Phat Fiber Box

I'm a little late posting this, but better late than never.

I got a great (and my first) box from Phat Fiber last month! You can find out more about Phat Fiber here. Here are some pictures and descriptions of the wonderful goodies I got!

opening the Phat Fiber box

all of the goodies

needle and notions holder with coupons, stitch markers and great ceramic buttons

ceramic buttons by heartstone ceramics www.heartstone.etsy.com

stitch markers (left to right) miss becca designs rebeccamhill.etsy.com, odd-ish creations kataish.etsy.com and vbarton24.etsy.com

yarn samples, from the top down: copperpot.etsy.com, from ewe to you merino and silk, bunkybobos.etsy.com bunky toes sock yarn 100% superwash merino, snicklefritzyarns.com 100% blue-faced leicester, mystari.etsy.com 100% baby alpaca, wooliebullie.etsy.com beaded yarn, wittyknittin.etsy.com hand painted sock yarn merino wool and nylon, bohoknitterchic.etsy.com hand dyed yarn, the fox hop foxyie.etsy.com handspun 100% ramouillet wool.
Also a hat pattern from kirakdesigns.com and a knitting bag from goodnessgraciouswv.etsy.com

fiber samples from (clockwise from upper left) copperpot woolies, moonwood farm 75% alpaca 25% milk fiber, woolyhands merino, greenwood fiberworks merino, corgi hill farm, moonlight and laughter, desert garden farms, and calizonia

LOTS of wonderful stuff! I've already purchased some new roving! I'll post pictures of that next time. I also spun up the Moonlight and Laughter sample right away.
I'm going to ply this with some white that I'm spinning up right now. I'm planning on using it for the cuff of a pair of socks that I'm going to knit with some hand-dyed purple wool.

I need to update on my niece's birthday party and the great roving I bought from greenwood fiberworks!

knitting update

I've been working on a few things lately. A February Lady Sweater. I love it, but I'm getting a little bored with the lace pattern. I guess this is the perfect example of why I can't knit just one thing at a time. If I could, I'd have it done soon.


To take a break from the sweater, I started knitting Adeline a pair of ruffle socks with the leftover sock yarn from socks I made Izzy last year.


I'm also getting ready to make a twirly skirt for Isabel for her birthday. Since I'm using smaller yarn than what the pattern calls for and I'll be using smaller needles, I may need to knit an even larger size than I was planning. As it was, I thought it was going to be big for her. Oh well, it has a drawstring waist, so it will last her a long time!

My friend, Laura, taught me how to use my drop spindle and I've started spinning with that. Here is a picture from the first day I used it (the green stuff is what I spun). I've spun more since then and it's getting easier!


A little off topic, I went to fat fighters today -- not my usual meeting -- and one of my knitting friends was there. I'm so glad because she helped me get a little more motivated. Up till last week I missed 4 weeks. In the 4 weeks I didn't go, I gained 1.8 pounds. Last week I gained 0.2. Erg. So, we talked about a lot of things and I felt a lot better. It's been hard for me to find a good meeting time since I started my new job and have a new schedule. I think I'll go to these meetings now since my friend goes and it won't interfere with daytime sleep time. I have also signed up for a 5K in July and I want to do another on with my sister in May; I just need to find someone to work for me!

something, something, something

I'm sitting here trying to thing of something to update you all on. Well....I finished the mittens I was working on. Learned how to duplicate stitch to close holes and I am very pleased with that!

I'm working on a felted bag, getting closer to the "22 inches completed height before felting" every day. I also picked up a pair of socks I started a year ago. Oops. I think now I knit a little less tight than I did then, so my gauge is a little different. I'm not in the mood to take the whole sock apart just because now part of it may be a little looser. I'm knitting them toe up and the first one is done to the heel, so now I'm on the second. I remember how hard I worked to make those toes last year, making them over and over about 4 times. I'm just going to keep going to get these socks done. Once I finish the foot, which is just plain stockinette stitch, I'll switch to a ribbed stitch, so, if they are a little loose, there will be some stretchiness to the leg.

I have so much sock yarn and have so many great ideas for socks. Yep. Not really. Well, I just thought that I could share it with my nieces and make a little pair of socks for my nieces or one of them whenever I make myself a pair since I'll probably have leftovers. Maybe start with a pair of socks for Isabel and knit myself a pair of anklets with what is left (or knit as high as I can go). I just thought it would be fun to get more than one pair of socks out of my yarn at a time instead of having the scraps sitting around.

I'm going to go to a February Lady Sweater class starting Monday. There has been this yarn, the colorway is "rose garden", at the LYS that I have lusted over for about the past year and I never knew what to make with it. Well, I bought the last 4 skeins a couple weeks ago and I'm going to use it for my sweater. Can't wait!

I plan to get plenty of sleep today. I work tonight and did not work last night. I didn't get much sleep at all yesterday after I got off work. Maybe it's time to admit defeat and accept the fact (?) that kids don't care if I need to sleep and aren't going to be quiet and head for the ear plugs.

Cash for Gold

Today I took my wedding rings from my first marriage to the pawn shop (again with the pawn shop). I have been hanging on to them for years -- just over 8 years to be a little more exact -- because I didn't know what to do with them. I've heard all of those cash for gold commercials and thought maybe I'd send them in. Then I did a little bit of looking around on the internet. I know you can't believe everything you read on the internet but I read about some people getting just a couple dollars for their jewelry or being told their package never made it to the cash for gold people. So I thought I'd take my wedding jewelry and the other couple things he gave me to the pawn shop. At least I'd get rid of them. Lucky me! I got $100! I used it to buy a little brown refrigerator I saw there last week. It looks just like the refrigerator my parents got for a wedding gift 40 years ago that they still have.


My dad uses it for beer, and now that is what my husband has in his.


I also used the money to get my hair re-colored:


Good day.

I am starting a new job in 2 weeks! I'm very excited about it since I haven't been very happy at my current job and I've been wanting a job where I feel like I'm actually being a nurse. I will be working for Hospice. I am very excited about this! My last day of work will be on my birthday!

I finished my last square for the afghan swap yesterday and it is blocking. I'm wanting to make more squares for my afghan to make it a bit larger. Hopefully with my new job I will have more spare time to knit and I can make more squares and put together some blankets for Project Linus. I also started on a sweater for Annette's dog. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend.

Here's a cute picture to end the blog with:

isn't she lovely?

I have my niece's sweater finished and a picture of her wearing it! She is absolutely beautiful! Both of my nieces are beautiful, but today I only got a picture of Adeline.

And a picture of the completed sweater.


After this I had the urge to knit my sister some awesome Valentine socks but I had to remind myself that I have 1 1/4 afghan squares to finish, and fingerless mitts, and mittens, other socks, and I don't know what else. But how long could it take???

6 months

Has it really been 6 months since I've written? Times flies. My niece loved the Big Bad Baby Blanket I made for her little so much she would like me to make one for her. I was going to make her a blanket for Christmas but I didn't get a chance. I had planned many knitted Christmas gifts that never got finished. :( So sad. I'm hoping to catch up on my queue shortly. When I finish my squares for the afghan swap I will have more time. I've decided that it is better to have one project going at a time and maybe a couple side projects to prevent boredom instead of what I'm doing now: a sweater that I started last spring, two, maybe three pairs of socks, a pair of mittens, a pair of fingerless mittens, my niece's blanket, other niece's sweater, afghan squares. I could be leaving something out, who knows? And I have been trying to get some apple sweaters done for my sister. I have one finished but I wanted to get a few more done before mailing them to her. (Not to mention I never got her or Chris's Christmas present done). I need to do some serious prioritizing and finish some of these jobs. Finish this baby sweater, finish the swap (almost done!), finish mittens, go from there. Then it's one -- or two-- things at a time.

OK, I better get back to work. my lunch break is over. I will update my life story a bit later. I spend enough time on the computer I should be able to get it done!

workin' for the weekend

Why the hell am I still awake? I've been so stinking exhausted all week. I don't know if it's all of the driving to and from work or what. I feel like I'm gone all day, I get home and I want to pass out. I think I fell asleep at 7 last night.

Tomorrow is my sister's baby shower -- I'm hoping she loves the baby blanket. Dang it! I still need to post pics. They are on my camera but I haven't uploaded them yet. After the baby shower I'm off to the knitting retreat. I hope it's a good weekend. I get anxious around a lot of people and people I don't know, but knitting is relaxing, so it should all be good. I think the project will make a nice gift for my mom.

Speaking of gifts, I've got tons of knitting to do for Christmas! Holy crap! Better get my ass in gear!

Saturday

I've come to dislike Saturdays. I spend the weekends by myself since I am off and my husband works. This is a new development since his son got out of school for the summer. I'm sure I'll get used to it though. I used to have every weekend to myself and loved it. This is my second Saturday alone and I'm very lonely. My LYS opens in an hour and I plan on going there to knit since I haven't been able to do that in ages. We have an open house tomorrow, but I can get ready for that later.

I finally finished my moms felted slippers. Today I'm going to do the puffy paint on the soles for some traction. Here are some pictures. The colors of the slippers are periwinkle and khaki.

We are going to my parents' house for dinner tonight, so I'll be taking her slippers as well as the socks I made for my niece. I don't think I've posted pictures of the finished product! Well, here they are!

I found this new great blog with some super cute knitting patterns. I'll be adding her blog to my list of blogs to read. She has some really cute ice cream cone patterns. Check her out here.

Well, I should put some real clothes on so I can go spend some time knitting with my friends!

felting

Right now I am felting for the first time without adult supervision. I have done this before with supervision. These are my mother's day slippers that I have finally finished. With everything else that's been going on in my life I haven't had as much time to knit as I'd like to. I also haven't been to my favorite hangout, Nanytutu's, in ages! So, as I sit here, my washer runs and the slippers are on their second cycle. I'm sure I can't do it wrong. Right? Pictures will be posted when they are done.

socks

I'm thinking about making a pair of Jaywalkers. I have so much sock yarn that I want to use and I'd love to try that pattern. I have a few sock projects going right now that I need to finish first. I wanted my niece's socks to be done for her birthday (June 1). No such luck. I'm at the heel now.

My sister's birthday was yesterday and I wanted to make her a pair of felted slippers....not even started. Heck, I haven't started the second slipper of the pair I made my mom for mother's day.

I'm working on socks for my husband and myself. Another pair for my other sister. I need a few days away from this house stuff and time to just knit!


By the way, today is my last day of work and I start my new job on June 9. The realtor came by last night and we signed paperwork and everything is ready to get the house on the market on Monday! Yikes! The carpets are getting cleaned tomorrow, the woman is coming to stage the house Friday and they are coming to take pictures for the listing on Saturday. Monday, the sign goes up!