I've been tagged

Mehitabel tagged me, so in the spirit of good fun and because I can't thank her personally for tagging me here goes:

6 weird things about ME.

1. I sigh everything ME and when they ask for my name at Starbucks or something I give them ME. Really it's my initials, so I use it quite a bit.

2. I lose words, stutter and have a lisp (I know hard to believe huh?) so everything I can't think of the word for or can't say becomes a "damn thing"

3. I love my sandwiches squished, especially cheese sandwiches.

4. I think in 2 languages, if I can't find a word in English but I know it in Tagalog or the other way around, I'll substitute words without thinking about it.

5. I love the rain! I think it comes from being raised in Seattle ( have I mentioned how great it is to be back in Seattle after living in So. Cal for 6 years? There's weather here, ok, so it's a little more than I expected but it's weather)

6. I still chat with my last ex boyfriend, he's actually the one who told me I'd marry my husband...he and I were still dating when he told me that. (he just chatted me while I was typing up this list, otherwise I would have had to find something else.

There are a ton of weird things about me, I just can't think of them when I need to.

Yule Knitting List:

socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done
socks for his 4 yo sister - done
socks for my cousin - done
socks for his GF - done
socks for someone who reads this blog - 1/4th of leg done(2 socks magic loop)
Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done
sweater (cardi) for DH, No longer on Yule Knit list, he's getting something else
socks for my brother - done
Fetching for my aunt - done
Fetching for my cousin (well mom's cousin, so I'm not sure what that makes our relations, if anyone knows, please feel free to enlighten me)
sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - So I missed the boat, I'm getting closer to the dock, I'll catch the next boat off and take a leisurely cruise down the Isle of Finishing.
Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year (this really isn't going to happen this year but I'm holding out hope)

Now the reasons I'm still stuck on Sleeve Island, We lost power briefly Thursday night to the wicked windstorm that blew through here. I say briefly, but it was really for about 12 hours. Considering there are still people here that don't have power, 4 days later, 12 hours is nothing. Anyway, when we lost power, I was doing fine on the sleeves, then I got to an increase row, and knitting in the dark, which usually doesn't faze me one iota, got me off track. I picked up the socks and finished those, no increases to confuse me. Then I got side tracked to fetchings, My mom's cousin showed up needing to be thawed out and since I haven't seen her in 5 years, we caught up. The sad part is she lives in San Diego, just a few hours from where we were living in Azusa and haven't seen each other in that long a time, I had to move back to Seattle to see her. I know these are all just excuses, the fact is I got bored and something else jumped onto my needles, I think I have all of an inch left to go on the sleeves, so I should be finished with the sleeves tonight, unless that last pair of fetchigns jump on my needle first.

And the sock knitting goodness spreads.

I've done it again! Another knitter is born (well ok born again), but this time she's learning the joys of knitting on circular needles. This is my Mom, she tried for years and year to teach me how to knit, but since she taught me how to crochet first, I just never quite got along with straights. She's tried with circs before, but never could get the hang of it. I actually started her knitting socks on DPN's but that lasted 5 or 6 rounds. So here she is knitting her very first sock on a #2 Addi's, using a magic loop. She'll learn to knit socks one at a time.

Oh update on the Yule knitting list. Another pair of socks done, I'm not going to do the Peace shawl, there isn't enough time to finish it and have it blocked in time for the family dinner. We had a brief knitting interruption on sleeve island, it got real windy and the power was knocked out for about 12 hours. Yes at this point I know it's an excuse but the end result is I'm still on sleeve island with a pair of sleeves about half done. The sweater will be done in time. Oh I've also added a pair of fetchings to the list, it's not a make or break item, but it will add variety to these sleeves.

I'm scared to count my stash...

Knit Devil inspired a moment of insanity, she counted her stash ball by ball, skein by skein and found she had accumulated 600 balls/skeins in 3 years. Going with her average of 200 balls/skeins a year, that would put me at...800 balls/skeins a year since I've been knitting for at least 4 years. Mind you most of my stash is in storage and inaccessible. Well a few weeks ago I got a bug and actually inventoried 2 of the bins of stash I could access, and well I only got through 2 bins before my stash started blowing my mind, and that was without totals. I pulled those sheets out this morning, did some quick math, and found that in those 2 bins, there are 340 balls/skeins of yarn. I have 10 bins of the same size, 5 smaller bins, a mountain of yarn that I has mysteriously grown since arriving in Seattle. Not to mention the various balls of yarn hidden in boxes used as packing fodder (yarn makes good packing fodder). If I remember right Dad even used several garbage bags full of yarn to make sure my glass cabinet didn't break in the move (it worked, no glass breakage). Oh yeah, there are at least another 50 skeins hiding in my car waiting to work their way quietly into the stash. I can't forget the 200 to 400 hundred balls/skeins that have managed to populate my mothers stash, her stash comes from mine, as she doesn't see a reason to buy yarn when she can get it from me.

Oh my! My stash is like tribbles! I know this won't stop me from buying more yarn, but this post is enough to make me really wonder how much there really is left in my stash, not including what has enhanced mom's stash over the last 4 years. Maybe I'll do a complete count once we've settled into the new house after the New Year.

So I've turned the heels on Bro's socks, and the sweater is progressing, so it's back to sleeve island for me.

Progress Update

Yule Knitting List



socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done

socks for his 4 yo sister - done

socks for my cousin - done

socks for his GF - done

socks for someone who reads this blog - 1/4th of leg done(2 socks magic loop)

Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done

sweater (cardi) for DH, No longer on Yule Knit list, he's getting something else

socks for my brother - OTN

sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - WEEEE! The fronts are done and I'm off to Sleeve Island

Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year



Sorry no pics, but I am making progress on the sweater. I left for Sleeve Island this morning. Hopefully I'll be back by the end of the week, with 2 sleeves and a pair of socks :).

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and another sock is complete

but no pics, since the recipient has been known to read my blog and I'm not giving away the surprise.

Instead, let me send you here. This is how I've spent my day today instead of knitting on the sweater or the last pair of socks on my list. Many thanks to January One for such a wonderful site, I just wish she had waited until I had finished more of my holiday knitting.


Yule Knitting list

socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done
socks for his 4 yo sister - done
socks for my cousin - done
socks for my brother - OTN
socks for his GF - done
socks for someone who reads this blog - 1/4th of leg done(2 socks magic loop)
sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - back done, fronts OTN 1/3rd done (both sides at the same time)
Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done
sweater (cardi) for DH, No longer on Yule Knit list, he's getting something else
Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year


I know I know, I really do need to do this, it helps me figure out how much I need to knit to get to my Peace Shawl....18 more knitting days.

and another sock is complete

but no pics, since the recipient has been known to read my blog and I'm not giving away the surprise.



Instead, let me send you here. This is how I've spent my day today instead of knitting on the sweater or the last pair of socks on my list.





Yule Knitting list

socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done

socks for his 4 yo sister - done

socks for my cousin - done

socks for my brother - OTN

socks for his GF - done

socks for someone who reads this blog - 1/4th of leg done(2 socks magic loop)

sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - back done, fronts OTN 1/5th done (both sides at the same time)

Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done

sweater (cardi) for DH, No longer on Yule Knit list, he's getting something else

Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year


I know I added another ticker, but it's set for a countdown to my Mom's b-day so no one else need feel any holiday knitting pressure....it's not my fault my Mom was born on 12/25.

Back to knitting

3 pairs of socks, all Koigu on Addi Turbo's #1

Updated Yule Knitting list
socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done
socks for his 4 yo sister - done
socks for my cousin - done
socks for my brother - OTN
socks for his GF - done
socks for someone who reads this blog - 1/4th of leg done(2 socks magic loop)
sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - back done, fronts OTN 1/5th done (both sides at the same time)
Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done
sweater (cardi) for DH, No longer on Yule Knit list, he's getting something else
Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year

Ok, so now it doesn't look so bad, especially since DH's cardi has been removed. I'm down to 2 pairs of socks, and a cardi. Maybe I will get the Peace Shawl done.

20 knitting days left....

Knitting Interuptus

Ok, so I took a day off of knitting through my Yule knitting list. But here you can see why. DH and I got new toys via the lovely FedEx man. What are they? A pair of Toshiba Notebook computers. Oh yeah, can't forget the pair Creative Labs Zen Vision W, we picked up on Friday. You can even see the socks I cast aside when the FedEx dude showed up. They're almost done, I'm working on a tubular cast off. I should be done by tomorrow some time, if I can tear myself away from the new toys long enough to finish that last row and graft the socks done. DH isn't getting his sweater for Yule this year, it'll be a BDay present. He's getting one more toy, but I won't post that here, just to be on the safe side. I'll pick that up later this week while he's at work. Good thing I grew up in this house, I know all the secret hiding places.

Tomorrow or maybe at some point later this week, I'll be back to regularly schedule self imposed knitting deadlines.

Yule Knitting list

Here's the current tally on my Holiday Knit list:



socks for my cousins 22 mo boy - done

socks for his 4 yo sister - done

socks for my cousin - heel turned, leg 1/3rd done (2 socks magic loop)

socks for my brother - not yet started

socks for his GF - done

socks for someone who reads this blog - heel turned leg started(2 socks magic loop)

sweater (cardi) for one who may read this blog - back done, fronts OTN (both sides at the same time)

Clapotis for someone who reads this blog - done

sweater (cardi) for DH, he may get it for his b-day in February

Peace shawl for me to wear to the family holiday party - maybe next year



To be updated as I make progress.



24 days and counting...

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snow and and an FO

Ok, so shortly after I posted this morning that it was snowing, the snow decided to stop, so DH and I went out. Well, while we were out running errands, the snow started again. The forcast for tomorrow is more snow. DH starts his new job tomorrow, so I'm hoping it doesn't stick, or at least he can make it to work safely. Seattle drivers react to snow the way So Cal drivers react to rain....no one is quite sure what to do, so they drive the way they normally do. *sigh*

Here's what the backyard looked like when we got home. I know it's not a huge amount of snow, maybe 2 inches, and it's likely to be all the snow we see for a while. It doesn't usually snow in Seattle, maybe a couple times a year, and rarely before the end of December (usually in time to just miss Christmas), it's not usually supposed to snow in November.


I did manage to get a little cold weather knitting done, and now I have a hat to wear to keep my head warm, I'm really not used to the cold anymore, living in So. Cal. has made me soft.

A quick 2X2 rib, knitted in the round on #10.5 Options Needles, out of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande.

ummm, it's snowing

One of my favorite places

One of my favorite places is Deception Pass. On the north end of Whidbey Island WA, this is one of 2 ways onto the island, the other is the ferry on the south end of the island. My MIL lives on Whidbey Island, and that's where we went for turkey. On the way, we simply had to stop and drink in the natural beauty.


This picture is taken from the south end of the bridge, it was 37 degrees outside and windy on the bridge, we didn't venture far out on the bridge on foot. The view is northwest, towards the Pacific Ocean. Beyond the smaller islands, you can see Canada in the distance.


Same place, but a different angle. The view is of the north end of the bridge, or the main land. This pic is straight down from were were standing admiring the view and freezing our hands off.

The underside of the bridge from the south end of the bridge.


Oh and in case you didn't realize it falling from anywhere along the trail near the bridge can be deadly.

Escrow closed

On day 65 of a 45 day escrow, our So. Cal. house has officially closed, and with it our last physical tie to CA. There are many friends I wish I could have brought up to Seattle with me, but alas, Seattle is not for everyone.

Another not so local LYS

I was getting antsy today, so DH sent me off to a yarn store. He told me to go to the one up in Mount Vernon, which is a good hours drive away, but I didn't quite make it. This one is about 20 minutes away. Great Yarns in Everett WA.


And they lived up to their name. Another cute little shop in a house, with rooms full of yarn.

Far be it for me to leave a great little yarn store without yarn. The damage?
The purple and black? Prism's Kid Mohair in the Midnight. The bright stuff that is kind of hiding behind all that purple and black mohair goodness is a hand dyed machine washable merino sock yarn. I know it's not my usual color choice, but the recipient of those socks will adore the colors, the name of the yarn...Fly Super Sport. Hand dyed by a local artist Pat Fly.

Fiber Enhancement

DH and I went out looking at paint ball parks again today. I got so bored, I made DH take me to a little store called Lamb's Ear in Tacoma, WA along the route to Mt. Ranier. Just to look, honest, I had no intention of buying anything. Well I found just 2 things to help me out.


The drop spindle is handcrafted by Jonathan Bosworth of Journey Wheel out of Acton MA, and it spins beautifully, and spins and spins and spins. Now I get strange looks when I knit at the paint ball fields, but those looks are nothing compared to when I'm spinning at the paintball field. Not much got done, but that's because it's been a while since I've used a drop spindle, none of the ones I have make happy enough to get much drop spindling done, but this one, it's a beaut. I for see lots of happy hours with this spindle, after I get my Holiday knitting done, which should be some time in January LOL. Oh the fiber is merino.

On the knitting front, Clapotis is coming along and is much more behaved this time around. I'm through the first ball again. The socks have been finished and I'm on to the 3rd pair in that group. As if I didn't have enough knitting going on, I cast on a sweater for my Dad, he was complaining that I had all this wool and he still didn't have a sweater, so guess what he's getting for Christmas. DH's sweater will probably be done in January, but he totally understands. Oh and I cast on some more lace, Fiber Trends Peace Shawl, I'm aiming to get it done in time to wear it to Christmas dinner, but well see. Also on the needles are some much needed mittens, living in So. Cal. for the last 6 years has made me soft and the temps in 40's and 50's are much too cold, so my hands need a bit of help keeping warm when they aren't knitting or spinning.

Knit Devil reported back to me that my blog entries aren't being picked up by Bloglines. I updated to the Beta and it looks like something went screwing somewhere in the update, but I've checked and reset the feed, so hopefully that will take care of that.

*Edited to add: Because of the beta version, my site isn't feeing in RSS format, but it is updating the Atom Feed.

FTP blogs are not publishing their site feeds in RSS format. Until this is fixed, either use the atom.xml feed instead (most feed readers that accept RSS accept Atom as well) or use: http://www.blogger.com/feeds/blogid/posts/default?alt=rss to get your blog’s feed in RSS format

exciting news

We're expecting to finally close on the house down in Azusa this Friday, I'm not holding my breath at this point, even next week is possible, closing has been pushed back a few times, but now all the papers are in place it's just a matter of funding.

DH got a job, it didn't take him long at all he starts at MS after Thanksgiving, since everyone is on vacation next week.

I'm officially a WA resident. I have my WDL and WA license plates.

Plea to the Knitting Goddess

To the Knitting Goddess

And yet another UFO has gone to the frog pond, and another one is threatening to jump in after it. In the last week all my Holiday knitting has decided to rebel. The latest in this streak of rebellion is Clapotis. Granted I was tempting the fates with that one in my arrogance by actually thinking I had memorized so simple a pattern and knit most of it while in the midst of an interstate move. Did you have to wait until I was 3/4's of the way done before showing me the error of my ways?

I really am not sure what I did to tempt you and the fates. It seems I must have done something big, since I can't seem to finish anything these days and am spending quite a bit of time sacrificing my almost completed UFO's to you at the frog pond. Was it the 2 week sweater? The 10 Pacific Northwest Shawl? The rash of recent FO's? Please hear my plea and let me know how much more I must sacrifice before I can complete an FO. I am pushing deadlines here, must I brave the last minute rush of Christmas shoppers this year? If that be the case I would prefer to know now if I will be allowed to finish any of my holiday knitting before I be forced to brave the Holiday Mall Crawl.

I will promise to do my best to understand that I am fallible when it comes to knitting projects. I do ask that you give me a pardon at least until I get my Holiday gift knitting done, as I am facing deadlines here. Or have I bitten more off than I can chew, given the time frame and the circumstances. I really had planned to start my Holiday gift knitting much sooner than I did this year, however my life happened. Next year I will try not to wait so long to get knitting started.

O Knitting Goddess hear my plea
Let my needles sing to thee
So that I may have knitted gifts to share
With those for whom I deeply care.

Blessed Be.

Frog Pond!

I so hate the frog pond these days. The socks I turned the heels on had to go back to the frog pond, they were way to large for the tiny little foot, they fit my mom's little feet, but even her feet weren't as small as the feet they were meant for. No worries, it's back up to the heel again, just set me back a little. I also started a pair of X-stockings, or Yule Stockings as I prefer to refer to them as. One stocking is still going strong, the mate, in the opposite colors is heading for the frog pond. Earlier today, I discovered I had turned one cable wrong, near the beginning but decided that since it was to the Wall (or not public side, it would be fine). So on ward I went with it, only to discover that there was a cable that I completely forgot to turn. I tried to fix both cable turns, and well the whole stocking is now in the frog pond, patiently waiting for me to finish it's mate which is turning out wonderfully, before it gets ripped and re-knitted.

Weekend.

Saturday we went on a road trip to visit the MIL. And knock me over with a feather, she was actually nice to me. Those of you who have heard tales of my MIL will understand the shock factor involved here. She treated me like I was a person, and not only listened to me like I had something to say, but we had some nice conversations. Not the stilted conversations of 2 people where one person isn't interested and is actually dismissive, but actual conversation where both parties are interested and have something to say. Either she's really happy that DH and I are back in the PNW or she's actually listened to DH. So much better than being treated like a non-person. I never asked her to be friends with me, all I ask is that she acknowledge that I not only exist but am married to her son, who knows maybe that's just a bit much to ask of a person. I am truely amazed by how much this woman has changed in her attitude towards me.

Sunday morning, we went to sign some more paper work. Basically we have until the end of the November for one of us to get a job, or to decided to go with a Stated Income loan. Either way, it looks like we'll be welcoming the new year in our new home.

After signing the paper work DH and I went on a scouting out the local paint ball scene. I confess to actually enjoying watching paintball - DH's hobby. I like the strategy involved, and quite frankly it's fun to watch. We were both disappointed by the 2 indoor paint ball parks we saw, the one didn't look safe, and was unky (is that a word?) Anyway, just watching from outside the nets (the fields are surrounded by nets for the protection of those watching) the astroturf was a sticky gooey mess, needless to say we didn't stay long at all. But accross the street, we found this:

I took one look at the Autorized sign and noted the name on the sign and the door, turned to DH and asked, "so if we park there they will tow our car where? to where it's parked?" LOL.

Lots of knitting did get done this weekend, nothing got finished, but I've turned the heel on another pair of socks, once this pair is complete it will make 3 x-mas presents done, I won't post a pic of this pair of socks until the 3rd of the pairs is done since it's a family present and the colors all go together in a family kind of way. I did also make quite a bit of progress on Clapotis, which won't be posted here until after X-mas since the recipient reads my blog.

Seattle is very wet and a bit on the cold side of what I've become used to....but....I love it. We're in the 3rd of 3 storms that are blowing through. We are expecting 2 days of no rain, or minimal rain Wed and Thurs, but then the rain will come back just in time for the weekend, and I've never been happier about the weather :).

promised pics

I so love the fall in the Pacific Northwest and the drive up here did not disappoint. The colors were much more spectacular in person, but I was driving, and this is my favorite shot of all the pics my camera took of the fall in the PNW.


Nothing quite like 2 ferry's approaching each other in the night with the Space Needle and the rest of the Seattle skyline in the background. There is an anchored tug in the shot too, that's the one in front, the ferries are slightly to the left of that and behind. This shot was taken from a park in West Seattle.

The truck, was packed, here's DH's friend, who drove the truck and Dad starting the unloading process. It's a 26 ' truck to give you and idea of the work that was done to get it loaded and unloaded.
Truck half onloaded, and storage is partially full, but there was still quite a bit of work to be done when this pic was taken. No more pics after this, since we were trying to beat the Seattle Rain....we won, everything was safely dry in storage before the rain came.


Here's a sneak peek at our new place. We do have pics of the inside, but I'm saving those for another time, since we're waiting for new everything to be done inside, they're doing a complete remodel. We are hoping to be in by the end of the year, but we were told Janurary for sure, possibly sooner.



Edited to add: Stash is handy, very handy, it's at the other end of the house, sharing a room with the cats, they are gaurding my stash very nicely.