Good Morning, Good Morning - Sleep is Good!

Hello there - I'll bet you thought I lapsed into a caffeine coma!  Things are going well at the old SB (we have a transfer from Alabama who is ... you'll never guess.......












a knitter!!! :)))))))) MNFC is really fun, peppy and likes to knit complicated items (and...is willing to test knit :)  What a great day!!!

Back to the title of this entry...I have had 2 nights of great sleep in a row with happy hands - yippee!  I finally found the right combination of  wrist braces and tightness and actually woke up feeling refreshed both yesterday morning and today! (and yesterday was at 3:45) I hope this keeps going - I really had no idea I was sleeping THAT badly!

Finished Slanting Gretel Tee and she's blocking (Class at Only Ewe in March)

Gotta Go!

Lots of Snow in Atlanta :)

4 inches and it is staying cold today so we are staying put :) I am committing to researching 3 questions for MKI (Master Knitting Level I) and then I will be working on Spellbound take 2:)  I may need to force myself into a little bit of housework too :(  Hope to be able to head on over to OE tomorrow but I don't know how the roads will be!

Hopefully this will tide you over...

I was going to blog first thing this morning but was disciplined and therefore started working on the Master Knitter program finishing (or so I thought!)  I spent ALL day labelling my swatches and (of course reknitting some of them.  These are the poor lonely souls that don't get to go on the big adventure!

 

These are a few with the tags all attached in the appropriate corner! (The labels have my info on one side and detailed references for the techniques used on the other)

I also got my template set up for answering the questions and got a bit of a start on actually answering some of them...it's not the answering that is difficult ..it's the referencing how you came to the answers!!!  I have always hated footnotes and this is one giant footnote!  Then ... as I am reading through the questions, I notice one little reference to a report!!!  I know I saw this before but had conveniently forgotten!  I have to write 2 pages (no more than 14 pt) on fiber care - arghhhhhh  Guess I am not completing the package today (but I did get all 16 swatches completely done :))

Made some progress on take 2 of Spellbound.  I am knitting up a different colorway in the yarn quality (100% Superwash Merino - YUMMY!!!) that will be included in the kits for stitches.  Bella is getting in on the action! (notice the yarn that somehow got into her mouth!)

I initially had some doubts about the bright blue color being in the mix but I like it now :)

This yarn is incredibly soft!!!  I LOVE working with it!  Thanks KnitWitch :)

The total yardage for the shawl is 1116 BUT and this is a big one - P.L.E.A.S.E. (please please) make sure you have plenty of extra if using a substitute - yarn has a funny (or not so) way of behaving sometimes.   Also, FYI everyone, I will be republishing this pattern in about a week with a few little tweaks to improve it along with lots of yardage info about the Celestial Bounce yarn I am using now.

Last but not least - here's another sweater I have been working on - hope to do a class in March  (this is the back blocking - I took the picture a while ago - the whole things almost done :)

OK - this is really last - here's The Every Way Wrap...

Ok - now you have something to read (and look at until I blog again! :)

Wow - Schedule Craziness!

I have no idea what day it is let alone what time :)  Starbucks is fun but scheduling changes are throwing me for a loop...  I have finished Scotch & Soda but need to take out the brioche rib at the bottom as it is flapping in the wind!  Otherwise I am very pleased - DHJ is just hoping to be able to wear it this winter! :)  I also finished Sausalito - came out a little large but very cute!  I think cotton yarn can be a bit tricky - not much give so it doesn't block well if you need to embiggen (as the Yarn Harlot says:) and heavy so it can get bigger all by itself!  I am about halfway done with the Every Way Wrap - Very fun and a beautiful pattern - I can't wait to see if the "Every way " part of it works :)   Of course, with all these "finishings", I started one new project "Mountain Shades" and have "Slanting Gretel Tee" from Interweave (#2 in the class series) waiting anxiously in the wings.

Oh...almost forgot...knitting is done for Master Knitter I - I just have to do the written part - shouldn't take too long once I get off the procrastination train!!!:)

Do I have yarn??? :)

Just a quickie today but this made me laugh!!!  DDK needed a bit of yarn for her Fashion Marketing class and asked me last night if I had any yarn!!!  With some scrounging around I was able to accomodate her :)

p.s. Classes starting on Feb 6 with a prequel this saturday 1/30 are now posted on Only Ewe's Calendar  - The Sausalito sweater designed by dolce handknits and Every Way Wrap from Fall 2009 Interweave Knits.

Can Women Really Multi-Task?

Or is it really just a myth?  Way too many tasks makes them get lost in the archives!!:)  I am still holding out hope that I can "do it all"  but it seems as if with everything on my mind, I am dropping the ball way too often!  I should thing that I would start to be more organized and efficient with my time pretty soon.  I am loving working at Starbucks just not having the inconsistent schedule...hopefully the manager will be able to level out my schedule pretty soon once I am just as good as the other Baristas.  Yesterday I worked from 5 am to 11 am which kind of threw me for a loop but I think it wouldn't be so bad if that was pretty much my regular schedule.  The shift went pretty quickly and there were different things to do to open up the store so all in all pretty good! 

DSJ turned 19 yesterday!  I can't believe my baby is nearly a full-fledged adult!  We didn't see much of him on the big day and will need to have a little party later in the week as we had not heard from him on when he was coming home.  He is moving in with a friend which makes Mommy sad but I think it will be good for him.  No parents nagging at him about a job (at least not his own) - his friend's Dad has told him that he can officially move in but that he needs to have a job...adults with their one-track mind! :)

Off to OE today to meet up this morning with a group of Knitting friends that I don't get to see very often and then later on with the regulars:)  Sausalito class starts this Saturday 10 am - 12 pm and also "Every Way Wrap" from Interweave Knits Fall 2009 at 1 pm.  The Every Way Wrap is the prequel so that students can learn a great way to cast on for 2 X 2 ribbing (I know I am turning into a cast on freak!) - after the prequel, the class will meet Saturdays, Feb 6 and Feb 20 1 - 4 pm.  This class is the first in a series "By the Book".  I will be teaching 2 other projects from the Fall 2009 Issue of Interweave Knits - students can attend all 3 classes or pick from the menu :) 

Stil (Obsessed with) Casting On!!!

Today's learning is with regards to the Long Tail Cast - on which I still believe (especially now) can be used for nearly every application.  You can actually put your slip knot on the needle and then hold the needle in your left hand (this is a good one for you, FSB :)) and the yarn ends in your right hand.  WHen you have finished casting on you are ready to do a right side stockinette row (the smooth side is facing instead of the bumpy side) - the only drawback to discovering this is that I have some swatches to re-re-knit again :) (I have officially lost count on some of them)