CarmelKnits, etc.

Me: I feel like a celebrity in my beret and big glasses! D: You've always been a celebrity in my eyes. Me: really? D: Yeah, a big pain in the ass with a long list of unreasonable demands. Me: huh…… D: and no I won't pull the green m&m's out of the bag for you anymore.

Pattern: Autumn Vines Beret Designer: Alana Dakos Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport (remember it only has 164 yards) Love: so in love with my new hat and lucky me it's cold enough to wear it this morning without getting funny looks!

1. The Hit it Here Cafe @ Safeco field is an awesome place to watch a game! 2. If my Saturday plan includes having to wake up at 7:00 a.m. To do my power 90 workout I should probably limit my beer intake from 7 beers to 3 icey cold beverages...(that sounds reasonable right?) 3. Pitting in the Ghetto at the speedway requires more strategic planning than I managed this week. 4. When packing my knitting for an excursion to a ball park it is helpful if I also pack the pattern and not have 7 beers when I finally find the pattern on my phone. 5. Next time I plan on drinking so much I will plan for it to be on a Saturday night because Sunday is my day of rest. I am currently at the speedway sitting in Ghetto Jepeto waiting to leave but the late models on are the big track so I can not cross and leave............. We finished sixth Happy Saturday Sent from my iPhone

Or maybe it's just me......that this hat is taking forever but it's not, I'm 10 rows from the end and a good blocking over a dinner plate from wearing it. I think I'm the only person who doesn't mind that it's still chilly in the mornings and at night here, it means I'll get to wear this before summer actually arrives and not look like a total goober walking down the street showing off my beautiful hand knit hat in 80 degree heat with sweat pouring down my face. See......Silver Lining. P.S. a discussion my friend and I had yesterday revolved around airport delays......I personally love them, unless I haven't packed enough yarn in my carry-on bag. P.P.S. My Garbage can potatoes are growing like gangbusters! One of these times I'll remember to bring my camera down to snap a photo of them for you! Happy Friday I'm off to see the Mariners vs. New York Yankees tonight

Spiders is somewhat over the top, even for me. It's contradictory for sure. Bottom line.....they scare the bejeezus out of me, especially the ones that stand on their back legs and charge you? Have you met one? They are the Brown Recluse and they fear nothing and will bite and that bite can cause a nasty infection. I've had spider bites and the pain, swelling, and associated limping (depending on local of the bite) are stunning. They scare me, but here is the contradictory part. I love watching baby spiders on the move. They've hatched from that teeny tiny egg sac, they've built a protective web and they all huddle in together for a while then a big wind comes and blows them into the shrubs, trees, and unfortunately for them some birds mouths. I love seeing them building their little weblets getting ready to start killing other insects (see I respect that they eat other bugs that I dislike). The 3 baby spiders that set up headquarters in my Ghetto Jepeto are no longer...

Isn't it pretty?

Yes it's a baby sweater. No it's not for me. Yes I am surrounded by pregnant women. No these are not for sale. Now onto the important part :) Pattern: Puerperium Sweater Designer: Kelly Booker Blog: http://www.knitsoquaint.blogspot.com/ Yarn: Happy Feet DK Size: Newborn to 6 weeks (thus the name) Happy Meter: off the charts! Like I posted yesterday, this is an very easy pattern to make and is a great introduction to top down knitting, buttonhole making, increases, knitting in the round (sleeves) and quick gratification since it's small and adorable. I need to find the buttons for it but there is time for that.......Now I am off to finish my Autumn Vines Beret since the yarn arrived yesterday as well as the yarn for a secret baby gift :) Happy Tuesday P.S. The baby spiders that were in my car yesterday are still going strong. As I told my friend Kim, it looked as if they had had a party in there during the day and were in fact continuing to do so..........I didn...

One is at the 3500 RPM mark the other is near the dashboard clock and info center. For safety purposes this photo was taken while stopped at a red light. ;) They are small because like I said, they are babies. Do you think I should go down to the garage and crack a window for them?

Class: Priority Mail® Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™ Status: Processed through Sort Facility Your item was processed through and left our FEDERAL WAY, WA 98003 facility on May 21, 2011 at 10:03 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. This means that the yarn I ordered is en route and should arrive on my doorstep today while I'm at the office! I can't wait to see it!! it has some pretty pretty stuff in side!!! Some of it is top secret present making stuff and the rest is just for fun and to help me finish my autumn vines beret that i only had 1 skein of cascade 220 164 sport. FYI In case you didn't read my post on this.....the Cascade 220 sport only has 164 yards very disappointing when you are halfway thru a hat and realize that you don't have enough when you thought you really should!   I also started another project for a baby.....since I seem to...

What more could my boxer girl ask for…a chewy bone and her big brother to snuggle up against… Happy Sunday

If you make muffins instead of loaf!

As in Martha Stewart Homemaker Extraordinairre......Actually as much as a homebody as I am I rarely bake from scratch (if I bake at all) I pull off maybe one or two fancy feasts per year.....Key words here 'pull off' and 'one or two' out of like 50 that I try per year..... Saturday is RaceDay in our household which means waking up early (for me thanks to Quintus and Gabby) Start baking the muffin loaf, side note here: if you make packaged muffin mix and painstakingly measure it into each little cup, spilling over the muffin pan creating hard little nuggets that you have to chisel off when it's done baking stop right now, crank that oven to 350, grease a loaf pan and dump that mix right in there and bake it for 48 minutes. Trust me, it's way better than silly little muffins. WAAY BETTER. The recipe for it is on the back of my box of muffin mix......Today along with muffin mix I am making No-Bake Cookies. All Recipes dot Com has a wonderful recipe for this, follo...

I finished this before I went to Minnesota but It was blocking and then I had all those nasty tails to weave in and still hadn't found buttons. So while I was packing for our trip, I unpinned it and slammed it into the suitcase figuring I'd find the buttons there. Boy did I! They are perfect as you can see in the picture. So without further adieu here are the stats facts and general 'what you need to know' about this project. Pattern: Shawl Collared Cowl by Alana Dakos Yarn: Prism Merino 12 in Lipstick (2 hanks) Needle sizes: 8 and 9 Pattern Love: Awesome Recommendation: If you are knitting this, and I think you all should, in fact go and try all of Alana's patterns, make sure that you or the recipient has a long neck. Not freakishly long, but if you have a stump like mine then this will just look silly when you put it on....my sister in law M looked fantastic in it. It is a wonderful pattern, contstructed with minimal short row shaping, easy to follow instructio...

I was home in Minnesota recently for a visit with my family and to celebrate the crossing from 36 to 37. We had a great time but I'm scattered right now as I try to think of witty things to say, inspiring things to quote and basically make your day a bit brighter, instead I'm going to show you a few of my favorite photos from my trip and maybe that will do the trick.  Taking Sonny to dinner in Wayzata (Sonny is the name of the boat)   Jake the Snake     Raceway Park in Shakopee Minnesota   My sister in law and best friends daughter sleeping in her Belle Bebe Shrug I knit for her....   My beautiful mother   my nephew and best friends son trying to crack the safe for the pirates treasure I told them was in it......  Sunset on Lake Minnetonka This picture is bittersweet.....This is Maggie and she has been apart of my family for almost 15 years....Sadly the morning after I snapped this we had to say good-bye to our sweet girl. Sh...

I had a wonderful birthday and from all the birthday wishes I received from friends I would have to say that I am blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. I spent the day with my best friend and my husband, and we had lunch on the dock looking out over the lake. Delivered much needed DQ Blizzards to my mom and her friends, and ended the night taking a boat ride across Lake Minnetonka to have dinner in Wayzata. I strongly recommend taking a boat to dinner if you get the chance. There is nothing more glorious.......well, there is one thing that is more glorious........... Watching love blossom and grow. Now that is a sight to behold. Happy Birthday to me and than you to everyone in my life because every single one of you made it wonderful, and glorious, and perfect. xoxo Carmel

I feel like I am being lazy and quite possibly could be considered as such except: 1. It is 6:45 am here 2. I am the only one awake 3. Even though my coffee comes from a Keurig doesn't mean I didn't 'make' it, I did have to plug it in and I did HAVE to put the k-cup in and hit the GO! button. It's the little things that make us feel decadent and if drinking coffee, surfing Ravelry and catching up on Facebook while lying in my childhood bed that has little canopy knobbies that made excellent microphones is lazy and wrong I say Boo to you! To me it feels unorthodox but my soon to be 37 year old back is saying something else! Time to get moving! Have a beautifully decadent day!

I'm a little perturbed at the moment. I am typically very good at reading the yarn label to find out fiber content, gauge, and most importantly, yardage. I'm so good at it that the information trips off my tongue without missing a beat when I'm asked about a certain yarn.......so now I look like an idiot. The yarn is Cascade 220 Sport. The little sister to my go-to Cascade 220. Both 100 Percent Peruvian Wool, both made by Cascade, and since the 220 is in the title of both I assumed they both had 220 yards. They don't. I can't tell you how disappointed this makes me. I assumed that because the Cascade 220 Sport said '220' in the name that it indeed had 220 yards. Guess what? It doesn't, it only has 164 yards! NOW I don't have enough yarn to finish the hat I just cast on for, UGGHHH!!! However I do know where I can get my hands on another skein of it and be almost 100% sure that it's the same dye-lot.........it's going to require some serious b...

The nice thing about having a lot of stuff on the needles is that when I start finishing it I can really impress all of you with my mass production skills......right? Maybe I just impress myself. Anywhooo here goes! Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket from the book Stitch 'n' Bitch Yarn: Berroco Comfort Chunky Variation: two row stripes (ignore the row that is glaring back where I forgot to switch colors) This blanket is for my friend Mindy and her soon to be here son Damien. Damien is going to spend a lot of time at the race track watching his dad race with my husband so I knew he would need a blanket that would keep him and mom warm, look good and still be easy peasy to take care of.....this blanket fits the bill.......warm squishy and soft perfect to toss on the ground when they want to play outside and perfect for snuggling with in bed. I can't wait to meet the little guy, rumor has it he is due on my birthday!

Pattern: Autumn Vines Beret Designer: Alana Dakos Yarn: Red Barn Yarn 100% Alpaca Happy Meter: Full This is my favorite of the 3 samples I was asked by Red Barn Yarn to knit and I am sad to see it go, but go it must and today is the day that they will all head out into the world of yarn sales with Red Barn Yarn. I hope I did them right, I hope that Catherine is happy with the results. I have some trepidation about it but I also have a bit of an over-active imagination (in case you didn't know)....So I will stop by the post office today on my way home, send these on their way back to where the yarn started and hope that they are all that Catherine hoped they would be. About the design, well what can I say but it's perfection. Alana puts a lot of thought and you can tell, work, into making sure that her designs are error free and easy to understand. I suggest that you have a certain level of skill before knitting this but I believe that the way this is written anyone can ha...

There was a beautiful mother and she had the most Perfect Little Girl (PLG) in the world. Every single day her PLG would make her bed right when she woke, brush her teeth without asking, do her homework perfectly upon returning From school and finish the day practicing her piano beautifully while her watched on beaming at her PLG while sipping a glass of wine..........then The Beautiful Mother woke up from her dream, sighed, tipped back the bottle of wine, asked her not-so-perfect-little-girl to, please make your bed (for the tenth time that that day), do your homework, pick up the dirty clothes (which I did if you call 'shoving them under the bed' picking up), and for the love of Pete please go practice the piano for half an hour at least! It wasn't perfection, and I was not the easiest of daughters to raise, but I did grow up, I do make my bed everyday and for the most part my laundry does make it back into its proper place after I wash it. Most important of all though is...

Wednesday: Me: Was there a dead possum in the road on your way in? D: Yeah, I saw it and thought 'poor little guy'.....was that you? Me: yes....... Thursday: Me: I'm at work D: I know I saw the trail of dead animals in your wake Friday: Me: Made it to work, no dead animals D: That's because they are running a sweep truck behind you now..... I think this is going to take a while before this dies down....... Weekend Agenda: Saturday: Racing and Knitting Sunday: Mothers Day - Special post just for my mom (gift is coming with me when I see you) and visiting the MIL, secretly hoping the dogs got me something but I doubt it......or if they do it'll be a new football and a bag of liver treats.......(their favorites)

 a random photo for a random blog post  Wool-Gathering is a phrase I read in a book a few years back and in context means day dreaming......I use it to refer to random bits of this and that........so here goes. 1. I killed a possum yesterday. I didn't mean to, in fact I swerved to try and avoid him and allow him to return to his little possum family but after emailing D and asking if he had seen a possum in the road yesterday by Schwans well it was confirmed.....it COULD have been the car behind me but I felt a bump where there is no bump in the road....sad. 2. I planted some pansies a couple weeks ago and last Sunday I saw there were slugs so I did what any gardener would do, I set out to kill them, (kind a pattern now) I ran downstairs with two plastic party punch cups borrowed some beer from the kegerator and set them out.....for 3 days nothing and then yesterday it was like the sign came on and said 'FREE BEER' the one cup was full the other one had a line up of ...

 Multnomah Shawl This Shawl was designed by Kate Elsa and she blogs here  this is also where you can find the FREE pattern to knit this shawl! It's not the first one I've knit nor do I suspect it'll be the last, wanna know why? I knew you did, so I'm going to tell you. 1. it's relaxing. for a good portion of it you are knitting garter stitch which is like a little knitting vacation. I used to hate gater stitch, but recently I find myself enjoying the ease of it, the texture of it and if you have a nice yarn it looks lovely in it. 2. if you've been nervous about knitting a triangular shawl as well as lace this is the pattern for you. It teaches the basics of the triangle as well as a nice easy feather and fan lace pattern. Super. Easy. Lace. 3. shawls are not finicky like a sweater. You can knit a shawl in lace weight or worsted weight (don't want to state the obvious but if you do a lace shawl in worsted weight make sure you adjust your needle size....) If ...

It's a way of life for us....it's been a way of life for D for longer than I've known him. It's a hobby really, an expensive one at that, but I knit, and I knit with nice yarn so at the end of the year I think it's a wash. We had our second race of the season this past Saturday and while you could read all sorts of blogs talking about the Mini-Stock race and how everyone did you won't find it here.......What I can tell you is that we had an oil pressure issue and decided that instead of risking blowing up our engine that we would run 1 lap for the heat, and 1 for the main just to get some season points. Depending on how the day is going I can crank out a lot of knitting at the track. Apparently I have been described by others as 'the knitter'......People pass by our trailer all the time and say 'oh yeah, your the knitter'.......What makes you say that......as I have DPN's sticking out of my hair and a tangle of sock yarn stuffed in the cup h...

Pattern: Watch Cap Book: Knits Men Want by Bruce Weinstein Yarn: Cascade 220 Quattro Needles: Size 6 U.S. Reason to love this book… 1. It's straight forward knitting with enough detail to keep the girl or guy knitting thoroughly entertained 2. Jared Flood did the photography 3. The patterns are written for all gauges of yarn from fingering to bulky to appeal to everyone. Go buy it…do it now…do it today because Fathers day follows mothers day! Happy Sunday