Whiskers on Wednesday

Jasmine wasn't so cooperative with me this week, but her mice were! They both sat nice & still & smiled for the camera.

Jazzy loves her Darn!Sock mice toys, speaking of which one of them is missing at the moment. Looks like I'm gonna have to go mice hunting under the furniture with the swiffer. LOL

So for this week's WoW, since Jaz wasn't feeling up to having a photo shoot, I'm gonna give my pal Melissa a plug. If any of you cats out there want your own Darn!Sock mouse tell your mommie or daddy to email Melissa at darnsocks[at]hotmail[dot]com, let her know that you want one. They are only $8 each, and that includes shipping! She accepts paypal so it's super easy or order one. Melissa makes all of these mice by hand out of socks. She does have a couple of little helpers that test all of the mice for her. :) Aven and Itty Bitty.

Now remember kittyz, let your mom or dad order the Darn!Sock mouse for you!! You know that if they catch you ordering stuff online with the credit card you're gonna get in trouble! LOL

Pay It Forward Exchange

I have my 3 participants in the Pay It Forward exchange, Marilyn (aka Skipper), Kathy (aka Gypsyknits), and Mary (aka Vegasangelbrat). Yay! I'm so excited to get to knit something for these 3 wonderful ladies. I just met Marilyn, so it's gonna be nice to get to know someone new. Everyone go check out her blog, she lives on a boat! How cool is that??? I already know Kathy & Mary, but here is my chance to get to know them a little better and to be able to do something nice for them. As they have both been incredibly nice to me this past year. If you don't know them yet, head over to their blogs and say hello, both super great ladies!

The last time I checked Marilyn still had one spot open, Kathy and Mary both have spots open to fill.

Now don't get scared off of this exchange cause you have to make 3 items. If you choose you could make someone a sweater or a pair of socks or a shawl, but it really doesn't have to be that elaborate if you choose not to. It could be a set of dishcloths, or a scarf.... heck, it really doesn't even have to be knitted, you can crochet a gift, or sew a gift, or if you are into soap making do that. The whole point is just to do something nice for someone just because. And it gives us all a chance to meet someone new, a future friend. Come on, you know you want to play with us. :)

Now I'm off to Ravelry to search for some gifts to knit!

Finished Project!

Another Gold Medal in the Ravelympics! I finished up my Tidal Streams scarf. I really enjoyed this pattern, and I plan on making the shawl version too. I should be able to get the scarf & shawl knitted from the 2 balls of TOFUtsies that I have.

I did miss finishing up one of my projects in the WIP Wrestling.... oh well, I got 2 projects finished so I consider that a success!

And I cast on for a new project, the Trumpet-sleeved Shrug, this is a free pattern on the Drops website. When I get a little further along I'll post a photo, it's not real exciting at the moment with only 5 rows done. :) I'm using some elann.com Sierra Aran in the Sangria colorway.

Off to cook dinner & hopefully knit a little...

PS - I still have one spot open for the Pay It Forward exchange (see post below) if anyone is interested! :)

A Sad Goodbye...

I'd like to ask for a few extra thoughts & prayers for my friend Chan, her Knight & sweet Sissy. They lost their beloved Mugsy this past weekend. It was a shock, and very heartbreaking. You will be terribly missed sweet Prince!

PVC Niddy Noddy

Lookie what I made! My very own Niddy Noddy.

I'm not sure where the original plans came from, Chan sent them to me in an email. So if anyone would like it just let me know & I'll send them to ya.

It was super simple, only took me about 5 minutes to get it all cut. But you know me, I couldn't have just a plain ol PVC niddy noddy! I bought some paint that is supposed to adhere to plastic, I figured that if it would stick to plastic, surely it'll stick to PVC!

I had a $5 Off coupon for Ace Hardware, with that the total I paid for the PVC & the paint was a whopping $2.44! Now that's a bargain! And my purpley-blue niddy noddy works great, got my newly homespun Monkey Fuzz superwash wool yarn on there, tied it up, gave it a bath, now it's hanging in the laundry room drying.....

Another successful, affordable project completed! Now to get knitting on that Tidal Streams Scarf! Got to hurry, the Ravelympics are almost over!

I still have 2 spots open for the Pay It Forward Exchange (see post below) for anyone who is interested. I promise to knit you something purdy!! :)

Pay It Forward

Grace has started another round of Pay it Forward. I am paying it forward from Chan's blog.

Pay It Forward is based on the movie with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. It was a book first, written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. With all of the things happening these days, random acts of kindness are a good thing. I haven't read the book but I have seen the movie and it is worth watching!

This is what the PIF Exchange is all about. I’ll send a knitted 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, maybe not until 2009…LOL… but you will receive it within 365 days, that’s a promise! The only thing you have to do in return is then 'pay it forward' by promising to do the same on your own blog.

I think this is a wonderful idea, and I'm really excited to see who signs up! The only Extra rule that I have to add is, anyone who signs up must have a current & active blog. This is just to make my life easier, I can learn more about someone that way & be able to choose something to knit for them that they may actually like. :)

Whiskers on Wednesday

It's Wednesday again already! Where has my week gone???

Today when I got home there was one of those HUGE writing spiders on the front storm door.... needless to say this has entertained Jazzy for quite a while. She went between pawing at the door, looking at me & meowing at me like I was supposed to get it for her (yeah right!), and laying not far from the door keeping watch on it.... I personally didn't like the spider at all, but Jaz sure did!

Don't forget to head over to the WoW official site! Georgi's Jack & Jill are featured this week, such cuties! :)

On the knitting front.... I finished one of my Ravelympics WIP Wrestling projects! Behold.... my Mitt Envys!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to wish me a Happy Birthday!

I had a great day, even though I had to work. :)

All of you guys were part of the reason it was a good day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

To ME! LOL

Hope everyone has a great day! :)

(I know, this is a shameless plug to get all of you to wish me a happy birthday! SNOL! A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do!)

Saturday Projects....

I have been knitting on my Ravelympics projects, I've cast on for my second Mitt Envy.... I'm on the 5th repeat (of 12) on my Tidal Streams scarf.... but I also worked on a few other projects today.

First let me show you my porch rocking chairs & table. This first photo you can see the table is done, it's had a new coat of cherry stain. The rocking chair shows what sad shape these are in. We've had them for about 8 or 9 years. I did put a coat of poly on them when I first got them, but after that many years there just isn't any protection left....

And this second photo shows the chair that I got finished today. As you can see, the second chair is still awaiting it's coat of stain.... that can wait for another weekend. This is a lot of work! And I refuse to spend my whole weekend "working"! :) Got to have some knitting time ya know!
Now let me show you my new homespun yarn! Just look at all that yarn on one bobbin!!! That is a full 7 oz. of fiber. I'm sure that I would have gotten all 8 oz. on there but as you can see one of my bobbins had a bit more single on it than the other did. I believe I got a little better at my spinning and the second bobbin had a little more on there than the first one did. And I know I'm getting better at my drafting, I ended up with 275 yards of yarn!!! That is before it's bath & setting. I'm thinking that I'll gain a little more yardage after that. So this time I got approx. 150 yards out of 4 oz. of fiber. The last time I did 4 ounces I only got about 80 or 90 yards! I would still classify this as a worsted weight yarn, even though some parts are a little thicker and some are a little thinner. I can see myself spinning some sport weight yarn soon! Yeah! Hopefully tomorrow I'll give this new homespun a quick wash, then I just have to figure out what to knit with it!

Early Birthday Presents!

Well, Chan let the cat out of the bag so to speak... Yes, next Monday is my Birthday, and it's a BIG one! I'll be 40! Did I just say that???? 40????? I can't believe I'll be 40! I sure don't look that old! LOL Sometimes I feel that old! he he Surely my math skills are lacking & I've just added wrong.... I'm positive that I'm only 35! Right??? Turning 40 doesn't really bother me as far as the age goes, it just boggles my mind. :)

Anyway.... When I got home from work today I had a few early birthday presents waiting on me! WOOHOO! I have my very own rose/pink colored Namaste knitting bag! Thanks to my totally awesome friend Chan!

I had been drooling over Chan's new Namaste bags and being the intuitive person that she is, she knew that I wouldn't be able to obtain my own bag at the moment so she surprised me with one! It was even tied up with Happy Birthday ribbon with a little card on there that says Happy 40th!

Would ya just look at this gorgeous bag! I lourve the rosey pink color and it's much softer than I had thought it would be.....

Take a look at all that room inside there! Lots pockets, a zippered pocket divider, downright roomy in there! I've already stashed my Ravelympics projects in there on one side, and before the night is over I'll have all my purse junk on the other side, so I'll be ready to haul it all with me to work tomorrow!I just can't begin to thank you enough for this WONDERFUL birthday gift Chan! You are truly one of the best & special people I know. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I'll think of you every time I grab it to go somewhere! :)

And my new blogging friend, Rosanne, also got me a birthday gift... she just doesn't know it yet! LOL Thanks to Rosanne buying some stitch markers from my esty store, I went right over to Crazy Monkey Creations & bought myself some new spinning fiber! I am planning on making the Justify wrap by Lynn Vogle. I'm going with greens & purples for main colors with other bits thrown in. I'm thinking that this will be a good way to use up some of this "first yarns" that I'm spinning now. :)

Well, gotta get busy here, spinning, knitting, admiring my new goodies, something! LOL I'm too excited to be sleepy, I expect I'll be up late tonight!

Whiskers on Wednesday

It's that time of the week again... Whiskers on Wednesday! Jazzy has gone back to normal now, no more award winning photos. At least not this week. :) I did catch her in her favorite window again though.... this time stalking birds (from inside the house, LOL). This is one of her favorite things to do. I swear one of these days she's gonna hurt herself the way she throws herself at that window!

Here she is just watching....

And here she is "stalking", see how she's scrunched down there.... I'm sure she's thinking "they can't see me cuz I'm all crouched down & hiding!" Ha Ha! Just like when she is "hiding" under the bed with her tail sticking out! Silly cat!Don't forget to go over to the WoW site, Jessi's babies are featured this week.

Sock Yarn Vs. Homespun

Just a little tidbit here for those of you who are curious.... I've seen lots of talk online about not being able to spin laceweight yarn, or that it is harder to spin laceweight on a spinning wheel with Irish Tension. Well, as most of you know, I recently bought a Heavenly Handspinning Adamo wheel, which is Irish tensioned. And my buddy Chan has just recently bought a Bellus double treadle wheel from Jan over at Heavenly Handspinning (should be at her doorstep next week! Woohoo!). I know that she has been a bit worried about not being able to spin her favorite weights of yarn, fingering & sport weights.


Well, I know that Jan, the creator of the wheel, can spin really thin stuff. She is what I would consider an expert spinner though... so just to prove what you can do with this great little wheel, I have a photo for you....
This is some sock yarn that I purchased (blue) and the yellow is a single that I am spinning on my wheel. Now, keep in mind that I'm still a beginner at this spinning wheel stuff & I'm still trying to learn how to draft while I spin. I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be yet, but I have more fiber on the way for more practice! I'm sure once I get good at this spinning that I'll be able to spin up some sock yarn on my little Flossie (that's the wheels name LOL) with no trouble at all! I just can't say enough good things about my wheel or about Jan at Heavenly Handspinning. And I'm having tons of fun spinning my own yarn.... now if I just won the lottery I'd have enough money to buy all the fiber I want! SNOL!!!

Game On!

The games have begun.... I've started on my Ravelympics projects & finally have enough progress to show you some photos. My WIP Wrestling projects I'm doing as part of Team Bob.

First project in the WIP Wrestling is my Green Vine Stitch Wrap, this is an old photo, I'm only one ball away from finishing this.

The second project in the WIP Wrestling are my fingerless gloves. This is a free pattern, Mitt Envy, Click the link & get yourself a copy. I love this pattern! Everyone says that "this pattern is a quick little knit" and most of them I've found really aren't that quick, but this one is. I knitted this one up in about 3 evenings total, just stretched out a while cause I got sidetracked. :) I'm sure some of you other faster knitters can whip one of these babies out in one sitting!

And finally, the project I'm doing with Team Costa Rica. My new project, Tidal Streams, the scarf version. It also comes with a shawl version. It looks a bit scrunched up at the moment, but this is going to be gorgeous after blocking!

I had a bit of trouble with this when I got started, nothing with the pattern, that's awesome, it was knitter error. I cast on for this Friday morning before going to work, after completing the edging & 1 of the pattern repeats I messed something up! And I just could not figure out how to fix it so frogged the whole darn thing Saturday afternoon! But it is coming along nicely this time, and I have enough done that I can see the nice pattern emerging now. :) This is a fairly easy lace pattern, nothing complicated in there, you just have to pay attention to what row you are on. I really need to make a sale or two on Etsy so I can head over to Nichole's shop & get one of her magnetic boards. That would come in super handy. :)

So, GAME ON! I'm on my way to the finish line!

Whiskers on Wednesday

It's that time of the week again.... Jasmine was very sweet this week, she showed her pretty face for the camera. :) Now tell me.... how could anyone resist this sweet face? Now do you understand how she gets whatever she wants??? LOL

I believe these are going to Wallyworld for some prints made! Don't get photos like these every day!

When you are done Oooing & Ahaaaing over these photos (SNOL), don't forget to go over to the WoW site & check out all the other lovely furbabies!

Without further ado.... Princess Jasmine

A Friend in Need...

Hi all! Hope you all are having a good week so far. Good here, but tired already. The heat & busy season are kicking my butt! And I finally broke down & pulled some weeds out of the front flower bed this past Sunday, now I'm sore! LOL Just how out of shape am I?? :)

On to the important stuff.... Anyone out there that has the time our Michelle has a friend who's 7 year old son, Luke, has an inoperable brain stem tumor. Michelle is needing some 8x8 knitted squares for a blanket for Luke. Just click on the "Michelle" link, it'll take to to her blog & you can read all about it.... If you have the time & would like to donate a square contact Michelle. I just can't imagine what this family is going through & I hope I never have to find out.... Our thoughts are with them....

Secret Agent Knitting Update...

007 Secret Agent Knitter

Secret Agent Knitter checking in here....

Time to reveal Secret Project #4!

(Okay, so the chick seems to be holding knives or something, SNOL, I was going for knitting needles but I don't have a good art program on my computer yet. Just go with me here. LOL)

Soooo.... Secret Project #4 was Chan's Birthday Shawl! This is the Nereides pattern by Jacquelyn Landry. I did however re-work the pattern a bit. For some reason I just couldn't get my brain to wrap itself around her wording. If anyone else gives this pattern a try & has the same trouble let me know & I'll send you the changes I made to make it more understandable to me. I also saw on Ravelry that a few other people had made some minor changes.

I used Noro Silk Garden Lite, 5 balls of it, which came to 680 yards. I have never used Noro Silk Garden before & I have to say that it is truly lovely yarn. Very soft & cuddly, and it has the gorgeous colorways just like all the other Noro yarns. Even though this is listed as a fingering/sport weight yarn it still has some of the thick & thin thing going on. I think it came out really nice & Chan seems to love it & that's what is important. :) I had beads on the edges but they were driving me nuts while I was taking the photos so I took those off. If they drove me crazy in that short of time, I knew they would drive Chan nuts too. But you will have to check her photos out for a "beadless" wrap, I was too lazy to take new photos. ;P

And now on to Secret Projects # 6 & #7! Stay tuned for more Secret Agent Knitting!
(Maybe I'll have a better logo then! HA HA!)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!