Just a Quickie with some Pics

I have pictures! I'm sure you're jumping out of your seats with excitement... Okay, that might be pushing it.

Like I said I finished the mittens I was working on (finished meaning blocked them but haven't sewn in ends or knit the lining)

I really like how I reversed the colors. It really makes them unique, yet they still look like they belong together.

And since I finished (I'm using that term quite loosely ) the mittens I decided to start clapotis. I've actually gotten pretty far on it.

I took the Harlot's advice and decided to purl the stitches you're supposed to drop because basically it's the same thing as keeping track of a knit stitch using a marker... She's so smart! I'm loving how the varigation is playing out in this. It's not flashing or pooling weirdly, which I love. And each ball is totally different than the last one. It's great!
Here's a bit of a close up on some of the dropped stitches.

There's something so satisfying about dropping a stitch on purpose and watching it unravel all the way down to the beginning. I can't explain it, you're just going to have to try it for yourself!

Who got stuff done this weekend??? Not Me!

Motivation… it’s something I lack right now. This weekend was nice and laid back, yet I had plans to get all sorts of things done, mostly on Sunday and none of which actually ended up being accomplished. I even got up a half hour early this morning to start some of the things I neglected this weekend…I bet your wondering if getting up a half hour early actually motivated me to do the things I wanted to… well, it didn’t.

Sure I had an extra half hour this morning but all that managed to do was make me linger in the shower for a few (read: fifteen) minutes more than normal. And take my time while I ate breakfast. The only thing I did manage to do this morning (don’t ask me why I felt motivated to do it) was clean out the cat boxes. Not one of the most glamorous or clean chores that I had, but definitely one of the most necessary.

I wanted to start my laundry this morning. Ok, I actually wanted to start and finish my laundry Sunday…nope, that didn’t get done. I’m afraid I’m beginning to reflect my college self where I would wait until I get down to my last pair of clean underwear before I decided it was necessary to do laundry.

I also wanted to clean up my room a little. Possibly vacuum…. Nope those didn’t get done either. Though I experienced an extreme lack of motivation when it came to household chores, I did find I had a lot of motivation to knit. I finished my mittens (read: finished the outside knitting, blocked them, yet haven’t sewn in ends or knit the linings) and I felt that was permission enough to start clapotis. It looks sooo good (uploading pictures onto the blog was another thing I was planning on doing which didn’t get done).

Other than knitting, what did I do this weekend??? Well, Saturday morning I met with the fantabulous Rachel for some knitting at the coffee shop. Then we took a quick trip over to the LYS for a perusal of the goods. After that I went home to relax for a bit, then it was over to D’s place. We had plans this weekend to go out to dinner with his parents. This was the first time I met them and they are so sweet! His dad is quiet, yet will chime in when he feels he has something to say, which usually ends up being something funny. His mom has a cute, bubbly personality which made me laugh. I can see how D turned out to be such a great guy.

My plan for Sunday was to stay home and get stuff done. What actually happened Sunday was D and I went to breakfast at the local diner, I did some knitting, then we decided to go to a movie. If you haven’t seen Hitch I highly recommend it. I laughed so hard! I can say with confidence it’s the best new movie I’ve seen lately. Of course, it’s the only new movie I’ve seen lately.

So we’ll see if I can muster up some motivation to do at least some of the chores I need to do tonight after work. My prediction is, I’ll start laundry…but not necessarily finish it….

Let's all just take a moment of silence...

Well dear readers, I have a very sad story to tell. It's heartbreaking actually. This is not a story for the faint of heart, I assure you. It all started yesterday when I was working on the sleeve of Retro Prep... poor, poor Retro Prep... I'm surprised at myself for not noticing this before I even started the sweater, but that, as they say, is my own fault. As you know, I've completed the body up to the underarms and I had almost finished the sleeve when I had the very bright idea to try it on.

The fit was fine, it really was turning out quite nicely, great stitch definition perfect gauge and that's when I noticed it.... I noticed that I couldn't really tell where the sleeve ended and my hand began... Could I really have made such a stupid mistake???? I've started a sweater where the color is so close to my skin tone that were I to wear it in public people would do double takes just to make sure I wasn't walking around topless! That's right! If I finish this sweater it's going to make me look naked! Damn my pastey white skin tone!!! And so it is with great sadness that I lay Retro Prep to rest...

That is, of course, until I figure out what to do with that yarn! My mom bought it for me for Christmas a couple years ago and I've been trying to figure out what to do with it. So I thought Retro Prep would be perfect... *sniffle* Anyway, I was thinking about getting a ball or two of a chocolatey brown color to stripe in it. Of course, that also means I have to take the whole thing apart, which I'm just not ready to do yet...

That's so very sad when that happens, but fortunately I had other projects to keep me busy...

Last night after I took out the needles for poor Retro, I finally got over the motivation block I've been having with the mittens. I sucked it up and made the thumb. Once you get over the thumb it's amazing how quickly the rest of the mitten goes. However, I pooped out at about 9:00pm. That's right, I was so tired I couldn't knit anymore! I was so tired I didn't go to Chorale practice last night. It looks like all of my running around has finally caught up with me.

Just a quick little side note. Monday, while I was at work, I was minding my own business at my desk when a coworker came in with a huge box that was just dropped off by FedEx....a huge box for me.... This particular box had something like ProFlowers written on the side of it!!! AHHHH!!! My face turned bright red when I realized that D sent me flowers at work on Valentine's Day! How sweet is he????

So now I have these to brighten up my week!

What a Weekend...

First off… HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! Of course I realize that Valentine’s Day is just an excuse to spend money and buy greeting cards and flowers. I think somewhere in there you’re supposed to show the one you love that you love them (even though that’s something you should do anyway all year long, but whatever…) Despite not liking the commercial part of the holiday, I’m excited to be spending it with D. (Not that we didn’t just spend an entire weekend together!)

Speaking of the weekend, it was fabulous! I can’t even begin to describe it to you…. Wait a minute, yes I can!

I’m skipping right to Saturday because I really don’t think you'd be all that interested to hear me talk about how I slept in the car on the way down. So Saturday we left at around 10:30 or 11am to go to the SU Basketball game against Villanova that started around noon. The game was awesome! In fact, it seemed like there were more SU fans there than Villanova fans! How funny is that? So this is where D and I sat in relation to the court:

We got there early so the seats weren’t full yet. And it really is as steep as it looks in the picture. If you weren’t careful you’d go rolling down the bleachers. At least that’s what I saw happening in my mind every time we got up! The game was really great by the way. It wasn’t edge-of-your-seat exciting because SU was up by so much for the majority of the game however it was still a lot of fun to watch. Needless to say they won!

Afterwards, we went to lunch in Downtown Philly at a really cute Mexican restaurant. Delicious! (kind of wish I didn’t have the pretzel and a bit of pizza at the game so I could have had more room for yummy Mexican food, oh well) So after lunch I was supposed to go to the auto show with D and his friend but guess what? D’s friend brought his girlfriend along and she and I went shopping! How stereotypical is that? Leave the men to go look at cars and let the womenfolk shop.

A nap was definitely in order after a day like that! Plus, I needed my energy for a night out on the town! It was so much fun (I feel like I’m repeating myself here, but seriously, it was so much fun!) We went to this little night club just outside of Philly. Boy it has been awhile since I've gone out and had a blast!

Sunday, the incredible D took me to the “best cheese steak joint in Philly” so we could load our arteries with tons of grease! *drool* Just thinking about those cheese steaks is making me hungry!

You’ll never guess what we did next…. This is all because D is so fabulous and was willing to take me there… We went to a little yarn shop in downtown Philly called Rosie’s Yarn Cellar! How cute this place was! And the best part was D was genuinely interested when we got in there. No hiding in the corner for him (though that would have been more than easy to do, there were so many little nooks in this place!) They had a class going on when we got there so it was a little crowded, but still so cute! And don’t get me started on the selection! So I obviously couldn’t walk out of there without getting something so I reached for this:

So who wants to venture a guess as to what I’m making with it? I’ll give you a hint… everyone and their sister is making or has made it in the past several months. Ok, here’s another hint, it starts with “C” and ends with “lapotis” Yep, I’m joining the ever growing group of people who have made the clapotis! I seriously couldn’t resist.

From there we drove home. I knit the entire way home on the sleeve of my Retro Prep… Not a very interesting progress picture so I’m just gonna say that I’m almost done with the first sleeve and will be starting the next one as soon as I finish. So I don’t have a picture of the sleeve, but I do have a picture of the second mitten.

So there you have it. I haven’t worked on it in awhile but I’m at the thumb, which always feels like I’ve hit a brick wall in terms of motivation. Does that ever happen to you? You get to a certain place in a pattern and all motivation just stops dead? Well, that’s where I’m at. I haven’t worked on it in about a week. As soon as I make the thumb and attach it I know it will fly by, but it’s just getting over that hump!

Lastly, I have an exciting little thing to share... On our way home while I was just knitting along, D turns to me and says "I'll probably want to you teach me how to do that someday"!!!!! I tried very hard to curb my enthusiasm, but in all honesty I'm soooo excited!!!

Keeping it Busy -- The Understatement of the Year

I just wanted to let everyone know I've been extremely busy. Here's a list of the things I've been up to (and will be up to):

1. The fantabulous Rachel had a birthday party Saturday night which was extremely fun (though I wonder if it wasn't just an excuse for her to meet D! Just kidding Rach!) One thing I learned at that party was Rachel and her DH can make a mean vegetarian pizza! mmmm... I'm drooling just thinking about it!

2. Sunday night was the Superbowl party at my parents house. Can't say I'm a huge fan of football, but it was fun to hang out on the couch and listen to everyone else get all excited about it!

3. Monday night D and I got together after the basketball game because he wanted me to meet a friend of his. This turned out to be one of those "remember when this happened" type evenings... Don't know if you've ever had one of those, but I can tell you, you learn some interesting stuff about your SO when they get together with their friends...

4. Last night was Chorale practice. This was a special practice though because I decided (though I'm questioning the sanity of this decision) to try out for a solo in one of the pieces. So I spent a lot of my free time this weekend practicing and last night was the big night. I think I did alright, but I suppose I'll find out later. Actually I think I did it more to prove to myself that I could, which I'd say is pretty good motivation.

5. Tonight I'm going over to D's and we're cooking dinner and relaxing on the couch. LOST is on and it's a new episode! (It's about time!) This seems as though it's going to be the most low-key thing I do all week!

6. Thursday evening a friend of mine from up north is coming down with her boyfriend and we're all getting together for dinner. I can't wait because it's been close to a year since I've seen her!

7. Friday right after work D and I are driving down to Philly to stay with a friend of his for the weekend. This encompasses a lot of things. Apparently we're going to the SU basketball game against Villanova while we're there which I actually am looking forward to (I've never been a big sports fan but I suppose that enthusiasm is contagious). Immediately following that we're going to an auto show (I can't say that this was my first choice but whatever, his friend had tickets and wants to kill the afternoon by going there) Who knows what else we're going to do, but I won't be getting back until Sunday afternoon.

Phew! So this is why I haven't posted in awhile and why I probably won't be posting for awhile so please don't hold it against me!

P.S. You know what the best part of the Philly trip is?!?! If you're a knitter I'm willing to bet you know, but I'll spell it out anyway! D's driving and I'm gonna knit the whole way there and back! I can't wait to show you the progress I've made on my mittens! They totally rock!

Help! I've been tagged!!

I’ve been tagged today… That’s right, tagged. Have you noticed those little lists everyone in blogland has that are all about music, etc. well, I have to come up with my own little list. I should have known it would happen, it was only a matter of time… Ok so I’m not really all that upset about it, I think it’s kind of fun, sort of like those 100 things about me lists. Thanks for tagging me Amy!

1. Total amount of music files on your computer:
Oh dear, do I really have to count? Well, on my computer at work I have about 30 or so, but at home…. Well, home is a totally different matter… I think a rough guesstimate would be somewhere around 350… Hey, we all went to college and when I went I had this friend named Napster, but then he got caught doing some illegal stuff, so then I made friends with this guy named Kazaa…
2. The last CD you bought was:
Well it’s a good thing you asked me now because just last week I bought the Postal Service - Give Up CD. I will admit that that was the first CD I’ve bought in, ooooh, I’d say about a year. (I’m a huge fan of burning CD’s)
3. What is the song that you last listened to before reading this:
I don’t know, my coworker is playing some songs on her computer and I don’t know what they are or who they’re by (but they’re good)…. Maybe I should ask her…
4. What are your five favorite songs and why they mean the most to you:
1. Walk With You by Dispatch. If I ever get married I want to play that song at my wedding. (Maybe I should mention that it’s about 6 minutes long because there’s this flute solo at the beginning…. Hmmm, that’s a long time to dance….) Of course, anything by Dispatch is awesome.
2. See You Soon by Coldplay. I love this song, it’s not sad, but it definitely hits something in me when I hear it. I just wish it were longer. When I do hear it, I have to play it over and over again!
3. Two Step by Dave Matthews. Ok, it was a tie between, Two Step, Spoon and Crush with him. Ok, maybe that also included Gray Street. Ok, so I like a crap load of his music, what can I say?
4. Porcelain by Better Than Ezra, this song is sad and again it really hits me whenever I hear it.
5. My newest favorite at the moment is The District Sleeps Alone by the Postal Service, why do you think I bought the CD??? I kept hearing that song and I loved it every time I heard it so I just had to buy it!
5. What 3 people would you pass this baton on to and why?
Good question, who wouldn’t kill me for sending them what is, in essence, a chain letter…. Rachel, would be one, and that’s because I asked her and she said it’d be cool with her! Beth, because I think we have similar taste in music and I want to check to see if I’m right….Ok, I really don’t think there is anyone else who hasn’t already answered these questions so I’m gonna have to cop out and leave it at two!

I hope that satisfies everyone's curiousity. I wonder how long it'll take for the next "chain letter" to come around!

Woohoo for Weekends

Oy, do I love those weekends! Let’s all give a hooray for weekends! (I realize that it’s Tuesday and the weekend seems as far away as say… Spring… but whatever, weekends are still great and they deserve their dues)

This past weekend was spent hanging out with the wonderful permagrin generator who will now be known as D because I’m much to lazy to keep calling him the permagrin generator… It was definitely one of those lazy weekends where you just sit around and watch TV in your pj’s till 1pm. I tell you, it’s so nice to meet someone who enjoys being lazy as much as he enjoys going out. Balance is everything.

Saturday he dropped me off at the coffee shop (isn’t that cute? He drove me there!) so I could knit with my ladies! We had a really good turn out. It was fabulous. This is what I worked on most of the time because it’s mindless and I was more interested in talking than paying attention to a pattern:

See, it looks more like a sweater and less like a hat now!

Sunday D and I went to the movies and saw “In Good Company” Excellent movie that definitely had its moments. On a side note, have you ever been stopped by a reporter outside of the movie theater? Well D and I were. She asked us what we thought about the commercials they play before the previews. Oh boy, I could have totally gone off… I, for one, hate commercials in general. They’re annoying, they don’t make sense, and I’m a logical kind of person. Every time I see one that is completely illogical it grates on my nerves to the point where I have to tune them out or I will become a raging lunatic. And now that commercials are at the movies I try to get there when the previews start just to avoid the lunacy.

Of course, I didn’t tell her this, I just told her that I didn’t like them. She then asked if I could remember any of the ones we saw…. You know what? I couldn’t. But I could remember most of the previews we saw before the movies. See that you evil advertising and marketing people!!! Your dirty commercials don’t work on me!!!

Last night D came over and we played Trivial Pursuit 90’s edition. Oh my, I had no idea I knew so much useless trivia from the 90’s. Great game though! It was so much fun. So if you’re ever wondering what to do on a Monday night (besides watch sports when they’re on) I highly recommend whipping this game out.

Because I promised you a long time ago that I would show you pictures of my mitten that I’ve been working on forever, here it is:


I thought this was a very Harlotesque picture what with the stone background. Plus it shows some great detail (that’s the new digital camera for you!) I was thinking that for the mate to this mitten I’d switch the red and the purple. Not only would it look awesome, but it would also guarantee that I’d have enough yarn. That’s me…always thinking!