The Bag Lady and The Pro

Ahh.. to have a day off! Seriously, this is my first REAL day off in I don’t know how long. It started out pretty funny though. I was going to do lunch with a couple of the guys from work so we could go to the Apple Store and get me a Time Capsule to back up my work machines at home and serve as a router - the one I use somehow doesn’t allow VPN connections to work on Mac.

ANYHOW.. since I knew that was coming, I got up early.. got to my nail place right around 9:30 when they opened.. and they were closed. “Sorry, we don’t have power!” OK.. so I figure I’ll get my car washed/cleaned first, drive down the street.. “Sorry, we don’t have power!” Oi. haha

In the end though, it was a lovely day - had a great time at lunch with a bunch of the guys from work (Do you have Five Guys where you are .. oh.my.word. how I LOVE their fries!)

And then, even better.. Look what I got in the mail!

Isn’t that beautiful?! My sister made it for me! It will be just the 2nd or so thing I have for wall hanging - and the others are the coffee-themed photo-postcards Devon gave me forever and a day ago that I framed. Much love, dear sister - I do envy your sewing and quilting skills!

And I’ve also managed a bit of knitting this week..

Squinch your eyes up reallllly tight, and you can see that it’s a baby blanket! I started one similar to this a long time ago, and never finished. This one, however, is for a dear, dear friend who had a really rough road to conception, so it’s going to be done.

I’m a bit torn though, and considering giving it up on this particular yarn and getting something else. I LOVE how soft the yarn is - it’s Plymouth’s Baby Alpaca - and I’m planning on lining one side of it.. I’m just afraid that it’ll be too fuzzly and itchy for a baby - what do you think?

I do have a bit of catch up work to do this weekend - but it’s really a total choice, so that I’m not as crazy busy next week prepping for a really big meeting on Thursday. I do intend to do some house cleaning, some knitting, some lazing about.. ahhh.. 3 days off in a row! What’s a girl to do?! What are your plans for the weekend?

I’m watching the game and working on a baby blanket square while I decide what to do next… In the meantime, I give you some swap news!

Amy is hosting a “Summer of Yarn” swap - looks like a ton of fun, and I’m pondering joining, as further incentive to not let work take utter control of my life.

The coffee swap is winding down, but hopefully I can trick convince Holly to do another one with me toward the end of the summer/early fall - I really love that one!

A few folks have emailed myself or Holly asking about the Dishcloth Swap.  Yes, I deleted the blog - the last few rounds of that swap were anything but easy. The number of folks flaking, just not participating, not meeting requirements, etc just made it anything but fun.  Having had a break, I am debating doing one with sign-ups beginning sometime in early June.. who’d be up for it?

Ah, the period break is over - let me run and watch the Fliers lose to the Pens again.

So, last Monday?  Probably one of the worse days I’ve had in recent memory.  My boss got in a motorcycle accident, our main office server room went down, when I was there, at 12:30am (hah! Oh, to have not been the bearer of THAT news), which somehow pulled down our production site.  In at 7:30 and done with work at 3:30am is NOT something I care to do very often.

But.. are you ready?  It is done!

Oh the success, the weight off my and others’ shoulders, and THE release finally being out.the.door.  And quite successfully I might add!  It’s a ton of work and hours.. a lot of stress.. and here, my friends, is how we begin.

LOL - yes, that is a giant bottle of Vodka, one of Scotch (or Bourbon? I can never tell the difference on those, I’m not much on hard alcohol), a veritable plethora of beer - and there are snacks in those bags on the floor.  I’ll have you know I limited myself to 1 Stella, thank you very much!  We also always enjoy a nice dinner, though the choice this time was certainly not one of my favorites, it was still tasty, and there was good company.

So why the loss?  Well because by Sunday afternoon, when it was all done but monitoring, checking for issues and the like?  I really wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. HAH.  It’s been so long since I didn’t have the pressure of work and this release (even though I have the 9 million things that have waited and been pushed off due to this release to work on), I literally was at a loss.  “hrm.. I could.. uh.. well.. “  And then I’d check on work errors, check email, goof off a minute and be right back in that same place.  “Well, maybe I could.. nah.. Or.. hrm.. “  It was really quite tragic.

Instead, I spent much of my day rather in a mode like Cleo ..

Catnapping, sitting around, and just reveling in the fact that our release is live. And it is ALIVE and doing amazingly well! I do have a ton to catch up on, and am planning on enjoying every moment of it!  I refuse to let myself get caught in this cycle of work again - it’s just plain not healthy, and it cannot become something that happens for everything - I just don’t have it in me.

And with Mom’s scarf done, I don’t even know what to knit next!  I suspect the proper place to begin is in finishing these..

The person they are for has been patiently waiting far too long (without even knowing it!) and it’s time to get them done! I have several baby gifts to finish, too, as the next baby is a girl I really like and am friends with.  It’s her first, and they had some troubles along the way with miscarriages due to a blood disorder she has, so she’s just over the top happy about the entire thing!

And now, I’m off to bed.  Hah.  OK. The idea of being in bed before 11pm is just unheard of for me - I hope you all had a lovely mother’s day and are having a great week!

Now that it’s arrived for Mother’s Day for my momma, I can share that project I was working so much on and not sharing!

You might have spied it on Ravelry a few days earlier, I just couldn’t wait - I really enjoyed this project.

Needles: Trusty Dusty Knit Picks Options in Size 6.

Pattern: Isobel, a free pattern from Cider Moon.

OK so here’s the big admission.  I WANTED to make this scarf.   For the life of me though, I just could.not.get.it.going.  Then I searched high and low because i wanted to make something wider - more of a stole - I have to believe my mom’s got enough scarves to last her lifetime and then some at this point. Luckily she’s gracious.  This pattern, though, I had no problem at all getting going.

It’s a really simple repeat, and easy enough to memorize, and mindless enough to knit while working or watching hockey, which totally fit the bill for me right now.  I think it turns out just gorgeous though.

I did do a bit of blocking - which I found to be a tad harder than I’d expected.   And no, for those of you wondering, I don’t have anything better I do with the Yoga mat dear Chan gave me.  CRY.  Dun make fun - it worked pretty well!

I did that in the bedroom where I could turn the ceiling fan on high and leave the door shut to keep prying claws away from it while it dried.

Yarn: Paca-Peds HT (Heel and Toe) in Deep Seas

I LOVE the colors in this yarn - and many of the other colors from this seller. It’s kind of a fun concept, too - with the HT, each one comes with an extra 25G of yarn in a coordinated solid for use on the heels and toes of your socks.  Well we all know how I feel about socks - so I knit my mother (yet another) scarf - this time trying to branch into lace.  The yarn works up really nicely and blocks well, if I have any complaint, it’s that the colors sort of fade in and out - there are places where the yarn doesn’t seem like it was fully ’saturated’ with the dyes - which is fine except when it’s SO much more rich in all the other places.  I’m more used to that in hand-dyed yarns, or those that are a single color - more of a kettle-dyed look like Malabrigo.  It did get a TAD splitty sometimes, but the KP Options needles are a bit sharp, so it could be more me than the yarn.

Overall: I really like this pattern for a gift scarf, perhaps for some Christmas gifts. It’s lace, but you can also make it long enough that for those in colder climates, wrapping it a few times can keep you nice and toasty.  It has infinite possibilities for yarn choices, and I think that it’s a good first ‘lace’ project (though I suppose it’s not TRUE lace since the backside is all purls.  Someday, I shall move on to that, because I really was happy with how this little darling turned out.

I did learn a lot about my knitting, and lace in the process of trying some things out.  I’m a fairly tight knitter, it turns out (whoda thunk it Chan and Sis dear?), and I think it’s going to be tough for me to get the hang of lace that’s TOO loosey goosey - I will have to work my way up to it.  I think that it’s more about the needles than knitting loosely though - is that right Grace? If I use bigger needles with the smaller yarn - THAT is what makes it more open?

I can only hope that my poor mother enjoys it in spite of having a million and one scarves from me. : (  I’m a bad daughter who can’t knit socks very well!  If it makes you think more of me, she also got 2 skeins of Silky Malabrigo in a lovely light purple - and I haven’t even tried the Silky yet!

What makes my mom special?

Taking her granddaughter to Golden Corral each week so they can spend special girl time.

Being the one person who always chooses my side when the world is out to get me.

Being someone who can come around even after we fight or yell or argue, and still laugh and cry and share.

Forgiving me all of my many mistakes, and reminding me instead of any accomplishments.

Always remembering my special days - but more importantly, remembering my not-so-special ones, too.

Loving the things I knit for her, even if they’re not always perfect or pretty.

Trying to branch out and do new things, even when they’re harder as she ages - because it’s something else we can share.

Doing special things for the dog when no one’s looking, even though she grumps at him when others see.

Being unreasonable sometimes, but dealing so well with the fact that I can be too.

Being someone I can argue with, get frustrated with or angry with - and still being a woman I love and admire so much for all you have been through, accomplished, and done - not the least of which is loving me no matter what, and making sure I know it every time you can.

I love you Momma, and I miss you. Happy Mother’s Day!!

It has been a VERY long week.  month?  Oi.  I worked until 3am at least twice this week, and 6am once. Granted, I don’t go in until 11 or so those days most of the time, and I can work from home - but jeeze it takes a lot out of you. Add in some allergies or just fatigue-based migraines, and it was a long, draining week. The good news is, I can see the finish line through the fog, so far as work is concerned.

And ya know what else? I got a package!! Wheee!  Seriously, I don’t even know when it arrived, as I went to the post office today but had not been since Wednesday or so.  But oh my. What a lovely package at just the right time to lift my spirits!  It was gorgeous all week - you know, while I was working.  Today, on the other hand, is dreary, cloud-filled and at times rainy.  But look - THESE blues are better than MY blues…

That, my friends, is courtesy Knittensilly (ravelry link).  She was my upstream spoiler in the Malabrigo Junkies Swap - and man did she ever spoil!  That’s 2 skeins of worsted weight in “Emerald Blue”. It’s such a gorgeous mix of blues and teals and ohhhh it’s lovely!

There are my other goodies - how cute is that yarn bag?  The little bag to the left of it is dragonfly and butterfly buttons!! And I’m currently sipping some of that coffee (ok, how targeted to me is a coffee shop that says “strong coffee since 1993″ haha) from my new, BEAUTIFUL mug with a dragonfly!  Isn’t it all just SO me?

And here - check out a closeup of the stitch markers:

Thank you so much for brightening my dreary weekend, Knitten!

I did swing by the sale at Cast On Cottage.  I really do love that shop since Teresa bought it a year ago, so what better way to celebrate her one year anniversary than to get a bit of goodness from the shop?

This was my non-sale purchase. I couldn’t resist..

Viola!

It is the Total Tote from Creative Options - I don’t much like their website, as they have it set to make it impossible to direct link - but I DO love the bag.

I was relatively good when it came to yarn - I limited myself very well, thank you - and the two yarns I got were 3.00 and 4.00 per ball, respectively:

Very likely to become items for Warm Up Winc (the left) and for a friend’s baby (the right) as soon as I figure out what to make with the blue.  I’m not sure I’m up for another baby surprise, though the gauge would probably go just right with it.  Any suggestions?  It’s Linie 11 “Alpha”, a 100% cotton, and I’d love to tell you gauge, but there aren’t Americanized translations… and I’m too tired to figure it out right now.  It says 3,0 -3,5 needles and a 10×10cm square shows 26 stitches and 34 rows.  I have 6 balls at 104m each.

I have been knitting - quite furiously, actually - just can’t show you yet, but I’m really happy with how the project is going.

I’ll leave you with this shot of Cleo, as I need to get back to work, try and do some laundry, get my own pal’s packages together, and attempt to maintain my sanity.  Who says she’s not a knit lovin’ kitty?

Do excuse the 900 toys everywhere - most of my livingroom looks like that.  And she promptly ignores it all for the needle, any pen of any type, and the box sitting in the corner with some tissue paper from my Spring Fling Coffee Swap Pal.  It’s like she’s 2 and prefers the pots and pans in the cabinet to her toys!

As promised, here are some pictures of the lovely, generous goodies Nancy sent me in the Spring Fling Coffee Swap. Here’s an overall view to start: (BTW, just to let you know, I took these pictures at 9:45 PM.)

As you can see, I received two yummy kinds of coffee, my favorite Brussels cookies, 3 different kinds of incredible yarn, a handmade neckwarmer with a coffee theme, not one but two dainty cups, numerous stitch markers, and two lovely handmade dishcloths. There was some magnetic knitting poetry too. Here are some close ups:

Yummy coffee! I just finished a cup of the Peet’s coffee. Very nice!

The dainty cups have a story to go with them. Apparently Nancy went to a local antiques store to find me a china cup. Once there, she saw a china cup with an Alaskan theme and had to get that one in addition to the Spring-themed cup. I love them both, and my husband LOVES the Alaskan cup. He’s drinking his coffee from it right now. He thinks it is so cool!

The yarn is awesome. I got Fleece Artist in Marine, Koigu, and Dream in Color Smooshy in Nightshade. The gorgeous colors just scream “ME!” Any one of them would have been fantastic, but Nancy sent all three!

I love the beautiful stitch markers that Nancy sent as well:

From Alabama Fiber Dreams:

From: Blume’s Accessories

And these too. Katie loves these; one has a hummingbird on it :

I used my new fridge poetry pieces to send a final message to my sweet swap pal:

Thanks for such a great package!

One thing I try to do in life is remember to tell special people they are special. It’s just something I do, because I know it makes me feel like a million bucks when someone lets me know they think that of me. As such, I’m starting a new feature! Every so often, I’ll spotlight a fellow blogger - someone who’s special because they’re special, not JUST because they knit! ; )

And for the first, I give you my dear friend Holly.

That’s Holly on the right there, at her local knit night with the ever adorable Jessi, who’s determined that Holly should henceforth be known as Holly Hobby!

Holly is a sweet, dear lady who always tries to be there to listen to her friends, does just adorable things for her kids (Cameron the Elf anyone?), and tries to be the best friend a girl can be even to those she doesn’t know so well. Several folks agree!

Says Michelle…

Holly is my virtual twin sister.. we think alike in so many ways, and share so many of the same opinions and thoughts. It was funny because we connect SOOO quickly through the coffee swap and while I’ve made awesome connections through swaps and the whole internet knitting community, I haven’t connected so deeply or so quickly with anyone as I have with Holly

I love her to pieces..

[Photo copyright Jessi]

And her sister Lacey has a few sweet tidbits to share! She tells me…

Anne of course I have many stories about my dear sis. I can tell you about how she caught her hair on fire one sunday before church. Or how she was induced because she wanted me to see her son before I moved away from home. Or as we all know the secret she kept just to suprise me for my birthday. Holly has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. I am honored and blessed to have such a wonderful sister.

Check out these great pictures!

They don’t look at all alike, do they?

Holly, you’re a dear, sweet woman, and I’m glad you’re in my life - I’ll be praying for your last hospital visits and hope they go well, and will get to Alabama sometime soon - you, me and Jessi together could tear the town up! I’m so glad you approached me about us doing the coffee swap and that we’ve grown closer.
And lastly, I’ll leave you all with some shots of Holly Hobby’s handiwork!

These socks are her sister’s project - but made with yarn they dyed together!

Here’s a rather.. er.. creative project she made! A blues buster buddy for a swap pal who’s a huge advocate for Breast Cancer research and education..

And finally, an adorable hat she made for Megan when Amanda was looking for donations to brighten a little girl’s rough time - and here’s what Amanda says about Holly..

Holly? Oh my, she is so sweet! I know we both like chocolate and the band Mae! I love sharing a good chat with her, or some friendly advice on knitting. Would love to meet her in real life.

You know with Spring the famous saying goes “April Showers, bring May flowers”, please tell us what you like to do when those April Showers are pouring down on you. Do you like to curl up with your knitting, take in a movie or crawl back in bed?

I like to curl up with a good book, my computer, or some knitting. I like to be under a quilt and I like to have a good cup of coffee or tea and maybe some sweet treats to nibble on. Rainy weather makes me feel like staying home and being cozy. Of course, our April showers last week turned white and heavy pretty fast, and that just made me want to cry.

OH my!  It was a beautiful day here in Anchorage; the snow is melting fast, and the sun was warm. I am driving with the sun roof open.

Then, I came home to the most wonderful Spring Fling Coffee Swap package imaginable. It is crammed with lovely, colorful, awesome items. I can’t even believe it! My spoiler is someone I’ve gotten a package from before:  Nancy  from Days Go By! Last year I won her Blogaversary contest and got some lovely yarn as a prize, and this year I got absolutely spoiled. I cannot wait to find the time to take some pictures n the sunshine so you can see the truly lovely gifts she sent me. The yarn alone is enough to make you drool. Incredible colors. I am anxious to get some of it on the needles. I wanted to be sure and blog about it so that she knows I received it, but I promise a lengthy detailed post later in the next couple of days with all the great information and pictures!

I have had some not-so-successful swaps, including one where I never got a package at all, but this swap makes up for them and more. Nancy, you are a wonderful spoiler and I thank you for your generous and thoughtful gifts. You made my day!