Friday, September 28, 2007

YAY!


SP Gifts
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
Woo Hoo!! Ok-here are the goodies!! Ok-if you can't see the picture clearly, included in the BIG box was 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride in an awesome green/blue shade, stitch markers, wafers(love those things!!), some hazlenut chocolate, cigars(giggle), insence, a keychain light(cannot tell you how my secret pal could have known how much I needed this right now!(more on that later)), the new Vogue Knitting, an awesome knitting card, and a satchel of good smelly stuff! Did I not say it was a BIG box?? THANK YOU SECRET PAL!!! Oh my gosh, I am just overwhelmed! I love everything!! And I love getting packages!! Wooo Hooo!!!

It's been a good day! I have spent most of this week moving furnature around, and just overall cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. I have this hutch-type thing that had been mostly blocked by my bed. Well, after moving things around, I am able to get to it again. So I am using it for my yarn storage, and I've put my knitting books/magazines on the shelves. Anywho. Where I put my yarn is in the bottom shelves, which have doors. It's pretty dark in there, and now I have a really good light that I can use(see above-I'm talking about the keychain-stay with me here). How perfect is that?? And the light is small enough not to be a bother, but bright enough to do the job, and do it well. YAY!!

So now all my knitting stuff is somewhat organized. (See how I've avoided useing the word 'stash'? I do not have a stash-I have 'stuff'.) And now I get a weekend to just relax, and knit, and enjoy my goodies!! I'll also be going to the Ephrata fair tomorrow for supper. Yummy fair food! (Like I need it-goals, people, goals.)

So everyone have a good weekend, and once again-thank you to my secret pal!!

Happy Knitting!

Christmas Came Early!!

Just a quick note-I wanted to thank my Secret Pal for the awesome goodies I received today! Love everything!! More later-with pictures!!!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

September KAL


September KAL
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
One more done! I really need to get on these dishcloths if I want to be done all of them in time for Christmas!

I haven't done much this weekend. Job searched, went to Wally World, Knit(of course!), and just relaxed. Because I could. It's been a good weekend!

Happy Knitting!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A small Hello!

Well....it's being a long week. I'm waiting on news, and I hate waiting. For anything. So, yeah.

I've cast on for my brother's hat-super excited!! And at least I'm still working on a Christmas gift while I figure out the mittens. I need to research patterns. Sigh.

Ok-nothing to report on any front, so......

Oh! But I have a goal for this fall!! My goal is to lose 15 pounds by Christmas. It's a logical goal, and absolutly do-able. Wish me luck!

Off to work on either Mom's socks or the hat. YAY!!

Happy Knitting!!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

First Place!


First Place!
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
These are my Jaywalkers! Entered in the very small Denver Fair. This is a much better picture then I posted before. The colors are more true.

So, yes, I went to the Denver fair yesterday. There were Alpacas at the free petting zoo. I was standing there, and I thought "I wonder if anyone sneaks in some clippers to grab some of that fur when no one's looking!"

But it was fun, and I ate wonderful fair food...yum!!! I even had a fried Oreo.

It's fair season here. And for the next month, each very small town takes it's turn. Denver is over. Next is Ephrata, I think. Then New Holland. YAY for fair season!!

I had an extreme disappointment last night. One that I have to say I have not yet encountered. I finished a mitten. (YAY!) And it is waaayyyy too small. I am a fairly new knitter, and up to this point, most of what I've made has worked out just fine when it was finished. Bags-if they were small, they were just smaller than the pattern said. Socks-they stretch, and really it wasn't that bad. Dishcloths-well who the hell cares if they're an inch smaller then the pattern calls for?? A sweater-still wearable.

Ok-I see a pattern here. Everything I make is too small. I think I need to move up another needle size when I knit.....anything. But the mittens will not work out as is. When you stretch a mitten out, you get holes, defeating the purpose of keeping your hands warm. In my defense of all this-the pattern I used had no gauge. And no measurments, finished or otherwise.

Bitches.

I have other mitten patterns though. I'm just assed up because I think of it as wasted time. Maybe I am more product knitter then process knitter.

Sigh.

So today I'll probably work on a little bit of everything as I try to figure out which mitten pattern to try next.

And tomorrow I'm sending out another package to my Secret Pal! YAY!!!

Happy Knitting!!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

An unexpected Day


Jaywalkers-Done!
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
Hey! I finished the Jaywalkers! YAY!!! And I haven't cast on for anythin g else(yet). The second one went smoothly, and took about 2 weeks or so.

So today. Let me just say this-up until at least yesterday morning, my plan was to sleep in, laze around, eventually go to the grocery, and just knit like hell all day.

Well. Let me tell you what I actually did.

I got up at the sound of my alarm, (on a Saturday!!), I took a walk up the road, then I went to Olde Peddler Wools in Morgantown, and knit from 10 am to 2 pm. They have a group that meets on the second Saturday of each month. It was fun-they are a great group of ladies, and I will certainly be back!
And yes, I bought some yarn. But it is for my brother's hat (Christmas gift), and therefore doesn't count. And I get bonus points for not buying any sock yarn!

So after I left there, I came home, then went to the grocery. Which happens to be next to the chinese place, so it was chinese Saturday. Then I came home again, then I went to a party. Danced, had a beverage, etc. It was good times! Sadly, it's 9pm, and I'm home. The party is at a house across the street from us, and I didn't know anyone except my parents. So. Here I sit at home on a Saturday night. Again.

But in a way-it feels good to be home because I was out running around all day.

So now I can cast on Mom's socks and start the mittens. And it better not get screwed up just because I had a beverage. These things can affect you ya know.

Happy Knitting!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Yarn Shop Whore (And how I got this way)


Mom's Sock Yarn
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
So I was all settled in on Friday. Me and my super long weekend. Then I got up Saturday and figured I' d go to Staples, and get the rest of my soft cover knitting books spiral bound. And hey-isn't there a yarn shop along the way? Hmm..maybe I'll stop. And if I stop at a yarn store I can't not buy anything. Sooo...$7.50 and a knitters notebook that I really didn't need later, I realized that maybe I have a yarn store problem.
Then, I got home. My mother had gone to The Mannings . And although I had know she was going, I was under the impression that she wanted one book, and that she had emailed, and they said they had it. So she went to pick it up. This is where it gets tricky. Mom is a product crafter. She sees something she likes, and she does whatever crafty thing she needs to do to get the finished product. I have seen her do this with a knitted hat, a crocheted scarf, a plastic canvas wallhanging, a quilt, a Halloween costume(Raggedy Ann and Andy(she went as Andy)), Christmas tree ornaments in various styles, a scrapbook, etc.,
Maybe the yarn fumes got to her or something. She came back with not only the book she went for (on Shadow knitting), but also a book on cables, a book on Aran designs, the sock yarn seen above (for me to knit her some socks), and something else......another book maybe? I'm blanking. (A pattern! That's what else-sorry!)

This must be where I get my yarn store problem from. It's in my DNA.

So anywho! I've been knitting all weekend, and I'm part-way down the foot of the second Jaywalker. I worked on the sweater a little, and I started the September dishcloth. (SnB KAL)

I'm sending my Secret Pal another package tomorrow! YAY! I love shopping for gifts to send. Gives me an exscuse to go to the yarn stores! ;)

That's about it. Back to work tomorrow. (eh) And good-bye summer! (Hello Fall! We missed ya!)


Happy Knitting!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Jaywalker in STR


Jaywalker in STR
Originally uploaded by writing_alyssa
One down! The colorway is Seal Rock, and I picked it up at Maryland Sheep & Wool. It looks awesome! And it's medium weight, so it'll be a nice winter sock. These will be gifted to my Mom for Christmas. And I'm about 3 and 1/2 inches into the second one. Then it's on to mittens!

Anywho. Happy September!! This weekend marks the unoffical end of summer, and I gotta say-I'm ready for fall. That coolness in the air, the crisp fall air that begs for a sweater. Ahhh...I love it!

So yesterday. First, I went to Green Dragon, which is a flea market/farmers market/fair/find-anything-you-ever-needed-or-thought-of kind of place. I even saw an iPod for $40. Yeah. It's that kind of place. It is HUGE! It's only open on Fridays, and very close to my house. I bought 3 bras for $10. Good stuff. And I got the best parking space EVER!! It was good times.

Then I went to Staples and got both of my Sensational Socks books spiral bound. My total bill was $4.22!!!! Going to get all my softcover books done!

Then I went and got pictures developed off my digital camera. Some of them came out grain-y. Not sure what that's about, but now I can start on my Knitting Journal!!

Then, then!!! I went to Yarn Gallery

It was awesome!! Located in West Reading. The ladies there are super nice, and I got some stuff for my secret pal. And maybe some sock yarn for me! I also found a cool sweater pattern, and a book I had been looking at for 50% off!! YAY!!! I will certainly be back.

I sort of forget that there are so many yarn shops just a short drive away. It took me 15 minutes to get to Yarn Gallery, and I had never been. There is also a yarn shop about 5 minutes from my house, and I rarely go there. It's because I'm not a stasher. I go to a yarn shop if I need something specific. Like yesterday, I needed a contrasting color for the mittens. Granted, I found a bunch of other stuff, but my total bill was still only $36. They have a lot of clearence yarns. In fact, the sock yarn I bought was on clearance. I really liked the shop, and they had loads of lovely yarn, but......I'm just not a stasher.

So today, I will be working on my second Jaywalker. I'm getting closer to meeting my Christmas goals. I'm now down to 21 washcloths, about 3/4 of the Jaywalker to do, a set of mittens, a cabled headband, a hat for my brother(which I already have the pattern for), and.....well, maybe another pair of socks for Mom. And I think that's it. I also really want to work on my sweater! But I also don't want to be up until all hours on Christmas Eve knittin' away. And something else is bound to come up-because it always does.

So that's it. On to the Jaywalker.....................

Happy Knitting!