Sunday, August 30, 2009

My New Sweater

Here are the promised pictures of my new sweater.


The pattern is from "The Best of Lopi" book and the name of the pattern is "Gislina". I wasn't able to find a LYS that carried Lopi brand yarn to I substituted a yarn called Mauch Chunky by Kraemer Yarns. I found it to be very similar to Lopi in every way except that it isn't quite as thick. I had to follow the directions for two sizes bigger in order to make the sweater the right size for me. I also wanted to make a more fitted sweater--similar to the "original" icelandic sweater that the Lopi pattern was based on. I think it turned out WONDERFUL!
Now it just needs to hurry up and get cold enough all day so that I can wear it!!
I can't wait to get my cardigan finished. I need to get the sleeves done and then finish the yoke and then I will post pictures of it!! I am still obsessesd with sweaters! When that one is done I am making plans to knit one for my son for a Christmas gift. I can't wait to get started on it--I did order Lopi from Patternworks for it though so I have to wait for the yarn to get here. In the mean time, I have a sweater from "French Girl Knits" that I am going to start. Hopefully my ability to complete the projects continues. Heaven knows I have enough UFO's hanging around already because of this Sweater Thing I have going on right now.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

YES! No wait...Maybe? Oh forget it!

I have been sulking for the past week. I had everything in place to move us back "HOME"--a house, some money, school, people to help us, etc. when some lame-brained doctor decided to change my plans. Within 24 hours of having the first load of belongings headed for Colorado, HB's doctor notifies us that the best person for him to see is right over the mountain from where we are right now!

I am not going to pretend here, I AM NOT HAPPY! Some of you out there may not know this about me--other's of you have had the misfortune of knowing this about me--but when I am not happy about something I become terribly un-pretentious. I am a "no nonsense", up-front, "tell it like it REALLY is" kind of person anyway. BUT, when I am unhappy that part of my personality becomes painfully obvious. HB, knowing that my name means "Thunderbolt" in native american languages, has commented several times that he can see the "dark clouds" gathering above my head. He has been around long enough to know that when the "dark clouds" start gathering the "storm" isn't far behind. I spent most of this week pouting and crying and acting like a three year old. Then I spent two days feeling depressed. Today, I am beginning to feel slightly annoyed.

Ok! With that said, no, I am no longer moving back to Colorado anytime in the near future. I gave up the house I found, cancelled all of my plans and opportunities, and pouted about it all the way back from Colorado Wednesday night.

To make matters worse, my bestest best friend of almost 10 years went and did something stupid, hurt my feelings, and now we aren't on speaking terms. I am not usually one to hold a grudge, unless you really hurt my feelings and won't say you are sorry and try to fix it. Which she has no intention of doing because she thinks she is justified in what she did. WELL! At least I am no longer moving into a house right by hers! (I wonder how long I will have to give her the "silent treatment" before she pulls her head out of the clouds.)

Anyway, so you can see why I am feeling slightly annoyed today. Nothing seems to be going MY way right now. I don't know why I am fussing--nothing EVER goes my way. Which is why I do so much knitting. Knitting always goes my way!! (or it doesn't "go" at all!) I have made one and a half sweaters and spun up the yarn for socks and then knitted them up in only two weeks--and I work outside the house 45 hours a week. I have pictures of the first sweater, but haven't taken pictures of the socks or the progress on the other sweater yet. I will try to get the pictures of the completed sweater and socks on here by Monday.

I really don't know how the rest of the world copes with trials and troubles without knitting. Maybe the rest of the world doesn't have coping problems like I have......surely they have trials and troubles also. I do love my knitting and yarn and fiber. It is so predictable, soft, loyal, dependable, and available. It is always there for me when I need it. There to comfort me and tell me I can work through anything if I can work through a 12 color changing pair of Turkish Socks. If I can knit an icelandic sweater in the dark or with my eyes closed surely I can make it through living in Wyoming for a little longer? Yarn is such a good friend to me. Everytime I get even near a yarn store I can hear it calling to me, "Come see me. I will go home with you and be your best friend forever. I will never betray you or hurt your feelings. I will give you hours and hours of knitting pleasure and help you forget all your problems."

I really am not loosing it.......However, I am living in Wyoming so who know's!

Friday, August 07, 2009

Random Socks N Stuff

I didn't get the Sweater pictures, but here are the pictures of the socks I finished. (I barely got these--I was VERY busy knitting on my sweater last night! If I wait a few more days it will be finished and I will just take a picture of it on me!)


I really like them now that they are done. These have been a WIP in the knitting bag for months! I don't know why either. They were super easy. Once I got in and was working on them they were done in no time.



The pattern is called "Rollercoasters" and I got it from Yarn Addict Anni's sock of the month KAL Sockamania. The yarn and pattern was from her etsy store Here. The yarn is a hand dyed superwash wool and bamboo blend yarn. It washes up really nice! I still have great stitch definition!



We had some of the bands that are playing in the Warped Tour stay the night last night at the motel. 3oh3, All Time Low, Valencia, and a couple of others we hanging around and The Daughter got to get autographed pictures with them and autographed CD's. She was a little excited needless to say!



This is her with the bass player from 3oh3. Notice the huge smile!And this is her with members of the band Valencia. She had a great time yesterday! I've never seen her so anxious to work the front desk. All of the members of the bands were really nice and we barely knew they were there except that their huge tour buses were parked all the way around the motel. No wild and crazy partying or anything. HB ran some of them around town to the golf course and restaurants and said they were "just normal kids".

I heard that Red Hot Chili Peppers stayed at our motel last year or the year before--now THAT would have been fun for me!!! I like the bands that stayed with us last night but Red Hot Chili Peppers--they are right up there on my list of fav's!

So, the motel was fun for the first time in a year. LOL!

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Fun Stuff!

I didn't think it would ever happen, but just as you cannot stop the sun from rising--I "turned" 40 years old. ( I am using the phrasing from George Carlin who goes through the various significant birthdays and labels them. "Turned" was like something going bad or rotten.) I am still not sure how I feel about it. HB says, "You don't LOOK 40 so who cares." He is so sweet. I don't FEEL 40.

I had a great birthday though. It lasted the entire weekend. Saturday we went shopping all day. HB took me to the yarn store and said to buy whatever I want--my favorite present!!! I bought yarn to make the Icelandic sweater I have been drooling over for months (it's 1/3 of the way done already!) Then we went to lunch at one of my most favorite restaurants. For desert I had this AMAZING chocolate cake. It is flourless, super chocolatey, with almond and chocolate crunchies for a crust---oh man! Definately my favorite desert!!! It's like chocolate mousse but better--if you can imagine that. The kids spent Sunday cooking for me, giving me a manicure, entertaining me, etc, etc. It was so much fun! I have the best kids ever, make no mistake.

I have really been wanting to make a sweater fo the last few months. This is not a usual craving for me. I couldn't wait to get started on the Icelandic sweater! I spent most of Sunday knitting on it. The yarn isn't Lopi, but similar. I couldn't find any Lopi anywhere except online so I bought this Mauch brand. The fiber looks a lot like the Icelandic sheep fiber. Most people use Brown Sheep Co.'s Lambs Pride as a substitute, but I HATE mohair! Yes, yes I realize that it is a little odd for a fiberaholic like me to hate any fiber, but I can't stand mohair. Baby, ultra fine mohair is OK, but the mohair used in Lambs Pride is icky! I only use it for felt projects that I want to make appear furry. Anyway, this yarn is a little thinner than Lopi so if you use it as a substitute be sure to check your guage. My row count is right on but the stitch count is really short! As a result I went up a size on the sweater pattern, perhaps could have went up two sizes but I wanted a snug fit to the sweater rather than a "roomy" fit. I always have to make the sleeves 4 to 6 inches longer so I hope I have enough yarn. I bought extra just in case. I figure if I don't need it for the sweater I can make a GREAT hat with the leftovers.

Sorry I don't have any pictures. I took them last night and haven't had a chance to get them onto the computer. I will post pictures of the sweater and the socks I finished earlier this week hopefully tomorrow.

OK! Now for the really big news! WE ARE MOVING BACK TO COLORADO! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I decided to go ahead and finish my degree. So I will be going back to school this Fall (like in a week). Between the ridiculous doctor situation that HB has had to deal with since moving, the lies that the motel owner told us to get us to take the job managing his motel, the AWFUL schools in this town, (Need I go on? If you want to know how awful it has been read the posts for the last year!) etc, etc, etc, we have simply HAD IT! We are going to go find a house next week. Then we will pack up and be out of here! I really am excited and can't wait.

The only one not happy is The Daughter. She has a point. She does have the best boyfriend on the planet. He is a member of our church, he has a good job working for the county, he is polite, respectful, a perfect gentleman, he works out and exercises really hard, he is drop dead gorgeous! and he has his future all planned out--College, religion, everything. Too bad they are both still teenagers or we would be making wedding plans! You just don't find a guy like him everyday. He is a one in a million--no more fish in the sea like that one! I hope they can keep it together even though we don't live here anymore. She deserves someone as wonderful as she is.

Anyway, so I don't know how often I will be posting in the next few weeks. I will try to post at least one more time before things get to chaotic so that you can see my sweater!

Yeah for Colorado! I am going home!