Randomness

1. I am enjoying a 4 day weekend.... and the next two weekends are 3 days each. I could get use to this.

2. Princess is out on the window sill laying on her back to let her tummy get all the sun. It's really cute.

3. I tried to get a picture of said tummy cuteness but she turned back over.

4. It rained again today. The ground didn't actually get wet but it rained and I'm still counting it.

5. Secretly - I still don't understand the difference between FIFA World Cup and FIFa Clubs Wold Cup except that one is in Johannesburg and one is in Abu Dhabi.

6. I have been avoiding working on the Ishbel because I made a mistake in the lace and apparently if I ignore it, it'll go away.

7. Beef stew would be good for dinner on a nice overcast day like today... I'll probably have cereal.

8. Ok just checked the Ishbel. Ignoring it didn't make the problem go away. It's still there.

9. Watching the process of making Soy Sauce makes me realize that I don't need to know how everything I love is made. Sometimes a little mystery is a good thing.

10. I'm getting the itch to start knitting another pair of socks...

Princess approved

Princess really likes the Just Enough Ruffles scarf.


She just wanted you to know.

rain rain come and stay!

Weather has been a bit crazy here the past week. By crazy I mean by our standards which is to say it wasn't hot and sunny with blue skies.

It started with a sand storm... ugh. Those are just no fun to experience. Seriously.

This is the sand left on my windshield after being parked at work all day. Covered parking I should add.


But then something fabulous happened that made up for the sand storm! IT RAINED!!!!!!


It started raining yesterday and has been raining off and on since. The good thing is the streets look like this!


The bad thing is that people forget that roads are going to be slippery after no rain for 11.5 months, so there are accidents everywhere. But I can handle the defensive driving if I get to keep the rain for a while.

I love the rain.

love

love

love

FO: Silky Ruffles

I saw this pattern around a few places and just fell in love it it. It is simple but has a little extra something that gets it noticed... I some yarn in my stash the other day and it hit me...

This yarn was made to be a ruffly scarf!


I quickly bought (best $3.50 ever!) the pattern and got to work. I just couldn't wait to cast on!

I love the way the colors work with this pattern



I love how the ruffles stack up when they are wrapped around your neck a couple times


This scarf was so much fun to knit and it knit up so quickly. I love instant gratification!

Project Details:

Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles by Laura Chau
Yarn: Fleece Artist Woolie Silk 3 ply - Just under one skein
Needles: US 9
Mods: none

It's been very difficult not to cast on a second one. The only reason I haven't is that I have loads of projects to get done first!! But that loyalty to my WIPs may not last very long. We'll see.

Randomness

1. My husband is making his special onion soup and it smells so good. I'm so glad he likes to share.

2. A very good friend of mine decided to take up knitting again. i knew there was a reason we always got a long so well

3. The universe has a funny way of showing you you made the right choice when you have doubts. This I KNOW

4. Not celebrating christmas isn't as hard as I thought it might be.... and way cheaper

5. It's 18 degrees back home in Portland right now. Mid 70's here. Makes me feel like a pansy for needing a sweater.

6. I rediscovered Subway's Spicy Italian sandwich. Something about salami and pepperoni makes any day better. yum.

7, I think I'm going to cast on some mittens. After all it is in the mid-70's

8. They they voice-over spanish soaps in arabic over here. This took me quite a while to figure out.

9. I have another FO. I'm excited to share it when the light is good enough to take a decent picture.

10. These pics of Multnomah Falls are amazing!
(pic from kgw.com)

FO: Husband's Socks!

I just posted these in my WIP Update post a couple days ago and look they are done already!

Basically once I reminded my self that I had started them back in JULY! I decided that I had to finish them. So I directed most of my time towards them and got them done in a matter of days.

The color repeats don't really match up on each sock but Husband loves them and that's all that's really important


Project Details

Pattern - Mock Cable Socks by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn - Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock - Lightweight in Monsoon
Needles - US 2 / 2.75 mm
Mods - I didn't really make any modifications to these. But what I learned are that "mock cables" are the same a regular cables except you have to do them more often! every. other. row! although these gave me great practice in cabling with out a cable needle! Bonus!


I was so excited to finish the socks that I cast on something new... for me!

The Ducks are Going to Rose Bowl!!!

Ugh I haven't been this homesick for a long time. I just miss being in the crowd at Autzen Stadium as we win a game. There's no feeling quite like being in sea of green and yellow, all cheering for the same team (except for the little patch of away fans) and the excitement that builds as we get closer and closer to winning the game.

December 3rd marked the Civil War between the University of Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State University Beavers. This is always a huge game for us as it gives the winner an entire year to hold it over the loser at various family functions and other football events. This game nearly divides the Oregon population in half as they stand up for the team they have cheered for for years.

The thing that made this year's Civil War even more exciting and pressurized (I'm pretty sure that's a word) was that the winner of the Civil War would be invited to play at Rose Bowl! ROSE BOWL! In Pasadena! It's exciting for any team to get so close to playing there but to have it be Oregon vs. Oregon State that decides it is just crazy!



So as I went to bed last night I put on my Duck pj's (they would be playing while I slept) and hoped that when I woke up it would be good news.

AND IT WAS!!!

The Ducks won over the Beavers 37 -33 at Autzen Stadium

(Autzen Stadium on game night)

We're going to Rose Bowl!!!
happy dance


images from KGW.com

WIP Update

I know! I haven't done one of these posts in a LONG time!

Partly because previous projects were surprises to one of my regular blog readers and partly cause work is a bit crazy so I haven't had time to make much progress on the knitting... but i feel I have finally got a too a good spot and I want to show you what I have been working on.

So this first one I have started calling Snowfall. It's my first (of many, I'm sure) Ishbel and I'm knitting it in Posh Yarns Miranda in colorway Snowfall! (now you know my inspiration!). I'm knitting this for a very good friend of mine who deserves something delicate and beautiful.


This next project is a baby blanket, of my own design (woot woot) made from Rowan Calmer. It's for a good friend of mine who is expecting her first little one.


Finally these I have dubbed "Husband's Socks" cause they are for my husband (I know I'm really creative with project names) I have been working on these for quite a while but they got shelved a while back when I was trying to get some previous projects done on time. Any how I have picked this back up and am nearly finished! They are made with BMFA Socks that Rock and a pattern from Wendy Johnson's Socks from the Toe Up (love this book!)


I am really loving these current projects. Especially all together they are the perfect balance... a little lace for when I want to work on something complex, some socks for when I want something portable and the blanket for when I want to work on something soft and cuddly!

Pink Glove Dance

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland Oregon (A hospital I am particularly fond of) put together this video dubbed the Pink Glove Dance to raise awareness for breast cancer.



Isn't it fantastic?!!?! I love Portland!!!


Oh and on a side note - The University of Oregon Ducks have a very important Civil War game against the Beavers this weekend. The Pasadena Rose Bowel is the prize for which ever team wins this game.

Here's rooting for the Ducks!!!!!

Eid Al Adha Mubarak!

Happy Eid Al Adha everyone!!!

Once again I'm a day late - but those who know me aren't so surprised....

Husband and I took off for Dubai Mall yesterday to go watch yet another movie and have a nice lunch together.

As we were wandering around the ginormous mall waiting for our movie to start we heard music... as most would we headed to check out what was going on.

Thats a local (meaning Emirati) dance group doing the tradition dance for everyone. They were dancing because UAE National Day is on December 2nd. They were out celebrating and showing their culture.




It was fun to watch and after about 15 minutes we headed over to the theater to watch Old Dogs with Robin Williams and John Travolta... All I will say is that I haven't laughed so hard during a movie in a LONG LONG time. I will recommend this movie to anyone. ANYONE!

Thanksgiving & Eid Al Adha Eve

Happy Thanksgiving & Eid Mubarak everyone!!!

Yeah I know I'm a little late but what to do? I was busy celebrating of course!

This year was unique in that Eid eve (I would guess it's called) was on the same day as Thanksgiving. I found this ironic in that on the eve of Eid Al Adha many Muslims choose to fast yet Thanksgiving in the states is the day of eating. The entire day revolves around our big turkey dinners - which we start eating (traditionally) around 4 pm up until we pass out from a turkey induced comma.

This year was different from the usual however because I spent the day at work. Harrumph. Because apparently Thanksgiving isn't recognized as a holiday in the UAE - what ever that means. It was also kinda weird that we worked because usually eid eve is a holiday and most companies did take the day off.... but don't feel bad for me yet! We get every day off next week except for Thursday making it a one day working week! woot woot!

Anyhoo back on topic - so after work on Thursday I had some very exciting plans that superseded making a turkey dinner

yup I had tickets to the premier of The Twilight Saga: New Moon! I was so excited! SO EXCITED! I had been waiting for this movie to come out ever since I saw Twilight a year-ish ago and finally the day had come (about 6 days after the US but what to do)

So I got home, ate (Kraft mac & cheese very traditional Thanksgiving food hehe) and got changed and we set out for the World's Largest Open Air Theater... Does Dubai do it any other way?

We found our seats and this was the screen in it's idle position - It's laying down where the bottom of the screen is at the highest position and the top is nearly on the ground


When the show was ready to begin the screen flipped up and we kicked off the movie with a laser show - which was cool but I was a bit anxious to get the movie started already!


and finally, after some introductions, laser shows and movie previews, New Moon started


It was a fantastic movie and I enjoyed it more than Twilight only because it seemed to stay truer to the book than the previous had. But then again it might have just felt that way since I had read the books so long ago they weren't all fresh in my memory. But it was a great way to spend a nice Thanksgiving evening / Al Adha Eve with my husband.

And in true Thanksgiving fashion here are 10 things I am thankful for

1. My Husband - I still like him and intend to keep him a long long time
2. My family - I truly have a great family who is accepting of all my choices in life
3. My health - this is something I forget is so important sometimes
4. My friends - both here and back home I have some great friends that I am so happy to have in my life
5. The next step - Husband and I are about to start an adventure (which I will detail soon enough) and I'm grateful for the opportunity
6. My yarn - It really makes me happy (especially when I have had a hard day) to go through my stash and cuddle my yarn
7. My education - not something I ever thought I would be so grateful for but every day I am reminded how important it is in my life and what a change it has made in the way I work through things
8. Did I say my husband yet? cause he's a pretty great guy
9. Gravy - both literally and metaphorically
10 . Internet - Helps me stay connected with my family while I'm living so far away and helps me blab on and on about what I'm thankful for

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday season what ever holidays you choose to celebrate!

seriously funny

this ninja cat is too good

Driving along...

I got a new view.


Cause we got a new highway... Yas Island Highway...


The view makes it hard to keep driving on to work.

It's good to be a Princess

Especially when sitting at your throne

All about the swap

If you ever want to squeal like a little girl who just got the pony they had always dreamed of just join a knitting swap with your closest friends....

I imagine all swaps are great but the bonus of doing swaps with your friends is that they know you and pick up on the things that matter most to you making the swap even more special.

The two knitting groups in UAE (the Abu Dhabi U-Knitted Amiras and the Dubai Knitters) got together for a second swap as the first one went so well that we could hardly wait to start another. Perhaps it's because it involves two of our favorite things shopping for yarn and other knitting goodies and receiving yarn and other knitting goodies. But to keep things interesting we added a theme to the "Swap Round 2": Books!!!! Add a book to the swap gift and even try and get gifts that might relate to said book! SO MUCH FUN!

Well we finally got together for the official Swapping of Swap Gifts and here's what my good friend Rama got for me.........

First I got yarn! That she dyed!!!!!

This one she named Strawberries N' Cream - how did she know I like pink? hmm? who told?


And this one is Lavender Fields - are those colors not AMAZING together?


Then there were these little beauties! My first thought: I can use these as knitting diaries!! (best of both worlds Knitting and Twilight!)


And THE book! Dracula The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker More vampires!!!


Then I opened this! Another Book! Cupcakes recipe book... The photos are amazing in this book. It looks like you can pick up a cupcake out of the page and eat it! I have never been more inspired to make cupcakes...


But I didn't have to! She made me cupcakes!! Yummy lemony tasty cupcakes (YUM!) that were green and yellow cake with green and yellow icing for the DUCKS!!!!

The Ducks have been doing so well that there's a chance that we could go to THE BOWL (not going to say it til it happens)! I KNOW! So I was feeling a little left out seeing all the fun pics from the games back home that we were winning so much! and this was just the thing to get me in the spirit for kickin' some Arizona a-- er um tush!!!

Needless to say I REALLY enjoyed my swap and have been playing with my new goodies loads! I feel so spoiled! I got pink and purple and ducks and vampires and cake... seriously fantastic!

The Princess is In

Driving along...

today I saw this AMAZING sunset!



I don't know if this pic show the amazing magenta strip across the sky

FO: FLS

FINALLY!!!!!

I finally finished the February Lady Sweater that my knitting group started as a KAL on FEBRUARY FIRST! I know! Insane that it took me almost 9 entire months to get this thing done. Obviously I took a break from it for a while not to mention that I knit nearly the entire body twice. TWICE! Remember me talking about it here? Yup pretty frustrating. I basically got back to this same point as before and then put it away for ooohh five months. But about a week ago I decided to pick it back up and just finish knitting it.

So there are multiple factors as to why I decided now to pick this back up now.

1. I'm on a stash knit down diet and have decided that all skeins used in a WIP would count. So I figured BONOUS get 1.5 skeins for just a little more work!
2. I had a bad knitting experience that also has something to do with my last post and really wanted to be selfish and make something just for me and no one else. And as it seems I have a lot of people having babies around me I figured now was as good a time as any to finish up something for my self
3. I love pink and wanted to wear my pink sweater
4. It's getting chilly out (mid 80's! I know freezing!) and I can start wearing sweaters again! Woot woot!




Anyways I know you are tired of my rambling so here are the details!! (I'm so excited!)


Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: 1.5 skeins of Twisted from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. This stuff goes forever. What a bargain... not to mention less ends to weave in. woot woot!
Needles: Size US 8's
Modifications:Well there weren't a whole lot of modifications needed. But the sleeves I did modify by shortening (I only did 6 lace repeats and 8 rows of garter stitch for the hem) and I also decreased the circumference of the sleeves by decreasing the extra stitches you pick up in the underarm over the next few rows.

Oh and the best thing of all is that the sweater fits beautifully! Totally worth the do-over or rather knit-over!

big fat :::sigh:::

Look I know I have been quiet here. I know that I haven't been posting as much as you are use to and I even know that I have addressed my absence a few time before this with my usual "oh things are busy but I'm a trooper" crap. The truth is life is hard. This has been the hardest thing for me to accept with becoming an adult. No longer can my mom call me in sick so that I can stay home and relax. No more can I be excused from assignments for various reasons. and No longer can I decided "I don't LIKE this anymore" and walk away. Nope I'm an adult. I'm an emancipated married adult who can not just walk away from responsibilities nor do I feel that that is a reasonable solution for me anymore. I take pride in what I accomplish whether it be my marriage (franking one of the most important and satisfying things I have ever done) my knitting, my work (or even school when that was still apart of what I did) and my friendships.

Unfortunately the past few weeks have tested my ability to gauge my successes in some of these areas. It seems I have taken blow after blow but instead of feeling like I can show people how I really feel about the situations I have been put in I somehow feel I have to suck it up and move on. Really all I feel like doing is screaming from the roof tops "THIS ISN'T FAIR!" but then I remind my self that life isn't fair and I eat oreos.

I keep reminding my self "hey you have all four limbs working and you don't even need glasses! be thankful!" but it's amazing how a few rough spots and really dominate over all the wonderful things in life.

But seriously why do we feel the need to keep hard times so quiet. Like we don't all have them? Seriously. We all have rough weeks at work or we find out a friendship isn't what we thought it was. We make a stupid mistake that seems to ruin our lives forever (not really but that's how it FEELS and that's what's important). We all hit that time where nothing is fun cause the negative dominates. But can we talk about it openly? No. We're suppose to be happy and grateful for all the good things. And I am! Don't get me wrong. I feel that I have some really amazing people in my life and I feel that I have been blessed with some amazing things in life. But still.

SO that's why I have been so quiet. I am having a giant pity party for my self and because of this pity party I am at a loss as to what to talk to you about. I had even lost my knitting mojo for a week there (a direct result from one of the recent events but it's not fair to go into it here) oh and I also gave up my ticket to F1, because I had to be a responsible adult, just so you know. Pity Party!

Whoa. Thanks for listening.

FO: Swallowtail Shawl

I DID IT! I fought the shawl and I WON!



I had a strict deadline as this was for one of my good friend who is getting married today! How exciting is that!

Being that purple is her very favorite color in the whole wide world I wasn't very surprised that she asked for the shawl to be made in purple as well...

I wanted to make sure that it matched her purple wedding dress perfectly so I dyed the yarn my self... you probably remember me talking about it here

Picking the pattern was easy too as I quickly realized that my friend loved any shawl pattern I showed her as long as it was purple. So I chose the Swallowtail for a few reasons
1. Let's be realistic it's a free pattern! I LOVE THAT!
2. Loads of people have knit this so I knew I could get plenty of help if I got stuck (cough*nupps*cough)
3. I love the budding lace pattern... simple and elegant.





Then I got to knitting... This being my first shawl it took a lot of patience and a lot of reworking but it was well worth it as it came out better than I hoped and the smile on my friend's face yesterday when I handed it over made all the work worth it.

I was pleasently surprised with how beautiful it looked even before I blocked it


But I couldn't pass up using my new lace blocking kit from KnitPicks!

So here are the details of my shawl
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Natural color that I then dyed in a lilac purple. This took slightly less that one skein... I swear this mally lace reproduces almost as fast as you can knit it!
Needles: Size US 4's
Mod: This shawl wasn't going to be big enough so I decided to do 19 budding lace repeats instead of 14 but I must say this wond not have gone very smoothly for me if it hadn't been for this blog post by Petterknit. Oh and those nupps? Not nearly as hard as everyone made it sound... just fiddly which was a huge relief cause they were quite intimidating to attempt but came out wonderfully

Honestly knitting this was a pleasure and has made lace knitting one of my new favorite types of project... good thing too as I have loads of lace yarn!

After the wedding is over I'm going to try to get some more proper pictures of the FO... I just didn't have time to take pictures of the Swallowtail in good light.

Now I'm revisiting the FLS! Can you believe it?!?!?! I'm almost done with the body! Woot woot!

to make you smile

Meet Tara the elephant and Bella the dog who are best friends at the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee... You have to see it to believe it.

ugh I know I have been a lazy bum and all... I'm sorry! Usually I'm much better about posting than I have been lately... I could give you tons of reasons but I'm not going to. I'm just going to tell you that i don't really have that much to write about right now. At least not anything I'm willing to write about yet. i just need some time to confirm everything before i go and put it on the internet for everyone and their mom to see. But don't worry you'll know all about everything in good time.

I did have some excitement a while ago that Charmaine blogged about here. The knitting group decided to throw Charmaine a surprise baby shower!!! It was so much fun!

And I was even able to get my piping bags dusted off to decorate this cake!
I really forgot how much I love cake decorating. Like knitting I find it quite cathartic to decorate a cake (and eat all the left over icing when I'm done)

Also we have had a couple more meetings since then... One was last week and all the ladies were so sweet and got me a birthday cake and sang to me!! They really made me feel special and I'm sure I got bright red.

That's right it was my birthday last week. What a great time I had this year. My husband truly surprised me which is hard to do and he made the day very memorable. This was also the first year, at my office, where my birthday wasn't during Ramadan so they got me a huge chocolate cake! It was so tasty! So between my family, my husband, my friends and my office I was very spoiled this year and I LOVED IT!

FO: knotted hat

I managed to knit this hat while I was on vacation in the States over the summer.... (don't ask why you're not seeing it until now - I'm just lazy)

My mom and I were shopping at Knit Purl in downtown Portland Oregon when she found this amazing yarn. It was so soft with a slight halo and ivory white. If you know my mom than you aren't surprised by her purchase. I asked what she would like me to make with this yarn she loves so much. A hat. A plain stockinette hat. This yarn requires size 2 needles(!) and knitting a whole stockinette just did NOT sound like fun. So I logged on to Ravelry and set out find the perfect hat pattern.... After much searching and narrowed it down to the Knot Hat by Bobbi Intveld. My mom loved it so I got started...





I really enjoyed knitting this hat. The stockinette was relaxing but the knots gave me something to keep my interest and I'm really happy with the way it came out.

So here are the pattern details:

Pattern: Knot Hat by Bobbi Intveld
Yarn: The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering in Orchid
Needles: size US 2's
Mods: None this pattern is great the way it is... If I made it again I might make it a tish longer.


And because they were feeling neglected I thought I would update you on Princess and Jerry.

Princess has learned that she really likes boxes...


The one she loves most is the one my mom sent just for her


Husband also found this DVD for her that has kittens playing... Princess was trying to figure out how to join the fun


Jerry also found a new favorite sleeping spot just outside our bedroom window


Doesn't she look comfortable?