They're outta here!

Things are looking great around here. This gal is happy to announce that she went to a doctor and they are going to remove my tonsils! Woooo hoooo! I am EX-CI-TED. Now if you don't remember my last bout with the evil pharyngitis, suffice it to say that I have had an 11 year history with it with one case almost fatal. This, for me, is probably better than all the yarn and fabric in my house. (Yeah, it's that serious)

This week Snuffy welcomed in our newest toy. Well, actually it's less of a toy and more of a "Someone forgot to plug the old scanner into a surge protector so it got zapped in the last major storm" replacement. I didn't need a new printer but a printer/scanner combo was cheaper than a scanner.


With all the rain, I was able to get in some good knitting time. Here is the latest on Scatter.




Can you tell now why I call it "Scatter"?

I suspect most of you folks in the States will be taking advantage of the Holiday weekend. I plan to use the time to work on my dresses. I don't have to work Monday or Tuesday so I hope to get alot done. I may even do some weekend posting to keep you up on my progress.

The Life Aquatic

It appears a lot of knitting will get done this week since half the U.S. will be under water. I wonder if we can knit up an arc or two. I've been attempting to take golf lessons the past few Tuesdays but have only made it once out of three weeks due to rain. Enough already!

I finally got in some knitting time yesterday. It was so strange it was surreal. I had to check my calendar. I was waiting for something to pop up and pull me away from the sticks.

I finally finished my friends Sweet Tee #1. She's moving to DC on Saturday so this became priority #1. I hope she likes it.



The Schmug is on official time-out. I don't know but it's not turning out the way I hope. I've ripped it out 5 times which should be a sign. I just hate to give up. The concept seemed so perfect. Instead I've moved back to the Scatter Tank with the Berrocco Touche. It feels good that I'm making progress on something. It's been awhile.

Playing catch up

I feel like it's been a while since I've really sat down and wrote a good entry. I'm in catch up mode with everything. I have a growing list of unread emails and by blogfeeds list is up to 104. If I haven't replied to your emails please be patient with me. I'll get to them today. I took a much needed day off yesterday for my birthday.

I celebrated the big 3.0. Gina also celebrated her birthday so if you haven't stopped by, it's not too late for belated birthday wishes.




Here I am with the dessert I recieved from the wonderful bartender, Stephon, at the Jibarra Tequila Lounge . My friends and I had a great time. I'm planning to go back for their Sunday brunch.

Earlier in the day I drove down to Charlotte. I went to Southpark Mall which is one of the nicest malls I've ever been too. Very upscale. I had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Then I ventured to Gastonia to find Mary Jo's Cloth . I just did a little internet search for some fabric shops in the area. Based on the quality of the website I knew it had to be good. Then I went to the mall it is in. I'm going to describe this to you because I was too uncomfortable to try and take a picture. Imagine the first mall you've ever been to. I'm talking the first. The type that had a Woolworth's five and dime, and the only two anchor stores may have been Sears and Penneys. You know the one. It was old and desolete. I just knew I was in the wrong place. I almost left for fear that this shop couldn't be that great but I decided to find it anyway.

Ooooooooh Man, let me tell you! This is the grand mecca of all fabric stores. Outside of NYC, I've never seen anything like it. The place is old but it's huge and it's packed with fabrics, notions, etc.Terrific variety and great prices. I don't think I'll ever really shop at JoAnn/Hancocks again. Just 2.5 hours will get me to the best store in the land.

I had to limit myself because I didn't have a lot of projects in mind but here is what I got.



A fushia linen and some 100% cotton print for summer dresses. I've been looking for this texture of linen for a while.



I'm going to work on the summer dresses over the holiday weekend.

This weekend I'm planning to finish up some knits. I'm going to finish my friend's tank tonite @ SnB. Then I'm going to finish the Schmug. Then I can focus on finishing Cherry and the Urban Aran. The A/C is really getting ridiculous at work.

I'm sure I've left some things out but it's taken me like 2 hours to get this written. It's seems taking a day off from work may not have been the best thing.

It's a celebration!

Although it isn't directly related to anything crafty, good things are happening here at Chez Saun. I've been doing a little dance around the house the past couple of days and here's why:



Do you see all those zeros! No more car payments! HAhahahahhahahahaha! I'm rich I tell you, rich! Paying off a car is one of the best feelings ever. Now I can really start saving money. And no, it will not be going towards more yarn. (Well, at least not until Summer of Stash is over.) I do, however, think I'm going to invest in a new dressform next month.


Now for a question?

Where can you buy good heavy cardstock by the sheet in colors? I tried going to AC Moore's scrapbooking section and Staples but the just had lightweight cardstock. I can't think of another place? I'm trying to make some "save the date" postcards for my best friends baby shower and I want to use light blue cardstock. Any ideas?

The project that will not die

Just to let you know now, there are no pics. If you aren't one for reading, thanks for stopping by. More pics later this week.

Movin on...

It seems I'm on the project deadline that will not die. Well actually we are going through a certification process for the next 2 weeks and things change daily. And it's all frantic and urgent. I'm hangin in there though.

I don't have pics because I haven't done much. I'm working on one of the Sweet Tee's I promised a friend. I hope to have that done soon. I also worked on some submission for a new SnB book (Thanks to everyone that forwarded me the email.) I'm not really happy about them but I submitted them anyway. I didn't have the time to work on them like I wanted so I had to cram all of it in today. Did you notice the time on this post? Yeah, and I have to be at work bright and early too. Am I starting to sound all whiney and what not? Okay. I guess I'll stop.

I did get a chance to hang out with some friends this weekend which was much needed for my mental stability. I also watched a boxing match and a NBA game. Hot sweaty men. Yeah! Oh, and I made a trip to JoAnn's on Saturday (there was a sale) where I ran into Nik.

Now I just have to make it to Wednesday. B-day! I'm taking the day off, going for a "Me Day" in Charlotte, and coming back to hang out with some friends at the tequila bar. Shopping and liquor. A girl's best friends.

Later y'all!

Not a runaway

I may be MIA for a few days. A deadline at work has been moved up and this will definitely cut into arts & crafts time. I'll be back soon...well, hopefully.

Snuffy says

Meet Snuffy. The new official mascot of Saunshine. She's may not be able to compete with Poppy Sassypants , but she'll do.

Snuffy arrived in the mail yesterday. Parents seem to have some sort of sixth sense. Before they knew I was sick, my parents sent me a package of toys. Snuffy, a Lego clock, Winnie the Pooh figurines, and a Cleveland Cavaliers hat. All are things that I love, especially the Lego clock. I have a huge collection of Legos. ( Allison's boys would be jealous.) This was a great pick-me-up.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm feeling much better.

Snuffy says "Have a great weekend. Don't forget to KIP tomorrow for World Wide KIP day ".

I'd like to thank our sponsors

This entry was brought to you by Z-pak antibotics, Adagio Chamomile Tea ,Campbell's soup, Vitamin Water, Mott's Applesauce, and "The sleep of a thousand Snow Whites".

For all of you that thought I was so amazing for making all that jewelry, it was because the extreme pain kept me from sleeping. The overzealous beading was my sad attempt to keep myself from thinking about the pain. But thanks to our sponsors I was granted with what I call "the sleep of a thousand Snow Whites". I slept ALL-DAY yesterday. It was great! Normally you don't get antibotics for a viral infection but the screwed up face the doctor made when he saw my throat said "It may not be strep but something funky is going on in there". What he actually said was, "I'll prescribe some antibotics just in case". I'm now on a mission to find a doctor that will remove my tonsils. I don't care if I have to bribe someone.







I started the Cherry pattern on Sunday. No one has my dyelot so I've decided to just buy an extra ball and use it for the collar, buttonband, and ribbing on the sleeves. If I returned the yarn I had for a new color, I would still have one ball just lying around with nothing to do with it. That bothered me more than a getting a different dyelot.


I haven't really talked much about my other projects because I was working on one that had me stumped. I didn't want to talk about it until I figured out what I was going to do.

The idea started with a desire to have some sort of wrap that was more than a shawl/wrap but not quite a shrug. Something to wear over my tanks on a cool night. No lace, no ribbing, and all in one piece. I cut up a scrap of muslin to get my idea straight.


Unfolded, it has to look like this.


I actually had this half-way done but changed my mind about the edging I had chosen and frogged. Here is what it looks like so far.


I originally had a feather & fan pattern but didn't really like how it curled. I didn't want curling but I didn't want ribbing either so I opted for a rick-rack pattern. I'll be putting it along the armhole edges as well to eliminate the curling.



It's a heck of a lot of stockinette, which isn't that fun, but I have to keep in mind the desired end product.

Arts & Crafts

It's been arts & crafts time in the sick ward here at Chez Saun. It would seem that I've contracted a funky case of pharyngitis. Loosely translated that means something funky like a mosquito or something gave me some crappy virus that makes my throat swell ridiculously, causes pains, affects my speech, and puts me in an overall irritated and crappy mood. And best part, like the common cold, nothing can cure it. It just has to run its course. Isn't that great!?! (Can you sense my extreme sarcasm?) And did I forget to add that being a sick single woman sucks because you have to take care of yourself and go to the store for your own medicine even if you feel like crap.

Now that I'm done complaining I'll show you what I made during arts &crafts time. This weekend it was jewelry time. I'm lacking in the funky jewelry department so instead of paying out the wazoo, I invested that money in beads and supplies.
green shell necklace with drop earrings - one of my favorites
pink & white clear beads with a heart pendant - my favorite
earrings - gold filagree, large shells, and seed beads (pink & orange)
orange shell bracelet and necklace (on elastic) that doubles as a bracelet
assorted white/clear bracelets & necklaces
double strand necklace and bracelet.

That's 7 pairs of earrings, 5 necklaces, & 5 bracelets. I spent about $65 dollars and used a little over half of my supplies. That's around $35 for all that stuff. Isn't DIY the greatest! I still need some red and blues but I'll finish those another day.

So what did you do with your weekend? I hope it went better than mine.

Out of Denial

I had this post already written but I need to add this just because.

Yesterday was a really good day for me volunteering at the Girls Club. A few girls have come and gone from the knitting club but as the school year ends, there are the few girls that I know will keep going. In the beginning they struggled, especially with the purl stitch and some wanted to give up. With their second projects I gave them freedom. They could make a handbag/tote any size and in any stitch they wanted. Three girls finished last week. Another two finished this week. One girl joined the club this week. The other girls showed her how and she knit a big bag and is finishing her strap.

Then there is one little girl. Little and loud with energy to spare. She wants everything fast and hates it when I make her work extra rows to get things as they should be. We (read she) likes to bargain. If she knits 4 rows, I'll knit 2. She finished her bag last week and it was small because she was impatient. Yesterday in school she started a scarf. She had at least 3 inches when she got to the club. Then she decided it would be a belt and the art teacher found her a random buckle that was laying around. In two hours I encouraged her to focus and keep knitting and she finished her belt, buckle and all. She was so excited she ran out of the art room to show off and I couldn't even get a picture. In her words "This is the coolest thing I've ever made in my life". (She's 9. LOL!) This is the reason I volunteer. You don't get that type of reaction from a computer screen.


Out of Denial

Okay, so I had this green yarn. Red Heart cotton. Remember it..





We all know I have a bias against Red Heart but this was a yarn I thought I could really get behind. So I bought 4 skeins last year. I ran across it in stash and decided to get myself to use it by giving myself a design challenge. The problem is that the only idea that this yarn could inspire was sleeveless and I don't want to make a sleevless shirt. I couldn't come up with anything with sleeves. The yarn did not inspire. Then the more I looked at it, the less I was in love. Don't like the color. It's sportweight. Excuses, excuses, excuses.


The truth of the matter is I just don't want to use the yarn and probably never will. Nope! Just don't wanna.

So the question is....who wants it? Any takers? Taken.