Darling Daughter...

Is still commenting on my yarn stash. Yesterday, she asked me if I had any more yarn coming and then proceeded to tell me that I have enough and that I should not get any more. I had to laugh at that one. Hmmm...I am thinking about getting more yarn just to get her goat! I did get some lace weight Malabrigo this weekend in a Forest colorway. I don't think I mentioned that yarn purchase to her. I also bought some addi lace needles and the book A Gathering of Lace. I was quite impressed with this book, and found several projects that I am going to get on the needles eventually. I've been doing some thinking, how many projects do I bring with me on my trip to DC? I am going to bring the hat that I promised my Mom that I am going to make her. How many skeins of sock yarn do I bring for Socks? I signed up to do Sockaplooza 4, so those are definitely coming with me. I am planning on taking some pictures of the sock in progress as we travel across country. So that makes two. It is just so hard to know how many to bring with. I am hoping to have a lot of quality knitting time on the bus. Who knows how much time I will actually have to knit while we are there. I'll have to talk more about the knitting class that I took on Saturday morning.

Recipe Friday - Tuna Apple Salad

This is an awesome recipe and very filling. You would not think that it is very tasty but it is. If you try this, let me know how you like it. The recipe comes from Eating for Life by Bill Phillips. I put it in etools at www.weightwatchers.com . So if you're following weight watchers the points value is included. It is a very easy recipe to make. You can also refrigerate the tuna mixture to have at another time. I have brought this into work keeping the tomatoes, lettuce and tuna mixture separated. Enjoy! Apple Tuna Salad Serves 2 Points Value 4 1 tsp Grey Poupon Mustard 2 Tbps Kraft Fat Free Mayonaise Dressing 4 cups lettuce 1 medium apple 1/2 medium onion 2 medium tomatoes 1 Tbsp relish 6 oz. Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore in water Instructions: 1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine tuna, onion, relish, mustard , mayonnaise, and apple. Mix well 2. Divide lettuce and tomato wedges between two separate plates. Top with half of the tuna mixture serve and enjoy!

FO Picture SOCKS!

Here it is the picture of DD's basic socks in their unblocked state.

I knitted these using a Size 3 dpn. I went up in needle size due to the fact that I am a tight knitter.

The yarn is Claudia's Handpainted in the Fresia colorway. DD absolutely loves them!

On DD's feet. I have yet to see her wear them around the house. They don't fit like a glove but when I had them on, they were very comfy!

What a 100 Calorie Pack Snack a Day Can Do To You

We all have had them, those 100 Calorie Packs that are every where. More and more are popping up all over the place. Are they good for you? Yes, if you use them in moderation and don't over indulge. I follow Weight Watchers so yes they have to be counted. They can be anywhere from 1 to 3 points per package. So what can that one 100 Calorie Pack do to you? Let's say you're on Weight Watchers and you have counted them in your points allowance. That one 100 calorie pack a day over 365 days in one year will amount to 36,500 calories in one year. Now translate that into pounds, it takes 3,500 calories to make up 1 pound. So that one pack a day habit could translate into almost a 10.5 pounds a year weight gain. For me I would need to walk on a treadmill for over 20 minutes at a moderate level to just burn off one of those 100 calorie packs. I forgot to mention this in my last nights meeting, so thought that I would add it in here.

Post Office Update

I went to the post office yesterday with that paper in hand, only to be told that they had nothing for me. That they sometimes leave that paper when they leave a package at the house. I just thought that it was strange since I have been receiving my orders on a regular basis and that was the first time that they had left a notice. On a brighter front, I did receive two more packages in the mail. One was from Scout J with two skeins of yarn and a go knit pouch in my favorite color of course (orange) and the other was the package that I received from Tonni from the contest that I won on her blog. Thank you so much Tonni for the lovely package! Thanks to all who left comments, it's nice knowing that someone out there is reading!

Hodge Podge

Today's is going to be a little bit about everything. I couldn't decided what I wanted to talk about. I received an email this morning from statcounter with the stats from the people visiting my blog. It showed 0. Well I know that can't be true because Tonni left me a comment just the other day about winning on her blog. So what gives? If you're out there and reading this, please leave me a comment, just so I know someone's out there. Yesterday, it felt a bit like Christmas when I got home from work. I got not one but two packages in the mail. The first one contained two skeins of Socks That Rock in the Watermelon Tourmaline and Henpecked colorways. Both socks are simply gorgeous. The second was a box from Woolgirl that contained one skein of Yarn Pirates Koi colorway. Jen also threw in a handwritten card thanking me for my purchase and a lovely sheep stitchmarker. I wish I would have remembered to have grabbed my camera to take a picture of the packaging before I tore into everything. That was an extremely pleasant and unexpected surprise. I'll definitely order from them again. The shipping was awesome also. I ordered the yarn on Friday and received it on Monday! In the mail, I also received my Weight Watchers magazine and a notice that something is waiting for me at the post office. Interesting the notice does not say if it is a letter or package and where it is from. I am hoping to go to the post office tonight after work to see if they have the package/letter there. My DD just happened to have seen the package, asked what it was, when she was told yarn, she then proceeded to tell me that I needed to quit buying yarn. I guess according to her I have enough sock yarn and need to go on a yarn diet. But didn't I read somewhere, oh yeah, at The Loopy Ewe that Sock Yarn Doesn't Count As Stash. I guess I'll have to pull up that button and show it to her. I did present DD with her pair of socks. We got photos which I have to upload to my computer and post later on. (Seems like I am always saying that.) On the knitting front I am just having a hard time deciding which project to work on. I'm working on Nina's Scarf and Knitting Pure & Simple's Ladies T Shirt Henley. I want to get as far as I can for my class at Fiddlehead's on Saturday. I am almost to the point where I am getting ready to join the sweater so I can start knitting in the round. That should make the knitting go much faster. At the moment, I am knitting one row and the having to purl back. Purling does take so much more time. My scarf is coming along quite nicely. I have gotten about 10 repeats done. Once I am able to work on it more often it should grow by leaps and bounds. Yesterday, was the first time in quite a few weeks that I was able to make it to the gym for a work out. I can tell that I am getting further out of shape. I walked 20 minutes on the treadmill and did 10 minutes on the machine that resembles an escalator. Maybe I'm not so bad. The big question is Will I be ready to handle all that walking in Washington DC next month? Tonight is the third meeting out of four for covering all we need to know about DC for the eigth grade field trip. I am trying so desparately not to do a search for yarn shops around the DC area. By the time I get any free time the yarn shops will be closed. I could always warn the teacher chaperone that I will be with, if we see a yarn shop I have to stop, I need a souvenir skein from the trip. I am still trying to figure what I am going to take with me on the trip. I'll make a list a bit later.

ISE4 & Top-Down

Saturday's knitting class at Fiddlehead's went very well. I got my sweater started and have a lot of knitting to do before Saturday's class. I got the impression that my knitting skills were a little bit above most others in the class. I really like this group in the class. I seem to hit it off with them a lot more than the other classes I have taken. In other words, I am talking more. I am absolutely loving the yarn that I am using for my top-down sweater. Let's see if I feel the same way after I have completed my sweater. I still need to go out and purchase buttons for my sweater. Next week, we are supposed to have a swatch done so we can do button holes. I purchased dpns and smaller circulars so I can complete the sweater. I brought my ISE4 scarf in to show Mindy how I am progressing and the dilema that I am facing. Once I got the Malabrigo wound up, there was such a difference in the Violetas that there is no way that I could continue that scarf and send it off to my pal. So it was back to the drawing board. I did have a pattern in mind. I had found a post that someone had did for a previous post for Nina's scarf. What I did not like originally about the scarf was that it had a keyhole, where you can put the end of the scarf through it. So I decided that I was going to do the scarf without the keyholes. Now, I was on a mission to find the perfect yarn once again for my pals scarf. I got lucky, I found some Malabrigo in the absolute perfect colorway for my pal. I bought two skeins which I am figuring should be enough. I had Mindy wind up both hanks at the shop and instantly fell in love with the colors. Definitely the right yarn. I had such a hard time this weekend deciding exactly what I was going to knit. I want to get as far as I can on the sweater by Saturday, but I wanted to cast-on for the scarf. Last night, I finally did it. I cast on for the scarf. I followed the patterns directions and didn't like how wide it was. So I decreased the pattern by 20 stitches, using size 7 needles and it is simply gorgeous. I am not going to post any pictures until after my pal receives her scarf. I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise for her, just in case she happened to have figured out who I am . The pattern is very easy to memorize so, it should be a very quick knit. I also should have enough Malabrigo to complete the project. I am thinking that I may just knit until I run out of yarn. So this is the third attempt at my pals scarf. Do you think that maybe everything was all wrong and something was steering me towards this scarf and wool? What I am going to do with the other two scarves that are WIPs, well frog them of course! I am going to re-skein all the wool. I may just send some of the wool to my pal! Hope she doesn't mind the slightly used wool. I might just take pictures of all three scarves and post a picture and that says, which one is going to my pal? Would be interesting to see which one everyone guesses.

I Won!

I can't believe it! I won my first blog contest. I entered over at Knitlog. I'm so excited! Go over and check out Tonni's blog.

FO Alert!

Last night I finished the Knitting Pure & Simple basic socks that I have been knitting on. I started on Thursday or Friday and finished them last night. The socks have been the only thing that I had been knitting all week. Today will be the first day that I am not bringing my knitting with me to work. We have a going away lunch for my old boss so I won't be doing any knitting so I figured why bother. Pictures and specs to come a bit later. I still have to wash the socks but won't have any pretty pictures. I don't own a pair of sock blockers. Tonight I am going to wind up that Malabrigo, so I can continue knitting my pal's scarf. It all depends on how well the colors blend as to whether or not I will continue knitting. Keep your fingers crossed that everything blends. Tomorrow morning after my Weight Watchers meeting I have my knitting class. I need to get together my supplies for that class also. I am going to have to go on a button search too. The sweater that I am knitting calls for buttons. I haven't decided what color I want to go with. My thoughts are some silver buttons. Time to go to work. Hopefully the day will go fast. I have to stop and get gass along the way also.

Can't Decide

I couldn't decide what to title this post, so I decided to title it can't decide. Today was an interesting day. It snowed for most of the day but the drive home was a lot better than I had originally thought. The decision was made to cancel both meetings at WH today. I couldn't tell what the weather was like. On my way to put the sign up saying the meeting was cancelled, I kept thinking why are we cancelling this meeting, there isn't any snow on the ground to cause major problems. So I did the meeting by myself. Not a lot of people showed up. I had been waiting for my Malabrigo to show up so I can continue my ISE4 scarf. The Malabrigo showed up on Monday. I haven't wound it up but I am not sure how the Violetas is going to match up. I am hoping that the Holly Hock will help it to match. Time will tell. I'll have to knit it up and see how the color matches up. If it doesn't match up, it looks like it will be back to the drawing board. This time I think that I will find new yarn and new pattern. Today I decided to sign up for Sockapalooza4. I'm pretty excited about it. I figure that I can knit the pair of socks up while I'm on the trip to DC. I was apprehensive about signing up for it, since technically I haven't knitted up a complete pair of socks on my own but I figured I would give it a try. I will have until August 2nd to get the socks knitted up. I can talk about how the socks made a half country cross country trip. I am hoping for an international partner. We should be getting the names of our partners pretty soon. I kind of have all ready decided on a pattern. I am thinking about knitting the Undulating Rib Socks from the Favorite Socks book from Interweave. On other news, I knit one sock this weekend from Knitting Pure & Simple Beginner's Light Weight Socks. I am working on the gussett for the second sock. I am hoping to get that sock finished by Saturday. I need to start working on the ISE4 scarf again. Saturday I am taking another class at Fiddlehead Yarns. This time I am taking another sweater class knitted from the top down. I have chosen to knit it in Cascade's Sierra Quatro. I did my swatch and so I am almost ready to go. I just need to get the smaller size needles set up. Time to go knit and work on my sock. I'm bound and determined to get that second sock done so I can have my first pair of socks completed!

Rip It, Rip It and Yarn

Well I got notification that the order I placed with Yarnzilla is now shipped and will be delivered on Monday. Until then I need to find something to knit. I went upstairs to our extra bedroom and emptied out the two bins of acrylic yarn that I had stored. They are now in garbage bags and are going to go to my Mom's house. I also brought all my sock yarn up from the basement and put them in that room also. I gave DD all my fun fur type of yarn. She had me cast on for a skinny scarf for her. Well in deciding what I should knit next, I thought that I would get my Midwest Moonlight Scarf out. I couldn't figure out where I ended so I ended up frogging it and re-winding the yarn. Then I picked up the Lady E, and had a hard time with the end triangle. Well I wasn't going to frog the Lady E so she just got put away for the time being. So next came the sock, well I wasn't too happy with the way that it was looking and there is no way that I was going to have enough yarn to complete a pair of socks, so I frogged that also. I am attempting to cast-on for another sock. I keep ending up one stitch short. But at least I am going to get a lot of practicing joining in the round. Earlier today DD and I went to Whitefish Bay Wisconsin to visit Ruhamas. It is an awesome yarn shop. They were very helpful and I ended up walking out with a haul of yarn. I got some Koigu KPPM, Mountain colors, Schaefer Anne, Claudia's Handpainted Yarns and Jitterbug. DD picked out two skeins of yarn for herself I forgot the name of them I had looked at some lace but I wasn't quite sure. I think that I am going to order the lace from Knit Picks so it won't be too expensive. I owe some pictures of the haul. Battery's almost dead and it's time to attempt to cast-on for that sock again.

Frustration

I stopped at Fiddlehead Yarns on my way to my meeting at my daughter's middle school last night in hopes that they had the yarn that I needed. I came up empty handed in that regards. Although, I did score 3 beautiful skeins of Malabrigo in the Amor Intenso colorway. I was hoping for 4th but no luck. I was talking to Mindy about my current project which is the Mag Knits Short Row Rib scarf, which I am liking more and more every day. Well she thought that they might have one of the colors that I needed. A quick search was done and none was to be found. I had a two hour meeting that went surprisingly quick about our trip to Washington Dc. We mainly covered getting around DC by Metro and also the guidelines and rules for the trip. I didn't do any knitting last night but I was on a websearch to score some Malabrigo in the colors that I need. I wanted to find one online source that had both colorways that I needed. I found an online shop called Yarnzilla, that had both colroways in stock that I needed. It was nice seeing a yarn shop that actually listed how many of each skein that they had in stock. I also ordered 2 skeins of Koigu KPPM. I have been wanting to score some Koigu for a while now. Since I was paying a flat rate of $5.95 I figured why not. I absolute hate when you ask for advice about knitting a scarf and they tell you that the two skeins you buy will be more than enough for a 5 foot scarf. You start to knit it up and find out that it will make just over half the scarf. I still need extra yarn for the fringe. I should have listened to my brain screaming at me, this is not going to be enough. I should have bought extra, but if that would have been the case I would have never even gotten one of the colors. I did decided that I am going to frog the scarf that I started with the Manos del Uruguay and send my swap pal the two skeins that I have all ready made into a ball along with the labels. I don't like the yarn and I think it would make an ok gift for my pal.

FO Alert!

This weekend was a semi-productive weekend on the the knitting front. I finished the Sven Sveater. I didn't block it yet but it is done. I finished kitchenering the underarms and burying all the lose ends. Once the sweater had no long strands of yarn hanging from it, It is very attractive. I know the last picture posted of the sweater was just the start of one of the sleeves. Photos to be posted sometime in the near future. I ended up going to Milwaukee to the Bayview area and visiting the The Loop Yarn shop.. They had a gorgeous colorway that would have fit my ISE4 pal's color preferences perfectly. I did end up buying 2 skeins of Malabrigo in the Holly Hock and Violetas colorways. I am knitting the 2 colors together. It is forming a nice thick scarf which should be warm for her during the winter months. It is also wider than the one single strand of Manos that I had been knitting. I am just hoping that I have enough to knit a 60 inch scarf along with the fringe. If not I am going to be checking at Fiddleheads and seeing if Mindy has any of those colors in stock otherwise it will have to be ordered online. The Malabrigo is definitely softer than the Manos del Uruguay. I am trying to decide what I want to do with the Manos. I might just frog the scarf that I have started and send the 2 skeins to my pal. I believe that I have about a foot knitted so far. I am supposed to do a progress post on ISE4. I was going to post with photos but I think that gmail has given away my identity. So I am just going to do a text post and also not post any photos here of my scarf. I wouldn't want to give the surprise away, just in case she is reading my blog.