There is an Alpaca in my Eye!

I started the Totally Autumn blanket in Nashua Creative Focus - 75% wool, 25% alpaca. There is pink fuzz all over me and I think that I got some alpaca fuzz in my eye.
Not good.
The yarn though? Gooooooood.
I hate that I love this yarn. It's so soft and so nice to knit with that I want to knit my entire life out of it. Also, it comes in many fine colors and is not that expensive and I can get it at Twist. But it's wool and alpaca. Wool + alpaca = no washey. Wool and alpaca require care and attention.
Sigh.
The person I am knitting it for has no children (to spill things or, you know, pee on it). She is careful with fabrics and she also crochets so she will understand the time/energy commitment and will therefore be careful so I am comfortable knitting this lovely blankie for her.
I love this yarn so much that I didn't mind casting on - my least favorite part of knitting. And the pattern calls for 9 rows of garter stitch before you get to the pattern and even that was more fun than garter stitch ought to be.



I realized that i never posted a finished picture of Kerri's garter so here it is!



I got to pretend to be a yarn shop girl last night! It was fun!! Shelly was teaching a class so she showed Becca and Angelique and I how to run the register. Between the three of us we managed not to lose customers or money... so success! I forgot how exhausting it is to work in retail!! Even when it's something that you love. I don't know how Shelly does it, but I'm glad she does.

On another topic entirely...

So all of the news about MRSA and the yucky transmittable stuff that apparently doesn't have a real cure is FREAKING ME OUT!
I want to live in a bubble.


Or maybe just start wearing latex gloves all the time.

Ick.

If I see you and don't hug you or something please don't be offended... It's not you, it's mrsa.

So what's with the PINK?

I know, right?
I changed from green to pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, but it's cheering me up a little, so it might just stay.
I had some friends over last night to knit and eat bad food so I (gasp) cleaned my house... well, parts of my house. The parts people were likely to see. I did neglect to close the bedroom door in time and I think my friend D saw the inside of my bedroom. With the light on. I am sufficiently embarrassed.
Here's how bad my bedroom is: you know how open and honest I am on this blog about pretty much everything that is going on in my life? I would never ever post a picture of my bedroom in it's current state. Never. I would rather reveal my actual weight. I would rather wear a bright yellow t-shirt with my weight printed in big letters on the front than post a picture of my bedroom in it's current state.
Seriously.
Anyway, the things that don't belong in the living room were removed and I swept and mopped the wood floors. The bathroom was fairly clean to begin with, but all of the underpants and socks were moved to a laundry basket and covered discretely with a towel.
When I am sick or really busy at work our house and everyone in it tends to go feral. I was sick for a few weeks and now I'm getting ready for Pledge Drive. My house was starting to revert back to jungle and we were starting to lose the opposable feature of our thumbs so last night I cleaned and tonight we're cooking and eating as a family. At the table. With forks and real plates.
And then I'm going to take a nap instead of cleaning my room.
So there.

Coffee Swap Questions...

Coffee

What are your favorite kinds of coffee? (Brands, Roasts, anything at all you'd like to share!)
I am a Starbucks Junkie... but I also like coffee at home. I tend toward lighter coffee, and while I don't know a lot about coffee I know that if "Sumatra" is in the name I'll like it (sort of like I know nothing about wine, but if it's from Australia I know I won't be disappointed). I also like flavored coffees - nothing too crazy, but vanilla, hazelnut, basic flavors like that are good.

Do you prefer whole bean or ground coffee?
Unless my package is going to include a coffee grinder I need ground coffee!

This time of year, there are often Holiday Blends available, and many flavored coffees - do you drink flavored coffee? Do you enjoy special blends?
I stay away from the "pumpkin spice " and "holiday" blends... but I do like peppermint!

How do you take your coffee? Cream and Sugar? Straight up? Decaf?
Yes. Seriously, I'm a cream, no sugar girl... but Splenda has come out with little coffee flavor packets that I'd like to try.

Do you prefer drinking from a nice thick mug, or a matched cup and saucer?
Ohhhhhh... thick mug. Big enough to put your fist in. I actually shop for mugs like that - if my fist doesn't fit inside I don't buy it!

Winter and Holidays - PLEASE be descriptive! Your pal will need this information to be sure to put together a package you will enjoy!

What is your favorite part of Winter?
I love snow days - when I get to stay home, that is!! I like to make a big pot of soup and wear pj's all day and bake something so that the house stays warm and cozy.

Do you celebrate a holiday in December, and if so, which holiday?
I celebrate Christmas

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree?
Yes

Would you enjoy items related to the holiday, or would you prefer a Winter themed package?
Either is fine

Do you collect anything? Are there any holiday or winter-themed items (Snowmen, Angels, Snoflakes, Santas, etc) that you collect?
I didn't think I collected anything, but when I pulled all of the Christmas stuff out last year my husband said, "Wow, you really like snowmen."

Do you wear scarves? Mittens? Hats?
I wear scarves and I would love a pair of wrist warmers or fingerless gloves and I just haven't managed to make myself any yet!

What is your favorite holiday or winter treat?
Peppermint ice cream... but that is not very helpful is it? I like peppermint and chocolate and nuts... those are all things that my mom has out during the holidays so I associate those things with holiday treats... I also loooooooove hot chocolate and marshmallows. I have been known to mix my hot chocolate with coffee instead of hot water or milk.

Please share a favorite Winter or Holiday memory.
Every year on Christmas Eve we have a late lunch at my Grandmother's house - nothing fancy, just soup and sandwiches and presents. Last year she moved into an assisted living facility and there just wasn't enough room for all of us to go at the same time. My husband and I had just moved in to our first house so we hosted the Christmas Eve lunch. I felt like a grown up, and I was finally able to use some of the serving dishes we got as wedding gifts!!

Yarn and Crafting

Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long?
I knit - I learned several years ago and in the last two years it has become an obsession.

Do you like wooden, metal, or plastic needles\hooks? Circular or straight?
I like wooden... but my tension tends to snap them in half... metal or plastic is better. I don't have a circular or straight preference over all... it depends on the project.

What sort of projects do you enjoy making?
I mostly knit socks... but I'm moving on to bigger projects!

What are your favorite types of yarn to work with?
Washable! I am not a big fan of novelty yarn, but I love soft and squishy yarns.

Do you spin or dye?
Nope

Do you do other crafts such as scrapbooking or needlepoint or anything else?
No, but I am interested in learning to quilt.

General

When is your birthday?
June 18

Do you have any children? (Furry kind count!)
One daughter (11), two cats and a husband

What are your favorite colors?
Purples, greens and blues... and pink.

Do you have any allergies?
Nope!

Underachiever

I thought I had a large stash.

I was wrong.

I am now speechless.

The World's Biggest Stash

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My grandmother was a beautiful woman. She was creative and funny and generous. She was the most centered and loving person in my world. She read to me from the second I was born. She could look at you and sew a dress that would fit perfectly. She sang to me for hours when I was sick or couldn't sleep. She could make breakfast on a Saturday morning an event - "good" dishes and presents. She always knew how to make bad days good and good days better.
She died when I was twelve after a 4-year fight with breast cancer.
I miss her every single day.

Every one of us has a story like that, or knows someone with a story like that.
This month I encourage you all to give what you can to your local Breast Cancer research fund.
Every month I encourage you to self-check and remind the women in your life to self-check.
Schedule your mammograms, take vitamins with antioxidants.
Exercise.

I found a pattern for Breast Cancer Awareness Socks... knit them in memory of someone you love, knit them to remind yourself to take care of yourself, knit them to remind others that this is a disease that needs a cure.

Crazy Tiger Fortune Cookie Monkey Socks

(Great title, right? I suck at thinking up clever titles but this one just sort of came out. I know it makes no sense, but that just works right along with the crazy aspect).

I was on my way in to work tonight and I saw a tiger riding a bicycle.
That is, I saw a person in a tiger suit riding a bicycle.
Somehow that little distinction doesn't make me feel any less crazy. I wish someone else had been in the car with me just so I could have said, "Hey look at that tiger riding a bicycle!" And the other person would have said either, "Weird!" or "What tiger?" Then at least I'd know.
I know that I have been working a lot lately and I am just recovering from a sinus infection, but surely that was not a hallucination. Right?
Speaking of crazy, we had dinner with my mother in law last night. It was more or less ok... she started going on and on about the husband and his health issues and I tried my super secret social worker tricks to get her to talk about other stuff, but she could only be so distracted for so long. I finally said, "Look, he's fine. He saw the doctor, she was really happy with his weight and blood pressure, we have everything else under control." What I didn't say was, "So back off you crazy, suffocating black hole of negativity!"
I should win some kind of self-editing award.
It's like reading a fortune cookie anymore... you know how everyone adds "in bed" to the fortune and when you're eating Chinese food with your kid or your grandmother you don't actually say "in bed" but everyone is thinking it... when I say pretty much anything to my mother in law I'm thinking "So back off you crazy, suffocation black hole of negativity" at the end of it.
I am two repeats and a toe away from completing my monkey socks. I had a serious yarn malfunction and had to cut a large-ish tangle of yarn out of the middle of the skein so I bought another skein of yarn just in case. I really thought there was no way I could finish without it but it looks like I might just have enough after all. I think I'll make some ankle socks for myself with whatever is left over. Now I just need to (patiently) wait for the few monkey things I ordered to get here! I plan to mail my Monkey socks and my wash cloth on Friday. Yay!

Coffee and Yarn

A Winter Swap!!

I know that I am a little swap happy these days... but this one is coffee and yarn!! Registration opens on the 24th so hop on over and get swap happy with me.

Thanks, K for finding this one... I'll be mailing out my 2 current swap packages on Friday and now I have a new swap to look forward to.