The E.T.Scarf

The other day my four year old nephew called. It was our first real phone conversation! He was so cute when he asked me to knit him a scarf. He said, "Tia Ellie, can you make me a scarf with stripes?" How could I even think about turning him down? I asked him what his favorite colors were and he very carefully told me they were, "Red (long pause), blue (more thinking), green (are you still there?), and black." Then he remembered one more thing. "Please put some tassels on the ends." How polite!

I was at Mosaic Yarn Shop yesterday and bought all the supplies. My first attempt was a little too short but I kept going hoping it would lengthen once I took it off the needles. No such luck. It wasn't even big enough for his two year old brother but it fit E.T.'s skinny neck just right. That's how the scarf got its name. Now am at work on the real one with enough yarn left and should have it done in time to give it to him during the Easter weekend when I will see him. I think I'll give him the E.T. doll too, if it doesn't freak him out too much!

I hope that every time he wears it, he will feel his Tia hugging him from miles away.

My knitting group

I've been knitting for a couple of years now. My friend, Julie invited me to a knit shop out in the country. The owner Carole stays open late on Wednesdays and there's an open invitation to come knit and drink some wine. Those who gather only have one thing in common, a love of knitting. We have working knitters in their 40's, like me and some older and younger. Some of the participants are retired. Some have young families, some have teenagers and some are empty nesters. We have married, single and divorced knitters in all different socioeconomic levels. Most of the knitters have a never ending supply of stories to tell. I love hearing each and every one. Last week I heard about the history of the post office in Brownsburg. We talk about relationships, infidelity, spirituality, kids, parents, animals and I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other topics. Nothing is taboo and it's surprising how unflappable the older women are! If anyone is struggling needing advice, you can find it with this group!

The group also has started meeting outside of the yarn shop and I took some pictures at a recent Sunday afternoon gathering. The temperature was perfect and we spent the entire time on Sandy's porch. I am so lucky to know these beautiful people!

Happy New Year Stocking???

I finally finished my Christmas stocking. I'm doing one a year and this one is for my daughter. I believe I'll try felting it one more time - such a messy process! After it's shrunk a little more, I'll sew on the jingle bells at the points. I'll start my son's a little earlier next year....

Another package from my punk rock knitting pal!

My package from Dawn arrived Thursday but I'm just now getting to post it. Dawn is such a talented, creative person so I feel very lucky to have been matched with her! Let me tell you about the goodies I got!

• DPN's
• A tiny treasure box
• Pom Pom maker
• Tape measure
• Marzipan Chocolate which my kids watched me eat with puppy dog eyes
• Fun magnets
• Face oil made by Dawn that smells so good!
• One skein of Rowan felted tweed
• Three skeins of Lion Brand wool in lovely lemongrass (can anyone recommend a good pattern for a cabled bag for this?)
• Turkey with a hand knit scarf by Dawn

Thank you, Dawn! You're the best!

A surprise in the mail!

My package arrived today! It came during the Ohio State game and it must have brought me good luck because we SO won the game! I should have taken a guess who my pal was before the package arrived because I suspected it was DawnRays but since I didn't say so before, it doesn't sound so credible, does it?

Here's what she sent me:





I've got three skeins to use as I wish (2 Katia peru skeins with an alpaca/acrylic/wool mix and one very punky Noro skein). Dawn MADE me the fishbone lace cowl which is WAY cool! The stitch markers (also made by Dawn) are my very first fancy markers. I got the spiderwebby cloth and pumpkin which will stay out as Halloween is approaching. She also sent me notecards and a shower sponge which will both be put to good use. How can someone I've never met know the exact right things to send?!

With a Buckeye win and my package, I can call this a perfect day!

A beautiful weekend *sigh*

I spent this weekend at Skylark again. It's a beautiful treasure on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A group of us gathered to knit, drink wine, talk and celebrate life. In being there, I created another moment to add to the collection of precious memories that make up my life. The women that were there were conservative, liberal, young, old, traditional and wild with a common love of knitting. We talked about religion, love, family, politics, and shared life experiences that made me laugh so hard I cried. I can't tell you how lucky I am to know and hang out with this group of amazing women!

I have to share with you the receiving blanket that I FINALLY finished and will be shipping to my cousin's baby in Mexico soon. I'm so glad to get it off my needles! It's made of Baby Bamboo and is SOOOO soft!



Three of the women there made these amazing shawls and I asked if I could take a picture of them. The colors are brilliant and I can't make to make one myself.


We enjoyed our cocktail hours with a 360 degree view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the food was better than any five star restaurant!




It was so sad to see the weekend come to an end but we were running out of wine anyway....

I wanna win!!!!

As part of this knitting swap I'm doing with PRGE, there is a new contest. My secret pal (a.k.a. Pink Floyd or Knitsum) has sent me three songs that I must match up with knitting/crochet projects. She went with a political theme. Hmmmm. I wonder where she came up with that???? Do I sound a bit obsessed with the campaigning maybe???

The first song she gave me is "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen. I found this on Ravelry which I think fits perfectly and made me laugh. When I asked permission to use the photo on my blog, I got this reply: "Sure, you may use Greaseball's USA picture on your blog! Anyone who is not for Palin is a friend of ours! ;)"

Here is Greaseball in all his glory! Doesn't he look like he wants to take a bite out of someone for dressing him up like this?


My second song is "I'm Just a Girl" by No Doubt. This made me think of a pattern I bought at the Knitters Connection last June in Columbus, OH. I took a class by Lucy Neatby who is as punky a knitter as you can find! I think it fits perfect with the song because it's so frilly and feminine!

Lastly, Pink gave me "Holiday" by Green Day. What an awesome band! For that I came across this in Ravelry. I went with the British meaning for holiday which they use instead of the word vacation. This looks like a quick easy project that would be quite useful, don't you think?

Punk Rock Gift Exchange

My friend Julie convinced me to do this gift exchange for punk rock knitters. I thought it sounded like just the kind of group for me so I recently joined. I'm a bit overwhelmed by the whole blogging/gift exchange process and being a beginning knitter (how many years am I allowed to use this excuse), I'm kinda clueless in this area as well. Julie promised to point me in the right direction so, here goes!

My first duty is to post my answers to the survey below. I didn't even realize I was supposed to do this until today as I have not been checking regularly but I'll try to keep up better going forward.

1. Why did you join PRGE?

I joined after hearing Julie's rave reviews.

1.a. Have you done other swaps? Are you doing other swaps right now?

This is my very first swap. I am a swap virgin!

2. What are your five favorite things? (these don't have to be knit related)

Buckeye football, traveling, my family, wine, reading

2.a. Do these things allow any hints into your personality for your punk pal?

I think so....

3. What are your three favorite things that you have made with knitting/crochet?

a fancy washcloth, a furry scarf, a hat (actually, I think those are ALL that I've made!)

3.a. What do you tend to make with knit/crochet?

So far, just the above and I am working on a receiving blanket now

3.b. What do you hope to make (or complete that you have started) someday?

socks, sweaters, cell phone thingy, mittens, baby clothes...starting to get overwhelmed.....

4. What five things would you love to see in a swap box someday? Why?

I think I'm too inexperienced to answer this.

4.a. What do you hope to never see in a swap box again (or ever)?

Nothing that's alive??? Wait! Plant's might work....

5. What are your three favorite yarns? What are your three least favorite yarns?

I'm still discovering what's out there so I don't have favorites.
Least favorites? Maybe avoid yarn in the discount bin in Walmart....

5.a. Do you like solid, self-striping, or multi-colored yarns?

Um, yes????

5.b. What are your favorite colors? What are your favorite colors to knit with?

It depends on what I'm knitting. Lucy Neatby's stuff is bright and funky and appeals to me!

6. What are your five favorite delicacies?

Smoked salmon, truffles (chocolate not mushrooms), good cheese, pepper jelly, cheesecake

6.a. What yarn do you hope to one day try and why?

clueless

7. What are your three favorite guilty pleasures?

wine, fritos & bean dip, Facebook

7.a. What are your favorite tv or movie characters?

Jon Stewart, Steven Colbert, any Johnny Depp character

8. What are the five things you look forward to every week?

the weekend, sleeping, Buckeye football, seeing my husband & kids at the end of the day, wasting time on the computer

8.a. What do you do during your week (ie - work, take care of three kids, race walk)?

Work part-time, take care of kids, volunteer at the high school, PTA, blog, laundry, zzzzzzzz

9. What do you collect?

Barbies

9.a. What collects you?

huh?

10. When is your birthday?

February 17, 1965

10.a. What is your favorite holiday and why?

Halloween - I love dressing up and have added Mexican traditions from La Dia de los Muertos and all the decorations!

11. Do you have any wishlists?

I have a book list going on Amazon but I have so many I haven't read on my shelves that I shouldn't even acknowledge the list until I get caught up!

11.a. Do you have a "favorites" collection anywhere that your pal should know about?

I think I might have one on Etsy but it's been a long time since it was updated....

12. Do you have any allergies or health related conditions that your pal should know about?

Nah!

12.a. What drives you nuts?

My neurotic dog (adopted last January), bad drivers, racists, religious fanatics, spam

13. What do you do for work and what do you do for fun?

Work: I administer an on-line computer fluency course for college business students
Fun: BUNKO, book club, hang with friends, read, crafts, travel

13.a. What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Have my own talk show!

14. What would you like your pal to know that is not covered here?

I think this is more than enough!

14.a. Are you excited for the contests or will you just pretend that they do not exist?

I'm too overwhelmed to be excited but will give them a try....

Phew!!!! Finished!!!

Knitting heaven

I'm currently in Columbus, Ohio attending the 2008 Knitters Connection knitting convention. Being a new knitter this is a whole new world for me and there's so much to learn. I'm having a lot of fun and I think I've gotten a little better. 

Since I have my kids with me and family in town, I can only sneak away for part of the time. Yesterday was my longest day there with a class from 1:30pm - 4:30pm. Then out for an early dinner at Buca di Beppo. A massive thunderstorm hit at around 6pm. It was so bad that this bird tried to fly into the restaurant to avoid the weather.

We got stranded so headed back to the bar. We were a spectacle there pulling out our knitting projects and pounding shots of some Italian, lemon flavored concoction.

When the storm finally subsided, we headed back but not before some of my friends donned trash bags with face holes cut out that they got the restaurant to give them (I won't humiliate them by publishing those pictures). We got back in time to hear those crazy kids from Ravelry give their presentation. They talked about how their awesome website came to be. With all their positive energy, it was hard not to enjoy what they put together for us!

Today I went shopping at the Knitters Market and got some awesome goodies. I can't wait to dig in to the DVD and a pattern I bought by Lucy Neatby. I took a class from her on Wednesday and she's a fantastic teacher. Her "happy stitches" cracked me up!

On a completely different subject, halfway through typing this post, I got the news of the death of Tim Russert. What a terrible, terrible loss. This presidential election will not be the same without him. Rest in peace, Tim Russert. You will be missed.

Scenic Orchardside

I got to sneak away and knit last Wednesday at Orchardside. You can't help but take nice pictures out there. Carol had the flu, poor thing! I heard more, though, about her plans to start a Farmer's Market there soon. It'll be a perfect addition.

The reason I started this blog....

Way back, last October, my friend Julie convinced me I should start a blog so that I could participate in knitting exchanges. I didn't think I was ready for such technological advances but, she wasn't that computer savvy so I thought I would give it a shot. Here it is, six months later, and I'm addicted to blogging but haven't mentioned much about knitting or even done that many projects. I'm a total novice but enjoy it and hope to get better (I was talking about knitting but I guess it applies to blogging too). Towards that end, I have registered for a knitting convention. Don't laugh! Now I have to get serious because there's all this homework I have to complete beforehand. The convention is in June so I'm buckling down. Here are two projects, I've completed recently and want to show off. Everybody ooooh and ahhhhh.

This first one is a washcloth:

Check out the fine stichery......

This next one is a hat, obviously!


Now modeled by some crazy lady I found on the street:


Anyone know any good blogging conventions coming up? Maybe I'll go to one of those next.....

My New Favorite Place

On Wednesday nights, Orchardside stays open until 8pm for knitters. I made it to Raphine, VA yesterday evening. It's a beautiful time of year for the drive. You should see the variety of people who gather to work on projects and unwind from their hectic lives! They're all ages, all backgrounds with only knitting in common. Carole, the owner of the shop, has created a little bit of heaven on earth. Thank you, Carole!