a pair for Christmas too. What I didn't know when I opened my big mouth was that I would come to HATE that pattern. I mean they are great once they are done, but the whole knitting experience is horrible. I made only one of his dad's clog/slippers and never did the other one. In fact, I don't even know where the first knitted one is at the moment it has been that long. Needless to say, Sensei has pretty much never let me forget that I was knitting his dad something which never was completed, every chance he got. So with the up coming Father's Day, I decided to make good on a knitted gift, but NOT clog/slippers!!

So here is a basic knitted vest using Ann Budds The Knitter's Book of Handy Patterns.

Ravelry details here. I LOVE this book and Ann Budds The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns. They have been so useful in my knitting projects, I highly recommend them.

Pattern: Basic Vest Pattern

Source: The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns by Ann Budd

Size: 44" Chest Circumference

Materials: Cascade 220 Heathers 2427

Amount: 4 hanks heather brick red colorway 2427

Started: June 2008

Finished: June 2008

Ok Sensei, it is time to let it go now. No more felted slipper comments comments or I will be forced to post the picture of you wearing my fuzzy pink slippers!

Aint gunna dew it...

This coming July will be 2 years since I learned how to knit. And while I have learned to surround myself with talented knitters it seems that many of them are talented spinners too. All the while I have been watching knitters taking the plunge into spinning. I kept stating that spinning is not in my future, I needed to learn everything about knitting before I learned to spin. And honestly I thought that excuse would work. It started with, I have not complete a sweater, done-I have not learned cables, done-I have to learn to steek, done-I need to learn fair isle, done-need to learn sock, done-I need to learn lace knitting, in progress. Now I realize that is not "everything" about knitting, but you get what I mean.

So I finally made it to Mary's (mother to knitters starting spinning) monthly spin-in. I toodled in there with my plate of Snickerdoodles and my knitting bag with 2 current projects and found a comfy chair and started knitting. And then Mary said, "I am using my drop spindle, my wheel is free, LISA" nudge nudge. Well she didn't have to twist my arm that hard actually. Prior to this day, Sensei said to me that he would buy me a spinning wheel but that I had to learn to spin a bit before he bought the wheel. I found that to be a reasonable request since wheels are not cheap.

Into the fiber stash Mary and I went and we pulled out this fiber.

While Mary was untangling some singles that she was plying, Janice (another fabulous knitter/spinner) got me started. I learn some lingo, but the phrase I heard the most was, "DON"T LET GO" She was referring to my back hand while trying to draft and when I stopped treadling cause I had to much twist I would let go with my back hand. Anyway, all I can say is that it is a real learning process, one of which I am still willing to learn, Mary and Janice were great to help me get my feet wet.

So let me show you what I made, now you can't laugh, it was my first and I know I will get better when I learn to draft better.

Now the funniest thing that was said was this morning several hours after my foray in to spinning. Sensei and I were cuddling this morning talking about our up coming week and things we need to do and our future together and he says, " When we have our children and they bring home some drawing they did in pre-school and it looks like a mess, what are you going to say to them?" I of course replied that I would praise them and tell them how beautiful it was. Without skipping a beat he said, "Baby, your yarn you spun is really beautiful" We started to laugh so hard I almost peed my pants!

Too many projects

Having issues with starting to many projects, I know that I am not the only one. If you are a knitter and reading this, then I would be what my dad would say, "Singing to the choir!"

I have several on the needles at the moment, then I remember that it is so and so's birthday coming and I should whip something up real quick for that (yeah right!) Or I promised this to that person a year ago! I have a lot of IOU's out there and I am excited to get them complete and hand them off. The real issue is me, stumbling across patterns like this...

This is Elijah (Ravelry link) by Ysolda Teague. Isn't he adorable? I could not resist him! And then I get to chatting with my friends about what they are knitting, I get so wrapped up in wanting to do a mini-KAL with them on their current project. I spent hours trying to research the right yarn for the project, chatting online bouncing ideas off friends about yarn choices, because no matter how big your stash is, you never have the right yarn, right? Or is that just me?

So this is a line up of what I have in my knitting bag at the moment, they are all gifts that I am trying to complete by the end of June. Now I have to just stay off Ravelry and not open another knitting magazine and I just might stay focused!

I am sort of proud of my stitch tension on this cotton and linen number. Cotton is hard for me to maintain good tension and not row out.

This is my Elijah and he will be going to my nephew, I can reveal that cause he is 4 and does not read my blog, I am pretty sure of it!

Oh and lets not forget this one, another gift project, so no real details to be handed out. I am further along on this project than what the picture is showing. It is steadily going, I just have not taken a recent photo.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day Weekend. If you have a US Flag, please remember to fly it at half-staff to commemorate U.S. men and women who have died in military service to our country. Regardless of your feeling about the current war, we should honor those who have fallen to defend our rights during any war.

Happy 7th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my little guy Mugsy. The one that I refer to as Punkin, Love of my Life, Mama's Boy, Mug-a-do and the newly established nickname...King Furry Butt.

Mugsy and his favorite stuffed toy.

Mugsy laying in his favorite spot, on Sensei!

Actual knitting content Alert!!

Mom dropped me a subtle hint a couple of weeks before Mother's Day-an email link to an Etsy site that is selling hand knit fingerless gloves with a note saying, "I bet those would look fabulous in black!"

And black fingerless gloves she got!

Project details:

Pattern: Glen from Purlescence Yarns

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (almost 1 ball)

Needles: Addi US6 (2) Circulars (the pattern was written to use two circulars)

Ravelry Link to Project

The pattern is really quick and easy, great for a quick small gift and is offered in three different sizes.

Mom lives in San Francisco and even in the summer it gets cold there. She makes jewelry and sells them in her Etsy Store so she needs use of her fingers and these are going to come in handy for her.

Hall of Fame

Over the weekend my father was inducted into the Babe Ruth Baseball Hall of Fame. No, it is not Cooperstown where the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame is, but me and my family are very proud of this event. We even all gathered for it.

Left to right, my younger brother (the youth Minister) Kelly, my nephew Cody, Me, (in front of me) Josiah and Caitlin, my mom, older brother (the cop) Todd, G'ma (my maternal grandmother), Mimi (my paternal grandmother and Todd's wife Michelle. Crystal, Kelly's wife was unable to make it.

The ceremony was held where my dad started in Babe Ruth Baseball, Selma, CA on the field the city named after him. My father started as a coach in the Selma League and over time, his dedication and involvement led him to become State Commissioner for Central California. The state is divided into three sections due to the size and participation.

After the ceremony, we all went to Sal's Mexican Restaurant. If you live in the Central Valley of California, you know about Sal's! I have many memories of that restaurant, we used to sneak off campus to go and eat there when I was in high school. That story will have to wait, I will tell it, I promise.

On to knitting content. I started a project and I have given myself a deadline of June 30, let's see if I can make it. This is a sneak peak of the project.

This is the yarn that I am using.

I am still working on several different projects, Juno Regina, some children toys, the second Endpaper Mitts, ummm, there are others, but now I am a bit embarrased of how many works in progress I have, so I will stop there. And to end this post with some sugary sweetness, someone loves their Auntie very much!!

Greatness

This past Saturday I was in the presence of greatness. My knitting friend Sheetal and I went to see our other knitting friend Juanita in Ragtime at the Montgomery Theater in San Jose, CA.

If you did not go, then you missed out on a fantastic performance by the entire cast and Juanita was particularly great as Sarah's Friend and closed out the first act with her solo of 'Til We Reach That Day.

Juanita is a great performer and I am sure that we will be seeing more of her performances. Check her blog for more of her upcoming performances and of course the all important knitting content!!

Speaking of knitting content, the only thing I have to show you is another sock in progress and that is not very exciting but here it is anyway! My FakeIsle (my term, not the sock yarn or pattern) stockinette sock.

I don't remember the name of the yarn, I got the yarn at Stitches this year at the Webs booth, it has a German name, that is all I can remember. The ball band it at home, but if someone can tell me now what it is that would be FABO! Otherwise you will have to wait until I get home to read the ball band.

Adoption

So you are probably thinking due to the title of this post that I have signed up with an adoption agency, right? Well you are partially correct. I did sign up with an adoption organization, but not for a baby, well at least not yet (still holding out hope that it will happen) I adopted a solider! Yes, a soldier. Co-worker of mine did it and I thought that it was a good idea so I did too. Regardless of what your feelings are of the war in the Middle East, the soldiers should have our support. Both my father and my brother were in the Navy and I respect a person that serves our country no matter what decisions our government makes. So I went to this established organizations site, Adopt A US Soldier and signed up to adopt a deployed US soldier. When you adopt a soldier your level of commitment is as little as writing letters or as involved as sending care packages. The organization sent me an email with the name, address and email address of my soldier and a message from him which lists items that would be helpful if I would like to send a care package. Many of the US Armed Forces do not have easy access to items that would make them more comfortable while in the Middle East. I know when my brother was in the Navy it meant a lot to get packages of stuff when he was in the Persian Gulf. My soldier is from Florida and he is chief warrant officer (not sure what that means but I am sure I am going to find out.) Adopting a solider has given me a great feeling to know that I will make someones day a little better when they are giving so much of their life.

I thought that I would share a couple of photos of my father and brother.

Above is my father's Naval Academy Officer Flight School yearbook photo. I was trying to locate his formal officers photo but couldn't put my hands on it in time for this blog post, I will share later. My dad was stationed in Pensacola, FL in the mid 1960's

This is my brothers official Navy photo sitting on top of my fathers Navy yearbook. He was in the Navy during the late 1980's and was stationed in San Diego, CA. This is the brother who's business card usually gets me out of getting any tickets!

Since this is a knitting blog mainly, I am so close to finishing Richard's golf socks (Ravelry link) and I am just starting chart 4 on the Juno Regina (Ravelry link.) Whooo hooo, I am knitting lace!!

Breaking Blog Silence

I am breaking format that I attempted at the beginning of the year, writing letters to my great grandmother as my blog posts. Since my last blog posting was a while ago, I felt that I would just do an update of what has been happening.

First off, I am fine. Back in early March, the 11th actually, I found out that I was pregnant, the most blessed news that Sensei and I could have gotten. We have been trying for about 2 years and it was looking like we were going to require major medical help to have our family, so we were super excited when it happened naturally. However, only after a short 5 weeks of pregnancy, we lost the pregnancy. There are many details that have happened to lead up to the loss but the direct answer to what happened is I had an ectopic pregnancy. The ectopic was and is being treated with a chemotherapy called Methotrexate instead of surgery. So we are just awaiting more test and we will be trying again. There is nothing special about our situation, this happens to many people, but it just plain sucks. I have been quiet on the blog because I just didn't have anything good to say for a while. Well until now. I just want to let you know how much I love my knitting friends. They wanted to let me know that they were thinking of me when I was going through my loss, see what they sent...

And just when I thought the love couldn't get any better, in the mail yesterday I got this,




Yes, I took this picture at work. But look, I even got Hiya Hiya needles for each hank! The knitters really know me well to get me Hiya Hiya's cause my hands eat the nickel platting on the other needles.

So now I have to find just the right sock patterns for these, any suggestions? I am getting hungry for some cereal!!

Knitting projects, I started some "golf socks" for Sensei. We have been through a lot and I wanted to make him some socks. So I picked up some Panda Cotton in black and made some ankle socks for him to wear golfing. Knitting is my therapy, golf is his. And you know it is love when you knit black socks, the only up side about the whole project is that they are only ankle socks.

I am done the first one and I am on the gusset decreases on the second one. Ravelry details here.

I have more projects but I think I will save them for later so that I have more to post about. Looking forward to gettng back to blogging and knitting.