Inspiration

I was perusing through the archives over at Sheriff of Knittingham's Blog looking for some bead info I thought sweet Lorraine had posted. I can't tell you if the info is there but I can tell you she has inspired me. It seems Lorraine practices somewhat of a project monogamy theory, oh not totally but I don't think she has 75 WIPs. I worked on the Monkey Socks for the wonderful Monkey Sock Swap 4 and I liked getting or finishing them in a somewhat timely manner. Plus I knit the two socks at once on two circulars. This was a challenge put forth by Hariamrit (aka Goat Lady) at the Spring Fling. I am happy to say I met the challenge. I am now working on my Rogue for the Dream in Color KAL hosted by Sheri at the Loopy Ewe . I am not sure Rogue will be done by the end of the month but I am going to give it my all. Then I want to finish two more pairs of socks.
Lorraine, the aforementioned Sheriff, made the most wonderful Hap Shawl ....I knew I loved it when I first saw it but now even more. I have it in my mind I will make the shawl for wearing at Rhinebeck .
Also, I had truly planned to leave my profession(after 30 years) in April. Well we bought our beautiful house and you know how that goes. So my hours have gone crazy and I will stay for three more years til DS2 has finished his undergrad studies. THEN, shhhh...I really want to get into something in the fiber field, store, online, brick and mortar, design, books, patterns...I just don't know what. Any and all suggestions would be welcome. I am now in my 31st year at the same hospital in the fields of radiology. I have always worked nights and weekends and I am so very tired. I have liked my job, I have always liked the artistic nature of it with just enough blood and guts thrown in. The hours have served me well raising my two boys and the pay has been fairly decent. I will never earn what I am now earning, but I have reached the point I am tired of always trying to earn a little more...so....the countdown is on again. Maybe I should do a ticker thing at the top counting down the days til I am free, LOL. OK ...
I will do a real knitting post later....I am at work and that is the only reason I had the leisure time to browse dear Lorraine's blog and start this thought process.
Of course, I don't want you to think I don't work, several patients have come and gone in the three hours this took to write.
Later
Thanks Lorraine for the inspiration.

Tagged

I was tagged by the Lovely Lorraine to play in a meme...here it is.

The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer. Play nice, children.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Just about what I am doing now, working, although the boys were 13 and 8 at the time, no Masters degree yet, no first year of undergrad done.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today- not in any particular order?
Laundry, knit,cook something(anything),vacuum, sleep before going back to work.

3. Snacks I enjoy.
Jelly beans, nachos,cheese, pretzels with cheese melted over, green apples with salt.

4. Places I've lived- Massachusetts

5. Things I would do if I were a billionare: New cars for family,pay the mortgage of two and buy sons each a house,donate money in Dad's name. Open a business yarn related.

6. 6 Peeps I want to know more about:

Rebecca

Janice
Stacy
Karen
and

Laurie

Blogger Won't Let Me load Pics So....

OK, I will post this and add photos in the morning...I had downloaded 23 pics and now they keep disappearing!!!

I have been back from the Spring Fling for over a week and it was fantastic!! I got to St. Louis around 10am and the shuttle came right away to whisk me to the hotel. The hotel was lovely, great choice by Sheri. They let me check in early and then I hung out in the lobby with Kellie, Kristy,Sharon, Nancy, Karen and oh am forgetting so many names, Sarah....What a delightful group of ladies.Janice(Sheri's very good friend, check our Janice's blog for a chance to support her in her marathon charity endeavor) came whisking through and we were like groupies, ooh look there is Sheri, look is that Wendy? Over there ,Claudia and finally Cookie.


We were checked in and handed Goody Bags which contained the most wonderful things imaginable!!! The backpacks themselves were quite cute but to open them find among the goodies a pattern by Wendy, a pattern by Cookie and a skein of Wollmeise...took my breath away.

We had a dessert reception the first night and got to interact and show off knitting. I finally got to meet GoatLady and she is a wonderfully grand lady. What a hoot!!! I believe we will be friends for a long time.

Goat Lady and I were in the first group to go to Loopy Central..we all wandered around in a daze for 15 minutes or so and then the shopping started!! It is such a beautiful shopping space. There were cloth shopping bags which we got to keep to haul our stash home. It was a treat to see all the yarns and bags live!! Sheri's entire family came to meet us Friday night and Janice's husband was there as well. What wonderful people...It is truly a family business.





Friday afternoon brought a class taught by Wendy, I could hang out with this lady on a daily basis, she is wild!! She has already announced on her blog so it is safe to say she has a book coming out next year!! Yippee!!! I really felt a kinship with Wendy, I so want to interact with her again sometime. Her make believe friend L-B sent a balloon arrangement to class, very sweet.

I ordered a dessert treat to my room that night with a pot of coffee...hey it was Starbucks!! They questioned me needing the pot for one person but I am a night worker AND a knitter FPS.I also relieved when I got to the airport in Manchester I had left some important knitting things home so DH overnighted them to me...

Saturday morning was a design class taught by the little ball of energy herself Cookie. WOW...her minds operates at a hundred mile an hour!! She definitely has inspired me to try designing some socks. Cookie brought her socks along and they are beyond gorgeous in person. Photography does not do her work justice..she was an absolute doll.Cookie also has a book coming out next spring....how exciting!!

Claudia the Wollmeise herself was quite the character. She does not want her picture taken so we obliged. I was part of a group who made squares to give her the Great American Afghan as a gift. She was very touched. Claudia's yarns are gorgeous!! She had a sweater and a socks she was working on. It is quite the different life in Germany. When she got excited or nervous she would repeat oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I think she was overwhelmed by the attention. She was a delight though. Quite fascinated by crock pots, too. I knit two squares but I believe only one made it in to the afghan, not sure why.

Saturday night was lay back time and we got to interact some more. Several of the ladies brought spinning wheels. I have never seen it done....I will be renting a wheel in a few weeks and giving it a try. It was a religious experience watching them..I just want to feel as serene as they looked.

Sunday morning we hung out in the lobby until everyone starting leaving for the airport,,,I got to spend some time with Capi and Michelle at the airport. Two more fine ladies. Michelle and I shared a shuttle with Sharon, a bigtime stasher...

I adored meeting all these ladies I had become friend with through Ravelry. I am so hoping to go to the next Fling. It would be grand. I am hoping Sheri never stops holding gatherings...if she has them, I will sign up.

It seems I will be going to Rhinebeck to meet up with some of the Fingers and I am hoping Bev as well. I am not sure if I am going for a day or the whole thing, have to work on that.
So while most were knitting socks, I chose to work on the Tempted Glam Grrl yarn while there Stacy the Tempted herself was there and I wanted to show her my creation. She, as well as some of the aforementioned names(Wendy, Sheri)oohed and ahhed and just sent a happy feeling through me. This is the Branded colorway with ivory ShiBui. The Tempted has real silver in it and is the softest yarn to work with.The Tempted is a real fun lady to listen to, what a sweetheart.



Allen from Numma-Numma Yarn was there. She is a cutie, her yarns are mouth watering gorgeous!

I also started the Spring Fling sock designed by Wendy in DIC Smooshy..isn't it lovely?

And I am finishing up the socks from the first shipment of this year's LE Sock Club..the yarn is Cherry Tree Hill and I love it. The second shipment came and look!!! I have ANOTHER skein of Wollmeise. And the stitch marker has a little crochet hook on it, I had purchased several small hooks in bamboo recently for swaps so this is a very usable bit of bling indeed.




Oddly enough I had ordered some Schaefer yarn from the LE and look, it is identical in color to the Wollmeise!!! I also ordered some Handmaiden Casbah after having felt in St. Louis...I never heard of it before. It is exquisite!!!


OK a small break from yarn for dog update.

Here is Oliver when we brought him home 8 weeks ago..20 pounds





...here he is this week..neutered, 4 months old and 40+ pounds!!!



He is quite the puppy!! I so adore him. I can;t wait to get the bulldog and then maybe another lab or a boxer and then....

Speaking of Oliver does this little guy look familiar? Yes I finally cast on my Rogue.

It is a DIC KAL the LE is having and should be done by the end of the month. I think it is doable know that I have wrapped up many swaps.
In the past 18 months I have done 50 or so swaps!!! I am down to 2 and will try to be in only one at a time from now on. They have all been wonderful but I am tired. In the past few weeks I have sent out my Big Bag Swap, Hogwarts Sock Swap 3, PRGE3 or 4, Four Seasons Swap.



I have my Monkeys to finish up for the MSS4 and my LE Swap. Of course I have received some beautiful things.

Hogwarts Sock Swap- I am a Rivendell and look what I received!!! Have you ever seen such a package. Everything was wrapped in silver with a little tag noting what it was. So much thought went into this package it is mind boggling. All I can say is thanks to Gryffinknitter.

My Four Seasons Swap box was so deliciously scented with honey teas and honey soap...I loved walking into the room and smelling it. I received some yarns and am to make something before the end of spring and post to the blog. Yes you do see Koigu there....lucky me huh? and an Eiffel Tower to add to my collection!!!

PRGE...Jerry was my partner. He spoiled me fiercely with the first box, sending me the only ever handspun PRGE yarn. Could it get any better, should it get any better. No it shouldn't but it did. Apparently Jerry was trying to spin me up some more yarn, a different gauge and is still determined. In the meantime he sent me this!!! What have I done, I must be living right because WOW!!! there is so much yarn here, 7 skeins of Manos in the most delicious color and look at the bag...terrific. But, Jerry read my blog(as well as sent people at the Fling to give me a hug from him) and had these stitch markers specially made for me by Jillian of WeeOnes. Look!!! I collect Mr Potato Heads and these spud markers bear a striking resemblance. My Dh is quite the enabler and supporter so to meet another man who understands it all is a true joy. There was also a big bag of jelly beans in the bag. I want to wear the markers as earrings and a necklace when not in use!!!



I have received my shipments of circular needles fromKnitPicks...GoatLady was doing two at once and I agreed to do my next socks two at a time on circs if she would do four at a time. so here we go!

Sheri was knitting with some spectacular needles at the spring Fling, so of course not wanting to not have what the cool kids have I ordered a pair. Check out the site, Signature Needles
I have started work on the dining room and will post pics next week.
Pics to be added as well as links in the morning if Blogger allows it.

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom

Oh almost forgot, both Foxie and Mermaid have been found...so expect guest appearances from them over the next few weeks!!!

Soon

Hey Folks!!! I am working on my post but it is very long with many pics. It will be published before midnight, thanks for your patience....