randomness

1- i'm finally getting over being sick. this time it came in waves. first the sick feeling, then the sick sounding, then the hacking (the loveliest part). i prefer to take it all on at once

2- now that i don't feel so sick i have been knitting. a lot

3- and cooking

4- and spinning

5- i've been busy

6- oh and i got a "proper" (by proper i mean a real) jacket that can handle whatever the weather here in chicago can dish out at us. at least that's what the guy said.

7- and boots which i could probably use to hike through the tundra of canada and still have toasty feet

8- yet i still feel ill prepared for winter. sigh. i think i'll just have to get through the first one

9- the auto timer on the dishwasher is amazing. it means it cleans while you sleep. unless you stay up too late. then it scares the crap out of you. like now

10- i think that's my cue to go to bed. night.

FO: Whipped Cream

So it's not secret that I am throughly in to yarn swaps. I love the whole process. Figuring out what someone would like and knitting for them is one of the very best parts

Recently I put together an angle package for an Ice Cream themed swap. An angle package means that someone, for whatever reason, flaked on sending out their swap package therefore someone who sent a perfectly well thought out and loved package to someone else didn't receive anything in return and thats where I came in.

I saw that there was someone who needed an ice cream themed swap and seeing as I worked at a Baskin Robins for 8 years I feel I practically have a PhD in the topic so I decided to go for it.

I put together a really cute box which had each part of the package making up a sundae. There was these super cute project bags my mom made.

The large bag was the "cone" for the sunday. There was some yarn which made up the "ice cream", then the little bag made up the "sprinkles", and a much desired book by my swappee made up the "cherry" on the cone. But I ask what kind of sundae doesn't have whipped cream?

So I included this shaw which I knit for her off her queue (a queue is the list of projects we knitters wish to make)

It's a super fast knit and it's knit in garter stitch rather than stockinet stitch which really speeds things up for me (see this post)

Project details:

Pattern: Vixen Shawl by Tori Gurbisz

Yarn: Posh Yarn - Laura in Garden Party.

Needles: US 6

Mods: I didn't modify this pattern at all However if I were to knit it again I would definitely up the needle size as it didn't come out anywhere near as big as pattern called for. Also the yarn is gorgeous and also has a little cashmere in it so it's super soft but it's also quite splitty.

Sick

I have been sick. It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday. It's amazing how you can feel your body being consumed by a cold slowly but surly. Ever since it hit I haven't been able to knit a stitch! (I shake my fist at you sickness!) I just stare at all my projects and think I should be knitting and then I pick it up and put it down again. It's just too much work.

Now after sleeping for an entire 12 HOURS! (that's a lot even for me!) I'm laid out on the couch because apparently waking up and making coffee was just too much for my body to handle. But I thought I would update my blog before I head for the cough syrup because after a dose of that stuff I tend not to make much sense any more. I tried last night. Really I did. And after a half a sentence I gave up. It was just too hard. Anyone who can write while they are sick well you have my respect.

...uh oh.... the words are slipping away. ugh.

Oh right well I wanted to show you the yummy chicken noodle soup I made yesterday to get my self through this cold. It's made the way my mom makes it with extra black pepper. Yum.

The hubbs also went and picked up a bunch of goodies for me (english muffins and choc chip cookies top that list) isn't he sweet?

Ok off to have some more soup and then take a much needed nap

backwards

I've been teaching my self to knit backwards.

I really hate purling back on large stockinet WIPs. In fact I dislike it so much that I will avoid all stockinet pieces just so I don't have to purl back 100 stitches. But there are so many cute sweaters out there I have been wanting to knit so I have been teaching my self to knit backwards

At first it was like trying to write with the wrong hand. Awkward, sloppy and inefficient to say the least but after practicing i'm finally to the point where I don't have to look at every stitch and I'm about as fast at it as purling. I figure with a little more practice I'll be knitting up a storm in no time!

But let me tell you it uses muscles I didn't know I had

Blackhawks

Boy do I have a lot to catch up on. Things have been pretty busy and then I got sick. Sick means I loose all ability to form complete sentences. So before I dive into another dose of cough medicine I thought I would update my blog with at least a few of my happenings

First up

I went to my first Chicago Blackhawks game on Friday

Three things happened at this game

1. (and not surprisingly) the Hawks won!

2. I made some new friends

3. I'm addicted to hockey now! And I will go to every game where I can get my hands on some of those hot little tickets!