Noolie Knits

WNBP

Hey there.  Long time no post, eh?  I have no (good) excuses so how about we just pretend I've been here all along and I'll do a Wednesday Night Bullet Post?  Okay, here goes:

• Last time I posted, I mentioned that I was going to have nine days off work (that included 2 weekends).  Sounded good, didn't it?
• I ended up having ten days off.  Sounds even better.
• It wasn't.
• I started my time off a day early and spent the first four days sick in bed (or on the couch).
• I was not quite myself for most of the time I was off work.
• I'm better now.
• Of course, I'm back at work now too.  Oh well.

• I've had what feels like A.D.D. lately; I can't concentrate on anything.
• I've fallen so far behind in my blog reading that I'll never be able to catch up.
• I think I'm going to have to hit the dreaded "mark all read" button and just start over.
• I HATE doing that; I don't like missing out on any news from my blog friends.

• My poor farm on Facebook is in serious need of some attention.
• I don't even want to look at my "Happy" Aquarium; I fear it's not very happy.

• Samm and I took Clover to see Santa one day last week.
• She liked him fine and even talked to him a little.
• She drew the line at sitting on his lap though.

• We also took her to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch the same day to see how she liked it.
• Luckily she's not afraid of the big mechanical puppets on stage because she's having her birthday party there on Sunday.
• Yes, she's having another birthday already.
• I know; I can't believe it either.

• I've done a little knitting.
• Very little.
• I'm working on Wisteria right now using Cascade Eco + in red. 
  
  
   
• I whipped through the neck and thought I'd breeze right through the rest of the patterning in no time.
• Wrong.
• I knit every patterned row two or three times for several days.  (see A.D.D. comment above)
• Thankfully, I have been able to knit each row just once for the last two days.
• I have just 12 rows to go before switching to plain stockinette.
• I was hoping to have this sweater for Christmas (for myself) but I'm not counting on that anymore.

• I started crocheting a scarf the other day for the Red Scarf Project  using Cascade 220 Superwash. 

  

• It really isn't wider on the top than the bottom; it's distorted in this picture.
• The project is running seriously short of scarves this year.
• If you can, please knit or crochet one (or more).  Guidelines are here.
• The deadline is December 15th.

I think I'll end here before another night gets away from me.  Have a good one!

 

 

WNBP

Thank goodness for the Wednesday Night Bullet Post.  If it weren't for this opportunity to post a bunch of random things, I would probably post even less than I do now.  It's kind of freeing to not have to worry about transitioning from one subject to the next.

So, let the random begin!

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~~I voted today. 

~~No, it's not election day; I voted by absentee ballot.

~~I won't be absent on election day, but that doesn't matter.  The State of Maine wants to make it easy for everyone to vote so we're allowed to vote by absentee for any old reason.

~~Even if that reason is that I'm just too lazy to go to the polling place.

~~I can get my ballot right at work, so can you blame me for not wanting to drive the 2 miles to the polling place?

~~Of course I voted NO on  1

~~Speaking of voting and NO on 1, don't forget about this and this. 

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~~When you see your cat in a position like this, what is the first thing any sane knit-blogger (is there any such thing) would think to do?

~~Take photos of course, and add a WIP for good measure.

Pattern: Plain Ole Stockinette Stitch, Top Down, Heel Flap sock
Needles: Size 2 dpn
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill (colorway unknown - label lost a long time ago)
Cat: Rico (I guess I did disturb him; he moved his legs up)

~~I've knit a bit more on this sock since that photo session yesterday morning; I'm a couple inches down the foot now.

~~Did I mention that this is a mansock?

~~Men have big feet.

~~Mansocks take a loooong time to knit.

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~~I started a new sweater for myself - Acer by Kirsten Kapur

~~I've only done a few inches and haven't taken a picture yet.

~~I can show you the yarn I'm using though:

Cascade Yarns Eco + in a beautiful purple

~~Yes, I know that's way more than I need.

~~I'll probably use the rest for something for Clover.

~~Maybe another little dress.

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~~I still haven't been doing much spinning.

~~I have a couple of bobbins with 2ply yarn that needs to be wound off.

~~They've been on the bobbins a couple of weeks.

~~I really should do something about that.

~~I also have two bobbins of singles that I need to ply.

~~I think I'll do that tomorrow night at Chicks with Wheels.

*****************************************************

~~Have I mentioned recently how far behind I am in responding to comments?

~~I thought I was getting all caught up Monday morning before work.

~~I went through a bunch of comments, hit the reply button, composed nice personal notes, and hit send.

~~I felt good about my progress and figured I'd respond to the rest during the day at work.

~~It hit me sometime mid-morning.

~~I was replying to the blog, not the individual commenter.

~~I quickly opened Typepad and looked for my comments.

~~They didn't seem to be there.

~~Luckily, they were all marked as spam and not visible on the blog (not that I write anything bad, but some of them had more than just a response to the comment itself).

~~I deleted them all and have no clue who I owe responses to anymore.

~~I hate the changes Typepad made to how we reply to comments. 

~~Yes, they "fixed" the major problem, but I just can't remember to change the email address everytime I hit reply so that it doesn't go to the blog.

~~I guess I'm getting old.

~~I'm going to do my best to respond in a timely manner from now on (and will hopefully remember to change the "to" address in the reply!).

*****************************************************

~~That's all I've got.

~~Have a wonderful evening!

WNBP

It's Wednesday, so how about a Wednesday Night Bullet Post?

~~Today is the first full day of Fall, so naturally it was hot (temps in the 80's). 

~~I'm not complaining; I like it hot (even though I didn't dress properly for hot).

~~Long sleeve shirt, black jeans, wool socks are not really summer weather clothes!

 

~~My niece got married on Saturday night.

~~I took hardly any pictures; I'm waiting for my Dad to upload his 283 pictures.

~~No, that is not an exaggeration; he really took that many.

~~Kristen (the Bride) was beautiful!

~~Clover called her a princess and she truly did look like one.

~~Clover and her two 2nd cousins, Kayla (Kristen's daughter) and Ella (my nephew Ryan's daughter) danced all night.

~~They were too cute!

~~I'll share pictures with you once I get them. (Not all 283, I promise!)

~~Using a GPS unit doesn't guarentee you'll get from the wedding to the reception without getting lost.

~~The 35 minute drive from the wedding to the reception actually took over an hour!

~~Over an hour on dark deserted roads with a nearly empty gas tank and no gas stations in sight.

~~It was very stressful (understatement of the year)!

~~I couldn't get a drink in my hand fast enough once we got there.

~~Even though we were late to the reception, we didn't miss anything - Phew!

 

~~There was some yummy fiber from Marianne's shop waiting in my mailbox for me yesterday.

50% Baby Camel/50% Tussah Silk on the left  pink-Superfine Merino/Cashmere, Mauve-BFL, Grren-BFL/Kid Mohair on the right


Stitch markers were attached to the fiber - aren't they beautiful?  

 

~~The sock knitting has slowed way down.

Van Dyke socks by Wendy Johson (on top of the awesome JessaLu bag) using some seriously soft mystery yarn.  (I've forgetten who I got it from - my bad.) Vanilla top down sock using Cherry Tree Hill yarn on the right

~~Clover's Christmas dress is at a standstill until the red yarn I need comes in to the shop (probably tomorrow).

~~The rest of the dress will be red & green stripes with a white trim.

~~There has been very little spinning so I'll save that for another day.

~~Have a great night!

WNBP

It's Wednesday, so how about a Wednesday Night Bullet Post? 

 

~~ Clover ate corn right off the cob for the first time on Monday night.

~~ Clover loves corn and LOVES this new delivery system.

~~ She loves it so much that at one point she hugged the corn and said "huggies".

~~ Yes, Clover is a little weird but she comes from a long line of weirdos.

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~~ Brenda is in Ghana for two weeks with a group of faculty and students from UNE where she teaches in the Physician's Assistant program. 

~~ They are running a medical clinic for the people there.

~~ They only get medical treatment twice a year when clinics are run.

~~ One of the students has started a blog and will be updating it every couple of days. 

~~  If the first day of clinic is any indication, they are going to be doing a lot of good while they're there!

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~~ President Obama was in Portsmouth, NH (10 minutes away) yesterday.

~~ Carol was lucky enough to get a couple of tickets so that she and her husband could go. 

~~ I was happy for her 

~~ I was also very jealous!

~~ The NH Town Hall meeting wasn't rowdy like many have been.  That was nice to hear.

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~~ Speaking of Portsmouth, I went with my friend, Tracy, this past Saturday.

~~ We made the usual stops - The Old Ferry Landing & Hobo's Tattoos :-)

~~ Tracy got another cat tat - this one on her inner arm (she's really addicted).

~~ I got some finishing work done on my existing tattoos - a tail on the black sheep and some grass and a clover blossom on the clover tattoo. 

~~ Pictures later.

~~ Samm thinks I'm having a midlife crisis.

~~ I'm not - I'm done with tats (for a while anyway).

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~~ I saw a bumber sticker yesterday that read "F*** YOU, YOU F***ING F***" only it was actually all spelled out. 

~~ As much as I'd like to some days, I cannot imagine actually driving around with that on my car.

~~ I know - surprising!

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~~ Fiber Revival is this Saturday.

~~ I'll be there; will you?

~~ I'll be taking the plying class in the morning.

~~ I'll be spinning and visiting in the afternoon (and trying not to spend too much money).

~~ If you go, please buy a lot before noon so there won't be as much there to tempt me :-)

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I think that's enough random for now.  Have a great night!

WNBP

I haven't done a Wednesday Night Bullet Post in a long time so I thought I would do one tonight.

~~I've been feeling like I can't keep up lately; it's as if there are no longer as many hours in the day as there used to be.

~~It's been a long, cold, and dreary winter around these parts and there's still a lot of winter left.

~~I haven't been finding the time to knit and spin as much as I'd like; in fact for most of the winter, the only spinning I've done has been at Chicks with Wheels on Thursday nights.

~~I've been falling behind in my blog reading and blog posting.

~~Stick with me here; I promise, that's the end of the complaining.

~~Because....

~~ I'll be getting a much needed break from reality this weekend!

~~By this time tomorrow, I'll be in Freeport at the 2009 SPA Knit and Spin.   I can't wait. 

~~The official event runs from Friday afternoon through Sunday around noon, but my friends, Patti and Sharon, and I are heading up tomorrow.  I know of a few others who will be heading up early to get a head start on the fun.

~~I'm ready for a few days of no responsibility and lots of friends, fiber, and fun!

~~I may even consume a drink or two (perhaps a martooni or tee with Carole ). 

~~Not too many though, because although I can always tink the knitting, I can't unspin the spinning.

~~I may also spend a few dollars as at least two of my favorite vendors will be there.

~~Of course I'll be bringing my camera along.

~~I may even bring my laptop so that I can share with you during the weekend.

I'm going to go now and get everything ready to go.  Have a great night!

WNBP

It's time for another Wednesday Night Bullet Post.

Knitting:

~ The majority of my knitting time has been spent on the Metro Pullover I'm knitting for myself.  The weather has turned a bit chilly here and I find that I am sorely lacking in sweaters that fit me comfortably.  Progress so far:

~The left front neck shaping and a couple of sleeves are all that's between me and a new sweater.

~Well, that and a "bit" of blocking to change this from a close fitting sweater to a comfy sweater.

~It reallly is a good idea to check gauge before beginning a knitting project.  Just saying.

~The Fogbuster hat is about half done and it's looking good.

~You'll have to take my word for it as I have no photographic evidence.

Spinning:

~I finished spinning Brian's singles last Thursday night at spinning group.  As a matter of fact, I finished it much quicker than I thought I would and had nothing left to do but gab for the last half of the time there.

~As planned, I used Alice with the jumbo flyer & bobbin to ply the singles together.

260 yards - heavy worsted to bulky weight (forgot to do wpi)

~It's much darker than the pictures indicate; it's really almost black like this photo.

 

~I lost several yards of Brian.  There was quite a bit left on one of the bobbins and I tried to Andean Ply it.  I've never used that method before and apparently I did not wrap it correctly because it knotted all up!

 

~Brian isn't going to stay with me long; I'm sending him to a friend.

 

Contest:

 

~Thanks to those of you who jumped through all the hoops to vote for Clover in the Great American Photo Contest. 

 

~Anyone who hasn't yet voted but would like to (and can handle the stress of clicking through MULTIPLE screens), you have until the end of the month. 

 

~There will be a prize drawing on November 1st and I promise it will be a very good prize.

 

Flickr/Clover:

 

~Samm and Jay have asked that I make Clover's flickr sets private (friends and family only).  I will still be posting her pictures here; we just think it's better not to have the Flickr photos public.

 

~I've sent e-mails to many of you, but I'm sure I've missed some of you.  If you'd like to be able to see Clover's sets and haven't received an e-mail, please let me know.

 

~If you notice pictures missing on old posts, it's because the links will be broken when I change the sets to private.  I plan to fix the links, but it'll take some time.

 

 

Politics:

Clover likes to stay informed.

Wednesday Night Bullet Post

~~Last night was another fun Chicks with Sticks night.  Most of the usual crowd was there and we had a visitor, Aricka who was a lot of fun.  She had stopped in the shop earlier in the day and saw the shop sample of my Tulips Scarf and Hat.  She wanted to buy it or learn to make it.

~~Turns out she did both!  Patti didn't have a copy of my pattern in the shop, but it's so simple I was able to write it out and show her how to make it.  She had crocheted in the past, so I really just had to give her a little refresher.  She used a beautiful rose  color of Ultra Alpaca and got quite a bit done while there.  She did a great job and she seemed quite pleased, which pleased me.  I just love it when someone gets so excited over a project, especially when it's my design :-)

~~Several of the regulars of CWS have recently taken up spinning.  Since there doesn't seem to be a local spinning group, we decided to start our own.  Patti offered to host it at the shop and we'll be getting together once a week to spin.  I can't wait; it's a great group of friends and it's nice to have an excuse to meet a second night each week :-)

~~I started another sweater for Clover the other night.  I knit a few inches on it thinking I was using the size 8 needles that I'd just finished using on her other sweater.  Granted, they didn't look like 8's, but that was the size I had put in my knitting bag when finishing the other sweater.  I wasn't liking how tight it was knitting up and decided I'd try a size 9.  I took out my Harmony tips and that's when it hit me - I had ripped out the Lisha Lace Scarf  the night before (we will not speak of this other than to say the pattern is great; I just can't count) and threw those needles (size 5) in my knitting bag.  The size 8's had already been put away.

~~No wonder it was tight!  Needless to say, I ripped out and restarted the sweater using the size 8's.  That was yesterday afternoon before CWS.  Here's where it's at after CWS (just a couple inches left on the back):

I've given this the very imaginative name of "Watermelon Pullover" Am I clever or what?

~~I bought this yarn from Zonda about a year or so ago when she mentioned that she had extra and wouldn't be using it.  It's Freshisle Fibers Suffolk Wool.  Along with the watermelon self-striping, she also had the solid watermelon red (which I used on the seed stitch border) and the solid watermelon pink, which I think I'll use for the sleeves.

~~I'm hoping that tonight I'll finally finish spinning the singles of the Campfire fiber I bought from Heather last month at Fiber Revival.  I really can't believe  how long it's taking me to spin.  It seemed like I was really moving along quickly there in the beginning.

~~It may have seemed that way because after spinning for a while, I weighed the fiber I had left and thought that I had already spun 2 1/2 of the original 4 ounces.  I thought it went pretty fast and the bobbin didn't look all that full but I changed bobbins and began spinning the "second half".  

~~A couple days later, Samm wanted to see what I had for fiber so I went into my fiber closet and guess what I found.  Yep, the actual "other half" of the fiber was in the closet.  I had only spun 1/2 an ounce on the first bobbin - DUH. 

~~Why yes, I am rather brain dead at times, why do you ask?

~~Go ahead, laugh at me.  I can take it.  I'd laugh if it were you instead of me.

Wednesday Night Bullet Post

Since it is Wednesday, I'll give you an update of what I've been doing in a WNBP format.  Here goes:

~"Grinch" 

I finished spinning and plying this while at school a couple of weeks ago, but haven't gotten around to posting about it yet.:

Spunky Eclectic  Falkland in "Grinch"
266 yards 4 ounces
This is between fingering & sport weight (the thinnest I've spun so far)

~~Spinning for Fish

I spun this to knit and felt fish for Clover.  (I'm still working on the spindle spun fiber for felted fish; that project is turning into a lifelong project.)

65 +/- yards of single ply worsted weight
Sample pack of felting wool from Spunky Eclectic

~~Bunny Fiber:

 
This is the bunny blend I picked up at SPA back in February; I'm spinning it on the new spindle I picked up at Amy's (Spunky Eclectic) during my last visit.  I've spun about 1/2 an ounce so far; 1 1/2 to go.  This is some seriously soft fiber and a very enjoyable project.  Unfortunately, I've forgotten the name of the vendor I purchased this bunny blend from.  

~~Campfire:  

I spent some time this afternoon spinning the Campfire Merino/Silk fiber while sitting out on the back deck. I had planned to spin for about 1/2 an hour, but it was such a beautiful day that I spun for well over an hour. I finished the first bobbin and will begin the next tomorrow. I didn't bother with a picture; just imagine more of  this .

~~Knitting:

As you've probably noticed, there hasn't been a whole lot of knitting around  here for a while.  I have been working on Clover's Fish Toy and you wouldn't believe how many stupid mistakes I've made.  It's crazy; It's just knitting in the round with increases or decreases.  Pretty simple, right?  Apparently, my brain is dead because I had to start the stupid thing three times before getting it right.  Then last night while at Chicks with Sticks, I started the tail.   After a few rows, I looked at it and counted the stitches and something was wrong.  It took me a few minutes, but I finally realized that I was decreasing instead of increasing - DUH!  At least my stupid mistake provided some entertainment for a certain Sheep that we all know and love.  I am back on track with it now and hopefully I'll be able to complete it without anymore stupid mistakes!

 

How About an Update?

 

Edited to add:  It's Kristie's  birthday today; go on over and wish her a Happy one!

Since its been about a week since I've updated you on anything of the fibery nature, how about I do that today?  Here's what I've managed to accomplish in the knitting and spinning department lately.

300 HATS PROJECT:

~~Apparently, I can't count.  Last week I told you I had finished Hat #8 and was going to begin an Amanda Hat for Hat #9.   Make that Hats #7 and #8. 

~~Speaking of Hat #8 (the real #8), I did not finish it Tuesday night at Chicks with Sticks as has been my MO of late.  I'm about 60% finished.  I think it has a bit to do with the fact that the yarn is not so fun to knit with; I'm really hoping that a good soaking will soften it up a bit. 

~~Here's where it stands right now:

~~Hopefully, I'll finish it tonight.

'LISHA' LACE SCARF

~~Not a heck of a lot of progress here either.  I have completed just shy of 2 repeats.

I'm loving knitting this.  The yarnis scrumptious and the pattern is wonderful.  I should be much further along than I am, but I just can't seem to get in much knitting time these days.

~~I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I'm lazy and no longer get up and knit for 1 1/2 hours before work in the morning.  Even when I am up early, I'm not knitting; I'm drinking coffee and vegging in front of the computer or t.v.

10 MINUTES A DAY

~~I've done pretty well with this; there was only one day last week when I didn't actually spin, but I did read about spinning, trying to learn a little, so I'm counting that.

~~Most of my spinning this past week has been  with the cotton candy fiber.  I finished the last two of four bobbins of singles and decided this would not become a sweater for Clover.  The third bobbin was really not very good and the fourth bobbin was a bit thick.  So, I decided to wing it and see what would happen if I plied the two good bobbins with the two not so good ones. 

~~Not too bad.  I still have a bit to do, but I think this yarn will make some pretty little girl hats for Clover and her two cousins. 

~~I think I need a bit more practice before I spin sweater yarn for  Clover; it has to be perfect for my perfect granddaughter ;-)

~~Notice the jumbo flyer?  I just got that the other day.  I never even thought about the fact that it'd come unfinished.  I don't care about the bobbins and the flyer, but I'd kind of like the maiden to match since it replaces the other one.  Guess I'll be looking for something to finish it with soon.

GOOD NEWS:  

~~Chris was offered, and accepted, a job!  He'll probably be starting a week from Monday; just have to wait for a credit and security check.  Can we get a Woo and also a Hoo!!
 

 

WNBP Short Version

I don't have much for this week's Wednesday Night Bullet Post, so I've added a little something silly for you at the end of this post.

• Last night was Chicks with Sticksand I'm sure you know what that means (at least what that means this summer). Yep, another hat for the 300 Hat Project. This one is crocheted:

Pattern: Skater Beanie(Ravelry link) Yarn: Cascade 220 (maroon) & Lamb's Pride (yellow) Hook: Size H

• This is the reason I didn't find ten minutes to spin on Monday. I had planned to just get it started so that I could bring it on Tuesday to CWS, but I got a bit carried away and worked on it instead of spinning. It's not that I spent a lot of time on it; but by the time I sat down to do anything, it was already pretty late.

• I made up for the spinning I missed on Monday before going to CWS last night, though. I sat down with the intention of doing about 15 minutes and next thing I knew, I had been spinning for half an hour and all of my pre-drafted fiber was gone and I had finished the first bobbin of Cotton Candy. No picture of the full bobbin; you'll just have to take my word for it :-)

• I did start another hat when this one was complete. I managed an entire 2 rows of the rim. This is going to be the Banana Republic Knock-off hat, using Lamb's Pride bulky in Pistachio. I'll probably finish the rim and then set it aside until next Tuesday night.

• Clover went for her 6 month check up today (even though she'll be 7 months next Thursday). We were guessing that she weighed 18 pounds and we were pretty darn close. 17 pounds, 14 ounces and 27 inches long! I've been thinking she looked like she was growing a lot in length recently; guess I was right. She's a big girl. 75th percentile in weight and a little higher in length. She had her vaccinations and all is well with her. She's a happy, healthy girl.

• And now for the chuckle I promised you:

   

WNBP

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for some randomness in the form of a Wednesday Night Bullet Post!

• Yesterday, I received yet another Birthday present in the mail.  This one was from Dana and Dianne.

(photo shamelessly swiped from Dana)
It's a gorgeous pendant made by Sonya Forte'.
Thank you so much, Dana and Dianne; you know how much I LOVE it!

• Yesterday was Tuesday, which means last night was Chicks with Sticks at my favorite LYS.  I look forward to CWS all week.  It's always a good time with good friends.

• Not only is CWS fun, but sometimes a person might even learn something new.

• I learned something new last night. I'm probably the last knitter on earth to learn this.  Did you know that if you are using interchangeable needles (like my new Harmony needles) that are assembled with the little metal thingy (yes, that is the technical term) that you stick through the hole to tighten the cable to the needle,  you can thread a lifeline through that hole and knit it right into your row?  No stopping to thread a needle and having to be extra careful to make sure you go through every stitch and yarn over.

• I was close to the end of a repeat on Twinings, so I finished up the couple of rows I needed to this morning and tried out that new little bit of knowledge.  It was a little difficult getting the lifeline through the tiny hole, but I just used the little metal thingy to shove it through and guess what - it worked!  YAY! 
  

• Speaking of Twinings, I am now back to where I was before having to rip it out; three measley repeats complete.  I just don't know where my time is going, but I don't feel like I'm getting in the knitting time I want (and need).

• Yesterday, I knit another hat for the 300 Hats Project.  Everyone knows that I am not capable of knitting lace at CWS, so that has become my night to knit hats.  I arrived last night with the stitches cast on and the first row knit and finished this in the few hours that I was there:

Avalanche Hat

• That was Yesterday. 

• Today - well, let's just say that some days it'd just be better to stay at home with the people you love - know what I mean?
  

• I really need to just win PowerBall and be done with it.

 

 

WNBP

It’s Wednesday, and even though I don’t always take advantage of the WNBP format (like when I’m too lazy to post anything at all), it’s nice to have it to fall back on.   Here goes:

• I'm glowing.  No, I'm not pregnant; bite your tongue!  I had to take a radioactive iodine pill today for another thyroid test.
• It was a little bit disconcerting when the technician administering the pill got a bit jumpy when it looked like her hand might actually touch the pill (which was encased in a thick plastic tube and dumped out into the palm of my hand).
• She tells me that I don't have to keep my distance from anyone, but that if I hold a baby on my lap, make sure my bladder is empty.
• Hmmm, I don't think I'll be holding Clover tonight.
• That’s not going to be easy; she is, after all, such a huggable baby!

 

• I'm amazed at the response to my contest!  Lots of people accomplishing lots of good things.
• If you have a few spare minutes, read the stories.  Very inspiring.
• Lots of people I haven’t heard from before; welcome! 
  
• I love "meeting" new people and reading new blogs.
  
• If I haven't yet responded to you, don't worry; I plan to respond to everyone and you'll all be entered into the contest.
• I'm thinking I may go for another stash dive and add another prize or two.
  
• If you haven't commented yet, what are you waiting for? (Although, you do have until Monday to comment.)

•   Last night at Chicks with Sticks I nearly completed my first hat for the 300 Hat Project.  I kept stopping to measure it so I could begin the decreases.  

• You know how that goes, especially when you're knitting stockinette in the round; you just want something different to break up the monotony.
• Well, I don’t know how I did it, but I ended up knitting an inch too much.  
• I could decrease every round now, but wouldn’t that make the hat pointy?  I don't think the orphans have pointy heads, so I'll rip back.
• Or maybe I'll just fold the ribbing up.  Hmmm, decisions, decisions.
• I'm hoping to knit a hat a week for the project, but I think I'll mix it up a bit and do some different patterns.  Something to keep it a little more interesting.

• Something interesting came in the mail today.
• Interesting and purty. 
• It was my Harmony interchangeable needle set!  Yippee!
• I’m really excited to try these out.
• As a matter of fact, I think I’ll close here so I can try them out on my Twinings stole.

 

Have a great night, everyone!

WNBP

YAY for Wednesday and the WNBP format that the Sheep so graciously allowed me to steal from her.  Let's get right to it, shall we?

• Last night was our weekly Chicks with Sticks knit night (I just typed knit knight) which I look forward to every week.  I was especially looking forward to it this week because I knew we were going to have a very special friend visiting us.  Melissa was in Maine visiting her brother (the best weatherman ever even if he is predicting a nasty weekend for us) and decided a trip to The Yarn Sellar was in order.  Unfortunately, Rusty stayed with Melissa's brother and nephew for some male bonding time, so I didn't get to see him.  I'm pretty sure he begged her not to bring him; I don't think he really likes me very much. 
• Another member of our group decided to grace us with his presence. Mel's been very busy lately and we haven't seen much of him.  He's been terribly missed and we were all very happy to see him last night!  He showed us the beginnings of his gorgeous kilt hose (we even got to see it on his rather sexy leg!).
• Progress has been made on the lace wrap; I've completed the first of 11 repeats of the second chart.  I brought it with me last night, but I'm not stupid enough to think I can knit lace at knit night.  Fellow chick, Kit, knits lace at knit night all the time and it never ceases to amaze me how she can concentrate!
• I only had 1 other project on the needles, a sock, and I haven't really been feeling like knitting socks lately. (You may have noticed that I've not knit a single pair of socks this year!) 
• I had to find something else to knit, but what? "V" was the logical choice.  It's Amy's V-neck pullover pattern that came free with the purchase of this gorgeous yarn at SPA.  I'm cold all the time and the colors are "Spingy" enough that I'll still be able to wear it once I finish it. 
• It will be my Tuesday night knitting and "taking a break from lace" knitting until it is finished. Of course, I gabbed so much last night that all I managed to accomplish was the 6 rows of ribbing and about 10 rows of stockinette.  Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  Don't be fooled; this pattern starts out with the sleeves.  Obviously, that's not enough to post a picture; that will have to come later.
• Weight Watchers has been going well; as of last Saturday, I've lost a total of 14.4 pounds (in 7 weeks).  Like I mentioned the last time I posted about WW, it really does help to have someone else on program in the house.  Samm's doing incredibly well, too; she looks fantastic!
• Another thing that has helped immensely with my motivation lately, is the Ravelry group "Less W8 in 08".  I'm currently involved in a competition in that group.  There are 4 teams of 5 people and we each earn points for eating fruits and veggies and for exercising.  Last week was the first week and I did pretty well in the fruit and veggie department, but was sorely lacking in the exercise dept. 
• I'm working on getting my exercise mojo back. Samm and Clover met me  at lunch today, and we went for a half hour walk and I went to the gym with Patti tonight, so that'll earn me (and my team) some points!  I'm hoping Samm will come walk with me a few days a week at lunch time; it felt pretty good.
• I've saved the most important (in my opinion) bullet post item for last.  Yesterday, I was reading my good friend, Dana's, blog, and she got me to thinking.  I know, hard to believe, but every now and then I do think.  She wrote about how we often put much unnecessary pressure on ourselves to do so much more with our craft, than is reasonable.  Please, you really MUST read her post; she says it much better than I.  Go ahead, go now; I'll wait.
• Dana has decided to stop the madness, and set four simple goals for herself, and I have decided to do the same.  With her permission, I reprint those goals for you to read and think about.

1. I will enjoy knitting first and foremost;
2. I will not press myself to complete the project;
3. I will not apologize when my life supercedes my knitting time a.k.a. "if it takes me twelve months to finish, that's perfectly fine;" and
4. I will commit to no more than I can reasonably accomplish.

I'll end on that note.  Have a great night!

WNBPOTM

Wednesday Night Bullet Post On Thursday Morning.  No excuses; just didn't get it finished in time for Wednesday night.  I have a totally random list of stuff to share with you; more so than usual.  Here goes:

• First, thanks to all of you who commented on Mary's first sweater in the post of a couple days ago; I forwarded every comment to her and I think you guys really made her day :-)  In case you didn't see it, here's a comment she left for you.
  

  "To all of you lovely knitters.....
  Thank you for your encouraging words and kind comments....I couldn't have done it without Noolie! The card will read "Made with love by Aunt Mary and Noolie Julie Schramm" LOL
  Now I have to start a pink one for my first granddaughter, Olivia, who was born on February 13th. I think I'll make a size 4T....sorry Jules, here I go again."

• I hope I didn't offend anyone with the mole-rat post; I was going on the assumption that you guys don't offend easily or you'd have left me a long time ago.  It's just that when I received it in an e-mail from Patti, I HAD to share it with you.  I also had to share it with my two male coworkers, but for some reason, they didn't laugh nearly as hard as I did.  Go figure. 

• The only one who really seemed offended was Samm; so much so that she left me a comment for the first time ever.  Yes, it's true; we used to have rats as pets as she mentioned. Let me tell you, they really did make wonderful pets.  They are such snuggly little guys; you can't help but love them (once you get over the tail, that is).  Oh yeah, and the boy rats - well, let's just say there was no mistaking that they were boys; they drag their balls behind them, they're so big. The difference between our cute little ratty friends and the naked mole-rat is fur; our rats had fur and didn't look anything like a dick :-)

• Speaking of balls, you might not know this, but Patti used to have some pretty big balls.  Not anymore though.  Now she has this:
  

• Isn't that a gorgeous sweater?  Of course the pattern is Amy's Big Ball sweater pattern and the yarn Patti used was in the colorway "Riverwalk".

• Samm made some gorgeous stitch markers last night; I woke up this morning and there was a baggie with a ton of them on the stove with a note from her.  I, of course have no pictures yet; I'll have to show you tomorrow.

• I also have no pictures of the two new projects I've started (who can start just one at a time?).

• I started a neck warmer for hubby from my handspun (because Brenda says you need a plan for your handspun, so that's what I planned). I really like the way it's coming out.  I'm just kind of winging it as far as a pattern goes.

• I started the lace wrap for Lark.  Truth be told, I started it a couple of times.  First I cast on with Addi Turbo's and did a few rows, fighting every ssk (there are a lot of ssk's).  Then I thought to myself, "Self, didn't you use bamboo when you made that lace vest and you didn't have such a problem with the ssk's; why not try those."  So I switched to the bamboo needles and did a couple rows.  Not only did I still have a problem, but somewhere along the way, I had dropped a stitch and it fell all the way to the first row (all 6 rows, big deal).

• What a difference the right needles can make!  I got myself some Addi Lace needles and started again last night.  OMG, I have to tell you;  it's like knitting an entirely different pattern.  Those ssk's are a piece of cake!

• The pattern and the yarn are both wonderful to work with, and now with the lace needles; I'm thinking this wrap is going to be a true joy to knit!

• I'll have pictures of my projects for you soon; promise.  Neither are anything to look at yet.

• I'm still having a huge problem keeping up with my blog reading.  Do you think it's even possible at this point?

Well, I guess that's enough randomness for one day.  Have a great one!