CraftyME: Watch it now....

Hey YOUs,
 Just popping in real quick to show off my current project. I finally did it...Cast on for my first sweater!! Yay. Go ME go ME.

It's the $5 in Paris sweater. But my version is Phree in Philly. So I'm not staying here long cause I gotta get back to knitting. More details to come. Catchya later.

CraftyME: Prepping for Stitches East....

CraftyME decided to prep for Stitches by actually using some of the fiber-y goodness I acquired on my visit to Maryland Sheep & Wool Fest back in May. I mean I did kinda splurge a bit, so I should at least know if those were good purchases or not, right? They all pass the pretty test, but how are they to work with and will they make a pretty FO as well.

 Let's start with the biggest splurge, shall we?

Tess Designer Yarns MicroFiber Ribbon

Had I not purchased this yarn, I would have probably stayed pretty close to my MDS&W budget. It was a bit pricey. But I had I not purchased this yarn, I would not have been able to make the awesome-ness known as my RockStar Coachella. I loved working with this yarn. If $ were no object, I would def add this to the SE list.

Tess Designer Yarns Superwash Merino Lace

Um yeah, no. I can't say that I care for this yarn. But it has nothing to do with the quality of the yarn. I just came to a realization after trying to make the famed Citron. Me and lace weight yarn do not equal a match. It is entirely to light for my tastes. I felt like I was gonna break it the whole time. I considered adding beads to try to weigh it down a bit. But yeah, I tossed this project in the "Sure I'll finish this....one day..." basket with the quickness.

Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sock & Baby Yarn

I like this yarn. I like the way it feels to work with it. I like the color. I don't love the color. That's the only thing. I'm not a fan of variegated yarn. I wasn't sure how this was gonna knit up, but it was so pretty in the skein. Luckily, it's not uber-pool-y like some variegates. So it gets a like. Maybe in another color-way it could get a love. Now as for this project, it's in time out. You know how I posted about life lines? Yeah, well some how one of my life lines didn't stay put like it was supposed. And it just happened to be discovered as I was finishing up the last row in a chart.  The row that as soon as I finished it, I would have been adding a lifeline into the next one. Yeah that one.  So instead of a FO we've got a TO until I feel like frogging back to the previous lifeline.

Miss Babs Windsor Handpainted Sock Yarn

I LOVE this yarn!! The color is beautiful and working with it is a dream. It's slightly heavier than the other sock yarns that I have used to knit sox. And that makes the sox just fly off my needles. Had I not taken the time to work on some other projects, I would have been finished with my Iris Ivys. I'm definitely buying some more of this stuff.

Tess Designer Yarns Super Socks & Baby

The color of this yarn is so pretty. And I have 2 skeins. I just don't know what to make with it. But in the efforts to sample, I did go ahead and wind it up. I'm torn between making the Revontuli wrap or just casting on some sox. I don't really know if this yarn is gonna be stripey, variegated, or some where in between. Hmm what to do, what to do? We'll come back to this one.

Creatively Dyed Yarn Beaches

Ugh this yarn is the bain of my existence right now!! I love the colorway. Such a pretty green. So much yardage. And I even have the project picked out for it. Well 2 projects that I can't decide between, Fizzi or Multnomah . But IDK what happened. After I wound up the Tess SuperSocks, I put this one on my swift. Very quickly it became apparent that something was amiss within the skein.

 And now I'm left with this. I spent a whole night trying to detangle and wind by hand. Dude if I didn't spend damn near $30 on this yarn, I would so be throwing it in the trash right about now. So it too is on TO until I feel like diving back into the detangling process.

As it stands right now, I will be adding Miss Babs Windsor to my must purchase list. And Tess MicroFiber ribbon will go on the splurge list. Next up we'll see what vendor list stalking will turn up. Stay tuned.

WannaME: Gearing up for Stitches East.....

Good Morning YOUs,
 What a beautiful, crisp, sunny October Saturday. I say this as I lounge in bed, with absolutely no plans to venture out there. Today will be filled with laundry, knitting, blogging, and prepping for Stitiches East 2010. I think WannaME and TouristyME may be just a tad bit over-excited about Stitches. This will be my first time attending and I can't wait. It will also be the first time in years that I will be traveling all by myself. No MOH. No MiniME. Just ME. Calgon has finally responded to my pleas and will be here in 2 weeks to take me away on a mini-vacation to be filled with yarny, fibery, goodness. Ahhhhhhhh.

 Luckily, Stitches is taking place in Hartford,CT. Have I mentioned that I am FROM CT?!?  And that all of my family is in various parts of CT?!? So yeah I get to go visit my Mommy and Sis, and cousins etc. This also means that I don't have to worry about lodging. Although Mom  & Sis live about 45 mins to an hr away, I have tons of cousins who still live right in HTFD. So if I don't feel like driving I can crash somewhere.
 
So how exactly does one prep for an event like this? Well if you are crazy like ME, that means making lists and lists and lists. Lists of where to go. Lists of what to bring. Lists of what to make. Lists of lists to make. lol. See, crazy right? No,I'm just trying to keep WannaME in check. Cause I know as soon as I get there one of two things is gonna happen. I'm either gonna want to buy like everything I see. Or I am going to get soooo overwhelmed at the amount and variety of stuff and then not know what to buy or not want to buy anything. So I am researching and researching some more.

I've been all over OCS trying to find patterns that I'm really interested in making. Reading forums, looking at O.P.P. (Other People's Projects) seeing what yarns are getting good reviews. I've stalked the Stitches website for months waiting for the vendor list to be posted. Then I'm on the vendor sites, checking out pricing and yardage. Seeing if I can just order from them online.

 Dude, I'm so hyped about this trip. By the time it gets here I am gonna be missioned out. I'm going into that convention center with a plan, man. Armed with a budget and a shopping list. And I will stick to it! WannaME will not lose her frickin mind like she did at MDS&W, where I may or may not have spent double what I brought with me to spend. No sirree Bob. Not this time!  I'm gonna put my plan out there for you all to see. And when I get back I'll compare what I got to what I said I would get. I'm issuing the challenge to WannaME...control yourself. Will she be able to?.......Stay tuned.

CraftyME: sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!

Can I just say I F'LUV Sundays. More than just Sundays, I luv Football Sundays. In Casa de ME, Sundays in the fall are certified "Be a lazy bum all day long, lay on the couch, snack, watch football. ALL DAY" Well for ME, I try to get most of the chores done on Saturday and then finish up what's left bright and early Sunday morning. No sleeping in for me.  But it's so ok. Cause come 1pm I'm chillaxin til bedtime.

Do you know what this means to a Crafty person such as myself??? 8-9 hrs of basically free knitting time. yessirre bob. Of course that includes bathroom breaks, and snack breaks, and checking on MiniME, oh and a nap. But yeah I just sit and knit and watch the games. Ah that's living man, that's living.

This Sunday was devoted to knitting slouchy, cabled hats. This past week I cast on the SYTYCD hat in hopes having a cute little "I'm a lazy bum who doesn't feel like re-twisting my locs this week" hat.You know just a little something to toss on in case I went out Sat nite. Unfortunately, just because size 8 and size 6 dpns are the same color, they aren't the same size. And if you knit a hat on size 6s instead of size 8s, you end up with a cute little hat. Emphasis on the word LITTLE. Luckily, it's just small enough to fit MiniME, so she will be rocking it to school this fall.

So Sat morning I ran out to AC Moore (after doing a little bit of damage at Old Navy's $16 jacket sale) to pick up some size 10 dpns and a size 11 24" circular needle to try my hand at the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret. Just to change it up a bit. Got the ribbing done on the 10s no prob. But once I switched to the circs, things got a little dicey. The pattern says you have to magic loop for a little bit. Um hello, either I was doing something really wrong or you can't really magic loop on 24". It wasn't happening. Yeah, Sunday morning, I kindly drove all the way back to AC Moore and exchanged those circs for some dpns.

Now cableing is tricky in and of itself with that pesky little cable needle. Then toss in a set of 5 double pointed needles and it becomes a whole new ball game. 

However, I'm very happy to say it was so worth it. Cause now I have a jaunty little cap to sport on my so in-need of being re twisted locs.

 Oh by the by. Let me introduce my new hat models Violet and Blue.

 I picked up Violet for MiniME on Saturday's outing. Of course MOH took one look at it her and was like "It's like a real life Chuzzle!!!! Do they have it in Blue?!?!?" He loves that game. So Sunday I had to get one for him too. Soon they will be joined by Scarlett because now that I look at them, they are kinda really cute. WannaME wants one too. lol.

RememberME: Memory Monday... Comfort foods revisited

So last week we talked about comfort foods. There was one more that I wanted to mention. Unfortunately I had run out of it at the time. Since I made a trip to Target for some staples yesterday and remembered to pick some up, I bring you....

Lipton Noodle Soup! This stuff makes me think of my Mom and only my mom. This is her one of her absolute fav foods second only to my Gram's spaghetti. We would eat this stuff all the time! Now that I'm all growed up, I buy the kind with the extra noodles. But I still put an ice cube in the bowl before I eat it. Just like Mom used to make. Lol

InterestME: Books

One of my first loves has basically been abandoned since I've become so obsessed with knitting, crafts, blogs, etc. Way back in the day I used to crochet and read. And way way back in the day, I used to just read. All the time. I would pick up a book and not put it down until it was done. Even if I had to stay up till all hours of the night to finish it.

Yeah, then came knitting. Anytime I have a free moment or two, I pick up the ol pointy sticks & string. Or I hop onto a computer and look at patterns to make in the future. Or I look at what other people have knit. Or I listen to people talk about what they have been knitting. Obsessed I tell you obsessed.
Several months ago WannaME decided that I was gonna become a well-read individual again. Yep. I was gonna read like there was no tomorrow. Um yeah, I'm sure we all know how that turned out. Put it this way, I couldn't even begin to tell you how long ago I started this book. It has to be about at least 6 months ago. Oh wait I when I started it, the movie hadn't come out in the movies yet. I wanted to read it before I saw it.

So I have good news and bad news. The good news: I finally finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife. The bad new: it's no longer in the movies. It's not even showing on HBO anymore. Yes folks it took me THAT long to read 1 book. At least it's on Netflix. I know this because I had to keep moving it down in my queue because I was still wasn't done.

I'm gonna try this again. This time I'm starting the book while they are just now beginning to shoot the movie. I WILL finish The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo before they start showing it on network t.v. I'm 15 pages in. But I did want to make a hat to match my blue jacket. And of course then I'd have to make matching fingerlings. And a matching scarf. And.... Oh hell, wish me luck. Lol

CraftyME: SpinME Got me going in circles...

So, Remember way back when I went to MDS&W? I got a little intrigued with the idea of spinning.

But then I tried it in a demo and was like nah maybe another time.

 Later in the summer I got the idea again. This time I ordered a couple of spindles from Etsy. I keep trying it and I keep not getting the hang of it.

And then I keep trying some more. This time the try came courtesy of a chance finding on OCS (onlinecrackspot aka ravelry.) I had been taking a little bit of a time out from OCS just because I wasn't feeling particularly crafty/sociable. But one Sat morning when I was determined to put myself back out there in the world, I saw a single post on a local board. Come spin with us today for WWSIP day. That's World Wide Spin In Public day for my non crafty friends. There were only 3 people signed up for it. I decided to take a walk on the wild side and drive on down to Franklin Square Park.

So I get there and all I see are kids playing in the playground and riding the colorful carousel.

 And a bunch of teenagers gathering around the beautiful fountain. Yeah no spinners. I sat and waited and waited and sat. After a while I started to give up on my chance to learn from some real life spinners and began to walk back to my car. Well sitting there at the far corner of the park was a lady with drop spindle spinning away.

 And she was talking to another lady who had a spinning wheel folded up on a little cart next to her! Yay! I could get some help after all!

Soon we 3 became more. And just as one hopes when you have a WWanythingIP event, people were intrigued. Some even shyly inquired about our activity.

I got some really helpful tips on getting started with my drop spindle. Come to find out my spindle may be a little to heavy for the type of roving I was using.

That's why I kept having such a hard time drafting. So you know what this means right? I get to add a new spindle to my shopping list for Stitches East!!! Now to find some $$$ to pay for it. lol. Hey man I've gotta master this here spinning thing. I just gotta.

HungryME: Comfort Foods

Karen Smith: " I can't go out (fakes cough) cough cough, I'm sick"
Regina George: "Boo you Whore"
---Mean Girls

Hey YOUs,
 I'm back. And I'm sick. But for reals, not like Karen Although my head is really cloggy so I feel about as airheaded as her right about now. So anyways I'm sitting here in bed watching one of my fav movies, the aforementioned Mean Girls. It got me started thinking about a post I've been  meaning to write for a while now. Comfort Food!
 You know how it goes, you get sick and all you wanna do is lay in bed in your fav pjs and watch your fav movies. And sometimes eat your fav comfort foods. Now for me those pjs are my red flannel footed pjs along with my red & gray fingerless mitts and Eeyore hoodie. Don't forget the fuzzy slippers.

 At first I thought it would be easy to pick my fav sick day meals. But then I realized that I actually have a couple of go-to stand-bys. Let's discuss the top 4 shall we...

1.Tea and peanut butter toast...

For as long as I can remember my mom's default response to any complaint of illness or injury was "Take some Advil and drink some tea"  Headache? Upset Stomach? Broken rib? "Take some Advil and drink some tea." Ok well maybe not to the broken rib. But only because I've never actually broken a rib. And if you are gonna have tea and Advil, you need to eat a little something with it. Enter the peanut butter toast. Now it's just what you do.

2. Cream of Wheat...

a.k.a creamaree. The best breakfast of all time. That stick to your ribs warm you up from the inside out goody goodness. Add a little butter, milk, & sugar yum. Don't forget a couple of tiny lumps for that homemade taste.

3. Pot pies....

Oh not just any pot pies. No it has to be Swanson pot pies. Period. The End. And you know what sucks? They only carry them at certain markets around here every now and again. I don't want Banquet or any of those other kinds. Swanson's have the best crust on the top & BOTTOM. 5 mins in the microwave and mmmm. Just be careful that you don't burn your tongue by being too greedy and not letting the steam cool off.I'm just saying...

4. Grilled Cheese & tomato soup...

If you know me IRL (in real life) then you know I have a couple of dogmas that I'm kinda adamant about. One is that if I'm gonna watch a scary movies it has to be on Sunday mornings. (GOD's a little less busy that day so he can watch over me a little more) And another is that if I'm gonna eat grilled cheese & tomato soup  it has to be on Wednesdays. This stems from my days as a waitress in college. We had the same specials every week. Mon Hot Turkey Sandwiches. Tues Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches. Wed Grilled Cheese tomato soup. Thurs Meatloaf. Fri Fish Sandwich. I got to eat for free. So I usually just ate the special. Now it's just what I do, it doesn't taste right on any other day.

So there you have it, HungryME's top 4 comfort foods. There are a few more but we'll just save those for a later date and time. Oh wait I just thought of a really good one. Here's a bonus:

FRENCH FRIES!!!! ...

I F'LUV french fries. Morning noon or night. And you know when they are really good? After a good night of drinking and dancing with friends.  So tell me guys, what are some of your fav comfort foods?

CraftyME: Summer Crafting wrap-up

So I started the summer being obsessed with sox, sox, sox. And guess what... I ended the summer still obsessed with sox. For some reason this has just been where all of my crafty mojo has been interested. WannaME seems to think that I am going to ultimately get to a point where I can just reach in my drawer on any given day and toss on a pair of sox that I made myself. Yeah...at this rate that will never happen.

As I said, this has been like the worst summah evah. It took like every ounce of everything I had to keep my sanity. So in efforts to feel better I decided to pick up a project that I cast on way back in May. I was determined to have a FO. I NEEDED to have an FO! It took me approximately 3 months to finish 1 single pair. But finished they are. They are my red stripey happy happy joy joy sox! And I F'LUV EM!!!

And just as I hoped it would, finishing my HHJJsox kick started my CraftyME juices. Immediately after those I cast on my Iris Ivy Anastasia Sox. A week in and I'm kicking arse on 'em. I'm already like half way down my big ol size 10 feet. And did you peep that, oh I'm fancy huh?!? Somebody is really feeling themselves and changing patterns up. Yeppers sure did! Took a single toe-up dpn pattern and made it 2-@-a-time.

I told you CraftyME is coming back. I've even been crocheting. I made a cute little baby blanket for one Ms. Chloe who is due to make her debut next month. Mom-to-be wanted a very simple mostly white blanket. So I took the Circles, Stripes & Squares pattern and modified it to her tastes.

As far as my other projects...let's just say they are on timeout. They need a few weeks to get themselves together. Either the project itself or the recipients lol. For now I'm just gonna keep trucking away on my Iris Ivy's. And work on some more posts. Catch Ya later. CraftyME

RememberME: I'm Baaaaack!!!

Hello dear friends. RememberME? Long time no see. Sorry to have left you on such a negative note. Needed to take some time to decompress. Now that the crappiest summer evah is ovah, I baaaaack! And I'm refreshed. Yesiree Bob! I've got more CraftyME goodness. More TouristyME adventures. Some WannaME cravings. And more. Watch this space cause it's all on the way.

HaterME: The Saboteur.....

So apparently Big Brother 12 was on to something with their new twist this summer. And apparently it's catching on across the nation.  
So today, Beastie Boys on rotation .

Sabotage.....

Whyyy; Our Backs Are Now Against The Wall
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage
Listen All Of Y'all It's A Sabotage

I Can't Stand It, I Know You Planned It
But I'm Gonna Set It Straight This Watergate
But I Can't Stand Rockin' When I'm In This Place
Because I Feel Disgrace Because You're All In My Face
But Make No Mistakes And Switch Up My Channel
I'm Buddy Rich When I Fly Off The Handle
What Could It Be, It's A Mirage
You're Scheming On A Thing - That's Sabotage

BB12 picked someone to come into the house and instead of playing the game, fighting to win $500K, their mission was to try to screwup everyone else's game. But at least The Saboteur would win $20K. What I don't understand is The Sab who does it for no reason. Well, no that's not true, I'm sure they have their own personal reasons, I just don't get them.

I've been battling Sabs all week. They are trying to jack up my work every time I turn around. And because I keep sidestepping their little traps, they keep trying harder. At first I thought it was my imagination or just little mistakes here or there. But now I can see it's deliberate.

People are funny. Why do they feel the need to tarnish my shine so that they can shine brighter? Don't they know you can't. lol I'm always gonna shine, whether you shine or not. I don't have to dull your shine to do it. I just turn mine up. And being the kind person that I am, I'll even toss some your way.  Heck Diddy said it

Yo, the sun don't shine forever
But as long as it's here then we might as well shine together
Better now than never, business before pleasure
 
But nooooooo since you can't do what I do, you try to mess up what I've done. It's ok. Because now I'll just have to blind you with my light. Plug in the 100 watt bulbs lol.

Something else I've learned this week. The Saboteur is not always someone else. I have found myself being sabotaged from within. WoeIsME can do some serious damage if I don't reign her in. WoeIsME almost had even our fearless superhero, CraftyME throwing in the hooks and needles to join her for some misery companionship.  

But it's okay Cause I'm combating it  ALL with a healthy dose of Estelle "Shine"

Oh this is my song
I'm just like you
I gotta fight to stay strong
Just cause it clears
It don't mean that it's over
I'm a shine
While my lights on
 

I'm a shine
I'm a shine
I'm a shine
While my lights on
I'm a shine
I'm a shine
I'm a shine
While my lights on

CraftyME held on and is still fighting the good fight against the WoeIsME blues.  CraftyME's gonna shine and get her craft on.......

WannaME: Uh oh I've finally done it.....

Just a quick little update. WannaME has finally gone and done it. Yes folks. I've finally given into the temptation. After months and months of fighting it. WannaME just bought a drop spindle kit from ETSY.

As if CraftyME needs another craft. Now I am really gonna give spinning my own yarn a try. Hopefully all will go well and by the time Stitches East comes around in October, I can invest in some awesome fibers and a better spindle. I'll keep you posted on how this works out.

RememberME: Memory Mondays....Tis the season (almost)

Today's Memory Monday was inspired by yesterday. What was yesterday? Yesterday was CHRISTmas in July. And what does this have to do with Memory Mondays? Well, I would like all of my fellow crafters and general gift givers to just take a moment to remember all of the craziness that ensues come December. Everyone has the best intentions all year round. But then December hits and there is just nothing left. No time. No $$. No interest because you are just so over this overly commercialized holiday that no longer has any meaning.

So my friends, be ye crafters, be ye shoppers, be ye broke, or be ye slackers. I raise the call to you today, the day after CHRISTmas in July. Starting now we have 5 months. Pick up the tools of your craft and plunge in. Let's see if we can actually follow through this year. Select small projects. Hit up you local 5 and dime. Don't forget the thrift stores. Gift giving doesnt have to mean breaking the bank. With some well timed planning you can find something for everyone on your gift giving list. Do they have hobbies, favorite colors or things, tv shows etc? Heck grab some old magazines and a picture frame from IKEA. Think of the recepient and go crazy. BOOM insta-collage! Crap did I just give away a potential gift?


All I know is CraftyME's digging in my stash and hands don't fail me now. Cause unfortunately a sista's pockets dont reflect the amount of love I have for my family and friends. I may not get everybody. But I'm gonna try. And just because I can, here's a sneak peek of what's to come....

Merry Xmas in July friends.....

CraftyME: LIFELINES SAVE LIVES!

On to the next project guys. Next up learning to knit from a chart and to knit lace. WannaME has like 52billion wraps/shawls in the queue. But I have been hesitant to start any because those charts look SCARY. So this week I decided to bite the bullet. What better way to beat WoeISMe blues, than to tackle a challenge? So I cast on The Traveling Woman shawl.  Here goes something.

One thing that I learned, the easy way thank you Little Baby Jesus, is LIFELINES SAVE LIVES! Something told me to put one in before I started the chart. Yeah ME am so smart because I actually listened.
 

Two rows later, I missed a YO or something because I was short 2 stitches. I tried to fudge it, but by row 5 yeah it wasnt happening. I had to frog 5 rows. And had I not listened to that little voice, I would have had to pull out 5 days worth of knitting instead of just 5 rows.

 If you dont have those fancy needles w/ the little hole to thread your lifeline thread through, just take a piece of tape and wrap it around the tip of your needle. I used painter's tape because it doesnt leave the sticky residue on your needle. OK that may be a little bit of a fib, I used it cause I couldn't find the scotch tape and it was right there lol. But it didnt' leave the residue so score for being a lazy bum.

  Place one when you finish a section and know that it's right before you move on to another one. Place one after x# of rows just so that if you do make a mistake it's so much easier to fix it.

Trust me that extra 2-3mins will save you a bunch of cursing later. All you have to do is follow the little red thread to put your stitches back on the needle.

So remember friends LIFELINES SAVE LIVES! And this is coming from someone who doesnt even gauge swatch ever.