Lets finish, shall we??

My niece turned 7 yesterday, I called her to wish her a Happy Birthday. She and her family were on the way to dinner, and I asked her where she was going.

Me: Where are you going to eat for your Birthday?
Niece: CPK
Me: CPK???
Niece: (insert an annoyed and disbelief voice) California Pizza Kitchen Aunt Lisa!
Me: Oh yeah, CPK.

Who knew my 7 year old niece was so hip to us acronyms?? Hopefully she will look hip when I get this sweater all sewn up. I need to get on it because I think the hemmed neck and button bands that I am planning are going to take some concentration to look good.

I hope she will like the hidden pink on the hem facing and besides the pink, I added a little surprise in the hem to show you later.

And speaking of finishing, I need to get further along on this very colorful project. Remember the Webs purchase? Well this is where that purchase resides in my living room, a nice DEEP lined basket. I have 5 tiers of the blanket done, but I was hoping to have it complete by Stitches West so that I could show Kathy what became of all the yarn she shipped to me.

Pictures are going to have to do for now. I am going to be setting a deadline for myself on this project, if not, then this will linger for years I am afraid. Plus, who wants to knit a blanket in a California summer?

Speaking of Stitches West, I will be there Thursday through Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing people that I have not seen for awhile (Kristi and Jeni especially) and I hope to meet new knitters and create new friendships. So if you see me, I don't see you, make sure you say hello!

Black Pearl

I was inspired by my friend Nathania's new fingerless mitts and decided that I wanted to knit a quick useful project for me. And so I purchased a hank of Dream in Color's Smooshy in the Black Pearl colorway and started right away. Cast on 44 stitches and did a 2x2 rib pattern until they were as long as I wanted them before starting the thumb gusset.

Pattern: Improvised from about 3 other patterns

Materials: Dream In Color Smooshy

Colorway: Black Pearl

Needles: US 6/4.0mm

Start Date: February 15, 2009

Finish Date: February 20, 2009

I took these pictures with my new camera and I am really impressed with the noticeable difference in the quality of my photos with the Canon as opposed to my other digital camera. Don't get me wrong, my other camera did a good job and will continue to be used for quick snap shots, but I just have to say that I love love love my new camera. I think I will have to give it a name....any suggestions? And maybe it is not a her, maybe it is a him? Let me know what you think, I will give yarn to the best suggestion so leave me a comment.

And I will leave you with this picture of Sensei and Mugsy while you are thinking of a name for my camera. This is Mugsy's favorite place to lay down, he is a cuddlier. Mugsy sure loves his daddy!

New equipment = LOVE

This just arrived today for me. I have been shopping for a DSLR for a little while, asking experienced photographers like Bill Walker for advice and this is what I decided on...

Another piece of technology that I recently obtained is my new iPod Nano. Sensei actually bought me this for my birthday back in December and I just have not blogged about it. Under the iPod is the half of a pair of fingerless mitts that I am currently knitting for myself. I am using Dream In Color-Black Pearl doing a 2x2 ribbing.

And these are the first pictures that I took with my new camera...

My African violet that sits on my desk, I happen to really love African violets. I actually love plants that flower. You can see the fuzzy detail on the leaves so clearly, the new camera is sooo easy to use, I love it.

My favorite flowering plant? Orchids! This is the orchid that sits on the cabinet behind me in my cubical. This was given to me by one of my co-workers a few days ago. Her mom grows them and it was time to split them and re-pot so she had an abundance and shared with all of us.

As a side note, none of the photos that I took with the new camera were retouched.

I am desperately trying to finish up a couple of things that are so close to show you new finished projects. I need to hurry, Stitches West is coming and nothing will get done during that time.

25 Random Things

This meme has been going around Facebook and I was tagged there, so I thought I would post it here too. Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.


1. When I entered High School, there were 3 things I wanted to complete, I did 2 out of the three, I was a cheerleader all four years and I was the yearbook editor 2 years in a row.

2. I miss seeing my brothers and their families, I wish we all lived closer.

3. I wanted to be married and have 4 kids after high school, I am unmarried and I have no kids.

4. I was named after a soap opera character from As The World Turns, if I as a boy, I would have been named Dirk (a character in a book my mom was reading when she was pregnant with me.)

5. I have been trying to get pregnant for 2 years now, frustrating!

6. I have never lived out side the state of California

7. I moved 13 times in 10 years. My best friends started writing my address and phone number in pencil after the 4th move.

8. Red is my favorite color and green is a very close second. I hate the color orange, I wore a bit to much of it between 1987 - 1990.

9. I installed my own ceiling fan and I installed my grandmothers garbage disposal.

10. I have been pulled over for speeding, no seat belt and or running a red light about 10 time total, I have only gotten 2 tickets thanks to my brother Todd being a police officer, his business card is magic!

11. I have always thought my hair was my strength.

12. I miss my father, I miss him very much.

13. I almost hooked up with a guy after lots of drinking in a bar only to find out after chatting a while that we were cousins....that was strange!

14. I taught myself how to knit while recovering from a surgery.

15. Out of all my jobs I have ever had, waiting tables was actually my favorite thing. Weird, I know.

16. Ok, this is odd, but it is random....Denise Terry and I both lived in a house on Hillcrest Dr in Selma (not at the same time) and we both dated the same guy from Kingsburg (not at the same time either, well at least I don't think so, hahahaha)

17. I love to bake and I think I am pretty good at it too.

18. I have had 4 surgeries in my lifetime.

19. I have been close to death more than once.

20. I regret not going to my Senior Prom. I went to a frat party at Fresno State with my friend from Reedley.

21. There is only one person in my life, that if she needed me to help her bury a body I would, she knows who she is :)

22. I play golf and I like it. I started to golf because of a man, not a great reason, but I liked it and kept playing long after he was gone!

23. Gina (Alves) Luberto and I were skiing in Sierra Summit and ran into Tim Dodd and Daniel Nulick, we started to ski down a run and there was an accident and I split Tim Dodds forehead open. I hear he still has a scar from that day. The entire story is quite good, ask me sometime.

24. I am rekindling my love of photography.

25. I sure there are much more random things about me, but it is late and I am tired, so just ask me what ever you want, I will probably tell you.

I have been tagged several times, if you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.

The recant...

I have in the past said some not so nice things about how, lets say, "challenging" Elizabeth Zimmerman's patterns seem to be. What I have come to realize about EZ patterns is, they are not really for a beginner knitter. After completing 64 projects (according to Ravelry) I can better understand what EZ is saying when she is talking you through her pattern. Which leads me to my latest completed project, A Very Warm Hat.

Pattern: A Very Warm Hat
Source: The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Materials: Cascade 220 Heathers
Colorway: Grey and Blue 2424
Needles: US 7/4.5mm and US 9/5.5mm
Start Date: January 10, 2009
Finish Date: January 14, 2009

As you can see it is a hat, a double thick hat. Now this is not really a hard thing to figure out and I think it is one of the easier EZ patterns. You cast on for a hat, knit the entire hat as normal and then pick up stitches on the cast on edge and knit the second hat . Easy peasy!

The pattern can be knit plain, with no stranded color work or she offers you a chart to add a little design. I did not care for the chart and wanted to make it more personal for my brother. So I searched my knitting books and came up with the braid or chain looking pattern that is kind of Celtic looking on the grey side of the hat and the Waves on the blue side of the hat. Both these motif's have meaning to my brother.

And I think it fits my handsome brother very well... HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!!

This will come in handy for his youth groups winter camp coming up in a few weeks because it is A Very Warm Hat! So I am taking back my previous unkind words about her patterns, I am a more mature knitter and have come to appreciate her genius.

As I mentioned in my last post, my niece and nephew got the socks that I knit them back in September of 2007 finally 16 months later. Several people have been amazed, I assure you not as much as I was and the number one question was...What did the post office say?

They didn't say anything, they dropped the box at the door and this is what it looked like...

In case you can't see what they hand wrote on the note it says, "Sorry! was in parcel locker!" What was in the box you ask? I packed the socks in these mini lunch pails that I found at Target, so when they opened the box they got these mini pails and the surprise socks were inside.

Unfortunately my nephew's socks don't fit him now but my niece's sock do thankfully.

Soon I should be able to share with you the socks that I am knitting for the Socks That Rock Leyburn KAL I joined, my niece's, I am 7 Cardigan, and another A Very Warm Hat for Senesi (he almost stole my brothers.) I am going to do Sensei's in fingering weight this time, wish me luck.

Bronze Monkey, you funky monkey

Can you hear the Beastie Boys song in your head? Well these socks are not Brass Monkey's cause this colorway of Casbah is Bronze and I love love love this yarn. This is the second time that I have knit the Monkey pattern and I still love the pattern.

Pattern: Monkey

Source: Knitty, Winter 2006 by CookieA

Materials: Handmaiden Casbah Sock

Colorway: Bronze

Needles: US 1-1/2 / 2.5mm

Start Date: January 2, 2009

Finish Date: January 23, 2009

To be honest, these pictures look a little washed out. The color is better than this, it was just an overcast day and I could not get any good natural light. But this won't be a problem when I get my new camera in a couple of weeks.

Also, if you noticed it took me almost an entire month to knit these. Well, that is because work has been, CRAZY. You don't come here to read how crazy work has been for me so I will spare you the gory details. Things are better now and my knitting projects are getting back in line very quickly. I have some exciting things in my "To Knit" list coming up. I have about 3 projects that are sooo close to being done and one project ready to blog once the person has received his birthday gift. A hint about the birthday gift completed project ready to blog....I have give Elizabeth Zimmerman another chance and I might have to recant some of my prior statements I have made towards her.

In other exciting news, I am happy about our new President. I wish him godspeed in getting this country back into the glory it once displayed. And if you have followed my blog for a while you might remember when I knit my niece and nephew socks. And if you do not recall what happened to them here click here and here to refresh your memory. Those events took place September 2007. This is January 2009, doing the math, that is 16 MONTHS later, my brother called me to say he was sending a picture via text message of the kids. They were wearing the socks!! He said they came home and there was a box at the door with a note on it saying they were sorry but they found the box in a lock box (whatever that means?!?!) 16 MONTHS!!! My nephew has already grown out if the socks that I knit him, he was 3 when they were made but for photo purposes, they squeezed them on, my niece can still wear hers thankfully. Unfortunately the quality of the camera phone picture was not good enough to post, maybe we will get some action shots of the reunited socks.

Scruchable Gift

Pattern: Scrunchable Cowl
Source: Scrunchable Cowl by Rosi Garmendia
Size: Small (modified)
Materials: Malabrigo Natural
Needles: US 7 / 4.5mm
Start Date: December 20, 2008
Finish Date: December 21, 2008

I saw this pattern on Ravelry, actually I sought it out after seeing Cristi's version of the Scrunchable Cowl on her blog. Cowls have been the hot new accessory to knit this year it seems, I have done several myself in plain stockinette stitch. So I wanted to mix things up a bit and love and hate this patter all at the same time. Let me explain, see those deep waves of knitting twisting and turning?

That is the part that I hated, the 16 stitch cables. They were, well, a bitch to do, but worth it in the long run. I think if I had used a wool that had more spring/stretch it would have been easier, however Malabrigo was in my stash and I want to try to knit from my stash when ever possible.

I am pleased with the over all look of the cowl and I think that the color (or lack there of color) winter white looks stunning with this pattern and compliments my sister-in-law. The only modification made to the cowl is an extra cable repeat to make it a bit longer. This was her 2008 Christmas present. Since I mailed her present, I had to get the modeled shots a few weeks later. My niece wanted to test out the cowl too.

Presenting Miss Sophie...

Pattern: Sophie

Source: Ysolda Teague

Size: One Size

Materials: Cascade Cash Vero Aran in Rose #11 and Socks That Rock in Carbon

Amount: 196 yrds (2 balls) Cash Vero and 32 yrds Socks That Rock

Needles: US 5 / 3.75 mm and US 7 / 4.5 mm

Start Date: December 15, 2008

Finish Date: January 1, 2009

Don't let the antique colored pink fool you, Sophie is a modern girl, she came to work with me today. She was not much of a worker though, she just wanted to hang out and look cute.

Sophie challenged me a bit, which I like to have when I do a new project. I had to learn how to make a French Knot. I found this great video tutorial that helped me out a lot. The nose is not as nice looking as I would have hoped, I seriously need to work on my embroidery skills. Oh but the best part, she is knit seamless!

Modifications: Ysolda's pattern is written beautifully, you have little left to your interpretation which is nice. The pattern called for a sport weight yarn, however I wanted to have a larger bunny so I picked an aran weight yarn instead. Also, I wanted to make the bunny have some weight to her that would help her sit better, so I inserted a small bag of white rice in her behind. The only problem with that is, it makes a little bit of noise. Next time I will have to come up with a better plan instead of winging it last minute.

And the last modification is the ears. I had one ear completed and ran out of yarn. So I ripped out the first ear and then picked up stitches with a needle 2 sizes larger (US7) and adjusted the ear to be not as wide and not as long. With those adjustments I had enough to finish her. I tried using a second color in the interior of the ear but that made for a really dense fabric on the ear and was not looking good.

Accessories: It is the winter time, Sophie needed a scarf. I took left over sock yarn from my Carbon Copy Monkey's and knit a quick scarf. I casted on 10 stitches, knit in the round and added fringe because it is winter and Miss Sophie will be cold without it! Oh and she seems to have a fond attraction to margarita's just like her creator, I guess the apple does not fall from the tree!


Sophie will be given to my 6 year old niece tomorrow January 3rd, sans tequila, and hopefully be loved and cared for. Pictures of them to come later. Sophie, the first FO of 2009!!

My 2008 knits in review

When I created this mosaic of my finished projects, I couldn't help thinking that I had knitted more this year. I was not wrong, I have knit more, I just had not FINISHED everything! We are not going to talk about what is STILL on the needles. What are my New Years Resolutions you ask?

1. Examine what is on my needles unfinished, frog what I do not like anymore and finish what I think will work.
2. Get pregnant
3. Knit more socks for me
4. Get pregnant
5. Clean out all the clutter in the house
6. Get pregnant (Time is a wastin!)

And the first project to be finished in 2009??


This is going to make a certain 6 year old girl really happy, when I finish her. Deadline? January 3rd, 2009.

I wish you a happy and safe 2009 with much success!

Foggy Day Schedule???

Growing up in the Central Valley of California there is a love hate relationship with fog. Parents hate the fog and kids love it because that meant Foggy Day Schedules at school. There were many winter mornings while living in the Central Valley, that I would wake up, turn on the TV to the local Public Television station and watch and wait for my school name scroll along the bottom of the screen telling me that I could go back to bed for another hour and a half! If memory serves me, school would start around 10am on Foggy Days. Now that I am a grown up (sort of) there are no more Foggy Day Schedule for me, so today, I made one up!

This is a picture of San Jose fog…


Now here is REAL fog, the stuff from home (Central Valley of California) that we call Tule Fog...

And honestly, that is good visibility right there, I have driven in much much worse fog.

I will be posting about knitting later this week, Happy Knitting!

Won't you help little Sophie??

This is Sophie, she is a soft sweet thing that is missing an ear cause well, I ran out of yarn! That little bit you see is not enough to get half way down the last ear. So if anyone out there has a little bit of Cash Vero Aran weight in what I believe is the light pink they call Rose #11 please help little Sophie to get an ear so she can make a little 6 year old girl happy.

PS... I have attempted to buy another ball of this yarn at my LYS, but they are out of stock. Besides, I only need a small amount.

Merry Christmas

I am happy to report that all my Christmas knitting is DONE and wrapped. I only knitted 7 gifts this year which is lower than the previous years, so that helped. And this is my new Christmas tree, it is a fake for several reasons. We do not have a lot of space in the living room for a real tree that is wide at the bottom for one. This tree is 6' tall from base to tip top and is pre-lit with white lights and has a decorative urn base. So when I found this narrow tree I knew I had to have it, it fits perfect in the living room.

I wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Well, not really a chicken dinner, but I thought it was funny. Not sure where I have heard that before, but it sure stuck in my head. The lucky person to win my Birthday Blog Contest is.....

JANET

Janet is a knit blogger from Texas and has a beautiful and inspirational blog Twisted Knitter.

And for the answers.

1.What happened when Sensei and I went to Disneyland?
I got sick, I mean really sick. We ended up staying at the hotel 2 extra days so I could get rest and meds before traveling home.

2.What color do I dislike?
ORANGE. I wore orange in high school almost everyday because I was a cheerleader and that was our school colors. It is not a flattering color on me.

3.Where did we go and what did we do for Sensei’s birthday?
We went to the Superbike races at Laguna Seca and rode in the Official Pace car. It was the most exhilarating experience that I have had, that track is really something.

4.What song did Juanita sing at the karaoke contest?
She sang Lady Marmalade and was FANTASTIC! If you have not seen it yet, click here.

5.Where did I take my niece and nephew when they stayed with me?
Looking back on it, too many places for such a short trip as it turned out. But we had a great time at the Oakland Zoo, Chuckie Cheese, Drive-in Movie to see Wall-E and a couple of parks to play. I can't wait to get them next summer.

Everyone, have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Friday, another FO!

It started out looking like this...

and then a few days later....

Pattern: Changeling Cowl

Source: Modified from Pashmina Cowl in Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Size: 13" long
Materials: Manos del Uruguay Manos Silk Blend

Colorway: 3105

Amount: 2 skeins -300 yards ( 1/4 of the 2nd skein left)
Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm
Start Date: November 23, 2008
Finish Date: December 6, 2008

I am really happy about the way that the colors DID NOT POOL. I am not a fan of pooling at all, so this yarn made me happy and it was a pleasure to knit with, even in the dark! This is going to be a Christmas gift, so hopefully I will get modeled shots later, that is if I can find my charger to my digital camera...oops.

Ok, last chance to win some yarn! Contest ends tonight at Midnight. I will draw the name in the morning and post the winner. Need a last minute Christmas gift? Enter, you could win.

I am IT now...

I was tagged by Jasmin on this meme. What I’m supposed to do is find the 4th picture folder on my computer. I’m to put the 4th picture from that folder on my blog and tell 4 facts about the photo. Then tag 4 other people and comment on their blog letting them know they are IT!

1.This was taken the day after Thanksgiving 2008

2. Pictured is Sensei and his 4 year old niece Tia.

3. Tia LOVES to take pictures, I mean LOVES it!!

4.On that day at Sensei's dad's house, there must have been 25 people in the kitchen and living room all at the same time. Four of the five brothers in Sensei's family were there with their family's and I learned how to make "real" macaroni and cheese.

Ok, Carrie, Janet, Kristi, and Janice...You are all IT!

Oh yeah, you all still have time left to enter the contest!

Baby its cold out side...

This week so far feels to me like the coldest it has been since I have lived in San Jose (4 years.) It has been in the low 4o's and that is really cold for the Silicon Valley. With all these cold days I am sure these will come in handy!

Pattern: Toasty

Source: A Friend to knit with

Size: Adult

Materials: Plymouth Yarn Royal Cashmere

Amount: 125.0 yards

Needles: US 7 / 4.5 mm

Start Date: December 5, 2008

Finish Date: December 9, 2008

Christmas gift for my best friend. She has skinnier hands than me, so they will look much better on her. This yarn was nice, but I would not run out and seek to buy it again, well unless there was some really wicked good sale, maybe.

Only three days left to enter the Birthday Blog Contest. All the answers can be found in my past blog entries. The person who answers the most correctly wins, in the event of a tie, names will go into a hat and a winner will be drawn. What am I giving away? Yarn of course. What yarn, well, it will be a choice of Socks That Rock, Malabrigo or Rowan Kid Silk Haze (NOT my new Sundara yarn-sorry.) Contest will be closed December 19th at midnight. Winner will be announced on My Birthday, December 20th. Email your answers to: twistedstitches71 AT gmail DOT com

1.What happened when Sensei and I went to Disneyland?
2.What color do I dislike?
3.Where did we go and what did we do for Sensei’s birthday?
4.What song did Juanita sing at the karaoke contest?
5.Where did I take my niece and nephew when they stayed with me?

Turn A Square

This past weekend I Turned A Square.

It was so nice, I did it twice!

Pattern: Turn A Square
Source: Brooklyn Tweed (Jared Flood)
Size: Adult
Materials: Cascade 220 and Noro Silk Garden
Amount: 40g Cascade and 25g Noro Silk Garden
Needles: US 6 / 4.0 mm and US 7 / 4.5 mm
Start Date: December 14, 2008
Finish Date: December 14, 2008
Quantity: 2 Hats

This hat is super simple and super quick, I did 2 in one day (Yes, that means I did NOTHING else but knit, jealous??) The first one, I had some technique issues and by the time I did the second one, that was all worked out. The second one however does not change color enough in the stripe sections to be noticeable even though they really did change color. Over all I am happy with them and I hope my brothers will be too!

And don't forget my Birthday Blog Contest. Who doesn't like to win yummy yarn? And Christmas is so close, you can win and give it as a gift too (I won't tell) Contest ends midnight December 19 and the winner will be announced on December 20th.

Happy Monday...I got yarn!

Look what I found on my desk when I came into work this morning???

And this is what I found inside...

The Life Aquatic

Sundara Winter Seasons Yarn Club shipment

50% silk - 50% merino wool

500 yards, 150 grams

Now, what to knit with it??? Any suggestions, please comment, help a sista out!

Yes, it is that time again, my birthday blog contest. I like the scavenger hunt type of contest, it is my blog and my birthday, so that is the format again this year.

So this is how the contest goes, below are the questions, email your answers to: twistedstitches71 AT gmail DOT com

All the answers can be found in my past blog entries. The person who answers the most correctly wins, in the event of a tie, names will go into a hat and a winner will be drawn. What am I giving away? Yarn of course. What yarn, well, it will be a choice of Socks That Rock, Malabrigo or Rowan Kid Silk Haze (NOT my new Sundara yarn-sorry.) Contest will be closed December 19th at midnight. Winner will be announced on My Birthday, December 20th

What happened when Sensei and I went to Disneyland?

What color do I dislike?

Where did we go and what did we do for Sensei’s birthday?

What song did Juanita sing at the karaoke contest?

Where did I take my niece and nephew when they stayed with me?

Good luck!

One hot mess...

My birthday and Christmas is fast approaching. If anyone out there has me on their gift list or would like to add me to their list of people to buy for this year, I have a suggestion for you...

That is 100% cashmere in a wicked tangled mess! What does that mean? I need a ball winder and swift. Could I wait just a day or so to go to my LYS to wind this hank of cashmere? Nooooo, I had to hand wind it my self so I could cast on a Christmas gift. But instead of casting on, I am trying to untangle! %#$@ OK, stop laughing!

Like I Need A Hole In My Head...

I wanted to go to a movie, a chick flick to be more accurate. Sensei, although very willing to accept my movie choices for the most part was not thrilled about seeing the Changeling.

So I called my friend Karol and set a plan. But that is like 2 hours with sitting and no knitting, not something I can do easily. The only projects that I have working currently are not dark movie theater friendly, cables and lace, I think not. Unfortunately I was no where near home where my rather large and out of control stash is currently spilling over into other rooms of the house and pick out some yarn and start a dark movie theater knitting project. What is a Dark Movie Theater Knitting project you may ask? To me that is this seasons hottest accessory, a cowl, plain stockinette in the round. Currently I have two others working but they are not Dark Movie Theater Knitting, has cables and the other is double knit. Fortunately I was at my LYS when I made the movie plans and I strolled over and picked out some yarn to start ANOTHER project (the 7th now on the needles, but who is counting?!?) I purchased 2 hanks of Manos del Uruguay Manos Silk Blend and I was already carrying with me a 16" cable US 7 needle (doesn't everyone?) so I was good to go with the Dark Movie Theater Knitting. Now, here is a tip about Dark Movie Theater Knitting so you may be more successful, sit in the back row of the theater. Why do you ask? So when you drop a stitch you can use the light from your cell phone to see when picking the stitch back up with out drawing attention to yourself. Oh and it is most helpful if you have someone to hold the phone open while you are picking up your dropped stitch otherwise you may have to resort to the Daniel Day Lewis-My Left Foot move.

The movie was good, a true story that spanned the late 1920's to the early 1930's about a woman who's child had been kidnapped and her fight against the LAPD to find her son. I really thought that I was going to break down and cry several times, I usually do, however I did not in this movie. Trust me, it is a moving/touching story, but to bring me to tears, not this time.

The cowl, I was going to call it LINAHIMH (Like I Need A Hole In My Head) Cowl, but after writing this blog post, I have decided to rename it Dark Movie Theater Cowl.

Oh and I need to mention, Angelina is wearing some fierce red lipstick in the movie. I have been in search of the best red lipstick and by god I think that was it on screen. Some please tell me what brand she was using in the movie!

This will be my last blog post until after Thanksgiving, I will be with out Internet for a few days. And my birthday is next month, time for another contest-giveaway. I like the "scavenger hunt" type of contest, answer questions from my blog to win a prize. So keep an eye out for that. Have a safe and and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Au Revoir and Danke

Sunday I attended a going away party for a fellow knitter friend of mine, Jeni. She is moving to Omaha, NE to be closer with her family. Jeni is a great knitter, designer and friend. She was one of the first few knitters that welcomed me when I started knitting and I will always be grateful to her for her kindness towards me, I will miss seeing her weekly at the Boba Knitting. Wow, this is starting to sound like an obituary...she is very much a live, you can see here and here (forgot my camera so I have to direct you to other blogs) and she will be back for visits and for STITCHES!! Jeni, don't forget to knit our Hazel Knits sock yarn in time for Stitches. So that was the Au Revoir part, now to the Danke part...

I fully support my favorite LYS's, Purlescence Yarns and Bobbin's Nest, and you too should support your favorite LYS, it is good karma. But there is no reason that our favorite online stores can't get some love too. Remember this purchase by my boss? Well Kathy Elkins of WEBS was alerted to my blog post and commented. To my surprise she enjoyed the story and wanted to thank me for "creating" a huge sale, a few days later I received this...
A very nice "thank you" gift no? In the package is seven balls of Valley Yarns Hadley, a 50% wool and 50% silk blend in the Elderberry colorway (the picture is showing it a little darker than it really is) also included is a Lantern Moon silk project bag a pattern for a shawl and scarf that I can use the Hadley with and a nice handwritten note card. It was all unexpected and very gracious, thank you Kathy, see you at Stitches West?!?

Now, my latest project that I have cast on for...

Yes, it is red, my favorite color and I realized that I have not knit anything for myself in red. So I am now. The yarn is Plymouth Suri Merino that I bought at Purlescence Yarns almost two years ago. It was my surprise birthday present from Sensei that year. I went into the shop and and they said, "Oh Lisa, there is an envelope for you here" and when I opened it I found a gift certificate for $100 from Sensei. I know, all together now, AAHHHHHH. At first I was going to knit the Refined Raglan from Interweave Knits Winter 2006 but after reading some of the Ravelry posts about the yarn being REALLY warm, I thought that a pullover would not be the best option. I am hoping to have this done and ready to wear for Thanksgiving. Here is to best laid plans.