Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type

The price of gas looks cheap compared to the price of milk!

Dear Farmer Brown,
The cows are cold. They would like electric blankets to keep warm at night. There will be no more milk until we get blankets.

Sincerely,
the Cows

In other news, it hasn't been all hanging out on the beaches of Lake Superior for me. I really have been knitting. I've been working hard on a shrug with the Manos Silky I got from the Good Karma exchange on Ravelry. It's also gotten really hot this week so I haven't wanted to work on anything huge, but I'm plugging along on it. I've got 2/3 done (actually it's more than 2/3 but since it can easily be divided into 3 parts, I have 2 of the 3 done). So you should see finished object pictures soon.

In the meantime, here's a little something that Lily asks for every morning when she wakes up...

Give that girl a sippy cup of warm soy milk and a bowl of popcorn and she's a happy camper!

Last Call for Contest

Random Yarn on a Sunny Tuesday

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do about the contest I'm running. I've only gotten two people to enter so far. I know I have more readers than that. Gee, I really hope I have more readers than that. Yikes! I'm just having a problem deciding do I put those 2 names in the hat and pull one out, do I put their hat ideas in the hat and pull one out. What should I do?

So... I'm going to give you all one more shot. If you link this contest on your blog (please let me know you did it) I'll give you another entry. If someone mentions you sent them my way, I'll give you another entry. You have until the end of the week... I've got yarn that's burning to get sent out!!

Charity Knitting

Remember this yarn? It's from the Glitter Knitter's Charity Knitting Gang. I just can't pass up free yarn. Especially yarn intended for cute little baby hats. I do love my baby hats. This one turned out so adorably cute it will be hard to give away.

The crazy part is that it is sooooo stretchy that it fits both of my girls. That almost never happens. I may have to make a second one with the leftovers for Lily for next winter. Addie will get one out of the leftovers from this....

The blue will be stunning with her gray-blue eyes.

I was talking to some midwives and doulas in the area and they would love slightly larger baby hats. I gave them some hats a while back, but I guess they were all on the too tiny side. So now I'll be in production mode - trying to whip out a bunch of bigger hats for normal size babies. I'm hoping to use up a bunch of my dk and sock weight odds and ends.

My question for everyone out there, what's your favorite baby hat pattern? Each commenter will be entered into a drawing for... yarn! The more patterns you give me (especially if they're free or from a book I already own!) will give you more entries.

More Projects Than I Can Shake a Stick At!

So just as I was getting ready to cast on my shawl with the amazing Tili Thomas, I got this package in the mail from my Good Karma swap on Ravelry. There was beautiful Misty Alpaca, lots of little goodies and 3 skeins of Manos Silk Blend. I decided right then and there that I had to cast on something for myself.

So I started a shrug. It's the Mia Shrug from Yarn is My Metier. Check out Karen's blog while you're at it. She's a hoot. I found her way back last summer during Sockapalooza 4. I've been reading her blog sporadically since then, but never noticed the shrug. All the sudden I have 3 skeins of dk weight yarn that are begging to be a little somethin' somethin' for me. Wham bam boom, a Ravelry search later, I find Karen's pattern.

There must be something good in Texas, 'cause I think I have my knitting mojo back! Thanks rjacktoo!

Pay No Attention to the Hat in the Dryer

See, aren't the apple blossoms pretty? Gee, I hope it stops raining so the bumblebees can pollinate. And oh look, there are 2 little blossoms on our new cherry tree too!

Did it work? Am I distracting you from the Fake Isle Hat that's in the dryer? Why on earth would I put a wool hat in the dryer you might ask. Well, since there aren't any giants that need their heads warm this time of year, I thought I might try shrinking it down to a normal size. (If you do happen to have an exceptionally large bean stalk in your yard, please let me know. I'd be happy to give the giant at the top a peace offering of a very soft, beautiful wool hat.) So cross your fingers for me folks, I'm hoping for a nice shrink with not a lot of serious felting. I know, I'm pretty much doomed from the start with this one.

So here you are, more distraction....
Mmmm.... Tilli Thomas disco and some Kidsilk Haze. Yum-O! I might just start a shawl with this stuff next. A shawl doesn't mind when you screw up gauge. A shawl doesn't mind a few inches larger or smaller (then it's a stole!). A shawl this beautiful might just help me get my knitting mojo back!!

More On Me

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago I was in college in Stevens Point, WI having a fantastic time. I was a pre-med student and had every intention of going to med school and becoming a doctor. I loved my classes (well, except for physics) and I had a ton of friends for the first time in my life. I was working as an RA on campus and playing every chance I got. I loved college! I was actively trying to avoid this guy called Adam who was stalking me - I was dating someone else!

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

• shower


• go to the YMCA luncheon that's honoring the Optimist Club


• knit


• print and deliver my resume/cover letter


• playdate with our friends at McDonalds

3. Snacks I enjoy:

• popcorn


• ice cream


• chocolate - especially good dark chocolate

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Pay off our house and cars


• Pay off our parents houses


• Invest in a yarn store. :)


• Travel


• Go to medical school

5. Places I have lived:

• Boyceville, WI


• Stevens Point, WI


• Superior, WI

6. Jobs I’ve had: (this makes me look like I've had a ton of jobs, but a lot of them were held simultaneously with others to make my way through college.)

• Convenience Store Pizza Maker


• Dairy Queen girl (5 or 6 years during HS and college!!)


• On Campus Bartender for special events


• Hostess at local restaurant


• Bartender/Waitress/Chef for Golf Course (one summer of that was almost enough to make me go crazy)


• Research Assistant for a professor doing research on potatoes


• Residential Advisor and Academic Resource Coordinator


• Tutor


• Coordinator of Residential Life at a private college


• Caribou Coffee barista


• receptionist for a local Housing Authority


• Advertising Sales
  

7. Peeps I want to know more about:

Lisa

Dana - she just started her own blog

D

The Other Jess

Be Sweet - Be Mine

Some of you may remember that I picked up 2 balls of Be Sweet African Bead Balls a few weeks back when my LYS had them 50% off. I intended to use only one ball, but kind of got carried away. I wanted to make a lacey sort of scarf but couldn't find a pattern to my liking. I ended up starting a feather and fan scarf. However, when I realized that one ball of yarn (or even 2) wouldn't cut it with this pattern, I adapted. I ended up with this sort of ascot looking scarf. It's perfect for keeping your chest warm with those silly v-neck coats.


A totally dorky picture of me wearing said scarf on the one really warm day that we've had. Actually, I like wearing this one doubled and then pulled through the center so that it's kind of frothy and frilly up against my neck.

If you're interested in the pattern, let me know and I'll write it up.











*By the way, the Fake Isle hat seems to be playing nicely again.

Where the Gauge Runs Wild

The gauge was running a little crazy and loose (okay, a lot loose) this weekend at my house. I got through the first pattern of the Fake Isle Hat when I had Adam try it on. I knew it was really big on me, but I thought since he has a bigger head (evidenced by him stretching out my sunglasses in the past) it would fit him fine. Um, no. It's too big. So I frogged the entire thing.

Gauge is supposed to be 20 stitches to 4". Mine is 19.

The nice thing is that Adam helped me rewind the yarn.

I'm remaking it in the small size and went down one needle size so I should be okay now. I just checked my stitch gauge and it's 18. Can that possibly be right? I might need a drink. It's past noon here, pour me a margarita on the rocks!

It fits me fine so we're going with that. I think. Oh man, I think I need to have a liquid lunch today!

The Glitter Knitter

Wouldn't you know it? I went to see The Glitter Knitter yesterday and I forgot my camera! For those of you who don't know who he is, Steven Berg owns (co-owns with his sister) the Yarn Garage in Rosemont MN. He is FAB-U-LOUS! He is a designer, knitter and cheerleader for all of us knitters. Steven told us a lot about his life and his theories of knitting, including "there are no mistakes, only variations." He also taught a little bit of modular knitting out of your stash. Who couldn't do a bit of stash busting now and again?

He brought a huge selection of yarn and knitted items for us to peruse. I ended up completely blowing my yarn budget out of the water. But there was TILLI THOMAS yarn there. LOTS of Tilli Thomas. And the patterns, whoooo-weee there were amazing patterns. I did restrain myself in a couple of areas, namely that I bought a pattern for a fantastic shrug, but I didn't buy the yarn. I know I can get a similar yarn much cheaper at my LYS. I took pictures of my yarn haul but I have to wait to get those on the blog. My laptop doesn't like to talk to my camera anymore. :(

Oh yeah, another cool thing about Steven? He has the Yarn Garage Charity Knitting Gang. They make baby hats and donate them in the Twin Cities area. This is a project that's near and dear to my heart since I coordinate the baby hat knitting efforts of the Duluth Noon Optimist Club. The Yarn Garage put together little pink bags of yarn together with a pattern to knit beehive hats for babies. I snagged one for myself and someone else gave me theirs, so I'll be whipping those up shortly. They're adorably cute.

Coming Soon...
Photos of my yarn haul (aka. yarn p*rn)
Photos of my frogged Fake Isle Hat and the story to accompany it
Photos of my Be Sweet-Be Mine scarf (a Jess original)