Knitter Bunny's Dutch Rabbits and Yarns

2010-09-17T05:13:00.000-05:00

http://www.rkd2.canxhealth.com

I'm Moving

2007-05-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

So come on over and check out my new spot. I just couldn't handle some of the bl*gger problems I was having anymore. Plus I'm cleaning out the house, so it was time to clean the blog. You'll find me over on wordpress now. Same old knitterbunny, new digs. :)

All Baby Bunnies

2007-04-29T15:53:00.000-05:00

Enjoy! Regular posting to resume sometime, I promise. :)

House Cleaning

2007-04-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

Well, not literally. I've forgotten to update you on some things, or I just didn't want to fit it in a post. So, today is dedicated to updating you all on how things are going.

1. Remember way back when, when I joined runagogo? Well, I'm happy to say that I made the 100 mile mark by April 1, actually I made it by Mar. 30, but who's counting? ;) I even signed up for round 2 and have managed 21 miles for this round so far. I love Wesley. :)

2. Remember that sweater that I started for myself in oh, I don't know January-ish? Still haven't finished it. And the shawl that I'm working on that is partially a secret? Still not done. Oh, and the secret project that I'm working on, the one where I ordered yarn from Sheri at the Loopy Ewe and couldn't show you it? Still working on that one too, but I have high hopes that I can show you something soon.

3. I'm making socks. Really cool socks made oout of STR in the Henpecked colorway. I should be done with those soon and we should see Episode 4 of the Sock Hunter soon after that. :)

4. Will is already dating someone else. He started six days after ending our relationship. Rat bastard. I'm doing ok though. Everyone says that hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, I should have dumped that deadweight 3 1/2 years ago. Not only that, but I'm sooooooo thankful that we never got married. Did I mention that he thought that I knitblogged to "RANT. That's all you do right?" (direct quote on that one, grrrrrrrr)

He didn't understand my passion for the knitting, which was about the only passion left in our relationship by the time he broke it off. (smacks head! Should have dumped him a long time before he dumped me)

Also, and now I am ranting, I am a very strong minded, independent, strong willed woman. I am proud of this fact. If you can't speak your mind to me, why are we in a relationship? When I talk to you, I don't expect you to agree with everything I say (or disagree for that matter), but how am I supposed to know that you are bothered if you don't tell me? (end rant)

5. I have muy muy mas conejitos (baby bunnies). They are so darn cute it hurts to look at them. I really need to post pictures. Keep reminding me and maybe I'll remember to take pictures. :)

6. I adore my stinky dog, but he really needs a bath. As in, he's starting to burn my nostrils after he takes a run in the yard.

7. I really need Sheri to take a short break from updating the Loopy Ewe, she needs a vacation, and I need a week where I'm not tempted by all of the goodies. ;)

8. I need to spin more, a lot more, because I now have two fleeces and I need to spin up one of them before the end of the year. Seriously people, how can I keep buying fiber when I'm not spinning very much?

If you made it this far, thanks! I won't be blogging much in the next few days b/c I have two projects due next week and I'm judging the NATIONAL Dutch Show (I'm so excited!) this weekend in Kalamazoo, MI. This is my first national show and it's the breed that I raise, so I'm really nervous too.

Wow! What a long post, I'm off to work on my projects. Have a good night. :)

I'm a Loopy Groupie!

2007-04-23T16:19:00.000-05:00

With this being my sixth order at the Loopy Ewe, I am now an official Loopy Groupie! :) My new status meant a cool Loopy Ewe tote bag and a skein of OnLine sock yarn. I've never tried the OnLine yarn and while it is definitely not a skein in my usual colors, I know that someone will love a pair of socks made from it very much.

So what exactly did my sixth purchase consist of? Why Apple Laine Apple Pie (in dusk? perhaps? I'm too lazy to go check the tag), Claudia Handpainted (in Oops!), Scarlet Fleece It's Tubular X 2 (in Claret and I LOVE it), and the so very bright OnLine. ;) (Can anyone read the label on this brand?????)

Sock Hunter Episode 3: Common Bush Kiwi

2007-04-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Day fifteen . . . I've been stalking the Common Bush Kiwi* and finally captured a picture of a pair in the bush. It seems that I've found a new variety as this is a never before documented Baby Cable Rib Common Bush Kiwi.

I sedated the pair to get a closer look, and found the detail of the baby cable found amongst the ribbing was particularly beautiful when paired with the slight variegation of the yarn. I will definitely be watching this pair for signs of any additional Baby Cable Rib Common Bush Kiwi.

Each additional day spent in the field is yeilding new and exciting finds. My specimen collection has nearly outgrown its container and I fear that subsequent finds shall force me to purchase more containment. In hindsight, my addiction to the Loopy Ewe may have precipitated my fantastic finds as well as my containment problem.

Day sixteen . . . remember to buy more containers. ;)

*US 2 Birch DPNs, Baby Cable Rib from Sensational Socks, twisted German cast-on, Heel Flap (S1, K1 repeat across row, S1, purl across row), my usual 4-point toe decrease, Scarlet Fleece It's Tubular X 2 in Kiwi (yarn from the Loopy Ewe)

No Knitting Content Today

2007-04-18T18:47:00.000-05:00

This is what the girls and I enjoyed on Friday night when we got home. It was as tasty as it looks and the sentiment is real.

My girls at Baker's Peak here in town made this little cake for me. I told them the whole sordid story and decided right then and there to buy a little cake for myself. When they asked me what I wanted on it, this was the first word that came to mind. Appropriate, no? It was a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in case you were wondering. :)

I Love Fiber :)

2007-04-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

First, my purchases from Briar Rose. One skein of handpainted 100% alpaca, 2500 yards. Three skeins of a limited edition merino wool and silk blend from the sale bin, yardage unknown.

Next I bought these beauties, Handmaiden SeaSilk 70% silk, 30% SeaCell, over 400 yds. (Kristi, where did we buy these?)

Oh my! How did these sneak in here? My order from the Loopy Ewe came while I was in Greencastle frolicking among the fleeces. :) Fleece Artist, two skeins of the basic merino and three of the new SeaWool blend. I may just wallow in my Fleece Artist whenever I need a "pick-me-up" from now on. :)

The picture above and below, is my fleece from Sherri. You know, the six pound Polypay fleece that I didn't really need? Oh, yes, that one. Isn't it gorgeous? This is definitely one of the benefits of getting to the Fiber Event early.

Why look there! It's "beast" roving from Lonesome Stone. I adored the ladies there. In fact, if I could adopt them into my ever growing fiber family, I most certainly would. :)

This would be 8 oz. of fun, alpaca and silk and merino and who knows what else, but it feels divine. Sorry that I snapped this lovely portion out from under you Kristi. ;)

I also bought a skein of the most lovely plum colored sock yarn from the ladies at Lonesome Stone.

Finally, 8 oz. of mixed fibers with a purple cast that you can't see in this picture from the Full Bobbin. I think that she was there with Ozark Carding, that's the link I have for her in the book, so that's the one I'm giving you all. :)

I feel really good about every purchase that I made. I can't wait to get spinning the fibers that I bought at Greencastle. Kristi, you asked in the comments if I was ready for next year, and I have to say honestly "not yet." :)

My First Fiber Event

2007-04-16T16:54:00.000-05:00

Boy, it was a doozy! Here's just a taste of the fibery fun. If you want more random pictures from the Fiber Event click this link. :)

I just want you all to know that I walked the entire event once before making any purchases. On the second swing through though, I did my shopping. I only bought something if I saw it, remembered it, debated it, and then decided that I still wanted it. That said, the first thing that I bought was some lovely "Beast" roving and sock yarn from Lonesome Stone. (I'll tell you more about my purchases in another post. I want to focus on the Fiber Event in this one.)

This lovely lady is one of the owners ( I think), she agreed to pose with myself and Monica in front of her shop.

I then perused several more of the shops, finally making a beeline back to a gorgeous Polypay fleece being sold by Sherri Harris (sharris@jvlnet.com if you are interested). I had seen this fleece on my first round and while I really didn't need another fleece, I'm so glad that I bought it now.

This is Sherri and myself hanging out by the fleece, yes that lovely one on the corner. :) She was sharing booth space with a woman who made the most amazing little felted animals.

See this adorable raccoon? This little guy is one of Linda's creations. He was fabulous! Oh, and I love the little otter playing cards and betting fish. Mo and I had a great time chatting with these two ladies.

Soon after this I met up with Kristi (Needlefingers), Jennifer (Jenny from the Blog) *seriously, do you ever post?*, and Ragged***.

Finally meeting Kristi was a delight. She was so much fun in person, and Jenny and Ragged killed me. I laughed so much with them. This was Monica's first Fiber Event too. She found some felting fibers and needles to play with. I think she had a lot of fun. She was pretty groggy though as she had worked all night and was running on three hours of sleep.

Kristi, Jennifer, Ragged, Mo, and I had pizza after the Fiber Event. We chuckled about things like fiber addiction, socks, and carry home cups. It was a truly fun day all around. I bought a few more things than I listed here too, but this post is getting a bit long. So I'll leave you with this picture from the Fiber Event. Why yes, that is a needle-felted Betty Boop created by Bill Eatmon (deceased). Want more info? Contact his partner Steven (shelteringpines1@yahoo.com ).

***Due to the DR Knitting Witness Protection Program and some scary stash weasel incidents, I am not allowed to show you Ragged's face. Take heart, my blog readers, she was enchanting in person, but those stash weasels can really hold a grudge! It's for the safety of her knitting that I can't show you her lovely visage. Please notice that she has excellent taste in yarn. Other Fleece Artist junkies will know what I mean. (hee hee, this is like the neighbor on Home Improvement)

Anger is Great Motivation

2007-04-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

Specifically, I have completely rearranged my room. I now have a knitting nook, albeit not quite finished. Well, actually, none of my room is "finished," but it is close. Check out the yarn and knitting books and implements. :)

I still need to put up curtains and a few pictures and my weavings (all wall hangings, without rods, just another thing that Will never got around to).

Plus my bed now faces the doorway again, and I have a new jar of B&Body Works "body butter" in my new fave scent "Tiare Flower." I put all of the pillows back on my bed. All thirteen of them. :) The yellow quilt and pillows were a gift from a family friend for my HS graduation. I love them, but sadly the family friend is no longer a family friend, as she had a mental break-down related to bunnies and will no longer return my calls. :( The quilt does, however, bring back happy memories from before that time. (Oh, and that beige wall color in the picture above, is VERY accurate. It's not so pretty.)

Finally, I bought a new shelf for my African Violets, and took down the table he gave me. I'm still working on the TV area. I really want a TV stand. Right now it is on a bedstand and I can swivel it towards my chair or bed. :)

So a little more work and I need to put away some things that you can't see in the picutres. Plus I need to find a new spot for the stash. :) Then my room make-over will be complete.

Oh, and, if you are planning on being at the Fiber Event on Friday, I hope to meet you there. Send me an email if you plan to attend.

Sad

2007-04-08T05:44:00.000-05:00

I have a rabbit show this morning close to my home, so this is a quick post. I may not be posting for a few days.

I don't usually talk about the personal things that are happening in my life, but I am hurting right now. Will ended our relationship last night and while I knew that we were having problems, I didn't realize that things were that bad. We had talked and we were going to make some changes to the pattern that had developed. Now he's gone and I miss him terribly this morning.

I'm just really sad and I don't think I can handle blogging for a few days.

I Won A Contest!

2007-04-07T23:48:00.000-05:00

Oh, and Sheri knows me too well. I adore Fleece Artist, and my favorite colors are in this skein, blue, green, and purple. Did I mention that this is the new SeaCell and Wool sock yarn? It's squishy. :)

She also sent some non-wool items. The adorable Knit Notes for Socks tablet and some Busy Bee lotion. My roommate says that the lotion smells like my house at home. I sniffed the lotion and immediately identified the scents she was referring to: lanolin and beeswax. Or as I so eloquently put it "smells like sheep and honey." Not one of my finer moments. ;)

Souvenir Yarn

2007-04-06T09:31:00.000-05:00

While waiting for Miss Stephanie Sunday, we decided to walk the short distance to Busy Hands and do a little yarn shopping. I mean, 20% off the entire store? That was reason to go even without the wait!

What you see above is the loot I scored at the store. Two skeins of Malabrigo laceweight in Velvet Grapes, 100% Baby Merino, 470 yards and a skein of Grignasco Merino Silk, 75% Merino, 25% Silk, 1533 yds. I've been feeling lacy lately. :)

I have no idea what I am going to make with this yet, but I know it will be fabulous. I also got my prize for winning Sheri's contest. I'll talk about that in my next post. :)

More Purchases

2007-04-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

What can I say? I heard great things about this book and I had a coupon. Saving $10.40 on this book makes me a happy knitter. I'm looking forward to making a study of my books one day(actually reading the entire book in most cases). Maybe this summer after I finish some classes.

Being the little enabler that I am, when Jordan stayed with me Tuesday night and said she wanted to learn to knit socks, I offered to teach her. Which meant a trip to River Knits. :) I did restrain myself, only purchasing two Cookie A patterns and the size 17 and 19 needles to fill out my Denise set.

Please notice Kristi that there is no fiber in these purchases. :)

Just to remind myself that spring is coming and will be back soon, here is a photo I snapped on campus Tuesday.

I'll show my fibery purchases from Busy Hands (purchased while the Yarn Harlot was careening around O'Hare or frantically talking Brad into taking her to Ann Arbor, no doubt) in the next post.

Fog, Fun, and the Harlot on the Run

2007-04-03T11:42:00.000-05:00

While my Harlot trip really started with my travel on Friday night and the bunny show on Saturday. I'll start my story for today with Saturday night. Kristi graciously let me stay with her, Noel, the boys, and the fur fam on Saturday night. I was supposed to have been at her house in the early evening, sadly my show ran late and I didn't arrive until 9 o'clock. While it put a slight kink in our plans, we did still knit for a while. I staunchly defended my Apple Laine Apple Pie socks (they are too sock yarn!) and argued heatedly about doing a gauge swatch, before we finally retired to bed.

Of course, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the boys the next morning. Boys meet my blog readers, blog readers meet Kristi's boys, Garrett and Austin. (Better known as Gangles and Scrappy to regular Red Dog Knits readers.)

I even managed to snag this precious pictures of Gangles with the sweetest smile on his face. I'm sure the thoughts running through his little noodle were "Hello Crazy Lady covered in bunny fur. I have gas and I'm smiling. How about you?"

The boys assited Noel in the kitchen while he cooked up some super delicious huevos rancheros burritos. MMMMMM, yummy. So yummy, I barely managed to resist the smells wafting toward me until the appropriate time, namely as soon as I buckled my seat belt.

While I got to know Otis and Maslow a little better, hang out with the boys, and meet Noel's mom, the other knitters in our group were steadily making their way to Kristi's. The knitters were at her home in good time and we left promptly before our projected leave time with Pat, Erin, Kellie, myself, Kristi, and blogless Julee packed into Kristi's super nice mini van.

Kristi had us there in what seemed like no time and we were surprised to see the line of knitters already there. Imagine my even greater surprise when I heard my name called out. Dana recognized me from the back, in a gaggle of knitters, without my braids, and hair that was five inches shorter, talk about a good memory! I was elated to see her and immediately snapped a picture.

Incidentally, she was wearing this cute little concotion of Tempting and Audrey (correct me if I'm wrong). I seriously wanted to stalk her neckline and I believe I was even petting it at one point. Sadly, the neckline escaped my poor photography skills by moments each time.

I was surprised further when I was informed that Amby of Rusell Yarn was in line. She was carrying her Hitchhiker and planned to have the Harlot sign it (btw, she did). I so want her to be my new sister. Why? Because she can swear a bluestreak and it just makes me love her. :) Does that make me odd?

That's Diane on the left (in the red coat, for those like me who are directionally challenged) who has a blog, but couldn't remember the exact url because it's very new, was kind enough to help me find a seat. We'll get to that later on.

Check out all of the knitters! (And this was just the beginning.) Blogless Nia (in the flowered jacket), Diane, Amby, and the sadly blogless, but famous Rams, well the back of her head. :) (Knitters if you see yourself let me know. I didn't get to meet everyone and I'm terrible with names.)

I can't forget the posse I rolled with from Kristi's house in all of this. The knitting ladies of the Red Dog Knits Harlot Trip of 2007: Erin (well, her arm, how did I miss you?), Pat, blogless Julee, Kellie, and Kristi (hmmm, just her back, I am a very bad photographer).

Ladies, you rock. I had such a great time with you all. I'm so glad that we could get together. Plus we got to see Miss Stephanie and go to the yarn store. Oops! Getting ahead of myself again.
The doors to the library opened promptly at noon and I was surprised because the time seemed to pass so quickly. I could swear we had just gotten in line and then the doors were opening. We all ~~made a mad dash like rabid dogs after the last skein of cashmere in a yarn shop~~ walked sedately downstairs and scored prime seats near the front on the right hand side. Pat and I were convinced that the line would start there for book signing (which, btw, it didn't). Somehow I ended up in the front row between Diane and Riin. I was going to sit on the end of the fourth row with the rest of the gang, but then I wound up in the front row.

This turned out to be fortuitous. As I sat in the same row as the famous, gorgeous, fabulous RAMS!!

And to top it all off, Rachel H. sat in the front row too. You know Rachel H., the one that helped put out the smoldering sawdust fire in the snow on the front lawn. That Rachel H. She was wearing this sweater. Oh my Knitting Goddess, the sweater. The fabulous, glorious, beautiful sweater. *sigh* I think I want to be Rachel H. (I also apologize profusely for being the first one to break the news that you missed Rams in Ann Arbor last year.)
I also met these two fabulous ladies. That's blogless Nia and she was so funny. I had a lovely time chatting with her.

Oh, and Tracy. She had the best buttons on her cabled cardigan. (Tracy, I have completely forgotten your blog address. If you find this, let me know and I will be sure to add it.)

Plus, I saw Mouse again! I was so sad that she had to leave. :( She did however have an awesome Venezia that she was working on, and of course I had to get a picture of her showing it's cheeky stranding. ;)

By this point we had been informed by Tim (of the library) that Miss Stephanie was going to be late. Her flight from Chicago to Detroit had issues and she was stuck in Chicago which meant a two hour delay. I snapped a quick pic of the knitters at this point and we pondered what to do.

Why, go to the yarn store of course! Twenty percent off everything in the store, and I scored some great laceweight (I'll reserve this for another post.)

When we got back the number of knitters had grown substantially. Sadly Diane and her cute piggy earings had to go home. That's her in the pink sitting by Rams in the front row in the above picture.

Happily, Jenn was my new seatmate. And sitting beside her was Kathy aka Presbytera (anyone have her blog link?) who was wearing this gorgeous salmony corally shirt. It really was the perfect color on her. You can see them both sitting below. I'm in the blue-purple polo, Jenn is next to me, and then there is Kathy. Oh, she was so pretty in that color. (Did I mention that she and Rams were knitting socks in the same yarn and color? Weird huh? One was toe-up and one was cuff down.) Here are the knitters shortly before the Harlot arrived.

Shortly after another of the Michigan knitbloggers snapped this for me (I'm so sorry I totally forgot your name and blog, even though I talked to you for 30 minutes.), Dana called out "Kelli, look it's LarjMarj." My head whipped back so fast I think I popped a ligament. Of course, a picture was in order. Hi Dana and LarjMarj! I'm so glad that I got to see you both. :)

Not long after I finally met Marj, Miss Stephanie came running in to the roar of over 100 knitters. She came, she said crap, she called out for a beer, and she gave a sensational speech. If we truly acted on what she spoke about, there would be no more incredulous looks at the phrase "I'm a knitter." I truly believe that.

At the end, when I was standing in line with Karen in Toledo, I just knew that I had to snap a picture of her with the Harlot. Again, my poor photography skills in action. :) (Did you spot the Bohus? It was so pretty!)
Really, it was a fabulous trip. I enjoyed myself immensely. I met so many people and I know that I didn't remember all of their names. (Shout out in the comments if you met me!) Pat, Erin, Julee, Kellie, Kristi, thanks so much for letting this Hoosier gal tag along with you. I can't wait to meet with you all again. Anyone up for a Sunday, July 1 meet-up at Threadbear?

Sock Hunter Episode 2: Trajedy Befalls the Mate**

2007-03-29T09:15:00.000-05:00

Imagine my excitement when I spotted this beauty in the tree. The mate to the sock that I spotted mere days ago. My excitement was threefold as I spotted the nest behind her. Surely this is a good sign of more "Go-eth With the Flow-ers*" socks to come. Or perhaps an even more exciting find, a new specie of socks. My heart was pitter-pattering and I feared that the sock had become wise to my stalking when it suddenly flitted to the ground where I captured this rare moment.

Socks in a rare embrace

I was shocked moments later to discover that the mate had met a terrible fate** at the fangs of a black sock stalking cat. I paused mournfully over the remnants of such a beautiful and long-legged specimen. Such is the cycle of life with these socks.

Join the Sock Hunter next time for more exciting stalking of the wild and illusive socks of West Lafayette. ;)

*(Evelyn Clark's "Go With the Flow" socks, knit in Apple Laine Apple Pie in Deep Sea on US 1 1/2 DPNs)

**(No socks were actually harmed in the making of this episode.)

Yummy

2007-03-28T20:39:00.000-05:00

Kelli likes PEZ. And I have the perfect little guy to share it with, namely my little neighbor at home who is a PEZ fanatic. Plus, who can go wrong with some tea and sock yarn? Mountain Colors sock yarn, mmmmm. I've never tried it, but it is most definitely SQUISHY! (Socks should always be squishy.) Thanks Imbrium for holding a contest, I am most honored to win it. :)

I also suffered a small indignity today. Mind you, I was headed to the dermatologist to have a mole removed. I had planned on having a mole removed. Said mole was to be removed from one jaw line of said Knitter Bunny. This mole was not removed, in fact it was deemed fine by Dr. Lady Dermatologist. Sadly, this was not to be for a different mole in a somewhat more *erm* delicate spot somewhat south of the panty line. (No, not that far south! Get your mind out of the gutter. ) This resulted in a somewhat achy spot and I'm not feeling 100% tonight. As such, short post.

Hopefully, another episode of the sock hunter will air by Friday. If not, here's why: I'm going to see the Harlot, with Kristi and Pat and Erin and Kellie and oh my! Oh, and, I'm going to get my book signed, see? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, I have the new book!

Sock Hunter Episode 1: Socks in the Wild

2007-03-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

I was able to capture this photo of the very rare "Go-eth With the Flow-ers*" sock in the wild. In an attempt to blend in with the scenery it froze trying to camouflage itself with the brightly colored daffodils. I was barely able to snap my picture before this sock had run lightly away on it's 40% wool, 30% mohair, 20% silk, 10% nylon sole.

This was a grand specimen for it's kind being much longer legged than is generally seen. I feel blessed to have witnessed this rare sock and hope to capture a picture of it with it's mate soon. This is the Sock Hunter signing off.

*(aka Evelyn Clarks Go With the Flow pattern)

Michigan Again

2007-03-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

I'm becoming a regular MI visitor. lol I'm headed up to judge another bunny show. If you're in the LaPeer, MI area tomorrow, I'll be at the fairgrounds. :)

I've started another pair of socks, it's one of the patterns in the new Interweave Knits Favorites book. Bet ya can't guess which one. lol

My sweater is on hold for a while, as I'm working on two secret projects. I should be able to blog about one of them in a week or so. :) Terrible sneaky bunny.

I'll see you all on Sunday or Monday!

What a Glorious Day

2007-03-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

First, an FO! I finished my STR sock club socks for the first kit. :)

Lovelies on the sock blockers.

Specs:

Needles: US 1 birch DPNs

Yarn: STR Monsoon, sock club yarn

Pattern: Inside Out, sock club pattern by Kaci

Mods: Well, I never switched needle sizes as is recommended as I didn't find any indication where to switch, so I just knit straight on through. Next time, I would use a smaller needle for the toe and foot, then switch for the heel and leg.

I needed some courage today as I was meeting with my committee for the first time to propose most of my plan of study. So I wore my socks, and they are definitely lucky.

I didn't have any problems with the plan of study I suggested. I received valuable information from my committee and I feel as though great progress has been made.

Crocuses under Japanese Maple

But, beyond that, I'm excited because of these. Spring is definitely on it's way.

Scales, the good kind :)

2007-03-21T18:07:00.000-05:00

Can't go represent. Indiana to New York is a little too far to go for this bunny. So I'm a little bummed, but not much. I'm playing with a new little toy.

Hel-lo scale. :)

I have a scale that weighs in grams AND ounces. :) Is it silly that this makes me inordinately happy? I purchased this happy little scale at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It wasn't the most expensive scale or the least, but it suits my needs. Now that I have my scale, there will be fewer "oh shit, I think I'm going to run out of yarn" moments. (At least, I'm really hoping that's true.) Plus I can tell how much roving I have when I can't remember how much I bought. (oops) Also, I can tell how much roving is left when I'm spinning. Um, I'm a bit too happy.
Look! Over there! It's yarn on the wheel. Are you distracted yet? Good. I'm going to go slip away and play with the bunny (who is 100% better now).

Spot the Bunny :)

2007-03-20T20:07:00.000-05:00

This little bunny needed some extra attention. So I'm a bit busy to do an actual post tonight. A better post tomorrow if I can manage it. :)

Sneaky Bunny

2007-03-19T15:12:00.000-05:00

Who Me????

Well, I did finish my first STR sock club. This picture has the truest color.

And I started the second sock.

A close-up of the leg. These cables were difficult to execute!

And the very cool garter stitch toe and heel.

Plus, I had some time and I did a bit of spinning. I'm just trying to practice more than anything. So I spun the little bit of blue roving I had left and it is more of a thick and thin yarn. I wanted to try Navajo- plying and this was my first attempt at it. Definitely need more practice.

Specs: 3 1/8 oz. (90 g), unknown wool, 7 wpi (heavy worsted), approx. 110 yards, spun on my Ashford Traveller on the middle whorl

For this roving, I was doing my best to spin very thin (nope, no lace flyer) on the flyer that I have. I was going to stay with a one ply yarn, but chose to ply this instead. It was just begging to be plyed really. :)

Specs: 5 oz. (146 g), Ile de France x Dorset Cross wool, two-ply, 10wpi (Worsted), approx. 350 yards, spun on the smallest whorl on my Ashford Traveller

This yarn bloomed a lot more than I anticipated which is part of the reason that it came in at a worsted weight. I'm anticipating a bit of change once I finish processing it, but it will likely stay in the light worsted to dk weight.

So this sneaky bunny has been playing with the wheel and working on some secret knitting projects. I'll try to let you all in on the secret soon. :)

Have You Had a Checkup Lately?

2007-03-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

Because Bezzie over at Random Meanderings is having a contest to promote cervical cancer awareness. If you've had your annual, pop over to Bezzie's blog, read the contest rules, and enter for a chance to win some scrumptious yarn.

She'll have a monthly drawing and your name stays in the pot until the end of the year (if you don't win the monthly drawing) when she'll pull for a fabulous uber-prize. Or whatever she decides to call it. Plus the divying up of yarn is always fun.

Hey, you need to get that exam done anyway. Why not make it a little more fun?

I sent in my entry, and remember you have all year to get in on the contest. :)

Holy Lace BatMan!

2007-03-15T20:24:00.000-05:00

Oh, Great Knitting Goddess, what have I done?

I'm involved with this group called the Lafayette Lacers and there was this guy and he had a camera and I'm in this video thingy and holy shit.

By the way, he only sort of got it right. My grandma did teach me to knit when I was very young, but I didn't remember beyond a month or so. I taught myself to knit from the Lionbrand manual my freshman year here at Purdue University.

I can't believe I'm on the news, me with my shawl, the shawl I knit from Miriam's pattern. EEK!

Back to the knitting

2007-03-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

Finished objects.

1. Big Bamboo scarf

Yarn: 2 balls Classic Yarns Cashsoft DK, 142 yds

Pattern: Big Bamboo from the Vogue Stitchionary 2

Needle: US 6 Valley Yarns Bamboo Interchangeable

Mods: I added a partial repeat and a three stitch garter stitch border on each side

This was for a friend, she paid me for the yarn and I knit it the way that she wanted it. :)

2. Toe Sockies!

Yarn: Fleece Artist Left-Overs
Pattern: Just a basic toe up sock shortened and with a cuff done on smaller needles
Needles: US 2 birch DPNs for the toe and foot, US 1 1/2 birch DPNs for the cuff
Mods: Well, I made it into a toe sock. lol

I think Mom will like these quite a bit. She loves to wear clogs and toe socks. And, just for ya'll, here's a very blurry action shot.

Yarn Confessions: Last One!

2007-03-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

What can I say about this? I like Amy Singer and I've been eagerly awaiting this book. Plus I had a coupon. I should have bought it from my LYS, but I couldn't resist the siren call of B&N and their membership coupons.

The projects are delightful. I particularly like the shawl that is in the book. I'm in a bit of a shawl craze at the moment. ;)

I also bought some stitchmarkers and this very nice roving called "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" from Aija of Sockpr0n and the proprietess of Zer0 Stitchmarkers on Etsy. I can't wait to spin this up, but I'm going to. I have three more bumps to finish before I get to this.

Plus, I bought the book Cables Untangles by Melissa Leapman. Again, those coupons are getting to me. ;) Sorry, no picture. I'm feeling too lazy to go take it.

Yarn Confessions: Socks That Rock Sock Kit

2007-03-13T10:22:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm, Socks. That. Rock. This is the coolest kit. I am so glad that I scraped together the money to join. :) **Jessalu! Don't read any further if you don't want to know what's in the kit!**

First off, that binder is awesome. Second, I already put the tiny emergency sock yarn keychain on my keys (hence no picture). I love the pin and the sticker. Sadly, I am not affluent enough to make it to Camp Cockamamie, and I am judging a rabbit show that weekend, so that means no camp for Knitter Bunny.

The yarn "Monsoon" and the pattern "Inside Out!" are so cool. I can't wait to finish these and wear them all around town. I may even wear them with sandals and shorts just to show them off. LOL (Well, maybe not. I don't really wear shorts. Though I do on occassion wear sandals.)

Oh, and did I mention that I cast on for the first sock?

Yarn Confessions: Sundara Sock Kit

2007-03-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

These are totally not my colors, but I love it none the less. It was so bright and cheerful on a particularly dismal day. I opened it and instantly felt happier. I can't wait to play with the pattern and see how this bright happy yarn knits up. Plus Sundara always does a great job of explaining the inspiration behind her yarn. Don't you just love that picture of the birds of paradise?

I have the whole week to play with yarn (well, I do have one doctor's appointment, and a few papers to finish) and I am working on my secret project, spinning, biking on Wesley, and focusing on building up my reserves. I have a very busy few weeks coming up and I've finished some projects, but I'll tell you more about that after I finish confessing. Nope, still not done yet. :)

Yarn Confessions: River Knits

2007-03-11T11:05:00.000-05:00

I made two separate trips to River Knits. On the first trip I picked up some Dalegarn Baby Ull in blue and beige. I'm thinking of some colorwork gloves or socks. I haven't really decided, but I liked the color combination.
On the second trip I bought some yarn for Jayne and a little yarn for me. Misti Alpaca in a delightful cream. I'm thinking a giant lace shawl with this happy little batch of yarn. :) Elizabeth has a nice selection and the atmosphere in the little shop is delightful. I love visiting (and shopping, I never leave without buying something).

Yarn Confessions: Loopy Ewe

2007-03-10T16:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, so before I dive into the good stuff, see that button to the right? Right there, you know, under the "Click Me" heading. Yeah, that one. That button requests Amy Singer come to your town. You can create a request or click on a request to support it. I asked for West Lafayette, actually I'd be pleased with somewhere in Indiana, but Lafayette or West Lafayette would be nice. :) Usually I travel 3-5 hours to see my fave knitting book authors (Indiana is often skipped entirely!) and I would love to bring Amy to Indiana. Any of you Indiana knitters reading this? Would you help me out? Thanks. Now, On To The YARN! :)

I bought Fleece Artist. A lot of Fleece Artist. Actually, this is all Fleece Artist. Destined for five pairs of socks to grace my chronically cold tootsies. I promise you will be shocked and awed by the socks when I do finally get them all knit. :)

As for this batch, well it arrived yesterday. That's Scarlet fleece in Kiwi and Blue Jeans (the big squishy ones) and two skeins of Apple Laine in Deep Sea (oh, the color!). I was a little late getting in on the big website update, but I still snagged some great yarn if I do say so myself. Are you seeing a pattern in my yarns yet? Can you say, "Sock Yarn in Blue and Green!"? Yep. I'm totally on a blue and green kick. :)

Oh, and the Loopy Ewe? LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Sheri rocks and the service is fan-freaking-tastic. Three day turn-around time tops (unless there is a huge update, naturally it takes an extra day). I get my package so quickly, I'm always amazed. Plus the benefits are awesome (read: frequent shopper perks!). She also sends along a little extra something that makes the packages that much more fun to open. Hugs to Sheri.

What? You think this is it? Um, no. There is more to come. When I mentioned buying some yarn, the word "binge" might have come up. Hmm, what's that? It didn't? Well, it was. A binge. A big binge. I'm a little ashamed, but mostly, I'm rolling in the yarn. Bwa ha ha ha ha!

Yarn Confessions: Rae's Yarn Boutique

2007-03-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

Oh, Rae's was just my kind of shop. Crowded with yarn. So full you almost tripped over the yarn. Bursting with color and oh, I wanted to just live there. I think I might have died and gone to yarny heaven in Rae's.

As for the purchases, some Malabrigo in a delightful soft blue and purple colorway, Socks That Rock in Downpour and Henpecked (this one washed out), and some Alpaca With a Twist Fino in the most gorgeous green. I couldn't stop petting the STR. I wonder if the Blue Moon Fiber Arts people would mind if I rolled in the yarn in their shop. Hmmm, probably. Well, I'll just have to dress myself in some STR socks instead. :)

Yarn Confessions: Threadbear

2007-03-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

Ah, yes. Threadbear was indeed an excellent day. I purchased the new book from Interweave, Favorite Socks. I also bought some lovely Alpaca With A Twist Baby Twist and Mountain Colors in Sierra (the Sierra is a gift) on sale. In addition I bought 7 skeins of Cascade 220 in the purple heather color that I am intending for a sweater. Quite a nice purchase if I do say so myself. Any ideas on which sweater I should knit?

More yarny confessions to come tomorrow. Stay tuned. ;)

My version

2007-03-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

This is the Lightweight Mountain Peaks shawl by Miriam of Icarus fame (photographed at work). I made no modifications to the pattern barring a larger needle size to balance my yarn choice.

Yarn: Hand dyed single ply lace weight Merino wool from Spin*n*Knit on eBay

Needle: US 4 Susan Bates Circular (slightly blunt tipped for this)

I'm very pleased with how this turned out except for an error** in the border. I had contemplated sending this to State Fair, but I will knit another shawl instead. This was a great little practice piece to work with. I love Miriam's patterns; well written, easy to read, and a great finish. I'm working my way up to larger and harder lace. Whether or not this is a good thing is entirely relative!

Yarn Confessions start tomorrow. I'm going to limit them to my purchases at each store. It's going to take a few days. So delight in my gluttony. I've been impulse buying with the bunnies being sick. I bought quite a bit more than I realized too. Oops!

**ETA: The more I look at that sentence, the less I like it. What I meant to say was, I made a boo boo in the border and it really sticks out to me. Not that Miriam had an error. Her pattern was error free. (Not idiot proof though, I started the border three times before I figured out that my printer hadn't printed one of the symbols. Duh!)

Busy Busy

2007-03-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

I'm busy busy. Here's something to tide you over until I can put up my yarn confessions.

Cold, Cold Michigan

2007-03-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

Sadly my get-together with Kristi and a few other Michigan bloggers was cancelled. Happily, Scrappy is back on his feet, er, diaper and sucking down his college tuition in pricey formula.

(It was a little touch and go there even getting to Lansing on Friday evening. I don't like driving in such as windy weather.)

Even though my plans were re-arranged, I had a great time in Michigan. I really feel like I've recharged my bunny batteries even though I'm very tired. I was finished judging by 2pm on both days and, of course, I had to hit the yarn stores. First I popped up to Rae's Yarn Boutique where I was fortunate enough to meet Rae herself. Oh, and finding her shop, um, I had trouble. I also turned the wrong way up a one-way street, but saved myself by swinging into a parking lot. (I may have also stared forlornly at her shop sign trying to figure out how to get into the lot to park. )

Having purchased some particularly "oooo" worthy yarn, I then drove to Threadbear. When I say drove, I mean that I promptly passed the correct exit and had to turn around at the next exit and drive back to my original exit. I might have also cursed very loudly to myself. It was pandamonium there (as there was a LARGE sale going on), and I walked around with a very glazed look on my face for a good, oh 60 minutes before I was able to find something. I was, once again, dumbstruck by the sheer amount of yarn. Having said this, I'm not sure that I could survive Webs.

Once I was able to drag myself out of Threadbear, I made my way back to my hotel room for a quick regroup before my dinner with Erin. I suppose you could say that I was a little yarn fuzzled, because when I stepped into my room I was carrying my ~~yarn haul~~ bag from Threadbear instead of the pair of boots I thought I had picked up. Oops!

Needless to say, I then had a fabulous dinner/evening of chatting with Erin. Who, by the way, feels the same way about tomatoes as I do: raw and soup equals ucky, sauces equals yum. Odd aren't we? :)

My trip back to West Lafayette was uneventful, but I was glad to be home. Plus I worked on some paperwork that I needed to finish. I am, however, still quite tired and looking forward to a nice regroup before I give my presentation for class tonight. I have many yarn purchases to confess and I will do my best to have an ongoing series of entries over the next few days.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2007-02-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

While I love my mother dearly and know that she would never consider harming me for revealing her age, we're just going to say it's older than I am and leave it at that. There is no guessing my mom's age (at least not this year, lol), so don't take a guess in the comments unless you want to butter her up. ;)

Meet my mom in her formative years (the tender age of three). Cute isn't she?

I'm going to skip ahead a bit now and post some more recent photos. Meet "my other mother" Mary Anne and Mom, the "Alphabet Soup" gals. They were doing a program at a national conference and needed to be "soup cans." This always cracks me up.

Why what's this? Mom having fun? Yes, I think it is! Mom, Christy, and Teresa hanging out in D. C. having a little "treat" (ok, we all know the chocolate fudge is good, yum).

Oh, and Mom, she's a pretty bright bulb too. She wins awards like there won't be any left tomorrow (and at the rate she's going, there might not!).

I know, I know, I don't look much like Mom, that lovely young lady to her left certainly does (hi Cami!), however, her Mom, niece, and Sis-in-law are sitting in the front row (from your left to right). We're like one big extended family and when we have a party, we do it up right. :) The girls know how to whoop-it-up. hee hee

Yeah, so I don't look entirely enthusiatic in this picture (May 2006), but in my defense I was tired, cold, and my feet were aching. Mom was very proud of me though. Just three months after this picture she finished her doctoral degree and walked the same stage at Purdue for the third time. She keeps joking about making me call her "Dr. Mom." Yeah, it's not so funny to me.

Needless to say, I love my mom. She's supportive, she's fun, she has treated me like an equal since I was about 10 years old, and she has been more like a friend in the last few years. I know if her Mom were alive we would all be having a blast for Mom's birthday. Since she isn't here, I'm hoping you'll all leave my mom BIG birthday wishes instead. :)

Happy Birthday Mom! (I hope you don't mind that I shared your pictures.)

Hope in Pictures

2007-02-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I lost a few more babies tonight in different litters, but I keep hoping that it will get better. I hope that you enjoy the bunny pictures. All of those pictured are healthy (at least, as far as I know).

Life's Up and Downs are a Real Bitch

2007-02-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

First off, this is sort of a ranty post and sans pictures, so likely not any fun. Leave now if you're so inclined, I understand.

Every time I think that the herd is getting to the point where I can take everyone off the meds, I get a new outbreak. I've been fighting since New Year's and I swear if the cat sneezes one more time making me search in vain for the sick rabbit, I'm going to strangle her pretty little black and white neck. Hook, amazingly has determined that it is smarter to stay out of the scary woman's way. He's my new favorite right now.

I think the rabbits are getting better and then one relapses. Better yet, I have happy healthy babies one day and two dead babies the next. I'm talking about 19 day old babies people! Well past the age of instant death for no reason. I'm blaming the bacteria. I'm blaming the evil snot inducing, sneeze creating, makes me cry from frustration (I WANT TO KILL ALL THE BACTERIA RIGHT NOW) bacteria. I'm tired, I'm frustrated, I'm worried, I'm anxious, and I'm downright disgusted by all of the money I'm spending trying to make the bunnies better.

Which has made it really hard to concentrate on things like school, work, knitting, cooking, cleaning, or anything not involving sleeping. And in case you are wondering, that is really all I want to do or have wanted to do for about 3 weeks. I want to just give up, face the reaper, and sleep until it's all better. I know, I can't do that, but having the strength to keep fighting is really draining to me.

I finally rallied late last week, finishing some papers, taking some bunnies off the meds, cleaning my floors, doing a lot of much needed laundry. I even had time to really knit on my lace shawl this weekend and I'm on the edging now (picture to come soon). Saturday I was even feeling up to a little errand running/clearance shopping. And my friends, I found some great deals. I was all excited to come home, and then I nearly ended up as pineapple upside down cake on the side of the road.

I know, I need to be more careful. I know that it was icy. I know that going the speed and not panicking are important. I know that trying to turn the wheel to correct the direction on ice is a bad idea, but I did it anyway. A full 360 degrees, and much "shitshitshitshitshitshit" later, I was on a small outlet leading in to a subdivision about 2 miles from my house. I was fine, the van was fine, even my four pounds of kiwi fruits weren't bruised, yet I'm still upset by the experience.

Some time ago, I had my first car accident. I hydroplaned on a country round, spun 180 degrees, and rolled onto my driver's side in a very muddy cornfield. I had nightmares about the mud splattering up my window for weeks and being in a similar situation brought all of the old emotions back.

And when I think that I am finally getting everything back to as normal as my life usually is, I find two dead 19 day old babies when I go out to the barn. I'm just not sure how much more I can handle. Every time I think I've reached my limit, I reach a little deeper and come up holding more. I hear song's like "Bring On the Rain" and I think, I can do this. I can handle it. I look into the faces of my sweet bunnies and I try not to cry at having to kill some of them. I see hope in my pregnant does and I wish against all hope that this damn bacteria would finally let me have some peace. I just need them to be well for a few months, just to get my strength back, to give me more hope than what I can find in the fleeting moments I see it in the barn.

I'm heading up to Michigan this weekend for a two-day rabbit show and convention. My goal is to recharge my batteries, have a little fun with Kristi, and come back resolved to make as much right as I can in my life. I just need to hang on until then.

And even though I may not be commenting, I am reading your blogs, and I am thinking of you all. Thank you for letting me vent, and I'm sort of surprised if you made it this far.

Better

2007-02-20T12:58:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to let you know that things are looking better in the bunny barn. Very few new cases, and most of the rabbits have come through this with little to no wear. I'm still "doctoring" a few and will have to let a few go if the Sulfa drugs don't start working soon. On the whole though, it is a much healthier bunny herd. There are even a few signs of new life (aka, new babies). I was worried that I would lose all of my litters, but bunnies are more resilient than I tend to think they are.

I'm still knitting, but I have several papers due on Monday. My posts will be spotty at best and most likely very short until sometime next week. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of healthy bunnies to share in the next few days.

I'm taking a break

2007-02-09T19:26:00.000-05:00

I've had some bad news. It just confirmed what I already knew, but was trying to deny. I have a very contagious respiratory infection in the rabbit herd. I'm fighting it and have been for a while, but I just can't handle blogging for a few days while I try to minimize the damage.

Hang in there, I know I am. I'll be back when I can compose a coherent post and come to terms with what is going on the bunny barn. They've been my life for 14 years and it's hard to watch them get sick knowing that my injections aren't really working.

What I'm Working On

2007-02-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

Knitting wise:

1 sweater for me
1 pair of socks for Will (stalled until I can get better measurements)
1 lace shawl

School wise:
1 paper due Monday
1 Plan of Study due by May 1
1 research idea
2 projects that are due over the semester

Bunny wise:
1 specialty show on Sat.
2 shows on Sun.
24+ rabbits, all of their paraphenalia, and anything else for the shows
All of the paperwork that goes with running said show on Sat.

What does all of this equal? One frazzled Knitter Bunny.

Oh, and lace, ignoring it all to knit lace. ;)

PS, my Loopy Ewe order came today. As before, FAST shipping. I ordered it on Saturday night. She filled my order and shipped it off on Monday. Sorry about the secrecy, when I see if the project will work and ship it off (IF it works), I'll see about letting you in on the fun. ;)

What the ???

2007-02-06T22:28:00.000-05:00

Um, who ordered the Chilly with a side of SNOW?????

(No, Zoie is not an outside cat. Occassionally she likes to try to go outside. She was mightily thwarted tonight by this cold, cold wet stuff.)

Luckily my pipes have continued to run. Much to my delight. (heh, make that dee- light, kind of sarcastic and southern)

My knitting is back on track, pictures still to come, perhaps tomorrow, as I'm pretty well snowed in. Homework is coming along. I'm on track for the bunny shows this weekend ( in Huntington, IN at the fairgrounds if any of ya'll want to swing over and say hello, Sat night and Sun. am through about 5pm barring a blizzard). I'm working on work at home which is a blessing. Another season of "Murder She Wrote" landed on my doorstep today (te amo "Murder She Wrote"). Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow. :)

And, I won a contest! OMG, I have the worst luck in the world, but hugs to Imbrium aka Nerd Knits and the random number generator for picking me. I feel so loved. :)

Oh, and Cynthia, remember that promise I made you? Something about burying you in baby socks? Let the deluge begin. (those are all pairs, in case it's hard to tell, the ends, well something about superstition and Jewish folklore, and I don't know, go ask Cynthia) ;)

Update On the Pipes

2007-02-05T21:59:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so through absolutely no effort on my part (except for leaving the heater under the sink and what water I could get at midnight running) my hot water was back on this morning. Huh. Wish that worked for more things. Go to bed, wake up, problem's fixed.

I'm knitting on things, but having a few issues. I'll post pictures when I can remember to take some. lol

Sorry for the short post, I hope to put a little longer one tomorrow. :)

Brrr, Can I Get Some 30 Degree Weather?

2007-02-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

First, DAMN the contractor that though it was a good idea to put my kitchen pipes three friggin' inches away from my west wall. Yesterday my cold water pipe froze. I cursed it, I plead with it, and I kicked the cabinet door (that really didn't work). I even sacrificied my own little space heater that I use to keep my toes and bedroom warm, and it wouldn't thaw. I contemplated calling for help, but damn it, I had fixed this before. I held my yarn and self-soothed most of the afternoon, listening as I heard a pathetic drip . . . drip. Then I suffered through a constant dribbling of water until it finally started running again at 10pm. TEN AT NIGHT. Grrrr. Today my hot water pipe froze. I'm still attempting to thaw it. We will not go into the state of my sanity nor my knitting at this point.

Second, bless my clothes dryer. Nothing beats a piping hot bathrobe when you get out of the shower, especially when you are attempting to thaw pipes. Nothin'.

Third, red heat lamp bulbs are really scary looking after dark when they light up the two windows in your bunny barn. REALLY SCARY. They also have the effect of making me somewhat blind when I am in the barn. This is not a good thing. I will be replacing this bulb as soon as I can.

Finally, bless you "Biography" channel for your free preview on the weekend when you are running a Murder She Wrote and Poirot marathon. Bless you.

While I am not exactly appeased by the movies, they do help me cope with my frozen pipes. I'm going to go knit now, I'm still waiting for the drip . . . drip.

Have You Heard?

2007-02-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

Today is the Second Annual Brigid in Cyberspace Silent Poetry Reading. In honor of this, I am sharing one of my poems.

Untitled

and once when I was falling
falling from so high
and downward ever spiraling
through clouds of lullabies
a deep and endless dreaming
was there within my reach
but the moon was brightly beaming
to sweep those dreams beyond my reach
how I want that falling
to fall again so high
then downward ever spiraling
through clouds of lullabies

On an entirely different track, have you heard about the Cherry Tree Hill contest? I had no idea, until my friend (and fellow knitter) Mary Anne called me. I pooh-poohed the idea of designing something. And then, I had an idea. A very gripping idea. An insane idea that I'm not sure I can pull off, but I have until June 1. Shhh, please, I'm trying not to think about it.

To finish off this post, I finished a scarf. Did I even tell you about this little beauty? ONE skein of Malabrigo, I think the color might be Vaa??? I used all but about 10 inches of the 216 yards of this stuff. Knit on size 10 needles, in the pattern "big bamboo" from the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary: Volume 2. Oh, baby I love this scarf!

Seeing Your Handknits In Use

2007-01-31T22:41:00.000-05:00

This is Amelia. She's just 8 months and cute as a little button. I went to visit Christy, Jeff, and Amelia tonight to have a little after-Christmas Christmas. She's modeling the scarf I made her. Better pictures weren't possible. All of you who have or had 8 month olds know what I mean. ;)

That's all. I'm sleepy. I have much to share in my next post. :)

Have I Ever Shown You My LYS?

2007-01-30T18:57:00.000-05:00

I didn't think so. I popped in tonight to pick up some needles appropriate for lace knitting. Elizabeth was wearing this gorgeous knitted jacket, so I ambushed her and took a picture. She was gracious enough to let me post a couple of pictures of the shop too. :)

I also bought a little yarn, but it's for a friend's scarf and she reads the blog. Creative license and all that. ;)

I'm off to continue recuperating, feed the bunnies, and work on some homework.

Fibery Decorating

2007-01-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

I finally took Christmas down last week and I needed to put some sort of decoration on the fireplace. So, I looked around my house for inspiration and what do you think I found? Why yarn, roving, and fibery tools, of course! As fiber and its many manifestations has taken over my life in the last few years, I decided to make a display with some of my tools, yarn, and other fibery things. Hence, my first picture of this post, my fireplace with fibery pursuits.

I also managed to block my scarf, though it became more of a short shawl, and wash my socks. That was about it though as Beau and I are still sick. Here's a pic of the blocked shawl/scarf. I made several mistakes in this, but as it was practice for the heavy lace knitting I'll be doing this year, I chose not to correct the mistakes. I love the way this blocked out, though I should have encouraged it to be longer and skinnier.

I'm going to go curl up in my chair and work on Will's socks. Well, maybe my sweater. No wait, the shawl that I started! Or maybe I'll cast on a scarf. :)

I feel icky

2007-01-28T23:03:00.000-05:00

And Beau does too. He looked so sad in his little bed last night that I took a picture just to prove it. Doesn't he look sad and a little under the weather? I know I feel like he looks, achy head, stuffed up nose and ears, and a sore throat. I've had two cups of tea this evening and I think I need a third. ** That is his pillow and blanket. He just happened to be in a position that I could cover him with the blankie to get the picture. :)

I did manage to get a bit of knitting done this weekend. I finished up this scarf from Victorian Lace Today, but haven't blocked it yet. Better pictures when I do finally get it blocked. I used Alpaca With a Twist laceweight leftover from Grandma's Scribble shawl. I went down a needle size from the suggested and used a US 6 for the body and a US 4 for the border. I had some trouble with the edging as I apparently can't read the corners correctly. I fudged it since this is just a practice piece.

If you're keeping track, this meant that I only had one project on the needles, my sweater. Instead of working on my sweater, I promptly cast on for something else for me. Gloves! Then I went and finished them since I'm feeling icky and didn't want to leave my chair.

Yarn: Scout's Swag, Appletini, ? yardage, 100% wool
Needles: US 1 Britanny Birch DPNs
Pattern: Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns (slightly modified to fit my hand better)

Of course, I now only have the sweater on the needles again, but I'm about to remedy that. I'm going to cast on toe-up socks for Will in the Ebony Fleece Artist, and another lace weight shawl in the next day or two. I may not be up to posting in the next few days, but I'll try my best. :)

Violets on Parade

2007-01-25T20:42:00.000-05:00

Several months ago, I bought some african violet cuttings from Optimara. My cuttings have grown into beautiful plants (I lost two of the ten cuttings that I bought), and I'm finally getting some blossoms. Both of my Little Cheyenne Girl plants have burst into flower.

One of my unnamed (bought from Lowe's) plants is flowering. Plus one other plant is flowering again (no pic, sorry).

I had a little help while I was taking pictures today. Namely, one squeaky clean and mischievous Zoie-cat. She was peaking around the table in such a cute way, that I took a picture to show you. :)

As proof that you can knit while pedaling on Wesley, I give you finished Fleece Artist Amethyst socks!

Specs:

Yarn: Fleece Artist "Amethyst" 100% Wool, 325 m

Needle: US 2 Brittany Birch DPNs

Pattern: My standard 2 inch K2P2 cuff, stockinette leg, short row heel, stockinette foot, and four point toe (love my plain jane socks)

I love the Fleece Artist. I can't thank Sherri at the Loopy Ewe enough for sending me my yarn quick quick when I ordered it in December. I'm already planning to crack into the third skein to make socks for Will. :)

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Kitty?

2007-01-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

I'm not. She's soaked, and yowling, and I found it very funny. So I snapped a picture for you. :)

Monica decided to give Zoie a bath tonight so that she wouldn't shed as bad for the next few days. I didn't know that she was soaking Zoie until I heard a terrible yowl come from the bathroom when I was on the phone. As I was sitting at the computer, searching for Magnificent Mittens by Anna Zilboorg for my friend, I heard a soft yowl followed by several louder ones. Thinking that Zoie had been caught somewhere in the house, I rushed to the source of the sound only to find that she was getting a bath. hee hee

Last night I had a yummy dinner and I wanted to share it with you. Tasty taco spiced meat, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, cheese, and fresh lettuce all wrapped up to make a delicious meal.

Tonight I cooked up a wine reduction with a lot of tasty flavors thrown in and tossed some roasted chicken in it. Then I piled the chicken high with all of the flavorful ingredients that I used last night. Mmmmm, mmmm, crunchy! :)

I've also ridden 18 miles on my bike in the last week. I'm trying to use it everyday and just ride for three miles. So far, so good. Hopefully when I go to the doctor for my forced weigh in this March, I will have lost weight compared to last year.

In knitting news, I'm still plugging along on my lace scarf (which I really need to take a picture of), my sweater (still doing ribbing), and my socks (I'm on the second foot). Hopefully, I will have knitting pictures to show you all in the next few days.

Meet Wesley, Part Two

2007-01-18T20:03:00.001-05:00

Wes and I got to know each other better after my post last night. We took another leisurely stroll through 3 miles (94 miles to go). I'm thinking of hopping on him again before I head to Michigan today. I'm headed up to judge bunnies again this weekend and I'm meeting Kristi (yes, Red Dog Knits Kristi!) for dinner. I'm super excited and trying to kick my butt into gear so that I can be gone by 1. See you all next week!

Meet Wesley

2007-01-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

This is Wesley (aka a Weslo stationary bike) and he has come to the Knitter Bunny home to whip the flabby knitterbunny into shape. Wes is now occupying the spot where my wheel was residing and the wheel has found a home near the fireplace. I'm thinking of joining the "100 miles by April 1" KAL and getting my weight under control. College life certainly packed on the pounds. I was a meager 125 (and 5'6") during my senior year of high school. One Bachelor's degree, the beginning of graduate school, and five years later, I'm leaning toward 165 pounds. I don't really know how much I weigh because I refuse to buy a scale. So the last time I went to the doctor, I weighed in at 165. Not that I'm going to go crazy or anything, but I want to lose 20-25 pounds.

I took 12 years of dance lessons and miss the activity. My parents also had a two-story house and I live in a one story. Plus I didn't eat very well during my undergrad. I think you see where I'm going with this. I want to have more energy and feel better about how I look. Cutting pop from my diet was the first step, I don't drink any at home (though I do still drink pop occassionally when we go out to eat). Cooking more at home and expending some energy through food preperation was the next step. Learning to shop after I've eaten, sticking to my list, and attempting to buy healthier foods is what I'm working on now. Plus I have Wes as my secret weapon now. I biked for 3 miles this afternoon according to the readout. And I'm working on how to knit and pedal at the same time.

See the green bag on the bike handle? Oh yeah, I'm going to find a way to knit from that bag while I pedal. Socks and gloves here I come. ;)

2007-01-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

If you haven't wandered over to Purly Gates lately, Suzie is selling a few stash items, magazines, books, etc. to help pay for her "boot camp." She has some lovely items up that she needs to sell to fund her way to boot camp. You can read more at her blog. I bought the Morehouse Farms Merino book that she was destashing.
Also, if you haven't been to Bezzie's blog in the last week or so, she's running a program called KAYE. The "Kootchie Awareness Yarn Extravaganza" is simply a way to raise awareness of cervical cancer. Bezzie says it best in her post.

And keep the Yarn Harlot in your thoughts, her laptop "bricked." Seriously, how bad is that for the Harlot?

If you haven't noticed my clever deception, I don't have much more to report. Bunny barn gets fixed tomorrow. I'm off of work until the Chief gets back on Monday. I have a new litter of baby bunnies that were born here in the house and if I can figure out how to put it up, maybe I can show you a baby bunny at the dawn of life (it's a bit after birth, but not much).

Snow Finally Makes it to Indiana

2007-01-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

And a decent amount of snow too, if I so say so myself. Wait, I just did. I've been traipsing around in it all morning with the repair guy. Repair guy? Yes, as in my heating/cooling unit needs a new brain and the bunny barn heater needs a new gas valve. (sigh) This means that I will be forced to wait to replace the watering bowls with the automatic watering system until later this spring. Will is going to continue to work on designs and I'm hoping to have it at least partially installed by the end of March. I'm judging some rabbit shows and I'll be putting as much of the money as I can towards upgrading the bunny barn.

I've been knitting some on my sweater and started another pair of socks, Fleece Artist socks in the color Amethyst, because they make me happy. I also bought myself some flowers, pretty roses. I took a picture to share with you all. While there is some sun out, it hasn't hit the back of the house yet, so these are still a bit washed out in color. The petals are a bit more orange, but the edging is that pretty coral. :)

I'm off to take care of things before I go into class. I'm reading everyone's blog even if I'm not commenting and I apologize for not popping in to say hello more. I'll try to leave a comment on everyone's blog in the next few days. :)

Loot :)

2007-01-14T19:23:00.000-05:00

Way back in October I sent my buddy Cynthia some moo-lah to buy me some happy yarn at Rhinebeck. Cynthia not only bought me happy Rhinebeck yarn, she also bought me a birthday present. Due to the "sleep inducing virus" (aka, hello you're having a baby, when are you going to figure it out?) she has been trying to muster up enough energy to even knit, much less remember to mail a package. ;) But to my wondering eyes, on Firday evening, what should appear, but LOOT?!?!?

I give you Morehouse Merino Laceweight 100% Merino wool, Fingering Weight, 660 yards. yummy

Hand Maiden Sea Silk, 70 % Silk, 30 % Seacell, and it smells so good! 400 meters (See, that second skein? Happy Birthday Kelli from Cynthia!) Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy 96% Cotton, 4% Elite, colorway Diva, 200 yds

Spirit Trail Fiberworks 100% Superwash Merino Sock Yarn, 200 yards. These are totally going to be sexy red socks. Hot, sexy red socks. ;)
And then, there was this and this. OH MY HOLY GODDESS OF SPINNING! Can it be? Yes, silk hankies. Handpainted by a little old man (who I do not know the name of, but Cynthia might). She was inspired to get me some when she saw Amy Singer spinning them at Morehouse Merino, and the kicker, Amy Singer knew who I was and I wasn't even there!

Fleece Artist Rocks

2007-01-12T16:44:00.000-05:00

I love these socks. Knit in my usual sock pattern, 2 inch K2P2 cuff, short row heel, four-point toe. But these are scrumptious socks. I love the feel of them.

Yarn: Fleece Artist 100% Merino Wool, machine washable, 325 m per skein, color "Midnight" (and my picture really doesn't so them justice, the colors are so brilliant in person)

Needles: US 2 Brittany birch DPNs

Such love, I can't wait to cast on another pair. I'm swiftly creating quite a collection of socks for myself. :) I can't tell you how happy it makes me to slip into a pair of my own handknit socks.

My small package from Scout came today as well. Two cute felted flower kits, the pattern for a Poinsettia wreath (getting a jump on next Christmas), and samples of Soak, the gentle wool wash that Scout is now carrying. I'm going to try one out on my socks that I've been wearing this week. I have several pairs that need a good soak. ha ha I asked Scout to send my order sometime in January to surprise me and she did! I was pleasantly surprised and it was a day that I certainly felt like giving myself a treat. :)

Happy Day :)

2007-01-10T12:42:00.001-05:00

I have finished one fleece artist sock. My house is getting cleaner. My first two days of classes went well. But more importantly, I'm funded for a half time assistanceship! Money, and working with what I'm interested in! Yeah! Woo Hoo!

While I'm in a great mood, and I can remember to ask, what are your favorite yarns to knit large projects (such as sweaters) with? I really want to find good solid colored yarns to make some lovely lightly cabled or textured sweaters with. I'm partial to wool or wool blends, and decent yardage/price ratio is always nice. :) What yarns do you like? What yarns should I stay away from?

Distractions

2007-01-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to photograph this African Violet to show you for a week. Isn't this strange? One of the flowers is half purple, half pink; one flower is puple with a pink edging; and one flower is pink with purple "splatter" spots. All of the flowers are supposed to be pink with purple "splatter" spots.I'm still treating rabbits. One of the does that I thought I had cured sneezed a HUGE snot ball today. If she isn't cured with the second round of treatment, I will have to put her down to prevent it spreading any more. I'm very distressed, because I particularly like this doe and her bloodlines. My favorite buck is also sick, but with something else and I'm hoping that the antibiotic I am using will cure him of this other infection. While I'm hopeful that I will be done administering shots in the next two weeks, I am also praying to the Great Bunny God that I don't have to kill any one else. They are all my babies and I don't want to put any more down.

With no real knitting to show you, I thought you might enjoy a picture or two of Colt aka fugly. hee hee Will hates it that I call his dog fugly. I must admit that he is a smart little puppy. Monica and I played "puppy ping pong" with him. To play it, one person sits on one side of the room and the other sits opposite. You call the puppy's name and each time he comes to you, he gets a treat, but only if he sits. Colt caught on very fast. He is still learning his name, but he came to us 75% of the time. My fiance thinks I'm crazy for trying to teach him already, but Will can stick a fork up his nose. Puppies are never too young to learn, and besides, he's very inquisitive at this age. The quicker he learns, the faster Will can start training him to hunt.

Nothing Important

2007-01-08T13:28:00.000-05:00

This will be a phenomenally boring post so feel free to skip this one. Call it your freebie for the the month. ;)

I've been cleaning and organizing and getting things ready for my new semester which starts today. My closet is cleaner than it has been in two years. I finally parted with all of the shirts that I was wishing would fit. My yarn stash is organized, at least to me. :) My kitchen cupboards and refrigerator are clean. I am getting my school papers cleaned up and filed away to go to class tonight. My bunny barn is cleaner (still working on that), and Will is designing my watering system.

I had a tiny set-back with the bunny barn though. I run a small LP heater in the barn to keep the water from freezing in the bowls. It is better for the bunnies and somewhat warmer for me (I keep it at about 40-45 degrees F), plus my pump doesn't freeze. Unfortunately after four years my heater's gas valve has gone bad, and at $282 I don't really want to replace the part. So I'm looking at replacing the heater with another LP or possibly with an electric heater.

No worries though, I will still be able to buy my watering system. On the knitting front, I cast on for some socks using my Fleece Artist "Midnight" skein last night, but I only have the cuff of one foot done and it's not really that exciting yet. I also did a few rows on my sweater, but I may have to make it a shorter sleeved sweater, it seems that I only had 8 skeins of the Kimono Angora and not 10 like I thought. (This was what precipitated the stash cleaning. lol) So I may go with a short sleeve or a 3/4 sleeve. I am also ignoring the lace scarf that I am nearly finished with as I am stumped on the corner and I just don't feel like figuring it out right now.

I must get back to organizing, I have class at 6 tonight and I want to get the book before I go in. Have a great evening!

So, I'm a Day Late, Oops!

2007-01-06T22:28:00.000-05:00

I was so intent on knitting these last night, that I completely forgot to post. Not to mention that I had a delicious dinner of whole wheat penne with tomato basil sauce, roasted asparagus with parmesan, and sauteed zucchini with parmesan.

Back to the socks, my usual plain jane cuff down k2p2 ribbed socks. The yarn is Spunky Eclectic Superwash Merino in the color Bloomin', 500 yds. I used US 1 DPNs and a short row heel.

My house has been invaded by Colt, Will's puppy, and Will. This is a bad picture, but it is as good as it gets tonight. Is it improper if I call him fugly? I mean it affectionately, sort of. :)

It's 2007 and I'm still just as busy

2007-01-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

So, I've been on bunny duty the last week, giving shots, trying to keep up with the increasing number of rabbits that are sick in the herd. I have money saved to buy an automatic watering system. I had grand plans to buy yarn, but I've decided to purchase the auto watering system to provide clean, clear water to the bunnies at all times instead. I think that the investment is worth it. I can't stand the crock waterbowls anymore and the constant battle to keep them clean. I'm exhausted from the bunnies and the holidays and work and getting ready for the next semester. Not that I'm asking for pity, I just want to set my thoughts in order on how to make it better.

I'm unhappy with my weight. I'm unhappy with my current rabbit situation. I want clean water and cleaner cages for the rabbits. I'm going to rent a power washer and clean the "uck" from my cages. I'm going to buy my auto-waterer system. I'm going to lose 20 pounds and be happier. There. Hold me to it.

I started my healthier year last night with this salad. Spinach, green leaf lettuce, mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, cheddar cheese, and a poppyseed dressing. This was delicious and made me feel like I was treating my body better. I had a banana for dessert and a glass of milk to go with it.

I also finished the mittens that go with the Checks and Charms Hat. Right now I have a lace scarf, socks, and a sweater on the needles.

If you've made it to this point, thanks for reading along. I have so many things that I feel are cluttered in my life right now. I need to clean and purge my house and my barn so that I can feel better about myself and make some positive healthy changes. And I have GOT to start drinking more water. I just like flavor in my drinks, so I'm going to buy some lemons and have lemon in my water. Vent over. I promise a better post tomorrow.

Reflections

2006-12-30T15:19:00.000-05:00

So I was looking at Kelly's blog and she listed everything that she had knitted in 2006. I started thinking to myself about all of the things that I've knitted this year and I got out my knitting journals. (I use big 3-ring binders.) I started listing out everything that I've made, and it's, um, a lot.

Washclothes-22
Cat Toys-17
Pairs of Socks-12
Hats-8
Scarves-6
Shawls-4
Baby Sweaters-4
Teddy Bears-4
Ornaments-3
Mantle Runners-1
Christmas Stockings-1
Felted Bags-1
Dog Blankies-1
Slippers-1
Knucks-1
Gloves-1
Sweaters-1

That would be 88 knitted things this year. I think I may be a bit obsessed. My goal for 2007 is to knit more large items, and fewer small items. I think that will cut down on the total number of items and hopefully I'll feel more accomplished after tackling the larger items.

This has been a year of great growth for me in my knitting and I look forward to learning intarsia this coming year, as well as continuing to expand my knowledge. Thanks for coming along with me for the ride this year. I treasure all of the fun we've had since I started this blog in May.

I won't be blogging much in the next few days. I've been treating rabbits and have a lot to do before I gear up for classes next semester. See you in 2007.

What's This? More socks?

2006-12-27T19:28:00.000-05:00

Why, yes it is. Spunky Eclectic "Toronto Stipes" Superwash Wool/Nylon blend, 500 yds. These socks are for me. :) Knit on US 1 Brittany birch DPNs. I used a short row heel and only 60 stitches for my size 9 feet. I was surprised that they fit so well, I've been using several more stitches than that (apparently I think my feet are HUGE) and this has caused my last few socks to be a little, shall we say, big. These turned out very nicely though, don't you think?

My Christmas was nice and while I didn't get many fiber related gifts items, the B&N gift cards were quite nice and put to good use today. My latest acquisition is Inspired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis. I love the name Fiona. I had a pretty goat named Fiona once too. :) But, back to the book, there appear to be some real gems in this book, I've been eyeing it for weeks and finally purchased it. We'll see if there is a cabled something in my future. lol

After having a lovely weekend with Will, and a nice Christmas with my family, I was a bit puzzled when I pulled into the driveway to see a box sitting on my doorstep. Silly Kelli! It was my Sundara sock yarn club package. And is it ever gorgeous! Look at how beautiful this is and I can't believe that she was still able to get the club packages out on time after the storm and everything. I can't wait to knit this, but it will likely go on the back burner until I can get my queue ready again. I'm running short of planned projects!

Merry Christmas! Or Happy Holidays!

2006-12-24T23:10:00.000-05:00

I know that many of you will be reading this after Christmas and I hope that yours was merry and bright. Or if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I hope that any holiday gathering you attended was joyous.
Tonight I finished the first of what I hope to be four Christmas stockings. One for Will, one for me, one for Beau, and one just in case I need a forth (like for Stash and Hook). It's my own design, but fairly basic. I did make it out of Pakucho cotton (the naturally colored kind), so I expect it to stretch some when it is hanging. I just love the feel and overall look of this though, so it should make up for the stretching. :)

I love the colors on this. The green is greener and the brown is darker than in the picture, but I just had to share. I hope that the sharing you did with your friends and relatives was pleasant and cheerful. Merry Christmas!

Chocolate Mint Moose Cookies

2006-12-23T17:17:00.000-05:00

My gift to all of my bloggy friends this Christmas, is my special Chocolate Mint Moose Cookies. I whipped up this recipe a few weeks ago when I was searching for a cookie recipe to use that had chocolate, but not chocolate chips. That is a very hard thing to find, so I made up my own recipe.
Chocolate Mint Moose Cookies:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. (You may need to increase the temperature to 375 at higher elevations.)

1/2 cup room temperature butter
1/2 cup sugar

Beat together.

1 cup flour
1 egg

Mix.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons coacoa powder

Mix well. The dough should be somewhat sticky at this point and not satiny. A little shine is ok, but you should be able to touch the doe without it sticking to your finger like cake batter. If it is too sticky add a tablespoon or two of flour to make it more like dough.

1/2 bag of Andes mint chips
OPTIONAL: approx. 1/4 bag of chopped walnuts or nut of choice

Mix coarsely. Drop by teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. The cookies should be somewhat dome shaped and will flatten out slightly.

My cookies were made with pecans tonight and I didn't put in quite enough flour, plus I had a bit too much oil in tonight, so my cookies flattened out. I think that they taste best when they've cooled to room temperature. :)

Happy Holidays all!

To Float or Not to Float, That is a Silly Question

2006-12-22T18:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I finished the hat this morning, and decided not to embark on the mittens just yet. I want to finish the simple lace scarf that I'm making first and then I'll cast on another project. Here's a very bad picture of the hat.

And the obligatory hat guts. I discovered that in several places on this hat, I switched the top and bottom yarn, but it took me until I was into the dots to find a way to comfortably hold and use both colors at one time. What I finally had to do was tension one yarn with my pinky like I usually do, and the other with my ring finger. I finally had a good system going by the time I finished the hat, so the mittens should be much easier. I also switched the colors that I originally planned to use and I like the results a lot more. As we are getting much closer to Christmas, I thought that I would let you in on what my baking plans are for the next few days. Tomorrow I plan to make gingerbread cookies and Chocolate Mint Moose Cookies (which if I actually make them, I promise to photograph and share the recipe). Then late tomorrow night, I'm going to make cinnamon rolls from scratch which I have never done before, but should be great fun. Sunday morning the rolls will pop into the oven and we'll dine on yummy icing and cinnamon goodness. My backup plan in case the rolls don't come out well is homemade biscuits and gravy (one of Will's favorites). And I'm going to knit, knit, knit.

I don't often share the news of what is happening in the bunny herd as generally they are healthy and normal. Sadly some of my bunnies are sick right now and I'm fighting what appears to be pasteurella in the herd, this is resulting in the quick culling of some of my favorite animals which makes me very sad. In order to save the many though, I am having to cull a few. This does not make for a very merry Christmas and I hope to have better news by the first of the year. Keep my bunnies in your thoughts, please, and wish them healthy so that I can keep as many as possible.

Your Knitter Bunny.

It's Beginning to . . . Well, It's Still Raining

2006-12-21T19:22:00.000-05:00

I'm lucky too, because I would have been snowed into the house, if it was colder here. The weather man said that we would have had about two feet of snow with drifting if it wasn't so warm. Instead we've had two days of constant drizzle, drip, pitter pat rain.

I've made progress on the Checks and Charms hat that I was discussing yesterday, but I'm not quite ready to show it to you. I promise hat guts so you can see how I improved over the course of the hat. :)

I also received my Loopy Ewe package today. How awesome is that? A three day turn around from order to delivery! And, oh! The yarn that I bought. What? You want to see what I bought? Um, well, I sort of stuffed my stocking already, but I thought you might like a shot of Christmas at the Bunny Ranch instead.

My little Christmas display and a sneak peak at what I bought. ;) And before I forget, bring on the light! Reflective and Merry Solstice to you all.

Making Floats

2006-12-20T20:04:00.000-05:00

Last night I embarked on a journey involving stranded knitting and the Checks and Charms Hat and Mitten set from Knit Picks. If you recall, I bought this kit back in July after I made an announcement in June that I was going to learn how to cable, knit fair isle, and knit intarsia by New Year's Day.

I've managed to cable and mom's ornament was a small stranded exercise, so I decided that one of my next projects should be the Checks and Charms set. This is what I worked up last night. I like it, but I don't think that the green shows up very well with the light purple. So what I thought about doing was switching the light purple and the green. Any thoughts?

I'm worried that the same combination will create the same problem only reversed. This is my first sort-of-like-a-fair-isle project, and I'm not very practiced at putting colors together. I picked out these five as I thought that the resulting colors would look nice together, but I'm worried that the hues are too similar between the green and the light purple to have good contrast.

Harkening back to my list (ha! I love to use that word), I've completed two of the three tasks that I set for myself, but I still haven't tried/learned intarsia. I have an idea though. A really big idea, since I haven't tried any kind of intarsia. I want to design a Dutch bunny pillow. I'm thinking a purple-blue (something a bit more blue hued than lilac) background with a black and white Dutch rabbit. This involves finding good yarn with the colors that I'm looking for and my dear friends, this is where I need your help.

I'm not as concerned about yarn weight although something a bit heavier than sock yarn but not thicker than a worsted weight yarn is what I think I want. However, I want a wool yarn that I can find in a good black and a nice ivory-cream colored white that will have good definition when I create my intarsia pattern. I'm willing to negotiate my idea for the background color, so I'm really more concerned about the other two. I even thought about using naturally colored wools for the black and white, but I worried about finding a yarn for the background color. Ideas are greatly appreciated at this point.

I know that I won't make my goal of learning intarsia by New Year's Day, but I would like to learn it soon so that I can enter my Dutch pillow at the National Dutch Show Arts and Crafts competition at the end of April. Hugs to you all for your help. :)

History and the Present

2006-12-19T17:12:00.000-05:00

Today as I was popping around some of my favorite websites I somehow stumbled on to this book. It looked promising as I love to read about history and what's better than learning about history directly pertaining to a hobby you have?

In searching Amazon and looking for other books that might pique my interest, I linked to this book, by the same author. Prehistoric textiles? Sounds neat. I think to myself "Wow, I want to read these books. I'm cheap and I don't want to buy them. Drat, what am I going to do?" Then it hits me, I'm at Purdue University. I'm on a campus with thousands of books, and at least ten separate libraries. Somewhere on this campus, I bet they have the books I want to read.

So off I go to the Purdue Libraries homepage and lo and behold, there are the books I want! Being an impatient person, I hightailed it to the library where I got a little lost, but a kind knitting reference librarian (she was making the nautilus from Knitty btw) directed me upstairs.

Off I went on my merry way where I found both of the books that I wanted and promptly parked my butt on the floor to look at the books around them. Oh, the delights, the treasures, the titles! A History of Lace! Tapestries! Andean Textiles! This little Knitter Bunny nearly passed out from the thought of all of the fiber, however I persevered and perused the books until one more title caught my attention. Who could resist a book titled The Lost Tapestries of the City of Ladies: Christine de Pizan's Rennaissance Legacy?

Now, I am a merry bunny today, and I may have been smiling a bit goofily as I filed past rows of books that tantalize me even as I write this. I was tempted by books on myths and legends, folklore and fairy tales, mermaids and vampires, but I kept to my original intent and checked out my three books that related to fiber.

Which leads me to this posting, where as I'm writing I'm contemplating the origins of these crafts that I am so new to. I imagine small children learning to spin and knit and weave to clothe the family. Countless women toiling over stitching so small it takes bright light and a good magnifying glass to see, and the emotional outpouring that would have gone into the finest pieces that we still see today. In addition to this, I wonder about the common cloth and knitting. The child's doll made from leftover bits of wool that we will never see and socks that were worn until there is nothing left.

The thought of those pieces of love and devotion touch me in a way that I never comprehended before learning to spin, knit, and weave. It makes me think, ponder, and question what we have come to know and how many millions of people learned these same crafts, generation after generation passing down the techniques without benefit of paper and pen.

--------
Changing tracks, I want to mention my FO's. Two catnip mice finished. Sadly, Hook will have to wait until I have some more manly yarn to get a mouse. I'm sure that Stash will share.

And, I ordered yarn from the Loopy Ewe today. Not only was ordering easy and efficient, my order was processed today. Probably even shipped today. I'm shocked, delighted, excited, and amazed at how quickly my yarn will get here. If it makes it here by Christmas (OMG, I might get it by Christmas!) I'm going to stuff my stocking with it. What? You want to know what I bought? Too bad, you'll have to wait until it arrives. ;)

Drat, I avoided memes for so long

2006-12-18T13:44:00.000-05:00

First “THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.” -unashamedly stolen from Julie's blog aka "the tagger."

So six weird things about me:
1. I do not like my food to touch. At all. As in, keep your little juicy green beans away from my mashed potatoes. No, don't leak, don't leak, aw damn it! Now I have to build a little wall of food (that I will not eat because it has combined two food servings) to keep the two foods apart. Yes, I know this is a problem, but it is my problem and damn it I will embrace my problems. (No, I am not changing.)

2. I like warm pop. As in at least room temperature.

3. I do not like ice in things (hence, the warm pop), but I love to eat ice. Beau and I have been known to share a bowl of ice on hot summer days (and cold winter ones.)

4. I like a grilled peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich better than a plain one. I like the ooey-gooey peanut butter all melted into the jelly. And it has to be strawberry jelly. I like to try other jellies, but I can't bring myself to eat them with my peanut butter.

5. I like plain socks. No tricks, no fancy schmany patterns, just plain socks. I find them soothing to knit. I don't find them boring either. I could knit all of my socks plain for the next year, and not get tired of plain socks. Having written that, it does not mean that I will knit only plain socks for the next year, you never know what will strike your fancy. :)

6. I name every one of the rabbits that I keep. Every last rabbit that has lived long enough to produce babies or be shown in my herd has a name. I have named a thousand or more animals over the years. As a result, I have resorted to baby name books, movies, and friends for name ideas. In fact two of the bunnies most recently named are named for bloggers Aija (a sweet blue doe) and Dixie (her black sister) are named for the bloggers that I linked to.

As for the second part of this meme, I'm not going to tag 6 bloggers. I'm only going to tag one. Cynthia, you're it! HA HA HA HA HA. Anything to sneak a post out of you. ;)

Puppies, Itty Bitty Socks, and a Contest Winner

2006-12-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

So Saturday, Will and I went up to see the Brittany puppies that Mike and Mary Ann had for sale. They were born November 4 (two days after my birthday) and I had been waiting for weeks to go see the little puff balls.

The puppies are so cute. I want to snuggle up with all of them. Only they'd poop and pee all over, I know.
I took some great pix of the little cutie-pies. There are five females and four males. Will picked out a little male. I didn't get a shot of the two of them together, but maybe for Christmas. :)

Aren't they sweet? I love the little female on the left side of the picture above. If I could have bought two, I would have picked her out for myself. Oops! I guess I took this bottom picture turned.

I also finished a great little mini project. Thank you Kelly! I love this little mini sock blocker keychain. I had enough Koigu leftover from my socks to make a mini sock and I love the little thing dearly. It makes me think of giving tiny sock ornaments for Christmas. :) (Sorry that the picture is so fuzzy.)

On to the contest. I put everyone's name in a bowl and pulled out Ren! So Ren, send me your mailing address and I'll ship this sweet calendar off to you asap.

More Tiny Projects

2006-12-14T19:04:00.000-05:00

I cast on for Mike's hat on Tuesday night and finished it last night.

Yarn: Um, some Acrylic crap, but it will wash well
Needle: US 8 Clover Bamboo DPNs
Pattern: Um, kind of like Will's hat, I knit K2P2 ribbing for a while, then stockinette stitch for a while, and finally I worked out the decreases and voila! A hat!

Wednesday night I cast on for Mom's ornament and tonight I finished it up.

Yarn: It came in a kit.
Needle: US 3 Brittany birch DPNs
Pattern: Supplied by the kit
Mods: I used a US 3 instead of a US 5 because I liked the look better.

This was my first attempt at stranded knitting and I have to say it came out much better than I anticipated.

Now, I meant to post yesterday and talk about my kitty catnip toys that I knit up today for Zoie and Stash ( I still have to make one for Hook) and the lace scarf I'm planning with the leftover yarn from Grandma's shawl, but I got distracted. What could distract me?

Blockbuster. You can now take your mailed DVDs to Blockbuster and exchange EACH ONE for an instore rental. AND you get new DVDs mailed out quick-quick-like-a-bunny from your online Queue. So that's like a lot more DVDs a week than I used to get and um, I sort of watched movies last night and I kind of bought a few more (love that 4 for $20 deal) so I'm going to go watch movies and work on a scarf.

Progress tomorrow and don't forget to enter my wee contest. :) I love love love reading your holiday memories. :)

Oh, What Knitting I Have Finished!

2006-12-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

First, we have the Grandma Shawl.

Yarns: Alpaca With a Twist Fino 100% Alpaca laceweight (yummy) and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Mohair Wool
Needle: US 15 Denise Interchangeables
Pattern: Scribble Lace from Mason Dixon though you can find it elsewhere
Mods: None, shockingly

Second, a lovely hat for Will.

Yarn: Malabrigo 100 % Merino Wool in Autumn Forest
Needle: US 7 Clover DPNs
Pattern: Um, pattern? What pattern? I've knit some hats before, so I put some K2P2 ribbing in and some stockinette, and I worked out the decreases for the top.

Third, socks! Happy KPPPM socks made from the beautiful yarn that Kristi sent me.

Yarn: Koigu KPPPM 2 skeins 100% merino wool
Needles: US 1 Brittany birch DPNs
Pattern: Wendy Knits Generic Toe-Up socks slightly modified to fit my foot and a K3P3 ribbed cuff

My trip out to California was great. Smooth flights, good hotel, good shows, great people. I got to see my Jeannie and her family, and Scott. It was so relaxing for me. Plus, I got a lot of knitting done. A hat and socks people. In four days. With flights and traveling and judging and eating and talking and sleeping and I still managed a pair of socks and a hat. I'm ecstatic. Tonight is finishing night for some lingering projects like the glove that I started in October.

Then I have plans to start a hat for Mike and Mom's ornament, the last two things on my knit list for Christmas. I'll probably knit a couple of catnip mice for Zoie and Stash and Hook too, but those are so small I can knit them on Christmas if need be. :)

Don't forget to enter my contest by leaving me your favorite holiday memory. I'll be pulling a name on Saturday night or Sunday morning. You see, Saturday we're going to Cross Hart Farm to pick out a Brittany puppy for Will.

Off to Cali!

2006-12-08T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone! I'm off to California in just a few hours, so here's a little something to keep you busy.

Contest! Have A Holly Jolly . . . Um, Holiday?

Tell me a story, no really, a story about your favorite holiday memory. I'm not looking for Christmas or Kwanzaa or Channukah (sorry if I misspelled anything).** I'll pick the one that I like best (ok, I'm really going to pull names out of a hat) and you'll win a fabulous prize.

**Ok, so what I meant to say was, it doesn't have to be a December holiday. lol It could be any holiday. And since, I am such a mush-head, I'm going to leave the contest open until this Sat. at noon my time. That's 12pm EST. Sorry about the confusion. I blame the cold and the wool fumes.

Not bad eh? Have a great weekend!

P.S. I finished Grandma's Shawl before I left, so no need to take it with me. Pictures when I get back. Oh, and I started my first pair of toe-up socks last night. I'm excited to take them with me too. Pictures of these too when I get back. I'll see you all on Tuesday or Wednesday night.

I Read Knitter Bunny and All I Got Was This Lousy Post

2006-12-06T21:59:00.000-05:00

I have so many things that I want to post about, but I'm still having trouble organizing my thoughts. As a result, I am going to atempt a very Harlot list.

1. Stash had her surgery Monday and is doing fine. She will get her stitches out in about 10 days. I do wish that she would stop trying to climb into the attic in the bunny barn. I know she's going to pull a stitch if she keeps up those shenanigans.

2. I am two pages into my last real paper of the semester. I need to write two more pages and do my edits before I leave on Friday.

3. My nose is as bright as Rudolph's. No you are not getting a picture of it.

4. I may have invented a new cookie. I'm thinking of calling them "Chocolate Mint Moose Cookies." I may or may not let you know more later on. I may also be having them test baked by a few friends.

5. I have this sneaking suspicion that my wool fumes may have caused the mother-of-all-colds that has smacked my ass this week. I also suspect that I may still be experiencing wool fumes and as such may not be thinking quite right.

6. I am gearing up for California and trying to decide what knitting to take with me. Help. Please help. Take my knitting options away so that I MUST take Grandma's shawl with me. I have some of this Louisa Harding Kimono Angora . . .

7. Well, I thought that I had a seven. Oh wait, I do. No, no, I was wrong, I don't.

8. Oh, so, CygKnit had this really interesting post up that made me think about Christmas and holidays, and religions, and what it means to have those symbols. You should read it.

Um, that's all. More on the contest tomorrow or Friday.

Mantle Pieces are LONG

2006-12-04T16:32:00.000-05:00

I finished the matle piece for my office manager. It was a bit longer than I anticipated. It stretched all the way across mom's bed on the diagonal.

Yarn: Cascade Sierra 80% pima cotton, 20% wool

Pattern: My own. Green stripe is dot stitch, cream stripe is broken rib stitch, and the chocolatey brown stripe is seed stitch. I increased on the ends on every row to point it and decreased on the other side to match. :)

Needles: Denise Knitting Needles Interchangeable set, size 6 I think.

I think it came out quite well.

I'm feeling better today. I have one paper down and one to write. I'm flying out Friday and back on Monday for the bunny show. I've been in touch with my friends out there and I can't wait to see them. While I'm thinking about it, does anyone know where to find the FAA letter that allows knitting needles? I want to have a copy with me so that I can prove that I'm allowed to have them, just in case I'm asked.

Horrible, Icky, Yucky, No Good Day

2006-12-03T14:43:00.000-05:00

I'm sick. Blechy sick. Fever, headache, sore throat, stuffy nose. I was working along so hard the last few weeks with school and work and I knew that I was getting sick, but I kept trying to avoid it. This morning it finally hit me.

Luckily, I am dropping down to half-time work until the start of the next semester. so I have Monday and Friday off. Which is great, because Friday I'm flying to Fresno, CA to judge rabbits all weekend.

I'm also nearly done with my classes. I have two more papers to write by Friday at 5 pm. The tylenol is finally starting to subdue my raging head, so I am going to attempt to write one of my papers today.

Stash, (remember my sweet little kitten?) will be 6 months old this week and as a result has an appointment with the Doctor tomorrow. We will not be having any little kitties sired by her brother. No incest in these kitties, thank you very much.

Now, as luck would have it, I have a little gift for you all for the holdiays. While I'm gone I will be running a contest. The contest winner will get a very nice prize. I'll tell you more about that before I leave.

As I'm having a little trouble organizing my thoughts, I'm going to go curl up in the chair, eat a little chickie soup and work on my papers. Then I'm going to convince Will to put up the Christmas lights so that I can see happy little lights along my walkway. Then I might take a little nappy, which I've never told you before, is very difficult for me. I can't seem to take naps. This vexed my mother to no end when I was little. ;)

What is that white stuff?

2006-11-30T22:00:00.000-05:00

Just some Cormo that I bought a way back when. :)

I'm crazy, I know. I finally washed it and rinsed it enough to get the worst of the lanolin and dirt out. No I didn't wash it all of the way. I just wanted to rinse out most of the grease. I'm going to spin it with a bit of grease in and then I'll work with the yarn to get it much cleaner. Or maybe I'll rewash small batches of it as I get ready to spin.

Tonight I'm a "mad" woman. ;) I'm like the old time hatters that went crazy from fumes. I'm high on wool fumes tonight, my dear Alice. Pass me the sugar won't you. One lump or two?

My little piece of knitting heaven

2006-11-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

Or, at least, where I do most of my knitting anyway. Notice the wheel? How about the canvas basket on the stool? I have a bag of Angora fiber in there and several skeins of sock yarn. Not to mention the shelf o' yarn in the background there. See all of the yarn? Oh, and the basket at the foot of the chair? That has current projects in it. Plus I've got a ball winder handy right by the chair. I am a prepared knitter when I take posession of my throne in the evenings. :)

Even though you have all seen it.

2006-11-29T11:21:00.000-05:00

Help out the poor grad student. I'm a poor grad student myself. All you have to do is link to his posting and then ping Technorati. It's easy, it's simple. And it might be the simplest thing I ask you to do on this blog. :)

Want to know more? Here. Click his link to find out about the project.

I have nothing to talk about tonight.

2006-11-28T18:25:00.000-05:00

And as such, I shall distract you with bunny pictures.

New Black Himalayan buck who needs a name.

New Black Himalayan doe who needs a name.

This Black Otter Rex bunny is going to a 4-H member in Elkhart county. He's just here for a short visit.

One week old babies.

More one week old babies.

Three week old babies.

Are you distracted yet?

Such a Pleasant Weekend, Can I Go Back?

2006-11-27T21:13:00.000-05:00

I had a marvelous time with Will this weekend. I bought candles. Lots of candles. It made me very happy. Will didn't even complain, he just followed me around carrying candles. In fact, he was so good, I took him out to dinner at Applebee's.

Well, after I went to Threadbear and he followed me around Threadbear carrying my yarn and accessories. :) What's that? You want pictures? Hmmm, then I think I need to oblige.

I took these quickly just before I checked out. And I feel the need to mention that they don't have a roadside sign. Yep, we drove by it three times before we found them. I had to call the store to find out where they were. So, if you are reading this and planing on making your first trip to Threadbear, look for the sign that says "Quilt Depot," turn in there. And yes, Will did say as we passed it the first time, "Look, the Quilt Depot! That must be a good sign." Ah, you really do love me honey.

I have to say though, just walking into the place and looking for yarn that strikes you isn't likely to yeild a purchase. I got the impression that you really needed to have an idea of what you wanted because there is a lot of yarn, but it was almost too organized and streamlined for me. I guess you could say I like a little controlled chaos in my yarn stores.

I did manage to find a few goodies though. A bit of Malabrigo on Cynthia's suggestion. Will picked out the autumn forest color on the top for a hat for himself and the other skein is a subtly variegated dark green that he picked out for me. I'm planning on making a scarf and if I need to, using a bit of contrasting yarn on the ends. :) Sorry that the picture is so dark, late night and artificial light, and all that.

Plus Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns, some blocking clips, and the blue and green Chibi's. I already had the orange one and just wanted to work on the rest of the collection. :)

While I was there, I also found some neat little project and accessory holders. There was a very sweet woman selling these cute little handmade pyramidal project bags. She had some ingenius hand card holders, flick carder holders, and roving bags too. I did restrain myself and just picked up a bag for myself and two bags as gifts.

The rabbit show the next day went really well. I bought two more rabbits (like I needed any more rabbits) and found a rabbit for a 4-H member. Then Will and I made a beeline for home.

All in all, it was a great weekend and one I would love to repeat. Next time though, I'm going to hit more yarn stores. Hello, Rae's Yarn Boutique! You're next on my list. :)

Sweater Fini!*

2006-11-24T21:00:00.000-05:00

Neckband? Sort of. A crochet edging topped off the neck quite nicely. And it fit Will. In fact, I have pictures of him modeling it for you. :)

If I could have changed something, I would have read the directions correctly so the shoulder didn't pucker quite so bad. And I would have done the neckline correctly when I was binding off. :)

All in all, I loved the yarn. I loved the needles. I spent entirely too much time on this because I put it down for several days in between sections. Will really likes it however, and that means the world to me.

My Thanksgiving was normal. No real family drama. We watched the dog show on one TV and football on the other just like last Thanksgiving. (I was pulling for the little Corgi in the Herding Group, but alas the German Shepherd won.)

I hopped on home to work on my class project for my Distance Education class. I need two people to help me run through my class, so if you are interested in reviewing for me in the next week, drop me an email.

Will and I are off to Michigan in the morning for all kinds of fun filled adventures. (Ok, I'm making a bee line for my favorite candle outlet in Jackson, and Threadbear. I've never mde it and I've been in Michigan about two dozen times in the last two years. I am GOING TO THREADBEAR!) :)

Have a great weekend!

*I'm back on my exclamation kick!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

Wishing peace and happiness to you and yours.

I love it when Beau curls up on his bed.

One Sheep, Two Sheep, I have a Black Sheep

2006-11-21T22:35:00.000-05:00

This little sheepy is destined for a Christmas present, so I can't say who it is for. Maybe it's for you. :)

It's the Patternworks kit for the "Baa Baa Black Sheep" knit using size 5 Clover DPNs.

Kind of cute don't you think? The only thing is, I didn't quite do the legs right and they're all bunched together on the belly. They are supposed to be on the four corners of the sheepie. Oops. he he

I'm working on a mantle runner for my friend Angi, she asked me for a mantle runner specifically, so I'm swatching and trying to work the patterns together. I was going to use a garter stitch stripe, but the garter stitch is too thick with the other patterns I'm using. Any ideas for a third pattern to go with seed stitch and mock rib?

A Sweater That Actually Fits?

2006-11-19T18:11:00.000-05:00

Yes, my friends, a sweater that actually fits. At least, it fits me with a shirt on, so it should fit Will. It still lacks a neckband and a good blocking, but it's done. :)

Yarn: Araucania Nature Yarn 100% wool
Needles: Size 7 Bamboo Interchangeable circular needles
Pattern: Sort of the raglan pattern in Ann Budd's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns, but I didn't quite follow the directions, because I read them wrong, he he, at least I fixed it. :)

I've been working on homework all weekend, but took a break last night to get this finished up. I also started a little sheepie ornament that I'll try to get a picture of Tues. So if you're keeping track (and I'm telling you even if you aren't), I have the Scribble lace shawl for Grandma, the Feast gloves, and the sheepie ornament on the needles.

It feels like I'm getting a handle on things now. Don't worry, I have a lot of projects that are begging to be cast on. I'm just trying to keep it manageable for all of the travel I have in the next few weeks. :)

Knitting Content!

2006-11-17T20:22:00.000-05:00

I just couldn't resist. I was doing so well too, working on the shoulders and neck for Will's sweater, but I just had to cast on for one small project.

Mistake Rib Stitch (I think) Scarf
My own handspun Isle de France/Dorset Cross wool in brick red, golden ochre, and burnt orange (it is much more brick colored than it is showing in this picture)

I started this on Wed. night and finished it up just before this post. It needs a good blocking still.

So right now I'm knitting on Will's sweater, a shawl for Grandma (the Scribble Lace curtains, reborn), and the gloves from the Feast of the Hunter's Moon that I still haven't finished.

But that little sheep ornament looks really cute . . .

Travel, Tales, and Trees

2006-11-15T18:59:00.000-05:00

Well, after a few bumps in the road, things evened out at my conference. What kind of bumps you might be asking? How about not having a room for starters? Then getting lost in downtown Indianapolis and driving around and around the hotel that you need to get to and not realizing it? And waiting for 4 1/2 hours until you could get a room?

That was the biggest bump in my whole trip, and though I didn't get to any yarn stores, I most certainly made it to Circle Center mall. I found a few little things for Will for Christmas and I bought myself a few little luxury goods too. I mean I deserved a little treat myself after working on the conference, right? Especially when I was given a framed certificate of appreciation signed by my boss and his boss right? :)

It's my first framed certificate of appreciation. It's signed by some higher ups too, not mentioning any names of course. I was floored, I had no idea that it was coming. I almost cried. When I get the picture back, I'll try to post it.

And lest you think that there wasn't knitting content, let me assure you that there was. Will's sweater is possessed of two arms and a partial yoke. I'm cruising right along now, back in the round and planning a crew neck. I have several other projects that I can't wait to start, so I am looking forward to finishing this too.

Just to entertain your fancy while you're here, I took two pictures of the monument downtown close to my hotel. For Christmas they stretch garland and lights from the top to the bottom and at night it is lit up and looks just like a Christmas tree.

Check out the reindeer, trees, candy canes, and nutcrackers. Interesting decorating items don't you think?

Socks for Will

2006-11-11T22:11:00.000-05:00

Yarn: Fearless Fibers Deepest Forest, Superwash 100% Merino wool 550 yds, and I had a good portion left over even knitting for a man with size 12 feet
Pattern: Basic sock pattern, 2 inch K2P2 cuff, stockinette leg and foot, short row heel, and the Harlot's basic toe with alteration (knit two decrease rows instead of a decrease row, knit row, decrease row at the end)
Needles: Brittany Birch US 2 DPNs (the short ones)

Lots to do to get ready for the conference on Monday and Tuesday so I won't be blogging until Tuesday night or Wednesday night at the earliest. Hope you all have a great weekend. :)

Delightful, Don't You Think?

2006-11-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

Kristi sent me a happy little birthday gift. When I opened the box, I smelled a heady aroma of pumpkin and spices. What had she sent me? Soap! oooo, smelly, happy, tasty (don't worry I didn't lick it), delicious (I didn't!) Pumpkin Spice scented soap.

And in that box, there was something else that was smelly, happy, tasty, and delicious as well . . . Koigu! My very first Koigu in pretty fall colors that make me want to forget everything else I am knitting and design socks with a little leaf panel along the leg. Why, you ask? So that I can have (brace yourselves for the pun) falling leaves. ha ha As for what's going on here at the bunny ranch, I've got a teeny bit of a head cold and two papers that I need to finish up to turn in tomorrow. I also have tomorrow off. I will have to go into work for a couple of hours because the conference I have been working with the last two months starts Monday, but I can go in late and leave early! Oh, and I turned the heel on Will's socks which I will be knitting on during CSI tonight (LOVE the original). Plus I am through 8 of the 10 repeats on one of the sweater sleeves.

I am trying desparately to resist casting on any new projects and keep finishing Will's. We'll see how much longer that lasts. ;)

I'm Back After My Mini-Break!*

2006-11-07T17:45:00.000-05:00

I took a vacation day Friday, cleaned my house and decided to let you sneak a peek at the happy curtains that Monica sewed for me. Very nice, mauvy pink, and they look great with my rug. You can just barely see the rug and the top of Sadie's head at the bottom of the picture. I had a great evening and spent time with Curtis and Monica eating Chinese and watching House on USA. I love that show. I love that nasty attitude too. :)

Beau got lots of loving during my party on Saturday and on Sunday before my buddies left. He loves to lay on the floor with you. hee hee

There was stash acquisition, Sleeping Dragon yarn in Tequila Sun, Scout's Swag in Socktoberfest, and Sleeping Dragon yarn in Stormy Sky. yummy

And yarn goes great with knitting books, right? I needed these books in my library don't you think? There was knitting too. One sock finished for Will for Christmas, and I'm ready to turn the heel on the second sock. Plus, I've started the sleeves for his sweater. I'm feeling knitting mojo. :)

*What is with me using so many exclamation points in my titles anyway???

Winner! And Beau picked this one too!

2006-11-02T19:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! I had a lot of fun. Just check out my pictures. Yeah!

Can you guess what my favorite game is now? :) Beau picked your name right as rain. lol

Kelly, send me your address and I'll get this happy yarn right into the mail.

And speaking of happy yarn, I bought more yarn on eBay. Spin*n*Knit, I love you. I bought all of this yarn that she had. 7 skeins of 850 yds. Laceweight wool. YUMMY. It's ok. You can drool over it. My yarn diet totally didn't work. That's kind of why I didn't mention it before. ;)

Contest #4 Or It's Kelli's Birthday Already?

2006-11-01T22:47:00.000-05:00

**I'm going to keep this at the top of the blog until Nov. 1, it was posted on Oct. 27**

Yes, that's right. I'm holding another contest. What can I say, I love to give away the yarn.

So what am I giving away? Two skeins of Fearless Fibers 100% superwash Merino sock yarn, 550 yards per skein in the colorways Mermaid (which has some green to it that the picture doesn't show) and Marakesh which is kind of camo colored.

What do you have to do to win it? It's easy. Leave me a comment with your favorite game and what you think my favorite game is. I'll put everyones name in a pot and let Beau pick the winner on Nov. 2. You have from the time you read this post until midnight EST on Nov. 1.

I'll let you all in on my favorite game that night too. :)

With Visions of Cormo Dancing In Her Head

2006-11-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

I really need to clean that fleece. **Sigh** I just haven't had time for anything, much less cleaning my fleece. It is sitting in its box mocking me. In truth I haven't spun anything in a good long while. The whole work, school, knitting, KALs, rabbits, judging, travel, dog, AHHHHH!

Suffice it to say, I've been doing a lot and cleaning my Cormo fleece was not a high priority. However, I do want to get it cleaned before Christmas. Wish me luck. :)

There has been knitting going on at the Bunnny Ranch. I'm 16 inches into Will's sweater and ready to split the back and front to keep knitting.

Plus getting my oil changed gave me time to knit 1 1/2 inches of ribbing last Saturday, and I worked on Will's socks last night. I know it isn't very impressive, but here's the start of his socks for Christmas.

Nice colors for my manly man don't you think? They're even a bit darker in person. You want specifics? Allright.

Yarn: Fearless Fibers** 100% Superwash Merino color Deepest Forest 550 yds

Needle: US 2 Brittany Birch DPNs (the short ones)

Pattern: Um, pattern? what pattern? They're basic stockinette socks. ;)

**Want some of your own Fearless Fibers? Can't wait to see if you won my contest? Check out Etsy.com and Ebay.com. :)

We're Getting Closer!

2006-10-31T18:54:00.000-05:00

You know, to finishing Will's sweater. :) Eight inches of ribbing and about 6 inches of stockinette and I'm still into my second ball of the Aracania Nature Wool. This isn't a great picture of the color, but you know, winter lighting. This is the same yarn that I bought back in June and posted about on June 18. Good stuff. Kelli likes. :)

Hmmm, and isn't something else going on today? Something like, oh yeah! It's almost Kelli's birthday. :)

That wasn't it? Oh, you're right, Happy Halloween! More progress tomorrow!

All Kinds of Fun!

2006-10-29T20:51:00.000-05:00

Grandma bought me a gift card for Barnes and Noble. I happened to ~~make a beeline~~ wander in there tonight. I bought YARNplay by Lisa Shobhana Mason. I'll see you all on Tuesday night.

la la la la la :)

I think Grandma Carleen would understand.

2006-10-26T20:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't finished her shawl. I will not get it done by the Day of the Dead KAL date of Nov. 2. But I think that she would understand that I've been devoting my time to knitting for Kristi's babies. I think that she would also approve of the fact that I finished the third teddy bear tonight even after learning of Kristi's very sad news. I want Baby B to have his teddy.

I also think that she would want me to knit some hats to donate to premature babies on Baby B's behalf. I hope that this will be ok with Kristi. I know that many of us who read her blog were crying today when we heard the news. I don't feel much like blogging tonight. I wish that I could reach out to Kristi across the miles and share her pain.

Ahhh! My KTS2 Spoiler Strikes!

2006-10-25T19:21:00.000-05:00

Dear Kelly,

You are one of the craziest most cantankerous orneriest knit bloggers. (And sneaky, did I mention sneaky?)

But that's ok, because I still love ya. :) First you sent me that little teaser of a mug. Just a little hint of all the goodies to come. And then, and then, you sent me this huge box of goodies.

Not just any goodies either. Really tasty goodies like Caramel Twist tea, Spiced Chai tea, Maple Blueberry tea ( in a cute little tin), and this super yummy looking Long Island Strawberry tea. (I can't wait to try it.) Plus the tea infuser, and you must be completely psychic, because I did not have one tea infuser to my name. And it doesn't stop there, because you sent me Walker's shortbread cookies, which I have never tried, and I was wondering how they tasted since they are your favorite. (Yes I WAS reading your blog on a regular basis before you became my swap partner.) Oh and did I mention the funny little leprechaun keychain? I will admit that he scared me at first, but he's growing on me. (Did I mention he sort of leapt out of the box?)

And my goodness, the magnetic notepad, the notecards, and the sticky pads (how did you know that I love those????) are so cute. But were you done? Oh, no. You bought me a candle, and knit me a washclothe(?), and you got me the teeny sock blocker keychain (have you been reading my thoughts? Seriously, I almost bought this last month!). Yet that still wasn't enough, you bought me yarn. Great yarn.

Yarn that I was coveting secretly. Who doesn't want some Fleece Artist? Peter Rabbit Fleece Artist, no less? Is that not perfect? Knitter Bunny, Peter Rabbit. Huh? See where I'm going with this? And the colors of the Pattons SWS and the Peter Rabbit are dead on. Love them. Love them, love them, love them.

I must say, though you are the orneriest, sneakiest, hint droppingest, craziest, most cantankerous swap partner I have ever had (ok, you're the only one, lol), you've got to be the most generous swap partner a little gal in Indiana could hope for. I don't think I need to tell you how much I appreciate your generosity and the time you must have put into this, but I will.

I love you. Do you want to be my sister? I'll gladly give my brother away. ;) Oh, and can I come to Cananda to visit? You know, when it's a little warmer. lol

Gratefully in your debt,

Knitter Bunny