Whew....

Ok, it's been a long time. It's been really crazy lately. I've been working lots, well, except for last week, and school has been crazy. Last week I went for a Box family vacation. My parents took all of us to DC and Williamsburg, VA for 9 days. They rock. We had a blast. There were 12 of us there. I got lots of good pictures and will post some soon. I went to a couple of yarn stores too while I was gone. I got enough Blue Sky Alpaca for the herringbone poncho from last minute knitted gifts from Knit Happens in DC. Kristine, the owner, was very nice and she has a lovely shop. She went above and beyond the call of duty to find out how much yarn I would need for the project. I also got a Fiddlesticks pattern for a great lace triangle scarf and the yarn to make it. I don't recall exactly what that is right now, but it's gorgeous.

I also went to Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg. They carry a lot of the same yarn we have in the store, so I didn't buy any yarn there, but I did get this cute black sheep keychain. They were really nice too.

I loved our vacation. We got lots of wine from the Williamsburg Winery (we took a tour and did a wine tasting), some awesome oxyx goblets from the Museum of Natural History, and lots of wonderful memories. I'm really excited about putting together our video and me doing my first scrapbook. At least I want to do one, we'll see if that actually happens.

Ok, must go. I've gotta figure out my paper for the week and start a baby gift for my friend Amy, who just had her first daughter Dorie. Congrats David and Amy!

I'm a bad blogger...

I have been bad about blogging these past few weeks. It's been crazy at work and school and just in the world, am I right? Praise God, my hubby is home. He came home early Monday morning about 1:30 am. I was so glad to see him come home and I am so proud of him. He saved 63 lives! There are 63 people living today, who may not have been if it were not for my wonderful husband.

Ok, on to knitting...yesterday I bought enough yarn for three projects from the new Louisa Harding line. I'm going to be doing the seed stitch hat, the impressions hat and the sweater vest. I don't usually use the recommended yarn for a project, much less the same color, but they actually used MY colors. The only one I'm not doing in the same color is the impressions hat. I'm using a brown/gold colorway for that one. I wanted something more neutral. I'm hoping to have them all done before my trip to NY. The hats I want done for DC (23 days, but who's counting?).

I still haven't been able to use any of it. I've got to work on swatches for a series of classes I have on Sunday. My boss is paying one of the teachers to come in and teach us the finishing classes for free. She rocks! I've got 9 swatches down, a million to go. Ok, so not quite a million, but there sure are a lot of them.

I would love to pull out my knitting right now, but I'm stuck in a project mgmt class. ugh. my instructor thinks i'm typing notes. Ok, I think he's catching on now. Guess I better go!

Hurricane Katrina

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. This has been a rough week for so many in the area and I know the rough times will continue on for much longer than it will be remembered on the news.

My wonderful husband is one of the Coast Guard pilots being sent to aid in the search and rescue (SAR) process and is one of the many unsung heros of this tragedy. While there are many negative things being reported, i.e. looting, there are just as many, if not more, stories of those who are helping their neighbors and those victimized by the events. Pictures at the top are of a Airsta Clearwater Jayhawk during a rescue. This is not Zach, as he is on his way there today to relieve other pilots. This is what he will likely be doing though. I LOVE YOU HONEY!!! I am so proud of you!

Being a good ol' southern girl, I will miss the wonderful cities of New Orleans and Biloxi. I have many fond memories of both places. I'm sure they will both be rebuilt, but many of the historical locales have been destroyed. My prayers are especially with the homeless children left with no place to go.

I am so proud of the great country we live in and continually impressed by the aid that has been sent to offer whatever help they may. I am disheartened by the article by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. that has turned this tragedy into a political platform. While he may very well have some footing to stand on (I do not know, I embarrasingly don't know much about the issue), this was NOT the time to bring this up. Shame on you, Robert Kennedy, for turning this tragic week into your political pressbox.

On knitting....
I'm halfway finished with my mom's shawl. I've discovered I love lace patterns. They are challenging, yet surprisingly fast. This one is at least. I'm not using fingering wt. yarn or anything, I'm using DB merino dk in what I have been calling "sophisticated pink". It is supposed to end up being 18" x 60" when blocked, but at this point it is only 20" long. Does anyone know if it will block that much? or will it lose effect? Hmm...this may be a question for craftster. I'll wait til I'm finished though.

Ok, I better get on to school.

Yet another....

ok, so I'm addicted...I LOVE starting new projects. It's so much fun to pick out that next pattern and the yarn, then to cast on...several rows in, you can actually start to see the beginnings of the pattern. I just started a shawl for my mom. I had bought some turquoise stork months ago to try to figure out a pattern to make one for her. I've never made anything for her. I don't know why. I think I'm just such a perfectionist and that there will be something wrong that I don't want to give it to anyone. I don't do well with that. And I think my mom deserves the best. I love her so much, and I don't want to give her anything that isn't perfect.

I also started the front of Zach's sweater on Saturday. I can't believe I'm actually starting the other side. Hopefully I'll get it finished before we go to NYC at Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to get my mom's shawl done before our trip to DC too.

Ok, enough talking, more knitting....

finally...

Another course over and only 6 more to go. I'm so ready to be done. Oh well...on to Project Mgmt. I hope my team and I work better this next class than we did this time around. We didn't work well together at all this class for some reason and that needs to be nipped in the bud.

So after my class, I come home to yarn....aaaalllllllll over the floor of my house. My dogs, or namely, Morgan, got into my yarn. I know it was her b/c I must have accidentally locked Snowflake in our bedroom. She likes to sleep under the covers of our bed and I must not have seen her when I shut the rooms up. But alas, I have my culprit. Oh well...I ended up throwing away a few balls of yarn. It was cheap stuff anyway that I would probably never use again anyway. I have a shawl started in it, but now that I'm a yarn snob, this yarn would not have cut it. I don't know what I'll do with the shawl now though. Maybe just rip it or sell it on ebay...I've seen lots of UFO's for sale there lately.

I did get something knit-wise accomplished today though...I finished the back of my hubby's sweater. I think I'll work on something else for a while though until I feel like starting the front. I should know better than to make a sweater flat. Once I do the back, I don't feel like doing the front b/c it's the same as the back. It definitely needs to be blocked though. The 2/2 rib makes it scrunch up. I'll go by JoAnn's and get a grid board that can be pinned on. It will be my first time blocking so I don't know how that will go. I've told tons of people how to do it, so I should be able to do it myself, right? right.

Ok, so enough talking about knitting and more knitting. I'll work on getting some pics up soon.

In need of a hit...

or a knit rather....I swear, if I were a smoker, tonight I would be up to about two packs already. I'm so upset with my team from school tonight. We have a huge paper that is due on Wed. night and I need other people portions before I can write mine. So at 10:30 on Mon. night I finally recieve something and it turns out that another guy on the team and I are writing about the same friggin' thing!!! UGH!!! Do these people not know how to communicate. It stinks too, b/c I am more respectful that that and I try to do my part and yet, they are doing this to me. I am considering switching to online classes just so I don't have to deal with people in person. At least if I only know them online, I won't be expecting too much out of them and then be disappointed. More likely I'd be pleasantly surprised when a team would actually work as a cohesive unit.

I could really use with a knitting break, but if my love were to come out here and see me knitting, he'd probably be pretty upset that I'm not working on my paper. I just need to get some things off my chest for a minute though. It's amazing how just typing it out can just make you feel better, isn't it? ahh....sweet release. or something like it anyway.

Work was pretty good today though, aside from me cutting my finger with a pair of scissors. I don't think I have ever done that before, and today, at the age of 25, I finally do it. It wasn't anything major, but Caroline (the owner of KnK) is going to have to make me fill out some paperwork, just in case. I don't think I need to, but I can understand her predicament as a business owner as well. We got SOO much yarn in today. We got 25 new colors of Opal sock yarn. I have only made one sock before, yup, one, not even a pair, but these colors are AMAZING!!! We should be getting in the Louisa Harding line soon. I can't wait for that, it's going to be phenomenal!

We went to our Bible study tonight too. That was nice. I really like our group. I think we are finally starting to warm up to one another and talk about stuff more openly. There was also a new couple there and we were happy to have them. They were really nice. I think God is really going to bless our group this year. I can't wait to see what He has in store for us.

OK, I suppose I really should get back to knitting, uh, I mean, my paper. Man, I haven't knit all day...maybe just one row....then another...and another...

First time for everything....

Ok, this is my first time starting a knitting blog, so bear with me if I'm a little slow to start and get pics posted and everything. I decided that this would be a great way to archive my knitting projects and thoughts about everything knitting. It's also a great way to get to know knitters from around the world, am I right?

I will try to post at least a couple times a week, but I'm in grad school and work full time, so that may not be possible all the time. My job rocks!!! I work at the most awesome yarn store ever, Knit n' Knibble, in Tampa. (I'm not at all biased.) We have had knitters from all over the world come in and say they love our store. We actually had someone come from NYC recently and said our store was better than all the ones up there. I'm just going to have to go find that out for myself though. I plan to visit a few when I go there for Thanksgiving this year.

I'm working on my MBA at University of Phoenix and will finish in May of 2006. I cannot wait!!!

A little about my knitting....I began knitting in Nov. of '03, the same day the amazing Deb Stoller was on the Today Show wearing the skully sweater. I decided I needed a hobby since I wasn't working at the time and bought the book that same day. That night I had my first scarf: of course it was the go-go garter stitch scarf. The next day I did the ribbed for her pleasure scarf and there has been no turning back since.

I'm currently working on a sweater for my wonderful hubby from Knit Wit out of Rio de la Plata. I am loving this yarn. I'm also working on branching out from Knitty, the steering wheel cover from there too and a one shoulder top from Berroco. I'm making some alterations though to fit what was in my stash.

I'm so excited about starting this blog and can't wait to see what kind of things come of it!

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