Meme

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Amanda

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? A girl in my cousin's grade school class, which is how I got my cousin's middle name as my middle name. Although, it turns our Amanda was the name of my grandma's much-hated aunt. Boy was she pissed when she found out!

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last week, I think.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Roast beef

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yeah, I think I'm a pretty good friend.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes, a number of them, but I don't really use them anymore.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Oh hell no.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I love shredded wheat.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Muscularly? Not really. Emotionally? Yeah, I'm pretty strong. Intellectually? Yeah.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Green Tea

14. SHOE SIZE? US 9 1/2 or 10

5. RED OR PINK? Pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I have very little self-discipline when it comes to making sure I am healthy.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grandma Schehr.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nah.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, white tee-shirt, sage crocs.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? lunch. lasagna.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? rustling papers, keyboarding, chatting.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Seafoam

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Baking bread

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my husband, Josh

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? their smile

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I stole this from a bunch of people. They seem cool.

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Brandy Old-Fashioned Sweet

28. FAVORITE SPORT? None

29. EYE COLOR? blue

30. HAT SIZE? huge.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes, but mostly I wear my glasses because they're cool.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? I love really well-made lasagna.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. I get cold easily.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheesecake

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? This isn't really a "response" type of thing...

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Oh, I don't know.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOUR CURRENTLY READING? Kavalier and Klay (sp?)

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? It's a Thomson West mouse pad with a clear section for a photo to slide under. The photo is of me and Josh.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Aqua Teen Hunger Force

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Don't have any

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? California

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I am the queen of multi-tasking

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Madison, WI

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Nobody. I found it on numerous blogs.

Woo Hoo!

First off, I sent out my SP9 package to my spoilee. Hee hee! I think she'll LOVE it.

Second, I had my second day of work at my LYS, the Yarnery. It is awesome. I wish, wish, WISH I could quit my job as an attorney and just play with yarn all day. Hmm...

Third, I finished sock 1 of the Jaywalkers and worked some more on my scarf for the Red Scarf Project, as evidenced below...





I love the pattern on the heel and toe.





Finally, some superfluous photos of my sweeties, Marley and Josh. Josh is the human husband, and Marley is the canine baby. I love them.

Barking, natch.


With his lower jaw entirely in the bone.




Awww... He's so cute!

Hot Socks!!!

I got my package today! Thank you so much Kelle! I love it!!! I was spoiled rotten. I received 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, which I have never worked with (but have always wanted to!), some absolutely beautiful stitch markers, a handy-dandy reference card for button holes and kitchener stitch, chocolate (one of which did not make it home to be photographed), a lovely fiber trends pattern to go with the sock yarn, and two bags of coffee!!! Yay!!!

Meme

I accidently got tagged, so here it is:

4 Jobs I've Had

- Library page

- Attorney Editor

- Assistant Public Defender

- Television production assistant

4 Movies I can watch over and over...

- The Princess Bride

- The Princess and the Warrior (I swear, it's just a coincidence)

- Bottle Rocket

- Any of the Harry Potter flicks

4 Places I have lived

- Madison, Wisconsin

- St. Louis, Missouri

- Middleton, Wisconsin

- Minneapolis, Minnesota

4 TV shows I love to watch

- Top Chef

- Daily Show

- Colbert Report

- Robot Chicken

4 Places I have been on vacation

- San Francisco

- Tucson

- New York City

- Northampton, MA

4 of my fave dishes

- Pineapple pizza

- well-made lasagna (this is a must)

- Sweet and sour eggs (my husband makes this, it's insanely delicious)

- Panang curry

4 websites I visit daily

- yahoo

- gmail

- comics.com for Luann

- my blog

4 places I would rather be right now

- Ireland

- at home with my dog

- in Madison, with my family

- at a yarn shop

4 Blogger's I am tagging

If your reading this consider yourself tagged :) :)

scary

Joe Pesci and Yao Ming? Really?

"Halloween 1977"

Another knitting blogger, Fairie Knits, posted this meme on her site and I loved the idea so here it is:

1. Google "Halloween" and the year you were born on Google Images

2. Find the most bizarrely frightening photo and post it (you really ought to pick from the first page instead of surfing around for an hour)

3. Recoil in horror!

This is what I found:



I'm not sure what either of them are actually dressed up as. The guy is especially creepy.

My bear totally has cankles.

I knit up a bear this weekend for the Motherbear Project. This explains why there was no real progress on the other projects. Here's my bear:



I tried two-handed fair isle for the first time on the sweater. I like it a lot on the knit stitches, but purls are a bastard using my left hand. I'm not sure how to hold the yarn for that.



I decided to finally post a picture of my in-progress Jaywalkers. I used Artyarns Ultramerino. I love it! They're turning out quite well.

Sometime he's so cute he makes me want to scream; sometimes he just makes me want to scream

Later, at 4:00 a.m., he threw up a metal bottle cap. It's times like that that make me need to remember how cute he is otherwise. I can't believe he ate a bottle cap. What a wierdo.

SP 9 Contest -- Favorites

Actor - Alan Rickman is probably my favorite. He's an especially talented actor.
Actress - Right now I think it's Zooey Deschanel. I enjoy the roles she chooses
Animal - Definitely dogs. Apes come in at a close 2nd.
Band - Old 97's
Book - I don't know if I have a favorite book... I read so many it's hard to choose.
Bubble Bath - Something grapefruity
Candy - Gummy things
Color - Cobalt blue
Flower - Gerber daisy
Food - Well-made lasagna--I'm quite particular about it.
Lip Balm - Burt's Bees, no question.
Lotion - I like the Body Shop's thick lotions, especially in cocoa butter
Movie - Right now, I'm really into Brick
Song - Question, by Old 97's
TV Show - Project Runway--I'm lame.
Vacation Spot - I don't go on those fancy "vacation" things, but I'm planning to go to Ireland sometime soon!

Yay for me!

I just found out last night that I got the job at the Yarnery!!! I am so excited! I start next Tuesday night. Can't wait!


In other knitting news, I started my Jaywalkers last weekend and am beginning the heel on the first one. They're purty. I'll post a pic later. The cashmere scarf is also coming along quite nicely. I have removed the beaded shawl from my "On the Needles" list over to the "At a Standstill" list, because, really, who am I kidding? I'm also pouting about the sweater I started for myself. The stitches are not uniform, I can't get the gauge right, and it's mostly stockinette. What was I thinking!?!

Also new this week, I found out who I will be spoiling in Secret Pal 9. Lucky them that I got a job at a LYS! I also sent out my package to my Hot Socks Swap partner. I hope she likes it. I saw what some other folks had sent and feel a little bad that I didn't go super crazy. Sorry! We were very tight on cash this month. :(

Pretty, pretty

I started a new project today with some beautiful, amazing, delicious cashmere I got this last weekend. I. Love. It.





Also, this weekend, an acquaintance of mine gave me a bag full of yarn she was going to get rid of. It consists of gray and pink alpaca, tan cashmere, and tan camel yarn. It's enough to make at least 3 decent sized projects. I think I'll make a sweater of the camel. Most of it is Spinnerin and vintage. I can't believe my good fortune!

Marley's new favorite toys

We got Marley some new toys this weekend. The squirrel is one of three than can be stuffed into a plush "log" for him to take out. He likes to shake the crap out of it until all the squirrels fly out. Then he squeeks them nonstop. As for the other thing, it's a tennis ball in a rubber tube. It's supposed to be hard for dogs to remove, but he had very little trouble getting it out and trying to demolish it.

First try at Kool-aid dyeing

So here are my first tries at Kool-Aid dyeing. The multi color was the very first, with a few unfortunate muddy spots, and the variegated red is for the Red Scarf Project.




Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

Finished objects!

Stuff I finished this last week.

Dream Swatch Scarf


Ball band dishrag


Elegant Gauntlets

Secret Pal 9 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like wool, alpaca, cashmere... Basically natural hair fibers. I try to stay far far away from acrylics.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I use a large 1.5 foot glass floor vase that I bought at Ikea.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for about 7 years. I learned the basic knit & purl stitches from my mom and taught myself the rest. I consider myself to be intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do. I have an Amazon wish list.

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

I like Gardenia, but no other flowery scents. I mostly stick to fruit scents, except pear and kiwi scents. I LOVE grapefruit scented things.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Yes. I love chocolate, but due to a recent discovery that I'm allergic to all nuts, I have to stay away. I've been placating myself with gummy candies.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I have a drop spindle, but I'm not very good at it. As far as other crafty things, I make journals, do calligraphy, partake in a little beading, and like to fold paper into pretty birds, boxes, etc.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like just about everything. My computer and stereo can play MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love blues, but I like all other colors as well.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am newly married (as of last June) and have an 8 month old puppy at home.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

All of the above. I live in MN, so it's necessary!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I don't really have a favorite. I tend to have at least 6 projects started or in progress at any given time.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A sweater for me, a cashmere scarf, a linen table runner, a shrug, some socks, a soon-to-be felted purse, and a beaded shawl.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer Bamboo, with the exception of Addi Turbos, and work with both straight and circular as the mood strikes me.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

2 years? (Yikes!)

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas or Thanksgiving.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Pulp fiction novels.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Not off the top of my head... I have a problem with buying patterns... I have a subscription to Vogue Knitting.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I need to work on fair isle and intarsia. Or knitting 2 socks at once!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes. I wear a size 9.5

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

09/06.

Hot Socks Swap Questionnaire

1) What do you prefer - solid, variegated or self striping?

Variegated or solid


2) Favourite colours?


Blues and greens


3) Are you a beginner, intermediate or experienced sock knitter?


Intermediate


4) Tea, Coffee, or hot chocolate - what's your favourite? If coffee, what do you use to make it?


Coffee--french press


5) Do you have a fibre preference? (i.e. Are you a yarn snob like me?)


I am definitely a yarn snob. I hate acrylic, but like everything else.