Stunned Stupid.......

As I was walking thru my house last night I glanced at my yarn stash.

It's no secret that I have a HUGE stash. Not only huge but it has a nice variety of fibers, gauge, and color. I glance at it a lot, it's hard not too, it practically slaps me on my butt everytime I walk by it.......it's possible I've gone round the bend when it comes to yarn buying.

Here is a typical conversation when someone comes to my house for the first time.....

"wow, you have a lot of yarn, are you going to make something out of it all?"

"yes"

"Do you think you have too much yarn?"

"possible"

"how come you don't knit a project and finish it, then go buy yarn for your next project?"

*head spinning off my shoulders as I get light headed at the thought*

"Because, that's crazy..........."

"No, crazy is staring you right in the face"

"and keeping your head warm"

"touche"

Never question the knitter from whom you've received knitted goodness, that well can dry up very quickly when the wool is rubbed the wrong way.

Knock Knock......

Who's there?
Opportunity!
Who?
Opportunity to make your childhood dream come true!
Which one?
You know the one..........
Tell me!!
Your childhood dream of becoming a Carni....
Really?
They're in town, now's your chance to join up and run away with the carnival!
OMG!

What the...........

4:00 a.m. woke up, made coffee, fed the heathens
4:10 a.m. realized the heathens were out of water so I filled the pitcher, walked over to the water bowl lifted the lid on the garbage can and started to pour it in there........
4:45 a.m. done getting ready for work, grab phone next to bed, grab lunchtime knitting, grab the heathens (who always go back to bed without a care after their early morning feeding) toss them outside one more time, pack lunch, pack birthday gift for my knitting friend/co-worker, toss everything in my bag, put the heathens back upstairs, grab knitting bag/purse, lunch bag, and coffee and out the door I go.
5:30 a.m. get to work, remove items from bag and realize that my phone, MY PHONE is not in my bag............(i know this because i dumped the whole thing, the whole thing, out on my desk and while I have four mascara's and a bunny cake flavored lip balm in there, no phone)
horrified

p.s. let me just point out that 9 years ago my life didn't revolve around my cell phone. Now, thanks to the wonderful world of smart phones being separated is enough to cause you to pop a xanax and hope the day goes fast so you can be reunited.

p.p.s This feeling does not apply to my mother who if you asked would not be able to tell you exactly where her phone is at any given moment.

the past few days........

I have been busy and not in the knitterly world of busy that I should have been........Friday felt like the worst day of my cold so I can home, sat in the sun and knit on my little red hat that I am making to wear at the race track. The dogs harassed me and I have the wounds to prove it. Dale and I went out for Sushi which is always delicious then we hooked up with his brothers family for ice cream after running to the home improvement box store to buy some of the supplies required for my Garbage Can Potato Garden.

This is very exciting and you can find out about it here.

Saturday came early and bright, ran errands in the morning, hit the local garden center for potato starts, then home to plant my flower boxes, and then D and I did the first step of the potatoes......the rest of the weekend is a blur which goes like this......

T-ball game to watch my 4 year old nephew play, if you've never caught a 4 year old t-ball game I highly recommend it for the comic genius that it is.

Following that was dinner with my brother-in-laws family and my in-laws.

Monkey (my nephew) decided to ride with us and I learned a great deal of information about Ninjas followed by a heavy sigh of disappointment upon discover that we do not have an in-car entertainment center. We borrowed my BIL's pressure washer and the whole family watched while D and his brother pressure washed the moss covered patio......next Sunday we get to do the deck.....Sunday being Easter we drove down to see my dad and how his knee was doing, which is great, PT did a number on him, not great, then we came home, took care of the dogs, then up to the MIL's for ham dinner.......and where Monkey received his 3rd Easter basket and where I promptley stole one of his Cadbury Creme Eggs.......I love them and I am not ashamed that I stole one, only one from Monkey, he'll never miss it.

meh............

I'm stuck in a viscious cycle at this very moment........

*1. I'm super tired which I believe is a combo of adjusting my time schedule from arriving at the office at   
      7:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. and the fact that I'm fighting the tail end of yet another cold.
  2. I am almost out of coffee
  3. I need to go get/find some more coffee
  4. In order to obtain said coffee I need to get up and move
  5. circle back to #1

Repeat from *

ummm...yeah

A Conversation between D and I via email:

Me: Talked to mom this morning, we're going to roast a whole lamb for my birthday party!
D: Wow....brutal.....use sheep all year for your hobby...then gobble one down on your birthday.

I can't stop laughing
C.

Interview.......

About a year ago I became friends with a knitter and designer thru Ravelry.
the other day she asked if she could interview me for her blog, of course I said YES!
You can read it here on her BLOG
You can find her on Ravelry here as well......

Hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as I did :)
Carmel

Happy Hour Knitting.........



Quintus in the future container garden area



As we are teased with hints of spring here in the Pacific Northwest I have been inspired not only to create in my garden but to create an outdoor space where I can knit and enjoy my yard at the same time......if a cocktail appears once in a while well, we'll call that Happy Hour.

I had all the things needed to create the space, just not the vision, that is not until yesterday when I went outside on my tri-level deck and cleaned the detritus of two of the levels. Moved my patio dining set back, set my two adirondack chairs facing towards my cherry trees that are still blooming thank you very much, and moved the grill. the highest level of the deck is where I am going to create my container garden. I have decided to try different vegetables in containers as well as planting containers of flower to encourage pollination.....I've should mention that I've been listening to gardening podcasts that have given me some great ideas Oooh La La. (that last phrase should give some of you a hint as to who I've been listening to, hahaha)

So yestereday, I got it cleaned up, set up and I promptly pulled a beer from the tap in the basement, sat down and cranked out a few rounds of knitting on Grady's hat. Grady is my mom's friend and in the spring, summer, and fall he cruises around the lake in a Vintage Lobster Boat, thus I decided that he should have a Watch Cap that are a favorite among men of the sea. I can see him now cruising around in his lobster boat sporting this manly hat in a blue black tweed late into the fall. Of course it's classic style also allows for it to go from Lobster Boat to a Night on the Town, in it's stylish colors and no-nonsense design.  



knitting central





Grady's Watch Cap......



Sample Knit III: The Shawl Collared Cowl

Pattern: Shawl Collared Cowl
Designer: Alana Dasko
Website: http://www.nevernotknitting.blogspot.com/
Yarn: Red Barn Yarn their website can be found here
Colorways: Ombre (left) and Iris (right)
Adjustment: 2 buttons instead of 3

So this is the final project. According to instruction I will be working the main body of the cowl in the Iris (right) and then finishing the shawl part with the Ombre.

The yarn is bulky weight and I have good feelings that it will go quicking...........After reading through the pattern it'll be like a vacation after the Autumn Vines Beret.....which was a fun knit albeit a busy knit....there was always something going on with the pattern so this will be a welcome break.

Stay tuned....I'll post some photos as it moves along.

One Rainy Saturday...........

That's what it was this past Saturday........rain rain rain and more rain.......but that didn't stop the car races. It shortened them but it didn't stop them. I of course woke up with a throat on fire and sniffly and sneezy....Not a good start to opening day for the Mini-Stock's and certainly not a good start for the Nissan's return to Evergreen Speedway for the whole season......I brought stuff to knit, I brought drugs for the cold, food for the drivers, and D even dug out the propane heater that we've had forever, sadly my cold won and I had to leave before D was on the track......Here is what I know, I did see him take second in his heat race, and after the recap he gave me yesterday morning I know he finished third! I'll pay better attention next race since a. I won't be sick, and b. will most likely be on the radios so I'll for sure see the race.

this is the view I had pretty much all of yesterday, laying in bed, watching movies, and letting Quintus break the rules to snuggle with me.........Oh and I made a delicious beef stew for dinner but it was in the crock-pot so it was like zero work.....

Happy Monday

Also, I want to send out congratulations to my childhood friend Deena and her family on the birth of Mr. Oliver, he arrived yesterday and I have to agree with Deena's post, he is perfect!! Welcome Mr. Oliver to your beautiful family!

Friday Night Knitting Prop…

CarmelKnits style!

Knitting Props......part deux

I'm going to leave the opinions to all of you, but for now, these are some knitting props that have caught my eye, good, bad, ugly, & stunning with a heady dose of revenge in the eyes of some models...........You decide................if you would like to see more of the work posted below i did use the name of each blog as their caption, google your heart out....


mad monkey knits


 

spindles and spices



spindles and spices





spindles and spices




spindles and spices




spindles and spices





The Brown Stitch




Brooklyn Tweed




Buttercup Miniatures




unknown........




Dog Steals Yarn



Will Knit for Beer and other deliciousness......

Lots of people use props to display their knitterly goods, well really to display all their goods if truth be told but for now we'll just focus on knitting.......I've been noticing more and more the amount of detail that people go into photographing their knitting for all the world to see....some of it makes me wonder if instead of knitting the wool some of them have tried smoking it and then there are others that are shot so well you immediately purchase the pattern before even realizing that it's way beyond anything you'll ever be able to do as far as skill goes and really you just dropped six bucks to look at the picture.....I've even gone so far sometimes to save a photo of someones knitting and used it as my desktop wallpaper.......that's when people think that I've been 'smoking the wool'...........I do however follow the horde and I have props that I use to photograph my knitting even though they don't always make it onto Ravelry or here on this blog.......I have a sheep with no name and I have Tobias.....the stuffed toy I made and named after Toby Ziegler from the West Wing Series.....Tobias enjoys knitterly book signings (he was finished at a signing by the Yarn Harlot), artificial light, he's a collector of flare, and if you let him tell you jokes all he'll say is that he's full of beans.....Literally full of beans, I had nothing else to stuff him with when I finished him so instead of bean soup that weekend I stuffed him full! I decided not to give him arms, not quite sure why, but there you have it....He hangs out in my office with my plants, George and Henri, enjoying the artificial light and my endless stream of news/political podcasts with a heavy dose of Garrison Keeler and the Vinyll Cafe......He has been used countless times to help me hold something up wth nary a complaint...........so without further adieu I give you Tobias and The Sheep with no Name......

P.S.
Not only will Tobias knit for beer (he uses his feet, he's very advanced) I will also knit for beer, wine, vodka, Gin & Tonic........HAHAHA

happy thursday!

Progress

This is Autumn Vines.
She's a busy little nugget cover that enchants you as you work thru the rows.
This is sample #2 for Red Barn Yarn and I am knitting it in their 100% alpaca. Yup, it's pretty freaking soft. At first glance the color wasn't for me but as I have been spending time with it and getting to know it's little nuances I have come to enjoy it, maybe even love it……
Anyway, I hope to be done with this soon and hope to start #3 this weekend……

Enter Spring…

Enough said

Blooming.........

 Despite the deluge of rain, snow, sleet, hail, thunder and lightening Spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, however, as seasoned as I am to living here even I am finding it hard to be pleasant lately because the weather has been so crappy......However I know it's spring because flowers are blooming, dogs are shedding, and I was in bed at 7:30 the other night while it was still light outside. The other day while I was sitting and knitting on the Autumn Vines Beret sample for Red Barn Yarn i glanced at the Orchid my mom had given me last year.........I've never had luck keeping things alive in my house except for a handful of cacti and one plant that i water when I see it drooping......the Orchid was watered when I would remember to water the cacti family so you can imagine my surprise when I saw these..........Little buds getting ready to bloom! Well inspite of the horrifying weather I managed to get out into my front garden and raked up most of the detritus from over the winter which gave me a good idea of what lays ahead for me and I am itching to get tog it.....Where I had thought the neighbors gardener had killed my hydrangea bush, he didn't, and when I thought for sure the Lily I had randomly planted at the point of my garden was never to bloom again, I saw it's shoots coming up yesterday after Dale threw his coffee remnants on it and I almost swooned thinking he killed it. Then, as I was walking up the steps the other day, what should catch my eye but my Bleeding Heart has not only shot up some shoots already but has already produced some little heart flowers to prove that while I'm far from a green thumb, I'm not nearly the gardening rube that I thought........As soon as Dad's knee recovers from his surgery he and I are going to split out some of his Hosta and install it in my yard......How exciting :)

Smile

It's Friday!

The view from up here……

I sitting up on the fifth floor of the hospital in my dads room waiting for him to come up from the recovery room. He had a total knee joint replacement this morning. According to his doc all went splendidly! He said 'he won't be bow legged anymore!' and as I relayed that news to my younger brother I said to him, 'aren't you glad that's not hereditary?!'
Happy day

Something Sweet…

Every day when I feed the dogs Gabby stands right next to me at the food bin and watches every scoop go into each bowl.…and as I am filling her bowl she gives my hand a little lick with every scoop……probably thinking I will give her more…

I would but I'm not going to........

Show you just what my circular needles look like......Well to be fair they have gotten better since I separated them by length into ziploc bags but what I really need is one of those hanging organizer thingy's by size.........however I digress, my circular needles resemble something close to a snake pit in the movie Indiana Jones.........and now as I approach the end of hat number 1 on size 6's I am now looking towards hat number 2 which requires a size 5 circular needle......I'll be damned if I can find one in the snake pit but I know I have one, don't I? I'm pretty sure I have one.......I'm almost positive I knit something on a size five at some point....didn't I? hmmmmmm you know what's going to happen right? I'm going to run to the store and buy a 16" size 5 circular needle and when I get home the one I've been looking for is going to nip me right in the kazoo, kind of like Mr. Brown when I am late feeding him.

We won't talk about my DPN's, I'd rather tip toe across hot coals than explain that containment system to you, but I have a plan...........

Happy Tuesday!

Progress

One inch to go in straight up reverse stockinette and then I can start the decreases!
Look……Seedlings!

Seedling………

The yarn for my sample knitting arrived yesterday! I of course ripped the box open, looked at all of it, and before I knew it the swift and winded were out and this lovely green for seedling was being made into my yarn cake! So far so good. Right now we've made a stop at a Starbucks after buying opening night tickets to the Mariners and I thought I would take advantage of the free Wi-fi to show ya'll a picture. Since I get paid in yarn I am thinking I want just a lot of this green right here!
So we are off back home in 2 minutes to do laundry, bake pumpkin bread and work on seedling and hopefully finish a good bit of this hat…
happy Sunday!
Xoxo
P.S.
7 years ago when our first boxer Baily was alive her, D and I planted some daffodils. They don't come up every year and most years it's just one flower that blooms but yesterday I looked out my kitchen window and there were two they just magically appeared. It's little things like this that make each day special.