Back from Hiatus

Wow, I have really fallen behind in blogging. So be prepared for a picture heavy update. We moved at the beginning of the month. After much stress we are in and mostly unpacked. It is so nice to be in a much bigger house, a whole 2000 sq. ft bigger than our old one. But amazingly we have already filled it. Hence the necessity of the move. We were so squished. I love love love this house. It is so bright and open. The kids each have their own bathroom, I have a craft room and Big A has an office.
The fountain in the front drew me in the first time we looked at the house. It isn't that clear but it is a boy and girl under an umbrella.
This was our first meal in the gorgeous kitchen. Chipotle eaten while the inspection was being done.
And here is the first thing I knit here. The dream swatch headband, which I now realize I forgot to take pictures of the finished project. A fun fast knit. I will have to take more pics of the house now that we are all moved in. Perhaps Thurs after the cleaning lady comes. I just spent a weekend away and the house is less than spotless. Oh and about that weekend, it was heaven. I will blog on that tomorrow.
I have also been busy learning to spin. I love it! The class I am taking from Maggie at Shuttles is so much fun. I have learned an amazing amount in the three weeks we have completed so far. This is the fleece she sent us home with the first week. Boy did it smell like a sheep, which is not surprising given this is wool right after shearing.
Little Pablo gave it a good sniff.
And here it is after washing. Quite the difference indeed.
Oops I go the photos out of order and can't seem to fix them. This is it spun on a drop spindle which should come after the next two pictures. Crap, this is out of order too, this come after the next pic. These are the rolags that are a result of the carding seen below. These are then spun into yarn.

Carding.


And finally yarn spun on the spinning wheel. This week we are going to learn to ply it. And our final class will be dying which I am so eager to do. I have also spun some gorgeous ruby Brown Sheep roving that I will post pics of when it is plied. So that is a quick update. More to come soon.

Productive Weekend

Ahh the joys of moving. Nothing is more fun than fixing up your house for someone else. We spent the weekend putting a new roof on the house. Well we didn't put the roof on, we left that to skilled tradesmen under my FIL's supervision. He is the one manning the skid loader below. It is nice to have a family member who owns a skid loader, they come in mighty handy. Those pallets of roofing tiles weighed 1000s of lbs.
It is amazing how fast those guys worked. They had the old roof off in no time flat.



This gives you an idea of the before.

And the after.

I spent the entire time inside packing. Ugh. We have sooo much stuff to pack. About half of it ended up in a pile for a garage sale and goodwill. Little A is going to have to go to Grandma's for the garage sale so he doesn't see how many of his toys I am selling. He doesn't play with any of them so I know he won't miss them as long as he isn't witness to their departure. Not much knitting related news. I went to a friends house Sat. night to watch the UFC fights and forgot my knitting. :( It was tragic. I am not a big UFC fan, shocking I know. I was routing for all the cute guys to win and they all lost. Sunday evening after packing Maddie's room and most of the playroom, Maddie and I escaped for a couple hours of well earned knitting time at Starbucks. Today we have the inspection on the new house and I hoping to finish packing the playroom. I am starting to understand why moving is in the top 10 stressors list.

What a Fun Weekend!

The weekend started early as we headed off to Grand Junction for the Wine Festival. It was our first time working this festival and we were pretty excited since it is the largest in the state and hosts 43 different wineries.
I brought the jawbreaker hoping to finish it along the way. Unfortunately as I knit up the sleeves it became apparent that I was not going to have enough yarn, but I will write more on that in my next post. We will focus on all the fun good times we had in this one.
Like the beautiful scenery to take in along the four hour drive. Colorado really has quite the vast diversity in geography through out our state. The western slope's landscape is completely different than the front range. I don't know if I could get used to looking at these mountains but they are beautiful none the less.
When we arrived we thought we were going to be participants at the Enstrom's chocolate and wine pairing but Canyon Wind was short some pourers so we volunteered to pour their Pinot Grigio which was quite good and were able to taste as well. I particularly liked Plum Creek's Somerset Lake Harvest Merlot, a nice dessert wine that was fabulous with dark chocolate. I ended up buying 3 bottles the next day at the festival and am looking forward to drinking it perhaps while watching a nice fall sunset.
Sat. morning we headed out to Palisade after a hearty breakfast at Denny's. Palisade is known as CO's little Napa and is where the majority of the state's grapes are grown and where Spero gets most of the grapes used in their wines.

Look how beautiful and calm the park looks before they let all the people in. It didn't last for long. The pre-sale tickets alone were over 3500. It was a very busy day, lasting from 10:30- 5:30pm, on our feet pouring non stop. But it is so much fun talking to wine enthusiasts and novices alike. I enjoy both sharing the wine with someone who loves wine and truly appreciates it just as much as with someone who is just learning about wine and discovering it. Wine festivals bring out people that are much like the CO geography, diverse but beautiful.

Well some were a little annoying. I had bought a cheese plate to nibble on while I worked. Just getting away from the booth to the get the cheese plate was a feat in itself. I mistakenly left it on the corner of our table and with in minutes a lady was helping herself to my cheese. Now before you go excusing her and think that she mistook my cheese for free food, this lady had a cheese plate of her own that she too had forked over $10 for. She was essentially refilling her plate with my cheese!!!! THE NERVE! I said, EXCUSE ME, that is my lunch. Actually I didn't say it quite that snotty, I was so flustered. I think I poured the next guy the wrong wine. lol. That lady is lucky I was working, no one messes with my cheese!

Some nice boys made up for the nasty cheese lady however when they invited me to go drink mead with them. And I do mean boys. They had to be 23 at the oldest . Oh they were so cute and trying so hard to get me to go with them. I explained that I had to help take down the booth and pack up. I don't think they had any idea that I have a son closer in age to them than I am. And I am sure they would have reconsidered their come on if they had heard my grunts and groans upon sitting down due to my aching knees. Dead sexy baby. lmao. All in all the wine festival was a blast.

And the ride home was even better with a little stop at the Coach outlet and the purchase of this little beauty. I am sure Betsy will appreciate it! It is the perfect match for the fall shoes I posted a bit ago!
And then to top off the weekend we rushed back and attended the Bronco game. This is only the 2nd game I have been to and I must say it was far better than the first. My throat is still scratchy today and by the end of the game I couldn't yell anymore I had lost my voice from screaming so much. I must admit I don't watch football faithfully, but get me there in person and I am a huge fan! I love live sports, the energy of the crowd is just addicting.
Gotta love Barrel Man!

A day in the life

So what does a stay at home mom by day, knitter on the fly and goth girl by night do in a day you ask? Well let me tell you. Here is my Wednesday:

8AM: Awake to the call of a five year old summoning "Mom get out of bed."
"Why." I ask.
"Because I want you to." Fair enough I reason.
Oatmeal is made. Shower follows.

9AM Now dressed and semi alert I sit at my desk with an icy cold glass of chai at which time a game of keep away begins with the cat as he tries to abscond with my straw. Cat ends up with straw and I get to live irritation of ice cubes on sensitive teeth. I deal as I design new sets of stitch markers for the new catalog. Ya know the one I have been putting off all summer. I also finish up the cell phone charms while eating toast with peanut butter and apple sauce. All the while listening to True Crime Authors on the History Channel. The one on Casino is particularly amusing as they mention Anthony's distant family member Frankie Balistreri (all Italians are connected don't ya know). Little Anthony is destroying the house and watching Nickelodean.

11:30 Snacks and then we hustle for shoes and head off to school which starts at Noon. We have a few minutes to play on the playground before the bell rings. Then he is off to learn and I have a few hours of alone time which I spend.....You guessed it....doing laundry. Yippie! I also sit down and start knitting the left front of my jawbreaker. I can't wait to finish this sweater! I should pack a few boxes but really am not feeling that motivated. Okay laundry is done and I am really going to be good and put it away as well. The hanging up stuff I can do later.

2:45 Comes so fast! Pick up A from school. Hang out on the playground for 30min while he plays with the other kids and try to remember the parents names. I really should know them by now. Then home for snack. Big brother and sister soon are home as well. Homework and chores are done while I knit. Anthony continues to destroy the house. I try to put it back in order. Not much cleaning to do today. Donna my cleaning lady and saviour came yesterday and the kids have not done too much damage yet and dh is still out of town so the house is in good shape.

4:30 Off to Chuck E. Cheese with my friend Jen. The older two are on their own for dinner unless they want leftover tacos from dinner last night. They are old enough to cook for themselves but are too lazy to do so, so I am sure they had sandwiches. We are going to dine divine on Chuck E. Cheese Pizza and play skee ball to our hearts content.

7:00 Quick stop at TJ Maxx on the way home to buy some sexy panties to welcome dh home and some new pjs. After the talk at knit nite Tues. I feel compelled to have new pjs for the knitting retreat in Oct and I found a pair I couldn't resist.

7:30 Once home I sit and work some more on the jawbreaker, I am up to the armhole now. Put Anthony to bed at 8:30 and then rush off to the airport to pick up big A from Vegas.

10pm. Get home, quick change and head downtown for a few drinks and a late night bite.

11pm. Some Chopin martinis and sushi at Opal hit the spot. It is so good to see dh after a week away. *sigh*

12pm Off to Shelter for a little dancing to cap off the day.


So there you have my day....

Zen and the art of knitting

Is there a book of this title? If not there should be. Because knitting surely is helping me find Zen. I know I have mentioned it at least at million times, but I will once more. I am anal retentive. Not full on Monk style but enough that these socks have made my pulse quicken a time or two. Do you notice how the yarn has made two completely different patterns in each sock? I have. I am going to live with it. Surely I am one step closer to achieving zen. Then I got to the toe. When I did the second sock it did not look at all like the first sock's toe. So I had to unweave my ends, and the extra ends from the weird thing I had to do to fix that extra loop I ended up with (which was probably best I ended up ripping out anyway) and frog the toe and try to knit it again to match. The first time I knit the toe with the decreases EOR, the second I did it every row. It still doesn't match. I don't know what I could have done and of course I didn't write it down, that would have made sense if I was going to do some sort of weird toe alteration, so once again I will have to live with it. I think if I keep knitting I may achieve Nirvana or be committed.

Did I mention I love shoes?

I don't know what obsession is greater, shoes or knitting. But given I have a blog devoted to knitting I would say that it has the edge. However I feel that the shoes are feeling a bit neglected so with that in mind I will share some pictures of my recent purchases.

These cuties I bought at TJ Maxx last week. They are just adorable and perfect for fall skirts.

Now how could I possibly resist these boots? Perfect for wearing out to a club or staying at home *wink wink*
And can you believe I got them at DSW?

These darling Joan and David's were on super sale at DSW so they made their way up to the register w/ little arm twisting.
And so did these. Another great clearance purchase, these Steve Madden's were only $10.


These I bought at Kohls a couple weeks ago, to go with the birthday outfit. Aren't they adorable?

So should I go back for the Stuart Weitzman's that were 80% off? I think I should, however dh may disagree, but we are buying a new house with bigger closets. What better to fill them with than shoes?

So now you see how easy it is to amass 85+ pairs or so of shoes when you buy in bulk. Now if the house is on fire and the kids and pictures are safe (oh yeah dh too) what do I grab first? Yarn or shoes?

The Winners are....

IKKINLALA AND MADISON!!!!

Congrats! The final row took 54 minutes to complete. Madison I know figured it out mathmatically, that's my girl! Not sure if the other winner guesses randomly, but either way I will be sending out fabo prizes! Pictures of said prizes coming soon.

Overally I am pretty happy with the shawl. It is definitely not a shawlette. I did the bigger size and forgot to account for my lose knitting. But I like that it is full size since I had yet to make myself a shawl. (Thanks for the pics Leanne, hope you don't mind me stealing them)
The yarn was a delight to work with! I may make another small one in the future, but not immediately. Too many projects in the queue already. I cast on today the second fishing sock and finished the right front of the jawbreaker. I am hoping to get those two projects finished in the next couple weeks so I can cast on some fall knitting. I am so ready for fall. I want to make soup and wear sweaters, smell the leaves that litter the yard with their brilliance, and bask in the warm sun while feeling a little nip of chill on my nose. I am ready for fall. Bring it on.

We have a tie!

Oooh the suspense! We have two winners for the contest, one I know well and the other I am not sure who they are. I will announce them shortly, as soon as I finish the shawl and post the finished pictures. So put on your patience panties and wait just a big longer.

First Day of School!!!

Can you believe this little guy went to Kindergarten today? I can't, I even dropped him off. He was so excited and eager to say goodbye to us. We kept explaining we were going to walk him in yet he continued to utter his goodbyes. Yes, he was far more ready then we were.
I know I am biased but I do think he was the cutest little Kindergartner there today. I just wanted to kiss that little face all over, but I refrained, knowing that probably wouldn't be cool.
All lined up ready to go in. I counted 3 spiderman backpacks of the 13 kids (1/2 the class started yesterday and half today, tomorrow all 23 will be there) And of course I forgot to put his name on his. Way to go mom.
See, there is he is trying to get rid of us again. Sheesh. We left finally, but were not the last ones to leave so that has to be a good sign. His dad cried quite a bit and even talked about having another one on the way to lunch. I would be totally game if I had a uterus. Anything to avoid my awaiting fate of studying for LSATs. I am not sure what I cried over more, my baby growing up or having to face applying for law school and studying. I did remove the prep book from under the coffee table. I think that is a good amount of effort for today.
Yeah, I think I cried more over my baby growing up. This picture was taken yesterday, I swear. Okay I need to pull it together, it would be embarrassing to pick him up and still be crying.

Mish Mash and a Contest (with a PRIZE!)

I had a lovely weekend that began at Knit Knacks with the Arvada Knitters. I wish I had brought my camera since most of the group was there, but alas I forgot. My friend Mariah (see bowling post for picture) was able to join us. She is making the prettiest sweater vest from Knitty in lovely autumn colors. I may have to make one for myself. I also got to chit chat a bit with Janine who will be my roomie for the Stitch and Beach cruise! I can't wait for that vacation, it is going to be so much fun! But boy is packing going to be a challenge, what yarn to take?

On Friday Linda came over with the kids to play and visit. She kindly modeled the jawbreaker which is now hers. I think it looks divine on her and the colors suit her well. She is great to knit for!

The beaded shawl is coming along nicely. I just finished the second set of beaded rows. I can't even imagine how long the last row of beads will take. Any guesses? Right now a bead row is about 30-35 min depending how involved I am with the tv program I am watching. Give it a guess and I will give a small prize to the winner. If it is any help I believe there are around 300 stitches at the end. Good luck!

*Edited to add: The last row in the 2nd set of beaded rows was 221 stitches, the last row of the third and final set is 329 stitches.