Diary of a Mad Fabri-Holic

Fat Free Cookies!

Are these magic cookies, you may be wondering?  Nope, it's the first shipment from the Cookie A Sock Club!

The pattern packet is a PDF delivered via email, and it appeared in my inbox a day (a long, brutal day) before the yarn itself appeared in my mailbox. 

But it was worth it for such a yummy skein- String Theory Caper Sock (which is part cashmere- YUM) in a stunning blue/green semi solid colorway.

Isn't it awesome?  I made it five whole minutes before winding it

and casting on for one of the 2 amazing patterns in the packet- Ripple Leaf.  My oh my, is it lovely- and hopefully I'll have one done soon to show you.  If I can stop touching the yarn and mange to knit with it...

 

PS Yes, the monkey quilt is still on the wall, unbasted or quilted.  I WILL get it done this weekend.  It's already late- my new cousin, Celia, decided to show up 2 weeks early, throwing us all for a few loops (her mom was 100% certain she was going to be a boy...)  Hopefully it really is gender neutral enough for this little girl.  (When the news of Celia's arrival made it to us, my mom and I might have raced out to buy her some very girly clothes...so at least we got that part right!)

Eat them up, yum...

You know how I didn't finish any knits aside from that one cute dragon hat in time for Christmas? I *did* cast one more on with the best of intentions...  When you give a cute animal hat to one of your kids, shouldn't you give one to the other one as well?

With that thinking, and inspiration from a certain Miss K, I dug out the last leftover bits of the camo yarn I used for this,

and this,

and cast on this

. 

Because what 7 year old boy doesn't need a camoflague fish hat?

I am thrilled to say that I *finally* used up nearly every single bit of that camo yarn!  Feels very very good.  Of course, now I'll have to come up with new ideas of things to make for Henry.  And speaking of Henry... I think he likes it!

Sadly, he won't wear it to school- kids teased him last year about a fleece shark hat, and now he's terrified to wear anything too fun. I debated going to school to kick some first grade a$$, but decided that probably wouldn't help matters.  Instead, we'll save enjoying this hat for weekends.  And hey, it's way less likely to get lost that way, right?

PS Most complicated part of the pattern?  Getting my butt to the store to buy some white felt for the eyes...

Hell Hath Frozen Over (or if not hell, at least the Pepsi Center)

Hi, remember me?  Sam, the girl who hates sports but will occasionally go to a Rockies game to knit outside with friends, and maybe have a hotdog, too?  The same Sam who used to live in an apartment from which, if you looked out of the kitchen window at just the right angle, you could see the scoreboard of Fenway Park, but who still has yet to set foot in the place?  Sam, the girl who has only ever been to Invesco Field at Mile High to see Obama's Democratic Convention speech?

I'd like to take this moment to reintroduce myself.

Hello, my name is Sam, and I am a hockey fan.  Specifically, I am a Colorado Avalanche fan. 

In January 2010, I attended my first Sticks N Stitches game, which was also my first ever NHL game. 

The game was horrible, with several MAJOR fights in the first few minutes and then also a very very serious injury resulting in a player removed on a stretcher.  The fans seated near us were nasty, especially the couple to my left.  For some bizarre reason, the knitters were scattered throughout the arena as opposed to seated together in one section.  Even my small group of friends, who purchased our tickets all at the same time, didn't get seated all together.  The only high point, and I admit it was a big one, was that I won a $100 gift card to an LYS!  After the brutal game and the nasty fans, I resolved never to go to another game.  Back to the occasional Stitch n Pitch and nice peaceful baseball for me.

And then a few weeks later, we were offered, free, the use of one of the fancy schmancy suites at the Pepsi Center to see a game.  Complete with free VIP parking.  So I decided to give it one more chance (what didi I have to lose with that kind of deal?)... and drug my kind husband and excited kids out for a night on the town.  And this game was a real game- not all fighting and nasty fans, but actual skilled playing. Huh.  Kind of cool.  In fact, really fast paced and fun to watch. 

And then, after some more wonderful and amazing free tickets for various games, including the family's favorite when the guy 4 rows in front of us took a puck to the face(!) but was miraculously fine, I realized something truly shocking. I actually LIKED this game.  I was watching results even when I wasn't there personally.  And starting to pay attention to the rules and stuff.  Huh.  Who knew I had it in me? 

But I do.  At the last game I attended (REDWINGS SUCK!), I bought an Avs T shirt.  And I wore it today to the 2011 Sticks N Stitches game.

Maybe the NY Islanders were a better choice for a knitters game than the Jersey Devils were? Who knows why, but the atmosphere was way better than last year. The knitters all sat together.  The teams actually played instead of simply beating the crap out of each other.  And while I didn't win any super amazing gift cards, I did win a hat kit and also some Avs magnets. Whee! The Avs lost in overtime, which totally sucked, but my friends and I had fun!

In just one short year, I've gone from Hockey-Hater to full fledged fan.  Much to the massive amusement of everyone who knows me well...and also the chagrin of my poor, sports hating husband.  Stay tuned to see what on Earth I'll change my mind about next... Politics?  Hatred of snow and cold?

(PS The hat on my needles is a Felicity, knit from a leftover skein of Misti Alpaca Tonos Worsted, and I finished it later tonight.  Just in time for the predicted subzero temps and snow predicted for the next few days...)

An Old Knit for the New Year

I'm not at all one for new year's resolutions- I can fail at goals all year round, thanks very much.  No need to choose a particular time for it...  But I would like to do a better job photographing and blogging finished knits.  There's a few pairs of socks, two wraps, and a shawl that I haven't shown you.  And as soon as I add the eyes, a fish hat for Henry, too.  But meanwhile... we can take another look at an earlier project from last year.

Remember this?  Total case of pride goeth-ing before a fall- I was so proud of getting an Xmas knit done in September, and it turned out to be the one and only Xmas knit I did at all.  Ooops.  Just not the year for knitting, or at least, not for other people... Selfish knitting was totally accomplished.  Anyway!  You saw Henry model Annie's dragon tail hat, but now, after Xmas, check out the real thing:

Wow, if I do say so myself.  Her favorite color, her favorite (mythological) animal.  She'll even deign to wear it in public!  (Which is becoming WAY more of an issue as we approach the tweenage years...) It's a Morehouse Merino pattern, done up in some luscious malabrigo worsted weight from the ever fabulous Fancy Tiger...  Next up for the lucky girl?  Some dragon leg or arm warmers in the same fabulous blue malabrigo.

And maybe some photos of my various and assorted finished projects, too...  Just don't call that a resolution.

PS Doesn't something about that photo of Annie remind you a bit of this? Not that I am in way way comparing myself to Vermeer (not hardly!)- but it strikes the same chord for me...

Here There Be Dragons...

Or at least, a dragon tail...

...a dragon tail hat, that is.  I realize that the child pictured above is Henry, however, he was helping me out- the hat is an Xmas gift for Annie, and I wanted to get an idea of how it fit.  And take pictures so I could pist it on Ravlery, and then also here... If you happen to know Miss Annie, shhhh!  She has no idea the hat exists and I plan to keep it that way until December 25th.

The pattern is from Morehouse Farm, and I knit it up in some luscious Malabrigo worsted that I scored at Fancy Tiger on 50% off sale!  This is the squishiest dragon tail ever.  The pattern is super simple- I knit it up in 5 days- but really adorable.  I had some trouble getting gauge, but it all worked out in the end. I have 1 3/4 skeins left, so perhaps an accompaniment is in order?  They have a cute dragon leg warmer pattern, too...

 PS Did you happen to notice I already finished my first holiday gift knit? Damn!  The kids have made many many requests from the Mochimochi book, so maybe that's next...

Doggone Tired

It has been insane around here lately.

No, really.  Times are tough at my office, and I feel like I can safely say that the last 2 weeks were the worst 2 weeks of my working life.  Still love my job, still love where I work, just wish things were different right now.  On top of that, my mom decided to put her SC house on the market and see what happened.  Fast-forward 9 days, and she's got a buyer.

What?

And the buyer needs to be in on 11/1/10.  Which means Mom has to find her place in Denver way way faster than anyone thought.  So during the madness at work, she was here, and I was helping her househunt.  The happy news is that we found a place, and she's scheduled to close on 10/25.  The sad news is that the timing of all this means that she will not be able to go to Disney World with us as has been planned for nearly 11 months.  She'll be here moving in while we celebrate Halloween with Mickey and friends...

Along with all of that extra madness has been the day-to-day soccer practice, homework, birthday, etc chaos that is life around here.  I swear, Rich and I are about to collapse.  But soon Mom will live here- just close enough to be convenient with out being cloying- and maybe we'll get to go on some dates...

With all of this, there has not been much sewing going on.  I finished a knit- another Buga Baby Bunting- this one for my boss's impending granddaughter.  I have made 2 of these now and they are wonderful super easy, super adorable baby gifts- but they photograph really blah without a baby inside.  See?

Mom left Saturday morning, and by Saturday evening I had managed to clean the entire sewing room- and trust me, that was a BIG feat.  Fabric had been piled in messy heaps everywhere, and thanks to my recent attempts  to sell off stash, yarn had also exploded out of its bins...  Then, I took Sunday off.  Stayed in bed to watch the season premiere of House.  I did 6 loads of laundry and vacuumed the entire place.  And next, I managed to sew 3 of the last 6 dog blocks!

 

 

I love how bold and bright these three are.  They'll pop into the quilt nicely.  The last 3 should also be nice and wild.  And then will come the challenge of laying them all out.

But not for a few weeks, most likely.  This weekend I'm headed out to SC, ostensibly to help mom pack, but really, to say goodbye to the house- Dad's house.  Dad's favorite place. I expect that will be hard (understatement), but, I've been promised dinner at the Sea Shanty, so that should help.

Wordless Wednesday: Rox-in Sock Club Edition

Buy My Yarn

Just like it sounds... I'm de-stashing to make room, and make money. 

That's just a sampling of the goodies on my Raverly Trade page...  Everything from Noro and Lorna's Laces to some red heart and lion brand, and from alpaca to acrylic- something for everyone.  Help a sister clean her closet AND work on her budget...  If you're interested in anything leave a comment or PM me on Rav.  Most everything has a price listed, but reasonable offers are welcome.  So are trades...

I Rocked These Socks

If you've read this blog at all, you might have noticed that I enjoy knitting the occasional sock.

Done laughing yet?

Okay.

Last Christmas my Grandma gave me a little check, and I decided to splurge splurge splurge, and so I put it toward a membership in the Rockin Sock Club.  For someone who is as passionate, and opinionated, about color as I am, it was kind of a big risk.  What if everything had been earth tones?  Or icky pastels?  Or... well, you get the idea.  When the first shipment arrived, I was so very very relieved!  A really stunning pink,

 

and with 2 gorgeous pattern options.  But one was toe-up, which I don't enjoy, so I moved on to the other.  Which was stunning, and full of bobbles.  Which I'd never done before.  But isn't the point of a club to challenge yourself and try new things?  So I did try it.  And even with the tutelage of Cathi Pink, the bobbles kicked my a$$.

Frog city.

Fast forward to the July shipment of the club.  The most stunning colorway ever.  Yum yum yum. 

And BOTH patterns were top down, and both were gorgeous.  So what to do?

Knit one out of the July yarn, and the other out of January!

January yarn is now July socks (pattern- rav link)!

 

Oh, and did you see that heel? These rock!

And on the needles now?  Pattern #2 in the July yarn...

Mr. Shawl Goes to Washington (Part 2)

By day 5 of the trip, we had already done many many museums and caught up with friends and family... So now it was time for the shawl, and the kids, to have a full-on tourist experience. What better way to become a totally shameless tourist that to take a Duck Tour? We climbed aboard the Lame Duck and saw the sights from both land and sea...

The Duck Tours "launch" from Union Station, an amazing structure well worth a visit. Annie was thrilled to find a Little Miss Matched store- an entire store!- and the rest of us had fun admiring the architecture and the statues with the incredibly strategic shields...

After some drama with the only bad cabbie we encountered the entire trip, we headed to the National Gallery of Art. The West side is more traditional art while the East is devoted to Modern. I adore the East. I spent so much happy time there during high school. Being there with the kids was wonderful- and I am quite happy that now as an adult I can actually appreciate Rothko- something I had a lot of trouble with back in the day. I could happily have spent another day or two just in here, but everyone else was not quite as thrilled as me...

The outside of the Gallery has glass pyramids similar to those at the Louvre. The kids and I had a blast playing around them...and so did the shawl.

We took a wonderful trip to the Canadian Embassy, which I guess means we were in Canada for a few minutes, to check out an exhibit in their gallery. Then we headed out to total indulgence- dinner at Legal Seafood. REAL fried clams- bellies and all- made Rich and I super happy. Henry didn't enjoy dinner so very much, as he bit an oyster cracker and turned a mildly loose tooth into a gushing fount of blood. Lucky other diners who got to experience that with us- not. After dinner we made not one but 2 stops for dessert: a pilgrimage to Dunkin Donuts... followed by another cupcakery. This time, the Red Velvet Cupcakery. And should you go to DC, you NEED to go there. I had the best cupcake of my life to date- and so did my mom! Only one day left now, so we had to make it count... First, we went to the National Building Museum to catch their amazing Lego Architecture exhibit, and play with legos for an hour.

An added attraction of the museum? We caught up with an old friend and her 2 sons... I hadn't seen Liz in about 8 years, and had never met the boys, so this was fantastic.

We all trekked over to the Old Post Office Pavillion for lunch and catch-up, and the Liz and the boys had to head home :-( But, we all went up the Clock Tower, which has one of the best views in DC, and is totally free, and usually doesn't have much of a wait, making it a wonderful alternative to the Washington Monument.

 

After lunch came Monument Marathon... We took a cab to Lincoln and worked backward. I challenge anyone who has ever stood at Lincoln's feet not to be inspired and awed. (Another DC must see was the Lincoln exhibit at the NMAH- I came away from that truly blown away.)

Then we went through the rest: checked out the Reflecting Pool (super happy we beat Mr Beck and his minions), the Korean War Memorial, not Vietnam (such an intense experience I thought would be better for the kids when they were older...), and on to WWII. That one is also new since I moved, and I was so impressed. The space is designed in such a way that you can't help but reflect and consider that multi-national epic event. I found myself thinking about my grandfather, and all my older relatives, who served. And missing them, and wishing more of them had lived to see it.

On past the Washington Monument, and back to the kids' favorite: the Natural History Museum. Granny (my mom) found a bench and collapsed while the kids dragged Rich and I to every exhibit they missed on the 1st stop earlier in the week. That took the last few hours of our stamina, and we trekked out to Clyde's for a delicious dinner served by the most amazing waiter, ever, and also maybe a few drinks for me. Not a bad way to end a vacation!

The next morning... home. We'll definitely be back- we need to say that family more! And by the last day, something odd had happened to me. I actually missed DC! I don't have any desire to move back, not even a little bit, well okay, maybe a teeny tiny bit, but I would like to get back there more...