Just Bead It!

Ok guys, I know I've been REALLY bad about posting lately and I feel terrible about it BUT...will this help to start making up for the lack of knitting content??? I have to tell you that I haven't had this much fun knitting a sock in a long time. I had some trouble to start due to my own stubbornness but once I got with the program I've been having a blast. My problem to start was with the beads and my lack of wanting to strand them on the yarn. I thought I could place the beads as I knit by working up to the stitch that the bead should be worked on, slipping a bead on the end of a tiny crochet hook and then pulling that stitch through the bead. It worked great for the first few stitches. Then for some reason, the stitches decided they didn't want to be pulled through the beads. And the yarn decided it was going to split. What a freakin' mess. So after trying to thread one stitch through a bead big enough to fit on the shank of a steel size 13 crochet hook 100 times (no, I'm not exaggerating here) with no success, I decided to frog the sock and start again. This time I put all the beads onto the yarn before I started knitting. And it worked. Go figure. I'm using Wildfoote Desert Grass, 40" size 2 Addi Turbo and celery glass 8/0 beads which I purchased from Land of Odds. Boy do they have beads. The pattern is Glad Raggs designed by Laura Andersson (HI LAURA!!!) and it's the current pattern for the Yahoo 6SoxKAL. Laura did an amazing job with this pattern and I plan to knit it again. So, what do you all think???

I have to thank you all for being so patient with me on the mini secret pal swap. It's taking me way too long to get my arse in gear and I do sincerely apologize but life's been crazy. We've been having a really hard time with my ex and his new wife. I'll fill you in soon but in the meantime, if you could keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers we'd be incredibly grateful.

Up Close and Personal

Several of you asked for better pictures of the silk Tilli Tomas yarn. It really is gorgeous. I still haven't worked it up yet. I can't decide what, or even if, I want to do with it. I have to admit to having yarns that I feel are to special to work. Plus, once you work it you never get to do it again. I know, I have issues.

I received yet another package from my wonderful Secret Pal. The first issue of knitscene from Interweave Press and 2 skeins of gorgeous Koigu. Of course, there isn't any such thing as a Koigu that isn't gorgeous. The new knitscene magazine is loaded with projects. Lots of hip and trendy stuff. Very neat. Thank you so much once again Secret Pal!!! You have totally spoiled me rotten!

Be Still My Heart

I hope you all had a wonderfully romantic Valentine's Day! Bran and I had plans to do our usual Valentine's Day ritual...put the kids to bed at 8, melt some chocolate and dip some fresh fruit. But, it didn't work out. I didn't make it to the store to get the chocolate and fruit. Bran is now working until 6:30 every night. Dinner didn't get started as early as it should have so we didn't eat until 8:30. We didn't get the kids to bed until 10. See where I'm going with this? BUT, at around 3 yesterday afternoon I got a call from the florist asking for directions to our house. I wondered who in the world would be sending me flowers. Certainly not my husband. I knew that because on Sunday he bought me this. I waited and waited and waited some more. Finally the florist arrived with these. From my daddy, my mother and the kids. Daddy ordered them for me when he bought my mom's flowers. I really honestly can't remember the last time I got flowers. And I love these. Tulips and irises are my favorites.

The most awesome present I received yesterday though came from my Secret Pal. Can you say amazing??? This yarn is to die for. It is merino and ribbons and lace and it is INCREDIBLE!!! I think I'm going to use it to make a big cable scarf for me. I certainly can't use it for anyone else. This gorgeous stuff has to stay here where I can admire it forever. I also received 4 of the cutest little red sheep stitch markers I've ever seen. Can you see them there in the picture? I hope so. Aren't they adorable? Thank you, thank you, thank you Secret Pal!!! You really made my day!

I hope your day was equally as lovely!

Last Chance

Today is the last day to sign up for the mini secret pal. I've heard from several of you already and so far we've got a great group! I can't wait to get started. I asked for opinions on the $ amount and the duration and most everybody is middle of the road so, once I get back to everyone with their pals (probably within the next week) we'll have 2 months to complete the exchange. Within that amount of time, you must be willing to spend a minimum total of $20 on your pal. If you've already signed up and have decided that you can't commit to that amount just let me know and I'll remove your name from the exchange. It's not a problem at all.

Diane S. - In answer to your questions, yes, this is a knitting exchange. You may send packages as often as you'd like as long as you send a minimum of $20 in gifts. While we won't be requesting specific gifts from our pals, we can certainly let them know what types of things we like the most. In fact, your pal would find it most helpful when choosing a gift for you. But please don't join if you're looking for something specific as there are no guarantees you'll get it. If you have an online wish list you're more than welcome to share it with your pal. I hope this helps you decide whether you'd like to join in on the fun or not. :-)

Lisa - I'd love to have you participate but I need your information. :-)

Last night I cast on for the new 6SoxKAL. The new pattern, Glad Raggs, is designed by Laura Andersson and is amazing! Hi Laura! I've ordered my beads and am still waiting for them to arrive. I have the ribbing done and am trying to wait patiently for the beads so I can continue. Will show photos as soon as I can. I'm using Desert Grass by Wildfoote and I really like it. The beads are celery and I think will be perfect. We'll see.

The Proof is in the...Shrug

I'm still taking signups for the mini secret pal exchange. Just drop me a note with the requested information BEFORE Monday, February 13th as the 12th will be the last day for signups. :-) The more people we have signup the more fun it will be.

Now, since this is suppose to be a KNITTING blog and I haven't been doing very much of it lately, I decided I better give you all some proof that I am still knitting. However little there is. This is the shrug I made for Sue. I love Fiber Trend patterns and this one is no exception. It is knit in one piece from the back collar to the bottom. Then you work the first set of stitches into a sleeve with your circular needle. You pick up the last set of stitches and do the same for the second sleeve. Then to finish, you attach the yarn at the center of the back at the top, pick up stitches along the collar, sides and sleeves then knit the center set of stitches still sitting on the needle for the bottom of the shrug and then work your way back up to the center top picking up the rest of the stitches. You then work the collar in short rows and finish by knittng full rounds of ribbing. I love it! And, this is tax free week here in our counties of NY so...

I bought this. Hello, my name is Kerry and I'm an addict. I also bought a little bit more that I can't show you because it's for my wonderful SP7 pal. Speaking of SP7, if my pal who's spoiling me is out there reading...HI!!! I'm still really blown away by how great both my pals are again this round. I'm a lucky girl. Anyway, Sue had a sale today and all yarn was 15% off PLUS there was no sales tax. How's a girl to pass that up? Come on. Admit it. You know you'd have done the same thing if you were in my shoes. So how awesome is that? I now have the yarn for another sweater for Dailaesse (Baby Ull), a scarf for Bran's grandma (Catalina Chunky), 2 shrugs for me (alpaca & Alpine Lace), and a few more pair of socks.

My husband carried my bags in from the van for me and told me what a good little shopper I was. God bless his heart. Then he saw this. He laughed and told me I have a sickness. Then he went to the store to buy me 2 more clear plastic containers to keep it safely stored in. Ladies, if your husband isn't like mine...go find yourself one right now. I also treated myself to some new patterns and needles but they're already taken care of and I honestly don't feel like dragging them out to take pictures. Besides, if you've seen one Addi Turbo you've seen them all. I have to take minute to tell you about this handspun hank I bought recently. I got it from PerchanceToKnit. I found her through a link on our SP7 blog and couldn't help but order. It's gorgeous. So soft and very evenly spun. Plus the owner of the shop is a dream to deal with. If you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary and very special be sure to check her out.

So that's about all I've got for now. I hope to have pictures of some new projects soon as well as lots of finished ones too. Hope you're all enjoying your Sunday!

Secret Pal

I have to tell you all what a blast I'm having with this round of Secret Pal. I wish I could tell you who I'm spoiling but that would totally ruin the surprise if my pal happened by the blog. I promise to announce it at the end of SP in March. The pal who is spoiling me is AWESOME!!! So attentive, sweet and VERY thoughtful. She sent the cutest birthday card for Dailaesse. It's the first time Dailaesse has ever received an online card. She was quite impressed. She loved the music and the little dancing dog and the baloons...oh the balloons! She kept saying how much she just loved that card. Then she asked if I could print it. So I did. She's been carrying it around the house since yesterday. Thank you once again Secret Pal for taking such good care of us!

Now, onto this Mini Secret Pal idea of mine. I've had several responses so here's what I need you to do if you want to join...send me an email (just click the link on the right) with the following information:

1. Your full name.
2. Your main email address.
3. Your snail mail address.
4. Your anonymous email address. (Yahoo and Hotmail are great as they don't require your real name to sign up.)
5. Any smoke or animal allergies.
6. What you think the minimum dollar amount should be to participate. (It will be at least $10.)
7. How long you'd like the swap to last. (1 month minimum to 3 months maximum.)

I think we'll have a lot of fun doing this!