Yet another blog...

Moving!

2006-10-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

Blogger has officially ticked me off one too many times. I can't handle it anymore. Therefore, from this point on, my knitting blog can be found at the link below.

http://kelknits.wordpress.com/

Sorry about the trouble of having to update your links and bookmarks, but I think Wordpress is going to make me much happier and maybe I'll actually blog more often! ;o)

Hugs,
Kel

waves

2006-10-14T00:07:00.000-04:00

I really need to get out of Blogger. I can't stand the photo posting thing. I have pictures to share with this post and can only get one to show up. So, go to my livejournal for corresponding pictures for this post. :op

So... I'm still not done with the baby blanket. I did manage to put the back on it last weekend but once I started tying it I was really disappointed in how uneven it was looking. I'll still finish it though and then make Devin something much cuter later. :op I think I'll stick to good old fashioned fabric quilting, I know how to do it and the results are much nicer. That's not to say I'll never try knitting a blanket again, I'm sure I will.. but not right away. Actually, I have some Thick & Quick in the Adirondacks color way that I want to try and make a blanket out of, but that stuff is so big it'll be fast. Duh Kel, that's why it's called Thick & Quick. :op

But yeah... I actuall have been knitting. :o) Last weekend I made a hat for Devin. I cheated and used my Knifty Knitter, but the child needed a hat that wasn't ugly. They gave him a knitted hat at the hospital when he was born but it was fugly.

Wesley tried to put the hat on Devin but this was as far as he got. :o)

My brother said it looked like a girl's hat but whatever. I started another hat for him tonight but I'm not using a pattern so I'm just winging it. I'm thinking about making it one of those hats with the square tops that sort of flop down, but we'll see.

And tomorrow (today actually since it's after midnight) I'm planning on buying the last thing I need to start working on my Day of the Dead KAL project, and perhaps some yarn for some socks (Can we say yarn event at Threadbear?!). I'm feeling the need to knit some super yummy socks to wear. Have I mentioned that I love the Fall and this weather is making me giggle with glee? I broke out one of my scarves from last year today and it was heaven wearing it again. :o)

One more week of my Wednesday class and then Wednesday nights will be dedicated to watching Lost and knitting at my friend Shawn's house. :o) Yay! I really should start thinking about Christmas gifts if I'm going to be knitting any. :o)

That's about it for now. :o)

Hugs & Knitting!

Someone new to knit for!

2006-10-05T12:10:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the delay on announcing this, but the child formerly known as No Name Bay-Bay has been born! Isn't he wonderful? That's Devin Maxwell my 2nd nephew who was born on Monday October 2nd at 1:36 pm. Weighing in at 9 lbs 5 oz and 21.5 inches! :o) Mama and baby are happy and healthy and got to go home yesterday. Big brother & big sister are also quite thrilled about the new arrival and are adjusting quite nicely. :o) More pictures will follow soon, I'm sure. :o)

You know you're a knitter when...

2006-09-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

... you're at work and you look down at the sleeve of your sweater and think, "there's a knit, that's a purl, there's three knits, and then three purls..."

... instead of taking smoke breaks during the day, you spend your 15 minute breaks at work surfing knitting blogs.

... you often print free patterns on your laser printer at work instead of using the inkjet you have at home.

... you have knitting blogs and pattern sites in your favorites at work.

... you often daydream of leaving work so you can go work on your latest WIP.

... when a co-worker shows you his/her new store-bought knitted item you think, "I could make that."

... lunch break often translates into 5 minutes of eating and 55 minutes of knitting.

... co-workers no longer look surprised when they walk into the break/lunch room and see you knitting.

... on payday you think to yourself, "I wonder what kind of yarn I should buy today..."

... you update your knitting blog from work when you should be doing something else. ;o)

"I do it in public"

2006-09-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

To prove that I really do still knit and often do it in public... a picture post. This is the dreaded Moderne Baby Blanket that STILL is not done (as seen at Lake Lansing North last Saturday). I've decided that since I only have 11 days until the arrival of the little monster I'm cutting this blanket short. I'd planned on doing that anyway, but still... yeah. I'm going to work on that top block there and once it's of a decent size I'm done. Then I'll do all of the crap needed to put the back on and say, "Wee I'm done!" Then I will go to Michaels and buy the materials I need to do my Day of the Dead KAL project because the next thing I knit after this blanket is ALLLLLLLLL about me. Then I'll return to knitting for other people. :o)

But yeah... the verdict on this pattern... it's easy and mindless (until those intarsia blocks which I'm avoiding like the chicken pox) but it's complete torture when done with the size needles suggested in the book. If you do this, I HIGHLY recommend that you get a bulky yarn and use big needles to speed things up. Then you might not risk never wanting to knit again because you're stuck knitting forever huge blocks in garter stitch. :o)

In other news... school is going well, my Great Aunt Jean died, my mother is getting divorced from Step Dad and is moving out of their house tomorrow, my sister in law is ready to pop out the baby, work sucks as usual, my baby brother turns 11 on Saturday *sobs*, and things are just nuts in general. :o) Oh and I SO want to make a tee shirt about knitting that says "I do it in public" or something along those lines. :o)

Happy Thursday!

Woo hoo!

2006-09-14T09:27:00.000-04:00

I think I've finally decided on a Day of the Dead project. :op I was doing some random blog hopping last night (mostly looking for socks because I'm SO going to do some socks soon) and came across an idea that I'd considered before but never really followed through on.

Knitty has a very cool pattern called Perdita that I'm going to attempt to do. It'll serve many purposes if I can actually do the project...

It incorporates beads and lacey like knitting which I've never done so it'll be a learning experience for me.
It'll be a fabulous cure for when I need to cover my wrist tattoos but don't want to load up on bracelets and watches (although I don't mind doing so most days).
Two of the names for the three projects listed are names that remind me of my Grandma. Lily of the Valley: Her maiden name was Lilly (and I hope to have a daughter named Lily one day) and lillies are my favorite flower. Lilac: Her favorite color was lilac. :o)

So I think if I can ever finish my freaking moderne baby blanket for my nephew (countdown: 18 days left!) then Perdita will be my Day of the Dead project. :o)

CafePress Goodies

2006-09-05T20:34:00.000-04:00

Before I ran out of money I made a fabulous fun purchase that finally showed up in the mail today. :o) I love fun mail!

From Stitch This I got this bumper sticker:

From Stephen's Shop I got this tee shirt:

It says "Nine Deadly Needles... Worldclass Knitting Crew"

And this sticker:

From Swell Designer I got this bumper sticker:

I've been working on my own products to sell at CafePress... will post the link once things are up and running!

Pet Meme

2006-09-04T21:51:00.000-04:00

I don't normally do meme's in this blog, I leave that for my daily blog, but I couldn't resist this one that Kristi posted and since Kristi is a knitter, I'm putting it here. :o)

5 Odd/Unique things about my pets...

Oscar...

Oscar is my youngest at the age of three, he's a rescue kitty and is the biggest cat I've ever owned. :o)

1. Oscar has extra toes on both front paws. 6 on one paw and 7 or 8 on the other. He looks like he has fluffy white mittens on.

2. Oscar has what the vet calls a birthmark on his back where the hair won't grow thick. Instead there's a somewhat scratchy short buzz cut blob there that he looooves to have scratched.

3. Oscar likes to lay on his back and reveal his belly. He's the only cat I've ever known who will let you rub his tummy without eventually going psycho and attacking your hand.

4. Oscar's favorite game is "Torture the Big Sister." He frequently uses his size to intimidate his older sister Kira (who is much smaller than he is) and knock her around until I have to yell at him to quit it.

5. Oscar has several middle names. I didn't choose his first name, but since I got him several middle names have been discovered. Oscar De La Hoya, Oscar De La Renta, Oscar Fonzerella (yes I know it's not actually Oscar but Arthur, but it came out of my mouth one day and has stuck).

Kira...

Kira is my little diva. She's almost 6 years old and is my beautiful baybeee.

1. Kira "talks" to birds. Ever since she was a kitten if she sees birds out of the window she runs around trying to get to them and talks to them in a very weird voice that can't be described as a meow but also can't be spelled. :o)

2. Kira was named after the musical artist Shakira whom I had a massive crush on at the time that I got Kira. :o)

3. Kira likes paper. As in, she likes to eat it. If she finds a stray piece of paper laying about she'll try and eat it... she's particularly fond of shiny paper like the papers from stickers or anything that makes noise when she chews it.

4. Kira was an only child for most of her life and still acts like it demanding attention and Princess-like treatment at all times.

5. Kira gives kisses. If I ask her for a kiss and make a kissy face at her, she touches her nose to mine.

Cherub...
Cherub is my roommate's dog but I spend more time with her so she gets mention in this too.

1. Cherub is smaller than Oscar.
2. Cherub is terrified of Kira and won't even walk past my bedroom (where Kira usually stays) unless someone is standing in between the door and her to protect her from Kira.
3. Cherub's favorite human food is popcorn . She can hear the sound of a pack of microwave popcorn and know even before it starts popping that it's being made.
4. Cherub's human mom is a local radio celebrity here in town.
5. Oscar is Cherub's boyfriend... they play and cuddle together on a regular basis until Oscar gets freaked out and runs away. :o)

The 2nd post

2006-09-04T21:40:00.000-04:00

There's the fabric and stuff for the back of Devin's blanket. It matches quite well... Kira wanted to help show it so she put her head in the picture just as I took the shot. :o)

Picture post

2006-09-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

Here you'll find pictures of my retro yarntainer that I inherited from my sister in law. It belonged to her grandmother who used to do a lot of crocheting, lace making etc. It's not exactly pretty, but it's pretty cool. :o)

Handy dandy yarn hole in the top of the container for yarn to come through without letting it roll all over the floor or get attacked by furkids.

The fabric covering it is much like an old grandma couch and quite fabulously retro. For some reason I decided to take a picture of the back of the container. Perhaps I wanted to show the uneven seaming? :o)

And finally, here's the container with the top closed and locked.

Here I am knitting in public at Jeepers in the Great Lakes Crossing Mall in Auburn Hills, MI this weekend. The children were running around like animals in the play place while I knitted and sat with my sister in law. :o)

Close up shot. As you can tell, I was also having a fabulous boob day. :op Ignore the odd way I hold my knitting in my left hand... I'm an unconventional knitter (aka I don't know the "real" way to hold it).

And last but not least, Devin's blanket thus far. The big black block is the one I'm currently working on, it's about three or four rows from being done. Then I've got at least one more block to do in the periwinkle-ish color before stopping to see if it's big enough. Technically there are two more blocks after that (the scary intarsia blocks) but I might not do them in order to save myself some time and sanity. Plus I still have more to do once the knitting is done (I'm putting a back on it like this) so yeah... the sooner the better. Crap, I should take pictures of the fabric I'm using for the back huh? It'll have to go in another post because Blogger sucks.

Labor Day

2006-09-04T20:54:00.000-04:00

I'm currently having an alergic reaction to the massive amounts of cat hair that my youngest furchild has so graciously deposited around my bedroom. I'm in my bedroom because I'm also in one of my Dysthymic funks and I don't want to see or talk to anyone including the roommate so I'm watching Prison Break on fuzzy non-cable tv and sneezing every few minutes while trying not to rub my itchy eyeballs out.

Mom had a cookout today which I was fabulously cranky for. Everyone seemed to be talking at once and on hyper mode and it was driving me nuts. I'm sure I snapped at my mom at least once and several times I wanted to get up and just go home when Sheila made snarky comments in my direction. I'm sure the bulk of this is because I'm functioning on less than my usual dose of meds thanks to my current financial situation (and yes I know that's not a good thing, no lecturing please), but it's also part stress too. Stress of hating my job, being back in school, needing to buy four more text books and my meds refill but not having my financial aid yet so I can't buy any of them, my mother's current situation, and everything else that's going on now. Blah is the word of the day/week/month.

I logged on because I feel like if I don't get some creative writing done I'm going to explode soon. But now that I'm sitting here in front of the screen I don't want to do it. I did manage to get some knitting done on Devin's blanket this weekend in the car on the way to Auburn Hills and back as well as at Mom's. I also did some reading, albeit not school reading like I should have done. I'm currently up to chapter twenty of The Mermaid Chair. It's not my favorite read, but it's keeping my attention thus far and I'm curious about what's going to happen.

I really need to get up and take another benedryl and grab my chord for my camera. Maybe in the short trip I'll also find my muse and will get some writing done tonight, but we'll have to wait and see about that. Knit photos soon if Blogger isn't a weenie and lets me upload tonight.

Picture post

2006-08-30T21:38:00.000-04:00

I promised myself I'd make a freaking post tonight. :o) I haven't done much knitting because I've been tired and lazy and busy, but I have a few knitting related pictures to share.

First to the left, a few of my favorite things. :o) Knitting, Dr. Pepper, my car and my cell phone... all the tools a girl needs to excape from reality on her lunch break. ;o)

Next to the right... Knit Knack Kit. I got a gift card to Barnes & Noble for my birthday and decided to get this kit because it was cute and it came with stuff. :o)

It's pretty cool... it came with circular needles, a couple of stitch markers, a book with all sorts of tips on stiches and how to fix problems in knitting, and then 25 cards with projects on them. What I love about the cards is that they're small enough to take along with you.

Oscar wanted to help me show you the pictures...

I have more pictures but I can't stand blogger's picture posting and I don't want to fight with it anymore.

Another drive by post...

2006-08-23T15:58:00.000-04:00

Bravo! Sales to Benefit Ele’s Place
Monday, August 28, 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Eastwood Towne Center, Lansing, MI

15% of food sales will be donated to Ele’s Place
Ele's Place is a healing center for grieving children.
www.elesplace.org

Drive By Post

2006-08-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

Want this... Yarntainer. The closest place in Michigan that has them though is in Charlotte and well... I'm brown. Brown people don't very often voluntarily go to Charlotte thanks to the KKK Headquaters that resides there and the high number of confederate flags that seem to fly in the area. *wonders if I could talk one of my white friends into going for me* hehe...

Knitting news to post about but I've been uber busy. Maybe tonight. :o)

"Loosen up my buttons"

2006-08-15T20:41:00.000-04:00

I finally made buttons for my blog. I couldn't decide if I wanted to spend the evening knitting, reading, writing, or sleeping and somehow two buttons came out of it. :o)

The animated pretty one:

And the non-animated plain but still cute one:

Both can be found in my sidebar too, of course. Use them with joy. :o)

In knitting news... I didn't knit during lunch because I was in a funk and reading sounded better. Tonight I looked around for something to do for my Day of the Dead KAL projects and found a few that might work but haven't decided yet. I also found this and think that perhaps my moderne baby blanket for Devin is going to be backed with fabric in order to make the blanket last longer and cover up the back that I'm not digging so much. Granted, it's more work for me, but I was a quilter long before I was a knitter so perhaps this will be the thing that will open my heart to quilting again, or quilt-like projects. *shrug*

Current knit project:
Devin's Moderne Baby Blanket

Next in line:
Shawl for my baby sister Lou

It's official...

2006-08-14T08:45:00.000-04:00

I've finished my first pair of socks. :o) Wee! It wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be (thank you Kristi for encouraging me to try it and for sending me to Rae's shop for a user-friendly pattern!). No pictures yet, but once I have the chance I'll post one. The second sock isn't nearly as perfect as the first one was (and I use the term "perfect" loosely, but whatever these are my first socks!), but I'm happy with the set.

I'll definitely be trying circulars for my next set of socks through and I want a pattern that isn't so short on the leg this time too. :o) If anyone has any links to good online patterns for toe up with circulars, point me in the right direction! :o) I have a few from Knitty printed out that I'd like to try, but I'm always happy to add more patterns to my stash. I love the look of rpm and will tackle it some day. And this Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula looks like an interesting article to read although the fact that two people in the picture are wearing socks with thong flip flops frightens me greatly. *prints it for later reading*

After finishing my sock I, of course, put both of them on and cheesed at the fact that I'd made socks and they actually fit. Then it was back to the world of garter stitch and endless blocks of color on the Moderne Baby Blanket. I'm so over this pattern. I love it, I really do. But yeah... bored! I'm still on block 6 and the intarsia parts that are forthcoming still scare me. Someone in the Mason Dixon KAL did the blanket using thicker yarn and bigger needles and it turned out wonderful. I'm jealous because I'm sure if I'd thought to up size I'd be done with this bad boy by now. I seriously need to kick some butt on this blanket though because Heather's shower is in 2 weeks so of course I'd love to have it done by then. Plus school starts back up on the 30th, so it'll be back to homework and less time to knit. *cries* In addition, the sooner I get the blanket done, the sooner I can work on other stuff without guilt! :o) I fully intend on being "that girl at SHU who knits between classes and on the bathroom breaks." LOL If any of my teachers will allow me to knit in class this semester I'll do that too. :o)

I so can't wait to meet Devin in person. :o) I was playing with the kids yesterday out at my dad's house and was watching Wesley and thought, "how in the world can we have another one who tops this one?" Wesley is the cutest most amazing little shit. Of course I thought that about my baby brother Brian and he's almost 11 now. *SIXTH grade this year... gasp* :o) But yeah, I'm very ready to hold my new nephew and love all over him. :o) Plus if the people at the hospital clear it, I get to be in the delivery room this time. Yay! Heather's going to have a section though and technically there's only supposed to be one extra person in the room, but because both Craig and Heather work at the hospital they might let me be in there too, we're supposed to check with the guy whose title I can't spell LOL He's the Epidural Man. :o) If he says yes then I'm in apparently. :o)

Anywho... I should wrap this up because I'm not supposed to be doing this right now. Shhh! :o)

Happy Knitting!

Knitting on my cat

2006-08-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

My latest submission for the Stuff on My Cat website... Oscar bonding with my sock tonight. :o)

She really does knit!

2006-08-08T21:50:00.000-04:00

I still can't find my damn cord for my camera, but I finally popped my memory stick into the pc, and dumped the pictures onto my jump drive so that I could post them via the laptop. :op

<<- First up... knitting on vacation. Last weekend the family and I went "Up North" to Beulah, MI. I visited one of the two LYS' in the village. The Yarn Market is a very cute little shop that also shares space with a place called Beading Frenzy. Oh the joy of browsing yarn and beads in one store! Wee!

Next... knitting at the Drive In. Yes, there really is a drive in that's still open 7 days a week, and it's in Michigan! The Cherry Bowl in Honor, MI is a fabulous place and a family tradition of ours each time we go Up North. While waiting for dusk the kids went to play mini golf and I stayed in the car and worked on my Moderne Baby Blanket for Devin. :o)

Here's Devin modeling what's done of his blanket so far. :o) Heather requested I did headless photos because they were taken at the Clare rest area on the way home after a very long day of being out in the wind. :o) I've got less than 60 days to get this badboy finished! Technically he's due on the 11th of October, but because Heather will be having a section we'll be meeting Devin probably on the 1st or 2nd. :o)

Today during my lunch break I went to one of my favorite parking spots and sat in my car and worked on my 2nd sock.

Looking good so far... much better than my first sock did at this point. LOL Ignore my dirty car!

I have another picture to post but Blogger is being a brat, so I'm going to try it in another post. :o)

yawn

2006-08-03T11:09:00.000-04:00

I've been at work for over three hours and have had nothing to do. So I played with my sidebar and added buttons for every blog that I read that has a button. I'd make a button for my blog but I don't have any graphics programs here at work because we suck like that here.

I'm so bored. My knitting is in my purse in my cubby and I can hear it calling me. "Oh Kellie... please come play with me! You know you want to knit!" Yeah, not til lunch though. Maybe I'll actually get some work to do before then. *yawn*

I'll be "Up North" this weekend... looking forward to looking around the LYS in the village where my grandparents grew up. :o)
The Yarn Market is just up the street from where we'll be staying for the weekend and conveniently placed in the shopping center where we do our grocery shopping when we're in town. Yay!

I really want to make the Nina Shawl from Mason-Dixon Knitting for my sister, but the whole intarsia thing scares me. I need to learn it anyway for the last bits of the Moderne Baby Blanket, but yikes! In the meantime I'm going to make her a shawl that's much easier and quicker. :o) No pattern yet, no yarn either, just the idea. :o)

Holy crap I have a file to type... guess I should go!

A little progress...

2006-07-31T09:01:00.000-04:00

I managed to finish block #4 of my Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting and started block #5. Other than that, it was too stinking hot to do much knitting this weekend. It's pretty sad when Central Florida was cooler than Mid- Michigan is! Grr...

I'm back...

2006-07-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

I took knitting with me to Florida. My knitting consisted of a few completed rows on a Matrix ribbon scarf that I worked on while it was raining on my birthday. :op My mother rented us a cabana on the lazy river at the resort where our timeshare is and it rained all afternoon *grr* so while we were in the cabana hoping that it would stop raining and were watching the weather channel on tv, I knitted a few rows. Then they cleared the whole area for safety reasons and we left. Lovely. :o) The rest of the week it didn't rain much, but I didn't get any knitting or blogging done. I took my laptop with me, but yeah... blogged once in livejournal. I also didn't manage to find any LYS's in the area. I wasn't with anyone who knits and figured I wouldn't torture anyone with yarn shopping. :o( I planned on getting to the Super Wally World down the road from our resort to see if they had Peaches n' Creme since I can't find it here, but... that didn't happen either. LOL

Despite the lack of knitting and blogging though, my Birthday Trip was fun. I spent 7 days in the greater Orlando area and welcomed my 30th Birthday surrounded by Disney World and goofiness, so it was all good. :o) That would be me on the right with my "Today is my Birthday!" pin on cheesing it up with Mickey Mouse at the Animal Kingdom. hehe...

Garage Sale this weekend, so maybe I'll get some knitting in while we sit around waiting for customers. Oh and I have to take a picture of the yarn holder that I inherited this weekend. It's pretty ugly, but in a cool way. :o) It belonged to my sister-in-law's grandmother so it's very special. :o) And it'll keep the furkids from stealing my yarn as I knit. :o)

That's all for now... work to do. :o)

Still here

2006-07-09T02:04:00.000-04:00

I haven't knitted in a while. I'm officially done with school though for the summer. I did my make up presentation on Friday ( I had to take an incomplete in my summer class because I missed my presenation when g'pa was in the hospital) and ended up with an A in the class. :o) Now I can guiltlessly knit, write, read, and nap on my free time.

6 days til my Florida vacation for the big birthday. :o) I have tee shirts to make for all of us who are going on the trip. :o) Pictures will eventually be posted. Although I highly doubt I'll get much knitting done down there, I will be taking needles with me and of course will be hitting up yarn shops in the vacinity of the resort. :o) I do plan on knitting a bit today though... I've got to drop my mom and step off at Metro so that means at least an hour and a half of knitting time in the backseat on the way there. :o) I need to see if Spirit allows knitting on board yet... I'd love to be able to knit on the way down to Florida next weekend.

Anywho... since I have no knitting pictures, I'll share one of my famous self portraits. ;o) This would be me at the Lugnuts game on the 4th of July. :o) Ignore the extremely cheesey grin.

And on that note I really need to go to bed so that when it's time to leave for Metro I'm actually awake and ready to go. :o)

Hmm... August road trip?

2006-06-30T10:21:00.000-04:00

Michigan Fiber Festival

http://www.marrhaven.com/mff.html

Moderne Baby Quilt

2006-06-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

Well here's my Moderne Baby Quilt in progress... I'm currently on Block #4, but haven't taken another picture yet. :o) I'm using Lion Brand MicroSpun because it's super soft, washable, not too expensive, and I love the bright colors. I'm also using Size 6 needles because for some reason I don't own size 7 needles. :op

I've got until October to finish this badboy for my new nephew, but hopefully now that the semester is over for the summer I'll have much more time to knit. :o)

Another weekend, no post.

2006-06-26T08:31:00.000-04:00

I actually got some knitting done this weekend, but still haven't found the time to post any pictures yet. Hopefully tonight though because my Dog Sitting gig is officially over and I'm back home with my kitties and a computer that was actually built in the 2000's. :o)

I've started Block 4 of my moderne baby quilt for No-Name Bay-Bay. 117 more days til I can meet him in person and smootch all over his cute little face. :o) Which also means 117 days to finish the quilt. LOL FYI: For anyone who doesn't know... No-Name Bay-Bay is my nephew. My brother is very weird about names, and won't tell anyone what he wants to name this baby *including my sister-in-law... they agreed with Baby #1 that She would pick the first name for girls, and he the middle name then vice versa for boys... really hasn't worked that way, but whatever... We've got Ravyn (age 6) and Wesley (age 3) so far...* So we call this one No-Name Bay-Bay because Wesley calls him "Bay-Bay." :o) "Him just Bay-Bay, him doesn't have a name..." hehe

And speaking of babies, major congrats to Kristi & her hubby! Triplets! Woo hoo!

I got to love on a 1 week old precious little monster girl last night. My sister-in-law's cousin popped out baby #3 last week and we went to visit last night. She's so freaking cute she made my babymaker hurt more than it already does. I NEED to have a baby! :o)

In other news... 19 days til Florida, and 21 days til the big birthday. :o)

Oh and my Grandpa is doing better. Still worried about him because last I heard he's still having halucinations, but... everything else is doing better.

And on that note, I realllly need to get to work. :o)

Still here

2006-06-19T14:31:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie... I'm at work and am up to my eyeballs in crap, so yeah...

My grandpa was in the hospital Tuesday-Sunday, I missed two days of work and skipped out on half of my Saturday class (they're going to let me make up my oral presentation... how sweet of them), but things are getting normalish again. Hospital sitting is good for knitting... I'm on my 3rd block of my Moderne Baby Quilt and I love it. I took a picture but I have to find my cord so I can upload the bad boy online. I've been house/dog sitting for my Uncle since Wednesday so I don't have access to a normal computer actually made in the 2000's that has a card reader. LOL Well, I take that back... I have Warren (my laptop) but he doesn't have a card reader because he's a laptop. But yeah... my aunt/uncle's computer is like circa 1940. *giggles*

Anywho... school is over, except for that pesky oral presentation that I need to make up next week, and the knitting/fiction reading/writing fabulousness has begun. :o)

Easy like Sunday Morning

2006-06-11T11:26:00.000-04:00

So last night after realizing it was WWKIP day I gathered up my knitting in my trusty Kermit bag and went out to my Starbucks. I spent about 3 hours (maybe 2.5) there and began my first Moderne Baby Blanket. I'm already a big fan of the basic pattern of this blanket. I'm capable of doing projects with more detailed directions, but they drive me nuts because I like to be able to knit without thinking. :op

Anyway... I'm using Lion Brand's Micro Spun because it's what I had in my stash and because it's deliciously soft and washable. I have no intention of making a blanket out of something that can't be washed. LOL I'm also using size 7 needles instead of 6 like the book says because for some reason I don't own any size 6 needles. :op Right now I only have two colors, but I'm pretty sure what the other two will be. I have Lime, and Black right now and if I recall correctly there is also a really funky bright orange, purple, pink, and blue to choose from in this yarn. So it's going to be very bright and funky. I'll have to see the colors together though before I decide on the other two. I keep telling myself that I won't go buy the yarn today but yeah... what good is an afternoon of hanging out and shopping with a best bud if you can't go to a store and buy yarn too? :op Then when Saturday is over and I am homework free until the fall, I'll be all set to knit. Woo!

I have a picture but I'm not sure where my cord is right now and my pc with the handy slot where I can just pop my memory stick into is currently sick thanks to my roommate. *groans and throws things*

Nevermind... found the cord. LOL Here's what I managed to get done so far.

The picture doesn't do justice for the color of the green, but oh well. :o) It's bright ass lime green. :o) Here's the swatch from Lion Brand's site... It's not a great picture either, but that bottom color is my green. :o)

Oh nooo!

2006-06-10T19:45:00.000-04:00

I just realized it's Knit In Public Day. Crap. I totally had planned on participating. I suppose I could still go to Starbucks and knit on a coffee-induced high until they close at 11:00. But what project do I take?! Hehe..

Shoulda coulda woulda

2006-06-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't knitted in almost a week. I've been trying to decide if I should tackle Sock #2, or work on some other project that I haven't given any attention to lately. Then I think, "I really should be working on my paper and presentation for next week..." The result though has been that I haven't knitted or worked on my paper/presentation all week. Yay for slacking!

I did finally finish reading The Da Vinci Code this morning, so now I can see the movie. ;o) Good book but it got a little predictable toward the end. It's kind of sad when I'm able to figure out the password for the keystone before the characters did. LOL But... I liked the book. :o) Hopefully I'll get to see the movie tomorrow.

In knitting news, Threadbare is having another sale. I totally missed the one last weekend because I neglected to check my mail, but I got it this time... I really don't need to buy any more yarn nor do I need to go drifing up and down the clusters of yarn-joy over there but I want to.

What I should do: work on my paper.
What I want to do: go to Threadbare, then go to Starbucks with Warren (my laptop) and write a new chapter of one of my stories totally ignoring my paper.

Will Kellie do what she should do, or will she give in to temptation and engage in yarn, coffee, and fiction? Tune in next time.

lol I'm such a dork.

My sock

2006-06-07T22:08:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo!

Not about knitting...

2006-06-07T21:36:00.000-04:00

Since 1999 when I was doing an internship I have been a volunteer with Ele's Place. Ele's Place is a non-profit Healing Center for Grieving Children. Each week we run support groups 4-5 nights a week and serve 200 children between the ages of 3 and 18 in Mid Michigan who have expereienced the death of an important person or who currently know someone with a life threatening illness. We also run adult support groups for the parents/guardians of the children who are in our groups.

Click Me

I've worked with almost all of the different groups at Ele's Place over the years, but my true love is my current group which is the Pre-School/Kindergarten group on Wednesday nights. I've been this groups co-leader since 2000 which means I plan the groups and activities. The children in my group are 3-6 years old and are some of the most amazing people I've ever met. :o)

The groups that we provide are open-ended, meaning that a family can attend Ele's Place for two weeks, or two years, it's completely up to them. The groups are also provided at no cost. A few hundred volunteers like myself donate their skills, time, and hearts to the families each week in order for the program to work.

In order to provide this amazing resource though, we need people to donate money to help fund our program. This is where you will hopefully come in.

On July 23rd I'll be participating in the 2006 Ele's Race and I'm currently raising donations. So... I'm begging you to give something... anything! If you can give 50 cents, 1 dollar, or 100 dollars... anything you give will be put to good use.

Puhleeeeeese go to my personal race website and make a donation, then pass the link on if you feel compelled to do so. You can donate via Debit or Credit immediately at the website. If you'd prefer to mail a check or cash, contact me and I'll give you an address to mail a donation to.

Donate Here or copy and paste the link below:
http://ElesRace2006.kintera.org/kelliekel?faf=1&e=630718340

I'm soooo serious when I say you can donate a dollar... if that's all you can spare, that's cool. Just donate. I'm begging. And I'll keep begging until July. :o)

Thank you if you've made it this far in the post, and thank you if you take a moment to give to these kids.

All my hugs,
Kel

Been a while...

2006-06-05T08:28:00.000-04:00

Having class from 9-5 on Saturday only means one thing is for sure... knitting time! :op I'm not sure if my teacher is real fond of the idea, but she hasn't said anything so... *shrug* We were doing this problem assessment exercise at one point on Saturday and I used my knitting as an example. :op I said that when I'm tired in class I use knitting and doodling to stay focused. If I have something to do with my hands I'm more likely to retain the lecture. But if I just sit there and listen, I'll get about half of it, if that much. :o)

So I worked on my sock in class this past weekend and yesterday as I sat on a lounge over at my brother's house with the children running around like maniacs, I finished it. YAY! I'm quite proud of the sock, but the thought of doing the whole process again for the second sock is sort of an unhappy thought. :o) I did however buy circular needles to try socks on in the future. Picture later when I'm not at work. :o)

I finally managed to go into a Hobby Lobby this weekend. It's pretty much a big crap store, but some of the sections were nice. I was quite pleased with the yarn/knitting area. Plus I found interchangeable circular needles... hello! I'd seen the $70 kit at Michael's before but had no idea that they sold interchangeables as singles! I was quite happy at the discovery.

I began a Mason-Dixon warshrag but will probably rip it out. I've got the process down now, but I was using needles that were too big, and I was using Sugar & Creme instead of Peaches & Creme because that's all I could find. :o( Nice yarn, but I think it's too thick for this project. What I really want to do is start one of the log cabin blankets. Maybe a baby one for nephew #2 who will be making his debut appearance in October. :o)

Oh and I also started (as in I casted on and then put the needles down lol) a bag that will most likely be my mom's. It's a bag I made a post about a while ago... got the ribbon yarn for it for a buck a roll... :o)

Fabulous quote from my Ravyn yesterday. She's 6 and was sitting with my baby brother Brian who is 10: "Aunt Kellie is working on a crazy sock. When she finishes something, she picks up somethine else and starts it right away!" Hehe yeah that's about how I am with knitting lately. :op

Anywho... that's about all for now. :o)

For the love of creativity...

2006-05-31T16:00:00.000-04:00

Why can't I get someone to pay me to craft? When I was younger I wanted to be Carol Duvall on The Home Show and get paid to be crafty. Now I just want to be me, but be paid to do things I love like kniting and writing and other crafting instead of sitting at this desk all day. *yawn* So freaking bored... I'm sitting here typing a commitment and will think, "Gee... wonder how my sock looks today... I bet it wishes I was working on it..." LOL I'm a loser, I know. ;o)

Anywho... no real reason for posting... just being whiney. :o)

Did I mention I got the Mason Dixon book finally? Yeah I think I did. Must... finish... current... projects... first!

WTF?

2006-05-30T11:01:00.000-04:00

If I lived in Augusta, GA with my baby sister I would have been prepared to spend Memorial Day weekend sweating and miserable. But I live in Michigan. 90º+ weather in May in Michigan is not right.

I didn't get nearly as much knitting done because the thought of knitting anything took second fiddle to laying around in misery with the furkids who most likely thought I was torturing them with the heat. They kept looking at me like, "You can turn down the heat anytime now, Mom..." Poor things.

I did however finally get my Mason Dixon book (the last one at Schuler's in Eastwood... whoot!) and can see many projects in my future. This summer shall be about writing, reading, knitting, traveling, and not doing any homework whatsoever! 18 days til I'm free!

~Edit~ Oh and working... I suppose this summer is about working too. LOL But it's not high on my priority list *she says as she updates blog again from work.*

Hmmph

2006-05-26T23:58:00.000-04:00

Blogger has been a bastard to me this week. I've had several posts eaten. :o(

So i ripped the sock out and started over. It just wasn't feeling right (even though I haven't a clue what it should feel like) and seemed too triangular to be a sock eventually. The new sock looks a little better, and the pattern of the self striping definitely looks better than it did the first time. (Recall the bright yellow toe in a previous post... ew). Here's what it looks like now...

But here's what I don't get... how does something triangular shapped become a sock? See? Like, is that the bottom of the sock or what?

And because I love these pictures sooooo much I have to post them here... This is my nephew "helping" me make yarn balls last December or January. He was two at the time, he's three now. ;o) I call these "Wesley vs the Yarn."

Hehe... isn't he just delicious? :o)

So hopefully I'll get some knitting in during this long weekend. But for now, I'm going to bed! X-Men tomorrow... woo!

Take two

2006-05-26T16:28:00.000-04:00

This is a phantom post that originally didn't save but suddenly popped back up out of the blue... forgive the duplicate information...

I ripped my sock out last night and started over. The further along I went the more I decided that it just didn't look right. Still doesn't seem like it's going to be a sock shape some day (are they supposed to look like triangles?) but it looks better than it did before. Plus I like the colors better this time around. I'm using a self striping yarn and the first time I started the sock the toe was yellow, now it's purple and the stripe/pattern is going together much prettier.

Dream Dinners tonight... it happens to be neighbor to Rae's... *whistles innocently and drifts over to yarn store before cooking appointment* I need (yes, I said need) to buy the Mason Dixon book (which I'm doubting they'll have at Rae's since it's selling like mad everywhere) and I still want to buy some circular sock needles for my second attempt at socks. Granted, I don't need them now, but so what? I want them. :) The only problem is that Rae's closes at 6 tonight so if I want to go I have to go straight from work which means I can't go home to change clothes. No big deal I suppose. I have capri's and sneakers with me, I just neglected to bring a tee shirt for some reason. I dunno... I suppose I'll see what mood strikes me as I leave work in 28 minutes. :op Hopefully I-127 isn't horrible or it'll take me an hour to just get to Frandor. Grr... holiday traffic.

I was gunna post pictures the other day of my nephew helping me make yarn balls but I was apparently having a bad techno day because I kept screwing up the post and then just gave up since I was at work. LOL I'll do that this weekend though... they're too darn cute not to share and they're knitting related so they HAVE to go in my knitting blog. *nods*

Tis all for now... gotta pretend I'm working hard for the next 26 minutes. ;o)

Picture post

2006-05-23T22:13:00.000-04:00

Looks like the camera problem was the batteries... thank goodness. :op I dunno what I'd do without my digital. ;)

Here are the fingerless gloves I made during my class last weekend... One is a little longer than the other, but I don't care cause they're mine. :o)

And here's what should be a toe for a sock. LOL I think I may have gone too far before starting the body of the sock, but we'll see... I'm not ripping this bad boy out again.

Probably won't get much done on the sock tomorrow because I have Ele's after work. (I run a support group for grieving children at an organization called Ele's Place.) Then it's margaritas with the girls afterward before coming home to watch the Lost finale and see who won Idol. :op Maybe I'll knit at lunch tomorrow... I'm taking half a lunch so if I try to read I'll probably just get frustrated when I have to stop reading. :o)

Watch me jinx myself...

2006-05-23T10:15:00.000-04:00

I think I've figured out the sock thing. I started over last night during Everwood and have the makings of what certainly looks like a sock. :o) Again, no pictures because my batteries for my camera are charging, but hopefully I'll have pix to share soon. :o) I'm still wondering if doing socks on circulars is easier, but I'm determined try both ways. :o)

In other news, I've yet to finish my felted bag off with a strap. hehe... I suck.

But... I can say that Oscar is a very happy camper that Mama is knitting more often. He enjoys stalking my yarn and using those extra toes to try and swipe it from me as much as possible. :o)

Doesn't he have the best paws ever?!

Oscar swatting at his big sister, Kira...

Kira meanwhile is just happy that while Oscar is playing with yarn, he's not chasing after her and she can sit in Mama's drawer. :op

The beautiful Kira

A productive weekend

2006-05-22T09:45:00.000-04:00

Knitting during my day-long class turned out to be a great idea. I manged to whip out my fingerless gloves and they only have a few mistakes. The pattern was super easy and was the first time I did a cable-like pattern. Pictures as soon as I can get some batteries for my camera and see if it's working or is going to die on me and piss me off. :op Buying a new camera before my birthday trip in July is SO not on the plan. :op

I attempted to begin a sock but ended up being too tired to pay attention to it. I'm not so sure how much I love the 4 needle process of socks but I'm not giving up yet. :o) Knitty has an article about doing toe-up socks on circular needles and it looks much easier than the 4 needle thing so if I can't get the technique down I may invest in some circular needles for socks. Magic Cast-on for Toe Up Socks

Tis all for now. I should be working on property taxes instead of updating this bad girl. :o)

A real post with pictures and everything!

2006-05-20T00:18:00.000-04:00

I should be in bed. I have school at 9 and it's after midnight. My contacts are cloudy and I'm starting to yawn a lot. BUT... I'm going to make a post, damn it. I've been neglecting this blog and my knitting. So I'm making a post before I pass out. :o)

So let's see... I'm about 99% done with my first felting project. I made a bag. I haven't put a strap on it yet because I'm not sure yet if I want to buy a strap or make one, but I'm muchly happy with the felting. It's a little lopsided, but for my first felted thing, I'm cool with crooked. :) It's supposed to be a courier bag that's big enough to hold a laptop and mine is so not big enough for my laptop... but again, I still like it. :)

Before Felting

After Felting

Today on my lunch I went over to Rae's and checked the place out. It's seriously about the size of my living room (maybe smaller), but very sweet. ;) I bought my first sock pattern *gasp* and some pretty cool sequin stuff that I have no idea what I'll use it on but I love it. :)

Tonight I found myself at Michaels where they had clearanced yarn. Hello! Yay! I got a total of 9 rolls of yarn and sock needles for less than thirty bucks. :)

I got this funky ribbon stuff by Moda-Dea to make this with... $1.00 a ball!

I got four rolls of Aerie by Moda-Dea (Ecru & Black) because it was less than three bucks a roll and was originally almost $9 each.

I also bought two things of Micro Spun by Lion Brand (not on sale) because it's so deliciously soft and I wanted to try making these. My hands get so cold when I'm knitting and when I'm typing, I think these will be fabulous when they're done. I originally planned on making them two colors, but I was watching X-Men 2 on tv while knitting and I kept messing up my sticthes and after ripping it out several times I decided just to do one color for now. So my first attempt is Black, then if I succeed I can make the bright-ass Lime green variety. :) I think I'm taking this to class with me today. Gotta have something to keep my hands busy when I'm not taking notes. Plus, think of how much I could get done if I knitted throughout the day (my class is from 9-5).

Anywho... I'd share more pictures but my camera is having a break down and doing weird shit like this...

Not a happy camper... hopefully it just needs batteries. That's part of my fingerless glove thingies though... :)

And now I must take my butt to bed because 7:00 is going to come much too fast. :)

Friday

2006-04-28T15:50:00.000-04:00

Why is it so hard to work on Friday afternoons? Time just drags on forever and the work just never seems to get done. Blah. I vote for no working on Fridays after 1:00 p.m., ever. :o)

Anywho... since this my official knitting blog, I should talk about knitting huh? *nods*

I currently have two projects in the works. One is a felted bag, that's about 98% done (yay!). And the other is a lightweight scarf that I've ripped out more times than I can remember because I keep screwing up the pattern or I decide to change patterns! *groan*

Tonight will include a trip to Michael's, oh yes it will... I need stuff for my bag, and then I think I might buy some light yarn for the above mentioned scarf (I'm hoping that if I change textures maybe I'll actually get the scarf made! hehe).

I don't really need another blog...

2006-04-26T00:15:00.000-04:00

But I wanted to sign up so that I didn't have to be some anonymous person leaving comments in other blogs. :)

Hit up my lj for up to date posts.

http://bethestage.livejournal.com

Yet another blog...

Moving!

*waves*

Someone new to knit for!

You know you're a knitter when...

"I do it in public"

Woo hoo!

CafePress Goodies

Pet Meme

The 2nd post

Picture post

Labor Day

Picture post

Another drive by post...

Drive By Post

"Loosen up my buttons"

It's official...

Knitting on my cat

She really does knit!

*yawn*

A little progress...

I'm back...

Still here

Hmm... August road trip?

Moderne Baby Quilt

Another weekend, no post.

Still here

Easy like Sunday Morning

Oh nooo!

Shoulda coulda woulda

My sock

Not about knitting...

Been a while...

For the love of creativity...

WTF?

Hmmph

Take two

Picture post

Watch me jinx myself...

A productive weekend

A real post with pictures and everything!

Friday

I don't really need another blog...

waves

yawn