More knitting

Wow! Why did I ever put this down??? I love this lace pattern. It came right back to me so easily.
I cast on the second bottom half and quickly knit up 3 pattern repeats this afternoon.

I also frogged the grapecicle socks and recast on. I didn't like the Friday Harbor sock in it. I think with the sparklies, it needs a pattern to it, but something that might show off the sparklies better...

...so I found a garter diamond pattern and I'm going to see how that looks. Still loving the yarn.

Other than that, I've been cleaning and hanging pictures. I actually like my yarn room...I mean spare bedroom so much I almost want to move in there.

Progress and Growth

Look what I picked back up...
Yep, it's the Nashua Surplice top and I've finished the first of the two bottom halves. There might actually be progress on this and god forbid, I actually finish it. :-)

In other news, my brother and SIL gave me a tomato & basil growing kit for Easter.

And look!!!! We have tiny little tomato plants!!! It said to start the tomatoes first and then spread around the basil seeds. I think I might transport some of these into another pot and then plant basil in both. Let's see if I can keep them alive now...

In other news, I've been cleaning my house for Carmen's visit next weekend. I took Friday off to hang out with her and then I took Monday off to recover from the weekend...and more than likely spend time with my new yarn from Maryland Sheep and Wool festival...

Two big events next week...Carmen's visit and the person we've hired to help us at work is finally starting on May 1st!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A visitor comes

Yeah! I had my first visitor from afar this week. My college roommate was in town on business and she came to visit me at my apartment. Yeah! It was so good to see her and catch up on every thing. I love my friends.

That was Tuesday and then Wednesday, a co-worker and I drove down to BFE Virginia for a teaming event. Really pretty drive, but no cell service and if the car had died, we would have had a long walk for help. We did end up at a pretty house on the water and spent the afternoon in the sunshine by the water. It was very relaxing...then I had to come back to real life today. UgghhH!!!!

For those who want my banana bread recipe:

3 mashed bananas
1/2 melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups for flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped pecans

bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Yummy!

All coached out...

I'm teaching several coaching courses this week. I'm tired of reviewing slide decks. I have way too much information stuffed in my brain. Ugghh!!! You'll hear more from me after Thursday when I finish teaching my last course.

When life gives you over ripe bananas...

...you make banana bread. Or in my case Chocolate Chip Pecan Banana Bread. Yummy!!! That's what happens when you find 3 lonely bananas that somehow fell under the bread and got forgotten.

Today, a friend and I went to the outlet malls in Leesburg, VA. It was pouring down rain, but that didn't stop us from attempting to help stimulate the economy... I bought a Kate Spade purse. It's pink leather (yes, I overlike the color pink). I've been looking for a purse for several months and finally found one I liked just as my tax refund was deposited. What a conincidence. It must be fate. Other than that, I just bought a gift for my sister because it looked like her.

I've been working on cleaning my house for my very first visitor this weekend. Next weekend, the serious cleaning will start.

My new Toy

I've joined the revolution...yes, I finally got an iPod. It's a Pink Nano. I love it. I've spent the evening converting my music files and putting them on my ipod. First shocker, didn't realize I had that much music. Second shocker, good lord! how many copies of that song did I have anyway. It's been several hours and it's still converting music files. I've given up going through them until it gets them all. It has about 400 still left, not that I want all of them on the ipod, because I have very eclectic tastes.

Hurrah!!! It's the weekend!!! Sleeping late tomorrow!

FO! FO!

I finished the Child's Placket Neck sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I love these sweaters. They look cute on boys or girls...and since Mom & Dad for this precious baby aren't going to find out, Teal was the perfect color. I'm going to make some bibs to go with it and a hat..lmaybe some baby socks. Yeah.

Tomorrow's Friday!! I can't wait.

1 sock...

The first of the Too many RPMs socks. I love them. They're fabulous.
I've been using EZs sewn cast off and I like it a lot. More stretchy.

I'm going to have my first visiter ever. Carmen is coming to see me the first week in May. Hurrah. I'm pretending I'm the only reason she's coming here, but in reality, I know it's also to go to Maryland Sheep & Wool and to get Ravelry swag, but I will keep my illusions. :-) Also, we're going to the Leesburg Outlet mall. Of course now I have to call the cleaning company...I mean clean the apartment....Yeah, that's right....

Look Ma! I've got arms...

OMG! Yes, there is still knitting going on... Wonder of all wonders. How come??? I worked 15 hours less than I had been working. That's not to say I'm working 40 hours, but it's down to a manageable 55 or so hours rather than 70+.

I'm still working on the Child's Placket Neck sweater from Last Minute knitted gifts. I knit the sleeves and have attached and split for the placket neck and we're moving along quickly.

I also worked on the Too many RPM sock and I'm almost to the cuff on that, but really can't see too much of a difference, so no photos until it's finished.

Other than that, I went to dinner with my SIL and nephew tonight. We went to Cheeburger Cheeburger, which is Lucas's favorite restaurant. He was such a little character tonight. He was stuffing macaroni in his mouth and talking and talking and the macaroni would fall out. He was just so cute. He and my SIL are going to visit their family for a month in Indianapolis, while my brother is traveling for work. I'm going to miss them. I bet Lucas will be so big the next time I see him.

Since none of my family is going to come visit out here, I booked a trip to St. Louis to visit for memorial day. I think last week's mini-vacation taught me that I need to take a break every now and then, so I'm strating to plan some travel. Yeah Me!

New Knitting projects

So, instead of finishing any of the many projects I have currently going, I started 3 new ones...

First is the Too Many RPMs sock. I wanted some texture for this wonderful Koigu yarn, so I thought, I'll do Aija's RPM sock from Knitty awhile ago. Unfortunately, I was traveling and I didn't have the pattern, so I decided to do a 3x3 traveling rib...
...which while I love the way it looks and think it works well, really isn't the RPM pattern. There should be more Stockinette between the purl parts for it to be the RPM, so I'm calling it the Too Many RPM sock.

I also started another one of the Child's Placket Neck Sweater from Last Minute Knitted gifts for a co-worker having a baby.

I, unfotunately, didn't look at the pattern before I left and didn't realize I was going to need DPNs so earlky, so I had to stop when I got to the arms.

I also started another baby hat for another co-worker having twins. This is for the girl baby and I'll make something else for the boy.

This is the Garter Lace baby hat from the Summer 2004 Interweave. I'm using some of the leftover Sandnes Garnes Manadarin yarn I used for my neice's striped cardigan. I love this pattern. You make the lace and then pick up stitches and knit up and then just seam the lace. It looks so cute on babies.

KITH

I had a fantastic weekend in Kansas City. I hung out with friends, met knew friends and knitted. It was so fun and I feel so much more relaxed.

On Friday, Carmen and I had girl day. We went out to breakfast, went shoe shopping, got a massage, got my hair cut in a very cute long bob style, got a manicure and a pedicure and then had margaritas and BBQ with the girls.

Saturday and Sunday, I went to Knitting in the Heartland, which is put on by the Kansas City Knitting Guild. Their featured teacher was Stephanie Japel of Glampyre Knits. I took two classes from her, Fitting Knits and Converting flat knits to in-the-round. I enjoyed them both immensly. I love listening to other knitters, especially those that design, talk about what inspires them, how they think through their knitting issues and just generally about knitting. (Yes, I'm a bit of a knitting geek, and I'm okay with that) I would definitely take another class from her. Stephanie was very down to earth and genuinely fun to listen to and be around. She even came out to dinner with us...
Teri (one of the KITH organizers), Carmen (who opened her home to me), Stephanie and Me!!

And, another of the old knitting crew, including Joanna, Teri, myself and Carmen. Johanna and Christine had already succumbed to exhaustion and left.

A big huge Woo Hoo goes out to the KITH planning team of Teri, Joanna, Johanna, Carmen, Holly and many more that I don't even know about. From my viewpoint, it was a huge success. Also a huge thanks to Stephanie Japel, who traveled to the wilds of Kansas City to teach at KITH.

Of course, being that it was a Knitting conference, there was a vendor market, and there were purchases...this is the sum total for the weekend...

Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits Autographed, of course!

Stephanie's pattern for the Camellia Sweater.

Stitch Markers from Girley Purls. Platform Shoes!!! Circular Number markers. Thanks Carmen!!!

A small project bag from Girley Purls

Waimea yarn from Textiles A Mano. Everyone should see this yarn or any of their yarn. Great yardage, good colorways and reasonable prices. Laura and Paul are fantastic.

Knitty Bits sock yarn from Two Windows Dye Co.

2 skeins of Feet First Sock yarn from Cottage Fiber.

Sock yarn from Dome Hill Yarns in Jaded.

And Lurking in the back are two pairs of sandals I bought this weekend. The first, a pair of black peep toe wedges that are incredible and then a pair of really comfy sandals.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. It was relaxing. I got to see friends. I met Stephanie Japel! I knitted seriously for the first time in many weeks (I almost finished a sock). I didn't think about work. Ahhhhh...

Unfortunately, tomorrow back to the grindstone.

Vacation HURRAH!!!!

Yes, it's finally here. My long weekend away. 4.5 days away from work. I can't tell you how excited I am. I just need to go to work for half a day tomorrow and then I'm coming home to finish my packing and then head to the airport.

Of course, the hardest part of packing is deciding what knitting to take with me. I'm taking a new pair of socks to start, the LMKG Placket Neck baby sweater I started the other night and the Nashua Surplice sweater since it's getting warm and if I, God forbid, finish it, I could wear it this summer. I seem to have a lot of big projects in process and none of them close to being finished. I'm going to have to work on that... Now that I'm sitting here thinking about packing. I realize I haven't packed my camera. Man. I got to get on it.