Purls and Pugs

I'm a teensy bit embarrassed...

...over all the attention! Yesterday, a coworker instant messaged me and asked me about being a published knitter. She said she opened up her Knitting Daily, and there I was staring back at her! I knew they were going to run my blog post some time this week, but I had no idea which day. Just so you all know, there will be two more designers guest blogging on the site this week...

So, after checking my blog stats, I've noticed that I've had over 500 new visitors! Welcome! Yoda and I want to welcome everyone to our little space on the Internet. Please feel free to have a look around, comment, and email me with any questions you may have. Yoda, of course, always welcomes new Friends of Yoda submissions, too...she says you can never have too many friends!

Since there are so many new visitors, I feel I must blog about some knitting. Last night I feverishly worked on the Pismo Hat #1 while I watched a movie. Because I keep decreasing stitches, it's been moving along quite quickly. I'm a bit concerned about how long this hat is going to turn out. But the way I look at it is that I can always remove yarn from the bottom in some stealthy knittery way. Why should I rip out what's already done and have to redo it when there is a simpler way to fix it if there is an issue. And I have no idea if there is even going to be an issue!

I've also been pondering my next big project. Should I just go ahead and work on the Ribby Pulli? I love that pattern, but I've stalled on it for some reason. Or is there some other project that I should start? What's hot in the Knitting World these days? I've also been thinking it's time I work on the Gucci Knock-Off pattern, too.

I think America had a good birthday...

Ok, at least I felt that I celebrated America's birthday well... But would you expect anything less?

It's always a treat when the July 4th holiday falls on a Friday. That means three days of no work! And I managed to pack a lot of action into those three days. (Please forgive me if my English is less than stellar today...I'm still about 75% sleeping...)

The weekend was kicked off with a Chicago White Sox game on Thursday. My dad's cousin (yes, that makes me her cousin, too) was celebrating her 65th birthday in the Diamond Suites at The Cell, so we were all invited. I decided to bring my awesome Canon Rebel with to see what kind of pictures I could get. And I LOVE my camera. The quick shutter gave me some cool sequence action shots. And because of where I was taking the pictures from, they are very clear and close. Even though the Sox lost, I was excited because AJ Pierzynski was playing. For some reason, every time I go to a game, he's not playing...weird.

Friday was visit #3 to the Taste. Yes, I went again. I even tried new things...but they weren't what I would call a success. I think most of the new stuff I had, I dumped before finishing. But at least I tried it, right? The one thing I LOVED was the Nutella crepe. Mmmm...another reason to eat Nutella! After stuffing ourselves silly, again, and just about the time the crowds started to get crazy, BFF and I walked over to Navy Pier. (side note: I feel that I can justify my massive Taste eating frenzy because each time I have walked several miles during the course of the day...so I probably worked off most of the calories. That's my story, anyway.)

It was a gorgeous day to be on the Pier! I commented that it is July 4th and 75 degrees (F), and it's usually 95 degrees (F) with 110% humidity! Awesome day for just chilling and enjoying the weather. I took some pictures of boats, birds, and buildings. I didn't use my awesome camera, but my point and shoot produced some good looking pics.

My plan was to meet some friends at Naperville's Ribfest later that night to watch the fireworks, but I received a text when I was on my way that it was closed due to too many people. So, I turned around and went home. Yoda and I watched about 3 different town's fireworks from the backyard, and even managed to watch a movie. As much as I wanted to see my friends, I was ok with just chilling out. It had been a long day in the city.

Saturday was a little more laid back than I am generally used to, but it was great. I ran around and did some errands and then headed to a cookout. It was nice to hang out, chat, and relax while eating (Boca) Burgers. That relaxing night made way for some pool time at BFF's on Sunday. I'm well on my way to Golden Goddess...

While I was sitting next to the pool, I pulled out my Pismo hat. I promptly was harassed, but I didn't care...kept me out of trouble and occupied. I worked on it last night as well, and am to the crown decreasing...it's moving so much faster than I anticipated it would. But remember that I wanted to originally make two, so we'll see how that goes.

Taste of Chicago Part II

For such a short week, it sure has been action packed! So, you already know that I was at the Taste on Saturday...well, I went back Monday, too!

Ok, let's backup, first. I took two hours off of work and went home to take care of Yoda before I headed to the city. When I got there, my diploma was waiting for me! So, it's official--I'm graduated!

So, the BFF and I decided that since Monday was "Half-price Monday" at The Cell, we would go to a Sox game if the weather was good. Well, the weather was fabulous! So, we hit the Taste for dinner (I'm not sure I really should say dinner, but we ate) and to hang out for a bit near the lake and then headed to see the Sox play.

The other day, Jenn and I skipped a little section of the Taste near Buckingham Fountain, so we missed seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales. These were some freaky horses. I swear they looked like statues because of the way they were standing...but they are pretty. We also took some pics near the fountain because let's face it, it's gorgeous.

It's amazing, but I was able to eat totally different things this visit. There is just so much good stuff in Chicago to try...We have all sorts of cultures and food options. To be quite honest, I think we are spoiled with all the options! I've heard that people who move West from Chicago have a hard time finding good pizza. I'm not sure how true it is, but it makes me not want to leave the Land of Food...

After we stuffed ourselves, we headed over to US Cellular Field (I still call it Comiskey). We took a gamble that we could even get tickets, so I was little nervous after  spending $22 on parking that we'd be walking down the street to sit in a bar. But when we got to the ticket window and told the attendant "best available for 2", we were pleasantly surprised with seats right behind home plate for $25/ea!  We had no idea how great they were until we got to them...we were 28 rows behind on the third base side! I could see Thome and Ozzie's faces!

It was an exciting game, too...Grand Slams, Home Runs, A Win! All the good stuff you can hope for from the Chicago White Sox!

The worst part of the night was my drive home...apparently, IDOT feels that taking I- 55 down to one lane at 12:30am is a good idea! I sat in traffic to go 2 miles for a very long time. All I kept thinking was, "I have to get up in 4 hours..." But I made it home, and yesterday I was hopped up on energy drinks and happy news!

Note: I just want to make it clear that BFF and I did not plan to wear the same damn outfits. I got to his place, looked at him in his black t-shirt and khaki shorts and me in my khaki skirt and black tank and thought, "Damn, we are like those people I make fun of..." Luckily, there were a lot of people at The Cell wearing black!

Too much excitement!

So, I had this whole post in my mind ready to go when I got up this morning. Then I checked my email and saw the Knitscene Fall 2008 Preview was up (you'll have to wait to see my adventures from last night until tomorrow)! I zoomed as fast as my Internet connection would allow to check out the pictures of my sweater. I was so curious how they were going to style it...and I love it!

Here are the pattern specs:

dirndl raglan
Sizes 35 (38¼, 40, 44, 48, 50¼)" bust
Yarn Mission Falls 1824 Wool (100% superwash wool; 85 yd [78 m]/50 g):
• #002 stone (MC), 9 (10, 10, 11, 12, 13) balls
• #006 oatmeal (CC), 3 (4, 4, 5, 6, 7) balls
Yarn distributed by CNS Yarns
Gauge 18 sts and 21 rows = 4" in St st on larger needle
Tools
• Size 8 (5 mm): 29" circular (cir) needle and set of double-pointed needles (dpn)
• Size 6 (4 mm): 16" cir needle
• Four markers (m) and one contrasting marker
• Yarn needle
• Cable needle (cn)
• Waste yarn

Or you can go check it out along with the other sweaters in this issue at the Preview Site!

I heart Summer

Forget NY (sorry to anyone that lives there, but I really gotta be strong on this one!), I heart Chicago, too! There is just so much going on that I just don't know how to pick!

This weekend started on Thursday this week. My friend Jenn and I went to a Lymphoma and Lukemia Society Bachelor Auction at the Bar Louis in Naperville. Originally, we went just  to check it out, but it was a lot of fun. Neither of us walked away with any guys, but we met some really nice people, had a couple drinks, and tons of laughs! Here we are showing off our "Raffle Tickets". This was a fun concept--they sold playing cards and then ripped off a corner of them as the ticket. We had both the Queen of Hearts and the Ace of Hearts. I would say those should be good luck for a bachelor auction!

Friday I had some appointments that I had to take care of in the city, so I jumped on the train. I even knit on the train! I decided that if I had a commute where I could take the train, I would have way more knitting done than I do now. It's dedicated knitting time! Look at what a little time gets me-- two inches done on the first Pismo Hat! I just gotta keep that momentum going...

Friday night I relaxed on the patio at Potter's Place in Naperville with a margarita, and then migrated to Jimmy's for a Summer Shandy (mmm...can't go wrong there!). For dinner I visited my first Japanese Steak Restaurant called Kiku. The food was fantastic and the chef was entertaining. I recommend the scallops...mmmm....Then it was off to the Roundhouse to see Hairbangers Ball, and 80's tribute hair band. They were pretty good, and got me thinking about back in the day...yeah, I was around in the 80s!! I even remember LPs...

Saturday I got up and went to the Taste with Jenn! We stuffed ourselves on yummy food (here I am with some gelato), and then walked to the Oak Street Beach. The worst part was that the sun was shining the entire time we were walking, but once we got the beach, it was nothing but clouds. Then is started to rain, so we called it a day. I did think about seeing Mike and Joe again that night, but I was wiped out!

Sunday I actually worked all day so that I can play Monday night at the Sox game!

I heart Chicago in the Summer!

Life Goals

Last night I decided to make it a mild night, so I rented The Bucket List and knit on the first Pismo hat. This is about how far I got last night. Not very far. Again, another reason to not like sock yarn...progress is sloooow. I'm a project knitter, folks, so I want it done now!

I decided to use 2 circulars to begin so that I don't have to switch later when I start decreasing. Why am I so worried about decreasing when I know that's not gonna happen for a while? Wishful thinking? Maybe...

I think I liked The Bucket List, though. I had a different idea in my head of what it was going to be about. But I think I liked how it was done rather than what I thought was going to happen.

I actually think that having a list like that is a good idea. I have one (in my head--I should write it down), my Summer BFF has 101 things on his....I heard once that people who write down life goals tend to accomplish them more than people who don't. Maybe we should all get to writing down some of those things we want to do before we "kick the bucket". And we never know when that's going to be, so get cracking at crossing things off too!

I just can't get into socks

I have tons of sock yarn. I really like it, too...all the colors, the variegation, and it's cheap for a whole project! But, you know what, I just really can't get into knitting socks. I've tried. I really have, but I get bored. Maybe it's that whole second sock thing...I don't know...something.

Anyway, a couple years ago I knit a bunch of my guy friends London Beanies for Christmas, and they loved them! I now have several new bald friends that use hats all the time in the winter (it gets cold!), so I thought I could use up some of my sock yarn and get some Christmas gifty stuff done. Obviously, the London Beanie would not be optimal for this type of yarn, but Marnie's Pismo Hat Pattern is! And I have some manly sock yarn (Regia 4-ply in 2025-Blue Mouline purchased in Germany) that I can use for this purpose.

Here is the swatch I am working on for the Pismo, and I think I am liking the colors. I figured that if I started knitting now, in June, that I might be able to crank out two hats with teeny tiny 1x1 ribbing. Maybe? I have good intentions at least...

Yoda Time

So, to distract you all from the fact that I have not knit a stitch at all in the last week, I'm going to show off Yoda pictures. I decided to take Friday off so that I could, well, do anything I damn well wanted. It was a beautiful week, and it was so hard to stay inside and work, so I rewarded myself for actually staying strong by not going to work on Friday.

Yoda and I took advantage of the great weather on Friday by playing in the yard. Here she is all happy from running around and chasing me. How cute is she? Yoda has been enjoying this wonderfully mild summer so far.

Saturday, Yoda went to the spa. I had my graduation party, so she needed to be in tip-top shape. She came home and we put on her pretty new pink bandanna. She was all set for the party...She wasn't ready for the number of people I had at my house, though.

She was a good girl and was able to be off the leash in the backyard (no fence at my house). She was social with everyone, except my cousin's new dog. They didn't get a long quite so well, but Yoda did very well with my friend's two year old niece. At the end of the day, Yoda was all partied out! Doesn't she look exhausted...she looks about how I felt by 10pm.

Just call me a rockstar...

Yeah. Where does the weekend go?! I'm just going to chalk it up to a rockstar weekend, again. It's amazing how having fun is such a time suck. I just can't figure out how I managed to use up the entire weekend!

Anyway, Friday a bunch of us went to The Foundry celebrate someone's un-birthday (she wasn't ready to  admit that she's 39...I can understand that). I brought along my Foundry Mug Club mug and drank up as much Lienie's Summer Shandy as I could ($4.50 a mug!!!!) get my hands on. As you can tell, we started to get a little silly...Here I am with a little 'tip'...And here's another with my friend Sharen, our sober driver. There was a band at the Foundry that I thought was terrible. I won't even mention who they are because I feel bad saying they were that bad. In fact, when we were leaving, the door guys said they will probably never be back. Ouch!

Saturday, I got up early after my crazy night at 6:30 and actually got stuff done. That boring stuff like laundry and cleaning that needed to be done. Yoda and I went on a walk, and the yard boy cut the grass.  See, I can be productive. I even went to play with Lillie while my sister is in Alaska. We played basketball, and when I left, she was spent. See, I can do good and be productive with my time....but don't get too excited, yet, because that's where it all ends.

I went over to swim and get some sun at my new BFF's apartment. He even played Cabana Boy and brought me margaritas. What's not to love about a Saturday like that?! We stayed outside in the pool for several hours, and when we thought we were 'baked' enough, we ordered a pizza and took a nap. I love naps...

Around 10:30 we headed to the city to Joe's on Weed to see the band Mike and Joe. They were awesome. Totally made up for the crappy band  the night before. The BFF and I discussed how all the cover bands do some of the same songs, and who does what better. There were some that Modern Day Romeos did better and some that Mike and Joe did that were exceptional...then Dot Dot Dot has a personality all their own. They all  have a reason to see them all. But not the band from Friday...makes me shutter thinking about it.

After Joe's, we hit Crobar. I'm not sure what was in the air, but girls kept falling all over the place! Maybe it wasn't the air, but the floor...who knows...I, thankfully, didn't hit the floor. I would have been a little disappointed in myself. What rockstar really bites it at the club? I decided to take break at a table just so I didn't have an unfortunate accident.

On the way home, there was a T-Bell run. What's a night out without some crappy food? The people in the car in front of us at the drive-through were sooooo drunk. Hilarious, too. They ordered about $30 in food...really. How is that possible?! Do they even know what they ordered? We had a discussion with the cashier at window #1 about how the police should forget sitting outside of bars and sit outside of T-Bell. They would get way more DUIs that way.

Needless to say, Sunday was pretty tough for me. But I managed to get up and go to lunch with my mom and dad for Daddy's Day. We went to lunch at Wildfire. I had some macadamia nut encrusted halibut...mmmm....you have no idea how yummy it is! I stuffed myself and still had leftovers to take home...and took a nap on the way back to my parent's house!

Just call me a rockstar. Seriously.

Sale!!

Ok, so I've noticed that   my craft room has gotten out of hand. In addition to me being a reformed pack rat, I feel the need to get rid of some things. That's great for all you knitters out there! I've setup a De-Stashing Page. Please visit and purchase stuff! I'll be adding more stuff here and there, so please check back often.

You can access the sale page by going to the De-Stashing link on the left bar. I'll even remind you all to check it out once in a while.

Happy Shopping!!!