CarmelKnits, etc.

I've just been so busy playing catch-up and I never blog while we are away from home (safety first) so for now enjoy this photo from our recent camping trip with friends with a promise of more to come! D...getting a little fancy on the knee board.

Is what I was thinking last night when I sat down to dinner...What did I have? you ask...I'll tell you. It was nothing short of amazing. A little time consuming but well worth it. The best part is that it's equally delicious served cold at around midnight, well the dogs and I thought so when we took another forkful of it. Is the suspense killing you? Do you want to know what it was? Is the suspense killing you? Wait for it... Tortilla Lasagna! by fellow knitter, blogger, and designer Kellty Patla at Creating a Family Home . If you haven't checked out her blog you should hop on over immediately (click the fancy link above)...She's amazing! Her designs are wonderful and her recipes (I've tried two so far) are delicious... I made a few tweaks to it based on what I had at home but the rest of it I followed to the letter. Tweaks: I used flour tortillas instead of corn but in order to prevent them from getting mushy I toasted them lightly before layering in the ...

I'm going to nerd out on you for a couple seconds so just hang in there... 726.32 - Lateral epicondylitis E012.0 - Activities involving knitting and crocheting By day I am medical coder/biller so I know all about diagnosis codes, procedures and everything else. Every year the AMA releases new Emergency (E) Codes based on a bunch of numbers and incidents seen in the E.R.'s around the U.S. Two years ago apparently a lot of people were seen for Knitting Related Incidents because it finally got it's own diagnosis code E012.0. I was pretty giddy at the thought that we had emerged as a group to such a degree as to warrant a number in a medical book due to injuries...What sparked "activities involving knitting and crocheting" to get it's own E-code? Was there a high number of stabbings with knitting needles after a terribly frustrating row of lace? Puncture wounds from size 1 DPN's left haphazardly around the house (personal experience). Finger cocked in ...

Mr. Coffee for all the joy you bring to my life so early (4:15 a.m.) you really make the difference in my day.

Dear Right Elbow, I wanted to let you know, because I feel like I've neglected telling you this, but you are an integral part of my everyday life and I value everything you allow me to do each day, from helping my hands wash my hair, to helping me drive my car. Without you I couldn't bring flowers closer to my nose to sniff, or give my dogs a well deserved scratch behind the ears. You help me put my phone to my ear so I can chat with old friends, and you make it possible for me to express my feelings to fellow drivers on the road. Most importantly of all you make it possible for me to knit and create things with beautiful fibers. So I have to ask, why have you turned on me suddenly? You know I have a deadline, you know how important that deadline is, so why now have wreaked havoc in my life creating a pain so intense that not even my trusty tylenol can banish it. Have I wronged you? Did I throw you inappropriately at someone? Why? Why have you turned on me? I'm taking you...

I know you love your ball. It has been your boon companion from day 1. You miss it when you are parted. You hold it when you're together. You gaze upon it adoringly as you clutch it in your little paws. You squeak it to express your happiness (lots of squees in a row) or displeasure with us when the game is over (one hard squee) We get it. You're in love with your ball I wonder what you are thinking when you gaze upon your ball... Does it taste like chicken? Does it look like a chicken? In your little mind does it talk to you and tell you how wonderful you are? I don't know anything of these answers having no desire to taste your ball, and it doesn't look like any chicken I've fed you and the squeaker, while an amazing communication tool for you does not equal the construction of a brain. But you know the Rule...The Ball is an OUTDOOR toy. Not because we segregate but because that's where we play with it...So why do you insist on sneaking it in the house ever...

Is what my mom is going to feel when she checks her email and sees this staring back at her tomorrow... 'I feel happy with myself!'

Me: What is this wonderful gift you left for me this morning? (see photo to the left) D: Parts from a real racing car.... Me: Who's (i love teasing him before 7:30 a.m. really gets his day off to a good start) D: ours... Clearly not amused by my funny...at least not as much as I was :) Photo by Mike Helmuth It is another race weekend and the final countdown to the end of the season. Only four races remain including tomorrows...It's a been a rough season for the CarmelKnits race car but one that has been filled with fun, friends, and a ton of good food! I have the menu planned out for tomorrow not to mention a spanking new white board in the trailer to write it all out (thanks Roger and Aaron for putting that in...) If you live in the Seattle area come out to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe help cheer us on!! The arm: Earlier in the week it looked as though my knitting days were coming to an end but with diligent icing and absolutely no knitting at all (till yesterd...

Typing with my left hand and thinking to myself...'karma has a sense of humor' I get this huge stash of the cashmere and kapow!! Can't knit. Just sitting here with my arm on ice looking at it all...hopefully icing and my brace will make a difference and we can move on from pathetic-wounded me to happy-go-lucky-footloose-fancy-free-knitterly me! Thanks for your thoughts today Julie (knitted bliss) and Kelly (creating a family home) I loved reading your comments! Xoxo Carmel

It's probably not that dramatic, well maybe it is, who can say for sure....but I can say this, right now from my elbow to my wrist is some gnarly pain that was flared last night after knitting 6 rows of the Shawl...SIX ROWS and then WHAMMO! so much pain. This isn't the first day I've had this, I've actually been ignoring for a few days ...okay, I've been ignoring it for a couple weeks but this is the worst it's been...So, I've made inquiries as to which doctor to see and am waiting to hear back to make an appointment...while I wait ice packs, and copious amounts of pain meds (don't worry by copius I really mean, recommended daily dose) are being taken with the shedding of a few tears while I fondle my knitting... stay tuned...this can't possibly last forever xoxoxo c. p.s. Fati...don't worry I have a plan if this whole wrist issues blows out of control...

Sometimes I have moments where I believe that I am not nearly as smart as I've led people to believe thereby confirming the fake it till you make theory. Happy Friday

To admire my crazy math skills i used in order to figure out how many stitches I should have had on my needles after my decrease row, a row that happened 6.5 inches earlier in the pattern...luckily, unless my super complicated hash method has failed me, I have the right amount...let's also take a moment to enjoy the creative way in which I am holding my thumb stitches. Paper clips hold much more than paper and make excellent emergency crochet hooks. I also noticed that when I started watching criminal minds last night that my gauge noticeably tightened, I find this more amusing than frustrating. I am using Cashsoft Aran for these and a size four needle and they feel great!!

Is what I have right now and I am pretty freaking stoked about it I might add. I work in downtown Seattle but live about 45 minutes north if the city so when I am meeting anyone downtown for dinner I try to find places that will let me loiter for undisclosed amounts of time. So here I sit doing a few of my favorite things...knitting, skimming a knitting magazine, and watching the wonderful variety of people that pass thru this little spot north of pike place market...I am not an afternoon coffee drinker by nature but as I pointed out I need a place to call my own for an hour and this grande nonfat latte buys me this table for as long as I want...now back to my first cashmere project...Susies reading mitts ...it's possible I will sip my latte prop, but not to fast lest I be forced to move down the line to the vagrants who love people watching as much as I do... Xoxo Carmel

It's what I'm trying to do right now...I'm staring down so much yarn on my dining room table that I can't even fathom the number/type/style of projects that I can make with it all.....it's all rolling thru my head so fast! Many of the yarns have been discontinued I have discovered as I whirl my way thru Ravelry just trying to get a grip on what I have in my midst...I think my mom and I are lucky that the woman had the same taste in color that we share with a little bit of the eccentric...I want to cast something on so badly but I just can't make a decision...Plus as my gaze falls upon this windfall of cashmere, silk, and some sparkly Louisa Harding, my sights wander to my stash that has been a loyal companion for years just waiting for me to knit with it and now I feel some jealousy of the new crowd that's entered the realm of my living room/yarn storage facility...I feel like I'm in open water being hunted by a woolen shark about to attack for no other ...

The Beautiful woman returned to the consignment shop...an offer was made for the remaining bags of yarn, followed by a counter offer and before one could blink the yarn was in the trunk of the womans car and headed home...The back story on this yarn...The previous owner was/is a splendid knitter but her and her husband were downsizing from their home to a condo so 3 rooms of yarn had to scale down to half a room of yarn. Turns out that this woman frequented a fancy yarn shop in Seattle with a fancy french name and had it all shipped to Minnesota...here is the completion of the circle...the beautiful woman, my mom, also shops at said fancy yarn shop in Seattle and has yarn shipped hither and yon, including Minnesota...Well Mom landed in Seattle today with two extra suitcases containing the booty for me...TWO SUITCASES FULL....Hear that *thud* That's what happened when I hit bag #24, I hit the floor and lost count....These aren't piddly amounts either. Each bag contains enough ya...

A beautiful woman walked into a consignment shop. She was looking for pressed glass but decided to wander around a bit. She stumbled into a back room and opened her eyes in surprise! Before her was a table full of yarn, in fact there was yarn every where...Now this was no film flam second hand yarn, no no no my knitterly friends, it was cashmere, piles upon piles of cashmere yarn. This beautiful woman being sharp as a tack quickly snatched 60 balls in assorted colors, enough to make at least four grown up sweaters and some beautiful organic cotton that will knit a blanket for someone special...'how much?' she asks the woman behind the counter breathlessly...the woman looks it over and says 'how about $300.00?' again this woman is sharp as a tack and before she fainted she paid for the yarn and hurried it home. Quickly she calls her equally beautiful daughter, also sharp as a tack, to tell her of her windfall! After much whispered discussion it was determined that the wo...

Current length is 25" unblocked...1 skein of yarn down one to go!

I venture upon this post with some trepidation. My mom is probably reading the title shaking her head thinking...'you can take the girl out of Minnesota but you can't take the Minnesota out of the girl' but my mom loves pie and I think if presented she would enjoy this as much as I did yesterday... It's super easy and you can find the recipe here .  first you make your Jell-O and add the cool whip, let it set in the fridge for 20-30 minutes   Spoon or pour (if you get impatient like I did and didn't let it set long enough) into a premade graham cracker crust pie tin and return to the refridgerator, now go and lick the bowls...(not that I do that)   After 4 hours your will look better than this but I could only hold out for three and a half hours before cutting into it! Serve this refreshing treat up with fresh berries and cool whip on top...   You know what he's thinking right? 1. You HAVE Jell-O pie and I have NO Jell-O pie, 2. I'm not...

If you are a knitter then you know of or attended in person Sock Summit 2011 in Portland this past weekend. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I, living a piddly 3.5 hours away, did not attend. I have a few reasons for not going and I suppose an argument could be made for me not be the knitter my stash claims me to be but let me see if I can give it a shot. 1. Dale had a race. He probably would have been able to muster thru without me but I am his pit crew so I have a responsibility to him. 2. I don't really knit socks anymore despite my undying love for sock yarn which is beautiful and I will collect forever, I've really fallen off the sock knitting bandwagon. 3. I have CIS 'crowd irritation syndrome' I hate crowds, I hate trying to make my way thru crowds. I become incredibly testy, mean, and nasty in a crowded store when I see someone who clearly would never wear that shade of pink that i've been searching my life for, that is the last one in production...

They are wonderful and I leave them be to come back every year...

When I talk about the girls I spend my time in and out of the pits with, the girls I adore and have so much fun with you can't even blog enough about it.. well here we are in all our glory at a friends birthday party in June...which explains why we are bundled as if it's October, and at Lisa and Jeff's on July 3rd.  Left to right: Megan, Kim, Lisa, Me, & Fatima   Left to right: Fatima, Lisa, Me, Wendy, Kim, & Michelle xoxo ladies Carmel