Thank the Gods for Bacardi!

What a week it's been. I'm so happy it's over! Thankfully... I had some Bacardi at home. Of course, this meant I had to stop for some Coke. Rum and Coke. The elixir of the Gods! I was going to head home and have a drink and get this week out of my head!

When I got home though, I had a surprise. As I walked to my front door, I saw a box sitting there. "An RAK?" I thought. But no... it was from my Secret Pal! Lookie what she sent me!



So many goodies! This gal rocks! She sent me a card. A beautiful scarf she knit for me! Some Hello Kitty candy. Some Hello Kitty cookies in a nifty tin. Flower soap. Some more gourmet cookies. And some of the most beautiful yarn I have ever seen! It's 10% cashmere and 90% wool! I know exactly what I'm making out of those and they will be all for me! Muwahahahaha! Thanks Secret Pal!

So of course, this night turned out great. I had a drink. Watched a movie. And fondled my new yarn!

The kitties were even having a good night.



That looks good. I think I'll go lay on the carpet too...

This is going fast!

I finished the second sleeve on Cleaves today:



I started on the cowl but I didn't take a picture. Why? Cuz I'm feeling frigging lazy today. I wasn't feeling well when I woke up so I took the day off. While it sucked because I felt ill, it was nice because Eric is home so I got to sleep in and snuggle with him for a while. But this afternoon, I got to knitting.

Not much else happened today. Eric wrote. I knit. The cats played. Then we snuggled on the futon and watched cartoons. It was a really nice day. :)

In reply to comments:

Kay said: I like the extra Cleaves length too ... but I hope you have enough that you won't run short! Running short is the WORST :-(

Oh yeah that would be awful! I think I'll have plenty of yarn because I am making the pattern in the medium size and even though I made the sleeves longer than the pattern calls for, I had actually bought five skeins of yarn (just in case). Hopefully *crosses fingers* I'll have enough.

On to the second sleeve and some kitty WWF!

I finished the first sleeve on Cleaves.



I made it a bit longer than the pattern calls for. Why? Cuz I read it wrong! :P I read, "Cont in stockinette st until work measures 22.25 inches." It really says, "Cont in stockinette st until work measures 22.25 inches from beg." Oh well. But in all actuality, I would rather the sleeves be too long than too short. I rather like the way it bunches up... :)

I started on the second sleeve today as well while I was at Yarns Etc. Yeah... I went back to contemplate what yarn to get my Secret Pal and couldn't decide so I had a seat and pulled out my needles.



When I got home, the cats were wrestling!





They kept this up for about a half hour at least while I was home. Lucky me, their wrestling kept them from chasing my yarn... which they had both been doing all morning. :)

In reply to comments:

Helen said: I have done the cable cast on before and it was never stretchy. Is it supposed to be and we are doing it wrong? hmmm

I always thought it was supposed to be. I could be wrong. I really have no idea. *laugh* :)

Renada said: I love when you have one thing in mind and wind up w/something completely different. I was thinking of buying Rowan calmer in Calm, and wound up buying RED! HELLO!!!

Oh yeah. I seem to do that all the time. I fully intend to do the I Do shrug in grey but I keep looking at this really pretty pale blue at the store. I may end up with a blue one. :P

Fun filled day.

Oh boy was it ever! The day started with the Mebane Dogwood Festival. Mebane is a small town of about 7,200 people. I got there pretty early and as you can see, there were plenty of people there before me:





There were even rides!





And no, the threat of imminent rain showers didn't seem to stop more people from showing up either. While I was there, it actually got sunny. :) There were two stages with dancers (didn't get any pics of them because the crowd was -way- too thick) and one stage with a great jazz band. These guys!



I got there when they had just started. By the time I was leaving, they had a huge crowd around them as well. :)

Once I left, I went straight down to Carboro. Since Azuredrake wasn't going to be at the Stitch N Bitch, that left only me and well... I was in no mood to sit there by myself today so I stopped by at Yarns Etc. I'm so glad I did! I was there for about three or four hours and had a great time. A gal named Preethi was working there today. This was the first time I met her. She was really nice and she was working on a tank top (I think). *laugh* I'll be honest, I forgot! (It could have been a cardigan!) If you are reading this Preethi, I'm sorry I forgot! *giggle*

Anyhoo, she had the most even hand I have seen in person. Her stitches were just perfectly even. :)

Ivy was working there today too. She is working on an afghan. See...:



She said she wants it to be six feet in length when it's done. She's got about 45 inches right now. It's a wedding present that she has to finish by next week! I think she'll be done in time though. Nothing like a deadline to make you sweat. :)

While I was there, I got a lot done on my Cleaves.



I would have stayed and gotten more done but silly me left the other skeins of yarn at home! *grumblegrumble* You learn something new everyday. I learned to never leave the house without at least one extra, fresh skein of yarn. :)

Trouble and Velvet could care less about my progress on Cleaves. They were more interested in the birds outside.



They are so cute sometimes! :)

And we're off!

As promised, here are pics of my progress on Cleaves:



While I -am- using a dark yarn, it's not nearly as dark as it looks in the pic. But I do really, really like the way the sleeve is knitting up. I used the cable cast on but for some reason, it's not nearly as stretchy as I had hoped. Oh well... it is the first time I ever used that cast on so it's most likely me and the fact that I haven't refined the technique yet so it will be stretchy. To be sure though, I did slip it over my hand and wrist to make sure that it would actually fit. :P

Eric was home for the past two days. It was really nice. :) He left this morning back to Charlotte to go to work. It's not so bad though. He'll be home again next Monday evening. :) I was so happy yesterday too because he found out what his schedule will be for May and he's got three whole weekends off! Yay! These last few times he's been home have been during the week so of course, I have had to go to work. But it was still great to have him home. He said that he played with the kitties all day each day I was at work. When he left this morning, they were looking for him because they wanted to play. See...:



They were both so disappointed when they realized he was gone so I gave them both some tummy love and some ear love (e.g scritches) before I went to work. Now hopefully, they will leave my sock WIP's alone! Silly me left them on the coffee table in the living room! Eep.

Oh and this may seem like a silly question but does no one like my button? Maybe I should make a new one... *ponderponder*

It's official. I'm a transplant.

Yup. I love it here. It was 89 degrees yesterday. It's supposed to be in the 80's again today. When I looked up the weather channel website to see what the weather was like in Plattsburgh, NY (my home town) and it said it was 58 degrees... I decided I was now officially a transplant. An 'ex-pat yankee' as it were. :P Which is perfectly fine by me.

I went to go get my allergy shots today and as I was sitting outside in the mini-park that is between the Neurosciences Hospital and the Women's Hospital, it hit me... this really does feel like home. I put my needles down and just marveled at that thought. I always talk about the fact that Plattsburgh is where I am from. No longer. Mebane is where I am from and it's a nice little town. I can honestly say I have truly forgotten the darkness and drudgery of the North Country. Now I'm not saying it's all bad up there. Let me tell you, when September hits and the leaves start to change... I'll be missing the North Country as I always do. :) Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats Autumn in New England.

But (to continue) here in North Carolina, the air is filled with the sweet scent of flowers. It's the most amazing thing too. No matter where you are, all you can smell is flowers. It's funny too because while my car has a nice layer of yellow pollen absolutely all over it, it's not an over-powering scent that wafts across the air. It's light and sweet. :) Everyone I see is smiling. Even in the hospital. Walking over to Neurosciences and then back to my office, I cut through the main hospital and there were doctors, nurses, and patients running about but they were all smiling. I love it here. :)

So while I was sitting outside knitting, I realized I didn't bring my camera with me so you can see my progress on Cleaves. But I was a good girl and took pics the other night of my swatch and the little bags I had been knitting for the RAK. :)

My swatch:



I'm so proud of the fact that I even made a swatch. It's done on size 10.5 needles. I know the pattern calls for size 11's but it came out perfect. :) Actually, this past Sunday, I was going to start working on it and realized, to my horror, that I did not in fact have size 11 double pointed needles but size 13's. "No worries" I think to myself "It's 3pm and Yarns Etc. is open until 4pm. It takes me 20 minutes to get there so I've got plenty of time." I hop in the car and head into town. Now you have to understand, I could take the direct route to Carboro to get there but it takes about 30 to 40 minutes. So instead, I take my short cut which means I will have to go through Chapel Hill. No biggie. Until I got to Chapel Hill. The traffic was nuts! I had no idea what the heck was going on but Franklin Street (the main drag in Chapel Hill) was completely blocked off. It ended up taking me about 15 minutes to go 2 miles but thankfully, I made it to Yarns Etc. in time! (With two minutes to spare actually.) :) So I run in and they have no size 11's! O_o Only some 10.5's. So I grabbed them anyway. Had to knit! Needle emergency averted! :)

So what was holding up traffic? The Annual Apple Chill Street Fair. It looked pretty cool and I was going to go check it out but parking was a nightmare and after about 10 minutes of trying to find a place that was close and under $5... I decided to just head home. I'll remember for next year though... I love fairs! :) This weekend is the Mebane Dogwood Festival. I didn't get to go last year since we were out of town but I plan to go this year even if I have to go by myself. No, Eric won't be in town but that's okay... I'll take pics for him. (He loves fairs too.)

Oh, I forgot, I was going to show you pics of the bags I made. Voila!



I put the stitch markers I made inside. I hope my RAK pals like them. I didn't want to just throw them in an envelope because it just seemed kinda boring. So I made those bags. Now have I mailed them out to my RAK plas yet? Oh no. No, I've been dragging my ass. (As usual.) I'll blame it on Eric since he's in town until tomorrow. :P

So when I get home tonight, I promise to take pics of my progress so far so you can all see. :) Really... I pinky swear!

Got my yarn.. now to start my Cleaves

Woot! I did it. I decided to succumb to the power of the yarn store and went and bought my yarn to start on Cleaves from Knitty.com. I went in with the full intentions of buying something in the blue colorway. Instead, I took this home:





I think it will be very lovely. :)

On the kitty front... they are getting along better. See. Here they are spooning!



That assault of color upon the eyes behind them is my heavy robe. *laugh* (It was cold tonight) I had been laying on the futon watching tv when they came up and snuggled with me. I had to wiggle my way out of my robe so I wouldn't disturb them so I could take a photo. :) Yeah, I know... I'm a bit obsessed with my kitties.

Goodies in the mail!

I got home from a four day weekend in Minneapolis and I was surprised to see a card from GigetTM, a post card from Westozcaat and some goodies from my SP! She sent me a card and some yarn. I see socks in my future! :)



It was nice to come home after two flights that were delayed over an hour each (one in the air!) and see all the goodies from such lovely ladies. Thank you! :) When I got to work, I had some stickers from Azuredrake! She beat me to it! I was going to RAK her... oh well... you're still getting something. *wink*

So while Eric and I were in Minneapolis, we stopped at the Mall of America. Oh wow this place is huge! And nifty as heck too! Check out the rides in the center of this place:







What confused me though was this:



A gas pump in the middle of the mall? *scratches head* It looked like it pumped actual gas but really, I wasn't sure. Eric couldn't figure it out either. *shrug*

I didn't do much knitting while we were gone. We were visiting a friend so we were all over the place. We found some great comic book stores, game stores, and vintage clothing shops. Sadly I found only one yarn shop and it was as we were heading to the airport to fly home. :( Oh well... maybe next time.

And I've finally decided... I will resist the urge to order yarn no longer! Need yarn! Must knit I Do and Cleaves! Must do it! Of course, I have no idea which yarn to use for I Do... *ponderponder*

Mama's got a brand new bag.

Lookie. I finished the bag I was making for an RAK. :)



It took about two hours total to make. Not too shabby actually. The I-cord really took the longest and that's because I had never made one before. You never realize how much you automatically turn your work until you are focusing on -not- turning it!

Two more to go and I'll send out all the rest of those stitch markers I made.

I also changed my counters. I got them from redflyer on the Knittyboard. Her hubby made a nifty site. Go take a look-see. I think they look a lot better than my old counters. :) Thanks! *waves*

Awesome possum!

Okies... like Azuredrake, I have a possum too... Except mine is not playing dead. See...



No this one is digging through my trash and making Trouble make all sorts of very angry noises...



The -one- damn time I leave my trash outside of the bin and I get a possum tearing it up. *shakes fist* Oh well... my fault. I'll just have to clean it all up and hope the little bugger doesn't figure out that if it chews through the bin, it can get to even more trash.

Not much knitting going on these past few days. Eric has been home. *happy sigh* He was supposed to go back to Charlotte today so when I left, I gave him a huge hug and a kiss. As the day wore on, he decided he wouldn't leave until I got home so he could say goodbye again. *even happier sigh* And then when he called scheduling, they told him he didn't have to report to work until 10am tomorrow so, he's going to stay home tonight. *such a happy sigh, it could be considered girly, froo froo overload!*

The kitties are getting along a lot better too. This is them sitting near Eric.



Okay, I actually have gotten a bit of knitting done. I'm making little bags so I can send out those stitch markers as part of an RAK. I should have sent these damn things out last week! Yeah... I know... I've been dragging my ass pretty fiercely lately. *laugh* I'll post some pics once I've finished one. Now all I have to do is resist the urge to order some yarn from Knitpicks.com... it's been very, very difficult! I think the only thing that is holding me back is what to do next. Yeah I know I have all sorts of projects on my sidebar that I should be doing, but I really want to do something 'summer-y'. Something for myself. I just have no idea what. I've thought about doing Clapotis in the Andean Silk Twist, most likely the Navy color. I've also thought of doing Tempting but it's a sweater. *shrug* I have no idea what to do!

Flashing my stash!

Whoo hoo! Down to the wire. Silly me forgot about this this morning and left for work without flashing all you wonderful ladies and gentlemen out there. Well... here it is... the moment you have been waiting for...



(Have I built you up enough yet?)

...

Wait for it!

...



Bam!

...

Yeah, not all that impressive huh? Having only started knitting in July of 2004, I thought I was doing pretty good on all the yarn I was beginning to horde. But then I began browsing blogs and realized, I have not even begun to understand the true depth of what an obsession can be. :P *LOL!*

But... I forgot about the Cone of Power! (Shame on me!)



The almighty cone of chenille! I bow before thee! I have no earthly idea what I will do with you but dammit... I bow before you! :P

And of course... what's some prOn without some pussy eh? *wink*



They are mesmerized by the Cone of Power as well...