Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 5/31 is 10 Things to Put in a Salad.  These are things I would put in a salad.  I'm not a regular green salad person though I am trying this year to start eating it.  I do like making up pasta salads.  You will notice that tomatoes didn't make my list, I don't personally like them and never eat them.

1)  Lettuce - any kind, we grow some of the different ones and I like them.
2)  Spinach
3)  Green, Red, Yellow, Orange Peppers
4)  Carrots
5)  Black Olives
6)  Cheese
7)  Tuna fish or Chicken
8)  Mushrooms - though I usually add these to pasta salad not a green salad.
9)  Hard boiled eggs
10)  Grapes - this one is new to me, it was mentioned at my favorite YS over the weekend.  I will try it soon.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 5/24 is Ten Favorite Mail Order Catalogs.

We don't get as many as in the past but there are the ones I have seen around in the past year that I actually look at.

1)  LL Bean - though I sometimes just tend to go to the outlet store.
2)  Coldwater Creek - haven't ever ordered but do go to their stores a couple times a year.
3)  Patternworks - love their knitting gadgets.
4)  Ikea - good to look at before hitting the store.
5)  JC Penney - though I think they are doing away with this one.  I always liked it for window treatements.
6)  WEBS - like to see what new patterns they have before I visit the store.
7)  The Woolery - haven't gotten it in a while but love to look at spinning stuff.
8)  Keepsake Quilting - I don't quilt, not sure how we got on the list but my mother occasionally will order something.
9)  Yarn Barn of Kansas - like to look at though I think I've only ordered once.
10)  King Arthur Flour - this may be my fathers favorite, he orders from it.  I just like to look at it.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

A few quick FO's


The bright colored ones are two All Washed Up Dishcloths out of Peaches and Cream.  One is per the pattern, and one is till I ran out of yarn.  The green one is a Spa Day Facecloth out of some linen that was a bingo prize at knit camp last summer.  These were all quick lunch knitting projects.

I am currently working mostly on the Japanese Garden Shawl but since I finally finished the first chart, I am going to bring it to lunch as my lunch knitting for this week.  I like the Knit/Purl Morehouse farms scarf but just not in the mood to knit on it right now.   I really want to start the WendyKnits Mystery Shawl KAL that she is doing on her blog but have put off starting till I get more done on her other shawl. 

The cardigan hasn't been touched all week but I want to finish it up so I will be going back to it soon.  I have been searching Ravelry and have found lots of new patterns for sweaters and shawls to fav and queue.  Just need more time to knit.  It's been rainy all last week and this week also has rain forecast.  Hopefully, the long Memorial Day weekend I have coming up will be a productive time for me to get some stuff done.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 5/17 is 10 Favorite Things to do Outside.

1)  Sit and Knit - I bought a canopy and gravity chair last year and I actually plan to use them this year.
2)  Walk - either around the neighborhood, a park, another town/city.
3)  Eat at a restaurant with outside seating.
4)  Sit by the Ocean/Lake/Inlet and just relax and watch the boats, canoes, kayakers, birds, etc.
5)  Sit and read a book
6)  Take pictures
7)  Watch the birds
8)  Plant/care for flowers, garden
9)  Listen to the radio/podcasts.
10)  Hang out outside at Knit camp. It's in early July and I can't wait.  We sit out under a pavilion from morning, till right after dinner.  Then we move into a building and hang out till bedtime.  The birds above were in one of the pavilions a few years ago.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Who? hat

Here's the Who? hat out of the leftover Ronda from the Monkey Bread set.  It was a fun quick knit. Came out smaller than I wanted so I will make it again.

Still working on the top down cardigan.  The sleeves are done and I am working down the body.  I am also working on the Japanese Garden Shawl again.  I managed about 6 rows today.  I know want to make Wendy's Summer Mystery shawl starting this week but not sure what yarn I will use.  It will be something out of the stash.

Anne of Knitspot fame has a new club coming out late this summer.  I am going to do the pattern only version and knit from my stash.  There is a group on Ravelry that I joined and we are doing a swap.  It was a quick signup thing and my package is waiting to be mailed tomorrwo to my swap partner. 

Work knitting is a kit from Morehouse farms for a Knit/Purl scarf.  It's a simple pattern to follow and makes for good lunch knitting.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday Topic for 5/10 is 10 Tips for Throwing a Big Party.  I'm not a big party person at all, don't throw parties, don't go to them either if I don't have to.  I don't think I have ever thrown a party at all.
Here are some things I think you'd need to consider when throwing a big party.

1)  Location - home, hall, outside (with tent - have to prepare for the weather)
2)  Food - Cook out or Catered depending on they type of party
3)  Drink - I'm not a drinker so probably soda and water, lemonade, maybe BYOB for the drinkers.
4)  Dessert - something yummy and if I'm cooking it or buying it, there will be chocolate involved.
5)  Decorations - depending on type of party
6)  Music - got to have something in the background
7)  Party games - Apples to Apples is fun but there is always Badminton depending on location.
8)  Party favors - depending on type of party, so many times they aren't something you use again.
9)  Party goers - invite people who will get along
10)  Organization - take notes and assign tasks to helpers.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

Happy Mother's Day - Florafil Scarf

Here's the Florafil Scarf.  The yarn is the Textured Yarn Company Florafil Super Soft Cotton Yarn and it was a pattern to go with the yarn.  A quick knit.  My mother got it for Mother's Day along with a cactus (I was on a hunt for a African Violet in a certain color but couldn't find one - my sister did so she has the new color she wanted).  It was funny as the same thing must have happened last year as she already has the exact same cactus.  I also gave her a bag that was in the Mother's Day Kit from The Loopy Ewe.  It has people with bodies made from fruit on it.  It's a cute bag and she likes it.

Current knitting is still the top down sweater and the Japanese Garden Shawl.  I've finally split off the sleeves on the sweater so that should go much quicker now.  Weeknights, I do 2 rows on the shawl and then 2 rows on the sweater.  This weekend was mostly the sweater along with starting a Spa Day Facecloth for work knitting.

I have shawl patterns swirling around in my head and just want to plan more and more of them.  I have a few matched up in my head and they will be getting lined up soon.  I've also been thinking sweaters but haven't made any decisions on them. I need to do a few more Ravelry searches to see what new comes up.

Happy Mother's Day to all them moms out there.  I'm only a Mom to my cats but my niece got me a cute pair of earrings and a nice card today.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 5/3 is 10 Favorite Birds.  I like to watch the birds.  I'm not too fond of them at 5AM when they are chirping away outside my bedroom window.  Some of them have built a nest in a vent in the attic right above my window and they chirp away.  There are also about 5 birdhouses with little bird families in them that are in the backyard not far from my window.  Once as I am up, they stop chirping.

1)  Cardinals - mama and papa, I like them both.

2)  Hummingbirds - my Aunt in VT had Hummingbird feeders outside her living room window.  They were so cute.

3)  Woodpeckers - there is one in the woods next to our office building.  We usually hear him and then search till we find him.  Not sure what kind it is.

4)  Red Tailed Hawks - they are occasionally flying overhead at work.  I try not to think that they are really after my little bunny friends that live in the woods by my window.

5)  Chicadees - they are just cute.

6)  Robins - they are my sign that spring is coming.
7)   Swans - there is a pond by my favorite LYS and there are a pair of swans in residence there.

8)  Blue Jays - I like their color.
9)  Nuthatches - cute
10)  The yellow bird (pictured above) - not sure if it is actually a Goldfinch or some other bird.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Monkey Bread Hat and Scarf FO's


These are the Monkey Bread Hat and Scarf by Knitspot.  A fun knit.  The yarn, not so much.  The yarn was Schoeller+Stahl Ronda in a pretty gray.  It had a lot of knots and areas of really think fiber.  There was one section of really thin yarn in the first hat I made but that was frogged and that yarn was reknit into something else. 
I have also finished a baby hat in the past few days.  The cardigan is still slowly coming along, just about 2 rows a day.  Lunch knitting is a Florafil scarf.  It's a cotton yarn that reminds me of Cotton 100 but it is a little thicker. It's a beautiful multi color pink, orange, white.  I should finish it during lunch tomorrow or Tuesday.  It may be a Mother's day gift for my mother or I may keep it.  The child's vest I mentioned previously was started and ripped and the yarn will be donated.  I didn't like knitting it at all.  Also just started a dishcloth which will also be lunch knitting.

I'm back in shawl mode though and have about 3 lined up.  First up is the Japanese Garden Shawl by Wendy Johnson. I just finished casting on the almost 300 stitches.  The Hamamelis shawl is also going to finally get started.  It was supposed to be camp knitting last summer but I never got around to it.  I also want to make an Andrea's Shawl.  These two are by Kristen Kapur of Through the Loops.  Then I bought the Hitchhiker pattern at a local shop this weekend.  They bought a bunch to sell from the shop which is great as I don't think I've bought a foreign pattern through Ravelry yet.  I have two yarns that would work for it so I might make 2, one as a gift.