Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Can't Wait for Stitches East!!

I have been really bad about updating this lately...it has been really busy with school lately. I finished my online graduate certificate class at UWM and decided to wait to sign up for another one until January. I have three more to go, no big rush though. My marketing class in the MBA program has been really crazy lately...we are almost done with the case report (35 pages, I think we are up to now) and are working on the presentation. Due November 9th - so it'll all be over soon.

Sorry no knitting pics - I finished the first sleeve of Blackberry though and am working on the second now. Haven't worked much on Ariann. Started swatching the dark gray Elann Baby Cashmere for the gloves.

Can't wait for Stitches East - Baltimore baby! Me and Lisa are each bringing an empty duffle bag and our wallets - traveling light to bring back lots of Brooks Farm Fiber and Tess Rare Yarns! Flying out Saturday morning and will be back Saturday night.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Ariann Progress

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I'm really liking this, I made the 1st buttonhole and am half way to the next one. It's going pretty quick but I just haven't been working on it much b/c of everything else going on.

Here's a pic of the whole thing so far:

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and yesterday I just got an idea for a pair of really nice dark gray cashmere gloves for a gift.....I think it will look really good. Have to find just the right yarn.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Today's Sweater...

Hi everyone,
It has been a crazy weekend in every sense of the word, so all I can offer is today's sweater....
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(from Rowan 38, made it last year with Rowan Ribbon Twist - LOVE IT!)

and my almost-finished 1st sleeve of Blackberry that I worked on last night while catching up on Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy.

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I'm taking a break from this paper I'm working on with my team at school - having a nice glass of J.Lohr Cabernet and chilling out. This paper is going really well, my team members are awesome! and I finished the other paper for my other class last Friday, so I am a happy girl. Life is good!

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Another one shamelessly stolen from Bonne Marie’s blog…these memes are evil. Yet I'm strangely addicted to them.


48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Robin

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope – alternative names considered by my parents were Regina and Veronica – Veronica’s Ok but Regina sounds like V*gina, glad they didn’t name me that. Can’t imagine going through junior high with that little moniker.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Hmmm. I think when I watched “Eight Below” when one of the little husky dogs died. Wahhh.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Nope. I’ve completely lost the art of penmanship (if I ever had it.) I kinda half print, half write and get scribblier as the page goes on.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Bobak’s Polish Ham with Spiced Ham –mmm (worked at Sub City in high school and acquired this fetish)

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Definitely! I’m pretty cool to be around.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Don’t know if the blog counts…if so, yes. Otherwise, no - definitely no pen and paper writing is going on.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep. My mom was not a believer in doctoral intervention unless absolutely necessary ( you had to be DYING). If I were raising myself, I would have had them taken out as I get a lot of sore throats and I suspect that may be the reason why.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh no. Most definitely not. I can find a lot more exciting things to do that don’t involve risking my life. I plan to live to be 100 (and hopefully have a good chance as my great grandmother did.)

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Corn Chex and Wheaties mixed together with skim milk

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope (what kind of wacked out question is this – who cares??)

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Definitely. I’m lucky enough not to have to do too much strength training to keep up my muscle tone (at least up to this point) so this is a good thing. Actually if I do it even a little too much I build muscle crazy quick (especially those quadricep muscles) so I’ve limited it.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Chocolate-chocolate chip.

14. SHOE SIZE? 6 1/2 or 7.

5. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Probably my hips. Who really likes those?

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My friend Sandy, as she seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure, if they want to.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Well, I’m wearing a skirt, so I’ve substituted that for pants. Multicolor green/brown, chocolate brown, chocolate brown.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? grilled chicken salad

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Myself thinking

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Mocha

23. FAVORITE SMELL? My favorite perfume: Pure or Armani Mania for men – like the women’s too but the men’s is delish

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband Jim

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? I guess I’d say eyes, but it’s the whole picture for me.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Definitely! Bonne Marie’s the best. We want more patterns!!!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Depends on the day – Cosmopolitan or a buttery Chardonnay

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Golf

29. EYE COLOR? Greenish hazel

30. HAT SIZE? ?????????

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes, usually every day, but glasses some days.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Sushi, especially anything with salmon in it.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary Movies

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Depends on who it is

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? chocolate cake with chocolate sauce inside and out and vanilla ice cream

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ?????????

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ????????

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Just finished Paranoia by Joseph Finder, about to start Tough Choices by Carly Fiorina

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? A Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass design that I got at the museum in Phoenix, Arizona

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Grey’s Anatomy Season 2, episode 15

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Surf/waves crashing on the beach, my cats purring

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Stones

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Europe

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Knitting, and it took me 33 years to figure it out.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Evergreen Park, Illinois at Little Company of Mary Hospital

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Stolen from Bonne Marie’s blog..

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Update on Blackberry and Ariann

The first thing I want to say is Thanks! to my Secret Pal, "B" as she sent me a very nice card. I think she may be into scrapbooking/stamping, as the card looks handmade - very nice!

And although I haven't accomplished much, here's some progress pics of Blackberry (left and right front, back - pre-picking up the sides of the left and right front)


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And the first sleeve in progress (ignore the bottom part of the pic, that is the top half of the other photo) - I like the cables and bobbles so far!

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And Ariann...hard to really show properly, but I'm almost done with the decreases on the body and will be starting the increases soon.

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It's been really crazy lately so just about all I can do is work on my papers, try to knit whenever I can and blog even less. I can't wait until the end of the day on Tuesday, when I will at least be done with one of my two classes!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

My Favorites

I haven't gotten a lot of knitting accomplished this weekend, as yesterday's golf outing/dinner/cocktails at my co-worker's house ended up being crazy and today am feeling the after-effects!

Here's the list of answers to the "my favorites" meme for the SP9 contest being sponsored by Shelby...as I have nothing to show for myself with knitting.

My Favorites

Actor: Serious - Edward Norton Eye Candy - Johnny Depp

Actress: Kate Winslet

Animal: Cat

Band: this is so hard to choose - maybe Pete Yorn

Book: Memoirs of a Geisha (NOT the movie though)

Bubblebath: lemon

Candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Milk Chocolate Godiva

Color: dark plum/aubergine

Drink: a buttery Chardonnay or a less-oaky Cabernet

Flower: tulips

Food: sushi

Lip balm: Prescriptives gloss

Lotion: Hemp from Sally Beauty Supply!

Movie: Office Space

Place: Anacapri

Song: In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel (so predictable)

TV Show: Grey's Anatomy

Yarn: Anything made by Brooks Farm or Tess Designer Yarns

Vacation Spot: St. Bart's or Blankenberge, Belgium

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Sewing Expo Tomorrow

I'm going to the Quilting and Sewing Expo tomorrow - going to take some classes, including serging as I've never done it but am thinking of buying a serger. I've been wanting to get more into sewing but need some help. Then maybe I can use the Garment Designer I purchased at Stitches Midwest!

Oh yeah, and this is the view out my office window right now. Look at the crazy SNOW! It's October 12th people!

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Blackberry In Process

I cast on for Blackberry yesterday and got all of this done in a 90 minute webcast! I guess listening to people drone on about new accounting pronouncements is good for something...I know it's probably hard to discern just exactly what you're looking at here, but this is the back just past the armholes, in reverse stockinette stitch.

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But check this out - I like the stockinette stitch side better. I don't think it will show up the cables as nicely though.

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I like this colorway - "Corinthian" in Rowan Chunky Print - and I have a skirt and a long sleeve layering type shirt in that red/rust color, so I have my outfit all planned!

Oh, and Lisa and I booked our yarn p*rn flight to Baltimore for the Stitches East market on 11/4 last night. We're definitely going now!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

New Pattern Frenzy!

Again, I'm all excited about some patterns that I've seen recently. I am still going to cast on for Ariann, but am trying to get some UFOs done first. Last night I finished the last 40 rows of knitting on the baby sweater and will be sewing that, and I'm thinking that on the fair isle cardigan steeking project, that will maybe be next year's project for McKenna instead of this year's. I'm kind of burned out on gift knitting for now, so am thinking about making her something from my gray Big Wool Fusion instead - quick and easy.

But back to the new patterns I want to do. I saw a great sweater on Lara's blog made with Rowan Soft Tweed, a Knitty pattern called Blackberry that I have the chunky print for already (in this great yellow/red/cream colorway called Corinthian) and a sweater in Fall 05 Interweave Knits with K1C2 Temptation - done in the round, chunky yarn, easy cables. I think it is called the Cascade Indulgence pullover. I ordered a ball of the Soft Tweed, and two different colors of the K1C2 Temptation from yarnmarket.com to swatch with as I didn't have anything suitable in my stash (LOL.)

Jim and I decided to skip the MBA trip - he really wasn't so enthused about going, and he didn't want me going by myself to Europe (he is weird about some things like that.) He probably would have went if I twisted his arm, but I don't want to drag him if he really doesn't want to go. So big deal - I'll be 36 when I finish the MBA whether I finish 6 months early or not - and it's not like there's a race or anything.

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Weekend Recap

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Well, I almost finished the Debbie Bliss Ribbon Tied Jacket this weekend, so I got a lot more knitting in than I thought I would while catching up on Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy today. I have about 40 more rows to go but they only have 34 stitches each, so it should go quickly. (I don't believe my friend Susan - the recipient of this gift, for her new baby boy- has too much time to check out my blog, with a new baby and a daughter who just turned two, so it'll still be a surprise.)

Golf - did horribly - it's amazing how much just practicing once a week does (which I hadn't done for the past two weeks after I finished my eight initial lessons.) I'm glad that I'm going to be playing again as part of an outing next week and am doing a playing lesson with the golf pro the week after and an all day clinic with five other women the week after that. Once I get back into it, I'll start going to one of those indoor dome places and practice through the winter, because otherwise I'm going to lose everything I learned.

Papers - mmm. Accomplished a lot on one, not so much on the other. I'll have to work on that one during this week.

Got my Secret Pal assignment - heard from mine (she sounds very nice!) and replied to her, and sent out an email to the person I'm assigned to "spoil". I'm excited - I've come up with a list already of potential gifts for my "spoilee" and will be scouting out places to get them in the next few weeks. This will be fun!

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Got my Handspun from Julie!

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Just look at this - it's beautiful! This was what I got when I gave Julie $40 for her wheel fund - she was giving 50g of handspun for each $10 donated. She ordered her wheel pretty quickly, as a lot of people thought this was a great idea and donated. I think she should do this as a side business, but I'm sure it is a lot of work. I'm especially impressed by the fact that she spun this by hand on a drop spindle - I know I could never do that - plus it is amazingly professional looking, like something I would buy at a yarn shop.

I think she gave me the lighter lavender as some kind of "bonus" too as the tag on one of the two others says 200g - approx 330 yards, and that it is 70% navajo churro and 30% mohair. I never heard of navajo churro but the yarn is a very nice texture, and that's more yardage than I expected for sure! Thanks Julie!!!

It's not going to be a happy knitting weekend, unfortunately, as I have two big papers for my classes that I need to work on (that are due in a few weeks) and Jim and I are playing 9 holes of golf this afternoon with one of my co-workers and her husband. I'm looking forward to the golf, the papers - not so much (reminds me of that meme a while back asking what else you were procrastinating about while knitting) so that all adds up to no finished objects this weekend. BLAH!

In other news, I may be going on the MBA trip to Germany and Austria in May. I only have four more classes, two of which are electives, and this would be a nice way to get one of the electives done to finish in May 2008 instead of December 2008. (Yeah, I've only been taking one class at a time in Fall and Spring - what I refer to as the "slacker plan".)

If I went crazy and took two classes at a time, which is a little hard to do this term b/c I'm taking the online class for the graduate certificate at another university, then I could finish a lot sooner, but I already have one master's degree (in tax) so I really don't need to drive myself insane to get this one done. When I was doing the first one, I really wanted to get done quickly as there were immediate promotion/pay increases I saw on the horizon, but this one is really more of something I wanted for myself and my own experience.

So it's not really the "finishing sooner" that's motivating me (although that is a nice perk) but the trip itself. The only part of Germany Jim and I have been to is Hamburg, as one stop on one of our cruises a few years ago. We usually like cruising for our vacations so we would be unlikely to put together a land tour like the one they are offering, plus my last two companies have been associated with the auto industry in one way or another and Germany is an excellent place for me to go from that standpoint. So, I think I'm going to go, and Jim may come along too, depending on if they have space for spouses at the end of the day.

Friday, October 06, 2006

V Neck Raglan and Crazy Wool-Venture

Here's a pic of my V-neck raglan in process - I just joined the neck and will be working straight, then doing the ribbing. I put it on waste yarn and tried it on and it fit great. I'm getting more used to this "putting project on waste yarn" thing and have learned the tricks to avoiding losing any stitches in the process, so top-down is definitely my favorite way to knit a sweater now.


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So yesterday was so successful with the de-stashing that I started thinking about getting more of the yarns I do want - like Brooks Farm and Tess - then started thinking about the only real place to get those with a huge selection (that I know of): the STITCHES market! Then looked at the Knitter's site to see when Stitches East was, and saw that it is on a weekend that I could actually go. Then I told my friend Lisa about it and she was saying that the Brooks Farm web site didn't have a good selection of yarns and she wanted to pick up some Riata of her own, after seeing the reds and the swatch I did for Ariann and liking it.

Soo.... this is how I came to decide to fly to Baltimore for one day on a Saturday morning, buy yarn, and come back that evening. Umm, this is a whole new level of yarn addiction, right, if I'm getting on one-day flights to shop for it???

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Destashing

Well, now that I made an inventory list of all of my "wool", I decided there's a lot of it I'm not going to use (or I want other kinds more, let's put it that way.) So I got up early today before work and took a bunch of pics of it and posted to the destashing blog. The last time I did this, I didn't have a lot of response, but I priced it to sell this time and put a lot more stuff out there. Otherwise, I was going to have to go buy more plastic containers from the Container Store, and they've already gotten about $500 of my money on wool organization tools!

And, I also got my Lia Sophia jewelry order in yesterday - I LOVE these necklaces - check these out!

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Not much else to report, I got to the bottom of the V neck on the easy V neck raglan (I only had to knit 33 rows to get there with the Bunny Print!) and will have pics soon.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

New Quick-Knit on the Needles

Well, I enjoyed the construction of the SKB so much that I decided to try another Glampyre Knits pattern, the Easy V Neck Raglan. I had some Tahki Bunny Print in my stash and I felt like doing something on size 9s or 10s, so here it is. I started it last night and almost got through an entire ball of yarn (out of 10 that it will take) so I think this will be a 2 week-er.


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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Done with CeCe!!

After a weekend of truly obsessive knitting, I'm done with CeCe!

I really liked this pattern and I love the fit. I made the 34" size in Rowan Calmer (sorry, too lazy to look up the shade number but it is obviously like a corally-red), size 6 addis, using Magic Loop for the sleeves. I liked doing the neckband from holders and then sewing it - that and sewing the armhole seams was IT as far as finishing. Just the way I like it! Thanks, Bonne Marie, for an excellent pattern!


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Monday, October 02, 2006

Quick Picture-Less Blog Entry

I got a call from Wool & Company saying that the Plymouth Cashmere yarn is on backorder and would take 6-8 weeks, so they were giving me the option of going through with the order or not. I decided not to, as I didn't want to wait - plus it was kind of an impulse buy and the last thing I need is more yarn. I will eventually knit the Glasgow Lace pullover, but I almost finished CeCe over the weekend and decided I did enough lace for awhile.

The other thing that I did over the weekend (besides obsessive knitting on CeCe) was that I discovered Grey's Anatomy. Yeah, I'm always a little behind on the pop culture things, especially TV shows. I rented the first season on Netflix and sat down and watched the whole thing and LOVED it. I had remembered seeing a few episodes here and there and didn't have the whole backstory at the time so didn't really get into it. But now that I started at the beginning, I am addicted. I should have known I would be, as I went back and watched all the ER episodes from the beginning and loved those too. So now I have to frantically catch up (watch Season 2) so I can start watching Season 3.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

SP9 Questionnaire

They just posted the SP9 questionnaire so I thought I would get it out of the way now before the 10/15 deadline! (I love these things - they are so much fun!)

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

It's got to be soft. Soft wool or wool blended with alpaca, mohair, and/or cashmere are my favorite. I've been wanting to try angora, as I haven't worked with that yet.

I really dislike cotton, unless it's mixed with wool or something else that makes it easier to work with (Rowan Calmer is a blend I do like - not sure of its exact composition.) I actually don't really like 100% silk either to knit with. I like wearing it in clothes that I purchase but not knitting with it as it is too slippery and has a lot of the same properties of cotton that I dislike. I'm also not a big fan of acrylic or "fun fur".


2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

The Circular Solution for the needles and a box with dividers for the crochet hooks. I'm all good there.


3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting since January 2005 but have done a lot of projects - I'd say I'm definitely at least at the intermediate level.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes - it's located here.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

Clean, outdoorsy/ocean or lemon-y scents. I like Fresh Lemon Sugar, Jil Sander Pure, and Banana Republic's Beach House scents - along those lines.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I love chocolate, especially milk chocolate. I like Godiva truffles (especially the key lime truffles) and Dove dark chocolate pieces. Twix and Reese's Peanut Butter cups are tasty too. I like the miniature ones, less commitment on each snack.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

Crochet, although I haven't really taken off with it yet. I like making wire wrapped jewelry, but again, haven't done much of it. I don't spin and don't really have any interest in that - just the end results!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

90s music, especially early/mid 90s (college, post college tunes for me.) I also like classical music. Yes, I'm a huge ITunes and iPod addict. I also like audiobooks and buy them on audible.com or ITunes.


9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I'd have to say I don't really like pastels, especially baby blue and pink. I like both earth tones and vibrant colors though. I really like reddish-orange, green and dark plum.


10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I've been married for four great years to my husband, Jim. We have two cats, Gilda and FatKat, who are both twelve years old, and a tank full of freshwater fish.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

Not so much. Surprisingly, I do like fingerless gloves, like the Fetching ones I made earlier this year.


12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Sweaters.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Eeek. What am I NOT knitting right now? My blog is the best source to stay current on this, as I have about 9 unfinished projects (a record low for me!) and a number of them are actually soon to be finished. I should be done with Christmas gifts by the end of November, but I always have at least one sweater on the needles for me as well.


14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Mmmm, that's a tough one. It really depends. I would have to say no to be safe.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Usually Circular Addi Turbos only - but Circular Lantern Moons would be a real treat. I've discovered Magic Loop recently so long circulars would be great.


16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes and yes.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

About a year old.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Hmm, another interesting one. I would say maybe Memorial Day because of the promise of the upcoming long summer ahead? I'm not a big holiday person.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Rowan Magazines - I have a good number of them but am missing a lot of the early ones.

I have everything in the 30s and I have the latest #40. In the 20s, I have 22, 23 and 27 but would love any of the others. In the teens, I have 13, 15, 16, and 18.


20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Not particularly. The Amazon wish list would show the books I'm looking for. Needles - Lantern Moon 24 - 29 " Circulars, size 5 or 6. I have an Interweave Knits subscription and I really only like that one - if there is a way to get a Rebecca subscription via mail I'd love that, but I don't know if that's available. An Interweave Crochet subscription would also be of interest....


21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Intarsia, but I'm taking a class on that on November 4th. I already know fair isle, entrelac, cables, magic loop, knitting on 2 circulars...am working on my first steeking project. I'd eventually like to investigate the purchase of a knitting machine and maybe buy one in the spring - for light gauge yarns. I'd love a resource that would help me compare the ones that are out there, as I'd like to invest in a good one but don't know what the good ones are yet.


22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I'm not yet a sock knitter, but I'm taking a class to learn how to do them on Magic Loop next month. I haven't measured my feet but I wear US size 6 1/2 or 7 shoes.


23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

February 19, 1972