RIP dear friend of mine

We are gathered here to mourn death of a dear friend of mine. She has been with me through thick and thin. (Well mostly thick to be honest, not so much of the thin)

I have decided to give up processed sugar for one month. I came to this realization tonight when I was recapping my day. I ate 2 peanut butter eggs, 2 high sugar caffeine drinks, oh yeah and then 2 more later, a few cookies, some brownies, oh good gracious it was a bad day. Clearly, I can't control myself. Admittedly it's hard to control yourself when at work even the soy beans are chocolate coated.

I was doing so well a couple of weeks ago. I was going to the gym 3 times a week and eating really well. I want to get back there, but honestly even then I was still sneaking a cookie here and there. Which is fine, but I can't stop at one cookie. Until I can control myself I'm going cold turkey. I'm 100 percent sure that I am addicted to sugar.

So let the withdrawal begin!

Screw Efficiency

I can't understand why some people just don't get crafting.

"Why don't you just buy a sweater?", they say. Excuse me, why don't I buy a sweater? Because I don't want to. If I could go out and buy a sweater and get the feeling that I do when I'm making a sweater, trust me I would. I may just go out and solve world peace while I'm at it, or maybe the financial crisis better yet how about making either political party compromise on anything.

I then explain that I craft because I really like taking raw materials and making something. We evolved and thrived, because we are brilliant craftspeople. Yet, as a culture we don't really make anything anymore. We manage things, that's about it. We manage the machines that craft. I'm sorry but there's just no romance in that, no joie de vivre.

After taking all of this in I then hear, "ok, ok I understand all of this, but what I still don't get is that it just is not efficient." Well, I say if I wanted efficiency I would buy a pair of socks at Walmart. But they aren't the socks that I want. I want socks that I made. I don't care that by the time that I make socks I could buy a pair and wear and wash them a few times. I know that I must now have become a little bit less American. I understand that I am trained in my career, etc to maximize efficiency at all times. I understand that to get my chores done at home, go to the gym, do my grocery shopping, do the laundry, iron the laundry, walk the dog, and have a bit of free time left to relax and knit a bit that I must maximize efficiency. But I say this...

Screw Efficiency

Ch-ch-ch- changes... well I guess not so many

Here I am blogging again. I'm not quite sure why, I just felt a yearning to write again. Perhaps it was because I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool this weekend, or maybe it is that I read my boyfriend's mom's blog. Who knows.

Onward and upward to the few changes that have happened. I work as a supervisor in retail currently. I am no longer a yarn rep. I found that, for me, when my hobby became my job my hobby wasn't fun anymore. I am still living with my bf and we will be together for 3 years this summer. That seems crazy. I feel like we just met. We are still a happy little family with our somewhat worse for wear pup, Cooper. Our poor mutt, which we adopted and were excited because he was a mix and so should be less inclined to inbreeding and therefore be more healthy.... right? Wrong! He is fairly healthy but he has epilepsy and seasonal allergies. Yup my dog is a ginger dog. He doesn't know the difference though he just gets a few laced treats in the morning and night. In fact, he might just be happier and slightly more rotund due to all of these yummy snacks.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Oh, where to start! Well, to begin with I moved out of my parent's house. Thank goodness, I love ya mom and dad, but I was starting to go a bit crazy. Where have I gone? Well I must have gone crazy living at my parent's because I moved in with my boyfriend, Roger. Fast, you say? That's true, but hey it's been a little more than two months now living together and so far so good!
We rent a little house in Phoenixville, Pa. The house is great, it has a big kitchen, washer/dryer, screened in porch, a nice yard, garage, and a nice office for me. It's also a great location, although I do miss the mountains down in Virginia.
Oh, and one more big change, we got a dog! His name is Cooper and he just had his 1st birthday. We adopted him at the ASPCA. They said there that he is a lab mix, but I don't think he has any lab in him. My guess is an Australian Cattle Dog mix. What do ya think? We've thought about getting one of those puppy DNA tests done, but I'm not sure it's worth it. I am rather curious though, so perhaps down the road. He's been a great dog, very cuddly but active too. I'm hoping to make him my new hiking buddy. I did five miles with him the other day and he wanted to keep going, so I think it might work out. I also set up the tent to see if he'd go in it, and he did! He's on the road to becoming a great backpacking pup.



Here's a pic of Coop sitting on the very nice pillows that Roger's mom made. I swear it's the one and only time he's been on them in the chair. They are much too nice for him to be on them, but come on he looks really cute.
As for the important information, my knitting... I have been moving along slowly with my projects. I do have 800 yards of delicious qiviut to make a shawl out of. I've been looking around at patterns, but so far I haven't found anything that seemed perfect. Suggestions?

Bacardi in Terra

Meet my next project everyone! Sorry I couldn't find a larger picture, but it's Bacardi, a fair isle sweater from No Sheep for You. As if the pattern itslef isn't interesting enough, I'm using a brand new yarn (not even in stores yet!) from South West Trading Company, Terra. It's a dk 50/50 cotton, bamboo blend. I can't wait to get the yarn! First I have to pick out colors though, I need to choose six. I'm always tempted to pick 6 different colors for fair isle, but I do think fair isle looks better when it's more tonal with just an accent or two. Here are the colors that I was considering:

The sixth is a chocolate brown that I couldn't find a photo of for some reason. I think the colors above might be too safe. What do you think? Here are the other colors that I was considering

I might do the light blue instead of the brown or one of the lighter greens. Regardless of what colors I choose I can't wait to start my first fair isle sweater!

Knitting for Penguins!

My sister was in class and in one of her class her professor talked about penguins and oil spills. I'm sure you all know about the terrible effects of oil spills on birds. Basically the oil covers their feathers and the oil destroys their natural oils which makes them very cold. Also, the penguins will try and clean themselves and end up ingesting the oil and poisoning them. What is the solution? Penguin Sweaters! Which also happen to be insanely cute. They keep the wee penguins warm, in style, and inhibit them from preening.

Vick's Jury

I couldn't help myself...

Birthday Wishes

I googled "being lost" to find some pics and this is one thing that came up....I just couldn't resist using it.
As a rep, I go lots of places that I've never been to before. This caused me to get lost ALL THE TIME! I have made more u-turns in the past week than most people make in a year. Originally, when I first mentioned to my family that I should maybe get a GPS system she said, "People have gotten so crazy with technology, there's no need for something like that if you just use mapquest in advance." And at first, I agreed. That is until, you make a wrong turn and then those directions don't help you out much... you just stay lost. For a while, I would jokingly call my mom my GPS system, because I would call home and get her to hop on mapquest for me so that I could get back on track. She thought this was funny and a great plan, that is until my fiftieth call. It just wasn't working.

Luckily, my family wised up and I got GPS for my birthday... horray! I absolutely love it, I selected the male Australian voice and I call him Outback Jack. So far Outback Jack hasn't steered me wrong, but we'll see its still early in the relationship. He's a tad bossy though, watch it Jack.

I also, got more flowy pants (if you know me, you know how often I wear flowy pants), an awesome fair trade necklace, a pair of reefs, a vegetarian cookbook, and a cute little purse. Life is good!

Eek , moving out

Most of you know that I am moving out of my apartment. I was planning on staying in the burg, but after repping for a bit now I've realized how much easier it is to travel up north... so many shops in such a small area! Thus I am doing the unthinkable and moving back in with my parents. It'll be fun though, because my sister is also living at home to finish up her degree. The family is reunited.

I remember vividly the night before leaving for my freshman year of college and thinking, "This is it, the last night of what I've known for 18 years." And here I am back again, never say never. When we were planning the move my dad was adamant the I claim the guest bedroom as my office. I said, "No, no I need a craft room... to house yarn etc." Then I realized why are we arguing? They are the same thing to me and that was a cool realization. How many people get to claim that they need a room soley for yarn and crafts that is therefore the office, because they are lucky enough to have such a fun job.

In other news, I've jumped back on the dating train... part of the reason for my lack of blogging...

Qiviut my Heart

Most of you know the amount of UFO's in my possession. With the new job and companies saying to me, "Want to knit a sample, anything you want you can have", the amount of UFO's has increased exponentially. That being said, I was in Stitches with Style in Newark, De today and they had 3 delicious skeins of qiviut.

The store recently changed hands and I was walking around trying to get a feel of the shop now that the inventory has changed. It's definitely my kind of shop, loads of natural fibers! She has lots of smaller companies that I've never heard of, which I love to see. In a little basket were 3 skeins of qiviut in cute little bags that were tied with yellow ribbons. There was also a small knitted swatch that had obviously been handled a great deal, because that's when the qiviut gets really yummy. Each skein had nearly 400 yds and was only $80. That's half price! I carefully reached out and touched the knitted swatch. I was so excited at the price and the feel of that swatch that I got a bit teary eyed. Then I envisioned a luxurious shawl knitted from 2 skeins.

I kept touching and walking by it and staring. Linda, the fabulous new owner, said she would hold a skein for me. I was trying to be good though and said that I may call back later.

On my way back to my parents house I was trying to scheme of a way to rationalize paying $160 right now to buy yarn. I couldn't...tear...then the solution. It was so simple, ask my mom to buy it for me! I know what I'm getting for Christmas this year!

Reppin' it up

Now that I'm a yarn rep, I basically live on the road. Here are a few tips/ tricks and what I've learned:

1. If you see a Krispy Creme store, close your eyes. Even if you're driving still follow this guideline, it's better than the alternative.




2. It's perfectly legal to pass over a double yellow when over-sized trucks are taking up both lanes.




3. Annie Chun's meals are the best! I'm completely serious here...biodegradable bowl, no refrigeration, microwaveable, low sodium, no preservatives, and pure deliciousness. Perfection!




4. Super 8 is great. The rooms have a microwave, refrigerator, free wifi, HBO, and a continental breakfast: usually muffins, cereal, coffee, and juice (umm, I mean, Tang). Best of all it's cheap!




5. Don't knit and drive, you'll ruin your gauge.




6. Let Sims be your family. I know it's sad, but let's face it I am pretty isolated now. Sims is my stand-in family and friends. (Sadly, I'm semi-serious) Although the wonderful people I've met on my travels have kept me sane so far (a few of you are seriously threatening my sanity however and you don't want an insane person driving on the same interstate as you, so take it easy on my me would ya)




7. Audio books are the most essential item for long trips. Ahh, the many frivolous romance novels I have had the pleasure of listening too...so many fun-filled hours and delicious men(wink). I usually think of Bear...ahhh...Bear.




8. Stop fretting about what projects to bring with you. It's a fact that you will want a different project with you, no matter what. And for goodness sakes you are bringing a massive trunk filled with yarn anyway!




9. Stay in the right lane!!! Honestly, I can not emphasize this enough. Please please please stay in the right lane unless you're passing. If you're going to sit in the left lane and travel at the exact same pace as the car in the right lane....don't pass! It's illegal people, spread the word.




10. Always remember that you are in sales and it's key that you have a voice to sell yarn. Therefore screaming at cars who are not following rule 9, is counterproductive. Also, following rule 7 to avoid singing at the top of your lungs to Broadway or rock music will likewise prevent loss of your most powerful weapon.



11. And lastly, don't travel by donkey. You carry too much crap around for that.

Neighbors in Humanity

That's right Gina I just couldn't help it! I had to relive that Halmark card moment somehow. Let me explain to everyone who was not lucky enough to be at the Vogue Knitting Party at TNNA (ya, I couldn't resist rubbing that in either), exactly what I'm talking about. Gina, Mimi, Debbie, Belinda, and I were all at the party and the topic of the squares for the VT afghans kept coming up. We were talking with the cool chicks of Modern Yarn about how even if you weren't there and had no direct connection with what happened, people were still affected by it. It was at this moment that Gina interjected with the beauty pageant queen comment of "Well, we're all neighbors in humanity". I'm lucky that I didn't have a mouthful of a cocktail or I may have sprayed it all over Debbie Bliss. The only way it could have been better is if she had made a grand arm gesture with a slight head nod. It was the funniest moment at TNNA, seriously, I'm laughing now writing about it.

Here's a pic of my Farmhouse cottonblossom sweater that everyone has been wanting to see. I LOVE it! Note the new hair cut. I cut about 11 inches off and I got it highlighted for the first time ever.



And here's a tam that I made yesterday with Farmhouse Fat Sheep (great name for a yarn). The pattern is from Knitting Nature. Norah Gaughan is a knitting rock star.

I just couldn't help myself and I had to arrange the baby skeins of Farmhouse Bopeep yarn into a yarnbow. Yarnbow was a typo and I was about to delete it, but I like it!

I arrange all yarn into rainbows, I love how it looks. I guess other people like it too, because I sold quite a bit of it today.

While I was arranging and posing for the above pics, I saw my dad holding our cat Pete and realized he looked like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. I begged him to pose with the pinky at his mouth claiming it would get me more comments. I know, shameless, but it just may work....ha ha ha (Dr.Evil laugh)

Someone help me!

I'm at TNNA with the wild and crazy Mosaic crew. We miss you Sandy! Thanks for holding done the fort. It's knitters gone wild here at the Hyatt. If I hear Shoes one more time, I'm going to pierce my leg with a knitting needle. I swear I'll do it, I really will.
Last night we had delicious food at a steak house. I had some of the best Pinot. It was a 2005 Macmurray....yum. Mimi had quite a few cosmos and Debbie had a healthy number of Appletinnis. They were highly entertaining. I have great pics soon to come.


Today at the show they had a contest to see who could get the most free samples. I think Gina won, but she also made up the rules...typical =>. I was working most of the day and didn't get around to see all of the booths, but here's where I need help....all of the companies I'm repping for keep telling me to come by when the show's over and take anything I want. Let's take a sec and think about that. Anything I want, umm ya, anything I want. These people don't know me yet, because I would clean them out of house and home if I took anything I wanted.


I can't wait!
Tonight we all went to the Vogue knitting party. We met every knitting celebrity you can think of, well almost. We met: Debbie Bliss, Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton, Louisa Harding, Jane Ellison, Kat Boardi, Maggi Jackson, Nicky Epstein, Claudia, Maie, Eunny Jang, Karin Strom, and probably more that I can't think of right now. Many pictures soon to come.

I have a gut feeling that something bad is about to happen. Around all of these celebrities, my dear friend Mimi did the most unglamorous thing. I'll let you all use your imaginations.

By the way, I finished my Farmhouse Cotton Blossom Sweater. I love it and wore it today to the show.

Looks so nasty in those khakis

I've been knitting my little heart out and yet I don't think I'll finish my Farmhouse sweater tonight. I'm very close. All of the pieces are done, I just have to knit some trim, weave in ends, and seam it. I still don't have time though, o well. Maybe I'll finish it tomorrow night. Well I'm not really in a writing mood and heroes is on, but I wanted to put up a blog. Here are some pictures of my trip up to Mt Rogers.

A kiss on my pack for good luck!

View from the tallest mountain in Virginia, pretty good eh?

High mountain pasture where wild horses can be found


I love my tent!Ok, so I do get a little bored hiking by myself.



The wonderful hail that I hiked in. It was actually kind of cool.


Here are the boys I met from tech when I was up on the mountain.
O ya, I'm a badass.
Not a great pic, but it was so beautiful there. In fact, I stopped right there and cooked eggs for lunch. And may I say dehydrated eggs have a bum rap, they were delicious.
And lastly, here's a totally different hike. It's my sister, Kate, and Annie hiking up to the Cascades.
I LOVE HEROES!

I'm in love, I'm in love and I don't care who knows it

I'm in love with the summer interweave knits! I like almost all of the patterns, but there are a few that I adore! I love the summertime tunic. I like how simple it is. I've been working so hard to advance my knitting skills that I really like the idea of an easy knit that I can enjoy, but it's still chic.
Next is my favorite pattern writer Norah Gaughan. I don't think I've ever seen a pattern of hers that I didn't like. I love the cut on the sweater, I love bell sleeves and of course seed stitch. I can't wait to knit it.
One of the more difficult patterns in the issue the syncopated caps are beautiful. Ooh, fair isle how I love you so.
And of course the motorcycle gloves are one of my favorites. I mean come on combining motorcycling and knitting, shear genius. I am totally going to knit these.
I'm also in love with O-wool. It's produced by Vermont Organic Fiber Co. Every yarn they make is organic, which I of course love. The pic below is of Balance an organic wool/ cotton blend. I see a balance fair isle sweater in my future.

Lastly, I heard that my favorite musical, Spring Awakening, was nominated for 11 Tony's! It's so good- run to Broadway and beg for tickets. It's definately a must- see musical.

They call me Baby Field Greens

Recently I have fallen victim to the dark side. This is my cry for help! I have enrolled in the Knitting Mafia of Blacksburg. I'd say we have about 7 members right now. We have taken hokie colored yarn and using our knowledge of guerilla war tactics, hidden skeins all over Blacksburg! Ha, ha, ha! Ok, so we're not very vicious, but you feel pretty naughty doing it, which is why it's o so fun. We should all come up with knitting gang names...what's yours?
Mine is Baby Field Greens, it's really my motorcycle gang name though. I belong to a motorcycle gang, umm ok so it's really just my family and we call it a gang, but we look seriously badass in our matching tees and chaps. The pic above is of the rest of the gang, there names from left to right are : Black Mamba, Seitan's Angel, and Scampy. Annie, the dog, does not have a name or tee yet, because she refuses to get in the side car. Black Mamba has suggested sedation to get her in the sidecar, I'm not sure that's a great idea. I think it would still be hard to get her in, afterall she does weigh 150 pounds. I bet we could get Purl in, what do you think Gina?
In other news, I have been puppy sitting purl. It was loads of fun. I took her to lacrosse, we went to the park where we both met boys (thank you Purl), and we stayed up late and drooled while we watched Bear climb mountains. Well, I was drooling at Bear and she was drooling at the fudgesicle I was eating, but it was a deep bonding experience nonetheless.
I have been good though and I am projecting to finish my Farmhouse sweater this weekend. I can't wait to finish it! By the way, I saw on IMDB that the completion date for the Friday Night Knitting Club movie is in June 2008. Does that mean that they are definitely going to make it, anyone know?