Taunt the TSA with child-safe scissors !

As everyone gets ready for the summer and holidays, this is for all the future airplane travelers.

On my trip to my sister's graduation in Columbus , I packed a pair of child-safe Hello Kitty scissors with my knitting in my carry-on bag. I left the Raleigh/Durham with no problem. On the way back, the dutiful Columbus TSA officials told me that I couldn't have my scissors and tried to take them. I had 5 sets of big pointy needles but I can't have the scissors??? I informed them that the TSA website said I could take them but I don't think they appreciated being told they were wrong. I was told that the TSA website was out-of-date and he was going by the rules of the airport. I then proceeded out of security to a gift shop to mail them back to myself. A big hassle! My trip to Miami....scissors with me there and back, no problem. Cleveland and LaGuardia...no problem.

I wrote the TSA customer service center where they proceeded to dance around my question. Long story short, the rules are supposed to be universal but an airport make their own judgement call. I think this was supposed to apply to things like 18 inch long dressmaker scissors and not 3 inch kiddie scissors...but I digress.

Now it is my mission to test the TSA at every airport I visit. My theory is that the Slo'umbus airport is just behind the times and is filled with buttholes with no other power in life other than to stop knitters with kiddie scissors.

Next time you take a plane, print out the TSA prohibited items list, pack some child-safe scissors and let me know if you make it through the airport.


My manager gave us Friday off along with Monday and Tuesday, so I'm taking another blogging vacation. I'm going to head to DC for the weekend.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!

Those jokesters at Vogue Knitting....

VK sent an offer to try the new Nicky Epstein book free for 21 days. The catch you ask? If you keep it, you pay $30 for it. Not sold yet. Well with the lovely purchase you also get the lovely "Vogue Knitting On the Go: Ponchos" and a Chibi case with 2 needles for free.

Now lets analyze this irrestible offer. The book will probably take 6 weeks to arrive. I think the book will be in stores before you would get it in the mail. $30? I'm sure Barnes & Noble or Amazon will offer it for less. Ponchos? Either VK can't get rid of these books fast enough or they haven't gotten the memo that ponchos are a definite NO. Chibis? If I don't have them already I never plan on getting them.

After this wonderful analysis, do you think I'm going to take VK up on this offer?

In other knitting news, I am working on the pattern for the Summer Tweed Tank so that I can post it. The Rebecca sweater is kicking my butt, but I'm going to finish it. I don't know why it's taking so long.

Knitting is cool….You betta recognize!!!!

Looking back on it, when I was younger, I was a little different. Not different in the crazy way but different, as in I marched to my own beat. I wasn’t really a mainstream kid. I did some things that other kids did but for the most part I did what I wanted because I liked it. I wore some really outlandish outfits, did things like cross-stitch for fun, read every book in the library, and designed outfits in sketch pads when I was 8 years old. I remember in high school I made a shirt completely out of Tweety Bird material and everyone thought it was the coolest thing. No one else would have dared try it, but I did.

It wasn’t until recently when I remembered all of this that I realized how unique I was. And even with my strange uniqueness, I was always a part of the cool crowd. People accepted it and sometimes even imitated it. I lost some of my uniqueness over the years and I missed it. I think joining the corporate world can do that to you without you realizing it. This year I decided to get my mojo back. I want to live life to the fullest and never regret a thing. Now I’m back to being me. I wear whatever I feel like wearing (within reason), I cut off all of my shoulder-length hair to about 1” long, I travel more, and I do crazy things like Knit In Public.

In Miami, my two non-knitting friends looked at me like I was crazy when I pulled out my knitting at the beach. I’m sure you you’ve heard the standard comments. “I can’t believe you are about to knit, blah, blah, blah”. Of course you know I rolled my eyes and kept right on knitting. My sister never said a word. She doesn’t knit but she grew up in the same artistic household so she gets it. One friend (#1) went to say something but stopped. I guess she remembered that I made her an outfit for her birthday last year and that nothing that I’ve ever made has been ugly. The other one (#2) kept right on with the comments. In my head I’m thinking, “Keep it up. Keep on talking, I’ll show you”.



By the time I finished my cute Summer Tweed tank on Saturday (blocked and seamed in the hotel room), she (#2) was saying “Oohh, that’s so cute!” and asking if I could make her something. With a sly smirk I said, “Ooohhh, so now it’s cool. Now you want me to make you something huh?!?..... We’ll see.”

In case you’re wondering, We’ll see = No.

So the next time someone looks at you like you’re crazy for doing something that you like and enjoy, just tilt your head ever so slightly, raise an eyebrow, and with attitude say “ [Insert Action verb here] is cool…You betta recognize!!!!”

Humidity with a side of mosquito bites….Coming right up!!!!

It’s seems that the greatest thing that Miami has to offer is not the obvious things like sun, fun, and beaches. Nope! It’s humidity and mosquito bites.

I had it all planned. Some time by the pool, doing a little knitting. Some time on the beach, doing a little knitting. Well…. on Wednesday after fifteen minutes poolside, I had 5 bites on my arms, including one on my hand. The knitting went back into the bag, and I went back indoors. Thursday and Friday, after putting up with the smart comments of the non-knitting friends I invited on MY vacation (more on this tomorrow), I did a little knitting on the beach. On Saturday, the poolside knitting lasted five minutes before I had 3 bites, so I was back indoors again.

Humidity does not make for great knitting either. Sticky hands and fluffy yarn is a disgusting feeling. Most of my knitting was done in the hotel room with the A/C on. I don’t really like A/C because of that artificial refrigerator cold feeling but it seems it’s the only way to survive in Miami.

In non-knitting vacation news, I had the delight of getting stuck in a horrific rainstorm that resulted in me walking 8 blocks barefoot in ankle-deep water. The kicker….2 hours later the streets were bone dry.

From all this you would think my vacation stunk, but it was okay, just not the way I planned it. I’ll tell you about the better parts tomorrow.

I finished my Summer Tweed tank which I’ll take pictures of tomorrow. I made some progress on my Rebecca sweater which I’m determined to finish this week. It’s been around too long and it’s started to bug me.

Yarn-Away Winner.

Nik of Nik’s Knits is the winner of the TLC yarn. She was the only person to enter my first little contest but its okay. I’m sure she doesn’t mind the lack of competition and I’ll save on postage since she’s here in town.

B-day Vacation & A Yarn Giveaway

Howdy Doo Everyone!



It's my birthday and in celebration of this glorious day, I am taking a long needed vacation to the sunny beaches of Miami. I'll be away until next Monday but while I'm gone I let you partake in my first ever yarn giveaway.

This is what the wedding gift was originally going to be. A very large afghan.


After it took 4 hours to get 5 inches of a 70"x55" afghan, I realized that this travesty must come to an end. I will never handknit a adult sized afghan. Nope. Not doin' it. So my loss is your gain. I have 10(+ 1 partially used) skeins of Red Heart TLC Ultra Soft yarn in White to give away.


If you're interested, leave a comment and on Monday I will put all the names in a hat and the lucky winner will get this yarn. FOR FREE!
(I will contact the winner for mailing info)

See you next week!

Stop talking about Cotton-Ease!!!!

I beg...I plead...please oh please...for the love of heaven and earth....STOP talking about Cotton-Ease. I am weak, weak I tell you. I don't need any more yarn but everytime I read a blog with mention of Cotton-Ease at Tuesday Morning or Hancock Fabrics, I pick up my car keys and then have to talk myself out of it. No more...please!!!! You all are torturing me. I have 30 skeins with no specific plans other than fear that I won't have any. Do I really need 30 more? (Don't answer that.)

I won't buy anymore yarn...I wont' buy anymore yarn....

Mystery solved!

Finally I can reveal the mystery wedding gift. By now they've opened their gift and if not then well....oops, my bad.

It's a quilt!


The first and last quilt I'll ever make.


I even made fabric personalized with their names.

I don't see the excitement in a quilt. Conceptually, it's a nice thought but it's too massive and cumbersome to really be fun. I wanted to give something more meaningful than a toaster so I went ahead and made it. I started to make a afghan but nixed that I idea. I'll tell you more about that another day.


Now to the fun stuff.

My Secret Pal rocks!!!!!
Why does she rock, you ask! My SP rocks because she's psychic.
I've been looking at the KnitPicks catalog for a few days and was contemplating a purchase of some more sock yarn. I had just talked myself out of buying more yarn when the mailman arrived with this.




Sock yarn...sock yarn...how I love my sock yarn! I've even cast one for my first pair of top-down socks. And isn't the stitch marker adorable!

The blob attacks!

No new knitting to report. The blob has grown fangs and is trying to eat me alive. There are swollen fingers and blisters involved. I know you are sitting there like "Huh? swollen fingers? blisters? How is that possible?" Well there was a lot of thread and small needles involved. I got it in my head to ,literally, do parts of this project by hand. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I'm almost done with the dreaded monster.

I did manage a little shopping for my SP. My box will be small but I sure as heck spent enough for what will fill it. That $50 thing is a joke.

The blob

The blob has taken over the studio corner of my apartment.



This is the mystery gift for my BFF's wedding present. Let me just say that I must love him a lot cause I'm not really enjoying this project. I like the whole concept of it but no one else will ever get one of these things out of me again. I'll be knee deep in this mess for the rest of the week since the wedding is this Saturday. Hopefully I'll get this done quick and get back to the knitting I want to finish. I'll show a pic of the finished project on Monday. I'm sure many of you can guess what this anyway.

I heard from my Secret Pal yesterday. She's so nice. I'll need to do better with my SP but with this stinkin wedding gift and Father's Day this week I haven't had a chance to do some good SP shopping. This week...I promise.

Here is a pic of my travel knitting.



I made a good bit of progress on my first sock eventhough the gauge is killing me. The next pair of socks will have to be on US 3-5 with a heavier gauge yarn. The sock is definitely the most portable of the projects. I also started a tank with my Summer Tweed at the graduation Sunday. It was 3 hours long so I made good progress.

If the blob doesn't eat me alive I'll try and finish the tank front tonight so I have something to show you tomorrow. There's a Knitting Meetup tonight so I should get it done.

“That girl looks good” **

See that girl right there...

Bill and her diploma

...that girl looks good !!! This my friends, is the most important graduate of the 7,368 graduates of The Ohio State University Spring 2005 class. After a little extra time and a lot of hard work, my lil sis graduated from college on Sunday!!! And what does she have to show for it..... a Bachelors in Industrial Engineering, a minor in Biomedical Engineering, and a minor in African-American and African Studies. That girl is good!!! (Can you tell I'm proud?)

7,368 - That's a lot

** The source of my quote... After a event and reception on Saturday, I inform my cousin that we may not have time to go back to the apartment and change before going out for the evening. I then ask her if she has a problem with the outfit she was wearing or if she really needed to change. She then proceeds to look down at her outfit, look up at me, and then says "That girl looks good,what you talkin' 'bout?" In case you didn't get it, the conceited little joker was talking about herself. Priceless...I tell you...priceless. My family is pure comedy and if I had taped the entire weekend and sold it to Comedy Central..I'd be rich.


Now onto the knitting content.

Mamacita Senorita (mom) and I went to a few yarn shops while in Columbus. We visited Knitter's Mercantile on Friday. Very nice shop with a great variety. I met some lovely ladies that told me how to best go about getting a TNNA membership. I also had an informative conversation with the shop's owner (I don't know her name). Did you know that Skacel and Inox were once the same company and that Addi Turbos and Inox are virtually the same needle but Inox is cheaper? Inox here I come. I satisfied my Rowan Summer Tweed craving with a purchase of 4 skeins of a lime green color for another lovely tank. Mamacita bought a few balls of Catania Cotton for some socks and baby clothes.

On Saturday we ventured to The Yarn Shop . Mamacita liked this shop a little better because they were having a sale and there was more yarn fit for baby clothes. She bought more cottons and I found the ever elusive Bryspun needles.

Mamacita has found her niche. She likes socks and baby clothes. Socks because they are quick and baby clothes because "they are sooooo cute". Here is a pair of socks that she made for me.
If they look big it's because I have big feet.

She also made my sis two pairs as graduation presents. My sister has a sock fetish so this works out great for her. We had to stop her from putting them on in the middle of the restaurant.

I think that's all for now. I'm off to do a little knitting and get some sleep. Serta has missed me and I've missed him. I'll show some of my travel knitting tomorrow.

On The Road Again....

First let me start by saying a big THANK YOU to all the wonderful ladies that have left me comments. I feel so much love from blogland!

I'm off to my lil' sis' graduation at "The" Ohio State University. OSU isn't a university known for just giving away degrees. You definitely earn every bit of it. It's been a hard road for her but she made it through. There will a lot of drinking and celebrating this weekend.

I do hope to make a trip to a few yarns shops while in Columbus. Thanks to mzundercover for suggestions. I like to see the varieties in other shops. I don't really need any more yarn though.

Have a great weekend. Hopefully I'll have some travel knitting to show you when I get back.

OCCD

Last night I realized I have a problem. I suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Creative Disorder. Unlike regular OCD this disorder is specific to the creative side of the brain. It would come in handy when I’m at work but it only kicks in when I think of things like sewing and knitting. Once I get an idea in my head, there’s no getting it out until it’s finished. If I see it in my head I must buy the supplies and set the wheels in motion. It bothers me until I do. It’s like I’ll lose the creative flow if I don’t start immediately.

2:53 AM Tuesday morning. This is the exact time I fully realized my problem. I started with a few rows on my sock, a few rows of the OSW, and a few row on my Rebecca mini-sweater. Then from 8pm till 2:30am I worked diligently on PimpinKen’s wedding present. Would you like a side of insomnia with that OCCD?

I took a break from the insanity today and read a book. I don’t have much knitting progress today but let me introduce you to my current OCCD battle.



This comes from Kim Hargreaves’ new line of designs. Lovely isn’t it? Doesn’t the lovely soft blue shade just draw you in? Is it eggshell blue? Baby blue?….ahhh….I got it….it’s Easter M&M candy blue. This bad boy cost approximately $100 US. That’s a lot a money honey! The real problem is that I haven’t seen the color of the yarn in person and I don’t want to spend all that money and hate it. I’d don’t even know if that shade will look good on me even if I’m in love with it. Maybe I should make it in pink instead? Whatever the case I’m obsessing over this and want it badly. What to do? What to do?

Can you see how this OCCD can be a problem?

But you may smell like a drunk while buying lobster on the street corner.

There is so much to report. My weekend was miraculously busy and fun. A fun night of partying on Friday, where we met some cool people. We met a guy that was in town looking for a new house. He came to the party by himself, but he was funny and obviously can make friends quickly. He called Miss Z on Saturday looking for someone with a kitchen because … get this … he was going to buy some lobsters from someone that was selling them on the street and he needed a place to cook them. This had us laughing for about 10 mins straight. Who buys lobsters on a street corner?

I finally finished the Star-rah tube top in hopes of wearing it to my friend’s cookout Satuday. I wanted to make a statement. After trying it on I remembered that I had this little number waiting to be worn.


I designed this out of the Rowan Cotton Rope. Lovely stuff. Paired with some white linen pants that I made….how could I go wrong? This brings me to the first part of the title. My friend MinahB sings the praises of the Bath & Body Works “need a margarita?” Body Scrub and she bought me some. It smells great and since I was in a limey mood I decided to use it. This scrub smells exactly like a margarita, not just like lime, but a margarita. Although it smells great, I am now self-conscious about wearing it. I didn’t get any negative comments but I felt like I reeked of a big alcoholic drink. Hopefully everyone didn’t think I spent the day in a Mexican restaurant getting drunk because I sure smelled like I did. I did get some great complements on my outfit though, and Miss Z made sure I told everyone that I made my outfit.

I’ll add a better pic of the star-rah tube top to my gallery tomorrow. I don’t have much other knitting progress to show. I cast on for the back of the Rebecca sweater, another One Skein Wonder, and I spent Sunday working on BFF’s wedding gift.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star-rah

For the most part I’m a sewing gal. I’ve been making clothes for about 18 years now, so I turned back to knitting to fill my knitwear void. With my over-confident sewing skills I thought ..”sure I can design knitted items. No problem”. Well…problem. It isn’t the same. It’s a little bit more frustrating. With a sewn item you just undo the mistake and start again. 15 minutes tops. With knitting, it can take hours to fix a mistake. With all that said, I present to you “Star-rah”.



I thought “ knit a tube top in the round, no purling, it will go fast “. “HA!”, replied the knitting goddesses, “we’ll show you”. And so they did. Side seam increases aren’t as well hidden and don’t get me started on intarsia in the round. It’s a pure nightmare! I just wanted this done so I finished and hope no one notices the mistakes when I wear it. The intarsia is a hot mess. And to top it all off, this joker is too small. I started off with the right amount of stitches but lost them along the way. I just wanted to give a progress update on the Star-rah tube top. Now I’m off to frog before the intarsia and make it a little larger. I’m hoping to wear it tomorrow so I’m going to be busy tonight.

And before I go, let me show you my latest acquisitions.



My Lara yarn from Elann arrived yesterday. I think I may have a problem because I was hugging the bag when I opened the box. (I’m sure you do it too…errr…right? ) I also broke down and bought the Vogue Knitting Reference. More yarn…More books….Weeeeeee! I’m happy!