I'm a big Purse Ho.

MOVED

2006-07-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! after much soul searching and debate...i've moved off blogpsot and on to wordpress! Please update your bloglines, rss, bookmarks...whatever to: http://www.purse-ho.com thanks so much!!

Thursday Purs-day

2006-06-29T21:39:00.000-05:00

So this is the purse of the week. I'm being lazy and don't feel like grabbing my camera to take a pic of a purse actually in my collection. ;) I do not own this purse...but i DO WANT IT SO BAD!!!!! i don't know why...it's coach, it's a wristlet (I LURVE wristlets), and it's purple. I looked for this purse in Las Vegas...man was it expensive. If i had money to just toss away...i would totally get this little bag. :) Stats: Name: Coach Holiday Patchwork Wristlet Price: TOO MUCH!!! Purchase date: sometime in the future Knitting status: i'm working on my Trek w/ Me socks finally. and i've decided i no like the color (color 100 ). it's just SO not me. Primary colors, green...Skitter did a pair of socks in the same color. I"m trying to do a basketweave rib...and it sort of shows up. lol. i think it's the nature of the trekking beast. I'm also working on a shetland shawl. I"ll post pics later. like i said..i'm being lazy and actually didn't feel like taking pictures today. no school makes purse.ho really out of whack. lol

superman returns

2006-06-28T01:57:00.000-05:00

I don't know if many ppl know...but my brother and i are realllllllllllllllllllllllllllly big Superman fans. HUGE. we grew up watching superman 2 everyday. not an exaggeration! it was our babysitter whenever our mom had to leave the house and she didn't want to take us along So i was very excited about the new movie. It looked awesome and it got great reviews. So tonight, me, william, and his friend Johann (i don't know how to spell his name) went to see the movie. I was blown away. truly blown away. everytime the music came on..i felt this excitement in my throat and in my stomach. yes..i know...so cheesy. but i felt it. i was impressed by the movie and can't wait to see it again. i'm really glad w/ the direction they took w/ the film....esp since Superman 3 and 4 sucked eggs so bad. i think i love brandon routh now. LOL. is it possible to fall in love w/ a movie star after only 2 hours? HAHAHAHAHA

he sounded ALOT like CHristopher Reeve. I was really surprised. It gave me chills. his mannerisms were pretty similar too. sigh..i can't wait to see this again.

OOh i finished

2006-06-26T11:22:00.000-05:00

I went and saw The Lakehouse again on Sat b/c i'm a loser and i love Keanu. lol. Plus, Bot-Gurl and Mr. Joel and Mr. Jim wanted to go...and i was so up for seeing it again.

This man makes a turtleneck look so damn good. i'm drooling all over myself...ooooh...keanuuuuuuu. lol

Also on sat....I went to a baby shower for the girl (Amy) that i made the pink and green sweater for. iT was a big hit w/ Amy. YAY!!!!!! as i was wrapping up the sweater on Fri night..i realized...i didn't MAKE THE TAG!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! so i made one really quick.

Tee-hee...so cute. So when Amy opened up the gift (i had given other baby crap as well), she held up the sweater and hat and announced that i made it. of course, i'm blushing at this point. but then her retarded mother-in-law goes "how is that baby going to wear that sweater? it's so damn small." Thank you, HAG OF THE DAY. it's ok....Amy liked it and that's what mattered to me. it didnt' stop me from having the urge to walk over to that woman and smack her. hahahahaah I was going through my knitting bag and i was looking at that Mexican Wave baby Kottou kimono sweater I started back in May to give to my mom's friend in San Jose. well, i never finished it because i was told i wasn't going to go w/ my parents to see their friend and that they were planning to see their friend before my brother and I arrived in SJ. Screw it. plus it wasn't looking right, so i quit working on it. well, i picked it up again this weekend. Bot-Gurl did an analysis of what i did previously...i made a stupid mistake. and i coudl'nt, for the life of me, figure out why this stupid sweater looked so wrong. it was pretty obvious..i just wasn't looking at it correctly...and it's obvious i don't know how to read directions. Bot-Gurl was right..i think i had an ADD knitting month. lol so i finished it last night. i'm blocking it now...i still need to add the ribbon. but it's pretty much done.

Project: Kottou kimono sweater

Yarn: Mexican Wave Amount of yarn used: 2 skeins and a smidgen of a 3rd for seaming! GRRRRR Colors: Color 02 Needle Size: US6 Date Started: April 29, 2006 Date Finished: June 25, 2006 OMg....almost 2 months.

I also finished my sock blocked sock. it didn't take too long...about 2 hours if that. while i was making it..i kept saying "this is too small..it ain't gonna fit....omg..i should just stop now..." hahah as you can see..it fits fine. ;) I was instructed to blog about this as well. So I've purchased tickets to see Mamma Mia, the musical. They are coming to Dallas in July and i LOVE THIS SHOW!!! i can watch it over and over again and still get all excited as i watch it. I've seen it 4 times already (STOP LAUGHING!!!). this time i got tickets early and i got GREAT seats. The first time i saw them was in Las Vegas...and i had nosebleed seats. i was pissed, but i loved the show! 2 years ago they came to dallas...wait...was it 3 years ago? Anyway..i got yucky seats for that one as well. So on Halloween that year, i had nothing to do. and i heard on the radio that there was tickets for the Bass hall show still available. When i called, they said they only had single seats, so i went ALONE! hahahaa. but it was alot of fun. i got a great seat...and after that show, they were doing polaroids w/ two of the stars of the show if you donated $20 for some charity they were raising money for. hell yeah! i ran over there. hahaha and those two actors were SOOOO much taller than me. the man cracked up when he saw my t-shirt...i even got a bit embarrassed. hahaha

Look..they had to crouch down to not seem so tall. such a damn shame.

oh anyway...the 4th time i went, i went in Toronto w/ my mom and brother. My mom just had to see why i loved the show so much. she loved it. but man...she fell asleep in her chair before the show started. Bot-Gurl wonders why i fall asleep at almost everything..it's genetic. lol anyway...here is my ticker....15 days until Mamma Mia!! :)

Thursday Purs-day

2006-06-22T20:07:00.000-05:00

OK. So my blogname, PURSE-HO, has been questioned by a few of the Rogue ladies. Why did i give myself this title? Why when i have nothing referencing purses on my site? this is true. I don't. If i was thinking clearly, i should have called my self HelloKittyKnitter. Shoot...that is available. hahaha. anyway.... I thought Purse-Ho was hilarious. When i set up this blog about 2 years ago, i was in the midst of making alot of felted purses and i thought "im' going to do one EVERYDAY!" yeah right. they get so boring after a while. ;) hahaha. plus...i LOVE LOVE LOVE to buy purses/bags. this has been a lifelong issue for me. maybe my name should have been BAG-HO. I get this sickness from my mama. My mama is a purse ho as well, but i've taken it up a few notches from her. She's a shoe ho too...but many women claim this title. i go through periods when i buy a new purse every week. I haven't done that in a while....sometimes i find one and i stick w/ it for a long while. sometimes i think i'll stick with it, then i realize it's flawed in some way (falls off my shoulder, not big enough for my crap) and i go on the hunt for another one. But i love cute bags too. i always have knitting, reading, etc...just STUFF to carry. and when i travel, fly, whatever....oh man..i love getting a new bag for another little trip. my criteria is usually the same. I rarely buy EXPENSIVE bags...such as Coach, Dooney and Burke, Fendi...the way i go through bags, it's very wrong for me to buy expensive purses. i do have ONE coach bag that was given to me as a gift. I still have it. i can't part with it, but i don't like it enough to use it all the time.

I rarely buy one over $30
I prefer smaller, not-so-heavy purses
i realized I prefer something that crisscrosses over me rather than a shoulder bag b/c purses don't stay on my shoulders.
I would buy small backpacks instead, but i've had an incident where someone tried to steal something out of my bag while it was on my back.
I prefer open bags to closed ones.
I hate velcro, i dont like zippers. I prefer nice non-snap magnets.
I don't like leather that much b/c it's too hot on my shoulder.
I prefer things easy to wipe off b/c i'm a messy pig.

Bag Criteria:

CuTE CUTE CUTE
The easy-to-wipe criteria stands here as well
I like pockets and compartments.
CUTE CUTE CUTE
I dont like zippers or velcro here either...tangles w/ yarn and what not.
Size is important b/c i don't like to have to use a small dolly to carry my bag
I don't like mesh bags that much b/c things poke out.
It's gotta be cheap.
It's gotta be pretty cool and different for me to buy it...or else i'll just grab something i have already.
Did i mention CUTE CUTE CUTE??

So because of all this, a suggestion was made that I do THURSDAY PURSE-DAY!! well, THURSDAY PURS-DAY (it rhymes!!!). So each week...if i can remember..i'm posting a purse of the week. YAY! i wonder if I have enough bags to post....i usually do. but sometimes i lose my mind, go through my boxes of purses and give them to goodwill or to a friend's co-worker's wife (did that make sense?). So here is this week's purse...

Stats: Date purchased: 6/16/06 Price paid: $13 Store bought: Payless Shoes Material: denim/canvas LIke i said...i buy 'em cheap. hahahaah. so i'll see how long i can keep this up w/ the purse/bag posting of the day. :) I said i would post pics of the loot I got yesterday....here we go.... Sorry so picture/text heavy today, peeps! a Pirate bag from P-la!! Thank u so much! it's SO CUTE!! a BAG from Bot-Gurl!! Colorful, cute and EASY to clean! :) OMG...CRYSTAL HELLO KITTY PEZ from NanC!! these are extra special and rare! thank you NanC! A handmade headband (I LOVE IT) and the stitch n bitch design notebook from Bot-Gurl! She even asked me last week if I have a normal adult sized head. of course i do! i have a gigantic brain, you know. ;) A Simpatico GC from the Purling P's! Thank you, you guys! i can really use this. ;) I got a great card from Angi and a yarntainer from Kathy (blogless). The Yarntainer is down in my car and i'm too lazy to go down and take a pic of it. haha. sorry! Thanks to all for the great b-day dinner. It was good times. :) and so generous of everyone!

tease will ya???

2006-06-22T00:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the knit grrls for giving me a great b-day dinner! Breadwinners was oh-so-yummy and alot of fun. I'll post pics of the goods later. it's good to have good friends. :) So earlier Chris and Petra were teasing Zoe .... my baby mannequin. Now..i say this again... i don't do anything w/ this doll but put clothes on it. hahaaha. and take pics for modeling and sizing. Someone suggested that i draw a face on her. WHY? that defeats the purpose of having a faceless mannequin! But...i say this... i think the faceless mannequin is better than THIS SCARY THING!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAh!! this is a CHILD mannequin!! holy sh*t this thing is SCARY!!!! and this is readily available for sale on ebay. HAHAHAHA oh my..this one isn't much better. I'm going to have nightmares tonight. ;)

picture heavy...beware

2006-06-19T00:32:00.000-05:00

So i had a good birthday this year. thanks to all who made it a good day for me! My buddies at Simpatico gave me a sweet Hello Kitty party! CHECK OUT THE CAKE!!

Thank you for the cake, Lee!! Big gooey bow!! Omg...so many candles.... FIRE FIRE! The roof is on FI-YA!! the candles melted so fast....they coudl'nt light them all. whew. BLowing out the candles. FREE JOJOLAND YARN (in purple) and CHEESECAKE FACTORY GC!! Thank you MJ and Debbie! Anna and Chris granted me w/ this CUTE blanket! LOOK! she's shopping! OMG!! This card showed exactly how i felt. ;) My friend Stephanie sent this to me from AZ! YAY! A new knitting bag! I filled it up quickly! An accessories bag too! YAY!

I also got a SECRET PAL GIFT TOO!! WHOOOOO!!

Look at all these spa goodies!!! a lovely smelling candle. :) Healing garden goodies. Olive soaps....i've never had these before. they smell so yummy and a very cute basket that the soaps came in!

THANK YOU SECRET PAL! YOU ROCK! So y'all saw my last baby sock attempt. no good. I wanted these to fit a newborn PERECTLY so baby can wear them in the hospital and for a few weeks afterward. this is what i came up with....

Cute eh? hehehehe. i went to work today and put it on some baby feet (shh..i didn't say that) for testing. PERFECT> like a glove.

aren't they cute? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. BABY FEEEEET! :) and baby lo-jack ;)

Project: A Purse-Ho Original baby sock, toe up, two at once

Yarn: Regia Ringel Amount of yarn used: about 1/4 of a skein for both socks Colors: I forget. i can't find the ball band at the moment. Needle Size: US0 Date Started: June 16, 2006 Date Finished: June 17, 2006

i have been knitting :)

2006-06-15T22:10:00.000-05:00

So i HAVE been knitting. lol i have a baby shower to attend to next week...and i had to double check on a pattern i wrote to make sure it works as written before i pass it out. here is proof of what i have been doing...

So i'm stupid. Bot-Gurl told me to take a pic of this and share it...and i found it today..6/19 to share. ahaha. i picked up the stitches set for the BACk...and started knitting an arm out of the back. har har har. i'm making this for a 3 armed baby. but these are always funny to look at. ;)

(thanks to Zoe for being such a wonderful model!)

Blocking the sweater blocking the sweater... I think i need more pins. I luuuuurv seed stitch! Thank you Zoe! Stand next to the bottle of detergent! That's right...turn around so we can see the back! Ah yes...lovin' the front! Can you tell the yarn on the hat is diff. from the yarn on the sweater? tee-hee

So here is the details on the project....

Project: A Purse-Ho Original

Yarn: Nashua Cilantro (available at Simpatico!) Amount of yarn used: about 3 skeins. You need about 210 yds of yarn Colors: Lime Sorbet and Soft Pink Needle Size: US8 Date Started: June 10, 2006 Date Finished: June 13, 2006 I was also working on a pair of baby socks for a classmate who's wife is due any min. I thought i had more time for him....but alas...baby socks knit up quick. LOL here is my attempt at a top down sock (i haven't done one in FOREVER)....

I just did ONE this time b/c i was unsure of the pattern I was using. so far...looking good. i like the tiny little ribbed cuff. LOL so cute. and i've turned the heel at this point...now time to decrease for the gussett. **NOTE: i haven't done a top down sock in ages. So i totally forgot how to decrease for the gussett and the toe. the pattern i was using was prety UNCLEAR as to how to do this. and i researched a few places last night....flubbed it. I asked Bot-Gurl annoyingly over and over again "How do you do this again???" i know it makes sense to her b/c she knows all this...but it's been so long since i did a heel flap and such..i was just all duh duh duh duh. ask me about toe up...i can tell you. lol So anyway....here is my ONE sock....dont' laugh....

I showed Bot-Gurl and she said I did something funky to the toe. LOL. i did know it...and i was hoping she woudn't notice. hahahaha. it looks like the baby has club foot. Mary...so kind...said that (jokingly) that this was a putter sock. LOL. so this is now a baby's golf putter's sock. LOL I think i'm going to leave this at Simpatico to show off as a sample and then do a pair of toe ups w/ the remainder of the yarn. hahahaha My birthday is on Saturday...and some of the ladies blessed me w/ cards and a couple of gifts. so sweeeeeeet!! Good ol' Kathy....she gave me a gift certificate..and the cutest card!!

LOOK AT THE WIDDLE KITTY W/ YARN!!

She's so sweet. I took my first sock class w/ Kathy and she likes to remind me how she's never finished that pair of socks, ever. LOL. she's a crack up A lovely card from LaWanda. She's so sweet. She gave me some AVON chapstick as well! A girl can NEVER have too much chapstick!

She's such a sweetie. i think i'm going to keep this card for forever. :)

I think i wanna see a chick flick on Sat...i wanna go see The Lakehouse. KEANUUU...OHHHh...KEANUUUUU....

Hats and hotness

2006-06-11T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's so freagggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggin' hot here in Texas. i hate it. i think i'm boiling in my own skin!!

MagKnits

I want to make this for myself. yes..i know this is a child's pattern. but i think the hat is just so adorable...and made of cotton! my current-favorite-yarn!!! so we'll see if i can swing this. i'm in the middle of finishing a baby shower project. i should have it done, blocked and finished within the next day. i'll post pics later..my camera is downstairs...too far for me to reach at this moment. :) I still need to start my Trek-With-Me socks! AAAH!

Bitty Baby beanie

2006-06-10T03:27:00.000-05:00

Behold....Bitty Baby Hat. :)

Project: found online...w/ my mods

Yarn: Idena Bambino Bomull Cotton Amount of yarn used: 1/2 of each color skein...so i guess one full skein Colors: light pink and light green (can't find the color numbers right now..) Needle Size: US3 Date Started: June 7, 2006 Date Finished: June 8, 2006

Thank you, One Skein SP!

2006-06-06T12:23:00.000-05:00

Man....it's 11 days till my b-day...but i'm getting gifts from my SP's and it feels like it's my bday already! hahahahaaha. of course those gifts aren't bday related...but nevertheless... look at the awesome bounty!

Blue Sky Cotton, a hello kitty stamp, and a hello kitty notebook!

i wonder how my SP knew i love strawberries. ;) I've never bought blue sky cotton! thsi stuff feels SO WONDERFUL!! and it's right in sync w/ my current love for cotton! this is the COOLEST STAMP!! it's in 3 sections...and each little section has a stamp! whooo hooooo!!

thank you very much, One Skein SP!! I still haven't taken pics of my current projects. I'll do that sometime today. i'm being lazy lazy. I have also been stenciling some bags...tre cute. I"ll take pics of those later as well. one of the ones i did is super cute. i hope it's recipient likes it..i've been nervous about that. ;)

man it's been a while...THANK YOU SP!!!

2006-06-05T00:51:00.000-05:00

SOrry for the delayed post, peeps! I went to las vegas last weekend for 2 days to watch the Madonna concert. I got back late on Monday night (2 freaking AM!!!) and i was messed up all week. But i'm back up to normal now! tee-hee!

So Sun night i went to the concert after arriving in Vegas on Sat around 5p. It was AWESOME....i mean...Madonna gives a GREAT show...however so controversial. The show i went to 2 years ago..i liked, but that one was more political..but our seats were AWESOME!! 10th row!!!! this was ...shock value. Oh..but the dancing...the dancing is why i love Madonna so. the music was great. Some of the shock value stuff (ie. disco cross)...i couldn't cheer or clap to. I just stood there and kind of watched in horror. I took pics...(my pics i'll post up later on when i get home). ...but my friend Joseph and i felt we should have turned around. ahahahah. But she started the show coming out of a disco ball that split open all cool and spaceship like (see above picture). i was screaming so loud i lost my voice.

I don't think her tickets are worth what she charges for them. I think that is just utterly RIDICULOUS. and what really amazed me is that her shows continue to sell out...even though the tickets are SO EXPENSIVE. I went to the goodies booth to get my standard concert mug...t-shirts were $60! SIXTY DOLLARS. DOLLLLLARS. there was this track jacket thing that was cute...$100. I nearly had a heart attack. There was a pack of playing cards that was kind of cool...$20. FOR PLAYING CARDS. my mug was only $15. and it gives me water!

Highlights of the weekend:

Seeing Madonna
Dancing at the concert until my legs fell off
Hanging out w/ an old friend
Getting incredible cardio w/ the miles and miles we walked
$7.49 steak and eggs at Barbary Coast
Star Trek Experience and getting insulted by a ridiculously tall Klingon
Warp Core Breach
Shopping
a room where you can dip the temp to 67F and not worry about the cost
the lovely weather..it wasn't hot until Monday afternoon!
Fatburger was freaking delicious.
Paris buffet -- Champange brunch was yummy

Bad things of the weekend:

The flght there was horrid. I'm constantly amazed that every time i fly, people are so rude and just plain a$$holes. It seems to get worse and worse every time i fly. or maybe it's just b/c i am alone and not talking to someone that i notice how people really are at the airport.
Too much walking..my legs are still SOOOO SORE!!!!
Food is expensive, taxi is expensive, everything is freaking expensive....vegas is a money pit!
Lost $40 in slots.
Chinese noodles at Mandalay Bay are TOOO EXPENSIVE and not good....stick to Chinatown Mall!
At the concert, I sat next to a drunken retard that was about 5'11"...and kept waving his arms around like he was going to fly away. and he kept tipping his beer to Madonna and kept waving at her. ok, IDIOT. she can't freaggin see you....so quit blocking my view! and he kept jumping up and down w/ his girlfriend, picking her up and dropping her CONSTANTLY. i have no idea what that was about. i understand excitment, but not total moronic behavior. i had to push him a few times b/c he kept backing into me...i was hoping he would elbow me in the head so he could see how retarded he was acting...and then realize he needed to stop. this was a big irritant for me at the concert
Paris buffet is good, but I didnt think waiting an hour for it was worth it.
My Boardwalk hotel is torn down. WAAAAAAAAAAAH!! I loved this place SO MUCH!
Flying home on the 845p flight only to arrive at 118a....grouchy and pissed.

I sound so angry and mad. hahaa i really did have alot of fun. this was one of the rare times i went w/o my family. sometimes i think i like it better when i go w/ my parents b/c they pay for everything. muahahah! hahaha. jk. that sounds awful. i was scared it was going to be Drunkfest 2006....my friend is a bit of a lush that never grew out of his lush phase.

Enough about vegas! On with knitting!

I got my first SP gift the other day! thank you so much, SP!!!!!

Someone can see how much i love kitties and Hello Kitty! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

In spite of all this, i HAVE been knitting....and finished a few things, actually. I'm sleepy now...so i'll post more manana!

Stitch N' Pitch

2006-05-27T00:03:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Rose-Kim for posting about this..... this is a great idea! watch baseball (something i know nothing about...but i do like the atmosphere!) and knitting/crocheting! Stitch N' Pitch! And GUESS WhAT! the Texas Rangers are going to do it!....ON JULY 30th!!! AS much as I would love to go...has ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND been to a baseball game in JULY? i have...b/c i got free tickets in a sweet sweet spot. but MY GAWD. by the 4th inning, i was about to die and i was drenched in sweat! I would love to gather a group of friends and go...but i fear I will pass out. Hmm...the game starts at 7:05p. Does anyone wanna start a group and go? :) maybe 705p woudlnt' be so bad....but i'm still fearful. hahahaha. but i would love to go and knit at the game. ;) and get my hands all cheesy w/ nacho cheese. hahahaha. As far as my previous post...thanks for all the drooling over my needles. ;) I got them...on.....EBAY EBAY EBAY!! i checked the seller and she does'nt have any of these up for grabs right now. :( i've been searching ebay on a weekly basis for hello kitty needles and this is the first time i have ever seen anything that resembeled what I was searching for. I do have some friends in Asia right now....i begged for them to keep their eyes out for some official ones for me. ;) one friend is in HongKong/Taiwan...another is going to Japan at the end of the month. i am on a mission! ;)

Maximum cuteness

2006-05-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

Look what i found.... H-E-L-L-O K-I-T-T-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C-H-O-C-O-C-A-T!!! These aren't "official" Sanrio merchandise...but nevertheless..i am VERY VERY HAPPY i found these. i've been looking for something like this for like 2 years now. of course i will not stop my search for official merchandise...but these are MEGA MEGA CUTE!!!!

Trek with Me and Mason Dixon

2006-05-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

i'm doing this too. granted, i've already made a few items from here..i just want props. jk. :) I want to make the moses basket cover thingy. Mason-Dixon Knit-A-Long Trek along! use up that Trekking sock yarn and make some socks for this knit-a-long. :) Trek along w/ me. OK..i know i wasn't the only one watching Grey's last night and tonight. it was SO F-ING GOOD!! i was shocked, stunned, sobbing, laughing ....all my emotions were up and running. DAMN I LOVE THAT SHOW! I can't believe i have to wait until SEPTEMBER to see new eps!!! :(

more widdle socks

2006-05-14T22:16:00.000-05:00

So after that first pair of baby socks...i had so much sock yarn left over (i used half of a trekking skein originally....and for the first pair i used like 1/4 of the half)...so i thought i'd make another pair. But i think i mentioned in the last post that the socks i made were too big for a newborn. not HUGE...but the cuffs were so long, they were like stockings on a newborn. soooo....i tweaked the pattern a bit and came up w/ THIS... aren't they cute? someone at work today told me they look like Shrek socks. hahahaa. Now look at this.... they came out SO TINY!!! Comparison w/ the other pair i did the other day...these are WAY smaller. One girl at work said that i could give them to a preemie...but there were no preemies at work for me to try them on. :) I tried them on Bitty Baby...but the cast off was a bit too tight...so it barely fit over her fat foot. HAHAAHHA. Maybe i can use them as a decoration. ;) So the things I had problems with in the last pair of baby socks I tried to fix this time.

I did the Tubular cast off and i loved it. but i think i pulled things too tight...so it wasn't as stretchy as I had hoped. i will make the changes on the next pair.

I still had holes on the short row heels. only on ONE of the socks though...not on both....which really confused me.

Other than that..i love this little pair. People just coo when they see them. :) i still did them magic loop 2-at-once.

widdle socks

2006-05-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

What is this? a bikini? hahaha. no...the start of new socks! I still stand by the magic loop 2-at-once method. I will no longer do it via double points one by one. if i MUST..i will. but noooo...not if i can help it!! i thought it was weird that the jacquard started on the toes. i no likey jacquard. But i did do the turkish cast on...I LOVE IT!!! it's way better than the figure 8 cast on...and no adjusting after you get going. Here is the finished product! aren't they cute? I like this view better. Heels up!! Aren't they cute? Now loook how truly small these suckers are!! aren't they CUUUUUUTE?!? widdle bitty socks!!!!! they are as big as my blackberry! (notice the props to Hello Kitty. She's taking a nap on my phone. ;)) I got some Trekking last month and the colors were so cute, i thought of widdle socks. I think i'm going to take them to work tomorrow to try on a baby. haha. shh...i didn't say that.

Project: My own pattern

Yarn: Zitron Trekking Amount of yarn used: 1/4 of a skein..if that much. Colors: Color 135 orange, pink, olive, blue Needle Size: US1 Date Started: May 9, 2006 Date Finished: May 12, 2006 It doesn't normally take me so long to knit something so small. But doing this was hit or miss. I had to rip it out 3 times to do this right. Problems encountered:

I made them too freaking long in the foot. I didn't realize the short row heel would add so much....so the socks were super long w/ the diameter being so small.
Short row heel = lots of holes along the side. So each time i ripped out, i was secretly happy b/c i had so many holes on the heel.
I still have yet to find a bind off i like on toe-up socks. not that i've done alot of looking...but i want one that doesnt cause such a ruffle at the top as the socks lay dormant.

Solutions to problems:

Find definete measurements for children's feet...meaning length of foot.
Figure out the kitchener bind-off or tubular bind-off
keep on loving how people coo the socks as you make them.

OOOH...girly tech

2006-05-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

Look at this.... Your normal knitted and felted capelet? Now loooook.... It lights up!!!!! "This thesis explores current aesthetics of wearable technology." This was done by Grace Kim as part of her thesis paper at NYU! talk about SWEEETNESS! check out this project's page. more power to girls!!!!!

secret pal 8 questionaire.

2006-05-06T09:49:00.000-05:00

I've decided to join SP8! i made a nice friend when i was a part of SP6....so i thought i'd hopefully make another friend or two. :) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Right now my favorite stuff is cotton...mainly mercernized cotton. i live in texas, so it's hot here and wool isn't really practical. I DO love wool, alpaca, etc. I'm just not fond of anything too scratchy. i'm pretty flexible. :) 2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I store my circs in a bass pro bait bag. :) my straight needles go in a big vase. My double points...that's a whole other beast I need to get in control. I have some in a roll up case, i have some in tubes...i have plenty where i have no idea where they are but i know i have them. ;) 3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? i've been knitting since i was 8 yrs old. i didn't knit more than a square for ages...and i picked it up again 5 years ago and i haven't put it down since. i think i'm intermediate? I'm not a beginner, but i'm not a master knitter. 4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? i think i have an Amazon wish list.... 5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I love the smell of clean. Fresh linen..right now my favorite air freshner scent is minty linen. LOL. i'm not too into flowery, spicy scents b/c after a while, all those scents will make me sick. 6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? sweet tooth = fat tummy...i have it. hahaha. i love vanilla. my favorite candy? oh my gawd...i don't have one right now b/c i love them all. i'm supposed to be on a sugar-free diet. but i've been cheating...and weight is creeping back up on me. :) 7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I used to do alot of card-making/stamping and scrapbooking. i haven't done it in a while though. i'm in the process of selling all my old supplies. I have a spinning wheel and i have done some spinning, but i need to play w/ the wheel more and get better at it. i'm very beginner spinner. 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 everything but things w/ alot of noise in it (hard metal, hard rap). I tend to lean toward top 40 stuff and i do love the 80's. Erasure is my favorite group. 9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? i luuuuurv purple. purple is my favorite. but i do like red, sage-y green, blue... i'm pretty easy going as long as colors blend well together. color I can't stand? hmm....i think just PRIMARY colors i dont like. there is such an array of other colors to choose from! 10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Single...I live w/ my cat. correction: my cat lets me live in her apt. 11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? i wear scarves and hats. haven't really been fond of mittens too much...i need the fingers. :) ponchos....i look sooo fat in ponchos. :) 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love making baby/toddler/kid items. i'm at that point in life where my friends are all having children and a handmade gift is nice. :) other than that..i love making hats for people in general. and i like making toys. 13. What are you knitting right now? supposed to finish a baby sweater for a gift before i went on a trip...that didn't happen so i'll finish it off as a backup gift for someone. Working on some baby socks. umm....i think that's it for right now. 14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? i do. 15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? circs all the way.....i like plastic, but addi's sure do make me fly faster. :) 16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? i do. 17. How did you learn to knit? My mom's friend...friend's mom..whatever... haha. she taught me. I was looking at this craft book and i saw an ad for a book about knitting. i fell in love w/ how the stitches looked, the needles, the WIP on the needles looked and i begged my mom to teach me. i didn't realized at the time that she didn't know how. i was a bit sour about how she didn't want to show me how. So i was staring at that same book and whining about it to my friend's mom, so my mom's friend taught me on a pair of chopsticks. LOL. I had the cutest pair of pink/white chopsticks in a case that i never wanted to eat with b/c they were just too pretty to eat with. :) 18. How old is your oldest UFO? oh man...probably 3 years old now. 19. What is your favorite holiday? thanksgiving b/c of all the thanks we give and all the family togetherness. the food is just a highlight. :) 20. Is there anything that you collect? i have a slight obsession w/ Hello Kitty. (right now my friends are ROTFL) 21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? hmmm....i do love koigu. but who doesn't!?!? hahaah. books...i love japanese knitting books. Yarns: cotton fleece is my holy grail right now. i just love that stuff so much. Needles: i like ebony needles right now just b/c they are just so beautiful. patterns: i love to collect baby patterns for variety. no magazine subscriptions. 22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? there are so many. i can't even think of all i would love to learn 23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? i am begining to enjoy knitting socks more and more. my foot is tiny....it's about 8 inches long? equivalent to a child's size 4. 24. When is your birthday? June 17.

people are so freaking rude

2006-05-05T21:44:00.000-05:00

I was at the airport..extra early today b/c my taxi was early. I'm waiting to go through security line and i see this older woman standing in front of me debating about going through the security line. turns out her DOG was in her purse/bag...and she has a cane and a medical device on her that won't let her walk through. so she's taking her sweet ass time ...thinking things over. me..i'm just waiting for her to mull things over. and she's slowly moving over to the belt to take her dog out of the bag b/c she doesnt want him x-rayed..... this mega bitch all over a sudden barrels over...pushes me aside and starts SIGHING so loudly as this poor older woman is trying to figure things out. she's tapping her foot.....sighing sighing....so she barrels forward, pushes the old lady aside. i was SO PISSED!! how can you push an elderly person!?!?! so i said really loud "you aren't the most important person here". hAHAHA. she just looked at me and gave me the stink eye. i swear, if she started swinging, i would have knocked her on her ass!! hahahahaha. anyway..i noticed today that the airport and airplane was full of RUDE ASS people. where is the common courtesy? people just shove you w/ their bag and don't say "excuse me" or "oops! sorry". just give you the stink eye and walk on.... bitches. hahaha anyway..im' here in san jose. there was alot of turbulence on the plane. i slept about 2.5 hours of the flight when my brother finally poked me on the forehead and said "I"M BORED....WAKE UP....HOW MUCH LONGER IS THIS FLIGHT??" hahahaha. oops. when i'm out, i'm out. :) i had to check my face and my shirt to see if i had drooled all over myself. the weather here is BEAUTIFUL. i'm seriously going to have to consider moving here or something....it was 72F when we landed. it's chillier now...just like i like it.

i'm off!

2006-05-05T07:29:00.000-05:00

Aren't these cute? I really hate what's written on the tags hanging. I do like the tags..but i wish they said more simple things like "KNIT", "PURL", "GAUGE", "k2p2", "PSSO", "SKP"...you get my drift. :) but the sweater designs are SUPER CUTE!!! I saw these on amazon this morning as I was doing searches on new knitting books. I should be packing b/c i leave for San Jose this morning for a couple of days...but no. i'm surfing the web at 730a. I was supposed to pack LAST NIGHT!! but nooooooo..... what did i do.... yesterday was Simpatico's 6th anniversary!! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MARY JANE!!! I didn't take many pics...but we celebrated at Cheesecake Factory last night. There is a reason why obesity is now rampid in Southlake now. LOL.

here is my short person's view of the front of the restaurant where we waited. this building is so tall. and of course, the food was sooo yummy. I should have taken pics of the food and cheesecake, but we all just dove in and didn't think about photos. grrr...the cheesecakes were so purty. I had the carrot cake cheesecake. MY GAWD. IT WAS SO F-ING DELICIOUS!!! ;) anyway...so last night i got home around 1030p. turn on the pc to check myself in online and such....and then i pass out from sugar/food coma in my office chair. me falling asleep in my office chair is happening more and more often. i dont' like it too much. but i need to go to bed when i'm TIRED rather than trying to fight it and sit at the computer. ahahahah. oh well. live and learn. I"m going to San Jose for a few days....i'm hoping to find just an HOUR to go to a yarn shop out there, but I doubt it will happen w/ how my parents totally monopolize our time out there.....which drives me nuts. but i can't wait to see my cousins and a couple of friends. :) anyway...here is a bit of cuteness for your day. Joel's completed baby dress for his litte niece.

MAKE...CRAFT

2006-05-03T22:33:00.000-05:00

The people who make the magazine MAKE are creating CRAFT. and on the cover...Jess Hutch's knitted bots. MAN....that's freaking awesome. Jess Hutch really did something w/ her skills. :)

Sassy Tank Top

2006-04-30T02:28:00.000-05:00

I should name this tank top the Sassy tank top. i haven't named anything after my kitty yet. hahaahah I was supposed to make this tank top MONTHS ago for Ms. Janice as a potential gift for one of her friends' kids. but we wanted to hang it up at Simpatico as a sample so it could pimp Berroco Ultra Silk. I LOVED the ultra silk. it was a dream to work with. So the original one i did....i didn't like it. i finished the body in one day...but it sat in my kniting bag for months. I even quit carrying that bag to avoid the guilt of the UFO sitting inside.... it looked too much like a misshapen shirt. So i ripped the whole thing out and started over from scratch.

Project: Sassy Tank Top (my own design), flower from Nicky Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Silk Amount of yarn used: 2 skeins. 3 if you want to make the flower out of ultra silk. Colors: 6106-Lilac for body, 6119 - Toeshoes for straps and flower Needle Size: US10 Date Started: April 26, 2006 Date Finished: April 28, 2006 I need to write up the pattern, check for leaks, and make sure it makes sense. But i'm letting Mary Jane give it away. hahaha. this pattern knit up FAST. if i had worked on it non-stop, it would have taken just one day. I had a bit of trouble understanding the flower (shush, Bot-Gurl!!!), but once i got it, it took me 3 tries to get the flower how i liked it. i found the secret was to sew up the end of the flower after I did the twists. (i will explain later if you are really THAT interested). **edit: this tank top is for a widdle girl of around 4yr old (i think). lol Jennifer from PieKnits walked into the store today and I thought i recognized her from her picture...but i was kind of timid to say so. but i finally did and it was her!! it was great meeting you, jennifer!

dying failure

2006-04-24T21:02:00.000-05:00

I tried to kool-aid some fisherman's wool i got....and here are my results. I should have taken pics while it was in the pot to show some humor in the situation. In the pot it looked like just green and really dark pink. i showed these pics to my friend Todd and he started laughing. he goes 'are you trying to knit the mexican flag?" :O I DIDN"T EVEN THINK OF THAT!!!! oh well....i can call this color "viva la mexico!!" hahaha sigh. There are too many white spots ..but maybe it'll look nice all wound up. sigh. i'm scared. hahaha

L.Lo makes knitted hats look bad

2006-04-24T20:38:00.000-05:00

Who the hell made this hat for Lindsey Lohan? my gawd she looks freaking messed up. and her walking around in this hat doesn't do knitted hats any justice!!

Baby shower goodies

2006-04-23T01:33:00.000-05:00

I ended up not going to the baby shower b/c i woke up w/ a fever today and it didn't go down much all day long. i was in a constant state of hotness. haha. i didn't want to risk getting the soon-to-be-new-mommy sick...so i stayed away. I feel bad b/c i told her i would go...but man. better safe than sorry. I did go to work...but that's where i started to feel bad. It's weird...it was really hot at the beginning of the week, then it cooled down ALOT weds, thurs, fri...but today it was hot again. so i dont know how i caught something in-between all that nastiness. who knows...probably from work. hospitals are dirty places. Anyway...i sent my gift w/ the wonderful Mary who gave my gift in my place. ahaha. I should have taken pics of everything together before i sent it off...but i was in a hurry and forgot. sigh. so here is what i put in the bag... Aren't these ADORABLE baby boots??? they are a huge hit w/ everyone i give them to. I need to start stock piling them!! I'm surprised they are so expensive on the website. I get them for WAY less at the hospital gift shop of the hospital i work at. Everyone needs a manual for a new baby. ;) I ended up making a Kimono sweater from the Mason Dixon book (an EXCELLENT BOOK!!!!). here is my results: I got the ribbon at a DOLLAR STORE! Man..i love that dollar store! i bought so much ribbon there! And of course..i can't let the little sweater go w/o a nice finishing Auntie Jen touch. ;) Details on the project:

Project: Mason Dixon Kimono Sweater

Yarn: Paton's Grace Colors: Tangelo - 60901 Needle Size: US5 Date Started: April 18, 2006 Date Finished: April 21, 2006 And here is a ruffled cloche hat. I found the original pattern here....but i was making it out of non-bulky cotton...so i fudged and made my own pattern based on the original. Is it considered your own pattern when you make many changes to the original pattern you saw? i guess it is. i dont want people thinking that i'm stealing patterns and claiming them as my own when their own patterns inspired me to make adjustments to fit my needs. hahah I did a gauge swatch to figure everything out b/c the original pattern was written for bulky wool I figured out that I got 5 sts / inch on a us5 needle. a newborn's head is between 12" - 14" at birth. I picked to do a 14" hat...at 5 sts/inch it's 70 sts to cast on. But to make the ruffle, you have to cast on ALOT of stitches and then do a k2tog for 2 rows. then after the first 2 rows, you just knit for a while and then decrease. Needle size: US5, 16" circ (or double points..whatever) Yarn: Paton's Grace (i think this is DK weight..the gauge on the label reads: 24 sts=10cm (4") on a u.s. 6 needle) Size=14" head diameter

Cast on 280 sts. (i know it sounds terrible)
Join in the round being very careful not to twist.
k2tog the entire row ...140 sts remaining.
k2tog the 2nd row...70 sts remaining.
Knit every row until you have 3.25", including the ruffle.

Decrease for the crown as follows:

Decrease round 1: (k2tog, k5) repeat to end.
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: (k2tog, k4) repeat to end.
Round 4: Knit
Round 5: (k2 tog, k3) repeat to end.
Round 6: Knit
Round 7: (k2tog, k2) repeat to end.
Round 8: Knit
Round 9: (k2tog, k1) repeat to end.
Round 10: Knit
Round 11: K2 tog, (10 sts remaining)
Round 12: k2tog (5 sts remaining)

Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull to close.

the flower was done w/ this pattern from Sarah's Yarn Box.

Project: my own :D (check above)

Yarn: Paton's Grace Colors: Tangelo - 60901, flower: Viola - 60322, Ginger - 60027 Needle Size: US5 Date Started: April 18, 2006 Date Finished: April 21, 2006

i finish...just in time

2006-04-22T02:27:00.000-05:00

I'm finished w/ a baby shower gift. the baby shower is tomorrow...so i can't show what i did. but i'll post the items tomorrow night after the shower b/c the recipient reads this blog. lol I didn't even realy think about the fact that the shower was so soon. i was thinking..i have another week....but no. next week i have a wedding that i need to buy a wedding gift for. crap. but at least this little gift knitted up quickly. here's a sneak preview though...like y'all care THAT much. ;) hahahahaa

It's hot. i'm scared of going outside. and my scarf. ;)

2006-04-18T13:56:00.000-05:00

It's still hot outside. all I do is bitch and moan when it gets like this. sorry y'all. it's gonna be a long horrible summer. but i'm too scared to go outside until it gets a bit later. Some of my neighbors were swimming in the pool yesterday. i was all "HEY! PPL ARE SWIMMING!!" thinking like why? it's so early! but noooo..it's a good time to go for a swim. too bad i don't like to swim. :( So I finished knitting my scarf on Sat night. Our lovely Joel was kind enough to invite Bot-Gurl and myself over for a little bit of movie watching and we knit as we laughed at the movie. it was alot of fun!! We watched Connie and Carla. It was funny and cheesy. Anyway....i finally blocked this scarf last night and added the fringe today after it was dry.

Project: My So-Called Scarf

Yarn: Rio De La Plata Colors: Faded Fuschia Red - F18 Needle Size: US13 Date Started: April 13, 2006 Date Finished: April 18, 2006 I made this scarf 60" long...as long as I am tall. I had a little bit of yarn left over..like 1/6th of the ball still. The original pattern called for US11's. oops..i wasn't paying attention when i grabbed my needles. I got overly excited and just started. but it's ok..i'm happy w/ how the scarf came out. If you want to do this scarf, Simpatico has TONS of colors...solid and faded. so come and get some before I buy more! hahahaha sorry to sound like a commercial. im' just spreading the joy! hahaah. i'm still working on the Suede purse. I got some of the hardware for it today and some interfacing for it b/c it's really limp and doesn't look like it'll hold up well. so i'm going to experiement and find my fat quarters so i can line this sucker too.

kill me it's hot.

2006-04-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

Kill me!!!!!! I hate Texas heat. I complain every freaking year. Every summer i claim i'm going to leave this hellhole and move onto cooler pastures...places where they have seasons...preferably cool seasons..like fall..where the leaves change into beautiful colors and float to the ground rather than drop dead from lack of water and maximum heat. I dunno. i hate the humidity. yesterday all i did was scream and yell about the heat..even at the cashier at IHOP who said "it's such a beautiful easter today.." and i bit his head off. i proceeded to take a long afternoon nap where when i woke up, i was sweating like a hog. It's April...and it's 97 degrees. Why oh why must we suffer. Is it b/c we have so many malls here in DFW? Is it b/c the shopping here is so good? Don't we suffer enough w/ crappy daily traffic (even at 6am!!!) and like 20 highways to memorize? Is it because the Korean food here is so freaking good? Or the Vietnamese food being good as well? Don't we suffer enough w/o more AWESOME Chinese restaurants around here? Is it b/c Six Flags is here? That place sucks too though! hot and expensive! Is it b/c people are gluttons when it comes to sports here (Rangers, Cowboys, Stars, Mavericks , and all the mini sports groups)? maybe that's it. I think i suffer enough w/ TXU raising my electric rates over 25% when my bills were so sky high last summer that it almost killed me. as far as knitting goes....i finished knitting the Suede Purse..i just need to put it together and get some bits for it. I finished knitting the rio de la plata scarf...but i need to block it and put minimal fringe (much to the chagrin of Bot-Gurl. ;)) hahahaa.

her name is Rio and she dances on the sand.....

2006-04-13T22:48:00.000-05:00

Simpatico is now carrying Rio de la Plata yarns. I love this crap! it's so beautiful! In my excitement today....i cast on for a beautiful scarf I saw online made w/ this or Malobrigo. It looks like a woven scarf...but oh no dear friends..it's knitted. ;) my progress so far.. CLOSE UP.... I was working on this at the store today...i kept screwing up. Sometimes i can't talk and knit at the same time. it was one of those days..... The pictures look really pinky. but it's more purple than pink. ;)

Baby stuff

2006-04-13T01:00:00.000-05:00

I finished a pair of baby booties and a little hat for a friend of mine who had a baby last week. i haven't seen her in a couple of weeks, but i barely washed these suckers today and they are drying. hahaah. but i think the yarn makes these truly very very cute items. Can you tell how wet these items are? hAHAHA

Project: My own pattern

Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Fairisle DK Colors: Fairisle Blue color 791 Needle Size: US1 Date Started: March 24, 2006 Date Finished: March 25, 2006

Project: Stay-On Booties

Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Fairisle DK Colors: Fairisle Blue color 791 Needle Size: US1 Date Started: March 24, 2006 Date Finished: March 30, 2006 I used some nice glove needles that NanC traded me for. hehe. thank you, NanC!! these glove needles made the booties waaaay easier to make. The longer dbl points really poke my hands...i no likey. I LOVED this yarn. I bought it like 3 years ago from Simpatico Yarns...put it away to save for a special day...and i found it again when i was cleaning my garage. People have complimented me on this yarn every time they look at it. So i'm pleased...and of course NOW...i want to check every where and grab every skein i can possibly find. sigh. hahaha. the pinky-purple colors are WAAAAAAAAAAAAY cute. The hat and booties are a bit large for the baby..but it's ok. I figured he's gonna be a big baby. I'll take pics of the booties again once they try and i thread some ribbon in the eyelets. ;)

Knitted flowers? some of it is knitted crap!

2006-04-10T11:52:00.000-05:00

So i got my copy of Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered this bitch like 6 months ago when on stupid Overstock.com said it would ship within 24 hours. I thought i beat the system. i was wrong...and i forgot to cancel the order. doh!! So i got it...not knowing what to expect after seeing the knitted purses book....one of the worst books i have ever seen. I did like ONE purse in it....but that's it! I think this lady is writing books that are crack-induced. her dealer needs to lighten up on the potenancy...or quit sneaking in PSP into her shizz. I think i only like 2 flowers out of this whole book. I"m not sure. i'm starting to fear the felting crazy a bit. Someone called it "boiled wool" a few months ago...and since she said that, i haven't looked at felting the same since. Boiled wool sounds like nasty food. hahahaha. i mean..don't get me wrong. i still love the process and doing it...but i think looking at it afterward is starting to wear on me. Plus i'm not digging the smell of wool in hot water. Smells like wet dog to me. blech.

Saturdays are nice

2006-04-09T04:01:00.000-05:00

Today was a long, but fun day. I went to work today to work for a couple of hours...and then the girls (and honorary girl, Joel) and I went to Ol' South to try German pancakes! I've been told many times how wonderful these are....i had no idea what to expect. they were GOOOOOOOOD. hahaha. we had a great time today: Mary, Bot-Gurl, Bot-Gurl's cutie pie nephew, Joel, Janice, MaryJane, Barbara, and Gage. After breakfast, we went our seperate ways...but Mary, Joel and I hit Borders up to look at the knitting books. we SCORED with Mason-Dixon Knitting! I"ve been waiting for a Borders somewhat close to me to get it so i can use my 30% off coupon! whoo!!! i got pretty excited about this. hahaha. Then we went back to Simpatico and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. haha. good times. I got home, full and sleepy still...and i fell asleep watching tv at like 630p. I woke up at 1030p...in SHOCK. so now it's 4am and i'm totally screwed. i can't go back to sleep. sigh. So i started a felted box from the Mason-Dixon book around 1a. I finished it maybe about 230a. hahaah. here it is...pre-felt. it's too late to wash something so small. i think my downstairs neighbor will complain if i do that. sigh. Side view and now felted... Top View Top view w/ a chapstick inside the box. Felted w/ chapstick in the box. So it's small. ~~sorry for the crappy pics. it's late.. hahahaa.~~ My plan is ~~to felt this and~~ give this to my brother so he can put it in his new car's console and put his change in it. haha. we were talking about it last weekend when we were in Houston. he wants a little container that won't make alot of jingle jingle noise when he's driving. i told him to get a leather box....but those are pricey. haha. so i said i would make a little felted box for him...b/c i wanted to do the pattern. hahaha I did fudge it a bit. no handles. sawee sawee... and that purse I was working on yesterday...it's messsssed up. i ended up ripping it out last night. i had finished the whole front panel...but man. it was NOT looking like the pattern on the berroco site. I got a bit mad..i had two other ppl look at the stitch pattern and i was doing it right! so i don't know what happen. i bet i was doing it wrong. So i'm going to do a diff. stitch pattern to see what happens. sigh.

I haven't only been watching tv...i've been knitting

2006-04-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

I love Grey's Anatomy, obviously. If it was on everyday like a soap, i think i would love it. maybe not...i shouldn't utter such blasphemy. But i'm pissed when i found out they don't have a new show until Apr. 30th. BOOOOO!! WHY ABC!! why must you do this to us!??! sigh..anyway. I've been knitting. here's what i've been working on.... Here is my Bitty Baby (still sans name!)wearing a dress I sort-of designed. I saw a cute dress pattern in a book i have here at home...and i offered to make one for Mary jane as a shop sample. As I started it..i realized...the dress is huge and u ses up alot of yarn. So i thought..i'll just divide everything in half and it'll be a dress for a baby! you know...things don't work out that way. It's not like a recipe for cake where you just divide everything by 2 and make it half the size. no. there is ALOT of calculations involved! so man...that took me 2 days to figure out how make this little dress. and it didn't come out as I imagined...but it's cute nevertheless. ;) I wanted more of a jumper dress rather than a dress dress. So i'll redo this and see what i get. But isn't it cute? I want to put a Hello Kitty stencil on the front and bleach it. hahaaha. we'll see. i gotta find my stencil first! Cutesy picot edging. ;) So i decided to make a purse I saw on Berroco's website. I normally don't like Berroco's designs too much...and that goes for this one too. what the freak is up w/ the design on the FRONT? anyway...i planned on doing it w/o the medallion on the front. I made a gauge swatch...and i got gauge! so i started...going going going. I just finished the front panel...and i look at the picture on my computer screen rather than on the print out i did. Ummm...the stitch pattern does NOT MATCH. it's TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!! so i'm a bit mad. should i keep going? should i rip out and start over to see what i did wrong? sigh.... I think i'm going to end up ripping it all out and seeing if i can get it right...ORRRRR..i'll do a diff. stitch pattern all together. i like this stitch pattern though!! WAAH! Anyway..i was knitting at work....and here is a picture of the tri-color suede on my computer at work: I love my job. granted, it's stressful at times...but not often. I get to play w/ babies all day and i get to knit at work...or read the paper...or read a book...whatever! i love my job. ;) don't my needles look so cool on the laptop keys? HAHAHAHA

200!!!!!! YAY FOR ME!! is this too geeky?

2006-04-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

This is my 200th post!! WHOOO-HOOOO!!! so i did some screen captures of Grey's last night....to show the knittng. LOL. hey....there was screen captures done for McSteamy....except the freaking pics were so dark, it didn't serve him justice. So i had to lighten these up so we could see what was going on. Meredith knitting at a bar while talking to McDreamy. I dont think i could knit if he was sitting RIGHT NEXT TO ME...talking about SEX. hahahaahaha. Does she look like a newbie? :D I wonder if those are fiddlesticks...or clovers? Hahahaha. they ARE in Seattle! lots of knitting stores up there! Izzy w/ cutie pie Denny...knitting. It looks like she has Addis!! YEAH! and she looks like she knows what she is doing. Knitting at work...sigh. OK...Izzy made Denny a sweater in ONE DAY. LIES! how is that possible? I know she was knitting on HUGE needles and bulky yarn...but COME ON!!! and she had time to wear it for 3 hours after she made it so that it would smell like her. WHATEVER!! how did she manage to do this at work!? she was knitting fast...but sheesh. not that fast! hahaha Meredith looking at her big stitches on her big needles at the Vet's office. Man..who knew chris o'donnell was such a cutie? when he came into the room..i was all "WHO IS THAT HOTTIE??" i'm a huge sucker for goatees. ;) i think they make every man hotter. hahaha. then i saw his face more clearly...and i was all "OMG! that's ROBIN!!!" what is it about this show? they bring in actors (men wise) from the 80's and 90's...and make them look SO HOT! tee-hee...this is a good thing. ;) hahahaa. man..i wonder if they'll bring in christian slater..my original first true love! ==================== enough grey's anatomy talk! I got back from houston yesterday afternoon around 1p. I had a funeral to attend for a close family friend. It went as well as funerals can go. I don' tknow how ppl can live in houston. That place is like hell on earth. and my relatives and friends...they kept telling me "You should move here!" HELL NO!! i'd rather go back and live in my parents' house before i live in HOUSTON! hahaha. anyway...but thanks all for your thoughts. it was a hard weekend for me. The man who died was really like my grandfather as I was growing up away from my grandparents. I've never lost anyone i was that close to before....so this was a new experience for me.

I LOVE GREY'S ANATOMY!!

2006-04-02T21:04:00.000-05:00

I LOVE GREY'S!! IZZY AND MEREDITH ARE KNITTING! hahaha. and did anyone notice in the beginning of the show...Izzy was using Addi Turbos. hAHAHAHAAH.

Another pair of Fuzzy Feet

2006-03-28T22:53:00.000-06:00

Since i screwed up yesterday's pair so badly, i made another pair. I had some Paton's Merino Wool in my stash and I used it to do this pair. They fit a man's size 9 perfectly. How do I know? i tested them on a friend that has the same size feet. ;) Pre-felt...they are gigantic. My blackberry doesn't even fit in the heel. Post-Felt. Perfect size. they just need to dry and be mailed off to be loved and worn. Project: Knitty's Fuzzy Feet Yarn: Paton's Merino Wool (Yarn was doubled) Colors: Deep Olive (00205) and Leaf Green (00240) Needle Size: US13 Date Started: March 28, 2006 (12am) Date Finished: March 28, 2006 (9pm) NOTE: i did not knit on these continously for 21 hours straight. oh no...i went to sleep around 4am...woke up around 1030a. Cleaned up a bit....ate some lunch..went to work...there were things done! Do you guys dig the colors? I kept thinking...CHOCOLATE MINT! ;) I want to make a pair of fuzzy feet for some kids. those would be super fast knits. this is an idea brewing in my tiny little brain...

Fuzzy feet....

2006-03-27T22:59:00.000-06:00

I stared a pair of Fuzzy Feet for a friend of mine who is coming to town on Weds for business. this person has been nagging me for 2 years now to make him a pair of sliippers. he has a weird thing about his feet...like they have to constantly be cradled and cared for. So he told me on Sat he was coming to town on Weds only. What a perfect opportunity to see if i can make a pair of Fuzzy Feet! I've done these before...for the same person...and i overfelted them when i made them a year ago. they were small enough for ME. and he's a guy w/ a size 9 foot. in comparison...i have a size 4 foot women/kids. So i started them yesterday before i went to Dallas SNB. (this is a RARE pic of me...thanks to Baigneuse for the photo).

I got pretty far before I left there. So i finished them off this morning..i dind't have classes so i slept in till noon. it felt so weird. anyway..i finished them today. RAN to my washing machine. but before the washing...i took a picture.

My kitty tried to sneak into the picture. evil baby. ;) So i felted them. They came out...OK. i tried to let them dry...and they were just too wet. So my friend came over to move some boxes for me (i'm always moving boxes) and i asked him to try them on b/c he has the same foot size as my friend. they were WAAAY too big. so i thought...RUN TO THE WASHING MACHINE!!! Bot-Gurl told me to sit and watch the felting to make sure it didnt felt TOO much. Well, i sat there and watched for 8 min. they were still too big. and i walked away. I WALKED AWAY. well, i checked after another 8 min....GUESS WHAT! they are TOOOO SMALL! they are so small they fit MEEEE. sigh...again...i over felted and made myself another pair of Fuzzy Feet.

They shrunk ALOT huh? hahaah. i'm so ashamed. Project: Knitty's Fuzzy Feet Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky Colors: m-26 medieval Red, M-75 blue heirloom Needle size: US13 Date Started: March 26, 2006 Date Finished: March 27, 2006 I dug through the stash and found more yarn to make another pair of Fuzzy Feet. i really shoudln't bother. hahahaah. I even called my friend and told him about the escapade. Let the nagging begin..he started nagging again. So i'm going to try again...but i'm going to see if i can do both feet on one long circ. hahaa. figuring out how to cast on has been a bitch! and after all this..he isn't even coming to town this Weds! whew..i got time. ;) I should finish up his thong.! hey..i can sew in the elastic band since i know how to thread my sewing machine! WHOOOO!!!

Man i suck

2006-03-26T00:33:00.000-06:00

I suck at sewing. anyone that knows me knows i fear the sewing machine. i fear it for these 2 primary reasons:

I don't understand how to thread the F-ing thing
I'm scared of sewing my hands to the fabric. lol

So i saw these REALLY cute pincushions...and I felt the deep desire to make one. ahhaah Bot-Gurl and I went and did the Hobby Lobby and Joann's to get fabric and stuffs. That was alot of fun. lol. but i busted out the Hello Kitty sewing machine i got last summer and i actually sat down, read the directions, threaded it up...and got it going. so here is my first attempt at sewing...please do'nt laugh too hard. i'll cry if you do. ;)

not bad...but they can be MUCH better. but...another fear has been defeated for now. i kind of want to make other things now. LOL. i need to work on another set of pincushions. the ones in the pictures are so cute in comparison to MINE. hahaah I got some sad news today. There is this elderly couple that has been in my life since i was 5 years old. They were at the church I attended. I saw them all the time, had so many dinners w/ them....and when i got my licence, i picked them up and took them to church, bible studies, etc. Well, the husband has been failing in health the last few months and I've been meaning to go and visit him in health care home he was at in Houston (his daughters live in houston and was moved there around October). He passed away today at like 630p. i called my mom today and i was telling her i needed to hurry up and plan to go see him in his health care home...and i was going to go w/ my brother and my cousin. but it was hard to coordinate a time where all 3 of us could go...esp since my cousin lives in San Jose, CA. All three of us were close to this couple. And all three of us felt so terrible as we got the news today b/c we kept putting off seeing him. anyway....i got the news about it today and i just need to find out when the funeral is next week so i can make my plans to go. sigh..i hate going to Houston...and this is a horrible reason to go. :(

Finished jacket

2006-03-22T23:17:00.000-06:00

Project: Weekend Neck Down Jacket Yarn: Brown Sheep Burly Spun Color: BS62 Amethyst Needle Size: US17 Date Started: March 11, 2006 Date Finished: March 22, 2006 So i fixed the buttonband and actually made buttonholes. I only put 4 buttons on b/c i don't normally button up/zip up my outerwear unless it's snowing. this was a good knit. it was difficult b/c the needles were so large and the yarn so heavy....i finished like half of the project and then stopped for over a week. but i picked it up again thinking it was going to be so hot and just hanging at Simpatico for a sample. I think i might wear it tomorrow b/c it's so cold here....and when in the world would i get a chance to wear a jacket in March? hahaha. around here i mean. ;) The Back.... the side... Thanks to Flickr Tools for the silly borders and such.

Socks and Jackets

2006-03-22T21:51:00.000-06:00

I actually finished my socks last week...but i coudn't put them on. I had cast off too tightly and i didn't realize that w/ toe up socks...there are tricks and stuff. So Bot-Gurl gave me some good tips and my socks are freaggin awesome. fit me like a perfect glove.

please ignore my fat ankles.

Project: 2 socks on 1 circ Yarn: Trekking XXL color 01 Needle Size: US1 Date Started: Feb 21, 2006 (at the hospital while waiting with my mom) Date Finished: March 22, 2006 I should have kept on trucking on these socks..i would have been done weeks ago! I've also been working on that Weekend topdown cardigan. Here it is blocking.... I put on a button band instead of the zipper that is in the picture. Again...b/c I don't know how to use my sewing machine and i bought some cute buttons to go on it. I"ll post totally finished pics later OMG...in looking at these pics...i just realized I didn't make buttonholes!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! i'll do that tonight after it finishes drying. DAMMIT.

wow a whole week already?

2006-03-20T10:07:00.000-06:00

It's been a week since I last updated! over a week! i tried to update last night..but blogger was having a hissy fit i guess. So I have been knitting. my brother drove up here on thurs to pick up his new car. When he's here, i don't get anything done. We just shop, eat, lounge, talk talk talk....so i didn't get any knitting done on those two days he was here. plus this week i've been working like a mad dog. work has been particularly frustrating. and i haven't been knitting at work b/c i've been so so so so busy. anyway.... I finished my socks...but when i bound off, it was TOO TIGHT! so Bot-Gurl gave me a tip and i need to readjust. So i'm not actually DONE...but i'm done. ;) I"ve been working on a weekend neck down jacket (pattern by Knitting Pure and Simple). A cardigan version of the weekend pullover, written for super bulky yarn at 2 stitches to the inch. You really can knit it in a weekend! Directions are given for a zipper closing, or a button band. Women's sizes small to x- large. Yarn shown is Burly Spun by Brown Sheep Yarns.

this is what it looks like in creamy white. SImpatico yarns has this yarn in stock, BTW if anyone is interested. lol. Well, i'm almost done w/ the jacket. I found out yesterday i didn't knit the body long enough. i mean..it's long ENOUGH...but i guess i'm so fat it comes up short. I'm half way thru the 2nd arm. so all i need is the collar, half of the 2nd arm, ummm....oh yeah. i should rip out the bind off and knit a few more rows on the body. i'm making it out of burly spun in TCU purple. hAHAHAHAH. and i think im' going to do a button band. yes..it's b/c i am scared of my sewing machine and i dont want to sew on a zipper! plus, i like shopping for buttons. :D I found out this week another friend is pregnant. sigh. that's 7 babies this year coming up. I think everyone needs to quit procreating. lol. so i think i've decided to quit buying baby yarn and start using baby yarn from my freaking stash. i have so much baby yarn, i really don't need to go out and buy MORE. we'll see if this proclamation holds up in court. i really need to go through and organize my stash as well. currently, i have yarn EVERYWHERE> if i was bold enough, i would take a picture to show everyone the freaking mess i have for a home. but i'm not that bold. ;) hahah. and it really erks me that i haven't maintained my original system for keeping up w/ all my yarn. you know what that means? i was buying faster than i could organize. *GASP!!!* i need help... someone....help me. lol i think that's it for now. ttfn :)

Dallas SNB

2006-03-12T22:24:00.000-06:00

Today was my first outing to the Dallas SNB. Bot-Gurl has been telling me for forever to go and I decided today was the day to try it out. I had alot of fun! I met alot of new ppl...I finally got to meet the Purling P's (I had met one of them last year i think...lol) i had been talking to via the internet..it was awesome. Had alot of good laughs and heard all about Stitches West from someone who ACTUALLY GOT TO GO!! (I'm so freaking jealous!!) I wish i could go to things like that..but then i'm GLAD i didn't go b/c i have no self-control and i probably would have gone bankrupt in a place like that. (Take my blood!! take it! I NEED YARN!) So i've been sort of working on stuff, sort of slacking. things i should finish, i haven't finished yet. i get sidetracked kind of often. hahaah. so here is a listing of the things i've been working on this week.... Project: NICU Friendly T-Bonnet Yarn: Filati Biberon Color 302 Needle size: US1 Dated Started: March 6, 2006 Dated Finished: March 7, 2006 One of our knitters at Simpatico has a premature grandbaby that was born last week. So i was looking at patterns for her to knit...and i found this gem. I got so inspired, i had to drop everything and make this little bonnet. I wish I modeled this bonnet on a tennis ball. It's too small to fit my Bitty Baby...and it's WAY too small for Zoe. ;) Project: 2 socks on 1 circ Yarn: Trekking XXL color 01 Needle Size: US1 Date Started: Feb 21, 2006 (at the hospital while waiting with my mom) I started these at the hospital...then put them away for a while...and started them up again this week. hopefully i'll finish them this week. it's the same pattern i used for my olympic socks...but no picot edge on these. I'll probably follow these up w/ a 2x2 rib. we'll see. Project: Baby-Bot (Smaller version of Jess Hutch's knitted robots) Yarn: Lion Brand MicroSpun Colors: Fuchsia, Lavendar, Purple, Mocha Needles: Size 3 US Started: Feb 21, 2006 I'm ALMOST done. I am seaming up all the bits and ends....and it needs to be stuffed. hehe. that's it. baby bot will be done and mailed off to my friend's daughter. :) I asked Bot-Gurl for a lesson in mattress stitch b/c my mattress stitch sucks so bad. She gave me a lovely lesson yesterday. Look at the pic above. Can you see the seam? hahahaha oooh...the Sopranos is back! and it's on now...must pay attention....

kitty cats

2006-03-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

The Bunny Beanie was a huge hit at Simpatico! Alot of ppl thought it was cute..it made me feel better b/c i thought it was just too floppy. But everyone loved that about the hat...so now i'm all happy. hahaha. NanC said it was about time i posted more pics of my widdle baby Sassy. i agree...it's about time i took more of her. she's sometimes difficult to take pics of...b/c she knows when i pull out the camera, it's time to close her eyes. she hates it when i take pics of her...but i have so many. hahaha. well, here is pics of her.... A nice close up.... Look..she's lookin' at her mama! resting on the blanket... My cat is a polydactyl cat. So she got an extra toe. WHen i saw her at the pound...i didn't notice this trait on her until i got home. i thought her feet were so cute. She has a thumb! So i used to joke around and call her Thumbs..but that wasn't a good name. (i had this neighbor upstairs from me at my old old apt complex. we called HIM thumbs b/c some industrial accident chopped off his fingers and left him w/ a pinky and a thumb. so the dude would grip his beers w/ his thumb. anyway..that's another story for another day!) Anyway...her paws look like widdle mittens. :)

Bunny Hat and Zoe

2006-03-04T23:34:00.000-06:00

Thanks to all for your prayers and thoughts about my mama. She called me this week w/ crazy but better news: turns out she didn't have cancer after all. that lump on her thyroid was pre-cancerous...and that's why they decided to take it out of her. she doesn't need any kind of radiation, chemo, oral medication for the cancer. Thank goodness. she does have to take thyroid medication for the rest of her life...which she is fine with. i was mad when she first told me that the thyroid was removed from her for "no reason". but i am forever grateful she doesn't have cancer. This has been a semi-weird week. I caught another cold or something....i dunno. Coughing like crazy. it's been...ugh. kind of painful...so i haven't been knittng as usual. not knitting at night when i get home, etc. hehehe. but i think i'm getting better. My throat is still hurting...but oh well. I'm still working on another pair of socks. Slowing knittin' this week. But Mary Jane of Simpatico asked me to make a shop sample...a widdle bunny hat. Project: Bunny Beanie from Noe Knit. Yarn used: White: On-Line Linie 162 Pink: Classic Elite Four Seasons color petal 7619 Needle Size: US 7 Date Started: March 3, 2006 Date Finished: March 4, 2006 I had issues w/ the ONline Linie yarn. I didn't like knitting with it as much as i thought i would. It's too...wimpy. the fabric wasn't really dense. I started this pattern on size 8's like it called for...it came out HUGE...big enough for My head. And i did the picot edging....no good. You couldn't tell on that fuzzy yarn that it was a picot cast-on. so i gave up on it and just did a normal long-tail cast-on and then did a 4 row seed stitch border to avoid any rolling. anyway...because the fabric was sooo ...loose and not nice, i switched to size 7's. that didn't help much either...but at least the sizing was right. I don't know what was wrong. I got gauge w/ the us8 needles...but for some reason when i started the hat..it was just so airy. anyway..i had my doubts about this pattern...esp w/ the ears since they are so floopy. and i had problems making the ears at first b/c i'm completely illiterate and can't read pattern directions. The cough is spreading to my brain. but i DID love the Classic Elite Four Seasons. Lately I've had a serious preference to smooth yarns. I love the look of the stitches. Fuzzy yarn is starting to frustrate me. hahaha. Still slowly working on my socks...and i finsihed the robot knitting part. I just need to block and seam...and ta-da. the new bot will be done! maybe i should block tonight and make Bot-Gurl give me a lesson in mattress stitch tomorrow..... Speaking of Bot-Gurl....she finished a baby sweater and brought it in for us all to see. She giggled and asked if Zoe was in my car. she/it is always in my car...ready for a photo op! so we take pics of Zoe in Bot-Gurl's sweater...and i get home to clean up background and edit. I have too much time on my hands. I started putting Zoe in all these hilarious backgrounds. here is a sampling... In the London Subways...showing us a sign... On some beach paradise...showing us the water and palm trees In a court yard in Milan. ..introducing children. HAHAAH i'm a big loser w/ too much time on her hands!!! (Props to Frank for posting his pics online. I stole them from his photography website b/c he takes such beautiful photos from around the world. He's a distant family friend who i secretly loathe b/c i wish i had his *eye*) Oh...a blog announcement.....the blog url is also www.purse-ho.com as well. i figured it was about time i bit the bullet and bought it before someone else beats me to it. hahaha. and I did add a blogarithm up in the upper right hand corner if you'd like updates on when i update. what am i saying? i know i'm not that popular. hahahaha.

Dum Dum Dummm dum dum dum dum dum da dum dum dum dum ....

2006-02-28T16:57:00.000-06:00

I got my medal today! YAy!!!!!

i'm back.

2006-02-25T01:43:00.000-06:00

I'm back in DFW. I got back this morning on the 6am flight. ewww...i was so damn exhausted. My mom came home from the hospital Thurs afternoon...which i was really thrilled about. They were talking about letting her out on Fri afternoon, after my flight. So she's doing well. Thanks for everyone's prayers and well wishes. Means alot to me. This week was hard b/c my mom is such a strong person. it was weird to see her lying in bed, in pain, sick from the anesthesia. My dad and my brother couldn't handle it. they had to leave the room alot. She's way better since all the drugs wore off. When we went to see her on Thurs, she was sitting up in a chair, all clean from a shower. first thing she said is "i feel better, i want to go home." hehe. Our cat missed her alot. but she loves to sit on my mom right on her neck...so we had to keep her away from that area b/c she just loves to snuggle in that spot. And what does this woman do as soon as we get home? she starts working! (she works from home). i was all AAAH! MA!! DON"T WORK!! SLEEP!! again, my brother and dad don't help too much. i think they were ready to ask her to cook something for dinner! The doctors are optimistic about the cancer not spreading throughout her body. she has to have some kind of iodine test in about 6 weeks that will tell us if it did spread. So we will see how it all goes. I pray nothing is still there. While i was in the hospital all alone w/ my mom on Weds (my dad and brother went to run some errands), i managed to finish about 1/3 of the foot of a new pair of socks! i'll post up a picture tomorrow. they are so cute. i'm using the same pattern i used when i did my olympic socks...but a diff. yarn. i'm really enjoying the pattern and the small needles. i didn't finish the 2nd half of my robot yet. i should finish that sooon..i want to give it to my friend's daughter for easter. ;) anyway...it's late. Bot-Gurl, another Jennifer and myself went to see Dave Chappelle's Block party. I think we (meaning I) misunderstood the venue b/c we thoguht it was just going to be a stand up show...it was really a concert w/ Dave Chappelle doing stand up on the transitions. so i was a bit disappointed b/c i wasn't in the mood to listen to a concert.i wanted to laugh my ass off. hehehe. oh well.

Knitting at the hospital

2006-02-22T00:43:00.000-06:00

So thanks to all who wished well to my mom's surgery. All went well today. Surgery was scheduled for 1p. We got there at 1130a. i started my little robot at 1145a. then we waited. and waited. and waited. it was really weird how long we had to wait. My brother flew in today and his flight was delayed. so he got into town at 315p....we were still waiting for my mom to go to surgery. sigh. so i left to go to get my brother, and my dad wanted to tag a long. It was hard for him to sit there and see my mom getting ready for surgery. plus he was bored out of his skull. At this point, neither he or i had eaten any lunch. so we were starving. We picked up my brother and went to get some lunch. we got back to the hospital around 445p...and she was in surgery. so we waited...and waited. my brother and i got bored so we went to the gift shop. then while we were there, my dad called and said she was done w/ surgery and in recovery. we run to where her room is...and it's empty. so we go back to waiting room..and we wait...and wait. hahaha. i finished a whole front part of a robot while i was waiting. :) hahahahaha Yarn: Lion Brand MicroSpun Colors: Fuchsia, Lavendar, Purple, Mocha Needles: Size 3 US Pattern: Jess Hutch's Knitted Robots Started: Feb 21, 2006 but thanks to all who called and checked up on me and my family. We're doing well. my mom is just sleeping and hopefully isn't nauseous. hopefully she'll come home tomorrow. my dad said no way...i'm hoping yes. the house is too weird w/o her here. hahaha

omg

2006-02-20T15:22:00.000-06:00

I don't know who i like better...McDreamy...McSteamy....it's all McGood to me! hahaha. i'm a little McFlushed now. HAHAHAHA.

finally here.

2006-02-20T03:25:00.000-06:00

My flight was delayed for 2 hours and 15 min. which is fine. i'm glad i checked flight status before i drove off for the airport. i would have been angry sitting at the airport for over 3 hours with nothing to do. it let me stay home and watch GREY'S ANATOMY!! whooooo! it was so freaking good today. i was just stunned. I had to call Lee after it was over and just gush. hahaahah Look at dr. mcdreamy. he's so fliping hot. man i love this show. i need to buy this magazine. So while on the plane, i took out some sock yarn and started another pair of socks. Which reminds me...my olympic socks..do they count for my 200sox??? tee-hee...i hope so!!! anyway, i started on the socks again and i managed to finish the toes after working on the figure 8 cast on for like 30 min!! that cast on is trickier than i thought originally. i was getting a headache on the plane though. so late...so dark, so hot...blech. i went from below freezing temps to around 60F. it's nice...but i did love that bone chilling cold. I brought yarn for another baby sweater, yarn for a robot for my friend's daughter, and this sock yarn. i wonder if i can complete one project this week. tee-hee. i brought home a bunch of chinese baos and cakes for my dad. I figured he would crack one open as soon as I walked in through the door with them. nope. he had a bowl of ice cream all waiting for him....ready. he's so funny. i love my daddy.

Still here in DFW

2006-02-19T19:00:00.000-06:00

My flight is delayed. I was supposed to leave at 10p...but because the weather here is so damn ugly, i get to leave at 1115p. hahaha oh well. my friend said he would still take me. i told him to go ahead and drop me off at 830p as planned, because i can just chill and knit. he said no no...he'll take me late. now i feel bad. :( i don't even get into EP until midnight their time. sigh. i was having a hard time picking out what i'm going to take home to knit. which isn't that big of a deal!! but i'm scared of sitting at the airport for a while as my brain rots from boredom. So as i was watching tv last night, i started working on that top-down baby cardigan to make sure i had the pattern written out correctly. Man, i'm glad i did! i don't know what i was thinking when i wrote it all out. so i want to make another one for my friend's daughter in EP to see if i have the calculations about the sizing correct. sigh. who knew it took this much work to tweak a pattern? i didn't even really write it from scratch! well, i guess i did. i mean...top down uses the same basic principles in every version..i just made my changes and adjustments as I saw fit. is that stealing? plagarism? nah...i did adjust the numbers and stuff. ehh..oh well. :) ANYWAY..i finished knitting the sweater today. it needs to be blocked, but that'll have to wait until i come back on Friday. I'm going to hang this little sweater at Simpatico as a store sample...until I need a last min baby gift. hahahaa. Thanks to Mary for my Bitty Baby. I never gave props when she gave her to me b/c it was around the holidays...and holidays made me so crazy i didn't document alot of stuff properly. hahaha but i love my Bitty Baby. she and her family got me an ASIAN ONE! hahahahaah. they know me too well. but I need a name for her. my mannequin baby has the name of Zoe. I was *thinking* of naming this one Chloe. I love weird names...well, not weird (no offense Zoe's and Chloe's). I'm digging the OE endings. i have a funny name file..i should pick one from there. these are names of children i have photographed/tested in the last 3 years. hahaa. that's another story for another time. anyway..here is the sweater i did. Here she is "sleeping". hahaha. the sweater is too big for her...but i just did it for photo's sake. here she is sitting up and pantless. sorry if this offends anyone. ;) hhaahah the sweater needs buttons i think for some pizazz. we'll see. i hate figuring out button spacing and everything.

HOLY CRAP, I'M FREAKING DONE!!!!

2006-02-17T22:21:00.000-06:00

I"M DONE I'M DONE I'm DONE!!!!!!!!! Right foot. both feet :) Do you like my picot edging? i'm obessed w/ picot right now. i thoguht it would be cuter than plain ol ribbing. my chic feet. ;) Project: 2 socks on 1 long circ (for the knitting olympics!) Yarn: Steinbach Wolle Ringel Colors Color: 94968, lot 004 Needle size: 1 US Date Started: Feb 12, 2006 Date Finished: Feb 17, 2006 This was a challenge for me b/c i had never done toe up socks, never done them at the same time w/ one long circ. and...i never really do socks! i'm proud of myself at this moment. i ran around my apt, chanting "My socks are so cool. my socks are so cool." for those that know me..i never wear socks. it has to be really cold for me to wear them. but....i didn't realize how much i liked knitting them. sigh. i like the 2 socks, 1 circ method ALOT. i think this will fuel my love for sock knitting. I really loved this method...and i love the toe up. Like i said before...i had alot of anxiety of how square the toe looked. but LOOK AT MY SOCKS! so PERFECT! WHOOOOOOOO!!!! i hate juggling so many needles, i hate 2nd sock syndrome. no syndrome here. ;) i didn't like how the 2 balls were hanging (har har....let's all quit giggling now), but i figured out a little system that worked for me to avoid a constant tangle. so i'm in love w/ the method...100% percent. I think i'm going to take the left over yarn and make socks for my Bitty Baby...who is still nameless. hmm..... :) so cute so cute so cute. Thanks to all who wished me well w/ my mama. I leave on Sunday night at like 10p...her surgery is on Tues morning/afternoon. I'm confident that that lump on her thyroid is nothing but a lump of fat or something. LOL. i have faith that it's nothing bad/serious. color me surprised if it is something bad. I have plenty of knitting to do while i wait for her at the hospital w/ my dad. hehehehe. I think he's just gonna take his HUGE Bible with him and read it as we wait for her. My brother flies in whenever she's in surgery.... so i'm hoping i'll be not busy enough to knit a bit as we wait. hehehe. Like Ruth said...plenty of time to knit!!

Look..i'm getting there!

2006-02-16T22:58:00.000-06:00

So i turned the heel on my socks today and i'm very happy. look at how the yarn is striping. :) YES MY FEEET ARE THAT SMALL!! hahaha please ignore the little hole right there...i did. ;) i can't wait to finish! i want a gold medal!! In other news..i have to fly home (ELP, TX) for a few days b/c my mom is having surgery to remove a lump on her thyroid. It's not serious. but it's not good either. she told me not to come home...but i'm going. i found a way to fly home for $50 by using some of my untouched air miles. So i'm going from Sun night until Fri morning. I just want to be there for her in case that lump is something bad...which it's not. but just in case just in case. i would feel so terrible if it was something bad (which it's NOT) and i wasn't there to be there with her. so at the time i'm waiting at the hospital..i'm going to be knitting like a mad woman. hahaha. i've got plenty to do! sigh. i hope to have my socks finished by then. I have a few things i need to make for myself and i would like to make some model garments for Simpatico.

olympics shimpics.

2006-02-15T01:25:00.000-06:00

So I'm going on my socks. this is what i have so far. I had alot of anxiety about the toe. it's so weird looking. but i tried them on...they fit perfect so far. ;) i love how they are striping up. and i love that after i'm done...i don't have to do a second sock! i was going to try to make the stripes match...but at this point, i didn't care anymore. i should have these done by the time the olympics finish up. :) I found out some horrible truths about my favorite lunch spot...La Madaline. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the chicken caesar salad and the tomato basil soup. i think i ate there at least once a week for the last 5 months. sometimes more often than that. the chicken really makes that salad freaking awesome. i wont have it any other way...even though it's way more pricey. And if you know me..you KNOW i love SOUP. so of course, i get a huge bowl of soup every time i go. I found out today that it's all soooo bad for you!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! Bot-Gurl told me to not look at the nutritional info if i want to keep eating there. yeah..she's right. i shoudln't have checked. BUT..i shouldn't eat it if it's so bad for you. that soup is so good..so rich and creamy. yes i know..i should have known it's bad for you. but it's so delicious..i didn't care to think about it. so i guess eating these two items so often could explain the jump in my cholestrol levels in the last few months. they are just all so FATTY! sigh. i'm sad. another restaurant bites the dust. I can go occassionally...but really occassional. :( sigh. woe is me. everything at that place is pretty bad for you...so rich. so i'm going to really have to stop going there all together and make it really occassional. sigh. i'm sad. so sad. i should have had one last hurrah there today. hahahah

oh YAY!!!

2006-02-13T17:57:00.000-06:00

She's HERE!! HEEEEEREEEE!!!!! Thanks to my cousin for sending this to me. well, my cousin's wife. hahaha. we saw them when i was up in Canada and we were both drooling over the Pullip dolls. so much cuter than the Blythes. These have cute widdle Asian faces. being we are both Chinese and love dolls...we were just giggling and drooling over there. but we walked away from them....and we both kept thinking about them. So she told me she went and got herself one. i was sad. but LO AND BEHOLD! i find it in the mail today! YAYAYAYAyA! I immdiately take her out of the box and put her on the balcony to take Blythe-esque pictures. first try isn't bad. i'll play more later. :) I had to rip out the two socks and start over b/c i misunderstood some increase directions....and the stripes weren't matching. so now i have pink toes instead of green ones. hahaha. lovely stripey yarn

I'm not mad anymore...and the olympics have STARTED

2006-02-12T22:16:00.000-06:00

So the sock yarn sweater mistake is MY FAULT. Bot-Gurl offered to look at the pattern for me to see what i did wrong and she found where i got messed up. IT WAS MY FAULT! ALL MINE!!!!! i read the directions wrong. she suggested i put it away and look at it another day. what a wonderful idea. So my challenge for the knitting olympics was to buckle down and learn the 2 socks 1 circ method. i hate using double points in small sizes b/c i'm very rough on the needles and bend them. i hate bent needles. that is the OCD in me. sooooooo....i didn't start on friday like i was supposed to. I was pretty slack ass. i knit on my baby sweater to finish it up...so i could write out a pattern. well, i had it all done. i just had to weave in ends. but things about it bothered me. #1...could i have done the sleeves in the round rather than flat and seaming up? this plagued my mind. then yesterday, i saw Bot-GUrl's mattress stitch on the same pattern. hers is PERFECT!! i was SO JEALOUS!! i thought i had it down pat! NOOOO...my mattress stitch sucks ass in comparison!! AAAAAAAAAH! It ate me alive all night....could i have done the sleeves in the round...how come my mattress stitch sucks so bad..... yesterday was a bad day at work. so many freaking babies...and all of them were just grouchy. made me late for a lunch date. grrrrr.... so today was even worse! so many babies screaming...not passing their tests. i was very frustrated today. In my frustration..i decided to rip back the sleeves on the baby sweater and do them in the round. if they didn't turn out...rip out again and just re-do. well, the first sleeve was perfect. rolled it all up...waiting. i go to rip out the 2nd sleeve..and ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. for some reason...it started to UNRAVEL at the base of the sleeve. iti's a raglan top down sweater cardigan. so this is a BAD THING. so i stop...and try to find the stupid seam from the top. the bottom kept unraveling. in a panic...i just put it all down and call bot-gurl. she told me to weave in a lifeline and put it away before i get angry. i kept crying "YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?!?!? RIPPING OUT AND STARTING ALL OVER!! WAAAAH!!" she laughed and laughed. grrrr.....her and her perfect mattress stitch. so this month...i have alot of FO's on my list. well, for jan. but feb hasn't been as GOOD. the 3 things i wanted to have done and done...which were simple things...alll this week went awry. sock yarn baby sweater, raglan baby cardigan...and my gloves. i was working on my gloves yesterday...and i kept ripping out the fingers again and again. today i ripped them all out and started over. i did the middle finger 3 times today. i was so sick of looking at them, i put them away. so tonight during grey's anatomy...i started my challenge. it's a toe up sock pattern ...figure 8 cast on. i admit..i was freaking scared. i did it on a practice run 4 times before i actually cast on. and look at what i have.... it's on ONE CIRC! and i have half a toe area. hahahahah. WHOOOOOOOO!!!

i'm in deep hate w/ knitters' magazine right now.

2006-02-09T00:02:00.000-06:00

This is a baby sweater from Knitter's Magazine that i have been working on for my friend's son. I mentioned in a previous post that i was almost done with it. Well, last night I finished knitting it. It just needed to be seamed up and then the collar stitches had to be picked up and knitted..then ta-da!! finished. As i was knitting the pattern, i noticed a really weird mistake in the pattern. the math didn't add up. So of course, after i realize this mistake, i look up the errata. KA BOOM. there is a correction! i was told to always check for errata...but i always forget until i run into a problem. Well, i got over that hump. I seamed together the sweater. i'm happy. I start picking up the stitches around the collar to finish off the damn thing. And what do i see? the back is exactly as the front...as i thought it was supposed to be. Now...look at the above picture. The back...HAS A BACK. there is no V there. My sweater ...the back matches EXACTLY w/ the front. so you can imagine my dilemma. And yes...stupid me..i should have checked....as i was knitting. but no..i didn't. someone who helped me get back to knitting always told me just to follow the pattern and deal w/ mistakes as they arise. This is a big F-ing deal. i don't know why mine came out so bad. but it's bad. I don't want to rip out. i mean..i could pick up the stitches around the back and make a triangle panel to fill in the V? then pick up the stitches around the neck and continue on. but wouldn't that look shotty? DAMMIT!! it took me longer than usual to knit this piece b/c i took my sweet time since i had other things to do...and i wsan't in a hurry. now i'm mad. hahaha. so mad i wanna throw this away! but i'm not going to. it's still a wearable piece. i just don't know how to fix the neck area to make it look normal. I'm going to work on writing that other baby sweater pattern for Simpatico. i'm too pissed to deal w/ this sock yarn sweater right now.

Things about da purse ho.

2006-02-08T19:44:00.000-06:00

I got this from Nanc. I thought my trivia tips were HILAIROUS!!!!

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Purse_ho!

It takes forty minutes to hard-boil purse_ho.
An average beaver can cut down purse_ho every year.
The average duration of sexual intercourse for purse_ho is two minutes.
Edinburgh imports three thousand kilograms of purse_ho every year!
Worldwide, purse_ho is the most important natural enemy of night-flying insects.
There are now more than 4000 satellites orbiting purse_ho!
While sleeping, fifteen percent of men snore, and ten percent grind their purse_ho!
The pharoahs of ancient Egypt wore garments made with thin threads of beaten purse_ho.
68 percent of all UFO sightings are by purse_ho!
Influenza got its name because people believed the disease was caused by the evil "influence" of purse_ho.

not much done in a few days

2006-02-06T17:31:00.000-06:00

I took a glove making class on sat at Simpatico. It was WAY easier than I imagined! thanks to Joel for making it easy! I don't have pics, but i finished up to the fingers in both gloves! whoo-hoo!! I"m trying to finish up a tank top sample for the shop, and i'm not rushing, but it would be nice if i could finish a sock yarn baby sweater for my friend's son. I saw my friend's son at a superbowl gathering last night. i didn't even know the superbowl was half over. i only went b/c i wanted to see my friend and her son. I haven't seen him since he was one month old...and he's 9 months old now. haha. i gave him that sweetpea baby sweater set. He's the one i'm making the sock yarn baby sweater for now....his mom called me one day and said "you know...Adam has outgrown the sweater auntie jen gave him." and i'm all "aww..too bad." she goes "you know...adam would LOVE another sweater from Auntie Jen." i get it now. i get it. i just sat and knitted during the rest of the game. i hate the superbowl w/ a passion. So i finally sent off that baby sweater,booties,hat set that my mannequin Zoe modeled a few days ago. I added some things to the box. tee-hee. A pair of THESE... I figured in CA...baby needs a bit of Texas. hahahaha. I added some cutesy baby t-shirts as well. Gotta love the hospital gift shop at work! hahahaha. i can't wait till they get the box. i hope they like everything in it. I also got these in the mail today.... aren't they purty? Purpleheart wood size 19US needles...w/ a very nice nice nice cord 60" in length. I am ready to knit that afgan for myself now....yeah right.

My baby, Zoe.

2006-02-03T23:50:00.000-06:00

I bought a baby mannequin a few months ago. It's like a mannequin you see at Baby Gap...blank face, poseable. I call her Zoe...b/c i think the name Zoe is so cool.. hahahahaha. esp w/ my last name..it sounds funny. i would never inflict that suffering on a real child of mine. But a mannequin? sure. :D I bought the mannequin for sizing and for pictures of knitted items. yes..i know it's sick. hahaha. And i think the blank face helps me b/c i cannot sleep in a home w/ a lifeless face looking at me. hahahaah. i know i know. i'm weird. So i still haven't mailed off the baby sweater and the booties/hat combo. why? ehh..i wanted to make the label, and i admit..i like showing it off. It's a big ego boost. what i need to do is make another one for show. hahaha. Bot-Gurl has had issues w/ how the pattern was written, as i have said before. So i pulled out Zoe and the sweater to try it on for size to show her. i took advantage and put the whole ensemble on Zoe...and took pictures. LOL No papparazi, please! i just want to be left alone! just playing, guys. hahahaah Isnt it cute? Zoe is like a 9-month baby-sized mannequin. i was told it was newborn size...but i like the size. b/c i felt newborn would be too small. anyway....i'm hoping this set fits for a little while. :) The Knitting Olympics are starting next week! If you guys wanna join Team Simpatico...just go to the site and let me know you wanna join! leave a comment or send an email! I've got alot to do this week before the Olympics start. sigh. so much i want to do in very little time. hahaha.

what's up w/ badly written patterns?

2006-02-02T22:23:00.000-06:00

So I let Bot-Gurl borrow that pattern i did the little baby sweater with...and she found it riddled w/ errors and just bad bad instructions. as she expressed her confusion, i remembered going through the same BS!! sometimes when i finish a pattern and i'm happy w/ how it came out..i forget how i got there. and i remembered cursing at the pattern too! what the hell???? i should have written notes as i was going along. but i was obessed w/ conquering the pattern...i didn't stop to do that. hhaahah oh well so i think i'm going to re-write it w/ some changes...like instead of the St st roll at the bottom and on the sleeves, i'm going to add seed stitch or something. maybe i'll sell the pattern..make my mini millions. lol. lame thought...anyway.... i did another robot. :) in nicer colors this time... i'm not happy about how i sewed on the left arm. sigh. it looks all jacked up. i was impatient and not careful. I'm finally sending off that newborn sweater and bootie/hat set before the kid is too big to wear them. I had to add an auntie label....

OMGGGG

2006-02-02T00:15:00.000-06:00

New Magknits is up. i love this hat! thank you grumperina!!

Thongs and robots

2006-01-30T22:28:00.000-06:00

So i was knitting like a mad woman yesterday for no reason except i couldn't sleep. now maybe i couldn't sleep b/c i was knitting so much...who knows. So this is what i was working on last night...and finished up today. This was my tester robot...meaning he will be for my cat. hahaah. i liked the colors i picked..i hate the yarn i picked. TLC something something....felt ok in the skein...felt like burlap when it's all knitted up and done. so i'm working on another one now....wool-ease. hoping to give to my friend's daughter. hehe. it was alot of fun to make. Pattern: jess Hutch's knitted robots Yarn Used: TLC crap Needle size: 6us (i screwed up...was suppose to use 8us..oops) Date started: 1/29/06 (530p) Date finished: 1/30/06 (3a) I really did like this pattern b/c i finally figured out intarsia. FINALLY!! a robot taught me how! hahaha. a robot also taught me how to love! jk. i think that is a line from a movie. So on Saturday, as i was watching Goodfellas on HBO..i was making THIS ***edit..he's found the blog somehow. my slip up. AAAH! There is a funny story behind it. well, not hilairous..but funny. So i have this friend...So...let's call him GJ (i don't want him to know i'm talking about him in the event he ever finds this blog). i've know GJ since high school. we've been good friends since then.. so we've been friends for about 15 years now. we've been on trips together, had many drunken nights together, just laughing and laughing. he's got a hialrious sense of humor. so when he found out how much i was knitting, he makes silly comments about how that's all i do now. he likes to ask for strange things. he saw a shawl i made out of Berroco Suede and he loved it. GJ said he wanted a pair of slippers made out of it. out of the question!! he has no idea. so i made him a scarf out of it. he still asks for the slippers all the time. i just ignore him. He doesn't understand that suede isn't to be used for slippers or whatever the hell he keeps bugging me for. Well, last month or so...he jokes about me knitting him a WOOL thong. a WOOL THONG. i go "eww...you know how itchy that would be in your crack???" he just goes "it'd be nice! come on...make me a thong!" well, he's mentioned it every phone conversation we have had...i was just all "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT!" i remembered the knitty thong and thought "that wouldn't take too long to make and it would be hilarious". I showed him the pattern one day when he was online. he started to crack up, then said "i expect that by the time my b-day rolls around." (his b-day is in march). so i made it. I told him if he wants me to make it, he has to put it on, take a picture, and SEND me the picture so i can laugh so hard that i'll go into convulsions. He laughed and semi-agreed. I think he thought i would never make it. i have to sew in the elastic band so it doesn't look so limp (YES..PUN INTENDED). i asked a few guys i know about this thong situation. they all looked at me like i was smoking crack. hahaha. they said it's weird that he would WANT something like that...even as pushy as he was joking about it. so my next post i should have a completed thong picture. lol I sent him a text message to his phone on Sat night as he was out on drunken stupor..i said "the thong is in progress." hahahaha. he called me and was all "I CAN"T BELIEVE YOU MADE IT..I JUST CAN"T BELIEVE IT!" yes...believe it. Da Purse Ho has nothing better to do w/ her time. what disturbed me the most about the thong pattern is the frequent use of the word POUCH. POUCH. as i was doing the short rows on the POUCh..i just keep seeing the word in my head...POUCH. pouch. pouch. ewwww..

Gong Hay Fat Choy!

2006-01-29T01:12:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!!!! Don't eat too much today!! hahah

Team SImpatico!

2006-01-28T03:05:00.000-06:00

A bunch of us at Simpatico Yarns are joining the Knitting Olympics (or plan to anyway!) and we decided to form TEAM SIMPATICO! The blog format is very simliar to mine. LOL sorry..i didn't have much time to make a new one...so i just slapped that on there. Join us if you'd like! We'll be listing what we are all making and such before the games begin.

what the freak is up w/ blogger?

2006-01-26T15:19:00.000-06:00

I've been trying for like an hour to post these pics of the finished baby sweater! it won't post!! AAAAARGH!! and blogger was down for like 9 hours yesterday? what the F? anyway..i finished the baby sweater to go w/ the hat and booties. :) Front Back I finished this right in the nick of time. I got a phone call from the daddy-to-be last night...."i'm a dad". hahahaaha. i can't wait to send these off. I think i'm going to add buttons today to it so baby won't have it all open if he's chilly in San Francisco. :) Details about sweater: Yarn used: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece Color: Olivette CW475 Needle size: 5's for neck, 7's for body Pattern source: The Portable Crafter book Date Started: Jan 23, 2006 Date Finished: Jan 25, 2006 I never used cotton fleece before...and lemme tell ya...I LOVE IT!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! so i went on ebay last night and bought as much as i could out there. lol . call it a sickness...i do.

Light sabers...or needles?

2006-01-25T13:39:00.000-06:00

In my last post, Aubyn asked for where the seller's website was. :) ebay....you can get it on eba-AAAAAAY!! CLick here for the seller's site... check this out too: HOW COOL IS THAT??? A LIGHTED DROP SPINDLE!!! :) I want to get some bigger needles...sigh. I shoud'nt have gotten the size 6's..i should have went for the 11's. :( (please don't mock the price i paid for them...i just wanted them for fun. hahaaha)

New stuffs.

2006-01-24T21:44:00.000-06:00

I got a new toy this week. this isn't a picture of me knitting...but this is a picture from the seller's website. aren't they freaking COOOOOL? I want more!! but they are a bit pricey. :) Novelty splurge! I've been working on a baby set of stuff for my friend's baby that is due within the next 2 weeks. I decided on a hat, booties and sweater set. I went to Simpatico on Sat (what else is new? HAHAH) . where Pat the Chat gave me a pattern she had written for a baby hat she had created. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the hat. so she gave me the pattern! Pat is such a lovely lady! i love her patterns when she creates them. She should sell them! anyway...here is a picture of the hat: I'm starting to hate my hat display here...it's got wire ends and it pulled on the bottom of the hat! AAAAH! NOOOO! Pom pom goodness Can you see the pattern? it's so cute! one of the girls said that the hat looked like a pine cone! haha . it's so cute. Thanks, Pat, for the pattern! I was getting tired of the same old hat Here are the matching booties. :) I'm making a matching cardigan to go with the green in the ribbon. It's way cute. pics will be posted when i'm done. Yarn used: Filati Biberon Yarn Color: Color 303 Needle size: size 2 US on both Pattern source: Hat...from Pat. haha. i don't have permission to post it here...but i can ask her if you are interested. :) Booties....Stay-On Booties pattern Date Started: Jan 21, 2006 (hat) Jan 22, 2006 (booties) Date Finished: Jan 22, 2006 (hat), Jan 24, 2006 (booties) This yarn was WONDERFUL to work with! WONDERFUL! i want some in eVERY color! hahahaah. I can't wait to send this off. I would love to do all this over again in another color for another boy or girl. :) there are a few colors to pick from....now i'm going to need to start hoarding Biberon. haahah I finally sent off my International Scarf Exchange scarf yesterday. I emailed my receipient and told her to look out for it. I don't trust international mail around here...and the scarf/hat were going to Singapore. So here is a pic of the hat I did. Basic 2 x 2 rib...nothing too fancy. Again...pom pom goodness. :) Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky Color: baby pink : color 3140 Pattern: 2 x 2 rib...figured out on my own. Amount of yarn used: about half a skein Needle Size: 13us Date started: Jan 15, 2006 Date Finished: Jan 15, 2006

Another Meme!

2006-01-19T19:40:00.000-06:00

As if you didn't know me already, here's another bit about me that you can read and laugh about. I was tagged by the lovely Ruth! Four jobs you have had in your life:

Audiologist - I test newborns' hearing the day after they are born. (I LOVE IT)
Baby Photographer - I took newborn photos at the hospital...FUN job, evil boss, crap pay.
Technical Writer - I wrote technical manuals for a cell phone repair center. Kind of crappy...but I got paid alot!! hahaah.
Technical support team leader - I headed tech support for 3 consecutive and different ISP's (when dialup was cool). One of the worst jobs I ever had....people go nuts when they don't understand computers, nor understand how to use the Internet. But I learned alot working at all these places.

Four movies you could watch over and over:

When Harry Met Sally
So I Married An Axe Murderer
Love, Actually
Napoleon Dynamite

Four places you have lived: (I've never lived outside of Texas)

El Paso, TX
Arlington, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Bedford, TX

Four tv shows you love to watch: (I love so much tv....this is the top 4 I can think of)

Grey's Anatomy
My Name Is Earl
The Office (US version)
Scrubs

Four places you have been on vacation:

Family locales (Toronto, Hong Kong, Guam)
Chicago
Arizona (Tuscon, Phoenix)
California (LA, San Francisco, San Jose)

Four websites you visit daily:

Gmail
My usual blog subscriptions
Ebay
IMDB

Four of your favorite foods:

Chow Fun
Dim Sum (Lo Bak Go, Cherng Fun, Cha Siu So....and so many more)
Pasta
Soup (almost any kind) and Sanwiches

Four places you would rather be right now:

Simpatico w/ my gals - or just hanging w/ my buddies
Toronto w/ my family
Getting a pedicure and knitting
in a strange way, El Paso..it's home.

Four Bloggers you are tagging: I dont know if my friends will do the meme. hahaa. you dont have to if you don't want to....and i can't remember if you have this on your blog already...sorry if you do. :)

What now?

2006-01-19T00:12:00.000-06:00

I finished my International Scarf Exchange stuffs. hehe. hat and scarf. the hat didn't take long to make....around an hour? it helps the yarn was chunky monkey. haha. it is just a basic 2x2 rib hat. nothing special. i did make a super fluffy pompom for the top. Pics later...i didn't feel like taking pics today. So i can't wait to send it off. hehe. i have to send it out of the country. I guess i could send it this week. I want to make another ruffles and ribs scarf for Simpatico as a store sample. it was so super easy to do and so satifying. Another friend is having a baby...due in 3 weeks. I predict she pops in a week. hahah. so i'm working on another blanket for them and a pair of booties. The blanket is a basic basketweave blanket. i thought i dug the yarn i picked out at Hobby Lobby this week...but the more I knit with it, the more i hate it. sigh. i wonder if i should just stop now. The booties are fun to make. they are so fast and quick. hahaa. pictures later. The new Interweave Knits preview is out! I saw lots of stuff based on the pictures that I want to make... I really dig the Sunrise Circle Jacket. I wonder if someone as chunky as me can wear it. I like the Trelis Scarf! it's so light and purty! Wobble Circles Tote grabs my eye. there are 2 sets of fingerless mitts in the issue too. OOOh..i can't wait to see it. On a funny note...Bot-Gurl and I had lunch today at that same Korean restaurant w/ the fish heads. hahaa. after I ate all my sides and started on my entree...i realized how insane i looked w/ NO side items and just rice and Bulgolgi to eat. I could feel her eyes on my plate and hear her thinking "there go those sides...just meat now". hahahaa. damn!!

My scarf is done...it's a one skein wonder!

2006-01-16T01:17:00.000-06:00

I finished my International Scarf Exchange scarf today. :) it's extremely cute! thanks to Bot-Gurl for showing me the pattern. (careful..it's a pdf). i luuurv me some free patterns!! I need to make a matching hat...i need to figure out the pattern for a hat in the round. It's so cute! i want to make another one! :) Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky Color: baby pink : color 3140 Pattern: Free Ribs and Ruffles Scarf on Misti website. Amount of yarn used: ONE SKEIN!! WHOO HOOOOOOO!! Needle Size: 13us Date started: Jan 10, 2006 Date Finished: Jan 15, 2006 it didn't really take me 5 days of knitting. i started it then stopped for a few days to work on the booties done in the previous post. :) i hope my recipient likes it.

Bootie Call!

2006-01-15T01:17:00.000-06:00

My friend who I made the baby blanket for invited me over for a visit to see the new baby and to say hi to big brother who i hadn't seen in a while. So I made some baby booties for the wee tyke. They were TOO HUGE! (this will teach me to always do a gauge swatch) but oh well..she can always grow into them. I was going to make a smaller pair...but i felt a bit frustrated at this point. 5-needle baby booties are a pain in the butt to juggle around.....and i didn't feel like doing the math to figure out how to make a pair that would fit her perfect...and only fit her for about a month. hehehe. But i do LOVe this pattern. The booties come out really cute. I'm not too fond of the 2 needle booties at this point b/c they always come out so loose, so wonky, and so huge. Pattern: Stay-On Booties Yarn used: Mexican Wave Color 02 Needle Size : 1US Date Started: Jan 11, 2006 Date Finish: Jan 13, 2006 I also made a label for the pinwheel blanket I made for her. tee-hee.

I'm weird. Are you weird too?

2006-01-11T15:57:00.000-06:00

Curse you, NanC for tagging me. hahahahahaa. oh well...these are fun to read. :) hopefully mine won't give you a peek into my psychosis. ***Ground Rules: The first player of this "game" starts with the topic "5 weird habits of yours" and people who get tagged need to write a blog entry about their 5 quirky habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next 5 people to be tagged and list their names.*** I've got a ton of weird habits. One friend says that you can write a text book on me. :O NO WAY! but i do have weirdness...who doesn't? it's just a matter of picking the things to expose to the world. But here goes:

Shopping. It's no secret I love to shop. But HOW i shop is my secret. I often go shopping alone b/c i cannot stand how normal people shop. My brother is the only that understands I think about this b/c he shops the exact same way. hahaah. Oh...so what I do is....when i go to the mall. I have to end where I started. AND..i have to go through the mall in a clockwise motion. a perfect example is Grapevine Mills Mall. it's layout is round...which is one reason why it's one of my favorites. I start at Entry 1..i go clockwise...looking at everything...walking...once I pass Entry 6, i know i'm almost done. I rarely cut through the short cuts, I rarely backtrack. If i go off track, i get very confused and upset. Malls w/ a Y-shape layout really throw me off...but the clockwise pattern WILL work at those places if you make it work! At grocery stores and other stores w/ aisles (Target), I do something a BIT different. I do a COUNTER CLOCKWISE move all the way around the store. I start at the beginning point. then i continue to go through every aisle until i hit the end of the store. then it's time to go.
Knitting. i LOVE to block things. I love to block blankets, scarves, sweaters, etc. I have a huge blocking board and blocking wires. Everything looks SO perfect after you block Lace shawls looks sooo incredible after they are blocked. it's like MAGIC!! I like to put fringe on scarves (sick i know). And i like to weave in ends. EEEEEK.
Eating. Bot-Gurl witnessed and noticed this for the first time yesterday. I love corn, but i hate eating it on the cob. it's messy and weird. So i shave off all the corn off the cob w/ a knife...then i mix in the butter until it's mostly melted. then and only then, will i eat it. me likes butter w/ my corn.
Sleeping. When i wake up in the morning, if i'm not late already, it takes me about 30 min to wake up. I like laying in bed and just thinking about things as I drift in and out of sleep. and usually about 15 min before i'm absolutely up..i start rubbing my feet together. and i don't rub them like i'm starting a fire. I'm just rubbing them together i guess to help me wake up in the morning...get the blood flowing to the feet. i don't know why i do that.
General. As obsessed i am with order and placement of things...my apartment is a bloody mess. I just have lots of clothes and paper everywhere...nothing gross. but it shocks people when they come over...so people aren't allowed to come over. hahaha.

OMg..i've exposed my soul. I've been told i need to tag 5 people. I don't think i know enough people. hahah. they've all been tagged already. so i'll tag THREEEEEE . You must join me.....i tag:

Dont' hate me too much, ladies. :)

Finally some pictures!

2006-01-09T11:27:00.000-06:00

I'm finally feeling ok enough to sit at my desk and edit/upload some pictures. :) So here is what i've got.... So before Christmas, i was working on a sweater for a guy that helped me move some things around. I offered to buy him dinner as a thank you, he asked for a sweater as a thank you/Christmas gift. i guess he forgot my stand on Christmas gifts for adults...but whatever. i didn't mind making one. yea yeah...i know...im' dumb. Pattern: Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits Sweater (I made a couple of changes....ribbed the bottom instead of the st. st roll) Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease chunky: 4.5 skeins total (He loved how it felt. i kept saying it felt like burlap in my hands) Needle size: 10.5 I should have made the sweater longer. It fit him PERFECT...but i guess he likes his clothes longer. And i don't like the collar. it looked weird to me. it was fine with him. so it's DONE! Next....a baby blanket. My friend was having her 2nd child (a girl) in Jan...around the 9th or 10th. So I got back from Canada and thought...i got time. So i started the blanket on Jan 1st. On Jan 2nd, i got the announcement email that the baby was born EARLY!! on Dec 27th! ACK! I can't go visit empty handed...so i made sure to only knit on the blanket. i was shocked that i was finished by Jan 5th. Now the blanket IS a bit small...but she's a newborn. she won't care. :) Pattern: Pinwheel blanket Yarn: Encore Chunky: 2 skeins of pink, 1/3rd of a skein of yellow for the trim. Needle size: 10us It came out like a hat when i was finished. i was really worried b/c i was going to steam block it. i got worried and then just ended up soaking it and washing it...then blocking it after it was completely wet and i got it to flatten out; not so pointy in the middle like a big hat. blocking works miracles! The other day when i had lunch w/ Bot-Gurl...we ate Korean food. yum yum yum. And for those of you who don't know...they give you this little buffet of little things to eat before your food comes out. does'nt this all look so tasty? We got a dish of little sardines w/ the heads still on them. i dont eat things w/ heads on them. i dont mind they are on the table...i don't mind them loooking at me. that doesn't bother me. i can't fathom the idea of eating an eyeball. i think it's nasty. i've seeen my parents, grandparents suck on fish heads and chicken heads..i always thought it was funny. but for SOME reason...when they eat the eyeball, i always wanted to throw up. So Bot-Gurl kept daring me to eat one. i was all NO NO NO NO! I can't i can't! i don't care how small the eye ball is. I can't eat crawdaddys b/c of that either. that and they taste like dirt to me. ;) hahah. so we took pics of the fishies instead. can you see them? How about now? close up! EWWWW!! EYEES!!!!!!!!!! And FINALLY...i got my International Scarf Exchange scarf in the mail yesterday. I wanted to post about this yesterday, but i wasn't up for editing and uploading pics. why is that diff. from surfing? i dunno....i just know it wasn't happening yesterday. hahaha. but anyway...THANK YOU SCARF PAL!!! i love it! they are SOOO my colors!! Getting this so early (deadline is Feb 15th) made me realize i need to get cracking on making MY recipients' stuff! EEK!

i was so bored

2006-01-08T21:04:00.000-06:00

In my quest to squelch my boredom, i did ALOT of web surfing..mor so than usual. i never realized how satisfying it is to use the laptop in bed. i guess since i got enough rest today....no chances of me falling asleep. hahaah. ANyway...i was looking for free patterns online when i saw THISSSSS..... Magic loop for 2 socks...that's right....TWO SOCKS on ONE circular needle!!! this is something i MUST MUST MUST MUST DO!!!! I also saw The Panta pattern. Wanna Panta...dontcha wanna panta.... another must do for my list....

I'mb so sick

2006-01-08T12:08:00.000-06:00

So on Fri, Bot-Gurl and I had some lunch, then met up at Simpatico later to knit, got a pedicure and had some dinner. I told her at lunch my allergies were killing me...b/c i felt like my sinuses were crushing my face. well, at Simpatico, my nose was running like a faucet. it was pretty nasty. pedicure...my nose was dripping. Dinner, my nose was dripping. After dinner, she said "dude, i think you're sick" hahahaha. I went to work on Sat...w/ a mask on my face. I didn't want the new moms thinking i coughed all over their babies. i went home at 1130a...and went straight to bed. i laid in bed w/ horrible hallucinations and waking up crying until i finally woke up around 630p. i think i had a fever. well, a friend took me to CareNow and they checked my temp (101.2F..EEEK), stuck a q-tip up my nose and asked me a bunch of questions. It was declared i had the flu after they "tested" the q-tip. i was sent home w/ a script and $180 less on my AMEX card. freaking $180!! you know how much yarn that can buy????? hahhah i went home and took tylenol, antibiotics (i had a bunch at home..i wans't filling that script! would have cost me $200!), and i slept ALOT. i felt 100% better by midnight. i woke up this morning feeling way better, but i'm still all stuffed up and coughing. I"m supposed to take a gloves class at Simpatico w/ Joel. I don't think he'll let me in if i'm hacking and wheezing. Plus i dind't finish my gauge swatch! i was so sick i didn't even want to knit or sit online! that means i'm like on my deathbed! hahaha. I was going to go to the Dallas SNB after the class too. but i don't think people will appreciate me being there...i dont' want to spread the disease. sigh.

Resolutions!!

2006-01-02T12:52:00.000-06:00

I stole this list format from another blog...but i liked it so much i thought i would use it. hahahahahaha My 2006 List of TO-DOs and TO-DON'Ts Money Things:

Eat out less
Buy smart, not impulsively
Deposit money into savings account each paycheck.
Stop buying stuff that I don't need.
Realize i don't need EVERY single skein of yarn I see
Sell all the stuff i've been swearing to sell off since I moved into my apt. I have sh*tloads of scrapbook and stamping supplies i need to sell off!

The Size Of My Ass:

Exercise until I sweat every day
Don't eat starches and sugar as told to me by my Jong Yee
Eat more vegetables.
Drink more water.
Get clothes that fit and flatter
Cook at home more often.
Quit sitting in front of the tv so much...work out in front of the tv!

Personal Good Stuff:

Laugh more often
Relax more....Do'nt let things bother me so much on the inside.
Stop procrastinating. Just stop it already.
Take better care of my skin
LOSE WEIGHT
Learn to enjoy going outside
Take the time to brush my teeth longer and use my waterpik everyday.
Do a clean sweep my home every day a little bit at a time rather than doing nothing everyday
Do something fun on my birthday rather than sulk about how no one remembered my birthday.
See my family more often

Practical:

Make more money
Finish schooling
Don't be late to work anymore
Appreciate the things I have and quit wanting more STUFF!
Try to look at the positive things in life rather than all the negative. Truly look at the positive...not just for show.
Figure out ways to drive less and save money on gas, maintenance, etc.

Knitting:

Make something my mom can wear in hot Texas.
Make a handmade gift for every friend I truly like this year.
Quit buying so much YARN!
Quit buying so many needles. I have ENOUGH!
Make the plunge and do the patterns I felt were "hard" previously. I think I've advanced enough this year.
Make some socks!!! I have ooodles of sock yarn!
Make something for myself that is nice and cozy and makes people go "OOOOOH".
Maybe get the heck out of Texas so i can wear all these knitted items! hahah jk

Finally... The Not-To-Do List:

Quit saying "YES" to everything people ask me to do. Say no once in a while.
Time is sparse, life if short. Don't waste it on useless things, people, memories, obligations.
Don't worry about stuff I can't change anyway.
Don't expect other people to live by my values.
Don't compromise my values for anyone.
Don't minimize success.

Happy new year!! i'm back from Canada!

2006-01-01T18:12:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!! I'm back from my family trip to Canada. It was very nice. very nice and cold...just like i like it. but no snow! it snowed right before we arrived on Christmas Day..and it snowed on New Year's EVe...before we left. BOOO. i had to hang out w/ my family alot, which was nice. but they aren't fun to go yarn shopping with!! but here is a breakdown of what i got to do... 27th: I finally got to go yarn shopping. I went to Romni wools and went as crazy as I could for the sale. there were soo many people there that i couldn't really shop. plus my brother and my mom went with me...and they weren't too happy to be waiting around while i was shopping. so i had to hurry. But i scored some Manos, Gems, hemp yarn, Lang, and Regia in Canadian colors. I also got a bunch of Daisy Crystal Palace double point needles and a Dale pattern book. I did like Romni Wools ALOT. it was STUFFFFFFFED full of yarn. my gawd..i've never seen a store so full of fibers. it was two stories ....top floor full of people, yarn, notions, needles, bags, and patterns. FULL! and on the bottom floor was tons of cones and cones of yarn...and fleece for spinning. there were so many ppl in that store. i was impressed and overwhelmed. it was FULL of stuff i have never seen before. I wanted to get a little bit of everything i can't get here...but there was no way that was happening as i didn't have enough money to buy everything. ;) some lady in front of me spent $2k on wool and stuff. i didn't even see what she had....when the cashier said the total, i thought that lady was going to faint. hAHAHAH. didn't stop her though! what a trooper!! The people there were sooo busy..i think they were a bit..uptight w/ everyone. no one was really too kind or anything...but this was a crazy situation...so i understand. i think if i had gone in another time, people probably would have been nicer. Who knows. i might be wrong. hahaha. 29th: Went to The Knit Cafe and took all their Koigu yarn. it was glorious. Koigu is very rare in these parts....so i scored alot of it. It was hilarious. My aunt, brother and my two little cousins were in the car w/ me. My aunt was freaking out as we drove out there b/c apparently, this store is across the street from the looney bin. So she was scared. My brother waited in the van w/ my two cousins, so i had to hurry in and grab. not fun. but oh well. I got 15 skeins of Koigu. I'm pleased. i walked in and grabbed...and brought the yarn up to pay. the guy at the counter (who was very nice) said "is there anything else you want besides all our koigu?" HAHAHAHAHA. hilarious! he had alot of good stuff there. I didn't have a good chance to look around...which i regret. The store was very cute, and warm and inviting. there were people there knitting...mainly kids which made me happy to see. it was a dreary day outside...such a nice day to knit. Everyone there was very nice and i'm sad i didn't get to spend more than 10 min there. outside of the store, some man was screaming obsenities to everyone walking by. we think he escaped from the looney bin across the street. hahahaha I drove by Passioknits..i desperately wanted to stop in...but that wasn't happening. I didn't get to hit Lettuce Knit. I really wanted to go there. My friend Mary told me that Yarn Harlot frequents there. I was hoping to see her and get her autograph and a photo with her. oh well. she wasn't at the romni Wools sale... I did see a small yarn shop inside of first Markham center...a predominantly Asian shopping centre. i stopped in for 1 min...but my cousin's wife and my brother weren't too happy about me stopping in there. plus all the ladies knitting in there stopped knitting and watched me in an eerie way. i saw japanese pattern books i so desperately wanted to look at...but oh well. i hate shopping w/ family sometimes. ;)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

2005-12-24T23:32:00.000-06:00

Isn't my little baby sooo cute????? As NanC would say...she's so sweet, she could give you a cavity!! I"ve been knitting like a mad woman to try to finish everything for the holidays. and guess what. i set out to make scarves for my whole family...i forgot to make ME ONE!! AHHHH!! my neck is going to freeze :) I'm making scarves for the family for our trip to the land of Canada. I can't wait. im' thinking maybe my dad doesn't want to use a scarf. LOL. i can snag his. hahaa. i can't find my cashmere scarf that i bought from Banana Republic 4 years ago. grrrrr.... so i'll be AWOL for a few days...

happy holidays everyone!

ewwww..people have TOO much time on their hands...

2005-12-20T23:57:00.000-06:00

A knitted digestive tract. freaking nasty. some people have too much time on their hands. http://www.strangebuttrewe.com/knitGI.htm

my hands hurt..... hahahahah i hate the holidays!

2005-12-19T20:01:00.000-06:00

Bot-Gurl and I went to see Brokeback Mountain last night. it was SOOO GOOD! This is one of the best movies i have ever seen. It was really shocking, funny-shocking, sad, happy, emotional. I understand what all the buzz is about....even though everyone is buzzing about the gay love scenes. i was really impressed w/ Heath Ledger's performance. He needs an Oscar nod. I would love to see this movie again. I"m just lucky Bot-Gurl wanted to see it too...or else i would have been forced to watch it solo. We went to a theater in dallas b/c that is one of the only places showing it around here. it was SOLD OUT!! for like 2 hours! so we had to wait until like 830p last night to watch it. i got home so late. hhehe. before we got there, i was parking in the parking garage which was really full of people. long story short..i was waiting for a parking spot and some @!@#*#*$ fool swooped in and took it. Bot-Gurl was ANGRY. i was too..i was screaming obsenities. but as we walk down...those jackasses that took my spot actually started to harass my friend for giving them a dirty look! omg..i was so pissed. she was all "let's key their car!" no no...i cannot vandalize. i wanted to...but man. word to all of you out there...you better be polite and don't steal parking spots!! we cooked up alot of ways to get even the next time this happens. I should have written down their license plate number so i could track it and then egg the car later. that would have been awesome. i was too mad to think clearly. i finally started and finished all the christmas shoping i was going to do. today was a bad day to even try to start shopping. sigh. oh well. i'm done. stick a fork in it! i have a horrid headache. i need to make my dad's scarf. i should make one for myself...but at this point i'm thinking..i dont need a scarf. LOL. i need to finish a sweater i have been working on for a while. i wantd to have it done by christmas. it might happen. i might cheat on my dad's scarf and use the wonderful sew easy knitting machine for his. hahaha. but i'm almost done w/ the front of the sweater i was working on...and i need to do the sleeves and i'm done. i think i can do it. whew. i hate the holidays!!

another santa hat?

2005-12-18T01:04:00.000-06:00

I showed my friend a pic of my santa hat and she LOVED IT! then she goes "can you make Kaitlyn one too?" hahahaha of course i can!! it didnt take long...about 4 hours if that. no frantic knitting either...just chillin'. heheh my mannequin is in the car.....it's too cold to go outside and get it to see if it fits. it fits. if it's too big...oh well. heheeh she can grow into it. she has a pretty good sized head. ;) i had to make another tag for this hat. she was the recipient of one of the gifts w/ tags in them back in the summer...and man they LOVED LOVED LOVED the tag!! so i had to do it again. ;) Bot-Gurl is back in town! YAY~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i missed her so much. she got back and we immediately went to fill a craving for pho. mmmm..it was EXTRA tasty tonight. sooooo gooood. i want more. hahahaah. i'm glad she's back. life around here isn't fun w/o her. we're gonna see Brokeback Mountain tomorrow. YAY!!! i can't wait! i'm so excited!

pom pom added!

2005-12-16T20:46:00.000-06:00

I added the big fat pompom. my santa hat is SOO cute. :) take a peek. i'm going to be a BIG hit at work on Christmas eve/day!

I have ALOT of yarn left over...so i'm going to make one for my mom. i think she is going to want one once she sees mine when we meet up at the airport on christmas day.

Here i have included a picture of my new glasses. so far i'm happy w/ them. it's been like 2 years since i got new specs...so i'm excited. and i went w/ something a bit different this time.

My arms...my freaking arms!

2005-12-16T04:15:00.000-06:00

Started: Thurs night at 945p finished: LATE thurs night....4am (technically Friday). this took me SIX hours to make. pattern: Handknit Holidays Yarn: 1 skein Brown Sheep Burly Spun, 1 skein Cascade 220. I didn't even use the entire skein of either one. i think i'm going to make another hat for my mama. Well, it's not FINISHED. i need to make the pompom. i think my pompom maker is in the car. And it's too cold to go outside and get it...and it's too late. pompom will have to wait till da morning. pompoms don't take long to make. less than 10 min. i need a gigantic pompom!!! but dammit. i finished the body and did the damn bobbles. I think i hate bobbles. they were hurting my arms. ;) my arms my arms. i forgot i have to work in the morning at 730a and i have all this other crap to do. sigh. stupid me. i like my santa hat though! i can't wait till christmas eve and day to wear it!

Harry Potter.

2005-12-15T23:44:00.000-06:00

What is this?

Harry Potter bookmark scarf! (click on the link to get the free pattern) isn't it cute? i'm done! it's a gift for my friend Joseph for christmas. well, a part of his gift. he's a big harry potter fan and he loves that i knit...i figure combine both .:) I hope he likes it. it's made out of DMC pearl cotton. :) cheap and easy@ i was looking for a scarf pattern in HandKnit holidays and VOILA! i felt the need to make the santa hat that is inside. i have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...so i thought it would be nice if i could wear this hat at work! WHOO-HOO! i don't have any blue sky alpaca...the closeest store I know that has it ..i wasn't near it. So i am sub-ing the Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky for Brown Sheep Burly Spun in creme color. and i'm using Cascade 220 for the red part of the hat. :) here is what someone else's hat looks like....

isn't it cute??? i can't wait till mine is done! I got new glasses today. tell me what you think...i picked them out while BLIND at the store. :)

just a tease....

2005-12-14T00:29:00.000-06:00

Jodi, this is for you. i think i finished going thru all the pics and cleaning stuff up. ;) here is a tease for you.....

it's christmas time....

2005-12-12T22:41:00.000-06:00

yesterday we had the annual Simpatico christmas party. It was BIG fun!! i had alot of laughs, had too much to eat and got some good LOOT! :) Ms. Martin hosted the gala for us this year. THank you, Billie! we had alot of fun, alot of laughs. i took a few pictures. :) Look at all these handmade gifts!!! so wonderful! (mine are the ones w/ purty bows on them. i perfected my bow making technique this week! hahaha) The candy bekons us.... mmmmmm...PANERA bread!!! crackers and some yummy toppings. DEVILED eggs and queso. and coffee. mmmm. Our gracious co-host, Miss Gabby. Look at these pants. These were pants knitted by our late and great Diana. We found this in her stash after she passed last year. and we thought they were a HOOOT!! janice fit them perfectly and we said she had to wear them at the christmas party. we had forgotten all about them until she walked in wearing them. hAHHAAHAH. aren't they a hoot?? Here are some of the handmade gifts we made on their recipients. Joel is here showing off his soon-to-be glove. Joel was our one and only very very brave man at the party. ;) A wonderful purple hat. ;) Kathy and her Baby Bobbi Bear. I made this bear...b/c i thought it was adorable. Kathy and I started at the same time. My intention was to make it to help her w/ the process. but she's had some things to do at home and hasn't been able to go to the store as often as she had been. and she complains about never finishing that bear for her niece. SO i gave it to her just in case she wanted to give it to her niece. no way. she is KEEPING it for HERSELF. hahaah i'm glad she liked it. i had originally put it in the hand made pile and hoped that she would get it. and i told her that...and she goes "why don't you just hand it to me? *evil grin*" yeah! why not! so i did. hahahahaha. i'm so glad she likes it. isn't this the coolest water bottle holder? i want to make one now!! Here is Trish knitting on her socks. there was alot of knitting going on at the party. hahahaa. here is the other scarf I made. i made this in the summer w/ my toy knitting machine. it was a big hit. i'm glad the things i brought were liked. i was a bit nervous. this is just a few of the pics i took. it was alot of fun and i'm glad i dind't miss the party this year like i ALMOST did last year and like i did 2 years ago, b/c my friend is usually in town the weekend the party is held. heheh Jodi and Benjamin got married on sat. I have to still look through and touch up some of the pics....but it was a beautiful wedding. Jodi and Benjamin look so happy.

i wonder how you do the voodoo that you do....

2005-12-10T00:16:00.000-06:00

I finished the Voodoo wrist warmers today! I was further along than i thought. i'm lucky my arms and hands are short. lol Jodi and Benjamin get married tomorrow. I went to the wedding rehearsal to do some candids of the rehearsal and to sort of prepare for the big day. I"m a bit nervous...but i'm so happy for them. everyone in their family is so nice! but i'm sure they are ready for this day to be over with. hehehee. it always amazes me how stressful weddings are. I'm always behind the scenes, doing favors, flowers, etc. and i never think it's stressful. but #1) i've never been through this myself. #2) it's never MY money that is spent on these things. hehehe. i know those 2 facts make a big difference. when my big day comes (if ever)....vegas style, baby. VEGAS. :) My cousin got married at the Bellagio...tha'ts the way i want to go too. quick, easy, cheaper and amazing photos on the Bellagio grounds. that's all i want. awesome photos. lol

my secret pal ROCKS....and it's cold here in freagggin tx

2005-12-07T20:10:00.000-06:00

My secret pal sent me a lovely lovely package today! she's so awesome! she's been a GREAT secret pal!

thank you, SECRET PAL! i love you! hahaha.

it's cold here in Tx. not like 50 degrees cold...like below freezing cold. it's weird. it was sleeting today. when things like that happen here, the world as we know it here STOPS. it's kind of stupid really. granted, i dont like driving in snow and sleet. i dont know how. but i hate watching tv b/c the news today had 5 hours of emergency STORM coverage. what's to talk about? people...stay home unless you HAVE to leave! what? there is ice on the ground? shoot...i knew that already! what? don't drive on the overpasses and bridges? DUH. if you don't know that, you deserve to wreck on one if you are speeding along at 80 mph. earlier today when i was driving home, i was driving on the highway at like 45mph. i'm surprised people weren't passing me left and right...b/c usually people will skid on by all pissed off. anyway...i started a pair of Voodoo wrist warmers yesterday at 1p. i finished the first one by 5p. whoo-hoo! but..i've got 2nd sock syndrome right now. i started the other one last night...didn't feel like knitting it. i got a bit sleepy last night after i took a hot bath...so i went to bed at like midnight. but in between the time i got home and then..i didn't want to knit on them. i'm bored. i really have to learn and master double trouble. I asked someone at Simpatico to teach me how to do them. She didn't really show me how. i'm one of those people that has to sometimes be shown things if i dont get it by reading the directions. well, i know how to knit the two at the same time. that is fine. i need to master the casting-on process. someone told me just to cast on and knit an inch on dbl points..and then put both socks on the 2 circs and knit dbl trouble. which is fine. but i am bothered by the fact that i can't just cast on and knit both. WHY CAN"T I DO THIS?? hahaha. it's a challenge now.

These pics are w/ flash and w/o. the colors are really pretty. this is a yarn given to me by a friend at Simpatico. It's some yarn she got on ebay. i don't know the details. :) you can see how bad my 2nd sock syndrome is. hAHAHAHH

jumping jumping....

2005-12-03T22:24:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the high temp in DFW was 60 degrees. TODAY...the high temp was 89F. EIGHTY-NINE. EIGHT-NINNNNNEEEEEEEEE. how is that possible in DECEMBER!??!?! then tomorrow...51F is the high. It didn't even feel like 89F today. Something is wrong w/ the world when the temps flux like that. Today was a fun day at Simpatico. Everyone was excited about Mary Jane being on the interweave press website. I went to the container store today (EVIL PLACE)...and i was looking around and i saw a nice bucket that is a dry cat food container. the last time i saw this stupid thing..it was $40. who needs a $40 bucket? NOT A CAT!!! anyway..it was on clearance and it was marked down to $15. i can't turn down a deal...so i was looking for it. and i saw the sample...but i wanted it inside of a box. my dilemma...the boxes were on the high shelves. so i tried and tried and tried to use this scoop thing to bring the boxes toward me to make sure i got the purple cat bucket. what do you know..me using that scoop just make me push the #$@#@ boxes back further. There was markings on the sides of the boxes to let you know what you were getting. SOOO..i started jumping. jumping up up up to see if i could see the markings on the freagggin boxes. jumping jumping jumping....FINALLY...this guy comes up. he looks at me jumping...and he goes "do you want me to help you?" Me: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU....can you see if any of these are the cat bucket? he checked them all for me (there had to be like 15!)...and he goes "nope...none are the cat bucket". Me: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...you saved me! now b/c of all that freaking jumping...my back is killing me. i'm so pathetic and dumb.

My dear friend, Mary Jane

2005-12-03T01:03:00.000-06:00

Look at what i saw today.... http://www.interweave.com/knit/events/scarfstyle/scarfstyle_winners.asp I talked about this after she won. Mary Jane won the DFW knit out crochet scarf contest! scroll down to see her creation. :) i'm so proud of her!

I'm a selfish mother****

2005-11-28T01:59:00.000-06:00

I'm so selfish. I should have made a list of things here that I am thankful for. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. not b/c of the food, but b/c of the reason behind the season. it's not too cold, it's not hot...it's my favorite time of year. i love it! here are 15 things I am thankful for:

My family. I love my brother and my parents w/ all my heart and I am so glad they are in my life. Even though my parents drive me nuts, i'm so glad for everything they do for me.
My cats Poopy and Sassy. They are my little children. (Poopy is more of my mom's kid now though).
My friends. For those of you I talk to, thanks for being my friend. You mean so much to me.
The support of my friends and family for my decision of changing my career. It's hard to keep going when people constantly critize you for making that choice.
My jong yee for helping with my health and turning everything around for the better.
I have a job that i love and love going to.
I have been very fortunate this year to have not been seriously injured in the car accidents I had this year.
I'm thankful that insurance covered all my accidents this year.
I'm thankful to be as fortunate as i am in life in general. I should never take that for granted.
I'm thankful for the many times I can see my family every year.
I'm thankful for cell phones and IM b/c i can talk to my family and friends every day.
I"m thankful for TIVO/PVR.
I'm thankful for the internet.....everyday i am thankful for the internet.
I'm thankful for life.
I'm thankful for Simpatico Yarns. The friendships i have formed there...i am forever grateful for. And i'm thankful for the addictions i have formed there. MaryJane could also be considered a crack-dealer. ;) I don't think i would have picked up knitting again the way i did w/o the people at this store. thanks for being there for me, guys.

Happy (belated) thanksgiving everyone.

thanksgiving day!

2005-11-24T19:08:00.000-06:00

so i am back in EP visiting my parents. and the first day i was already going crazy. i'm lucky my friend called me and asked me if i wanted to go out. i had to get out of the house. it was like non-stop nagging since i walked in. so i went out and had too much to drink last night. ugh. i felt like total crap today. a lady that is a friend of our family insisted on cooking and bringing it to our house so thanksgiving could be here. i think her house is being redone..id unno. point is...my mom WAS NOT cooking (AAAAAAAAAH!) and this lady was cooking. we have a bit of history w/ this lady. she CANNOT cook. my mom...she cooks like a goddess. so my brother and i threw a fit when we found out my mom wasnt' cooking. but she's too nice. said "let lady have her 'glory'." WHATEVER! this lady CANNOT COOK!! i'm not kidding. one year we went to her house for thanksgiving and she gave us mashed potatoes. yeah....they were the consistency of melted ice cream. i was all :O ...and sooo grossed out. there were other items on the table that were not edible. my brother and i just sat ther and said 'we are still full from lunch, sorry". and we made our mom cook something when we got home. hahaha so today...it was the same thing. how can anyone F UP mashed potatoes????? i saw the waterey consistency....i even stirred them to give them a chance...i just stared at them in shock and horror. surely by now....you would think...she would have an idea that this sucks ass? i've even insisted on bringing mashed potatoes before and she was all "OOH..so fluffy!" that's right! F-L-U-F-F-Y. not freaking watery and nasty. F-L-U-F-F-Y. then she made LAMB. i like lamb and all...but not the way she did it. i was pretty grossed out. my brother just sat there all dumbfounded. my mom made soup...so we ate ALOT of soup. i guess that made us sleepy. this woman even screwed up the pumpkin pie. she brought it over...and asks me..."is pumpkin pie supposed to be this watery?" WATERY?? i dont know what it is w/ this woman. EVERYTHING is watery!!! so i look at the pumpkin pie. it's got a crust..but the middle...total gooey liquid. i go 'how long you cook this?" she told me some random number of hour/minutes. i go "did you make this or buy at the store?" she made it. it was so gross. i go "you didn't cook it long enough". she asks how long she should put it in the oven for. PUT IT BACK? you can't put it back!! aaah! so my mom put it back int he over to be nice. "shhh...just show her how bad she screwed up." AAAAH!! i wake up from a little nap and i see my dad and mom munching on some pumpkin pie. they are too kind. my brother and i don't give a crap if company is here...we ended up napping and wishing my mom made lunch. hahahahaha I saw this on someone's blog and i thought of various friends of mine at Simpatico and myself. hehehehe. isn't it hliiarous??

Knitting for charity...and knitting for my brother. :)

2005-11-22T22:51:00.000-06:00

Mary Jane at Simpatico Yarns asked me to post this on my blog...and i'm always happy to do so. Simpatico is sponsoring Hats for Humanity. This is a project for all of us to knit hats for the homeless. It's for Fort Worth Day Resource Center. Mary Jane will donate a skeing of Encore...in any color you pick...in exchange for one hat. A skein of Encore will make 2 hats (jsut your basic basic hat). You don't have to turn in 2 hats...just 1. But if you would like to give 2...feel free. This is a great way to do something great for the holidays. All it will cost you is time. Please feel free to stop by the shop or call/email Mary Jane for more information about it. All hats are due by Dec. 13th. Please reach down into your hearts and put your skills to great use. :) ======================== I finished my brother's scarf. I got alot of complements on it (hehe. thank you thank you). And i think it came out nice. I took pics of it before i blocked it. but here it is....i hope he likes it. I think the chunkiness of the yarn made the seed stitches really nice. i hope the teal blue at the end doesn't make this look girly. LOL Bot-Gurl said...and i quote "you did this all in seed stitch??? MAN...you must LUVVVVVV your brother!" hahahaha

Info: Needle size: 10 1/2 Yarn: Debbie Bliss Superchunky Cashmerino Amt: 2.5 skeins of chocolate brown, 1/5 skein of teal blue.

I just randomly casted on 20 sts and did a bunch of swatches (1x1 rib, 2x2 rib, 3x1 rib, seed) and i liked the seed stitch best, by far. I gotta pack! i'm going to fly to EP to see the family tomorrow...and i have barely packed my clothes. i didn't pack al the crap i'm taking back for them, yet. grrrrrr....

Knitted Toys

2005-11-21T20:45:00.000-06:00

look what i got last week...i forgot to post about this... I can't wait to make some of these. :)

Chocolate Seed Stitch

2005-11-20T21:29:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a Chocolate Seed Stitch Scarf for my brother. :) i'm more than halfway done. i got an extra skein just in case it's not long enough. I also grabbed a skein of blue to maybe put in a stripe at the very end of the scarf to see if it might be nice. i wonder if it's too girly. what do you think? gimme your opinion! hhehe

i'm in love

2005-11-19T23:07:00.000-06:00

I think i love Josh Dumael even more than ever before LOL

DAMN...isn't he HOTTTTTTTTTTT???? :)

Baby Bootees part Deux

2005-11-18T23:33:00.000-06:00

Do you SEE HOW BIG THIS BOOTEE IS???? it is bigger than the Key in the picture!! BIGGER!! if you see the set of bootees, the key is just a bit smaller than the pair of bootees. but no...the solo bootee...it's GIGANTIC!!!!!! it can't be me. when i first got this book..i thought it was all me. but i'm a bit more seasoned now...i know more of what i do. i don't think it's me!! WHY?? hahaah i'm working on a bunch of scarves for my family. we are going to Toronto right after Christmas and it's going to be COOOOOLLLLLDDDDD. us hicks in Texas do'nt know what cold is until we go up north. :) i'm excited. i picked out all the yarns for my family. I got chocolate brown Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky for my brother. i'm working on a seed stitch scarf for him. for my mom...i got the grande Baby Alpaca in burgundy red. then for my dad...i got some multicolor Encore. pics will be shown later. :)

Baby Bootees

2005-11-14T22:31:00.000-06:00

I'm still on an erasure/andy bell high. hahaha. I'm trying to make some baby bootees for a shower this weekend. i wanted to make like 5 pair. i have the 50 baby bootees to knit book. Man...i made a couple of pairs out of this book previously. but this was when i picked up knitting again and thought i was doing stuff wrong. i'm a bit more seasoned now (not bragging)....and the textured cuff bootees i made came out GIGANTIC. i was all "*#$!! these could fit ME". i did it according to pattern, needle size and same size yarn. what the F. so i had to shrink it down a bit...and they look more like a bootee rather than a freakishly small shoe. i'm kind of mad! b/c i spent like 3 hours doing that one bootee (i was distracted while watching Desperate housewives and grey's anatomy). i'll show pics later. i didn't feel like whipping out the camera tonight. :0 is something wrong? jennifer doesn't want to take pics? what day is this? note the time..... sigh. I had dinner w/ an aunt and uncle that were in town on business. I'm not too fond of this aunt b/c in the past...she has a tackless way of talking to people. like every year i saw her...she would say "dang. you got fat". so you can see why i didn't want to talk to her too often. and i'm not exactly thin...so i was dreading seeing her today. i was even thinking of just telling her i made other plans...but i felt guilty. my aunt has really mellowed out since i last saw her 5 years ago. so dinner was ok. she was really nice. i'm in shock. we went to a buffet in Plano that was....pretty good. so freaking pricey though. they had lobster on the buffet!! LOBSTER! too bad i dont enjoy it. hahaha. too difficult to eat..too much messy. i'm sleepy...food coma. :)

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

2005-11-12T04:02:00.000-06:00

omg....tonight was freaking awesome. last week i was checking out when erasure was coming back to town so i could see them again. my surprise...Andy Bell was going to be in town on 11/11 dj'ing at Lizard Lounge.

i asked Bot-Gurl a few days ago....she said she might want to go. i called her a few times tonight before i went...she didnt answer her phone. I think she was working or something...maybe her phone was dead. :( i wasn't going to miss out! i went SOLO!!! and man..i'm glad i did. I've been out of the club circuit for quite some time now..i'm an old fart. So the flyer said that it started at 9p. i guess i misunderstood. The doors open at 9p. the show started at like MIDNIGHT! so i was just chillin....people watching. it was a good night to go. ALL my favorites were played in the club tonight. anything box, new order, erasure, depeche mode, etc. so awesome. then Andy Bell came out! DJ'ing! it was so exciting!

So this was when i was on the balcony. hehehe. then i had to go to the bathroom. I ddin't want to lose my place upstairs...but man...i stayed downstairs and got even better pictures.

this is when he was grabbing cd's to play. i was trying to hand him a $5 bill so he could sign it for me. hahahaa. i had nothing on me for him to sign...no cd covers...nada. but i had a SHARPIE!!! ahahahaha well, i had the chance to ask him...but i got SHY!! then when i got the nerve to do it...he ended his DJ set and grabbed a mike to sing. CRAP! he finished playing and then he sang FOUR songs from his new cd. man...it was awesome. He sang "Crazy", "Love Oneself, "Shaking My Soul," and "electric Blue". i took some video w/ my camera...but it came out kind of bad. hahaha. i was hoping for some oldies..."Oh L'Amour", "blue savannah", etc...but nah. he went into the crowd and shook hands and everything. so awesome! Then after he sang...and we were all screaming ourselves hoarse...they announced he would be signing autographs and taking pics!! so of course..i ran up to where they were doing this and waited in line. I made a friend in line...mainly b/c i had a camera and he wanted a pic w/ Andy Bell. a fellow fan...Jason. hahaa. he was very nice. there was some drunkard leaning on the wall...then he started sloshing over to me where he proceeded to lean on me w/ his sweaty hands for about 15 min as we waited in line. hahaah. i was scared he was goign to grab my ass!! not that it's so lushious and grabbable...but b/c i didn't want to be a bitch to a poor drunk guy! i kept pushing him away...hoping he would fall over and leave me alone. but that is mean. tee-hee. My new friend Jason and i commented on all the hot guys walking around us. hAHAHA. he's a BIG erasure/DM fan. i was amazed at some of the stories he told me. apparently he hits ALOT of shows...all over the place! and he even goes to the hotels the groups stay at w/ hopes to hang out. Apparently after the DM concert a couple of days ago...he got to meet the members of DM. i'm jealous! So anyway.....i got a picture with Andy Bell and an autograph!! it was so exciting! i just kept telling him "I have loved you since i was like EIGHT YEARS OLD!" but i don't think he heard me. hahaha. i think he wanted to go home already. hahahaha

THAT'S ANDY BELL!!! LOOK!! HE"S HOLDING MY SHARPIE!! hahahahah!! (please ignore the fatness that is my gut) i was getting sleepy as i was waiting for him to start playing...now i'm all hyped up i can't sleep!! crap!! hahaha. I called my brother right when i left the club at like 230a (he's still up)...and i was all AAAH! YOU WON"T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED!!!! steve's response: why the freak are you calling me so late? hahahaha