Just checkin in...

I'm tired. Really tired. Last I checked, vacations are supposed to be relaxing. I'm not in my normal environment, nor eating my normal foods, or sleeping in my own bed so my body is not doing so well. I guess that's a sign of getting older. I am enjoying my time with my family. Christmas was great. All the family came over and ate a lot of food and opened a lot of gifts. I got some really nice gifts, one being, and Oral-B Sonicare Toothbrush. That may not excite most folks, but for me it's great. The dentist won't be getting anymore of my hard-earned dollars.

I didn't get many "knitty" gifts because I specifically asked NOT to get any. I did however get the infamous Knitting Pattern-a-day calendar .

I did give some knitted gifts. Only two to be exact. A pair of socks for the sock monster Bill made from Sockotta




and a teddy bear from the Last Minuted Knitted Gifts for my cousin's son who is 3.

His grandmother (my aunt) thinks it's too nice to play with and wants to put it up. I spent time finding a yarn,Pakucho Cotton, that would stand up to play and washing and she wants to put it away. I told her, "No, I made that bear for him. It's his to do with it what he wants". He's 3, what did she think I expected him to do with it???

I've been working on some other things but I'll save those till next week when I'm back to my regular blogging schedule.

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve. See ya next year! Happy New Year!!!

Disaster Averted :: Happy Holidays!!!

---



I had the whole day planned. I would log into work, be productive until about 4:30, log out, clean my apartment,finish packing from my flight tomorrow (Thursday),and head to SnB for an hour or so before I came back home for some sleep. Don't ask me why, don't ask how, but for some reason I kept thinking that the 21st was Thursday and not Wednesday. So it was a little bit of a shock to me when I logged into work at 9am and had my friendly calendar remind me that today(Wed) I was taking a half-day because I had a flight to Cleveland at 1:30pm. After about a 5 minute freak-out, I rushed around my apartment, watered plants, unplugged things, finished packing(clothes and knitting), and rushed off to the airport.

So I sit here writing to you from good old Cleveland, where I'll be until the new year. I obviously need a vacation so I'm going to take a few days off from bloglandia to enjoy Christmas and my vacation time. I'll be back after Christmas.

Happy Holidays to everyone! No matter what holiday you celebrate I hope you have a great time and enjoy the holiday spirit.

What not to give the kids for the holidays

I thought this was funny...


(click to enlarge for easier reading)

In case you are looking for a quick last-minute knit, my "One Flat Hat" pattern is available on the sidebar for FREE-ninety-nine! ---->



It's knit flat with chunky yarn (LB Wool-ease Chunky) on US 10 needles. It's a really quick knit, 2-4 hours based on your knitting speed.

Fini !

All done! The charity show is a wrap and it was all good. Almost everything sold and we made a good amount of money for the cause.

In between all the sleep I've been catching up on I finished something else...


It's my Socktoberfest socks. Yeah it's December but better late than never.


I also dyed a little yarn while I was cleaning up the disaster that is my apartment. I like the fact that dyeing yarn pretty much takes care of itself and only requires about 10 minutes of actual attention. I was inspired by Carrie's My-So-Called Scarf and the mixture of colors that I saw on in Purly White's sweater. I like the concept of a green with a mixture of other colors in it. For 2 seconds I considered running out looking for some Manos but I remembered I had some Rowan Polar that I recycled from an old scarf. It looked a little crazy during the dyeing process but I like the results.

Tonight's the night!

It's here....




We are ready! The ladies of the Raleigh & Chapel Hill SnB's have been working hard and tonight things will pay off. We have over 40 items to auction off and they are impressive. They range from hats,scarves,and handwarmers to felted purses,sweaters, and capelets. It's amazing.

These are my two favorites. Hopefully the ladies won't mind me bragging about them and showing their items.

This is a capelet made by Sue with Rowan Felted Tweed. I give this one the award for best color.

And this one gets my award for ingenuity. Jen made this lovely scarf out of silk fabric she cut into strips.


All of the proceeds will be going to the North Carolina Center for Women in Public Service . This non-profit organization works to prepare women to seek and serve in public office. I'm all for women's empowerment!


Before I go, I wanted to show you my "muppet scarf". After my four hour nap yesterday, I woke up at 11:30pm and decided to do a little something before I went back to sleep. Going right back to bed would have me up at some crazy hour like 4am instead of 7am. This is a scarf I made out of Katia Nepal yarn. I "borrowed" the idea from Laurie . It's just a lot of loops and drop stitches on size 17s. Fun,mindless knitting.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Saun brings you the winning lottery numbers

Here at Chez Saun, it is not always all-craftiness-all-the-time. Sometimes we (we meaning me) feel it is our duty to bring you entertainment as well as pertinent information for the everyday. If my life can prove entertaining and informational, who am I to deny you. So in addition to Friendly Tips For Everyday Living , I now bring to you.... Saun's Lucky Lottery Numbers .

If North Carolina had a lottery I would play these, but since we don't, I'm passing these little gems on to you. All I ask is 10% if you strike it rich. If you lose...well..better luck next time. I make no guarantees...my name isn't Aunt Cleo.

Enjoy!


34 The number of minutes I sat on the phone one day while my sister (with Mamacita in the background) scolded/cursed-me-out for not having a man. Obviously I'm not trying hard enough. I should be trolling the church pews and dressing up in candy striper costumes in hospital hallways.


55 The approximate highway driving time between me and a man that I gave my phone number to last week. I met him at a friend's party and he seemed okay but given 2 unsuccessful attempts at long distance relationships, I am very anti-distance when it comes to dating. Call me crazy, but I don't think these types of things work. But nonetheless, I gave him my number.


38 That would be his age. That's quite a few years above my standard +5/-2 age rule. It's out of my comfort level but I'm trying to be open to new things. (I ignored the initial warning/nagging signs in my brain.)


23 The age he thought I was. Flattering yet bothersome. Yeah, looking young will come in handy one day but this is probably the reason I can't get men my own age. They are always much younger or much older. And what would a 38 year old man want with a 23 year old woman? I mean, other than the obvious.


20 The amount of hours he works at his 2 jobs in addition to his regular 40 hour job. Hmmmmm? Why so many jobs you wonder? So did I. No man works that much for the heck of it. Would he really have time to spend with me and what does he need all this money for? My first guess, a child. (I continue to tread lightly)


18 (Danger, Will Robingson, Danger!!!) His daughter's age. The daughter for which he is working all these hours so she can have a car since she is in college. He doesn't have a child, he has an adult. I was expecting 6 or maybe even 10 years old. I could have wrapped my mind around that, but 18, that's just WAY beyond my comfort level. That means I was 11 when she was born. I know this because my aunt had a child that same year. That means I was in the 6th grade and he was out of high school and pushing around a stroller. And now I'm beginning to wonder should I be worried that he originally thought I was only 5 years older than his daughter? Oh... and did I forget to add that she has said that she doesn't want her father to date or get married. At that age,she is old enough to actually and creatively cause problems in his relationships.


And they wonder why I have no man. HA! This is the best of the situations I've had over the past year.

A little Entertainment

See my man Wentworth in a short film

Hear a sneak peek of Jamie Foxx's new album.


Song Meme
Psuedo-Tagged by Christie

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

Joy Ride - Mariah Carey
So Fine - Mint Condition (this is in permanent rotation - it's my absolute favorite song)
If I Was A Bird - Floetry
Lay Down - Floetry
Go Crazy - Young Jeezy f/ Jay-Z
Kryptonite - Big Boi (from Outkast)
My Love Don't Stop - Craig David



Tag:
Fawn
Nik
Sarah
Shelby
Carrie
Michelle
Anyone else that wants to.

As fun as a trip to the dentist.

I'm so glad everyone enjoyed yesterdays ode to Georgia O'Keefe. Interweave gives a whole new meaning to knitting/yarn porn. (Giggle giggle!)

While venturing through bloglandia yesterday I stumbled upon the topic of wire knitting. "Perfect", I thought," Just the original type of thing that we need for the charity show. We have tons of scarves. Why not take it up a notch?" So after work, I ran to the store and bought some beading wire since I already had some beads. Everyone claims this is fun. Well I say bull-(bleep) !!! (Sorry Mamacita, but its not a curse word when you bleep it out). It's a means to a pretty end but knitting with wire is about as fun as a trip to the dentist.




Add beads and it's a nightmare. The wire twists and kinks, and you have to knit with metal needles for fear of destroying your good needles. This means metal-on-metal which equals excrutiating pain in your fingers. The picture is a little crappy but that's what happens when your fingers are curled up like talon claws from the pain.

I have one other project which I may finish in time for the show, but if I don't, I think knitting with wire makes up for it.

Here are the hats I made. Three are going to be auctioned as a set. The pattern is really quick and only takes about 2-3 hours. When I get a chance I'll write it up and post it in my free pattern section.

Not Gonna Happen

Remember that men's sweater I mentioned a few days ago....well, it ain't happenin. This debacle cements the fact that I am not a fan of top-down knitting. It may seem like a fast option but I don't like the concept of clothing made all in one piece. I envision ill-fitting improperly shaped garments and this time my vision was a reality. Due to 4 or 5 extra rows, (yeah, I free formed it and didn't follow exact directions..my bad), the sweater was an extra large and the armholes turned out to be XXXL. I'm so put-off by the whole thing that I'm just scraping the project.

Instead I'm going to contribute a few men's hats to the charity event. The pattern is the first I ever designed. It's just a simple hat that is knit flat and seamed.


Other things that ain't happening

Thing 1

The felted boots from the new Interweave . The first picture is deceptively attractive.




But the second, looks like big muppet feet. Look closely. The shoes don't even match. I already have big feet. There is NO WAY I'm going to accent them with felted clown shoes.

Thing 2

Anything modeled by the scary haired model...ain't gonna happen. The unkempt look is not a good selling point and will deter me from making anything she has on. All I'll remember is that hair.



Thing 3

Anything modeled by the droopy breasted model. If there is any danger of "the girls" looking like that in a top... it's not gonna happen. And a note to Interweave Knits...this isn't high fashion runway. This is everyday people knitting. Bras shouldn't be optional.





And just for fun, I thought I'd throw in this pic from p.82...


What does this look like to you?

Special Delivery

I didn't know that the Post Office made deliveries on Sunday, but it seems that they do.

After a knock on the door, and the rapid opening of a big box, here is what I found inside.





Goodies, Goodies, Goodies from my secret pal, Shelby . I am so excited about this gift. Ther is some luscious yarn (I've fondled a few times already), beads, dpn needle holders, some absolutely fabulous chocolates (yum-yum), and best of all, the Alterknits book( I REALLY wanted this). Thanks Shelby!!!! Shelby has been a great SP, so stop over and say hi. She's also one of the hostesses for Secret Pal Seven , so don't forget to sign up.

Friendly Tip Friday.

It's been a while since my last FTFEL,so here are a few inspired by all of my TV watching and other things.

Friendly Tip #10

Just because you deserve to win and should win doesn't mean you will. There is this little thing we like to call "politics".

But don't worry because......

Friendly Tip #11

Sometimes the actual winning is in losing.


This was the week for season finales for ANTM and Making The Band 3 . In both shows people won that clearly did not deserve to win based on their performance but based on politics. And in most cases this would upset people BUT you have to see the bright side. Winning means being stuck in some horribly cheesey reality show contract where their careers will fester and die. If you're into hip-hop then you know that signing a contract with the infamous P. Diddy is like the Godfather's kiss of death on your career. For ANTM, the past losers have had better careers than the winners.



Friendly Tip #12

Always take something to do with you, be it book, knitting, crossword puzzle, etc. It will come in handy in the least likely situations.

As we go into this busy winter season, I often think back to the WORST experience I had this year...heck..probably in my life. On a Wednesday in January, the plan was to go to work, run home, pick up my knitting, and go to a knitting meetup. Never mind that forecast for a 1/2 inch of snow. I lived in Minnesota for almost 3 years...a 1/2 inch ain't nothin. HA! How about that measly 1/2 inch brought a whole city to it's knees. I'm talking standstill traffic on EVERY street and highway, children stuck in their schools until the next day, and cars abandoned in the middles of streets. It turned my normal 20 minute drive into 8 hours of misery. And the worst part, I left all my knitting and reading at home.

So in conclusion, what have we learned today?
1.Losing is the new winning.
2. Always take something with you. Even when you don't think you'll need it, you just might.

Fear Factor Knitting

This is what happens when you have a fear of inadequacy... you overcompensate.



I know some of you are sitting there saying "Huh?", so let me explain. Our SnB group is putting on a auction and fashion show for charity and we are totally dependent on the donations of knitters in the community. The show is in two weeks and we don't have very many donations yet. Last year's big issue is that there weren't enough items for men. I was dead set against knitting a sweater but fear set in. I've already made a men's hat, 2 scarves, a shrug, and a purse, but I started worrying about there not being enough for the men. So last Thursday I started this top-down sweater in worsted weight Plymouth Encore. I'm not using a pattern so I hope this turns out okay. It's a L/XL and that's a whole lotta sweater when you're using a wool/acrylic blend. My hands are a little irritated.

After this, I plan to finally finish my Socktoberfest socks.

And now for a non-knitting question. I want to get a Christmas gift for my hair stylist but I need some ideas. I knit her two scarves last year, but I'm not in the mood to knit anything this year. I was thinking of a gift certificate to a restaurant like the Cheesecake Factory. What do you think? Any ideas for something $25 or less?

Ms Pinky C. Pattern

Here she is in all her glory.... Ms. Pinky C!



Pattern: Ms. PinkyC
Sizes: S(M,L,XL)XXL
Yarn Requirements: Karabella Aurora 4 - 4 balls brown, 2 balls pink
Needles: US 3 (3.25mm) straights & 16 in. circulars


Price: $4.00



(Once you purchase, the file will be emailed to you in pdf form. )