blog previous June 2006 next August July June May April March February January 2007 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2006 December November October September August July June Archive The Magic of Friends... June 28th, 2006 I had the best time of my life this weekend. Every year, Jim and I meet up with some friends from all over the country at a quarry park in Ohio. These people are the best friends anyone could have. I love all of them. Being with them, at this place is such a great feeling of refreshment and peace, that I didn't want to leave. A weekend just isn't long enough. Next year, were definitely staying longer. It was a 13 hour drive for us to get there, and we didn't hit any rain on the way. When we arrived, everyone said that it had been raining there and stopped about 20 minutes before we had arrived. Shortly after, we saw this and we all felt as though it was an omen of a great weekend ahead. This place is absolutely beautiful. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. It will refresh your soul. This is the view from the beach. Saturday night the sky was so clear that everyone wandered down here and looked at the starry sky. I learned a little bit about constellations. This is the view, straight up, from our campsite. The chairs that we brought with us recline, so I saw this quite a bit over the weekend. It's unlike anything I've seen around New England. There are too many pine trees here. I couldn't find one at this park. This was our third year going to this "gathering" and it was finally nice enough to go swimming. We've wanted to each year, but the weather was a bit too chilly. The park surrounds this quarry, and you can go swimming in the whole thing, not just at the beach. There was a small (like a foot high) cliff like thing nearby our campsite that Michelle, Jim and I jumped into the water from. Climbing out of the water was a slight challenge, but 'twas quite fun, nonetheless. There was a cliff about 20 feet up that Michelle, John and Jerry jumped from. I wasn't quite that brave this year. Maybe next year. Here's another pretty scenery picture. I think there were about 60 of us total, and about 90% left on Sunday afternoon. There were only 8 of us left, to enjoy Sunday, 2 of whom left Sunday night. The six of us are what was left on Monday morning. It was really hard leaving everyone. I felt such a great connection to every single one of them, that it was like part of myself was being torn away as we left the park. It got pretty emotional. I love you guys, and I'll see you next year! (if not sooner) Hey, look––––> June 19th, 2006 I added a sidebar on the right side of this page. I'm hoping that seeing the progress bars for each of my ongoing projects that I'll be able to keep myseslf a little more focused. To be honest, I think I've got more projects going on than what's there, but I can't think of all of them at the moment. So I guess it's a good start. They're in order by when they were started. The oldest being on the bottom and the newest on the top. I've really got to finish (or at least work on) that bottom sweater. It's for Jim. Maybe secretly I'm afraid of the cursed boyfriend sweater theory... Pictures!!! June 17th, 2006 I know this page would be 1000 times better if it had some fun pictures every now and then. So, here's a little treat! I finally got around to charging the batteries for my camera and my hands were cramping up from knitting so much so I figured I'd take a break and show you all what I've been up to. The picture to the left is of the crocheted cardigan I'm working on. It's about half done, and I can't wait to see it finished. I LOVE the way it's coming out. It's put together using squares, but you'd never know it because of the circles that are made where the four corners meet. Once it's finished I'll put the pattern up for you all to enjoy. The Hauk yarn the I ordered the other day arrived, and I created the chart for the smiley tire cover yesterday. I got knitting this morning and I'm quite impressed with how far I've gone. This is my first intarsia project, so it's somewhat of a learning experience. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this pattern yet. Just for fun, here's a picture of my kitty. She's all wet because when it's hot out she likes climbing into the bathroom sink. I think she started doing it because the ceramic, or whatever it is, is cool. One day Jim turned the water on and drenched her, but she didn't run away and she seemed happier afterwards. So it's something we do for her whenever it's unbearably hot out. Her fur is really soft now because of it. It's like she gets baths on a regular basis. Okay, and because I've had so many requests to see this on a live person... here it is! Yes, that's me. I think with this picture you can get a better idea of how it will fit. It's harder to tell in the photo of it on the dummy. I'm having so much fun with the camera maybe I'll take more pictures. I can't think what of though... Nah, I think I'll go back to working on the tire cover. Happy Knitting everyone! Patience is a virtue... June 16th, 2006 So, as I was searching for an online yarn store that sells Stormy, I stumbled upon some somewhat sad information. It turns out that the CEO's of Michaels, AC Moore and JoAnne Fabrics (all different people by the way) are all stepping down, or retiring. I wonder what this will mean for these big branches, and for little yarn stores. I know that Stormy is out there! I was talking to Sharon, Classic Elite's Luxury Fiber Director, yesterday and she said that we're going to need to re-order it soon! I'm so happy to hear that it's such a hit. I just wish I was able to find it in an online store. I'm sure that Jennifer Knits and/or String are bound to have it eventually. I just haven't seen it on their sites yet. If anyone's interested in a beautiful, quick-knitting cropped vest, I've extended the sale on this pattern until the end of June, which is coming up soon. Stormy's definately out there, not online yet but definately call your local yarn store to see if they've got it. Or if you can't afford to lavish yourself in cashmere, there are some other suggestions here. Wow-ey! June 13th, 2006 So many wonderful things have happened today! Or maybe it just feels that way, either way I'm in a good mood. My boss asked me this morning if I would like to teach a crochet class at one of the stores we sell to. It's one of our largest local accounts. I will have a poster in the store advertising that I'll be teaching a class and I'll get to miss a half day of work to do so! That started my day off nicely. The next great thing was the response to the partial crochet sweater I've been working on. The one that belongs to the swatch below. One of the women here said she thinks it's the best thing I've done so far! I'm so happy to hear that. It's really the first time I've tried crocheting a sweater like this, so it's really inspiring to hear that it's coming out beautifully, and that I'm not the only one who thinks so. I'm torn between putting the pattern on my website, as I had originally planned, or submitting it to Classic Elite for their spring line... Then of course there's magazines, but I think the only magazine I'd like to submit it to would be Interweave Crochet, and their Spring 07 submission deadline has already passed. I'm not really impressed with the majority of other crochet magazines out there... Occasionally I get suprised, but it's not often. ... and ANOTHER happy thing... I finally mailed out both the Vogue project and the Interweave project this morning! Hoo Rah! It's such a wonderful feeling completing something before the deadline and sending it off to its new home! ooh... I just thought of another fun thing... I've been wanting to design a knit cover for the back tire on my Jeep, I've got one on there right now that's getting a little beat up (A bath might help it, but I think I'll just knit a new one anyway). With the help of the Knitters Review Forum (which I visit regularily) I was able to find the perfect yarn to make it! It's wool, covered in teflon! Can you believe it? I read a review that said snow and rain will just slide right off... in other words, but that's how I read it. I ordered what I hope is enough to make the whole cover. I can't wait for it to get here so I can swatch. Um... what else has happened? Well, I s'pose that's enough... plus it's really bright and sunny out, maybe that has helped. I hope your day is going as well as mine... here, have some cheery, happy rays * * * * * * I have extras... World Wide Knit in Public Day! June 9th, 2006 Wow, this week at work has been hectic! TNNA is this weekend in Indianapolis, and as the Graphic Designer for Classic Elite I had a TON of work to do. The Fall 06 booklets are in their final stages (thank god) and they should be heading to the printer next week. I also had to make umpteen posters and fliers and signs to go to the show. It's nice having a tiny amount of a break before they all come back from the show. I've only got a tiency amount of work left to do on the VP, so I plan on getting that done tonight then sending it on its way to Vogue tomorrow or Monday! Yay, I'm soooo glad to be finished with deadlines. I've already got something in mind for myself (swatch to the right). So, as you may know, tomorrow's the World Wide Knit in Public Day! I plan on going to a park tomorrow and working on the project for me. It's crocheted, but I'm sure the knitting gods won't mind if I crochet on the WWKIP Day. Jim and I are going to be camping in Ohio in a few weeks. I would love to have my project completed in time to wear there. I know... it's dirty and yucky camping, but I don't care, that's why we wash things. like a little kid doing homework. June 4th, 2006 Jim's been working some nights and weekends lately, so that gives me a little time to myself. I am 5/6 finished with the Vogue project, and it's nice having all this time to finish it up. The thing is, every time I go to work on it, I can think of 7000 other things to do before I actually sit and work on it. Like yesterday, I ran out to do one errand, and I ended up stopping for breakfast somwhere, going to Michaels to poke around... you know fun stuff. But I feel like I totally should be working every minute available on this project. I'm so close to being finished, I just need to do it. I even did the dishes yesterday! I think I'll go work on it right now. Well, after I tell you what I got a Michaels :) I had two gift cards for Michaels sitting in my wallet for months now. I can't believe it's taking me this long to get to the craft store to use them up! I found this booklet with 99 crocheted snowflake designs and instantly fell in love! I'm not usually one to enjoy working with crochet thread, but these just look so beautiful, I couldn't resist. Of course I came home yesterday intending to work on the Vogue project and just had to make (just one) snowflake first. I was able to make only one before working on the VP (Vogue Project from now on...) Later that night I made 2 more. I just tried to take a picture of them, but my camera batteries are dead. I'm charging them now, and I'll leave the snowflakes set up, maybe I'll remember to take the picture later. Okay, now on to the VP! Patterns to Buy River of Life Socks Crochet Motif Cardigan Beatrice Ribbed Tie Coat Stormy Diamond Eyelet Cropped Vest Work's in Progress CEY Knit - Due Sept 10 Secret Project - Fin by Sept 4 Secret Project - Fin by Oct 10 Quilted Toe Up Socks Mountain (Knee) Socks Philosopher's Girl PO Crocheted Raglan Rasta Hat Master Knitting Striped Hat Forbidden Lace Cardigan Master Knitting Program - Level 1 Hauk Smiley Face Tire Cover