A String of Purls

too long

2007-02-21T12:24:00.000-06:00

Wow, I have been so busy with the move that i have had little time to knit and no time to blog. The move went relatively smooth and we are all settled now. i love my new house and new neighborhood. i have a multitude of projects on needles now. I have finished a pair of the cutest baby socks and am now working on a matching hat. My friend Kelly is due in May. I would love to knit a blanket but I am not sure I will be able to finish it in time. I really love The Big Bad Baby Blanket out of Stitch N Bitch. I would have to be really disciplined to not start up other things while trying to finish it in time. I need to get some batteries for my camera so that i can post some pictures of current projects. My rechargables have bit the dust. So until then I won't be able to show off the sweater I am working on for Project Spectrum. It is the Hour Glass Sweater and I am doing it in a pretty grey that will go nicely with some of my skirts and of course jeans.

Moving

2007-01-24T06:31:00.000-06:00

It's so funny how life can change in a matter of hours. Jason and I put our house on the market last week. We had two showings on Saturday. The second one was from 2-3 in the afternoon so at 2 we left the house to go for a walk. We got back the house at 2:50 and no one was there so we assumed the showing had happened already. Well, right at 3 the door opens and in walk a realtor and her clients. She says, "I know you are about to get a contract on the house, but do you mind if we walk through anyway?" To which we reply with poker straight faces ,"sure, go ahead." We stepped outside to let them walk through in privacy and start to run throughout possible explanations for the bizarre comment.
1) we actually do have a contract coming in (Which I quickly dismissed the slight possibility of. I am a glass half empty kind of girl at heart. No way did we sell our house on the first showing!)
2) this realtor is mistaken
3) our realtor just told her this to put the pressure on (I know nothing about selling houses and I don't know if this is actually something that is done.)
When they left we called our realtor and found out that we did just get a contract on our house. We are closing on the 31st of this month. Yes, a week from today! We move out a week from Saturday!
My head is spinning with all kinds of emotions and thoughts. I am very excited about our new house. We will be moving to a planned community with shops, pools, lakes and canals, and even an ice skating rink. The houses resemble that of those seen in The Truman Show which was filmed in Seaside Florida. That community was designed by the same guy that designed our new neighborhood.
On the other hand I am sad. The house we live in is our first house. Jason and my dad fixed it up when we bought it. We updated everything and it has a lot of 'us' in it.
Then of course just the stress of moving. Planning where to put our furniture in the new house. Then realizing that we have to get all of that furniture out of this house, into a truck, and then into the new house. Oh yeah, and that all of the little stuff needs to be put into boxes, put into a truck, taken out of that truck, put into the new house, and then unpacked! My back and neck muscles are getting tight just thinking about it. I need Marry Poppins to come by and snap her fingers for me. Wouldn't that be nice if I could snap my fingers and my things would pack themselves to the beat of cheesy music.

So Much to Knit, So Little Time

2007-01-18T07:02:00.000-06:00

I haven't been able to do much knitting (or blogging) in the past few days because I have been working a lot. I work 12hr shifts and I live 45 minutes from the hospital so on the days I work I do little other than drive, work, and sleep.
I have been looking around for what I want to cast on next. One thing I have in mind is the Diamond Lace Cardigan from Knit Picks. I think this would be a nice option because it would be perfect for spring weather and that is about when I would finish it. I also came across a very cool site with TONS of free patterns. It is called garnstudio. I didn't spend a lot of time yesterday looking at it. I just know there were at least a hundred free patterns. I spend so much time looking at things I could knit. Ugh! I probably spend as much time looking for more things to knit as I do actually knitting!
I do spend a lot of time looking for bigger projects but for a smaller project I am really loving socks. They are so portable. I can take the socks I am working on anywhere I go. I must confess that I am a little ADD with my sock knitting. I have three different pairs started. I just love sock yarn. Once I get it I can't wait to see what it is going to look like when it is knit up. Oh well, I guess it is all about the process.

what i'm working on

2007-01-08T06:13:00.000-06:00

I finished my first sock last week. I have about 1/3 of the second one finished. I have really enjoyed learning to make socks and use dpns but i have discovered that my hands tend to hurt with using smaller needles. I wonder if there are other knitters out there who have experienced the same thing. Over Christmas my hands were hurting pretty bad. As I normally do I started to worry and imagine the worst case scenario: I have carpal tunnel at age 25 and will never be able to knit again I might as well return all the knitting related gifts i received for Christmas because what's the point. (think i went a little overboard? don't worry i didn't really return the gifts). I gave my sock knitting a rest for a few days and my hands feel better. I did a lot of work this weekend on my second sock and my hands are not hurting like they did over the Christmas weekend thank goodness!
I have signed up for project spectrum. It starts in February. The first three colors are Blue, White, and Gray. I am excited to be participating in this. I have not yet decided what to do using these colors but I have a few ideas. I am leaning toward dying some blue yarn for a sweater. This will be a good challenge for be as I have only dyed one skein of sock yarn. Dying a large amount scares me a little but I look forward to learning more about yarn dying. I also have in mind some white fuzzy baby booties for a friend of mine. She just found out she will be having a girl! This is the same friend who came over last week to learn to knit. I can't believe how quickly she caught on. I taught her how to cast on, knit in garter stitch, and to bind off. She was so excited with her first little purple rectangle. There is a pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson for a baby blanket knitted by different knitters. I think it would be really fun to do that together for her new baby. It would be a great project for a new knitter because it is all garter stitch and is knitted in strips and then sewn together.
I did not plan to be off today but the hospital was over staffed so here I am. I have already been to the gym this morning and the house is clean since we did some major preparations for putting the house on the market this week. So...looks like some guilt free knitting for today.

what is wrong with people

2006-12-26T09:17:00.000-06:00

So we were out of town for the weekend and when we got home some friendly person wished us a Merry Christmas by slashing all four of my tires. Last night my sister and I were leaving the house and as we backed down the driveway we noticed some teen aged kids leaning up against our backyard fence. As we slowed down they started to run. When we pulled out and on to the street behind my house they ran the other way. We turned around and pulled into my driveway and called the city police. My sister got out of the car to get the spare key I had left for her out from its hiding spot and the kids started throwing eggs at her and the car. At that point she ran back to the car and we started driving around the block and called 911. As we were driving on the street they started throwing eggs at the car again. We met a police officer at a near by gas station and he followed us back and made sure no one had gone into the house. What a mess. It really sucks that these kids can just go around and do things like slash people's tires and throw eggs at your car with no consequences. We had to pay $500 to get new tires put on the car just because of some mean kids.
In knitting news I got a new book for Christmas with a pattern for The Hour Glass Sweater. I am thinking about making that my next project. I am also looking at Under the Hoodie from Stitch n Bitch. I have plans with a friend to start teaching her how to knit on Sunday. I bought her a kit and some yarn for Christmas.
I am off now to visit with my sister and 2 year old niece who are in from out of town.

Trust the Pattern

2006-12-16T11:13:00.000-06:00

One of the things I love about knitting is what it teaches me about myself. I am working on my first pair of socks and yesterday I got to the heal shaping. It made no sense to me that I would not knit to the end of the row. I thought for sure that there was a mistake in the pattern. Then I remembered the advice of a very wise and seasoned knitter, Margaret, "trust the pattern." So, I tried it and of course it worked out fine. The pattern was right it was my understanding of how it worked together that needed to be corrected. How much like my daily life that is. So often in my limited perspective I find myself not trusting the process.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

B-E-A-utiful

2006-12-12T06:20:00.000-06:00

I love the yarn i dyed! The colors turned out very fun and spring like. The pink is a very pretty coral color (not red like I thought it was going to be)! I am very excited to knit with this yarn! I had planned on working this morning. I got a phone call at 5:20 telling me to go to the ER at 10am. So here I am with a few hours extra this morning to do whatever I want. I should do some house work. Dishes need to be washed, there is laundry to do, and just general picking up. What I really want to do is knit. Maybe I can get some things done quickly then I can knit for a while. If I get some necessary tasks done before knitting then I don't feel so bad.

dye

2006-12-10T17:00:00.000-06:00

I dyed yarn for the first time today. I used kool-aid with instructions from knit picks. I underestimated how much dye I would need and had to go to the store in the middle of the process. The girl at the check out must have thought I was crazy. I used pink, yellow, green, and blue. The pick ended up looking very red. The colors mixed a lot and I ended up with a tie dye effect. I am just happy I didn't end up with brown. I poured the color on and used a towel under it to help soak up extra liquid. I think that helped a lot. Next time I will know I need a bigger quantity of color and I will stick to two colors.

in the works and in the mail

2006-12-06T09:12:00.000-06:00

i am working on a poncho right now. i have about 5 inches left to go! it is a very simple lace pattern i got from the Lion Brand web site. i am also not so patiently awaiting the sock yarn i ordered to arrive in the mail. however, being that our mailbox was STOLEN a day or so before the snow storm i will have to check with the post office to see if it has arrived. why in the world someone would take a mailbox of all things is beyond me! they took ours and our neighbors. jason did the neighborly thing and replaced theirs before ours (there mailbox was taken also). when he went to replace ours he pulled the post out of the box and it was defective. then the snow and ice came. so anyway, we still have no mailbox because there is about 12 inches of snow and ice at the end of the yard from plowing. i guess it is a good thing in a way because i have lots of other things i am working on. a friend asked me yesterday if if would make a scarf for him to give away as a christmas gift. so that will have to come before any yarn dying adventures!

help

2006-12-03T08:16:00.001-06:00

I am getting a little frustrated because I can't figure out how to put a button on the margin of my blog page. I was able to copy one into my photos but i don't know how to put the link with it. If anyone that reads this can help me I would appreciate it!

Traffic

2006-11-30T13:23:00.000-06:00

OK i never thought i would be in a situation where i would knit while driving but today it happened! It was raining this morning and for some reason in St. Louis people forget how to drive when the roads get wet so I gave myself some extra time to get to work in case i came across some forgetful drivers. Well it turns out i made it in record time and had 45 minutes to spare. As i am approaching my exit i am getting excited that i will get to knit for a while before my PALS (pediatric advanced life support) class. Then I see the exit. Cars are backed up with no one moving! Once I made it onto the ramp and have spent several minutes not moving i decided to pull out the sock i am working on. Each time the car in front of me inched i would set it down inch forward and pick it back up. I don't recommend it while moving but its a nice way to pass the time while sitting in gridlock!

Counting Sheep...well sort of

2006-11-28T09:16:00.000-06:00

Sometimes when I am unable to fall asleep I will plan new knitting projects. Last night I started thinking about dying some sock yarn. I have been knitting since last August. I like to try something new with each of my projects. I have not gotten into dying yarn yet so that may be my next knitting adventure. I fell asleep to thoughts of bight greens, soft pinks, sunny yellows, and deep blues.

new to this

2006-11-27T18:48:00.000-06:00

I guess i am from the dark ages. I am new to blogs. I think it sounds pretty fun though so i thought i would create one. I guess I will learn as I go.