…before I really, truly go finish packing. =)

I got another of my swap packages today. I sent furrworld a whole bunch of acrylic that is left over from my crocheting days, as she is involved in Project Linus.

She sent me these:
I think I won in that trade. =) They are beautiful!

OK, tagged, technically. =) Zknitter got me with this one.

4 jobs you have had:
Office manager at a community theatre
Box office manager at a professional theatre
Grand Opening Coordinator for Circuit City
Retail salesperson at numerous places through the years

4 movies you could watch over and over:
The Wizard of Oz
Dirty Dancing
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Ice Age

4 TV shows you love to watch:
Veronica Mars
CSI (original only, please)
Law & Order (and all variations)
The OC

4 places you have been on vacation:
Myrtle Beach, SC
Bangor, ME
Indianapolis, IN
Walt Disney World

4 websites you visit daily:
The knitty Coffeeshop
Television Without Pity
My Yahoo
The bazillion blogs listed in my sidebar

4 of your favorite foods:
Really sharp cheddar cheese
Really dark chocolate
Guinness (Beer is a food, right?)
Cheesecake
(Suddenly, my weight gain of the last few years makes a whole lot of sense)

4 places you’d rather be right now:
Omaha, NE (only about 14 hours to go!!!)
OK, seriously, I can’t come up with anything else. I am so excited about seeing Kirsten that I really, really, really want to be in Omaha.

Hey - wasn’t there a “4 places you’ve lived” question? I know I’ve seen that on someone’s blog… Ok, I’ll put it back in.
Pittsburgh, PA
Meadville, PA
Richmond, VA
Bowie, MD

4 bloggers you are tagging:
Stitchcounter
Busy Mama
Little Hobbit Feet
Mtwelovett

Have fun, ladies!

Oh, and I’ve joined the Frappr craze. =) Go on - you know you want to add yourself!

Almost forgot - I think I’ve made a decision. I’m going with “Hush Hush” from Knitty. I’ve wanted to do it for ages, and just haven’t because I’m scared of the teeny needles and miles of stockinette. So - I think it is a fitting challenge. And hubby has decided that I should make it in Knit Picks Shimmer in “Flower Garden”.

So, I’ll be ordering the yarn and whatnot when I get back from my trip.

…well, not until tomorrow, but yeah, I am. I got an email about two weeks ago from my best friend Kirsten’s husband Lionel. (She’s the one I sent the Cozy) They have had a really rough couple of months dealing with the loss of their 6-month old baby in December. Kirsten is graduating from college this coming weekend, and Lionel wants to surprise her by having a couple of people there. So, I am flying out tomorrow evening and I will get to see Kir in person for the first time in fifteen years! I am spending the week with her and Lionel and their three-year-old.

In other news, I finished and blocked Ene’s Scarf (from Scarf Style) yesterday. I used Knit Picks Shimmer (Alpaca/Silk) in Morning Mist, and I am really thrilled with how it came out. I probably could have used a smaller needle (I used the US6 called for in the pattern), because I always forget how loosely I knit. I think I am going to start automatically sizing down one needle for projects when I, um…don’t swatch. (I know, I know…)

Here I am in the scarf. (Meeko came over to pester me as soon as I sat down for Kris to take the picture. Silly puppy). Incidentally - new hair! I got tired of the length in the front and had it cut off yesterday. It’s sort of flippy and spiky in the front now, like it already was in the back. =)

Below are a shot of the whole scarf and a closeup of the stitches. I really like this pattern. This is a cast-on-a-bunch-of-stitches-and-decrease pattern, as opposed to Kiri. I can see the advantages of both. I don’t mind casting on a lot of stitches, and it is kind of awesome that it keeps getting faster as you go, but I also like it starting to grow and take shape quickly at the beginning of the project. I’m not quite sure what my next lace shawl will be, so we’ll have to see if it is a top-down or a bottom-up. =)

So, that’s probably it until I get back from visiting Kirsten. Now to decide what project (ok, ok, projects plural) to take on the plane with me…

My kindhearted postman (who is probably ready to kill me for all the packages I’ve been sending out lately) brought me tow gifties today - my swaps from DonnaSC and tangledblue.

This is the yarn that DonnaSC sent me in exchange for some Manos wool. It is a fingering-weight wool, handpainted by her husband. The colors are absolutely spectacular - bright citrusy greens, rich burgundy purples, and bright deep blues. Just fabulous. I cannot wait to decide what to make from it - the difficulty is going to be in finding a pattern that will show it off! I think it would make an amazing shawl - really warm and snuggly, and absolutely striking.

This is some Noro Blossom that tangledblue sent in exchange for some KnitPicks Gossamer. It’s such a beautiful combination of colors - I am trying to decide what to make with it. Tangledblue said she made an Edgar scarf with it - I might do that. She also sent me some other goodies - isn’t she sweet? There is some really yummy lemon-lime hemp-based lip balm, and the cards are recipes for a bunch of natural remedies and treats that I definitely want to try.

Thank you both - you guys rule! This was my first swap experience on the boards, and I will definitely not hesitate to do it again!

So, the Yarn Harlot has come up with this brilliant concept: The 2006 Knitting Olympics. She explains it in detail on her blog, but I’ll give a brief version here - pick a project. Something to challenge yourself. Cast on when the Olympic Torch is lit on February 10, and complete it by when it is extinguished on the 26th. So, 16 days to complete a project.

Being a total Olympics fanatic (Seriously - I watch obscene amounts of the coverage, including TiVoing some events so I don’t miss them), I am all about this idea. I just have to decide what to make. So, I’m going to solicit opinions from the two of you who read this. (See, this is a cheap way to figure out who is reading my blog. =) )

I am considering the following projects (links to a pic where available):
*= already own yarn. No * = must buy yarn. The horror. =)
Flower Petal Shawl from elann.com (probably in Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca in Chocolate Truffle (if they have it in stock) or Malt Heather)
Hodgepodge from knowknits designs* (in this Madil Kid Seta)
Hush Hush from Knitty.com (either in KnitPicks Gossamer in Carribean or Shimmer in Turquoise Splendor)
Lacey from Knitty.com (probably in KnitPicks Suri Dream in Fern or Twilight)
Lace and Fair Isle Pullover from Vogue Knits Holiday 2005 (pattern #9)* (in this KnitPicks Palette)
Luna Flickering Flames Skirt from elann.com (probably in Endless Summer Collection Luna in Polished Ebony)
Sweet Mary Jane from KnitPicks* (in this KnitPicks Shadow)

They each pose their own challenge, some with complexity, some with teeny-tiny needles, some with sheer volume of stitches, and some with new techniques.

So, what do you think? What event should I choose for the Knitting Olympics? (Incidentally, I reserve the right to ignore everyone’s advice and decide totally on my own. You know, just in case I feel the need to wuss out.)

…but I just wanted to post these two pictures. On the left is me, in my Tivoli T shortly after I completed it in early August. On the right is me in the very same Tivoli just the other day.

Isn’t it crazy - eating less and moving more actually works!

I do think I still need to re-do part of the bottom of the Tivoli to make it a little longer, but it is already fitting better!

Yay!

So, I decided to make a run by Total Crafts in Bowie last night, just to see if they still had anything left in their store closing sale. They had one dump bin of yarn left, which was surprisingly free of the typical cheapie squeaky acrylic, and I made a pretty good haul, all of which was half-price.

I got 13 skeins of TLC Cara Mia in three different colors - Sandy, Olive, and Tan. No idea what it is going to be yet, but I really like the colors, and since it looks like this has actually been discontinued anyway, I figured I might as well pick it up. I am trying very hard to keep from going back before they close on the 22nd to pick up any more.

I also found a fair amount of sock yarn. And by “a fair amount”, I mean that I bought 16 skeins of Patons Kroy Sock (in Mercury, Muslin, Newport Tan, Flagstone, and Orangina) and 4 of Bernat Sox (in Orange Hot and Aqua Hot) I’ve got patterns picked out for most of these. Heaven knows when they will actually get made, but at least they have a purpose!

I think I have overcome my knitting ennui of the last week or so. I’ve made some really good progress on my Ene’s Scarf project. I’m almost halfway through it, and it is coming out quite nicely. I’d take a picture, but it is lace and therefore looks cruddy since it hasn’t been blocked yet. Maybe if I feel inspired to pin it out later. =)

Thank you to all the Knittyheads who made swap offers from my last post. I am going to go pick up boxes and envelopes today, so everything should be going in the mail tomorrow. I am looking forward to the goodies you are sending me! (If anyone is interested, the Bernat Satin and Blue Sky Cotton are both still available. I may add some more eventually, but for now, that’s it.)

I edited the post to remove the stuff that has been spoken for. =)

So, I spent some time with the digital camera and the yarn that I have decided to offer for swap. Here it is:

Bernat Satin in Sunset, 2 full skeins and 125 g left over of partial skeins - about 540 yards total.

Blue Sky Cotton in 616 - light blue and 618 - light purple. There is 83g of the blue (about 125 yards) and 79g of the purple (about 118 yards)

Here’s hoping they can all find a good home!

I have apparently contracted a bad case of knitting ennui. I finished the Cozy last Thursday, and I haven’t knit a thing since. I just can’t seem to get excited about any of my current WIPs, but I don’t want to start yet ANOTHER project, mostly because I have those WIPs to finish.

I’ve been working through the stash list, trying very hard to make some decisions about what projects to match with the yarns that I own, and which ones need to find a new home. I’ve got a few things earmarked, both new stuff I haven’t used and leftovers from projects, and I think I’m going to spend some time with the camera and post them on the Knitty swap boards.

We spend some time at Ikea this weekend, picking out a new desk for Kris. He can’t take his personal laptop to work with him anymore, so he has it set up a little more permanently here at the house. I do so love Ikea. They have such fun stuff, and their prices really are good. Plus, we have the adventure of assembling it ourselves. (To some people, that is a drawback, but it’s like a big puzzle to us. Plus, we’re practically pros at this point, we own so much of their stuff)

Hyon and Drew were here last night (with the baby, of course). Hyon taught me to make kim bap, which we had been planning to do for ages. Kim bap is a Korean dish, similar in construction to sushi rolls, but with different filling. We made ones with various combinations of spinach, crabmeat, fish cakes, cucumber, tak kang (pickled radish - no idea if that is how it is spelled), and kimchi, along with the rice and seaweed. We made what I thought was a pretty big pile of them, but the four of us totally demolished them in short order. They are so very yummy. Hyon said that next time, we’ll have to make dumplings as well. I am looking forward to it!