WInter Wonderland?

We just started February and I am so tired of winter. It has been a weird combination of weather too this winter with thunderstorms and tornados- now what is with that!!! A snow day did help to get some knitting projects done. FInished Charlie Brown socks and most of a dream in color baby sweater PLUS started the first STR socks. I am enjoying those but was surprised to see the dye on my hands after I knit with it. I have red stripes on my fingers :)

My friend and fellow knitster girl, Natalie and I are going to UFO night at Knitting Today. We are having movie night, popcorn and Lucy Neatby flicks and knitting of course! I do have a couple finished projects to show off.

DD, Amanda finished a mitten on her Nifty Knitter. It really turned out quite well. I was having a hard time imagining how it could be done but it it possible. SHe wants to make a scarf from Koigu and I am going to get her the yarn for Valentine's Day. Nothing like yarn to make a girls heart beat faster. Kntting helps break up some of the studying she has to do in engineering school. Beats the heck out of fluids class(whatever that is!)

Hope to sign up for an end of Winter swap- Longing For Spring. Sounds like the thing to cure the winter blahs! Long live spring!

Topic of the week #2

Has my knitting changed for the winter season? I little bit. I welcome knitting baby blankets for the warmth but I still am into the socks. They work no matter the time of year. I did make a bunch Christmas quickie knits like dishcloths and slipper socks . I do like to make more difficult projects in the winter- the ones that take more concentration. I have Thelonius sock from Cookie A to make this winter. They come 3 rd on the list right now behind a baby sweater and my Charlie Brown Valentine socks. Gotta go- Bye for now, Jl

Cocoa Swap Questionaire

Time to get this questionaire up- I tried the other day but I had a super headache and just couldn't think straight. So here goes-

1. What is your fav way to drink cocoa? Prepared with moo or water? Homemade or store bought. Tea cup or mug. If I were being honest- really honest- I love to add cocoa mix( I confess store bought) to a cup of coffee and add some creamer to smooth it out. It is on of my favorite after work relaxing treats. I am a mug sort of gal- something I can get my hands around and hold under chin to feel that steamy warmth. Ahhhhh!

2. Marshmallows or whipped cream- gooey yummy marshmallows

Yarn/Knitting/Crochet
1. What is your favorite type of yarn? What colors? I love sock yarn- especially and super soft merino wool. Colors are pretty wide open for me- I like variegated types, heathers or solids. Not super fond of solids in orange or purple but any thing else is great.

2. Knit/ Crochet or both- I am a both type person- I definitey knit more than crochet .

3.What are your favorite type of needles, would you like to try something new? I have used double points in bamboo for socks but have started using Addi turbos in the magic loop process for many sock patterns and I love them. I have a couple HiyaHiya circs too( less expensive than Addis). Maybe the Harmony needles from Knitpicks would be interesting. I'm not sure.

4. Do you have a healthy supply of notions? I think I am good with those things.

5. What one thing do you keep thinking you need to buy for your habit ( outside of yarn). I couls use a clipboard or stand to hold patterns. Mine are always falling off my lap(I use page protectors).

6.What is your favorite ' quick knit/crochet' pattern? I think dishcloths are a quick knit item that I enjoy.

Miscellaneous

1. What is your fav thing to do in the winter? I enjoy sitting inside knitting up my winter projects and sipping my favorite warm beverages- tea, coffee and cocoa. Not a cold weather activity type person. I have had back surgery and am afraid of falling in the winter's trecherous weather.

2. What is your fav animal? I have always had a soft spot for penguins. I used to collect them. They are always dressed for a formal occasion after all!

3. Do you get the winter blahs? Yes, Yes a thousand times yes- winter is a bad time for me- Part of the reason I joined this swap is to brighten the dreary Indiana days.

4. What is your favorite way to beat the blahs? Try to stay busy- take weekend trips , pamper myself with pedicures or facials. Just makes me feel better.

5. What is the thing you are most looking forward to this spring? Strange to say but I love the way spring smells. I can't wait to hear the birds and make pans for spring break!!!!

6. What are your favorite treats? Chocolate -of course- nuts, and dried fruit too.

7. What is your favorite board game? I used to love the game Mastermind.

8. Do you have children( furry or human)? I have 2 grown children, 23 and 20 and 2 dogs- Oreo and Scooter. Plus a recently adopted guinea pig ( my daughters) Peanut Butter.

9. Do you have allergies or special considerations your partner should know about? No allergies but not fond of cigarette smoke. SPecial considerations? Hmmm- Consider this winter statistic- 98% of Americans would exclaim "Oh Shit" when sliding off the icy road into a ditch- the other 2% mostly from Wisconsin and Minnesota would say " Hold my beer and watch this" Happy WInter:)

A snowy WInter day

WInter has come early to my area of the midwest. Enough snow to cancel school today. It seems a bit early for the cancelling but I will take advantage and get some knitting done on my DD's monkey socks. I had to frog them yesterday. They were too narrow. That is hard to do in my family- we have skinny feet. Oh well- when you knit- you frog!
I ordered some Noro sock last week and can't wait for it to arrive. Probably why I am in a hurry to get the monkeys done. I have heard good things about the Noro sock and I liked the coloways. Allison has it at her website -www.simplysockyarn.com Check it out sometime.

I just remembered to join the hot cocoa swap- yesterday was the start of signups and I almost forgot. If you are interested look here and see if sounds like fun www.cocoaswap.blogspot.com

Later- Stay warm!

Hooray for the weekend

My daughter will be home this weekend for a month. Hooray! It will be so nice tohave her arounf for more than a couple days.. I could use the help to decorate the house anyway. Seems my energy leaves me by the end of the work day and I just can't face the boxes of decorations. I have been working on a pair of pedicure socks for a raffle at work- hope to combine them with a pedicure for a good raffle prize. Fun thing about the pedicure socks is they knit up so fast compared to the fingering weight stuff.

I have a few dishcloths to make- requested bleachable colors- that takes the fun out of it. But should be a quick knit. My step daughter loves to use bleach I guess. Gotta run, Later.

Check this out

Yvonne from Virginia spoiled me rotten! I wonderful pound of Eithiopian Limo- so wonderful- I drank nothing else till it was gone. She sent cookies and chocolate ,honey and a great mug. The mug has great coffee related things on it. The "literary Latte" will always remind me of Yvonne. A wonderful string of soaps from Mexico and some local produced Alapaca. I do love to knit with alpaca. It smells so good and feels so luscious. Yvonne's kiddos even decorated my packages with some artwork suitable for the frig. As a matter of fact,that is where they are now. I enjoyed every last thing. Many thanks to Yvonne.

Curing the WInter Blahs

I am trying to be more responsible to this blog. I mean why have it if you don't post. Seems like I get so busy that the last thing I want to do is spend more time on the computer. In an effort to cure that problem, I have decided to join a winter swap. It is the cocoa swap. SOunds like a fun way to beat the long Indiana winter BLAHS! I never look forward to it. Everyone is all a buzz today with the possiblity of our first real winter snow and I am saying,"Help-give me a ticket to Florida please!". Check out their blogspot at http://cocoaswap.blogspot.com

Look for pictures of my coffee swap tomorrow. I mean really tomorrow!! Later