Monday, Monday

Maria was so covetous of all of the dishcloths that I posted pictures of last week that she went out and bought some Peaches & Creme and forced me to make her these fine examples of dishcloth perfection:

They are just in time for July 4th, and I know that she will get lots of good use out of them when football season rolls around.

Knit Wit has requested this item for her birthday in a month, so maybe I have time to get the yarn and get it finished. I have never made a shawl before so it will be an adventure. I can make no guarantees.

I have begun to get a little freaked out thinking about all of the projects that I want to make for my family and friends for Christmas. I've got to get some yarn ordered and get to knitting and crocheting, otherwise everybody is going to be getting a wrapped up IOU. And let's be honest, that's not fun for anybody.

A Bit About Me

I know that this is hard to believe but there is another knit-blogger out there named Mary-Heather (I must say however, she is much more talented than I). She actually found me, how I don't know, but one day while I was visiting her blog, Rainy Day, she had this fun little questionnaire on there so I thought that I'd play along too!

4 Jobs I've Had
1. Clausel's Jewelry
2. UM Office of Research
3. Oxford Family Vision Clinic
4. National Center for Natural Products Research

4 Movies I Could Watch Over & Over
1. The Count of Monte Cristo
2. Bridget Jones' Diary
3. When Harry Met Sally...
4. Legally Blonde

4 Places I've Lived
1. Chattanooga, TN
2. New Orleans, LA
3. Corinth, MS
4. Oxford, MS

4 Shows I Love
1. The Golden Girls
2. Days of our Lives
3. Good Eats
4. House, M.D.

4 Highly Regarded TV Shows I've Never Watched
1. The Sopranos
2. Boston Legal
3. Entourage
4. Survivor

4 Places I've Vacationed
1. Key West, FL
2. New York, NY
3. Paris, France
4. Rome, Italy

4 of My Favorite Dishes
1. Macaroni & Cheese
2. Tacos
3. Salmon
4. My Grandmother's Spaghetti

4 Sites I Visit Daily
1. CNN.com
2. Soap Opera Fan
3. Yahoo Mail
4. Mason Dixon KAL

4 Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
1. Home
2. Vacationing
3. The Yarn Store
4. Anywhere really as it is Friday afternoon and I am at work!

4 Bloggers I'm Tagging
Anybody that wants to play!!! Although I definitely think that the Basement Queen should!

Have a Happy Weekend everybody!!!

Dishcloth Update

I have been meaning to post photos of some more of the dishcloths that I made, but I don't have a camera and very often I forget to take them over to Jason's so that I can photograph them there. I made it a point of it yesterday though, so here they are in all of their glory:


I wish that I could remember where I got the pattern for the tea towel, but the granny square and the purple crochet are from "The Best of Lily Dishcloths" and the little crochet one at the top is from the inside of a Peaches & Creme label. It is a little bit smaller than the pattern called for it to be, so that just proves to me that I need to work on my gauge.

Here is a larger picture of Granny:


I had been wanting to make this dishcloth for a while but I was a chicken because I wasn't sure if I would be able to read the pattern correctly. I am proud of myself for getting it finished even if I did make a few mistakes. I will probably make a few more of them to give as gifts, maybe to my grandmother, because I really like the way that it turned out and it was a very quick little project.

Maria (of van driving glory) and I went to the yarn store yesterday and the lady working there said to give them a plug, so Hello to our LYS, Hanging By a Thread!!! While I was in there I got some hunter green 100% Highland Peruvian Wool by Cascade Yarns to make Jason a hat to go along with his scarf. I found a pattern on the internet but then when I got home I was looking through Stitch N Bitch and found a pattern in there for a ribbed hat, so I think that I will just go with that. I've never made a hat before so it should be exciting!

Last, but certainly not least, BIG THANKS to Jason for my cute button that he made me that says "Knitting in the Lab." I love it!!! While I have not ever knit in the lab I am thinking that now is as good a time to start as any!

Scarf Picture

I finished Jason's scarf last night and gave it to him. I think that it turned out very nice and I think that he likes it as well. Hooray!

I showed this picture to my new boss and he liked it, so I guess that it passes the "man test." He, a self proclaimed Scarf Hater, said that it looked like a scarf that he would definitely wear. The handknit has successfully converted another.

I know that it is June in Mississippi and that a scarf might not seem like the most appropriate seasonal item to give. However I am excited that I finally made him one, and I hope that when we get our 2 week cold spell 6 months from now that Jason will enjoy it.

A Scarf and a Cat

I bought some of the most luxurious Cascade Baby Alpaca yarn at our new yarn store here in town one day last week. I had been in there a few times before and didn't really *need* anything, but recently I decided that I wanted to make Jason a scarf. I never got around to making him one when I was knitting scarves for everyone I knew last year. Fortunately for him, I can knit better now and the yarn that I bought for his scarf is far and away better than all of the other yarns I used. I am knitting it in this K3, P3 pattern. I think that I may never have made him anything before because I couldn't find a style that I was happy with, but really, this is pretty basic! Nevertheless, I am about 3/4 of the way finished with it and hope to get a photo posted soon!

On another note, I am getting a cat! I am both excited and nervous about this because I have never had a pet that I have had to completely care for before. A friend of my aunt got it from a lady that had to go into the nursing home and she really isn't up for taking care of it either. This is really not typical behavior for me, but I am thinking that I will enjoy having him around. Will post his photo when I take posession. Right now he is being spoiled at my grandmother's house until I can go and pick him up!

More Talk of Dishcloths

I had to go out of town for a few days to take my mother to her oral surgery appointment. For some reason they didn't want her to drive herself home afterward...I can't imagine why.

I joined the Monthly Dishcloth KAL this month and the first cloth that we made turned out to be a fish...I thought that this would make a fine gift for either Jason's sister (to go along with her other dishcloths that I made for her) because the men in her life like to fish or for my uncle who has been known to hang dead fish on his wall. Decisions, decisions.

I have given up on knitting for a while after a particularly bad episode with some uncooperative yarn overs and therefore I have turned to crochet. I made my first granny square on Saturday, and I will try and get a picture taken to post on here. I went a little wild at the Hobby Lobby while my mother was at her appointment and bought about 10 balls of dishcloth cotton. (At $1.27 each it's not like I broke the bank.) I am really enjoying making the granny square dishcloth out of the Best of Lily Dishcloths. It goes so much faster than knitting and as I am easily bored with a project that takes forever, this is very good for me. I haven't really done much crochet as I just taught myself the basics about 2 months ago and for some reason reading the patterns doesn't come to me as easily as knitting patterns. I am getting in some good practice though with my dishcloths.

Eventually I am going to move away from the dishcloth...I have started on the 2nd half of a pancho for Brinn that I started about 4 or 5 months ago. I laid it down for a while and just picked it up at the beginning of this week. I am cheating because it is knitted but I really do want to finish it before the child is a teenager. I also bought some very cute yarn to make a pancho for a coworker who is expecting and due in September.

On my agenda is the granny square afghan in "The Happy Hooker." I've bought the yarn and now all I have to do is crank out about 150 squares and sew them up! Hooray.

Maria got the drive the van again on Thursday, so the world is in balance once again.

AC ON!!! (And Other Ramblings)

My AC was finally repaired on Tuesday, thank heavens!!! Unfortunately, on Wednesday afternoon I became incredibly stuffed up and achy and had to stay home from work for the most part of the day on Thursday. Wednesday and Thursday I didn't feel like knitting at all...it was awful! But I have regained some of my strength and have started working on the Baby Genius Burpcloth from the Mason Dixon Knitting book for a lady that I work and bookclub with who is expecting a baby in September. Will post pictures soon as I should be finishing it up before too long however slow it might seem I am going...

Today in the mail I received some beautiful Euroflax Linen in French Blue for the Moss Grid handtowel that is also in the Mason Dixon Knitting book. Everything that I have made from the book so far I have either given as a gift or plan to, but I have a feeling that I am going to be keeping this for myself! I would like to make a whole set, but am going to have to find a more economical substitution for the Euroflax first...although this yarn definitely does go hand in hand with the glamour girl image I try so hard to maintain. :-)

On another note, I am thinking of doing away with all of the throw pillows I have around my house (did I just hear my mother pass out???) and replacing them with pounds of love...any thoughts?

I am not sure that you can tell just how large this skein of yarn is, but let me assure you, it's gigantic.