Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Another contest!

Go on over to Tangled up in Knots and enter her contest! If you do, please tell her you read about it on my blog... I get another entry that way!
Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Winter Coffee Swap Questionnaire

Coffee

What are your favorite kinds of coffee? (Brands, Roasts, anything at all you'd like to share!)

The favorite roasts that tend to be repeated around the house are french or dark roast blends. anything deep and rich and smoky. (I am going to be giving the coffee from this swap to the hubby! I am currently pregnant and cannot drink coffee. I do drink tea, though!)

Do you prefer whole bean or ground coffee?

Right now we are doing ground coffee as the grinder was lost in this last move!

This time of year, there are often Holiday Blends available, and many flavored coffees - do you drink flavored coffee?

I haven't ever found an actual flavored coffee that I adored. When I do any flavoring it is either in the creamer or I will drink flavored hot cocoa. Mmmm... peppermint and chocolate are a weakness for me!

Do you enjoy special blends?

Nope!

How do you take your coffee? Cream and Sugar? Straight up? Decaf?

When I am able to drink coffee, I take it with cream and sugar. The hubby drinks it dark, full-caff, and straight up, so no frills for him!

Do you prefer drinking from a nice thick mug, or a matched cup and saucer?

I can really go wither way depending on a whim. I enjoy most anything that is unique, whimsical, funky, and/or cute. I am a big fan of tea and cocoa through the winter and the tea tends to get me feeling a little more girly! (Although, I won't hesitate to steal one of the hubby's big mugs!)

Winter and Holidays - PLEASE be descriptive! Your pal will need this information to be sure to put together a package you will enjoy!

What is your favorite part of Winter?

My favorite part of winter is the snow. I moved to the mid-west in the last decade from the west coast and am reveling in the snow! I adore how you can wake up in the morning and everything looks all white and sparkly like a christmas card.

Do you celebrate a holiday in December, and if so, which holiday?

Chirstmas!

If you celebrate Christmas, do you put up a tree?

YES!

Would you enjoy items related to the holiday, or would you prefer a Winter themed package?

I would love items of either genre. I put up christmas decor through my house through december and then I do just winter items through january. So, either or both types of items would be used and loved!

Do you collect anything? Are there any holiday or winter-themed items (Snowmen, Angels, Snoflakes, Santas, etc) that you collect?

I don't specifically collect any one item, yet. I seem to go after whatever catches my eye at the moment. I am not super traditional, though.

Do you wear scarves? Mittens? Hats?

I wear scarves, I like the fingerless gloves (can't wrangle children in mittens!), I wear the warm headbands or cloche-style hats.

What is your favorite holiday or winter treat?

Frangos! Or, for those of you who didn't grow up on the west coast, chocolate mints. Peppermint bark or hot cocoa comes in a close second. Or anything gingerbread!

Please share a favorite Winter or Holiday memory.

My favorite memories seem to alwasys be centered around snow and family. Watching the snow fall, waking up to a white christmas, making cookies with my mom or grandma, having christmas dinner with the extended family, etc...

Yarn and Crafting

Do you Knit or Crochet? For how long?

I learned to knit as a child, but I did not keep at it for many years. Almost two years ago I retaught myself how to knit. I recently (a little under a year ago) taught myself how to crochet.

Do you like wooden, metal, or plastic needles\hooks? Circular or straight?

Needles really depend on the project. I am somewhat indifferent. The only ones I won't use are wooden dpn's. I have been drawn to cute, embellished needles, but have not had the available funds to indulge myself! If I did, I would have an assortment of glass ones, too!

What sort of projects do you enjoy making?

I really do adore a lot of the sock yarn on the market right now and am finding lots of projects to do with that. I am working on a Dream Swatch Head Wrap right now. I plan to make some fingerless mitts and maybe a cloche-ish hat also. I would also like to try my hand with lace-weight yarn. I have a pattern for a lace scarf, but haven't tried it yet!

What are your favorite types of yarn to work with?

I love superwash wools, alpaca, silks, tweeds, anything that has beautiful colors and textures.

Do you spin or dye?

I have dabbled a bit in dyeing. Gotta love Kool-Aid! I had a lot of fun with it and hope to do more soon! I am dying to learn how to spin. A gal in my knitting group is soing to teach a class on spinning and I can't wait!

Do you do other crafts such as scrapbooking or needlepoint or anything else?

I have sone some scapbooking, tried painting, did cross-stitch for many years, still do some beading...really whatever catches my curiosity at the time!

General

When is your birthday?

July 25

Do you have any children? (Furry kind count!)

I have a 3 1/2 year old, a two year old, and one on the way in early spring!

What are your favorite colors?

I tend to lean toward saturated hues for myself. I enjoy neutrals, also. I love a lot of the colorways in handpainted yarn. My Ravelry account (ksknitchic) shows a few good examples of colors, etc. in my stash and favorites.

Do you have any allergies?

None that I know of!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Happy Wishes

Happy blogiversary Robin!
Go on over the The Knittin' Coop and wish Robin a happy one!

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Lovin' the Internet

Thanks for the pattern J! I have begun the Dream Swatch Head Wrap. The lacy stitches were a bit of a trick at first, but it is coming out sooo well! I am using a skein of Claudia Hand Painted Sport in Peppermint Mocha. Check me out on ravelry to see a pic of the yarn! I will hopefully have pics of the head wrap when it is done...it is so smooshy and soft!
As for lovin the internet...I have been chosen to do test knitting for Knit Fit Knitting! I am really excited to be doing knitting on a semi-professional level! It's almost a job! :P I was freaking out a little bit...recently I had developed an odd tweak to my knitting. My purl rows were getting twisted and throwing off my gauge. Seriously, this took me weeks to figure out. Drove me crazy. Apparently I was wrapping the purl stitch backwards. Backwards. This has to be the hormones. I didn't do this before. And I was so relieved when I figured it out! (A little sheepish, too.)
Thank god that got fixed. I am now stuck on my shawl. Three rows of raspberry and no more yarn. I have to pick out a few new colors to finish the last three rows and the edging. I can't find a combo that thrills me. I am probably going to stash it for awhile and wait until I can get the rest of the yarn from the hubby's grandmother's house to see if there is either more raspberry yarn or maybe a better color to go with it than what is here.
More soon!
:)

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

I'm back!

Let me start off with the fact that my internet was down for approximately one week. Yes, one week. You can imagine the secreaming, wailing and hair-pulling involved in this, can't you? I am still catching up on email and reading blogs. I missed you all!
On the yarny front...I am about halfway done with my crochet shawl, but am almost out of my raspberry yarn. I am thinking of finishing in grey and edging in black...or maybe adding purple or blue...lol! Since I haven't reached that point, I really haven't decided. Any suggestions?
In other news, I have been slowly emptying boxes from the garage and trying to put them away in the house. How is it that I can't find space for all my stuff when I have more room than I had before?!?
lol
More later!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Flu Shots.

Poor Jenny. Jenny is the pediatrician's head nurse. She is a wonderful lady that has worked hard and been very helpful to us through all of the eldest child's sickness. Unfortunatley, the only time my two boys ever see Jenny is when they have to get shots! Hence, poor Jenny. We had to get flu shots for the boys today, and as soon as they saw her, both knew they were going to get stuck. Needless to say, they both howled. (Don't worry, they recovered in about 10 seconds!)
As for knitting, I'm still kind of stuck. I am crocheting right now. I started this shawl. I'm really liking it so far. I am using a worsted weight hand-me-down acrylic in a raspberry shade. I don't know if I will have enough, so far I've just closed my eyes and hoped for the best!
More soon!

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap

Mmmmm....coffee and yarn. Go check them out! Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap Registration opens on the 24th.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Still here.

Not knitting much, though.
We moved into our new house (yes house. not duplex, apartment, or whatever else would cause you to share a common wall with other insane people.) on the 28th. Hence, I have been doing everything but knitting. Lots of unpacking, organizing and cleaning. Yuck. :P
I have not finished my hubby's birthday socks.
I have not finished my Breeze socks.
I have not finished my M-I-L's fuzzy scarf.
I have not finished my cardigan.
I have not finished my crocheted owl for the baby.
Or any baby clothes.
I have started an afghan.
Go figure.
LOL...pics soon! (I just have to unpack the camera...it's in there somewhere...)