Purls and Pugs

Do I wear a sign that says "talk to me"?

I have this thing. I don't know what to call it, but people strangers seem to always feel compelled to carry on conversations with me. Not just chit chat like "oh, what a lovely top. Where did you get that?" Life conversations. I pretty much end up knowing way too much about strangers by the time I leave a store. I'm not complaining, I am usually just confused about why/how it happens. The latest was a very perplexing conversation in Walmart:

I have been commissioned to make quite a few baby items for pending births. While in Walmart contemplating the acrylic choices in front of me, a little old man walking down a main aisle asked if I was going to knit or something. So I answered him yes (I think part of my problem is that I am nice to these strangers that just come up to me...maybe I need to learn to be not so nice...). He said, "They do that a lot in Europe. You're not from Europe are you? Sprechen Sie Deustsch?" And almost automatically I answered, "Ja, ich verstehe Deutsch." Damn, that's immediately what I thought. So this little old man told me in German that he was from Slovakia, and then moved to Austria, and then to Germany. He switched to English to ask me if I have ever been to Alaska. Huh? "No, I have never been to Alaska," I answered. He continued, "I went from Germany to Illinois to Alaska to Arizona to Illinois to Long Island and back to Illinois. (Is it disturbing to anyone else that I remembered all that?) You should take a private tour of Alaska. I recommend it. It's so beautiful in July."

So, the little old man recommends a visit to Alaska. Sometimes I wonder if the universe it talking to me through these strangers. Perhaps it's time to look into a visit to Alaska...

Stephanie is one lucky Grandma...

I hope everyone had a great holiday. I had a really great time eating, visiting, and being merry! My cousin had been working on a project for my grandmother for Christmas. She bought a digital frame and put all sorts of pictures of all the grandkids, dogs, and grandma in there ready to go. I think she did a fantastic job! Here are some pictures from the photo shoot at my house before Christmas.

 

I even was able to finish my grandmother's scarf just in time for it to be wrapped up for Christmas. Here are all the details:

Pattern:Knitty Gritty Thoughts Woven Cables Scarf
Yarn: Knit Picks Elegance in Oatmeal
Needles: Knit Picks size 8
Notes: I only did 3 of the 4 repeats of the pattern.

Merry Christmas!

Where is Santa?

Track Santa!

Spring, er, Winter Cleaning

So, you may have noticed that the blog looks a little different. I was feeling a little cluttered, so I moved some things off to separate pages. I am going to leave it this way for a while, and then decide which way I like it better.

Currently, I have sewing, knitting, and web ring pages. The sewing page has my sewing photo album, books I like for sewing, links, and notes for projects. The knitting page has my completed albums, my to do list, book recommendations, links, and notes. The web ring page has, well, web ring code.

I am thinking I may keep a completed photo album on the main page for the current year, but archive it when the year is over. What do you all think? Is there something that should be on the main page that is not? I am open to suggestions!

I got them!

So, I jumped on the bandwagon when I heard that Trash Ties were available to purchase. I figured that there was a coupon, so why not? I bought one of the long (25") ones and a set of standard trash ties. I received them last night and had to try them this morning. Even though I have short hair, I can still do some pretty neat things with these little suckers!

Here is a couple shots (front/back) of what I came up with this morning. If I had more time, I'm sure I can find some other cute styles, too. I would recommend picking some up as soon as you can, but be prepared to wait. Heather and her husband are doing this all out of their living room, so you might have to wait 2-4 weeks to see yours waiting on the front step.

I'm posting about these to distract you all from the fact that I didn't knit a stitch last night. I have been around ill coworkers all week, and I think I am coming down with something, so I just relaxed and went to bed early. Good thing I'll be on shutdown after Friday! One good thing about working in manufacturing is the extra time at the holidays!

Yarn!

Well, I thought that since I haven't finished the scarf I am making, I should show you all the yarn I purchased at Fringe the other day.

The first yarn is a HUGH (549 yd) hank of Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist yarn. I am thinking I can make a Back-to-School U-Neck Vest from Fitted Knits with it. Even if I don't make anything, this stuff is sooooo soft. I would be happy carrying it around and cuddling with it. Don't worry, though, I won't.

Next is orange Cotton Fleece. I had a hard time deciding which color to get, and now that I think about it, I should go back and get some more colors. Robin said she stocked up, and I think that's a great idea. You never know what great, cute summer top the Zephyr girls will design.

Third, is Berocco's Ultra Alpaca. Yum. 'nuff said.

Lastly, Yoda is guarding the orange and blue Plymouth Encore. I have some baby things that people are paying me to knit, so I picked these up for a couple Bears helmet type hats. I was thinking I should go back and get a couple more girly colors for another hat I am being asked to make. I think Yoda thinks this is her yarn....

I just wasn't fast enough

Yoda was hiding under the foot part of my blankets this morning. Here she is emerging as I tried to take a picture of her cuteness lying down. I knew she would move as soon as I tried to get the camera and take a picture. I need a camera in every room of the house! That's the only way I am going to get those spontaneous pictures.

Over the weekend I visited Fringe, which is going out of business. The owners started dying yarn and became so wildly successful that the store needs to close because there is not enough time in the day. Well, at 30% off, I bought some yarn and some buttons. I found some great buttons for the Gucci Sweater. here they are in all their glory. I have sewed them on the sweater, but I want to make some adjustments to the collar, so I won't photograph the absolutely finished sweater yet. But, I have to say that these buttons look fabulous on the sweater. And they were 50% off, so I might have to go back and look at the rest of the buttons...you never know.

Winter Wonderland

This is what I was greeted with Sunday morning at my house. This is a shot from my garage looking at other parts of the circle. Notice all the snow that I have to remove from my driveway. Good thing I bought myself a nice new snowblower this year, so it took no time at all. And I heard my grandmother got 11" of snow at her house near Midway Airport. Geez!

I had driven in the snow the night before, and I was cursing  it the whole time. But I think that if I lived somewhere where there was no snow for Christmas, I would feel less festive. That's just me. It is so pretty to look at....must be why I didn't leave the house on Sunday!

So, while I was snowbound, I decided to work on the scarf for my grandmother. It's much longer than the last time you saw it, and it's still not done. This is about 1.75 balls of KP Elegance. I have one more to add to it, and I have one week. One week?! Holy Cow! Did you know Christmas was that close?

Yoda also took advantage of being inside all day. She used Mommy's cuddly blanket as a sleeping bag. Isn't she so cute being all cuddly and sleepy?

Just call me Skippy

So I took my final for my Social Responsibility class....One more class to go! Yippee! I am this close to being graduated with a masters!

The party planner struck again yesterday. This time we were celebrating the end of the year along with the holidays. Behind me you can see how nicely my teammates decorated our area for the party. It looks as great as a factory can look... I had a hard time yesterday because the heel on my knee high boots broke. I was carrying some utensils out to the room and kept wondering how I was stepping in a hole on the floor everytime. Duh, Amanda! So, for the rest of the day I wore very not cute and not comfy steel-toed safety shoes. Then my pants were too long, so they had to be cuffed. I was a looker!

My sister wanted me to share the video of Yoda wearing her boots. There is some sound, so make sure you turn the volume down if you are at work, and prepare to laugh!

I'm so Excited, and I just can't hide it*

Yes, I am excited. I submitted a design to KnitScene about a month ago for the Fall 2008 issue, and it was accepted! Woo hoo! So now I need to figure out how to write the pattern. They are going to be sending the yarn by the end of the year, and I have until February 28 to get it all back to them. Since I won't be back in school until the end of January, I am going to have plenty of time to work on it. And I am not going to tell you guys which design I sent in just in case....that will all be shown in due time!

Today is also my final for my silly class. I don't want to take the final, but I will and then it will be done. But it's been a good week so far....I'll just go with it!

*I think I might be too young to actually remember this song...

Merry Christmas

Because it is Christmas time and Yoda has been a good girl, she needed to see Santa Claus to tell him all that she wants. So, we headed to the most local Petsmart we could find, and got her picture taken with him. She sat on his lap and told him all of the wonderful doggie treats she wants to see under the tree.

This is not the official picture taken by the staff at Petsmart, but rather the one I took with my digital camera. In the official picture, she has her tongue all the way out. How cute!

I did try to spend some time studying, too. I have a final Wednesday, and I have not read or studied anything in this class. I have been a pure slacker this semester, and I don't care. Funny how I was so gung-ho in the beginning, but now I just want it to be over. So, to procrastinate my studying, I worked on the scarf for my grandma. I must have restarted this thing 5 times...I should be done by now. For some reason, I was not able to get it all together...I would mess up somewhere every time. But now, it looks good so far. Let's hope I keep it up. I am using the Woven Cables pattern from Knitty Gritty Thoughts. It's easy, but I have managed to mess it up. Wish me luck!

Thank goodness it's above freezing today

Yesterday was a C-O-L-D day. When I woke up at 4:30, it was -3 F (actualy temperature)! Yoda was not so happy about having to potty in the cold like that. It took me 30 minutes to get her to go, and I was 15 minutes late for work. I know it was because her little paws were so cold, so what is a mommy to do? I decided to bite the bullet and get her doggie boots. Now, I am really not a big fan of boots. I mean, she's a dog...a sweater or shirt is ok, but boots?!

Well, I went to Petsmart and bought them anyway and spent $43 in the process! Yes, $43. I was told that I can return them even after we try them out. Well, after 10 minutes of getting these things on (can you see me playing with dog boots at 4:30 in the morning?), she was set. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen...even funnier than the Yoda Dragon. She looked like she was swimming on land trying to get these off, or maybe it was just walk. We went out and that was a disaster. Needless to say, the boots are going back, but not after I get out the video camera...

Also yesterday was my sister's last day of her graduate program. Yippee for her! I'm a bit jealous, but I am  proud of her. Here she is next to her walk through presentation. Doesn't she look smarter? Those are some lucky fourth graders she teaches!

I decided to wear the Gucci sweater since it was colder than cold, and that sweater is so warm. While I was at my parent's I had Becky take a couple pictures of me in it, so I hope you are all happy to have your modeled picture. Sarah left a comment the other day that she saw the real one in the Gucci store in NY, and that mine is a good replica. Yippee! I still need to fix the things I don't like about it that I mentioned the other day, but that's what the weekend it for, right?

Done!

I did it! I finished the Gucci Inspired sweater. I wore it to work today, and have a few things I want to fix. First, the buttons need to have some gold or brass in them. I think it will bring out the color. Second, I need to adjust part of the placket...it just fit funny at one part. And this sweater is SO warm! I am usually freezing at work, but after some hot coco, I was literally sweating. Sweating! Can you believe it?!

But I LOVE this yarn. I was skeptical at first, but I LOVE it! I think it's very soft, and warm. I want to buy tons of it to make tons of warm comfy sweaters, but I won't. I have to use what it left in my stash. I do...from now on, that's it! once I am done with what I have, I might entertain the idea of more yarn.

Anyway, I am going to really work on the pattern once school is out. The final is next week, so don't fret! I will also try to get a good picture of me in the sweater.

Pattern: My Own
Yarn: Knit Picks Cadena in Mahogany
Needles: Denise Size 9 and 11
Notes: I so didn't spend $1000 on this sweater! Now, I just need Angie Harmon to model it for me!

Shh...don't tell Santa

I made Yoda's Christmas quilt in about a morning. I used this tutorial from Wendy's site, and it was super easy. I don't think it really can get any easier than squares!

I think Yoda likes it, but she can't have it just yet...see, I need to give it to Santa Clause so he can wrap it and bring it for Christmas. But let's not tell him that Yoda's seen it, and let's definitely not tell him she tried it out! Oh my, what would he say?!

This blanket was made with all dog themed flannel fabric. I had no idea there were so many, to be honest. I just kept finding them as I wandered the fabric store. And who could forget the pink? A princess without her pink would just be crazy!