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.

Birthday Bowling

What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday, bowling with your dearest friends. I sucked btw, and as evidenced above Linda kicked some serious ass. Anthony also wasn't on his best game which was some consolation, given how competitive we are with each other. It was a great party and I am so lucky to have so many great friends who could come. Many pictures of said friends to follow.
me

Brad, Anthony and Claire

Liz and her friend Layne (I think that was her name)
Eric's ass, which I did not kick btw despite my bet. He let me off the hook and I didn't have to lick his feet despite my defeat. Ha ha. What a good friend.
Mariah, knitter extraordinaire.
Linda (bowling goddess) and her hubbie Wes. (not a bowling god- her words, not mine).
My BIL and SIL Ron and Laura.



Heather, Anthony and Ed (I just noticed Anthony is giving the shocker. Nice. I can't take him anywhere)
Jess and Raven
Alyx, promoting goddess
Chris (Beef) and Eric.

New WIPs

Today I cast on the beaded eyelet shawl, the one Leanne is teaching in her class. Unfortunately I am unable to take the class since my kids have ice skating at that time, so I am winging it. I think I have it figured out. It is a really fun pattern, and a first for me to use beads in knitting. I can't wait to finish it so I can block it! Note the invading kitty paw...they always manage to work their way into my viewfinder!
I used silver iris beads w/ He's a Pirate yarn by Mary Kay. I think they coordinate nicely.
And also another jawbreaker was started this past weekend. I am using a bulky cotton from Over the Rainbow yarn (an ebay seller) in the blueberry colorway. It is knitting up much more quickly than the last one. (If you can't beat them, use the kitties as models).
This is the sock I started the previous weekend while camping and fishing at Heart Lake near Yampa, CO. I am using knit picks sock memories in Fly Fishing, which I thought was fitting given our activities. The stitch pattern is Stansfield #10 from Sensational Socks. I forgot how to do the Turkish cast on and didn't have the tutorial w/ me so I am doing them top down. They are a little bit roomier than I would like but I am hoping that is due in part to me trying them on repeatedly as I work. If not they may end up as a gift for someone w/ a wider foot.

Welcome to Blog world Maddie!

My dd Maddie now has a blog, and I must say it is pretty entertaining! She not only is a talented knitter but quite the writer as well. So I encourage you all to give it a read, you never know, she might be the next Yarn Harlot. Well, not that I want my daughter to be a harlot...but you get the idea.

And in this corner of the world...

Yay!! The jawbreaker is done! I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I used yarn I bought on ebay, a worsted weight and knit in on size 8s.
I love the cute button I bought at Hobby Lobby, I think it goes nicely with the colors. I plan on giving it to my best friend Linda because the colors are more "her" than me. I started a new one w/ a bulky weight cotton in blues and purples. It is knitting up pretty fast so soon we can wear our matching sweaters out on the town together.
And in other news, my 5yo had surgery this Friday to repair a hernia. He did amazingly well, just a bit of nausea from the anesthesia, but once he was home he was back to his normal little 5yo self (mayhem and destruction). While he was under the nurses took it upon themselves to dress up the his otter blueberry. How cute.


They even gave him a band-aid so he has a matching owie. Awww...the staff was amazing, especially the anesthesiologist who was from Children's. Anthony was in awe of her magic coloring book.
Here he is on the mend with his sister. Aren't they cute on their laptops? You can't see the screens, but they are both playing the same game. Perfect way to while away a rainy Sunday. A rainy Sunday that was my Birthday. Happy Birthday to me! I had a nice relaxing day hanging out with the kids. The real festivities will be next Sat. when we celebrate with our friends. I hope 34 is a good year.