Wild Stripes Revisited

I am so disorganized sometimes. I never posted updated pictures of the Wild Stripes Baby Blanket! I am digging this blanket, it's just too cute. I'm really excited about finishing this thing and getting the backing sewn on. It is hibernating for now, but I will definitely play around with it in the near future.

Lots to Talk About

Wow, I am behind on blogging. I should probably break this up into multiple posts, but I'm not, call me lazy.

Where to begin? Let's start with presents, after all my birthday was last week. Ol' Pinkie and I had planned a little knitting swap earlier this month. (it had nothing to do with my birthday, I swear) This was my plan to get myself a hanging kitchen towel without actually having to make it myself. In exchange I made a couple of easy to knit dog sweaters for the Pinkie Pooch. The package arrived on Thursday, and boy was I surprised when I opened the mailbox. Damn, I thought to myself, that is one big towel! You can imagine my excitement when I ripped open the package to find this:

I have been DYING for a needle case. I have searched high and low for one I really like, and just could not find one that caught my eye. The funny thing is that Pinkie blogged about it and I had a fit over the darn thing. I had no idea it was on it's way to me when I left her a comment a few days later! I must be getting old because damn I was excited. I love handmade gifts, they are the best kind! Oh and I can't forget my hanging towel. How cool is this?!

Photo stolen from Pinkie's Ravelry Project page.

And since I mentioned dishcloths, I am hooked on making the darn things. And I admit, just a short time ago I was griping about them and how you'd never catch me making any. I think the picture cloths are mostly to blame for that, I have found several pattern cloths I really like. Here are a few I made using the The Squidge Cloth pattern:

I even got conned into doing my first dishcloth swap! I am still too much of a newbs to try anything too creative. Actually, I'm all for trying it, it's the thought of sending it to a fellow knitter that scared the bejeebers out of me. So I wussed out and made a squidge cloth for my recipient. I really enjoyed doing the swap actually, after the initial panic went away. I was convinced that after agreeing to do the swap my right hand would shrivel and fall off for no apparent reason and I would be left unable to knit. I am not one to knit under pressure, or with a deadline, but this wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. I am such an overanalyzer sometimes.

Here is the package I received in the swap. I big shout out to Hamle06 on Ravelry. The dishcloth is gorgeous, I love the color of the yarn you sent, and the soap smells wonderful. I will definitely be swapping again real soon.

Well I guess that's about it. I have a trip to the local fall festival today. I am hoping and praying that there will be yarn there, although I know the thought is a longshot. A girl can hope, can't she?

Shut Up, It's My Birthday*

After being inspired by Cass of Shut Up, I'm Counting fame's post this morning, I decided to take random camera phone shots of my day and share them on my blog. Camera phone pics turned into real pictures when I realized I had my trusty ol' Kodak with me, too bad I forgot to take photos of half of the things I did. See, today is my birthday. Yes, yes I know, it is a big day. What's that you say? What is my address so you can send gifts and money...well it is 540....Oh wait, perhaps you'd better email me for that. Anyway, back to my story here....I am not a big fan of my birthday. I mean, I am happy to be alive, and grateful for another year. I am just not one of those people that sits around on their big day awaiting phone calls and gifts and flowers, although you won't see me object to any of those. Basically what I am getting at is that to me it is just any old day. Treating it as such causes me to forget from one year to the next what I did for the big day. Pair that with an unattentive (ex) better half that usually forgot it WAS my birthday, even after 6 years together, I usually don't look forward to the big day. Well today was going to be different!! I marched myself to the gas station first thing to treat myself to a Diet Dr. Pepper, I am supposed to be off of caffeine and carbonation, but who cares it's my birthday, right? Gidget was none too happy when I told her to "stay" as I was walking out the door:
I had errands to run, lots of errands (including the DDS for a new license), but who wants to do that, that's no fun? So I called my pal John and we met for lunch at Oodles. I try to limit my carbs (and eating out) but damn it, it's my birthday! Oodles was soooooo good. Did I mention I forgot to take a picture. Oops. Sorry John! Then it was off to the DDS, knitting intow, for what I thought would be a long afternoon of waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

Not sure who the "new guy" is that my sister-in-law was telling me about that was supposed to make great changes with the GA Dept. of Driver Services, but let me tell you, if I ever meet him, he's getting a big ole hug from me! I was in and out of there in less than 15 minutes!! With a much better photo than last time I might add. Sadly, my knitting didn't make a single appearance. Well sad for the knitting, not so sad for me.

Then it was off to Wally World to get my meds (did I mention I always get a cold on my birthday? It's allergy season, dontcha know), I managed to pick up lots of cotton yarn and some new needles while I was there. I failed also to take pics in Wally World because I was too busy yacking on my cell phone, something I never do in stores, but today, OH NO...I marched my happy ass around that entire store just yacking away on my bluetooth. People were staring, some thought I was talking to them, but who the hell cares, it's my birthday! (are you seeing a trend here?) I did resist the urge when the cashier said "have a nice day." to say "I will! It's my birthday!!" I am liking the new birthday me!

After a few more errands I had decided to spend the rest of my afternoon (that was originally penciled for the DDS) with my dear sweet Grandmother. I am exhausted from yelling, and my throat is scratchy, but it was a good visit. (dear Grandma can't hear unless you yell and refuses to wear hearing aids) Scored myself a nice balloon and some Jolly Ranchers, too. Mmmmm, Jolly Ranchers. The sister-in-law had the afternoon off, so we had a nice long visit.

So after becoming dehydrated from sweating (old people sure like it warm) and yelling, homeward bound was I. I had a splitting headache and was just ready to take a big old nap...but the nephew was there with the bro, ready for some go cart riding and a birthday dinner.

After one more lap, followed by one more lap, and "just one more lap Dad, just ONE more..." It was off to a quick dinner in the big crazy wild party town of Cleveland. I believe my pictures depict how wild and crazy it got.

Here's Gentry wearing her glasses:

Now here is Chad making goofy faces and wearing Gentry's Glasses:
Now here's me wearing Gentry's glasses (I warned you things got wild):
Now here is some of my posse right before we left. I actually think Gentry gets photo credit here. She took over the photographer job right after she arrived. Thank goodness, I felt like such a dork taking pictures for my own birthday.
Here the kids had a big plan to hide in the back of Chad's truck to hitch a ride to the Dairy Queen across the street for some ice cream:
All-in-all it was a good day. Whew, I'm exhausted. Having a birthday is a job in itself, go here, pay this, answer the phone constantly.....I think next year I will plant my ass on a tropical beach somewhere with no cell service and a pool boy that never let's my glass of whateverandtequila in a blender run out, and relax.

Now maybe tomorrow I can actually finish that dishcloth, if I'm not too exhausted from the festivities. I mean, c'mon, it was nearly 9:00 when we left Dairy Queen and I'm no longer a spring chicken you know. I'll leave you with my final pictures of the day. For some reason I thought it would be fun to take random bad photos. (or maybe I was just too tired to attempt decent ones) You know my day wouldn't be complete without a bed full of critters. Would you think any less of an aspiring veterinarian? C'mon. Looks like "the boys" are ready for bed, and the freaked look out has yet to leave Gidget's face.

I did manage to get a little work done on my Squidge Cloth dishcloth while I was at my Grandmother's house. It is Strawberries and Cream. Who knew I would like pink.

Me, Excessive?! Nooooooooo.

Silly cat photos and fireworks aside, this is supposed to be my knitting blog. The knitting blog of a woman with the attention span of a cracker, but still. Just to prove I have actually been knitting, and knitting and knitting and knitting, I decided to photograph my latest creations and share them here on my scrap/blog/journal/land of randomness on the internet.

My plan was to make one for Gidget (see previous posts) and then move on to bigger and better things, but they are just so darn easy I couldn't help myself! I first decided to add the skull and crossbones since I have never attempted that before. Then I decided to make one for a friend, then another friend wanted one....and now I find myself in the land of dog sweaters. Sadly, the black skully is too big for Gidget (which means I'll want to make another one), and the others are gifts or swaps or whatever. The green ribbing on the needles is for my poochie, which will bring the count of sweaters for my own dog up to...(drum roll please)....ONE. Sad, isn't it? I should have it completed today (they go really fast) and then I plan on attempting cable knitting on one of these bad boys. (do people still say "bad boys" or am I just stuck in the 90's?) These things are sort of fun to make, as cheesy as that may sound. And I am proud of myself that I can sit down with my needles and yarn with no pattern and still whip one out perfectly. Which is a big accomplishment for this newbie!

Right Back At Ya

My pal Pinkie and I decided to do a little knitting and swapping. We're trading hints until the mail lady pays a visit.

UGGH! To Look or Not to Look.

I have a dilemma. I have grown tired of knitting things for myself. (or things I end up keeping because I feel they are sub-par) so I got the bright idea to do a little swapping with Knit Pinkie. I figure I am safe, hell if she stayed friends with me all through those awkward high school years, a little dog sweater isn't going to put a strain on our friendship, right? Not even a poorly made one! Well I have been told as of today it is done, finished, finito. I am even happier to hear it has a few imperfections. Yippee! No really, I am. No teasing here, I was expecting to receive a perfectly knitted dish cloth in trade for my "what the hell? Was she knitting and sewing this in the dark dog sweaters?" I am being perfectly honest and sincere here, I think flaws or imperfections add character, and to me that's what makes handmade things special.

I love getting presents, especially for no particular reason. Who doesn't!? I have been told she wrote about it on her blog, and to stay away if I don't want to spoil the surprise. I have no idea what colors she used or what pattern or anything, so the thought of seeing it is driving me nuts, but for now I will refrain. You see, my birthday is on Wednesday, and this is the first b-day in 10 (?) years I have celebrated without a significant other, so the dish rag, or towel, whichever it may be, is going to be my only surprise gift ....so I refrain. Of course now I'm sitting here dying to take a peek!

It Was Only A Matter of Time

You all knew it was coming. It just had to happen. It was inevitable. The cat picture on the knitting blog.


I have had this picture for over a week, but I figured it best to just go ahead and get it out of the way. This being a knitting blog, and me owning an undisclosed number of cats and all, you know it was bound to happen sooner or later. I thought it best to go ahead and post the mandatory "kitty pic on the knitting blog" photo so I could get back to my random rambling.

This is Butters, he is overweight, overstimulated, spoiled, and quite entertaining actually. He is also known as "Butter Bean", "Beanie Weenie", "Beans", "Beaner", and occasionally "Big Fat Beaner". If you ask me I raised one smart cat to keep up with all of his nicknames, especially with new ones being added weekly. I read somewhere once that owning a cat or dog can lower your bloodpressure. I am not only baffled as to how I can have HIGH blood pressure, but actually how my BP isn't too low to even register. I am a rescuer, believe it or not I have rehomed at least twice as many as I currently play slave to. No really, I have.

And in conclusion, I'd like to add one little comment: The cats have nothing to do with the knitting, and the knitting has nothing to do with the cats. I swear. Not once did the thought cross my mind of "I have cats, I must knit". Still not sure of the correlation between the two. If either (as in all two) of you that read my blog know the reason the two are grouped together, could you please enlighten me? If you want to know my opinion, they don't compliment each other at all. The cats bite the yarn, attack the yarn, feed the yarn through their teeth so it is all wet and spitty. (is spitty even a word?!) Then they proceed to get hair all over my finished knitted goodies. None of this entertains me in the least.

Well now that we have that out of the way...I return you to my regularly scheduled random, boring, knitting blog.

Well Butter My Butt and Call Me Biscuit

I got an unexpected surprise a little while ago. My Sunday night was starting out as nothing special. Just sitting here in my jammies watching some bad TV, doing a little laundry, nothing out of the ordinary, actually pretty bland. Then my episode of Ghost Hunters was interrupted by loud banging sounds, and here is what I found in the sky above the barn:

Sunday in the park at Concord Baptist. I totally forgot. It was a pleasant surprise, and I didn't even have to leave my porch, change out of my jammies, or put on shoes. Not too shabby.

I started (and finished) a camera sock for my dear old Kodak Easy Share. Who knew it was possible to become emotionally attached to a camera. Photos as soon as I borrow a camera to take a picture of my camera.

Dragon Ass. It Must Be Contagious.

A case of dragon ass has hit the south, in a big way, because my ass has definitely been draggin' lately, and I'm not the only one. Evidence here. My pal Pinkie still managed to give blood and make housewarming gifts, and me? I managed to have a yard sale on Saturday and sleep my Sunday away before making spaghetti for dinner. Things are slow. I haven't even managed to finish the poochie sweater I promised to make for Pinkie, and that thing only takes a few hours to make.

My master plan was to take my knitting with me to the yard sale, but I didn't quite get that far. It's probably best I didn't. With the evidence I am sporting of a nice, deep sunburn on my shoulders and face, a certain someone (my MOTHER) kept skipping her turn helping customers, and kept herself parked under the shade tree. Clever gal my mom. I did not inherit that gene as I jumped up with each new visitor, never once thinking about retrieving my sunscreen from home. I did pretty well though, selling most all of the crap I wasn't able to pawn off on my friend Chad for his new house. Our friend Debbie probably made more money than I did (although she was left with a lot of stuff also) and my mom actually ended up in the hole. I'm not sure if it was all of those trips to the gas station she kept making, or if she was actually paying people to take her stuff off. I was left with $80 more than I had the day before, a house in disarray, but a lot less stuff to put back. I'm happy. My new motto is "if I don't use it, lose it". I think that is a side effect of living with a man that kept every little thing he ever got. First went the man, now goes the stuff. I hear his new house has a big basement, all I can say is he's going to need it!!!

Before I head off to slather myself yet again in Aloe and Lidocaine lotion, I will leave you with my first attempt at knitting with colors using a grid pattern.

The PTBNL....Revealed

Finally, I get to talk about the PTBNL. Yes I know. What is all the hype about a silly little knitted sweater for my dog? Let me tell a little back story:

Back when I first started knitting, I thumbed through every pattern book I could find, trying to decide what kind of patterns I'd like to take on. I'm a pretty practical gal, and at the time we were having to buy new dog sweaters every month or so. We had two growing puppies and it was wicked cold outside. A dog sweater! I kept finding myself checking out dog sweaters. Unfortunately, in my pre-Ravelry days, the only patterns I could find were crochet, or detailed knitted ones. Something I could not take on being a newbie knitter.

I learned to knit about a year ago, and knitted a bad scarf and the checkered baby blanket. Then came the great tomato tragedy of 2007. I sliced off the end of one of my fingers with a tomato slicer. Ok so there was nothing great or tragic about it, and after 8 months it has healed up nicely, but "tomato slicer incident" just didn't have the same ring to it. I still have limited feeling in the tip of my finger, but it no longer hurts or hinders my knitting. I guess technically you could say I have only been knitting for a few months, if you add my actual time with the needles together. But I digress, let's get back to the pink poochie sweater:

I sucked terribly in the beginning, and could never imagine myself actually being able to make a dog sweater. (or anything practical for that matter!) I guess you could say it has been my goal from the start to complete a dog sweater. It has been the one thing that has stuck in my head thinking that if I complete it, I can call myself a knitter.

I know it is silly, but I feel like today I tackled a big hurdle, and made it!

Now on to the pattern:
I found this insanely easy Talking Tails Easy Dog Sweater. Had I found this pattern last year I probably would have made it from the start. Thank you Ravelry! I used Caron Simply Soft in Watermelon, about half a skein. It was an extra I had purchased by accident for the Wild Stripes Blanket. I want to tackle it again at some point with a heavier weight yarn in a different color. One downfall of loving baby blankets, you end up with a lot of bright colors. I am really glad I found this pattern. It fits Gidget perfectly with no modifications, and it will be a good way to attempt cable knitting, knitting with colors, and following a pattern chart. Gidget is going to have a larger wardrobe than her owner by the time I'm done.