GlutenFree Knitting

2006-08-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

HI.

I moved.

Change your bookmarks to: glutenfreeknitting.wordpress.com

:O)

"Attention Ship's Company...

2006-08-02T21:19:00.000-07:00

All those involved in I-night please be on the quayside at 1845 to catch the bus to the venue. Shirley Booth, dial 9 please. Shirley Booth, dial 9." ~This weird ship memory brought to by The Random Brain of Kirsten Harrison. Thank you for your time.~

And in other news, I've moved my blogging life to WordPress. Find me at:

glutenfreeknitting.wordpress.com

Once you're there, find both Bloglines and Newsgator subscriber links in the far right sidebar. Rock on party people.

The Case of the Missing Sock Needles

2006-08-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

HOW DO KNITTING NEEDLES DISAPPEAR?!?

I cannot find ANY of my circular sock needles. It’s annoying. I mean, yes, my apartment is a huge mess and yes, my knitting stash/junk could use a good organizational overhaul…but still! I should have some idea where my knitting needles are, dontcha think? Irritating. So I did what any knitter would do in such a situation: with full knowledge that they must be in my apartment somewhere but without the time to go searching right now, I went and bought a new pair. :O) And I think I decided that I like Crystal Palace circs best. It’s the swiveling joint and lightness and bamboo-ey yumness. I like Crystal Palace best for magic loop. I have made that decision. So there.

Har.

Sock Wars!

2006-07-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

I wish I had pictures!

2006-07-31T14:42:00.000-07:00

I went water-skiing this weekend. It was AWESOME! I was kind of nervous and figured I wouldn’t even try–I hurt my back about 3.5 weeks ago and it’s still pretty bad. But once we were on the boat I absolutely couldn’t NOT try. I mean, really. I used to love to ski. It’s been…oh, 10 years (at LEAST) since I’ve skied. I’ve had 2 knee surgeries, my back is out and I weigh more than I have in 5 years: all definite signs that I would chicken out or not be able to get up. It seems that skiing is alot like riding a bike. Once you know the technique you can do it 10 years later, even without practice! It was cool. Really cool.

I’m so happy.

Back in the day...

2006-07-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

I mean, way back. People used to tear their clothes and cut their hair when they received bad news. I assume it would have to have been fairly devastating news for people to chop their hair off.

I cut my hair last night. Seemed like the thing to do at the receipt of the knowledge that was given to me last night. So today is a very contemplative day. Sad even. And my hair is short.

How is your day?

EDIT: Sorry guys. Bad things happen. Nobody died. Life is messy and I just got an ugly reminder of it last night. Don't worry too much about me!! (Don't worry at all...it takes YEARS off your life. I certainly don't want to be the cause of that!) Thanks for praying...it means alot to me.

The Music We Listen To.

2006-07-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

I was running around clicking on other people's blog-reading lists and found this quiz HERE:

RULES:
1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question
3.) Use the song title as the answer
4.) NO CHEATING!!! What you get is what you get!

1) How am I feeling today?
Strong Tower - Phil Keaggy

2) Where will I get married?
Town - The Lads

3) What is my best friend’s theme song?
Till Jesu Comes - Mike Roe

4) What is/was high school like?
Super Trooper - Superchick

5) What is the best thing about me?
Twinkle - Fleming and John

6)How is today going to be?
Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup - Natalie Cole

7) What is in store for this weekend?
Fair - Ben Folds Five

8) What song describes my parents?
The Night Won’t Last Forever - Charlie Peacock

9) How is my life going?
There For Me - By The Tree

10) What song will they play at my funeral?
Have you Forgotten - Red House Painters

11) How does the world see me?
Carry Your Love - Caedmon’s Call

12) What do my friends really think of me?
To Tell Them - Rich Mullins

13) Do people secretly lust after me?
Driftin’ - Eric Clapton

14) How can I make myself happy?
Fuel - Sonic Flood

15) What should I do with my life?
Don’t Get Lost in Heaven - Gorillaz (HA! Now that made me laugh!)

16) Will I ever have children?
Crooked Deep Down - Derek Webb

17) What is some good advice?
Jesus Put This Song Into Our Hearts - Doulos Worship Team

18) What do I think my current theme song is?
107 Steps - Bjork

19) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
In Your House - CFC Praise Team

20) What type of men/women do you like?
I Did It - Dave Matthews Band (hmm, mysterious...)

21) Will you get married?
Searching For My Love - Huey Lewis and the News

22) What should I do with my love life?
Smellin’ Coffee - Chris Rice

24) Where will you live?
Scooby Driver - Belle & Sebastian (another mystery)

25) What will your dying words be?
Glorious - Chris Tomlin & Christy Nockels

26) How’s your day going so far?
Interlude - Muse

27) How’s your love life?
Someone to Share My Life With - Jens Lekman

Knitting (WHAT!?) Confessional plus other stuff.

2006-07-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

Awhile ago there was this thing called Secret Pal 7. I was a part of this thing. I started a pretty cool project for the lovely woman I was Secret Pal-ing...and still haven't finished. Wow. Maybe I should get on that.

Jen is funny. She's my Very Good Friend and I like her. I like that she is willing to sit down and write her opinion (which often is very much my opinion and often is very much not my opinion...and, yes, we're still friends!). I think I'm going to start writing "DITTO" and linking to her when I agree, because I just don't have the stamina to sit down and write it all out. I'd rather go "pshaw!" and not type (poorly) out what I think. I'm lazy that way. Anyway. Just saying.

A picture. Girls in Helmets.

Wow.

2006-07-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

4th of July was the last time I posted? Crazy.
Know why 4th of July was fun for me? Because the World Cup Semifinal game was shown in Pioneer Square and it was F. U. N.!!

Today I felt like knitting. I haven't knitted yet, but I intend to. Mostly I haven't felt like knitting in a long, long time.

I may be a little teensy bit tipsy from the double Margarita I made myself, too.
Jake did not like the double Margarita. Silly cat. Who doesn't like tequila?? :O)

And by the way, in case you were wondering: it was 108 degrees in Portland according to Lisa's car's temperature thingie. And in case you were wondering: that's way too hot for this non-airconditioned moderate rainforest climate. Just in case you were wondering.

I think I may only knit socks for the rest of my life. And finish my Green Gable sweater.
Yeah, tipsy. :O)

A photo in honor of tipsyness:

This is the coolest x-douloi drinking our free shots of schnaps
(real schnaps, not wimpy American schnaps!)
after dinner in Croatia.

For more (read: LOADS!!) photos of Croatia, go HERE.
Peace.
I heart tequila.

Macbeth.

2006-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well, well. Last night I discovered yet another really cool thing about Portland. Actually, more like two new things:

Super-cool parks IN THE CITY!
Shakespeare in the Park!

Three of us went to see Macbeth in the park last night. Very cool.
Photos from LogosHope are forthcoming...as is more information. Forgive my slackness in informing y'all of what went on. It loads and as such, kinda hurts my brain to try to organize into coherent sentences. Maybe I'll just do a big list. No, that's lame. Anyway. Hi.

Whoosh.

2006-06-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

What happened?
Where am I?

Oh, yeah...Portland. After the Longest Evil Torturous 4-Leg Journey By Plane Ever Taken. Really. Have you ever slept on the marble floor in Terminal 4 of JKF airport while people around you let their children run around screaming at 2 in the morning? NO? Hmm. Yikes.

:o)

The trip was awesome. My friends are incredible. God is amazingly HUGE. Why I ever doubt it is beyond me sometimes...like right now.

But I'm really tired and disoriented so I will simply say: THANK YOU again to all of you who are so generous and helped make this trip happen. I will try to get on here and write some cool stuff and post some gorgeous photos of the Adriatic Sea and the beautiful people I worked with while in Croatia. Plus some "look how stinking dirty we got!" photos as well.

I need a nap. It's 11:30pm tonight in Trogir...hopefully all the workers sleep well and wake up well-rested and ready to work hard -- as they have been for 2 years. Wow.

SPAZ!

2006-05-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited!

I'm leaving the country!

I'm going to the ship!

I have 6 great friends going with me!

I have sock yarn and Larabars and underwear...oh, and my passport!!!

I've paid my bills that are due in the next 2 weeks...I'm ready...let's get this show on the road...!

LAST DAY TO WIN YARN!

2006-05-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

GO HERE!

Support a great cause!

Maybe YOU will win some sweet YARN!

4 days...

2006-05-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have some photos for you to see.
Yesterday I got a BIRTHDAY PRESSIE (June 3 -- 35) from Jen! SELF-STRIPING SOCK YARN! Guess what I'll be making on the trip to Croatia??

Isn't it bee-you-tee-full?
The colorway is "Vacation."
From AllThingsHeather.

Chris informed me that Worldwide Knit-In-Public Day is June 9 (NO, she didn't say that! She said JUNE 10, silly Kirsten...)! So this will likely be seen in the airport in Split, Croatia. Fun times! I can't wait! I've never knit in any other country and now I get the chance to knit in 2 other countries - Austria and Croatia. Because it's all about the knitting, yes?? :O)

I also wanted to share Tiny Daisy and her friends again. I need to find someone to take care of her and my 2 other plants while I'm gone. This is something I hadn't thought about. Hmm.

Aww, sweet little daisy babies!

I'm going to miss my kitties. I've been squeezing them an extra lot this week. We're leaving the self-feeder out so I expect to come home to Giganto-Cats! We also have a couple friends that will drop in and cuddle them/fill water, food/ clean box while we're gone. Oh, that makes me a little sad...my little sweeties. Jamal will probably go into Human Withdrawal. He's so social. Oh. Baby.

Jamal.

Jake.

Jake--he'll just freak out every time someone walks in the door. He's sort of a big scaredy-cat. Poor dear won't know what to do with himself.

OK, now I need to get this day moving! Things do do, places to go, people to see!!

In case you've ever wondered what I sound like...

2006-05-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Here I am!
AUDIOblogging makes me happy!

My brain hurts.

2006-05-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

Right now, I can't wait to get on a plane and KNIT!
I think it'll be the first time I will have picked up my needles in 2 weeks. My roomate is concerned because of my lack of knitting, which is really quite amusing!

Tiny Daisy has sprouted 2 new Tiny Daisy Friends. It's very exciting for her!

T minus 5 days and counting (what does that mean, "t minus, etc, etc..." anyway?)...Team Logos hope is a little stressed out and Team Leader Kirsten is having Brain Pain. Thanks for all the help from you generous people. I can't even tell you how hugely encouraging it is to see your kindness.

Knitters are GENEROUS!

2006-05-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Read My Letter

In less than 48 hours you fabulous people have given over

$450 USD
toward getting me and my team to Croatia.
I am unbelievably grateful. Thank you so much!

The contest is still open...send your friends!
Here's the yarn you could win:

~~my donation: Socks That Rock!

~~Chris's donation: Treadsoft Sock Yarn!
(the pink and orange skein...hi beautiful Chaos!!)
**disclaimer: Chaos is NOT included in this prize! :O)

~~Jen's donation: Vesper Sock Yarn in Tartan!

Join in on the fun, and give to an excellent cause...
and be sure to visit Jen and Chris and thank them for this whole contest.
Thank you!

...your chance to win yarn is HERE!

2006-05-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Read My Letter

I am a certified cartoon junkie. Right now I'm watching "Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks," later I will watch my very, very favorite: "The BackYardigans." Plus, "Charlie and Lola" are in there as well as "Sesame Street" (which isn't a cartoon, but you see my point!).

Do you have a favorite cartoon? Or kid's show? I know Anne likes "Charlie and Lola" as well--quality show! And Jen...still like "SpongeBob"?

Speaking of Jen...how would YOU, dear reader, like to win some sweet yarn and help a good cause as well? Jen and Chris have donated some super awesome SOCK YARN to help a friend in need--which just happens to be me, and let me tell you how loved you ladies make me feel. Thank you!

CONTEST!! WIN YARN!!

You must go HERE, if only to see the LOVE and generosity that's out there among knit- (and other) bloggers. :o)

Here's another photo of Tiny Sock, with Tiny Daisy (a gift from Erin...SP7).

Tiny Sock of Joy

2006-05-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

A list.

2006-05-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's 95 degrees in Portland today. (yes, I do believe that qualifies as "hotter than the hinges of Hades" here in the Pacific Northwest.)
Not knitting on a sock does not get said sock completed in a timely fashion.
Julie made me a tiny little sock for a key chain: photo to follow...someday.
I leave for Croatia in 11 days.
I'm on the edge of panic about funding for trip to Croatia.
As panic increases so does excitement about getting off this continent!
I like learning stuff.

I need help!

2006-05-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Do you do mental??
Better yet...how's your pocketbook looking?? (I stole that from my friend AMBER!)

Well, I'm sort of joking...sort of not. My team (7 of us...) are leaving for Croatia in 3 weeks. May 28 at 7:30 am. We need to raise about $8000 more. So I'm resorting to asking EVERY SINGLE PERSON I SEE (and those who read my blog...) if they will read my Prayer/Support Letter and consider praying and/or supporting...so, will you read my support letter?

Here's the link.
It opens as a pdf.

Some of you (Jen, Shemaiah...) are going to be receiving this in the mail. And if you'd rather get an actual copy in the mail...email me your snail mail addy and I'll actually post it to you!
kirstenmichelle at gmail dot com.

Thank you for reading it. I'm nearing PANIC MODE, when I need to TRUST GOD. And I do trust God...I can't explain it...

Did I say thank you? :o)

Hello!

2006-05-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Well howdy folks.

Guess Jen linked to me today--and HARLOT linked to her.

So hi to the 93 people who don't generally read my blog.

:o)

No knitting today--been busy with a new business venture I've begun. And with my best friend's boy troubles. I did start knitting up the yarn I dyed, but that was last week. Pretty cool. It's lots of purple with a yellow swirl and some white...which you know if you scroll down to the last post.

Coolio.
Cheers.
Hey, why don't you comment? I'd love to visit YOUR blog!

Dying...

2006-05-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

...yarn, silly! Julie and I used some Wilton icing dye, a couple skeins of Grinasco baby/sock yarn, some plastic wrap and a microwave. Look!

Busy Little Bee...

2006-04-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Wow, life has gone nutso on me. I love it! I've been busy with stuff for the trip--I've found passion I forgot I had inside of me! Seriously, it's cool. And I've been chugging along on the Elfine #1...I'm actually very close to being finished...and a wee bit discouraged that I have to do the second sock. And still working on the Green Gable sweater--have I even posted a photo of that progress on that? Here--let me go find it...

Pattern is here, yarn is Cascade Sierra Quattro.
Using a Takumi, size 5, 24"needle.

Do any of you know what Bubble Tea is? It may be only a West Coast thing at this point. It always cracks me up the way things arrive in the US--how trends are decidedly regional, but because we are all in the same country, we mistakenly think things are the same all over. Anyway, I digress...Bubble Tea was the topic, I believe! I had it in Taiwan and about a year ago found a place on the backside of nowhere (which really only means it's far away from me...not really the middle of nowhere...) that had it. Now it's popping up all over the place! It's basically iced tea with milk and tapioca bubbles in the bottom. Looks weird, and if I thought about it too much it would probably be disgusting--chunks of slime in TEA??! But I L. O. V. E. the stuff. Addicted. Delicious....must. have. NOW!

More later...it's far to lovely outside to sit here and type. I can't afford to burn sunlight in Oregon!

Seriously.

2006-04-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

I am:

thinking I am never going to get another sock finished in my life ever again.
thinking that I'm the slowest and least productive knitter in the entire world.
dreading the fact that I have to get my silly support letter written, even though I know I have to do it and that it's really no big deal and that it is one way that the kingdom of God works together as a body (yeah, mixed metaphors...got it) and that God will provide for this trip if indeed He wants us to go...
did I mention the never-ending socks?

RANDOM POST.

2006-04-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

I found a restaurant like J. Alexander's today. I swear they have nearly the exact menu. It was delicious. Oh, it's called Stanford's.

Lisa's birthday was last Tuesday--a week ago tomorrow--tomorrow is my sister Debbie's birthday. So for Lisa's birthday we went to the Oregon Coast. The dunes, where I've never been. It was gorgeous (but very windy and a bit chilly) and I had coffee from a new-to-me place. Plus: incredible sunset, sea lions...must remember to get to the coast more often than I do.

The friends...

...the dunes...

...my toes in the Pacific (brr!)...

...the new coffee place...

...and the sunset.

I agree...

2006-03-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern.
A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock.
A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything.
No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

I got my last package from ERIN my SecretPal7, with the theme of SPRING! Yarn, chocolate, a daisy to grow, a pattern and a pink bunny. YAY! :o) I will have photos later, but now I must R-U-N-N-O-F-T to Job #3 of the day.

Do NOT make me go buy new needles...

2006-03-30T12:30:00.000-08:00

I can't find a single pair of size 11 needles anywhere in my apartment. This is annoying. Mostly I'm annoyed that I can't find the Denise 11's because they actually have a case, so WHERE ELSE WOULD THEY BE?? I can't think of or find any project that has them in it. Argh and Blarg. I need an 11 to finish off the Ubernatural Sweater (which I'm hoping and praying I have enough Thrift Store Yarn to finish...) and I really would like to finish it. Plus, I'm so not feeling good and cannot even think of trying to knit lace (Elfine's Sock) when every muscle in my body is aching and my head and ears are throbbing. Maybe I should just continue with Pride and Prejudice or a little Discovery Channel...

I miss the family I nanny for terribly. I can't believe their trip is only 1/2 over. Boohoo...!

And just because I feel awful and plan on going nowhere and seeing NOBODY: my hair is lovely today. Pretty, dark, cascading Botticelli curls. (disregard the sick-girl, no-makeup face) Damn.

I need wool.

Once in a while, alone is good.

2006-03-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

I have the day off today and I've done nothing but drink coffee, read blogs and take/upload photos. It's been nice. I have a dr's appt later today, so I figure I can veg until I have to leave.

There are notes on this picture--to see them, click on it and you will be magically transported to flickr.com.

Elfine's First Sock.
It's a bit large on me, but it is designed to be...it's not for me, you see!
(did I just channel Dr. Seuss?)

Friday Harbour Sock #1
I like this sock, but it's a bit...umm...I can't explain it. It fits great, I love the yarn...but this yarn needs to be knit at a tighter gauge. It's kinda rough on the bottom of my foot. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? She talks about it in Sensational Knitted Socks. Anyway...

OK, now I'm going to be late if I don't rush. Typical!

Big sigh...

2006-03-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

I had a crazy week last week. I was at 5 different houses--that means 5 different Moms and it makes me very tired to meet so many new controlling people. I have more experience than some of these moms and still they have to be controlling and not-trusting. Stress. Stress. Stress. I'm getting fatter from all the stress. Or something. Anyway...fat. I joined 24 Hr. Fitness though. Need some outlet for all the stress and since I can't run (which would be my first choice, ideally...but doc says no running--stupid knee) I figured I may as well--they just built this new facility and it has a pool, so maybe I can swim. Maybe. It's only 2 lanes (what were they thinking??) and I refuse to share a lane because I'm not that great a swimmer, especially now with the fatness and all. But the swimming requires being in a swimsuit, which may not happen either. So maybe I'll just elipticize and ride the bike and do my happy little free-weights. Anyway, I intend on losing some weight. I'm disgusted by myself and quite unhappy about the whole thing.

It's a beautiful day here in Kirsten's head.

The weather today was gorgeous though. That's nice. And I'm reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time. About time, huh Jen?

Oh, knitting. Yeah. Working on the Green Gable sweater, Elfine's socks, Ubernatural sweater. Friday Harbor Sock #2 has to wait until the Elfine's are finished...

Am I truly out of my mind?

2006-03-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

I mean, I can handle it if I am.

Why does Dale Baby Ull hate me? I've tried 2 different patterns with it and it as always a weird and wonky fabric for me. It's irritating because I'm having sort of a crappy couple days and KNITTING IS SUPPOSED TO BE RELAXING...as well as something I'm fairly adequate at doing. I don't need another stupid thing that isn't working properly right now, dammit. Argh.

On the YAY side of things:
I just paid off my student loan!!

OK, off to try to keep going on these socks...

The beginnings of a new sock.

2006-03-14T23:10:00.000-08:00

I really really really enjoy learning. It makes me happy.
This morning I learned the Turkish CastOn (AKA Figure 8)!

May I present the beginnings of Elfine's Socks--in yellow Dale Baby Ull (funny how "baby" is English and "ull" is in...uh...Norwegian?) on Addi Turbo 0s. I may have to tweak the pattern...my gauge seems to be 44/10cm instead of 33/10cm. Hmm...is that a problem??

Oh! and in almost as exciting news, I colored my hair again. Dark. The way God intended it to be.

Not that you can see the hair so much in this photo--but look! Smiling! And I may have another permanent part-time nanny position...PLEASE LORD!!

dude, didn't you take a drop-spindle class at some point?

2006-03-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

Ahem.
Why yes, I did take a drop-spindle class a while ago...didn't I mention it yet...??
Ahem.

I am not a good spinner. Of course, I haven't spun much--like, almost nothing really. The "yarn" I did spin in class was balanced...which means something to spinners and not-so-much to non-spinners. I guess it was one of the good things about my spinning. :o) Our instructor kept raving about how good we all were, but I think she must've been focussing on Casey's yarn (scroll down to see her brown yarn along with her beautiful attempt at her home-grown angora!) and not so much looking at mine. Mostly my opinion of the whole thing is based my preference to immediately be good at something and never ever need to practice. So take these statements with that in mind. I am also mostly not very good at the drafting--the most important thing, I hear. Argh. I think I would really enjoy it if I was instantly good at it without ever having to practice. I'm a cheapskate as well as a perfectionist, so "ruining" a perfectly good batch of yummy roving seems...just...wrong. Even though our instructor pointed out several times that we should not worry about using up wool by practicing, that sheep/goats/bunnies were going to continue to produce their luscious furriness. Hmm.

OK, here are some photos:

My first yarn. Spun on an Ashford Drop Spindle.
Can't remember the fiber--it was wool. :o)
This is where I choose the very best section of the yarn to photograph
so that you think I'm a yarn-spinning prodigy...! Call it yarn-airbrushing...

Here's the truth...the inconsistent, yet well-balanced truth. Isn't it a pretty brown?

And this is a later attempt at spinning...done at home
while watching the Olympics I believe. This stuff is so incredibly
over-spun it's ridiculous! I really have trouble with the drafting...
it gets all stuck and I resort to MAJOR pre-drafting.
But it looks so nice on the spindle. I really should ply it...

So. There you go. Somehow I escaped the Attack of the Contagious Spinning Bug. Which is good because I really can't afford the expense of another fiber-related hobby and there are PLENTY of fabulous spinner's already out there. For example: Maia. Check out the Meyer Lemon Merino. Mmmm.

Previously on GlutenFree Knitting...

2006-03-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

Kirsten was mentioning that she wanted, nay, needed to start a sweater.

In this episode we hear about her LYS adventure and learn the shocking truth about Lisa.

She decided upon the Green Gable Sweater from Zephyr Style and set out with her trusty friends Julie (knitter) and Lisa (non-knitting-enabler). They made their way to 3 of the 12 LYSs in the Portland area in search of the perfect cotton-wool blend for Kirsten's New Sweater Project. LYS #1 had only one choice in the cotton-wool blend arena: Green Mountain Spinnery's Cotton Comfort. Alas, none of the colors they had in stock appealed to Kirsten as she was looking for something bright and cheery for Springtime. Plus $11...not the right price either. Meanwhile, Julie found yarn with which to create more of her Hats and Scarves for the Homeless she has been pumping out lately: a minty green and a chocolately brown. She will be creating Mint Chocolate Chip scarves and hats all this week! Helpful LYS Lady suggested Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool--a yarn Kirsten does indeed enjoy knitting with (she thinks...it's been so long it's hard to remember...). However, she figured she had 2 more stores to look into...the last of which she knew carried Cotton Fleece, which, deep in her heart, was truly the yarn she was looking for. That is, until she came across the lovely and drapey Cascade Sierra Quattro in Cranberry at LYS #2 (also known as The Yarn Store We Don't Like So Much): they had only one skein. Not helpful, but Kirsten then remembered that helloknitty.com carries that yarn and probably for a much more reasonable price...$9.80 was still higher than our dear poor Kirsten was willing (read: able) to pay. It was here, at LYS #2 that the truth about Lisa was uncovered: although she is NOT a knitter, she has somehow become A YARN SNOB! It was completely shocking for Kirsten and Julie to hear her say, as Kirsten was leading Julie to the Encore Worsted as a good learn-to-knit-socks-again yarn: "You can't get that yarn for socks ...you have to get Socks That Rock!" as though poor Julie had no knowledge whatsoever of yarn and she, Lisa, was the true expert. Utterly flabbergasted, Kirsten burst out laughing and Julie looked mortified--had she made a fatal knitter's error?? And if she had...how did LISA know?? It was truly an eye-opening moment for this group of friends. And quite amusing as well! Julie went on to find herself some yummy Nashua Wooly Stripes with Lisa's blessing (which you may recall seeing on this blog as The Red Socks recently completed...not surprisingly, these socks belong to Lisa!) to re-learn to make socks with, as well as some lovely pink and beige yarn for another BBBB ("Big Bad Baby Blanket" for the uninitiated...). [Isn't it cool how much knitting Julie does for others? She's nice. :o)] Anyway...with Julie at 7 skeins and Kirsten at 0 skeins, the small entourage headed for LYS #3 where the three friends learned from an 8-yr-old that the knitted cupcakes (from the newly released One Skein by Portland native Leigh Radford) were "just tiny hats upside down!" She was adorable, and already a knitter at 8 years! In there with her dad buying a gift certificate for her mom. So sweet! But I digress...the Cotton Fleece was indeed in residence, but not it any colors that jumped into Kirsten's brain and wouldn't let go. So alas, the LYS adventure of three friends ended without any yarn purchased for the Green Gable Sweater and they went off to Taco Bell (which isn't gluten-free...).

In other news, Jen and Kirsten--of Kirsten and Jen's Knitalong fame--have formed a sock-knitting alliance to encourage and equip each other for any and all upcoming sock patterns they should need to complete. It remains to be seen if they will post their adventures on the afore mentioned Knitalong Blog.

EDIT: I just found the Sierra at WEBS for $6.30 a skein!!! Holy flipping crap! I think I am buying it...right...now...!

I forgot I took these...

2006-03-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

So here are a (random) bunch of photos of my life in the last week. Enjoy!

The true color of these cozy handwarmers...
and my crazy cabling--I made it up as I went.

And for the Third Entry into the Trader Joe's Flower Show:

Plus you can see the color we painted one of the walls!

A Gluten Free Feast!
Tinkyada Spaghetti with Muir Glen Sauce accented by Parmigianna Reggiano,
TJ's herb mix salad with GF Ranch Dressing, Oregon's own Erath Pinot Noir.
Delicious--in fact, the leftovers will be my lunch today--minus the wine...

"Hey, you put your stuff on my chair, it's mine.
Now off you go...unless you're going to give me cuddles..."

This is maybe the strangest thing Jamal has done:

He's currently obsessed with the OUTLET that the space heater
is plugged into--here he seems to be enthralled with where the cord enters the heater.
Very odd. He sat and stared at it for 45 minutes at least.

And last, but certainly not least, the Friday Harbor sock makes it's bloggy debut:

This is my progress on 3-6-06.

This is ten minutes ago.
[click on the photo to get a really good look at the yarn]

And this is:

Proof of sunshine in Portland, OR
Another great use for a Trader Joe's container
My favorite thing to knit right now

Friday Harbor Socks

2006-03-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

That is my current knitting obsession. However...I just did a Google search and found several entries in flickr. Umm, yeah--I completely, utterly, TOTALLY messed up the top bit-o-lace. Really. I had my suspicions, but you can't see it very well in the photo in the book (Knitting on the Road, Nancy Bush). Anyway. The most exciting part: I DON'T CARE! Because I absolutely am in love with the Fleece Artist yarn. Y'all need to CLICK HERE and buy yourself some, because it's really beautiful. I keep holding it up to admire the gorgeous yumminess of the colors all floating around being smashing. And saying, "I love this yarn," to which Lisa currently answers: "Yes, I know." I imagine soon it'll be: "SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR DAMN YARN!"

"Yes, unless you are going to give it to me,
I don't want to hear another word about the yarn..."

Also, I am having a "Need-to-knit-a-sweater" Phase. I'm liking the Blue Sky Alpacas Zip Cardi, Wendy's Essential Stripe Sweater, and this Zephyr pattern. Oh dear. I really really really want to knit a sweater. I've only done one previously. It turned out really well, but I discovered that worsted weight 100% cotton is not my best friend. But it turned out nicely. Anyway, thinking of Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece for any of the above sweaters. Or the new KnitPicks Main Line--but I don't like the color selection at KnitPicks as well. Like it matters--I'm out of work for 3 weeks starting Friday, so yarn buying is on hold. (OK, not totally out of work, but the family I work for is going to Australia and I will be trying to get temp jobs--and hoping I don't end up having an anxiety attack over meeting new people every day...STRESS...must get red wine immediately!!)

And am I the very last person in the world to find these FREE PATTERNS??

The Ship--no knitting content here.

2006-03-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

OK, I mentioned a couple posts back that I will be in Croatia for my birthday--my 35th birthday, mind you. Just thought a bit of explanation may be in order!

I'm helping to lead a team of 5-6 Project Workers for 14 days to Trogir, Croatia. We will be working on the LogosHope--a ship that's being refitted to be used as a passenger ship/book shop/cultural melting pot/extreme learning experience for those crazy enough to join and be a part of the madness. In it's former life, the LogosHope was a ferry between Denmark and The Faroe Islands. It's now owned by a non-profit based in Germany (Gute Bucher fur Alle) and we will be raising support to be able to go help out while she's in dry-dock.

We have basically very little idea of what we will actually be doing! "Being flexible," is my general answer to that question...getting dirty and sweaty, working our butts off...when I worked dry-dock in Singapore on the Doulos I was one of the people at the main desk. Announcements and answering phones. I'm positive I won't be doing that! I'm all about dirt this time.

I just wanted to share a bit about it. I watched THIS VIDEO and got all nostalgic and teary about it. These ships are a huge part of my life--Jen visited while we were in Japan! The two years I was on board were the hardest and best 2 years of my life and I'm super excited to be able to be an active part of the whole thing again. Some of my friends are still there and it'll be great to see them as well...

Crew and Staff of the MVDoulos, Christmas Day 1999
Kota Kinabalu Malaysia. I'm circled in blue...

Thanks for reading this. It's about the only thing that brings a smile to my face right now...that and Alison Krauss/Gillian Welch singing "I'll Fly Away."

PEOPLE!

2006-03-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

Clapotis is NOT lace.

Geez. I feel better now.

Presents!

2006-03-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

One from Anne--all the way from ENGLAND!! I got this package on Saturday. She sent a "surviving without gluten" book and several GF treats...a couple of them had already been gulped down (the marzipan and one of the chocolate drink mixes) by the time I got to the camera... Oh, and the little birdies on the card informed me that WORMS are indeed gluten-free! I'm so glad to know that...Thanks so much Anne. :O)

Plus: SECRET PAL YOU ROCK!
Lookie what I got TODAY from my SP7:

I think I'm addicted to sock-knitting.

Finished my KnittinMitten #2 today (counts toward Project Spectrum, yes?) along with the pattern. It was kinda fun to attempt writing out a pattern...I'll have to try it again sometime.

And here's Christmas Clogs for Dad (yes, 2005...leave me alone...I mean it.) to show the difference SHAVING one's felted items makes. The color is way off, but the point is: LOOK AT HOW FUZZY AND HAIRY THEY WERE!! (the one on the left is pre-shave...in case you were wondering and couldn't tell...).

And now I'm tired of posting.
Bye. I leave you with a photo of Jamal. Because I want to be Just Like Chris. (sing with me: "like Chris, if I could be like Chris...I wannabe, I wannabe like Chri-is!"):o)

Loads of pictures.

2006-03-05T18:08:00.000-08:00

Finished Objects:

Proof that 2 red socks do exist. Finished 2-27-06.
Ladder of Life pattern from IK free patterns.
Nashua Wooly Stripes in Fiesta.
Denise 8s--magic loop.

Clapotis by Kate Gilbert. Finished 2-23-06.
Published at knitty.com.
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Somerset.
Denise 5s.

Multi-directional Triangle Scarf. Finished 3-2-06.
Pattern by Iris Schreier.
Noro Kureyon, color 95.
Addi Turbo 8s.

Other things to take pictures of:

Jamal and Jake.
Trying to convince me that they
are wasting away to practically nothing--starving even!
I'm not buying it.

Pretty Flowers from Trader Joe's.

We bought some from a place-which-shall-not-be-named
and they were dead in TWO DAYS!
These TJ's fleurs I expect to last at least 10 days. Lesson learned.

I should blog once in a while.

2006-03-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I should. Because now there is so much I want to write about but I can't remember it when I sit down to write.

So, I'm still a bit on the blah side of life. I'm just going to be where I am. But I don't like to be all "waa-waa-waaaaa!" all the time here...not sure whether it matters so much. Whatever.

Knitting:
Finished Clapotis (did I already post that?). I like it a lot. Very twirly and warm. Started a pair of socks to represent the reds/pinks in Project Spectrum--they are FOR ME! Using the Fleece Artist Merino Sock yarn I got in Seattle to make the (appropriate) Friday Harbor socks from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. I'm thinking that all of my Project Spectrum objects might very well be socks, as I have many patterns I am enamoured with and yarn with which to do them. Finished the Multi-Directional Triangle Scarf as well. Needs a good soak in some yummy lavendar Eucalan and it will be perfect--for next winter... [small aside: I will post photos when I am home long enough to actually open up my iPhoto program, not sure when that miraculous event will occur at this point...] Ummm, what else...? I'm kind of at a mysterious place right now because I feel as though I don't have any projects going. This in not true, but it is mysterious. Working on the second KnittinMitten and trying to write out the pattern--more for myself, to see if I can actually write out an easily followable pattern.

Note to whomever: red wine is nice. Thanks to CrazyAuntPurl for enabling this statement. :o)

More to follow someday.

1:00 am

2006-02-28T00:58:00.000-08:00

I have 3 minutes to get into bed. Why? I don't know...just seems like I should be in bed by 1 am.

Finished other red sock . Went to LYS to medicate self with yarn squooshing. They have the Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes I made the red socks out of...pretty cool to know because I like the red socks and anticipate making more of them in the future. Also, they have the new 100% baby alpaca Blue Sky Alpacas yarn--there's self-medication for you.

Anyway, another day.

Must try dancing. The longer I live here in the (beautiful) Pacific Northwest, the more I understand why so many people go tanning here during the long, rainy, cloudy, wintertime...

And now, it's past my bed time.

Nothing. (beware the non-fun post...)

2006-02-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

I have so many things I should get done around the apartment today:

Clean the messy kitchen (oh, for a dishwasher...),
put a second coat of paint on the blue wall,
go through and put away stuff still in boxes (yes, we still have boxes around...)
organize my room,
clean the bathroom...

And things I need to do in order to snag a second nanny gig and possibly be able to pay all my bills on time:

call Heather again,
call Family A,
call and tell Them I am indeed available for temps...

As well as things I could do to avoid doing those other things:

knit other KnittinMitten,
finish other red sock,
spin more blue yarn (OH! I haven't posted about my class...),
post about drop spindle class,
start another new project or 8,
finish Christmas knitting (I know...),
go for a walk,
read a book,
watch tv...

Instead I want to do NOTHING. Seriously. Nothing is motivating me, not even reading blogs and seeing cool knitted projects--in fact, that just makes me sadder. Not even the thought of being able to pay my bills. Not even...anything. Been like this for approximately a week now...yuck.

Am currently wondering what (if anything) will snap me out of this funk. Perhaps just doing the things I know need to be done--getting them out of the way and then doing something fun.

Have I mentioned that nothing sounds fun?

On a more positive note: I have been gluten-free for 7 days. Oh, and I will be in Croatia for my birthday this year. That's kinda cool.

Oh good.

2006-02-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

Today goes into the books as a Gluten Free Day (we're not counting the one tiny piece of angel hair pasta that I put in my mouth to see if it was done--while cooking it for the peeps at home community--I utterly forgot, that's how non-GF I've been.)
I'm relieved.
One day at a time, right?

Knitting:
I just finished my 9th straight-row repeat on Clapotis. Good "watching the Olympics" knitting, that Clapotis. And dude--Sasha Cohen ROCKED the ice tonight! You go girl.

Oops, I did it again...

2006-02-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

...started and finished a fingerless mitt this time. My own pattern, because I am currently in love with the squooshiness of seed stitch and I really like a single cable. So here it is:

I'm calling them my Knittin' Mittens. :o) Done with Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande, color 2569, on Denise 10.5s. I might actually write this pattern up!

Questionable. A post about Gluten.

2006-02-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

Despite the name of my blog, my gluten-free-ness is to be questioned if you are with me for more than say...5 minutes...lately. I've been terrible at it. In fact, many may even say that I've given it up. Well, that's not quite true. It's just really really hard, people. My symptoms are fairly innocuous, especially having lived with them for so long that it seems NOT normal to be without them: constant belly ache, irritability, serious brain fog--ok, the brain fog really gets to me. THAT is probably the number one motivational symptom. Terrible, huh? Especially if you know anything about celiac disease (which I have not been diagnosed with, but am highly suspiscious of...) and the havoc it wreaks. My main point? I'm trying to get back on the Wagon de GlutenFree. But having one hell of a hard time. There's a lot of whining and wimpering and general brattiness going on here. Yes, I'm a brat. I want what I want...NOW! And much of the time, what I want is very much not glutenfree. Chris? Anne? Anyone? Help?

Poor pitiful Pearl.
Knitting content will resume momentarily.

OK. Cold.

2006-02-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

My heater isn't working. The temperature outside is 29. This is cold for Oregon, and I defy ANYONE to turn off their heat for 3 days and tell me 29 isn't cold.

Oh crap...and I have to work OUTSIDE in this tomorrow. Maybe it's toasty warm here in this apartment...!

Somehow I went and finished a sock. Which means I must have started it before I finished something else. How odd. How unlike me. How did that happen? :o)

I'm finished with Skein #2 on the Multidirectional Scarf. I was wearing it while knitting it last night to keep warm...and I rewound part of the skein to get the colors where I wanted them, so: YARN PORN!

Isn't it pretty? And look: SUNLIGHT!

Well poo.

2006-02-15T21:12:00.000-08:00

I missed the great opportunity to shout from the blogpost: "HEY GUYS! THIS IS MY 100th POST!!" This is my 103rd.

I'm cranky.

I feel like dookie.

I don't understand the apparent mystery behind mogul-skiing and knee pain. The commentators (why aren't they just called "commenters"?) keep saying "he's having some knee pain" like it's this great surprise or something. HELLO!! The guy is skiing moguls for a living--engage your brain please. Geez.

See.
Cranky.

Hold on to your hats.

2006-02-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about trying to find my Dearly Beloved Clapotis and work a bit on her. But seriously...I have no idea where she is!!

So while I think about where I could possibly have stashed her for the move, I'm working on Iris Schreier's Multidirectional Triangle Scarf. In Noro. I like Noro Kureyon quite a bit. Colorway 95. It's cool. See?

And there has been a FO here this week. But it's a secret.
And I've started Glorianna again with much better luck.
And I want to swatch for socks with my red Fleece Artist as well.

But I think I should finish the BIL slippers before I start anything else again.
Dang.

All photos...

2006-02-13T00:13:00.000-08:00

...some with comments. I should be in bed.

Team Flags for the Exceedingly Long Opening Ceremonies

We call this the "double long-paw" in our house.

Oh Jamal...so beautiful.

Watching TV (paying special attention to Team Japan),
drinking a Mike's AND knitting LACE...
you see why Casey is my Knitting Yoda??

Proof that MY niece is the Cutest in All the Known Universe.
(look at those gloves!)

Representatives from the following countries...

2006-02-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

...will be in my apartment tomorrow night.

Well, maybe. Sort of. We're attempting to host an Olympic Opening Ceremonies party and as people come in they will be given a flag for the country they will represent. Because the Olympics are much more fun when people are rooting for multiple countries! And besides, painting the flags was fun.

Anyone care to try to name as many of the countries as you can without looking them up??! :o)

Go Team World!

Random.

2006-02-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that I frogged the SP7 thingie I was working on? That is was turning out terribly ugly and was absolutely no fun to knit? Well, I have started something new and it will be fabulous! I'm loving knitting it up and I'm in love with the yarn and, and...it will be fabulous.

Anyone ever cook a frozen dinner in the oven? It takes 45 minutes. FORTY-FIVE MINUTES, people. That's just crazy.

No, we don't have a microwave. Lisa thought we did. At one point there were seven girls, five microwaves. The odds were good that one of them was either Lisa's or mine. Oh. Wait. One was Lisa's. It got used so much it died. Oh yeah.

Back to Fun SP7 Project.

There's a good chance this blog will be getting a makeover soon. Be ready.

Vesper Sock Yarn

2006-02-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

In colors yummy enough to eat!

I'm getting close...

2006-02-09T01:36:00.000-08:00

...to my 100th post!

And hey, do most people purl looser than they knit?? 'Cause I purl TIGHTER than I knit.

Hmm.

And for my next entry...

2006-02-09T00:22:00.000-08:00

...I will tell you that I received my lovely Neapolitan Vesper Sock Yarn today! It's so yummy. Hmm...when will I be able to use this yarn...perhaps I will venture into Jaywalkerland?? Pictures tomorrow when (if?) the sun is out. It's too purty too photograph in other-than-natural light. :o)

I ripped out a SP7 project I was doing. It wasn't working for me. It was looking skanky and I will not send a skanky project off to anyone. Didn't like the pattern. Rats. So. Now what...?

Oh, and I've joined Lolly's Project Spectrum in an attempt to get myself to knit different colors. Casey made me do it.

Here's a photo of my new and lovely living room, because a blog really is all about the pictures. Please notice the lovely flowers from Trader Joe's (thanks Lynda!) and the yarn that has been displaced to the floor--I found it later underneath Lisa's comfy new chair. I thought I was losing my mind looking for it: "I know I put both skeins on the arm of the futon..." Silly cats--you can see the likely perpetrator (lainrikkoja in Finnish--I looked up the spelling and for some reason it told me the translation in Finnish...is that weird or is it just me??) of the crime under the footrest.

My Secret Pal is Swell!

2006-02-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is what came in the mail for me:

I suppose I should have known there was catnip in the bag by Jamal's reaction to it!!
What I found when I opened it:

Green Tea
2 kitty dim sum (oh dear!)
Lemongrass Sage (mmm...) lotion-in-a-bar
A kitty temp tattoo!
Dale of Norway Svale in a pretty grey-green...so nice and drapey!
chopsticks--I'm TERRIBLE at chopsticks! Even after 2 years in Asia...bad Kirsten.
And another pretty card...similar to some I have. We have similar card-taste, SP!

All part of my Chinese New Year/Travelling themed packaged from my stupendous Secret Pal!

This is so fun...I'm glad I'm participating! I'm not saying much about my downline SP7, because I know some people try to figure out who their pal is (ahem...Anne!) and I'm not giving anything away here...no way! I am having fun figuring out things to spoil her with, however...

Here are the cats getting stoned on their new toys. They absolutely have never reacted to anything the way the reacted to these little dim sum. We were laughing out loud and I even took some video of Jamal. Very odd, those furballs.

Good reasons to have a bedroom door.

2006-02-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

To keep rowdy cats out while one is trying to sleep.
To keep yarn-eating cats out when one is trying to knit.
To keep curious cats in when the cable/gas man comes to set-up/fix something.
To separate cats when they are trying to injure one another.
To keep TV noise/lights out when trying to sleep.
Just because it's nice to be able to go in and close the door on the world sometimes.
So one can take pictures of it!

This is The Door from inside my room.

This is closed, inside room.

BONUS CLOSET DOOR PHOTO!!

Yep.

2006-02-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

There was a leak. But the very nice tech-man told me there was nothing to hurt either me or the cats in it. Good to know, but still stinky!

Now I know you are all waiting to see my Door, but now that I have posting capabilities, my camera is out of town. Figures. Tomorrow. Tomorrow you will see the great and fabulous Door That Goes To Kirsten's Room. Be ready.

And look! Over in my ever-increasing list of buttons! Another button just for me (thanks Julia!)--and the other two knitters not in the Knitting Olympics--which was mentioned on NPR's The World. Isn't that hilarious? And the fact that there are more KNITTING Olympians than there are ACTUAL Olympians? I love it. Yarn Harlot--you rock.

OK, my mouse just said it has a low battery. A LOW BATTERY?? Did I know my mouse even had a battery?? What? I guess it's logical...wireless mouse probably has some sort of power source, no? :o) It just surprised me I guess. Hmm. Guess I'll be getting a battery or 20 at the store as well as flowers. Silly.

Yippee!

2006-02-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

I have cable and internet and a phone! Life really doesn't get much more exciting. It almost outweighs the sadness that is the Seattle Seahawks loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. (I'm really more of a Mike Holmgren and Family fan than a Seahawks fan, but don't tell anyone, ok?)

My stash has a new home--I bought 3 plastic drawers that stack and live on my closet floor. It all fits! Silly me, I started out buying one...it didn't fit. Lucky for me there was a buy 2 get 1 sale on them and they let me show my reciept to get the deal when I came back for more. Nice. So that's one storage issue dealt with. There are several storage issues here at Chez New Place.

My apartment stinks of natural gas. I will have to call them tomorrow and have that checked out. I'm paranoid that my cats are going to die from it and it's probably no big deal. But dude, it smells so nasty in here.

Oh my word.

2006-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Moving is a drag. In case you didn't realize it. But I love my new place. It's absolutely wonderful--even Jake has already ventured forth from the deepest darkest corner behind Lisa's bed during daylight hours already! Must be a swell place...

I still don't have internet (and subsequently, no phone...that's not annoying), so I'm posting from work. And I haven't looked at blogs in...FOUR DAYS!!! Wow. I'm a bit afraid of what my Newsgator window is going to look like once the internet arrives at my computer...which is MONDAY. Monday. Because apparently "between the hours of 12-4" means 5:57 to Comcast. Dude. NOT happy about this. But, I will cope. I am strong. I can handle being separated from my Bloggy Shriends for over a week. I...can...do...it...

Ack.

Finished BIL Windowpane Scarf, but only one end is blocked. Here are some photos for your enjoyment!

And I must post a photo of The Syd. She's very cute.

I can't believe how much I miss blog-watching...does this mean I have an addiction??

Moving.

2006-01-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

So, I'm moving. The excitement starts this evening as we (Lisa and I) dump every box we can into our cars and head over to our new place. It's about 20 blocks from where we live right now, but the situation right now isn't ideal. It was ideal for the original intended purpose: We were only going to be there for 6-9 months and then we were all supposed to be heading off to Lebanon or someplace. This was the plan. So It was actually NO BIG DEAL to be have 3 girls living in a 2 bedroom apartment. We all had a room...mine just happened to be the living room! I chose it, I'm not complaining...we were only going to be ther for 6-9 months after all.

Well, it's 18 months later and I want a door. :o) And the computer NOT to be in the room where I try to sleep. And my bed back. Oh yes, another story.

I will spare you the gory and ridiculous details and simply say that a queen sized bed wasn't working for me in the living room I called my bedroom. So I traded...my bed went to location B, I got a twin sized mattress and bedframe to sleep on. Then I had the twin sized mattress taken from me (this is the recently stolen mattress that was living in the basement), so Lisa bought a futon and I've been sleeping on that for some time now. Meanwhile, my bed was relocated to another friends house and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to get it back. She just had a baby and her mother is sleeping on my bed in their extra bedroom while visiting and helping out. This whole bed thing has turned into The Giant Bed Fiasco.

I will be posting pictures of my New Door, it is that exciting for me! But I will not be posting that for a couple days. Camera is packed, internet not yet up in new apartment.

Doesn't this sound like f.u.n.? :o) And I haven't even mentioned the cats and how much Jake HATES to be relocated...oh dear. Jamal has neer moved with us, so that will be a new adventure for all of us. Poor Jakey. I expect we won't see him for a week...

Here they are...Jake is the black kitty, Jamal is the other.

Ahem.

2006-01-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today is better. I mentioned to Anne a post that Cara/Stephanie wrote about the whole knitting blogger's bandwagonny behavior...it's really good ( the post...) and makes me glad that others take the time to write down things I agree with, because honestly, I wouldn't take the time to do it. I just stew here in the real world and let others write excellent blog entries! Anyway...check this out. It's good.

Syd is being the sweetest little 13 mo old this week. That helps. She's doing so many fun new things and she has adopted this funny little smile where she squinches up her face and grins from ear to ear when she's pleased with herself. So cute. And we're going up and down the stairs about 10 times a day now as well. That's always a fun time!! She's also picking up random objects and holding them to her ear, jabbering away like she's on a very important phone call. Kids. Adorable.

In knitting news, I am trudging along (still) on the Windowpane Seaman Scarf from knitpicks...I actually really enjoy knitting this pattern up--the cables are done differently than I have done cables before, but I like that...new and different keeps things exciting. I'm using Plymouth Outback Wool, not the knitpicks yarn called for in the pattern. And the Opera Scarf--now that's some boring knitting, albeit very pretty--I have to knit that while watching TV or listening to Podcasts or something to keep my mind otherwise engaged. I've also taken up putting a pin at the row I start on each time I pick it up so I can actually see my progress. I love the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK I'm knitting that in. Sometime in 2006 I will finish my Christmas 2005 knitting!

I'm feeling the need for a knitting challenge(but not on the order of the Knitting Olympics!)--or at least learning something new. Not sure what. Hmm. Any ideas?

The following may be deemed T.M.I.--you have been warned...
In cat news, Jake (large fluffy black Maine Coon mix) seems to have gotten a wild hair up his butt. He has been a wee bit odd the last few days. Last night he decided that licking my sweatpants was fun--for like 45 minutes. Then it was all about digging and trying to wrestle them into submission or something. Lisa and I were dumbfounded and giggly at the same time. Then, in the midst of that entertainment, Jamal (large fluffy Ragdoll mix) started dragging his rear end around the house. I've seen DOGS do this...scratching an itch or needing anal glands cleaned or something--but never a cat. That one nearly had us peeing our pants! There he was, up on his hiney dragging himself around with his front legs. Very bizarre. So I grabbed him to make sure he was ok (still laughing nearly hysterically) and it turns out he had a small poo stuck to his hairy tail. Poor little guy! He was very distraught about the whole humiliating ordeal...poor dear.

.

Annoyed.

2006-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Today is "Everything Annoys Me Day." Sorry. Please excuse the crappy mood and subsequent crabby blog entry.

I hate packing. Know why? Because it forces me to go through all my stuff and I already know that I have too much stuff--it's just overwhelming to think about going through it all and dealing with it. Plus most of my knitting stuff gets hidden and it forces me to make a choice on what project I have to be monogamous to for the next few days. Yes, only days, but not having the choice of many projects stifles me...if even for a few measly days. So I have resorted to reading blogs.

Reading blogs makes me cranky. Know why? It's bad for my knitting self-esteem. I see all these people making things and documenting them and I feel like I'm not making enough things and I certainly don't document them as well as I should. And I'M MAKING RED SOCKS people! Not everyone in blog-land!!! NO, no, no!! Mine! It was my idea first and I'm NOT joining the stupid KNIT-ALONG! Damn.

Oh, did I mention that I'm totally PMSing?

A button JUST FOR ME!

2006-01-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

watcherblogbutton
Originally uploaded by Kirs10Knits.

I will not be participating in The 2006 Knitter's Olympics. As I mentioned to Chris, I'm really not sure I could be knitter-monogamous for an entire 16 day period...besides, if I didn't BEAT EVERYONE (which I definitely wouldn't...) I'd be depressed for years. I don't need that.

However:
GO KNITTER'S WHO ARE COMPETING!!

Tagged again!

2006-01-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

This time by Casey--a real live friend who blogs! Now Jen isn't my only friend-in-real-life who blogs. :o)

Ok, meme time:
What were you doing 9 years ago?
Umm. 1997. Living in Nashville, working as a nanny, getting ready to go to an entry teams conference with OM and start heading toward going to the mission field--didn't really know where yet, just knew I was going!

What were you doing 6 years ago?
2000. Living on a ship--the MVDoulos (that's where I ended up on the mission field!), working in the bookshop. In January 2000 we were in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

What were you doing one hour ago?
Working. At FedEx Freight. Stacking 1053 boxes from Hasbro onto NINE pallets because Hasbro seems to think they don't have to put their frieght on pallets. I hate this job.

Name 3 movies you can't turn off if you stumble across them on television.
1- Grease 2
2- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
3- My Fair Lady

Name 3 things you can't live without
1- Yarn/needles
2- my organizer/planner ( I call it "my brain")
3- Friends

Name 3 things you could...
1- FedEx Freight
2- TV
3- bronchitis

Name 3 things you really like about yourself.
I really like the color of my eyes. I really like my feet. I really like that I can sing.

Hmm, who to tag? I think maybe nobody, because I really don't know enough bloggers well enough to do such a thing and I don't want to tag the same people I just tagged last week. OK? If your reading this and want to do this meme, go crazy with your bad self! Just let me know in the comments so I can come read it!

OK, shower time and then nap time. YAY!

A Finished Object and a Cat.

2006-01-23T19:01:00.000-08:00

These are Lisa's mittens. Don't even think about mentioning that the tops don't seem to look the same...I'm NOT ripping them out again. Just. Deal. With. It. I am.

And Jamal. So bee-you-tiful. And soft. In fact--I think that roving I mentioned...I think it may be as soft as Jamal. And you can almost see his incredibly blue eyes if you move the monitor (or your head) just right...

Oh no, oh no...

2006-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

OH NO!!

It's HER fault, my downstream SP7! Because she's a spinner so I'm looking for spinner-y type stuff to spoil her with, ya know?? She's a spinner. I don't have a spindle or a spinning wheel. I don't have any roving, or raw wool, or whatever...but now, NOW I have actually touched the yummiest, softest, yummiest roving EVER. Ok, it's the only roving I've ever touched, but I think I ruined myself by choosing this particular yummy stuff to touch first. And may I say that the only reason I don't own a spindle right this very moment is: they were out. Thank the Lord who loves me and knows my limits, they were out.

However.
I did sign up for a drop-spindle class.
Gulp.
I'm history.

You see, I've been reading about other people learning to spin. I've been fascinated by the process since I found out one of my friends has spun since she was a kid. Even raised her own little sheepie, sheared it, etc. So when we were in Scotland we brought her 1/2 a fleece back. That was...umm...2004? Yeah, April 2004. And now all these blogging knitters are showing off their pretties they have spun...I'm so in trouble.

Did I mention that the roving was yummy?

Promised photos of SP7 Letter:

2006-01-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

I really love these colors!

For me??

2006-01-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

I got a letter in the mail today! A real live letter. No kidding. :o)

Thanks S. Pal! You made my day, and today I needed it because I was just diagnosed with not only ONE -itis, but 3. I have bronchitis, pharyngitis and sinusitis. I am now taking antibiotics. I hope they work. I've been off-kiltery in a sickish way since OCTOBER. That's way too long. Anyway, back to the exciting letter! It's a BRIGHT PINK NOTE CARD in a fabulous lime green envelope...oh I love it! ANd do you know what it said?? It said i will have a BOOK heading my way in a few weeks! A book! SO exciting! I'll have photos of the letter when my battery for my camera completes it's charging.

In cat news: when I got out of bed to go to The Evil Dock this morning, all three cats that live in this house were on my bed. Very unusual, and very cozy! Two of them were cuddled up close--almost catspooning! Absolutely darling and I wish I was within my right mind because I would have taken a photo--I'm fairly certain this will never happen again and it must've been some sort of momentary lapse of reason on the kitties' part. Too cute!

Thanks you Secret Pal--you're fabulous! I'm even more excited than I already have been!

Tagged! For the first time...

2006-01-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

...and as I started reading Lynda's blog I thought in my little head, "teehee, I've never been tagged!" She tagged ME!

Here goes:

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. Emergency Medical Technician
2. Nanny
3. Dock Worker
4. Missionary

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. Love Actually
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. In America
4. Sense and Sensibility

Four Places You Have Lived:
1. Farmington Hills, MI
2. Chicago, IL
3. Nashville, TN
4. On board a ship for 2 years

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1. Lost
2. Celebrity Poker Showdown! (HA!! It's a good knit-friendly show.)
3. Laguna Beach (oh dear, did I just admit that???)
4.

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
1. Germany, Scotland, England (all in one fell swoop...)
2. Natural Bridge State Park, Kentucky
3. Seaside/Astoria, OR
4.

4 Websites You Visit Daily:
1. newsgator.com
2. wellsfargo.com
3. mytmmo.com
4. gmail.com

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1. enchiladas
2. massamun curry
3. smartfood
4. swedish fish

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Fiji
2. Tahiti
3. Cabo
4. Kauai
(pretty much anywhere it won't rain consistently for 28, 29, 30 days...)

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging: (if you hate this, don't do it!)
1. Jen
2. Julie
3. Anne
4. ????

Now I'm going to go see if anyone else tagged by Lynda has this up. It's nice for us "newish" bloggers to get to know stuff about people this way.
I'm just saying is all...

The WS of the cable stuff...

2006-01-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

Some of you know what I'm talking about already--the sweater I'm ripping for yarn, this is the wrong side of the stitching I'm trying to figure out, and some suspect is fisherman's rib.

1 + 1 = 1 pair!

2006-01-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

I finished the Second Sock last night!
See:

I also started the ripping process on the Gap sweater. All was going well until I got to the collar. The collar, you see, seems to have been STEEKED! So I have all these way-too-short pieces of yarn from the shoulder down to the end of the ugly v-neck (hey--I like v-necks, this one really was ugly!). So that's annoying. But the cables are incredibly cool. One of them has this cool pattern inside of the cable--might be slip-stitch, might be something else, really I have NO IDEA. Anyway, I have pictures!

If anyone recognizes what is happening on the inside of the cable from the photo, please let me know!

This used to be a sweater?

And here we have the collar...you can't really see the ends hanging all over the place, but trust me, they are there.

Anyone have any ideas on this pattern?? Can you see what I mean by "within the cable"?

And just because he's so cute, here is another photo of Jamal. He has never climbed up on my shoulders before and since the camera was handy and I thought it to be so adorable, I snapped a photo of it. I had just got home from work on the dock and was exhausted, so be gracious about how scary I look--focus on the CAT, people! :o)

(clicking on any photo will take you to a clearer, larger photo--especially helpful to those trying to figure out the cable pattern or exactly how long it has been since Kirsten shaved her legs!)

I think I'm about to rip my sweater...

2006-01-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

I have this $9.99 bargain Gap sweater I'm wearing today. I got it because I loved it (good color, cool cabling) and it was only $9.99. Duh. Anyway, today I kept having to pull it down and every time I caught myself in a mirror I thought, "This neckline looks stupid." So I was going to put it in the Goodwill pile. Didn't even occur to me to try to rip it out. But then (than? Does anybody know the grammatically correct word and WHY it's correct?? This drives me nuts...maybe I'll Google it)--suddenly, it did occur to me. So...let the ripping commence! And perhaps I will learn something about the cabling they did on it...only good can come of this!

"I hereby condemn this sweater to death by frogging..." (ha! there's a funny little pun in there...get it??)

And in other Knitting News:
LACEWEIGHT IS FOR CRAZY PEOPLE.
-and-
The Second Sock is nearing completion...

My profile photo was deemed unworthy of web-wide viewing, so Jamal will be covering for me until I become more photogenic. This could take a while. Good thing HE'S a gorgous hunk of a cat!

Good for me!

2006-01-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

I cast on for the Second Sock today and have 10 rows til I'm finished with the leg. Pretty good for one day--at least for me!

Oh yeah, the PIZZA was really swell. I liked it very much. :o) I need to be sure to make the crust uniform in thicknes however, because it was a bit gooey in some of the thicker bits. So there will be tweaking next time, but as a first go: I say 2 thumbs up.

I'm sure something interesting happened today--I just can't think of anything. I will therefore end this post and recommence knitting the sock.

Knitting.

2006-01-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

I had a nice day of knitting with my friend Megan today. I was working on BIL's scarf and Sister's scarf...she was working on her Irish Hiking Scarf, and very excited about learning cables!

Oh! Then I showed her how to work short-row heels and I think she even understood. That's cool, huh?

And I got a neat little envelope today, containing this! It's already on my car. Yes, I'm a dork. :o)

The Gluten-free Part

2006-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

I have celiac disease. This means I cannot eat gluten or foods containing gluten. Gluten is in EVERYTHING. At least, that's how it feels right this very minute as I attempt to get back to being gluten-free(GF). I was GF for about 6 months--felt so good. Hadn't realized how foggy I was, (ok, I had realized, but thought it was because I was never getting enough sleep or something) or that my tummy shouldn't hurt all the time. I had so much energy and spunk...and then I think pizza got in the way. Pizza.

I have found a couple of others (knitter's even!) who are GF here in Blogland (HI GUYS!) and feel like I can do this. So what am I making this very minute?? GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA DOUGH for my GF Pizza! Whoo-Hoo! I'm very excited about it. I hope it's good. Not only have I never made regular pizza dough, but I've only ever made one loaf of GF bread (not pizza dough) in my GF bread machine my dear, dear, dear employers bought me for Christmas. So, I'll let you know how it turns out! And I may come chasing after a different recipe if this one bombs!

Ooo! Gotta go look!

OK, hair photos.

2006-01-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

Not sure you will be able to see the difference in the photos. Basically, my hair is dark brown naturally--last year I did some little highlights and they were still scraggling at the ends. Anyway, the new color is much lighter and a bit reddish.

Old hair:

New hair:

SP7 Questionnaire

2006-01-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

The Official Answers to the Official Questionnaire! I'm so excited!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
Yes. Yarn snob. That's me. I love wool, I love alpaca more. I dislike acrylic profusely...Calmer is ok. I do avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I want to learn to spin--I ogle spindles online often...
I do crochet, but not often. I enjoy knitting much better.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a hand-sewn case my mom and I made and two little makeup case-type things for notions.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Almost 5 years! Crazy! I guess I'd say intermediate--but I don't really know what the qualifications for these levels would be!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
My Amazon WishList
My Froogle WishList

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Usually "clean" scents or kinda natural scents...does that make sense? I like lavender, lemon...not a fan of musky scents.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I definitely have a sweet tooth! However, anything edible must be gluten-free: no wheat, barley, rye or oats. You’d be surprised how much stuff has hidden wheat in it. Current USA fave is Milky Way Midnight. I definitely prefer European chocolate, but it's hard to come by here.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
A bit of sewing...

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like most types of music. I’m mostly into alternative stuff right now. Yes, my computer plays MP3s.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like deep colors. Jewel tones, reds, blues...maybe I like all colors...I can’t really think of any I dislike!

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
My apartment contains 3 humans and 3 felines. Each feline has one human!

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I love hats! I wear hats, scarves, mittens...I own 2 ponchos that I have only worn one time each.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Alpaca and alpaca blends, wool, cotton.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Squeaky acrylic.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Socsk, handwarmers/gauntlets/wristlets, fair isle, cables. I have to have a lot going at once or I tend to get bored, so really nothing is really at the obsessive level for more than a day or so...I like to try new things. Learning is FUN!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I’m discovering that I like items that are fairly quick to do, but aren’t mindless. Like fairisle mittens. Or a new stitch pattern for a scarf...

17. What are you knitting right now?
Oh flip. I have probably 15 UFOs right now! Clapotis, mittens, scarves, a Knitted Babe, slippers, socks!

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Oh yes! I really love that someone would take the time to make ME something! I discovered this at Christmas when my friend gave me a scarf she made...I almost cried!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Prefer circulars. But I use both.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I love my Crystal Palace bamboo dpns. I also love my Denise interchangables! And my Addi's...Pretty much anything.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Nope. Would love to have a ball winder though. Someday.

22. How did you learn to knit?
Self-taught from a booklet I bought, aided greatly a year later by the purchase of Stitch ‘n Bitch!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Probably a year or so.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Not sure who my fave animated character is...but my favorite bird is the penguin. They’re my favorite.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Don’t think I have a favortie holiday...

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Nope.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Interweave Knits

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Ooo, of course! Right now Knitting Vintage Socks by Nancy Bush and Sensational Knitted Socks are high on my list. Needles, not so much. Patterns, not so much.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Everything there is to learn. I’d like to try 2 socks on 2 circs--I think...Oh, and I totally want to learn to knit continental. I've tried it, but it just frustrates me...

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Oh yes. :o) I’m a women’s USA size 7: hang on, getting the measuring tape...9 in long, 8.5 in around at ball of foot.

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
06/03

Not cool.

2006-01-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

Somebody (and yes, we have our suspicions...) stole a mattress out of our LOCKED basement/storage area in our apartment. And my landlord isn't going to do anything about it.

NOT COOL.

And I have a red, ugly, swollen (smallish) rash on the side of my face. This is not cool, but on a lesser level.

Argh.

Hair pictures will be up later. I'm too pissed off to have to deal with my computer pissing me off some more.

Argh.

Well than...

2006-01-07T23:01:00.000-08:00

No photos of the new hair color yet. Sorry! Must wait until tomorrow so I can wash and dry it. Must look lovely, you know! Oh, and Chris, Jake is my roomate's cat, and although he is a fabulous cat that I have lived with since I moved out here to Oregon...Jamal is mine. He is almost 2 and he's wonderful. :o) He is part Ragdoll and he adopted me in July of 2004. He fetches--but only Hedgie, he talks to me, he cuddles (on his own terms, of course!), he loves meeting new people (and probably new animals as well...), he is too curious for his own good and he's beautiful! So, here are a couple photos of JAMAL.

"Oh, please...no more photos. I'm exhausted..."

"I love my Hedgie."

"The Pink Belly is exposed...do not
resist the Pink Belly...I will
hypnotize you with my crazy eyes..."

2 things...

2006-01-07T01:32:00.000-08:00

1- I colored my hair tonight. I think I like it.

2- Have you tried Newsgator? I like it. I've heard so many negative comments about Bloglines, and I saw the link for Newsgator over at Grumperina's...so I tried it.

Ok, and another thing...this page looks different on Opera (the posting page, that is). I was going to link to newsgator and I don't have that choice. It made me say "HEY!" out loud just now. So you can scroll down and click on the button on the right if you wanna check it out. Bleh.

Good night.

No pictures today.

2006-01-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

I am so freakin' annoyed at EVERY STINKING INTERNET BROWSER out there. Seriously. I try to do something right and upgrade my Firefox to the next update and it completely SCREWS up everything. Argh. So tonight i reached my breaking point--sick of force-quitting and re-starting the damn thing--so I downloaded Opera. And either it has issues with Flickr or Flickr has issues with Opera. I hate this. I just don't know enough about my (or anybody's) computer to get this all figured out. Argh.

On a more positive note, I cleaned up part of my room. Part of it. This is huge. I'm very excited and feel like I accomplished something today. Yay me!

I will soon be posting photos of my Favorite Cat in the Whole Wide World (at this moment). I just have to figure out what's going on with Flickr. Argh.

Houston, we have a sock...

2006-01-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

...it fits, and hopefully it's mate will be joining it very soon (now that I've figured out what needles to use when and what bind-off to do: that would be 3-needle for this sock, folks!). We don't want no stinkin' Second Sock Syndrome here!

Here's my Photo Essay on Sock #1...aka first finished object of 2006! Woot!
Click on photos to see larger version.

Sock and it's future mate.
This is Socks That Rock in Peridot and Periwinkle, pattern is the basic sock pattern from Priscilla Gibson-Roberts on the Interweave Knits site.

Sock from the top.
I started this sock in...well, a long time ago. It took 3 times to get the needle size right (Addi 2 circ for calf, Crystal Palace 1 dpns for remainder). Having to re-make things is not my friend. This is why it took way to long to make this sock.

Sock Toe, up close.
I did the short-row heel and toe and did a 3-needle bindoff instead of the zigzag--it looked wonky and loose and ugly, so I replaced it. This is still kind of bulky, but it's all I have right now and it looks tidy!

Sock heel, up close.
Short row heel. (Please ignore hair in photo...my hair falls out, so does yours, so sue me!)

Sock on foot.
IT FITS! And she likes it. Wanted to wear it to sleep in!

Side view of sock on foot.
I'm running out of things to say about this sock...I do like the way the spirals turned and went the other way when I changed needles.

Short-row heel on foot.
It fits so nicely! I do have the "dreaded hole" however. Must figure out how to remedy that.

And with that, fair readers, we end our
Photo Essay on Kirsten's First Finished Object of 2006.
Thank you. Good night.

All kinds of new things...

2006-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

Some good, some annoying, some...just new:

Jake chewed through the mouse cord on my computer...so new WIRELESS mouse.
Starting Power90 again. Determined to finish this time. Really.
New face soap: Bobbi Brown Lathering Tube Soap. It's lovely and I am predicting that in will last me until August!
Oh yes, new daily planner pages. Finally. I love my Franklin Planner!
I found Fleece Artist Sock Yarn in Seattle! Well, near Seattle. So new sock yarn.
New gently used hookah. Mmmm.

Sock Yarn:Jake:

I'm sure this is all very exciting to you.
Happy New Year!

A gift!

2005-12-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

My friend Julie gave me my First Ever Handknit Gift! It's a zigzig scarf from Exquisite Little Knits made from Cascade Magnum and I LOVE IT! Just the fact that she made it for me is so cool and special. Makes me see why a person would only gift their precious knitting to another knitter--we totally get it and appreciate it. I've heard it before but now I completely understand. Without further ado:

The photo of me on the phone is the more color-correct version. Just saying is all...

Notice the new button...

2005-12-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

I just signed up for SecretPal7! I'm very excited about it because I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself into! This is not the Knittyboard sp...and by the way, "SP" has a WHOLE DIFFERENT meaning to me, so I giggle every time I see it. You see, I lived on a ship for 2 years as a part of a missionary organization called Operation Mobilization and during a person's first year with them one is not supposed to be focusing on the opposite sex--a person is supposed to be there serving God and learning what that means and BOYS just distract (it is true!), so they have a Social Permission (SP) Policy: No one-on-one hanging out with the opposite sex for more than 3 minutes during the first year with OM. When that year is over, you can apply for Social Permission with someone of the opposite sex, and on the ship, if you are approved by the Personnel Office, they put your names up on the public bulletin board. It's kinda like...an engagement announcement only you aren't engaged. In fact, since you haven't spent more than 3 minutes at a time (sic!) with said person-of-the-opposite-sex you shouldn't know much about them at all! It's kinda odd. People start avoiding the couple so they can have alone time and it's definitely a cultural difference...especially for the western folks. Of course, there are people from all over the world (35 different countries while I was on board) and that is part of why the policy is there. Culture is so cool. I love it. That's the not-so-short, unofficial version of what I think of every time I see the letters S. P. No, I never did have SP with anyone...but I broke the policy many times...bad Kirsten. :o)

Teehee!

Obsessed...

2005-12-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

I'm so very obsesssed and in love with a couple of sweaters in the Holiday Garnet Hill catalog. I just went to the website to find them and link you to them...so I will do that in a second...but my VERY MOST AWESOMELY FAVORITE isn't in the online catalog (that I can find) so I may resort to scanning it and posting a photo. It's so cool. Winter white with a seamles yoke with fairisle red designy-ness on it. Pretty! So why am I telling you this? Well, because I may be designing myself a copy of one or 8 of them!! Aren't you excited!! My first expedition into desigining! It'll be MY pattern--KIRSTEN'S PATTERN. I find this pretty neato and a big fun challenge and it makes me want to start n.o.w. :o) Anyway...check out a couple of my Inspiration Sweaters:

And that's enough of the linking madness. Now I must do something productive with my time. Like finish my Christmas Knitting.

Happy Christmas!!

2005-12-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hope you are having a peaceful and happy day, whatever/whether you are celebrating!
Here's me in my new jammies and my roomie Lisa with her painting set and wearing the Super Secret Gauntlets of the previous post and new jammie bottoms...

Peace!

Dang.

2005-12-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

I dropped a 150 lb TV (in the box) on my left knee the other day at work. I can't even really explain the level of pain it inflicted, and I have a HUGE tolerance to pain. I do. Seriously. But this mother HURT! So I have a bruise (I never bruise) and to prove that I actually HAD a bruise in my life I tried to take a photo. Notice that I say TRIED. You can't even see it. Poo. I'm so disappointed.

So, instead I give you the ExtraSuperSecret Gift Lisa Has No Idea About: awesome orange gauntlets! Enjoy...

Jen did it.

2005-12-20T22:36:00.000-08:00

So I will as well. That way at least I feel like somebody I know "tagged" me for the Who Knows About Your Knitting Blog meme-ish-ness from Grumperina...VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT MY BLOG! Maybe 5. Two of them don't care. Not that they don't like me, but like Grumperina said, we don't share the obsession so they see no need to follow my knitting. Especially on the internet. That doesn't make us not friends....just not Knitting Friends. :o) My family doesn't know about it. Just never mentioned it. Not sure what they would think.

I think I may have one lurker...maybe. Funny. Anyone lurking? Anyone??

Just one more, then off to bed!

2005-12-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

FELTED SLIPPERS!

I bought the rug backing (recommended by somebody somewhere on the internet) and put one coat on the 2 finished pairs of Christmas Slippers! It will be clear when it is dry. I'm so excited.

Oh, before I did that I shaved them and they look 42.8 million times better and 100% more professional than they did only hours ago. Amazing what a good once over with a razor will do for a nice pair of felted slippers. :o)

The Lonely Mitten (not Jen's...)

2005-12-19T19:37:00.000-08:00

I'm making North Iceland Mittens for Invisible Roomie and I finished one of them! I really enjoy stranded knitting. It keeps me entertained and my brain has to work, so it never gets remotely boring. So, here's a series of photos:

This is the back...isn't it purty?

And that spot of blue-ish? That's my waste yarn waiting to be taken out. The thumb will grow from that spot.

Oh looky! The thumb DID grow from that very spot! But why are there DPNs still stuffed in the cuff? Well, once I was done knitting I tried them on and they definitely need a longer cuff. I was (always am) kinda impatient to finish the cuff and get on with the REAL mitten. Teehee.

Proof of snow...

2005-12-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

...even though 42% of it is gone because it got warmer and rained. Sadness.

HAPPY!

2005-12-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! It's snowing! Guys--in Portland! It's snowing!
It's SOOOOOOOO exciting!

Finished objects: 1.5 mittens, 2 wristwarmers
Started: Knitted Babe #1.

It's a Knit FEST! Because Portland stops running when it snows! Whoo! Maybe, just maybe...I won't have to work at 2:30 am. And even if I am supposed to go in, if the roads are crap, I'm not going in. So there.

Did I mention the snow?
:o)

Burl Ives.

2005-12-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

I just got the soundtrack from "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and I just love it! My sister and I used to watch it WITHOUT FAIL every year. I can't seem to figure out when it's on anymore. Usually it was on the day after Thanksgiving or something, wasn't it? Anyway, it makes me want to get back to Michigan for Christmas even more. Which, by the way, will not be happening. A- Too expensive B- No time off. So I'm not really sure what Christmas will be like this year. Hopefully not sad and sorrowful, because really that is NOT what it's all about. Maybe Lisa and I will head over to Pendleton and hang with her parents and sister.

Ack. Wish I had a different job. Now, wait...don't hear that wrong--I am SO THANKFUL for this second job. Really, really, truly, with all my heart (most of the time) thankful for it. But I think switching back and forth between "day job" and "night job" twice a week is wreaking havoc on my health. That's all I'm saying. And if I didn't have to work on Monday after Christmas Day I could potentially think about trying to get back to Michigan. That's all I'm saying.

Go listen to some happy Christmas music that makes you think happy chilhood memories. it'll make you smile. I promise!

Champions!

2005-12-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

University of Portland Pilots women's soccer team = NATIONAL CHAMPS!
Woot!

FO #3?

2005-12-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

On my feet
Originally uploaded by Kirs10Knits.

Is this #2 or #3? And did I already count these finished? Well, now they are felted and pret-a-porter! My sister's Christmas slippers. I love them. I will be making some for myself with the random scrap yarn from the 5 pairs I'm making...which is a TON of scarp yarn. Why do I always end up with way too much yarn left over? It's truly a mystery...

cross-posted at knittywip.com

Expanding my neuron-power.

2005-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

Today I'm learning about CSS. I could probably use a refresher on HTML as well but today we focus on CSS. I'm thinking about actually buying a blogspot...thinking about it and "trialing" over at Typepad. I'm not linking to it because I'm mostly playing around to see if I REALLY want to pay for something I get free here. So far the most swaying bit is the photo albums. I like them Typepad photo albums.

Finally reached the ankle rounds on Lisa's sock. Am thinking that an Addi 0 may be a bit too small for this yarn, but these socks will be made on them anyway! They'll be nice and warm and cozy and tightly knit. On a similar subject: too many people in blogland are doing socks. It makes me want to run out and spend my rent money on sock yarn, and darnit, I can't do that. You know, rent NEEDS to be paid. So, everybody, stop writing about your cool sock patterns and showing photos of your beautiful yarn. NOW!

I found it!

2005-11-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

My first roomie and I used to make this yummy chili in Nashville and I couldn't remember the name but have been sure that I would know it when I saw it. I haven't seen it for years...until TODAY! Wick Fowler's. YUM! So now I'm wondering if I can buy it it a 10-pack like we used to get it...?

Off to Google...

I am in love.

2005-11-28T12:23:00.000-08:00

With THIS YARN and THIS YARN and THIS YARN. Pretty much everything they have.

Yep.