music, yarn, and adorable kids

I helped my mom make a cd on walmart's website the other day, and she picked out a lot of great songs! She picked out some Eagles, Paul Davis, Jim Croce, and some group called "Bread" that I'd never heard of before, though I knew their songs. I must say I like 70's music much better than 80's music! We have dvds of Jim Croce and the Eagles, but I think I'm going to get a Jim Croce CD tomorrow.

I decided to order the ChaCha yarn from Susie, though I still really like the Foxtrot a lot. That was a tough decision!

I love the Caps for Kids Swirled Ski Cap from Knitting for Peace. I'm already working on my second one. Renee will be so cute in it! Tomorrow I'll get to do some shopping, getting to hit up both the LYS and Borders (Borders has good coupons this week)!

Edit: While I may not know much about 70's music, I know even less about modern music. Unless you consider Hindemith, Barber, Copland, etc...

Ahh!

I like the Cha Cha even more than the Foxtrot! So I guess I'll order the Cha Cha, I don't think I can afford both right now. Maybe in a couple of months, since the yarn should be available throughout the entire swap. AHH, check them both out, the link is on the previous post.

successful knitting!

In the past two weekends, I have finished four christmas presents! I only lack two major Christmas presents. Then I'll get started on the washrags in Mason Dixon knitting. I'm making the ones that you can run ribbon through and gather up the edges to make a pouch! I bought some pretty handmade soap and I made these pretty angel ornaments that I'm going to put inside. I can mention these christmas presents because they're going to my 3 great grandmothers and my adopted grandma, none of whom use a computer, much less read blogs...

I've also picked up some great things for my secret pal, and I'm waiting on an order from knit picks to make the first package complete! I'm debating on whether or not to order the beautiful yarn on the SP9 site. I love both colorways, but especially the Foxtrot. (I have to admit though, if I ordered it, it'd be for me to make socks for myself... I haven't made myself a pair in a long while!) It just depends on whether my next big check comes while it's still up for sale. I wonder if there's a time limit to order it.

Hit Cookies

Hit Cookies are awesome! My KTS2 pal sent them to me, and now I need to find out where I can buy them, they're so good! The chocolate filling is so fresh and not dried up like most sandwich cookies. Anyone know where you can get them?

Best finished object

Well my SP9 hostess has requested that we post our "best finished object" so I decided to post my very first sock. I've made a few more, but all off the same pattern, just with different yarns. I recently acquired a new sock pattern "almost argyle" from knitpicks, so I'll have to try it next! When I made this sock I didn't know what a short row was, and I'd never used dpns before. (I now use the magic loop method, but I made this one with dpns!) So here it is, made with Cascade Fixation.

Knitters Tea Swap Package Received!

I got an awesome package in the mail today! I still don't know who my pal is though! She gave me some clues, so I'm going to try to figure it out! Here it is still wrapped up. All the paper she wrapped it in was so beautiful, I had to unwrap everything carefully so I can use the paper in picture and card making (I love scraps of pretty paper, there are so many things I can do with it).
My pal sent me a sampler of Stash tea, and a Celestial Seasonings Herbal Sampler, which is perfect because there are lots of teas I haven't tried yet! She also sent me some Rooibos tea, which I've been curious to try.

The snacks were perfect too! Some cookies I've never heard of, but am dying to try (must wait till after dinner!) and THREE different kinds of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, my favorite! She also knew how special my dog is to me, so she sent me dog earrings (didn't turn out in a picture, but the box is on top of the blue yarn) and a pattern and yarn to make him a sweater! My dog, Oskar, has arthritis like me so we have to keep him warm in the winter or he limps and hurts. This was a perfect package and I'm so glad I had such a great pal! I look forward to figuring out who you are, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

SP9 questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? oh goodness, I like natural fibers, and I love hand dyed yarns. I'm not big on novelty yarn, I like to be able to see my stitches!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a couple of needle cases and a crochet hook case

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, and I've crocheted since I was seven. I guess I'd say I'm an advanced beginner? I haven't done any fair isle yet.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.) apple cinnamon, juniper, NO vanilla or "sugar" scents, and please no lotions - I have a lot of allergies. Bubble baths and salts and things are okay though.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? I have a huge sweet tooth, I love chocolate, candy, tea, cookies, all that stuff. I like reese's peanut butter cups, kit kats, any gourmet chocolates...

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I sew, and make cards and some scrapbooking, I'm learning to spin, I just learned to use a drop spindle at the state fair, so hopefully that will turn out well!

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like classical, jazz and blues. I can play mp3's in my car and on my computer.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? Blues, greens, purples, reds. I don't like oranges.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I live with my parents and my little sister (on the weekends) I'm a senior at OU. We have a short hair daschund, who is in the house when it's cold outside. We are very careful about pet hair though, because my whole family is allergic. We aren't one of those families whose home is covered in hair.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves, hats, and mittens, not ponchos

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like to knit bags, socks, hats, all sorts of stuff!

13. What are you knitting right now? lots of christmas presents, which I can't share here, and a hat for myself.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? of course

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I almost exclusively use circs, though I occasionally use dpn's. I only use bryspuns and Addi turbos. They are the only needles I can use with my arthritis.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have a ball winder, and a homemade swift, seen here

17. How old is your oldest UFO? a year and a half

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas!!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect? I love books, and harry potter stuff, and tea, and tea pots/cups, etc.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I don't have any subscriptions, but I pick up Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting sometimes, and I would love to try Socks That Rock yarn, I've heard it's great.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to learn some basic Fair Isle, I don't know how to use more than one color at once.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? yes, I'm a women's size 9 1/2, if you're concerned about fit, round up for me, not down

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) March 18

Buongiorno

It's amazing what a caramel macchiato with whip can do for an exhausted college student who just pulled an allnighter (not exactly the studying kind though, more of the "side effects are killing me" sort). However, in spite of the fact that I have been up all night, and am about to start my day of infusions, exams, and general Je ne sais quoi of Tuesday norm, I feel great!!!! I have more energy than I've had in at least three months. I know it's shortlived, and the subsequent crash will be awful, but since I didn't intentionally do this to myself I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts. By studying.

I did it!

< - - - - - Look over there!!! It's buttons!

Giving buttons a try!

I'm going to attempt to insert buttons now, and I think I need to post them somewhere before I can get them on the sidebar, so we'll try it here!

New book!

Thank you guys for the encouragement and the pattern suggestions! I've got one mitt down, one more to go! I'll post a picture when I finished. I got a new book tonight! Unfortunately I'm not allowing myself to really read it until after my exam tomorrow afternoon. I bought Knitting For Peace! I also bought The Hallo-wiener which is a children's book about a daschund named Oscar (so close to my own Oskar) who saves his friends and proves to be loyal and true on Halloween.

This weekend I visited my grandparents and got to play with my adorable cousin Abbie. She is 10 and a half months old, and already a heartbreaker! Here she is my grandfather, Pop. She has him wrapped around her finger, seeing as she's his very first great grandchild.