Archive for April, 2007
Hope Elizabeth · 04/28/07 at 7:59 pm · Filed under Secret Pals
Are you ready to see the socks I made? These are my very first pair of “sock yarn” socks. They weren’t exactly easy, I had a few mishaps along the way, but I really did enjoy making them. They were knit with two circulars using Trekking XXL #107.
These socks went to a very special person - Holly at HollYarns who was my Sockret Pal spoilee. Let me tell you, she is a wonderful person - kind, friendly, charming and talented. Her blog is a fabulous place to visit and reading about all of her adventures (knitting, running, charity work) is something that I truly enjoy. When they handed out spoilee’s, I lucked out. I had an awesome partner!
Would it sound silly if I said I was proud of myself and these socks? I hope not, because I’m pretty pleased with myself - not only for finishing the socks, but for not giving up the few times I found myself really struggling. There’s a lot to be said for perseverance!
Oh, and let me tell you, the book Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch is absolutely awesome! I’m so going to save my pennies and buy More Sensational Knitted Socks as soon as I can. Also, for anyone who needs a little help with their knitting (like me… who I still consider a semi-beginner), Stitch ‘N Bitch came in pretty gosh darn handy when I needed some help picking up stitches or fixing some of my other mistakes! Just consider this a little FYI for anyone who’s interested in giving socks a shot. Hope they help you out as much as they helped me!
Hope Elizabeth · 04/21/07 at 6:21 pm · Filed under General
I wanted to share with you a couple pictures of some absolutely wonderful stitch markers that I received in the mail. Check these beauties out…
These were a gift from my Secret Pal 9 spoilee Kathy. She made them as a thank you for the fun we enjoyed during SP9. How sweet is that? I absolutely adore everything about them - the pink, the polka dots and the pleasant memories associated with them. Thank you, Kathy!
You know, speaking of Kathy, I received something else in the mail this week. It’s something I found by following a link she shared with her readers…
Isn’t this the cutest little bag and buttons? When I saw this adorable 4×6 bag made in the “Kitties in Chairs” fabric at Piddleloop, well, I just had to buy it! Why?
Well check out the travel bag I bought from Café Crafty last year. And check out the small tote bag that my mom bought for me. Now can you see why I just had to buy this little Piddleloop purse? Oh it’ll be so perfect for my new stitch markers!
Thank you again, Kathy, for the awesome link! And really, if anyone reading this post hasn’t yet visited Piddleloop, you should take a few minutes to check ‘em out. The bags are both lovely and reasonable. Trust me, you won’t be sorry that you dropped by and looked around. Enjoy!
P.S. I’m not sure where my mom purchased the small tote bag for me. I believe she got it from someone in one of her e-mail groups. If she can remember the lady she got it from, or I come across these same totes online, I will make sure to share the link. Sorry I can’t be any more help than that!
Hope Elizabeth · 04/13/07 at 10:36 pm · Filed under Secret Pals
I received a wonderful (and unexpected) surprise from my Secret Pal yesterday. How exciting! I walked up on the porch and saw a package sitting beside the door. I didn’t think anything of it, since my son had recently ordered some goodies to update his skateboard, so I just brought it inside and set it in the chair. That’s when I noticed it was addressed to me! Whee! How fun is that? I got a present and I didn’t even know I was getting one!
This is what I took out of the box. Isn’t it pretty? I just love how it was wrapped. It’s so quaint and country-ish. I had to take a picture of it just to show you how nice it looked before I opened it up.
Look what was inside - some bright, colorful, delicious-looking yarns from Sugar Apple Creations! Aren’t they beautiful? The first yarn is called “Lagoon” and it is 100% merino wool. The second is called “Pink Tulip” and it’s 60% cashmere and 40% merino wool from Italy. It so, so soft! The last is “Deep Sunset” and it’s also 100% merino wool. They’re all so pretty, I can’t stop looking at them!
I just loved my gift so much, I thought I’d take one more picture to try to convince everyone to check out Sugar Apple Creations. What can I say? Her yarn is not only lovely, but I was impressed with the extra care she put into her packaging. That tells me she cares about her customers and that definitely deserves a visit.
Oh, my Secret Pal, thank you for the wonderful surprise. I can’t stop smiling. You are too awesome! I can’t wait to come up with just the right project for my gorgeous new yarns. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so sweet.
Hope Elizabeth · 04/13/07 at 2:14 pm · Filed under Crochet
I’ve been surfing the web and, let me tell you, if anyone ever needed a reason to learn how to crochet, I do believe I’ve found one for them! Check out this absolutely adorable baby lamb. It’s the most precious little bugger I’ve seen in awhile and, believe me, I’ve seen some pretty gosh darn cute critters out there. She is just oh so sweet! I really wish I could run to the craft store to get some fun fur right now!
Planetjune.com has a wonderful assortment of crafty ideas and precious patterns. Take a few minutes to check them out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed
Hope Elizabeth · 04/10/07 at 7:49 pm · Filed under Secret Pals
In case you didn’t already know, I have the greatest Sockret Pal in the world. I received a final package from her on Friday and, to be honest with you, it made me cry. I’ve been experiencing the blues off-and-on lately and her kindness really made my day. I felt like a little kid enjoying a special treat. It was such an awesome feeling and I don’t think I could ever thank her enough for all she’s done.
Can you believe this beautiful honeycomb candle? I’m not a very good photographer, but it’s an adorable little beehive with a precious little bee sitting on the side. Bumblebees are something I collect, so this couldn’t have been more perfect. You can be assured that everytime I look at it, I will be reminded of my very special secret pal.
Did you notice those pretty little candies beside the candle? They’re almost too cute to nibble on! You can bet that I’ll be treating myself to one of those sweet little treats soon. It’s been all I could do to hold myself back long enough to get a picture of them. I almost didn’t make it.
As if my pal hadn’t spoiled me enough, she had more goodies stashed inside the package. I found a gorgeous sock loom and not one, but two skeins of Cascade. I have wanted to purchase one of these fine gauge sock looms for awhile, but it just hasn’t been in the budget. To see it sitting in the box, well, I was so gosh darn excited you would have thought it was Christmas morning and I was 5 years old.
Do you see the little book sitting on the loom? It’s “My Little Knitting Book: A Quick Reference” and what an awesome little book it is! There’s charts inside where you can keep track of what knitting needles and crochet hooks you have. There’s charts for your shoe size and foot lengths. There’s yardage estimates and conversion tables. It’s just full of useful information and, if that weren’t enough, it’s teeny-tiny and can easily fit in your knitting bag or purse. I know this will come in handy - especially when I get shopping for needles. (Do you know how many size 6 needles I have? Way more than my fair share, that’s for sure!)
Last, but far from least, look at the beautiful socks my sweet secretive pal knit for me! Are they gorgeous or what? Not only do they look scrumptious, but they fit me perfectly and feel divine. The colors are so perfect and, let me tell you, the knitting is gorgeous. I tried to get a picture of the scalloped, lacy cuff on the socks, but I couldn’t get it to come out clearly. Trust me though, it’s lovely. The talent displayed on these socks is amazing. I will cherish them.
So have you clicked on any of the links above to find out who my Sockret Pal was? If you haven’t, I’ll tell you…
Isela of Purling Sprite was my spoiler and did she ever spoil me rotten! Even prior to Sockret Pal, Isela was someone that I admired. She’s a talented knitter and loomer. She’s a friendly face on the internet. She’s kind, patient and always willing to lend a fellow crafter a hand. She’s truly a wonderful woman and, if you’ve read through her blog, you know she’s also a fabulous mother, wife and friend. She’s one of the “cool kids” in our knitting community and I’m so honored to have had the opportunity to get to know her a wee bit better.
Thank you, Isela. Very much.
Hope Elizabeth · 04/08/07 at 7:48 pm · Filed under Critters
Is this pitiful or what? Tom, Tim, Hollie and I sat around this evening watching Zathura and of course family time wouldn’t be complete without some lovin’ from our Sammy! He snuggled up under the blanket, used Tim’s leg as a pillow and snored while we enjoyed the movie. He really can be disgustingly lazy sometimes, not to mention a huge couch hog, but how can you not love a face like that?
Hope you all had a very Happy Easter!
Hope Elizabeth · 04/03/07 at 9:50 pm · Filed under General
I haven’t been the best of bloggers, have I? I’m not going to make any lame excuses for disappearing again, but I will apologize for being so inactive for so long. I can’t really explain my absence, but I can say that I’m going to do my best to stick around this time. Believe it or not, this blog is important to me and I need to remind myself now and then that it’s okay to just blab away about whatever I want to blab about here - even if it isn’t knitting related. Sometimes I forget that I can post even if I’m miserable and moody.
I finished my socks, but I can’t post a picture of them just yet - not until they’re received by the intended recipient. I enjoyed knitting them, but I didn’t enjoy the Trekking XXL yarn that I chose to use. I’m not sure why, but I really had a hard time with it splitting. Is this the norm for Trekking XXL? I didn’t notice a problem with my last Trekking socks, the ones I still haven’t finished, but this time around? Holy guacamole! I had a heckuva time.
I’m still working on my afghan and I will probably be working on it for forever. Seriously! It’s very wide and it takes me quite awhile to complete one row, so I don’t think it’ll be done anytime soon. That’s okay though. The whole reason I started an afghan was so that I would have an easy project to work on here and there. Perhaps my goal will be to have it done by my birthday in October. I can’t promise to meet that goal (procrastiknitter is a procrasticrocheter too, remember?) but we’ll see.
In non-knitting news, I started the Weight Watchers Core Program yesterday. I’ve been following the Flex Program and I’m down 38 pounds, but I’ve found myself getting very lazy about measuring my food and counting my points. This is an old habit of mine - I get tired of paying attention to the plan’s details and the next thing you know, I’m totally off program and all you see is my ass hanging out of the refrigerator. Usually I wait a few months, eat like a piggy and re-join WW after I’ve gained back all of my weight (and then some), but this time around I decided to switch things up a bit and try Core. So far I feel okay. Let’s hope the positive feelings stick around for awhile. The closer I get to age 40, the more important it becomes to me to lose the incredible amount of weight I need to lose. I want to be forty and fabulous - and I only have 2.5 years to go!
Knitting helps. I can’t eat and knit at the same time. Hmmm… maybe that giant afghan is more important a project than I realized. I can’t eat and crochet at the same time either.
