Fancy a game of tag?

This is my first time being tagged. Yea!

4 Jobs I've Held:

Wearer of awful uniform at Arby's (1st job)
Hotel Maid (2nd and most horrible job)
Mortgage Underwriter
Senior Loan Processor

4 Movies I've Watched Over and Over Again:

Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Gotta love Sarah Jessica Parker dancing in a Catholic School Uniform)
Dawn of the Dead
War of the Worlds
Signs

4 Places I've Been:

Spain
Washington D.C.
San Diego
Minneapolis

4 Places I've Lived:

Sheffield, England
Prescott, AZ
Pella, IA
Phoenix, AZ

4 TV Shows I Watch:

Grey's Anatomy (OHHHH I love this show)
American Idol
Family Guy
The Office

4 Radio Shows I Listen To:

No answers to this one...don't really listen to the radio

4 Things I Look Forward To:

My daughter coming home from her Dad's house
Getting a package of yarn in the mail
Seeing my dogs when I get home from work
Starting a new knitting project

4 Favorite Foods:

Moussaka
Salmon w/honey glaze
A REALLY good steak
Yorkshire Pudding

4 Places I'd Rather Be:

No where...I'm happy being home!

4 People I email regularly:

Ashleigh
Mum
Brittany
Uncle Mark

4 People to Tag:

How the heck do I tag someone? ;)

Done Da Done Done Dooooone

Pattern: Minisweater aka boobholder

Yarn used: Knitpicks Andean Silk

Colorway: Barn Red

Skeins used: < 4 total

Finishing knitted items ROCKS!!!! Especially when they fit. I love love love this pattern and the yarn is soft as a baby's bum. Glampyre's Minisweater in Knitpicks Andean Silk. Usually I dread the weekend being over, but I'm actually looking forward to Monday so that I can wear it to work and show off. No one at my office is crafty so they go apeshit when I show them something I've knitted. They have no idea that I am a total novice compared to a lot of people but I'm certainly not going to point that out. The praise can be slightly embarrasing but I must admit I eat it up!

Also on the finished plate is an Irish Hiking Scarf that I whipped up for my 6-year old niece, Grace. II omitted a cable repeat to make it skinnier. It was actually supposed to be an Xmas pressie for my Sister-In-Law but I ran out of yarn. The scarf would've been far too short for an adult but it's the perfect length for Gracie. Made with Lion Brand Pound of Love.

And last but not least is a pair o' Irish Hiking Wristwarmers for my other niece, Ashleigh. I made them for her on my recent visit to Utah. She wore them day and night. Seriously...she wore them to bed. There's no greater feeling than seeing someone wear the shit out of something you've knitted for them.

Cough Cough...I'd like to Thank....

Thank you friends so much for the well wishes. It was the best medicine I could be prescribed. I'm slowly heading down the road to recovery and will be back at work on Monday. I'm knitting as fast as my ailing body will let me and plan on finishing the sleeves on my Boatneck Sweater this weekend. Yes, I did get over my bitterness of the missing raglan disaster and restarted the sweater the very next day. I've got one sleeve done and another to go and then FINITO! I also finished a 3AM Cable hat in brown. It was supposed to be for my daughter, but when I showed it to her, she looked at me as though I were asking her to wear a dead animal on her head. So now the hat is for me. I'm pretty sure the 3am is my favourite hat pattern. It's so super easy and the results are very impressive to non-knitters. Thank you Ms. Smariek for your brilliant pattern. Hubby is getting one next in black. He's very concerned that it isn't going to be big enough and was quite shocked when I informed him he could try it on as I knit it and it will be custom fit to his noggin.

Please don't hold the hideous photo against me. Bronchitis makes for a bad head shot.

The Doctor Has Spoken

...and he says I have bronchitis. Yowch! Quite a long time ago, I used to have chronic bronchitis. Every year for about 5 years, I would get bronchitis in April. No fail. It was weird. Then one year..poof...it never came back. So now it has decided to pop its head up to say hello. Luckily I'm past the outrageous body aches and fever that prevented me from knitting and have successfully picked up the beloved sticks again. Yesss!! Things are looking up!

Warning: Whining Ahead

Thursday at around 3PM I started to feel a bit "off". By mid Friday I was at my desk, shivering in my heavy cable knit sweater. Since then I've progressively got worse. I haven't had a flu like this in ages and I am absolutely miserable. I have spent the entire weekend laid on my couch, watching reruns of Americas Next Top Model. Possibly the very worst part of this sickness is that I am so weak and disgustingly ill that I can't knit!! I tried but found that even the smallest movements made my arms feel like I was knitting with 50 lb needles. I'm devestated that an entire weekend has gone by with no knitting progress. Life is cruel sometimes.

Just Shoot Me Now

Let me set the scene for you.....I had started the basket-weavey type cardi from KnitSimple. Decided I didn't like it after all and started thumbing through my copy of "Fitted Knits" for a replacement pattern. I landed on the "Bluebell Boatneck Sweater" and was happy to realize that this sweater is the one I should have been knitting all along. I showed it to Scotty and he too thought it a beauty. So I merrily frogged the cardi and cast on for the Bluebell...in this case the Red Poppy. Approximately 3-4 hours later I was actually astonishing myself with my speed and ease of knitting. I had already put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and you know those body decreases? Oh yeah...done. On I proceeded to the k2,p2 ribbing...really...this speed is absolutely incredible for me. I am not known for being a fast knitter. I decide to stop and admire my work and then the unimaginable happens. As I am slowly spinning my Poppy around, I think I may have blinked for an incredibly long period of time. Because it appears that one side of the left sleeve raglans is missing. That's crazy. How in the world is it possible that I would have missed that? I may make some silly mistakes from time to time, but an entire raglan? No chance. My eyes must have been closed. I turn the sweater around 3 or 4 more times, waiting for my brain to jump into action and tell my eyes to see what is so obviously in front of me. It can't. I soooo made that mistake. CAN YOU IMAGINE MY HORROR??? (Grab the air in front of you-both hands-pull it down and make an anguished face--it'll help you see my pain). My fingers and wrists are achingly sore for NOTHING!!! Oh my hell....this ...this....there's no appropriate word for it other than...this BLOWS!! Please God, Jehovah, Joseph Smith & Mr. L. Ron Hubbard......give me the strength to frog this beautiful sweater in the morning and start again with no resentment.

I made it!

With the exception of one missing beanie, I got all my Christmas knitting done. It was tough but I did it! Happy dance...happy dance...woooooo hoooooo!!!! Now is the time that I vow to begin my Xmas knitting earlier next year. Then I proceed to laugh at myself because we all know that will never happen. I'm just not a person who plans ahead very well. Strange that I'm not a planner, because I'm certainly not a spur of the moment kind of gal either. I'm somewhere in between. I'm 1/2 procrastinator, 1/2 got my shit together girl. Now that Xmas knitting is over, guess what's next?? Knitting for MEEEEEEE!!! Yesss! I've already started an Irish Hiking Scarf with some teal Cascade 220 that will look divine. Ever since my Sister-In-Law declared with a *gasp* that I look phenomenal in teal -I want to wear teal all the time. I love teal and bright red together. Soooo, I also have the most B..E..A..utiful skein of 220 in red. Methinks it will become a pair of wristwarmers or a beanie to be worn with the teal hiking scarf. OHH...just thinking about the combo is exciting. Then I've also begun a little cardie from the new Knitsimple. It's a little basketweave looking number with 3/4 length sleeves. In the magazine, the model is wearing it with the most hideous looking dress. She looks stupid, but the cardie is still pretty darn cute. In the mag it's white, but I'm making it in red. And yes, I did ponder knitting it with teal when I was selecting my wool.

Oh Little Town of Knitlehem...

Why oh why must I commit myself to knitting a Christmas gift for my entire family (and then some)?? My poor poor fingers feel like Fat Albert's been sitting on them all night..heyHeyHEY. It will be worth it right? I think so. This is the first Christmas in my knitting career that I've gone balls to the wall like this and made so many gifts for people. I think it will also be the last. I find myself getting a bit panicky and I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm running out of time. Luckily I have some vacation days at work I needed to use before the end of the year. So there are quite a few extra days in December that I can spend doing nothing but knitting. My husband finds this incredibly odd. He just can't wrap his mind around the notion of an entire day spent knitting. Initially, he felt that I should spend my days off cleaning the house, etc., because that's what he does on his days off. Ha Ha Ha, what a silly man. I've had to explain to him that while it may look to the untrained eye as if I'm being lazy, I truly am not. I'm working. Not only am I working, but I'm working on knitted gifts for his relatives as well as mine. This relieves him of having to pick out Xmas gifts for his Sisters and Mum. He hates shopping. Especially hates shopping for his relatives. Knit on Claire, he says....Good job. Hmmm....that's more like it.

Here's a couple of finished knitty delights soon to be wrapped and given away.....

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Man that was a creepy movie. The first time I watched it I was about 11 years old and it scared the poo out of me. Now I'm 34 and I think it's actually even scarier to watch. Anyhoodle....onto the real reason for the title of this post. I "finished" Wicked. My definition of "finished" of course means that the sleeves are not complete but the sweater is done enough that I was able to try it on. Shocker of all shockers....IT FITS!!!! I think I will block it to give it a tiny bit more length but other than that it's perfect. Those Zephyr gals really know how to write a terrific pattern.

Charlie Bean's Hats

Supposedly these will fit a 2-year old little boy. I'm not so confident they will. Luckily Charlie's Mama has a great sense of humour so at the very least she'll get a laugh out of my blunder. Then again, shocker...they may fit. It's been a while since I was around a 2-year old so it's possible I have a very warped idea of the size of a toddler's head.

On today's knitting agenda we have the possible completion of a 2nd Irish Hiking Scarf. I'm a bit disappointed that there is a clear distinction between skeins but I'm telling myself that it's got charm that way. Also trying to finish Wicked. A few more inches until I start increasing for my hips. Yippee!!

You're finished here!!

I'm in jeopardy of contradicting my well earned reputation as a non-finisher. This past weekend I finished a hat for Charlie Bean, Le Slouch and a set of Irish Hiking Wristwarmers. If I carry on like this I won't get to constantly complain about how I never finish anything. It is a lovely feeling to finish though. Especially when it's something that has been sitting in the Graveyard since July (le slouch). I can't believe I started it so long ago. I think I made it too slouchy though. Either that or the cutest beret pattern ever written is just NOT a good look for me. The latter is a strong possibility. I care not. I will wear it anyway. I love the colour and...it SPARKLES!! A little sparkle...not crazy sparkly.....it's not as my Nanan would say, "Shunkly". Shunkly is a good term to describe the finished crafts of a woman armed with a Bedazzler. No pics of the hat for Charlie Bean yet but without further ado.... here I am looking very out of place in my slouchier than slouchy Le Slouch. Don't I look shunkly? heh heh.

I need a TURBO button

I got suuuper excited this morning when I realized I could start the Tree Jacket from those oh so talented Zephyr Girls. I have 10 skeins of Knitpicks Merino Style in Hollyberry. Read a few blog posts and decided a size 7 needle will work best. Yes, I know a gauge swatch would probably be smarter but cmon...what fun would that be? As I went searching through my collection of needles (okay I have a v. large Craftsman toolbox for them but stating that factlet would kind of make me sound obsessed so "collection" sounds much saner) for my 16" Addi Turbo, all I could find was the empty package. What the deuce? Please don't tell me it's being used already???? Alas, my fears were supported when I found it neatly ensconced in a front panel of the hibernating Ribby Cardi. To make it even worse, my 24" Addi is holding onto the stitches of my Wicked for dear life. Much to my dismay I realized that I now have TWO projects I must finish before I can start the oh so adorable Tree Jacket. Please turn your attention elsewhere while I throw myself on the floor and have a wee tantrum. &%$^$%!&#^$%&! Okay....Age 6 moment over. This sucks!! Have you any idea how long the Ribby Cardi has been in the graveyard? I think I actually see a coating of dust on the bag it's in. Oh shat I suppose I have no choice but to finish it. Actually....I do have a choice....I could put the stitches on scrap yarn and use the needle to start my Tree Jacket. NO! I won't do it....I'm going to finish it. Hmmmm...this is an interesting concept to me. Now...onto my research on how to slow down time and speed up my knitting so I can finish more projects during a day....damn where is Hiro the Hero when you need him?

B&N You ROCK!!!

Barnes and Noble is an after-school (work) playground for me. Every Friday, directly after work, I go to Barnes & Noble to buy new magazines. I start with the celebrity trash mags (US Weekly, Star & OK!) and then move down to the Crafts/Hobbies section. On occasion I will see a new Knitting or Crocheting magazine. It's fantastic. Seriously...it's really exciting to look on the shelf and see a shiny new Interweave Knits. IK is the Grand-Daddy. If there's a new one of those out I practically sing out loud. (I wish I had the bollocks to do that because, well, wouldn't that be a great thing to see someone do at the book store?) Yesterday's after-work excursion didn't bring me that joy but it did bring me the new KnitSimple. You know what I like about this magazine? The title for starters. You know you're not in for a complicated lace pattern that will bring you to tears. While the title makes me feel safe & cozy, I generally don't find many patterns in it that I want to make. However, this issue has really surprised me. I actually gasped a few times when turning the pages. (**gasps are usually reserved for IK only**) There will be several items made from this issue. After picking one off the shelf (+1 for my Mum) I headed over to the Knitting book section. Much to my surprise I saw that 101 Designer One Skein Wonders was already out. I didn't think it was coming out for at least another month. Yippee!!! There's a lot of great patterns in here. I like this book as much as it's predecessor...One-Skein Wonders-101 Yarn Shop Favorites. I'm going to have to exercise some serious willpower to not start something out of this book until I've finished a few of my current wip's.

Speaking of wip's, I finished a couple last week. I finished my Mum's birthday scarf and then added a hat at the last minute. Her birthday was on 10/26 and she's going back to England for a visit in December, so I wanted her to have something to keep her warm. She's always wanted to wear beanie hats but thinks she's not "young enough" to wear them well. I think she'll look fantastic in one so I knitted one up after I finished the scarf. Hats are great. A couple of hours from start to finish. I think she will really like both items. I've been wanting to make the Irish Hiking Scarf for ages. I was always too afraid to try it because cables made me very uncomfortable. Now after knitting it I feel far less intimidated. Ta Da.....

That's my Meggie Moo posing in the hat. She's got a lot of sass that one. I love her to pieces.

I really am a Knitter!!

I actually finished something! It's the Two-Toned Ribbed Shrug from Fitted Knits....and guess what....it FITS!!!! I finished this little baby in 3 days. This is so unlike me. The ufo's from the graveyard (aka hall closet) are still screaming..."Why not us????" Poor things. If only they were more interesting. Hey...I took my Karaoke Cable Scarf out from the closet last night and did two...count em...two pattern repeats. So I don't feel sooo sooo bad for always starting something new. Besides, I got to wear the Ribbed Shrug to work and have co-workers oooh and aaah over my handiwork. They wouldn't have such a positive reaction if I was wearing bags of ufo's now would they? I think not.

I'm Such a Hooker

What a perfect Friday evening. A celeb mag, a glass of Pinot Noir, and an easy peasy crocheted scarf. The only thing ruining it for me is the god forsaken dog across the way who is currently trying for the Guiness world record for barking non-stop. I love dogs. I love my dogs. I would never ever harm a dog. But I am about two seconds away from throwing a handful of rocks over the wall. I don't want to actually hit the Labrador of Lucifer with said rocks. I just want to surprise it into silence. In other news, I have finished Juliet. I am more disappointed than I was when Rusted Root turned out to be infant sized. I was feeling mighty confident that Juliet would fit me. I didn't even break a sweat when I tried it on midway and thought, "Hmm seems a tad roomy". Alas, it is GINORMOUS on me. I'm going to give it to my Sister for Christmas. It breaks my heart to send it away. I will definitely try again though. Maybe this time I'll use the specified yarn instead of being a cheapskate and using Lionbrand Wool-Ease Chunky. Needless to say I've lost a bit of confidence in my knitting ability. What does one do when times are tough like this? You start hooking. It makes me feel a bit guilty. Making my knitting take a backseat to the hook. Crocheting is easy easy easy. I don't often feel like I'm the most brainless person alive while doing it. On the other hand, knitting challenges me. It's constantly pushing me to new levels. Mocking me when I make a mistake. Knitting is a snobby little bitch and I love her arrogance. Can't help myself. Note...Dear Knitting, I promise I will devote more time to you darling. Just let me get in these last few rows on my half double crochet scarf and I'll be right with you.

I love you Nikon

My hubby got me a Nikon D40 for my birthday. I was truly surprised because I didn't think I was going to get it. I used to have a little point and click Sony. It worked fine for quite a few years but the picture quality was never outstanding. One day it died and I was forced to take pictures with my Blackberry. Horrible photos. Then along came my sweet little Nikon. I can't even begin to describe how very much I love this camera. It really loves taking pictures of my knitting. Speaking of knitting. I've been quite the busy little beaver. I have actually finished some projects. Shocking, I know. My latest accomplishment is Juliet from Zephyr Style. Much to my dismay it is way to big for me. Yet another lesson in yarn substitution. Lucky for my sister though as she will now be getting it for Xmas. I'm going to order some Cotton Fleece to make one for myself and possibly go down a needle size. Fingers crossed it fits me this time.

I'd love to go with you...But I'm bringing my Knitting!

Woe is me.....I am just about the most boring person on weekends and prefer to use up every single minute of this free time to knit & crochet my little(big) heart out. This weekend I am going to stay at my good(best) friend BCB's Dad's house with her to celebrate(drink) his birthday. While I am so so so so so excited about this little excursion there is a voice in the back of my mind saying, "When will you knit Claire? Will you have plenty of time to knit?". Luckily BCB understands(accepts) my crafty obsession to the extent that she will ooh and aah while I show her my latest 12 active projects and even plays along when I tell her to stroke the wool. (Even giving me a obligatory "wow it's so soft"-which in turn makes me sigh with a grin & remember why she's my favourite friend) In addition to my overnight bag which includes the "necessities" like undies, toothbrush, etc., I am bringing my jumbo Lexie Barnes bag which I am already stuffing to the brim with multiple projects, extra wool, needles, notions, etc. Packing this back is a stress in itself because what if I forget something vital? No stitch markers? The horror! Yes, I would bounce back and use some scrap yarn in lieu of the bright plastic rings but the initial shock of realizing I'd forgotten something could be enough to damage me forever. It'll be alright....I can do it. I can be normal. eheheh. We'll see about that. In other news...I finished something!!! WOOOOOO HOOOOO!!! May I present Clacker's Calorimetry (sans button because well....I wouldn't be me if I had TRULY finished it)....

Sit up straight? I prefer to slouch....

I love when knitting turns out the way I hope it will. This pattern is an example of that lovely feeling. Wendy from knitandtonic.....I bow to you for bringing me Le Slouch. It is so much fun to knit and this wool choice is superb. Although I must admit the thin parts of this thick and thin yarn have me gritting my teeth on occasion. Some of it is so thin that I'm afraid to knit the stitch for fear I'll snap it. No breaks yet though so I guess that means I'm learning to loosen up my death hold on the needles. I'm knitting it in the round on a 16" circ instead of dpns which helps. I love circular needles and will probably start using them exclusively in lieu of straights at some point in the near future. My tension is a lot better on them (rusted root doesn't count) and my hands/arms don't hurt as much as they do when using straight needles. Now, if I would just win the lottery so I can buy every size circular Addi Turbo has to offer, I will be a happy happy girl.

Silly Silly Girl

I was reminded of something last night. Knitting by the light of the TV while drinking wine do not mix well. I had started to feel very comfortable with knitting the Chevron scarf so of course why would insufficient light and inebriation bother me? I'm a master knitter I can knit under any circumstances!! BAH!!! My having to frog several rows of the Chevron is proof of how untrue that statement is. I'll never learn.

I'm melting

It was really really hot today. 116 degrees. I think there must have been some humidity too because my sinuses were killing me. It's miserable when it's this hot. I don't have the energy to knit. The chevron scarf is all that I can manage because there's not much thought to it. I finished my rusted root except for the ribbing around the neckline and sleeves. It's too small. I tried it on and I thought my lungs were going to collapse. It was THAT tiny. I know I'm a tight knitter but come on!! I must have a death grip on those needles! I'm hoping I can block it and make it grow. A lot. It's so damn cute and I can already envision it paired with several different pairs of pants I have. I'm almost finished with the Ribby Shell so as long as I don't sabotage that one as well then maybe I'll get to wear it. Fingers crossed.