Crazy Pup!

Sounds like you had a fun weekend! The relay sounded like it was a good time....the car accident, not so much. Glad you are all okay after that fiasco.

My weekend was pretty uneventful, Sailor and I just hung out here. Sailor found some sort of scent that he went crazy over in the backyard. I can only assume that it was a mouse, or something very small. He was barking scratching the deck and acting like a crazy dog.

This went on for a quite a while! Scratching, digging, barking....sniffing and basically acting like a nut!

Seth's trip went well. No helicopter rescues, thankfully! Seth's Dad attempted to eat a 6 lb. hamburger, which could have been dangerous. Yes, SIX POUNDS! He only made it through 1/3 of it, though.

Are you headed to VT this weekend? I'm headed to NY in a week and a half for M's bridal shower and bachelorette party (should be a fun time!). My mom and I are going to take a trip to Maine for a few days so I can visit some friends and we can go yarn shopping! Purl Diva, here we come! I would really love to have my Wood Hollow Vest done by then, but I'm not sure that's a realistic goal unless that is the only thing I do for the next week and a half! A is coming to visit the day I come back (we ended up on the same flight out of Chicago) from NY, which I'm really excited about!

My seedlings are growing like CRAZY! I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow.

Well, I want to get a little more knitting done before bed!

Love,
liz

the weekend

Well, this was a seriously eventful weekend here in Kentucky and Tennessee... First, I successfully survived leaving the dog in a kennel for a night.  Pathetic, but true.  Second, I made it to Knoxville on Saturday in time for the running expo, which was pretty decent, picked up a few things, and went for a drive to check out the course....

at which point we got in a fender bender in Jess' car.  It was terrifying!!  We were stopped at a stop light and got hit on the passenger side read by a creepy old chevy van (totally a child kidnapper van, you know?!) whose breaks went out going down a hill.  The impact shattered the rear window and made a pretty big mess of the car.  We were fine, just shaken up.

After that delay (police report took quite a chunk of time), we went to a great healthfood store, called Earthfare.  It was beautiful.  Made me miss Vermont and want to buy excessive amounts of food in bulk :)  I bought some agave syrup.  Have you heard about this?  It's a natural sweetener, less thick than honey and has less calories than  regular sugar.  I've used it in tea so far, and it's nice, I'm a fan!

Then we went out to "carboload" at an italian restaurant, that was really lovely.  I had chicken picatta with portobello mushrooms and some linguini.  It was amazing.  I ate way too much!!  Then we went home to chill before bed.

The race was really fun.  I had never done a relay before, so it was pretty fun.  The weather held out till our third runner, so the first runner and I stayed dry!  My section was through some beautiful neighborhoods and on the "greenway" through the center of Knoxville.  The weather was a humid 55 degrees, so I ran in a t shirt, which was nice.  For not running over the past few weeks, I think I did pretty well- about a 12 minute mile I think, so that wasn't too bad, and the course was pretty hilly! :)

The first runner and I had a good two hours to hang out before the thing was over, so we sat in Starbucks with a coffee and chatted.  She was really nice- hopefully we'll run together again soon.  She's a librarian at a small methodist college and a big animal person- horses, dog and cats.  We had lots to chat about :)

Okay, this week is going to be crazy with interviews, so I have to get cracking on work.  Hope you survived your weekend, cant wait to hear about S' misadventures with his dad.  Hopefully they survived!

Much love,
cb

I have seedlings! And tulips!

My tomato and basil seedlings have sprouted!

We have tons of yellow daffodils and a few tulips have just started blooming too!

The weather has taken a nasty turn to rain and wind. Blech.

I think I will keep plugging along with the sweater. It is on size 6 needles, but with fingering weight yarn, which makes for slow progress. Not to mention the 3 other projects on the needles (okay, if I'm being honest, there are probably more like 4 or 5)! I'm not really in a rush to finish it though, since I probably won't be able to wear it until the fall. It's quickly passing turtleneck sweater weather....thankfully!

I better run, the cable just started going in and out which means I may lose internet if the cable goes out!

Love,
Liz

quick post.

regarding the frogging- i can see the progression to darker purple, but I don't think it looks so significantly different that you should stop, and considering its on size 6 needles I say rock out :)

I will have to take photos today, but I made up the end of one of maren's mitts- it is a mitten now, not a fingerless glove.  not half bad  :)

okay, off to work!

To frog or not to frog....

Before I  tell you about the weekend, I need some advice. I ordered some MadelineTosh Merino Light from the etsy site a while back and started a Lightweight Pullover. The problem is that the 3 skeins I have are all different from one another. Someone suggested starting with the lightest skein at the neck and have it progressively get darker. Well, I alternated skeins with the 2 lightest skeins until I separated the sleeves. Then I started alternating the 2 darkest skeins. This resulted in a dark line right across my chest:

I can't decide if I should just frog the whole thing and do some smaller projects with the skeins since they don't match, or if it isn't all that offensive looking. I could restart the sweater with the yarn I got in the yarn club. It pains me to think about all the hours of knitting I put into it....

On a happier knitting note, I'm making some progress with the new KAL at Purl Diva, the Wood Hollow Vest by Kristen Kapur, whose patterns I LOVE. She has an adorable cardigan that is in the new issue of Knitty.

(and yes, my grass is really that green)

The pattern is a little slow going because of all the cables, but it's fairly easy to memorize.

Seth and I drove to Smith Rock State Park on Saturday and did a little bit of rock climbing. The weather was gorgeous and the views of all the snow-capped mountains on the way were breathtaking.

The park is in the desert and I think the canyons really hold in the heat. It must have been about 80 when we were climbing. The park was packed full of climbers and hikers. And I don't think I've ever seen so many people with dogs all in one place! Sailor was sooooo excited, but eventually calmed down and hung out while we were climbing.

Seth took a 30 mile run on Sunday, and the weather was much cooler. It was only about 40 when he started his run and got up to the mid 50s, but was pretty breezy. I headed down to Bend with Sailor and did a little shopping and took Sailor for a walk. Then I hung out at Smith Rock and took some photos while I was waiting for Seth to finish his run.

Seth is headed to Vegas tomorrow to go climbing with his dad. I'm going to drop him at the airport and then hit a couple of yarn shops on the way home. And maybe IKEA. :) 

Hope you had a great weekend!

Love,

Liz

Spring Challenge 2010: Grow a Garden

Meet my seedlings (well, not seedlings quite yet...but they will be...hopefully):

Seth and I stopped at the garden store yesterday on our quest for Chia Seeds (yes, seeds that grow Chia Pets...more on that later) and picked up seeds and a seedling tray for our garden! I spent today planting cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and basil. The rest will be planted directly into the garden in May (pumpkins, green beans, radishes, carrots, and probably garlic and onions). I also cleaned out the raised garden beds of all the old plants and weeds. Sailor decided to help:

                

He was sitting in the raised bed...what a strange dog.

                                    

The weather has been so beautiful here this week! The nice weather looks like it's going to last until Sunday, and then the rain will be back. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures to share after our weekend trip to Bend. 

So the Chia seeds....

There is a running book, I think it's called "Born to Run", that talks about using Chia seeds when running. Apparently, they are all the rage right now. Weirdo and Seth decided that they wanted to try them, so yesterday we went on a search for Chia seeds. We tried Trader Joe's, the Co-Op, and the garden store (more to get garden supplies, but thought we'd check anyways). The Co-Op carries them, but they were out of stock. We were told that their distributer is backordered because there was an Oprah segment about them and now everyone wants them. I've also seen them talked about on the Today Show. Since we couldn't find them anywhere, we ordered them online. A 2 lb bag. Hopefully they're everything they're cracked up to be...and hopefully they don't make Seth turn into a Chia pet :)

Well, I've had a super productive day and now I need to eat dinner before I make a batch of cookies (to ensure that I don't eat all the pre-cooked dough!)! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Liz

signs of spring

Took the dog for a small trot to work my lungs and his....  if you notice in the picture, there are daffodils waiting to pop out!  The grass is looking mighty green in the photo too... not really the case in real life, but close.  

This one is post a run through the stream.  He's quite pleased with himself for fetching a stick... once... he really doesn't get this whole reciprocal relationship :)  

This one is my attempt at a group shot.  He kept going in for the lick though, every time I would count down to take the picture.  I stopped counting.  Notice the glasses.  Thank you inflamed corneas.  

Knitting projects....

still no photos, but i am alive. so that's a start!

Well I’m on the mend…. Two doctors appointments and 4 prescriptions later… turns out my cold was a bacterial infection- upper respiratory goodness…   It’s amazing the improvement I saw over two days, but I definitely don’t feel 100% yet.  I’m exhausted and my body is just tired right now.  I want to be home in my bed.  I can’t run yet either because I can’t wear my glasses right now (and let’s be honest, I don’t want to run right now, I want to  sleep!).  I had two inflamed corneas.  Good times.

Knitting is going well though- almost finished with both baby sweaters and one of maren’s mittens.  The problem with that is that maren’s mitts aren’t in the round- they are don’t on long needles and stitched up the side.  BUT they are supposed to be fingerless gloves and I’d like them to be mittens… so I’m going to join them and finish them off rather plainly, but I think they will function just  fine J

Mom has worn the sweater quite a few times, which makes me happy.  I’m proud to be plowing through these projects right now…  And very interested in starting baby girl’s dress- I’m sure it will take me that long to get it finished (camp gets in the way, you know!).

Interviews interrupt my day and I have a lot of pending projects at work right now that I just want to be finished with, but can’t begin to finish without some serious input from the boss man.

On the food front, I’ve been trying to stick to leftovers from the weekend, lots of fruit and veg.  Don’t laugh, but in an attempt to not eat soup for the 4^th day in a row, I ate salad mashed potatoes last night.  I just needed to crunch something!

Dad got me a ticket home for Easter.  I was going to buy it, but spoiled as I am, he had miles to give J  So, I’m home for four days and F has the weekend off, which is awesome.   I’m spoiled!   I don't know what your weather is today, but here it's finally beautiful!  65 and sunny!  This weekend is supposed to be nice too, so that will be great for camp.  Okay, back to work.  I swear one of these days I will post pictures again.  

Oh and it will be a while before I can afford it, but can you recommend some madeline tosh for a shawl for me?  I'm thinking I love that dark blue you have for your shawl.  It's delicious!

love 

cb  

Maple Leaf Madness

Note to self: Do not buy yummy junk food and expect not to want to eat it in large quantities. These cookies are horrendously good. Want to eat the entire package in one sitting kind of good. Must be the maple syrup that is in them. Seriously, these things are addictive. Which is why they are living on top of the fridge above my eye line. Because every time I see them I want to eat them. I must remember to STICK TO THE GROCERY LIST next time.

On a more heathy food note, I made yogurt marinated chicken last night. Soooooo good. And so many possibilities. The recipe I used had chili powder, cumin, lemon juice and olive oil and fat-free greek yogurt. It wasn't as spicy as I had hoped, but I think I can remedy that next time. Although, I think next time I'll try doing garlic and lemon juice...or some other fun combination. It really sticks to the chicken more than regular marinade. I cooked it under the broiler which was super easy made for a nice glazed outside. Yum. I paired it with some garlic naan from Trader Joe's. Usually store bought naan isn't as good as I hope it will be....but once again, Trader Joe's came through! I put it on a baking sheet in the oven and drizzled it with a wee bit of EVOO so it wouldn't dry out.

Did I tell you my parents got a puppy?! His name is Benny and he's a 6 month old pug. Sailor has decided that his new favorite spot to sit is in the guest room on the futon so he can look out the window:

Silly dog.

Have you been watching LOST? The Biggest Loser? Tuesday night TV is going to be NUTS when Glee starts back up. Thankfully, I can watch the Biggest Loser on demand since I can only DVR 2 shows at a time (and I have to be watching one of them).

Well, I need to bring all the shoes and rugs in from outside! Feel better!

Love,
Liz

Sleeves: The Black Hole of Knitting

Why is it that it feels like it takes twice as long to knit sleeves as it does to knit the rest of a sweater?! I really shouldn't complain, 5 days to make a sweater is absolutely respectable. But I felt like the sleeves took FOREVER (even though I'm not sure they actually took longer than the body). At any rate, the Oatmeal Pullover is now complete:

I used just under 600 yards of MadelineTosh Bulky. I made quite a few modifications to the pattern for a better fit. I added an extra increase round and an extra straight round before separating the sleeves because I wanted about 1 1/2 inches of negative ease instead of 3 inches of negative ease. I also picked up extra stitches under the arm because the sleeves as written are about 9 1/2 inches around...and mine are, well, much larger. I also decreased 1 stitch on each side of the waist for a little waist shaping.

In non-knitting related news, Seth had I ate at this fabulous place down in Eugene on Saturday. We went down to climb at the gym (Seth is headed to Vegas for a climbing trip with his dad and is trying to get "in climbing shape") and went to the Laughing Planet Cafe for lunch. They use as much locally grown produce/ingredients as they can and everything is freshly cooked. I had this ridiculously yummy "bowl" full of mashed potatoes, Tillamook Cheese (from NW Oregon), grilled chicken and sweet corn. Sooooo good. Seth had some crazy bowl with beans, rice and tons of steamed veggies topped with salsa.

We're going to try and head to Bend next weekend to climb at Smith Rock. As long as the weather holds out in the mountains, we should be able to get there without a problem.

And last, but not least:

Remember all the pretty pink flowers on the plum tree? Well, they are falling all over the deck and Sailor gets covered in them every time he is out there! Goof.

Hope you are feeling better!

Love,

Liz

New Handspun, A Finished Project, and A New Project...

Are you feeling any better?? At least you aren't too sick to knit :)

I finished my Snapdragon Tam hat the other day and I blocked it yesterday. The brim stretched out a little, so it's not quite as snug as I'd like, but I might run a narrow piece of elastic around the brim. I did throw it in the dryer and it helped a little bit. I knit it in MadelineTosh DK in Lichen (green with little bits of purple...possibly my favorite colorway by MadelineTosh).

It's been quite rainy and windy here the last few days and it had me wanting a cushy, instant gratification project and my MadelineTosh Bulky (a test base for them, so far) arrived in the mail on Wednesday...and it was begging to be knit up. I cast on for the Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond on Wednesday night, and am almost done with the body (yay for bulky yarn and size 11 needles!). I've had to make a few modifications. It is written with 3 inches of negative ease, and I didn't think a skin-tight sweater would be  too awfully flattering. So I added an extra increase round which gave me an extra inch and a half or so. I've tried it on a couple of times and it seems to fit pretty well. Doesn't this yarn just scream bulky, squishy sweater???

And lastly, I finished spinning up some Blue Faced Leicester today. I got about 300 yards of sportweight yarn. It still needs a yarny bath before I can knit it up.

Well, that's it for now....time to make some asian pork kebabs (minus the actual skewers) and mashed potatoes!

Feel better!

love,

liz

a haze.

i. have.  yarn. envy.

you are one lucky lady :)  i'm sick.  have been since sunday and honestly it just feels different every day... not better or worse... no actually today it's worse... yesterday i made it through two hours at work before calling it quits.  today i think i'm leaving after our weekend prep meeting...

im on dayquil and i feel like a zombie.
and if i never have soup again, i'll be glad.  even when it's yummy chicken and toasted orzo soup with a splash or sirachi hot sauce...

but i've been knitting in a haze on the couch.  watched two movies- up in the air (awesome.  i thought it was terribly funny...) and good hair (a chris rock documentary on black hair... also totally awesome.  made me proud to not have a weave...!)

im working on my sister's mitts and contemplating another baby sweater.  i'm such a sucker for a baby sweater... especially on size 15 needles ;)

i really wish i could take nyquil and sleep the day away.  is that bad??

Yarn Pretties and a New Project

I wanted to show off this big honkin' 500 yard skein of Merino/Silk that I got this weekend. It's by Blue Moon Fiber Arts....it's soooo soft and squishy!

I started a new knitting project the other day, a Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda Teague:

The pattern is brilliant and really well written. The best part is that the directions are actually written out in addition to having a chart, so you don't actually have to use the chart if you don't want to (which I don't!). Once you start a row, the pattern repeat is easy to memorize because it makes so much sense. This is my first Ysolda pattern, but I will definitely be making more of her designs. LOVE THEM.

I've been walking with a woman and her border collie the last couple of weeks and yesterday we walked SIX MILES (and boy was I tired yesterday afternoon!). The dogs had fun chasing the big, fat, grey squirrels in the woods and running like crazy dogs.

Remember how our rice cooker broke a while back? Well, our brand new rice cooker busted last night when I was making dinner. UGH. So annoying. Seth made rice on the stove, and then forgot to turn the burner off and burned some of it to the bottom of the pot.

On a brighter food note, I can't say enough wonderful things about Trader Joe's. Seriously, I'm spending the same amount of money that I was spending at the regular grocery store, and buying almost all organic. I bought these amazing ice cream cookie sandwich things. They are the size of Oreo cookies with mint ice cream in the middle. And only 60 calories per cookie sandwich! The perfect amount of to satisfy my sweets craving.  :)

I have actually seen those Mug Cakes! There is a woman who has a whole Mug Cake recipe book, and she was on Rachel Ray a couple months ago. They look pretty tasty!

Have you been watching LOST? Did you watch last night? I kept jumping up and saying "I was there, I was there!". I just started re-watching the first season....so good!

I'm hoping to finish the Snapdragon Tam tonight...I'll post more pictures when it's finished!

Love,
Liz

things.

Well, fun fact.  Dog is now waking up at five. in. the. morning.  Which mean's I'm pretty much awake at that time too.... not sure, but i think it's because i'm starving him... He goes to the vet next Monday, but after his last appointment per vet recommendation, I dropped a cup from his daily meals- he's at 1.5 twice a day, down from 2 twice a day....  since august, he's obviously been a lot more active.  I'm trying to find other food sources, live veggies, rice and fruit when i can... but I think he's just plain starving!  We'll see what happens on Monday.

Oh and if you haven't tried the dental chews from iams, they are pretty amazing.  philo's teeth a pretty darn clean :)

Knitting:  finished my cowl and started sis' gloves.  F's hat is a catastrophe.  I knit too tightly to do that many cables!  We'll see how it turns out.  Running, also going well.  Minor set back Sunday as I got a nice little allergy head cold/sinus something... I'm coughing and slowly dying... but pounding fluids... so here's to hoping!

Weather has been hopeful lately- we finally hit the sixties!  I pulled down all of the window plastic and cleaned like a crazy woman on Saturday.  I now have about 5 tubs of clothes to donate at some point to salvation army, or the like.  I'm trying to really look at what I wear and need versus just have.... simplify.  I also did a bunch of mending (hereby adding to my old lady dorkiness.  F thinks it's hysterical.) and fixed a bunch of things- like one of my EMS fleece things, a hoody, a sweater sleeve and a few more smaller items.  I sort of feel like I little homesteader...

Have you ever watched the Dan Ho Show on FitTV?  I'm kind of obsessed.  He's a "lifestyle guru" but he's totally self-effacing.  And with a last name like Ho, the options are endless or witty double entendres :)

On the food-front there has been a small miracle.  I'm trying to eat out less- trying to save some money for a plane ticket to visit a certain someone.... which means I'm getting very inventive with my food choices.

I made a pretty yummy pasta dish the other night with spinach, hot pepper flakes, burst tomatoes and garlic... with a little marscapone cheese for creaminess.  I also made a salad for dinner on Saturday of cucumber and tomatoes with some avocado chunks and a lemon vinaigrette.  dammmnnn good.

have you ever made salad dressing?  I can't imagine buying it now that I make it at home... it's so much better tasting and you know what you are eating.

OH AND THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER!!!  have you ever made a mug cake?  I was having a chocolate craving last night (after pounding excessive fluids all day, I really wanted real food) and decided this would be a better choice than making a pan of brownies and eating them all week... and although it wasn't amazing (it needs some doctoring, especially in the flavor department), it did the trick.  i got to eat a chunk of cake in three minutes.  It's almost worth it just so that you can watch in wonder as it cooks up to the top of the mug.... mmmm. :)  i think with ice cream, it would be amazing.  like super amazing.

What a fun weekend!

We had such a great weekend with Weirdo! We picked him up in Portland late Friday night and we all crashed as soon as we got home. Seth and Weirdo took Sailor on a 12 mile run in the woods and then we all played on the slackline in the 65 degree weather! Since it was so beautiful and clear out we took a drive up Mary's Peak (Seth and I hadn't been yet) and hiked the 3/4 mile Summit Trail to the top. The views were GORGEOUS....snow-capped mountains in one direction and the ocean (way off in the distance) in the other. Unfortunately, my camera battery died when we were close to the top, but I did manage to get a few good shots in beforehand.

After our trip up Mary's Peak, we stopped at the fish market and picked up some Ahi Tuna Steaks. We had seared tuna steaks and oven roasted potatoes....and proceeded to all be in bed by 9pm! Weirdo flew out this morning to Hawaii. After we dropped him off at the airport, Seth and I went to the Stepping Stone Cafe, which was sooooooo tasty. I ordered Cinnamon Bun French Toast (yes, seriously a cinnamon bun turned into french toast....heaven) and Seth had the Banana Bread French Toast (which had sliced bananas and walnuts over the top). We stopped at Powell Books and Twisted (a yarn shop where I got some lovely yarn which I'll share later) while our food digested and then headed to the climbing gym. Needless to say, we are exhausted from all the festivities. 

Hope you had a lovely weekend....off to do some knitting!

Love,

liz 

Box Bag Mania!

Charlotte....meet my family of box bags:

I have been obsessively sewing these cute little box bags over the last couple of days. During their completion I broke 2 sewing machine needles. Actually, truth be told, it was while assembling the farthest bag to the right that I broke BOTH needles.

I had found a tutorial for a box bag on SewMamaSew, and thought I'd give it a try.

The first attempt, while pretty cute, was a little flimsy:

So for the second attempt, I lined the bag and put interfacing between the layers to make it sturdier:

Then I decided I needed to make a third (you know, to perfect the art of the box bag):

Cute, aren't they?! My sewing skills are still far from stellar, but they'll get better with practice...at least I'm hoping they will!

I'm impressed with your egg poaching! I'm not sure I like poached eggs, so I've never really thought about doing it. I do indeed get the Martha Stewart EveryDay food magazine. Yumm.

I will probably not be wowing Weirdo with my culinary skills this weekend. He arrives late tonight, and Seth REALLY wants Ahi Tuna Steaks tomorrow for dinner. Seth will be in charge of the tuna, but I will probably make some oven roasted potatoes, which I think are pretty fabulous. Tonight, though, I'm making some baked ziti and my house is starting to smell like fresh tomato sauce! The smell is making me hungry!

Congrats on hopping back on the running wagon! Seth met someone with a border collie on Monday while he was running. Her and I took the two dogs for a long walk in the woods this morning. The dogs had a blast running and playing with each other. We're lucky neither of us got knocked off the trail by the pups running back and forth at top speed! Sailor has been conked out on the couch since we got home!

Well, I'm off to start some baked ziti and finish picking up the house!

Love,
liz

Okay, better late than never.

Exciting news, finished my cowl neck thingy- will post photos later.  Wearing it as we speak at work.  It’s super bulky, soft yarn that was really way too expensive for something just for me… but oh well.  Good distraction from the disaster that is F’s hat.  That pattern is my nightmare.  I currently have no idea where I am in it… and I knit too tight, so cables with that size needles are not my friend….  Seriously contemplating starting over… but I still have too much to do!  Mom’s sweater is finished, just needs to get blocked.  I like it, but it’s kind of boxy- which honestly is how she wears her clothes, so maybe it’s not too bad… we’ll see!

I did get back on the running wagon.  I’ve been running at camp with a girl from work who just quit smoking.  Talk about a boost of confidence!   My lungs are great!  I ran three with her the past two days, talking the whole time, while she just tried to breathe.  Last night, I left her at my car and sprinted one more, because I was itching to pick up the pace.  THAT feels good J  I’m really proud of her and happy for her because I can’t imagine quitting smoking... 

In food news, I POACHED AN EGG! (Two actually!!).  I don’t know if you get the Martha Stewart everyday food magazine, but it’s awesome.  It had a little thing on the technique, which is terrifying really- especially after Julie and Julia… but I did it (soo easy.  The water boiling seemed to be the most complex part! Ha!)  and put it on a  bed of wilted spinach and garlic chips on whole grain Panera baguette.  YUM.  Sooo good!   I also made some killer scrambled eggs last night for dinner- with a bit of cream cheese and siracha hot sauce.  Simple, but so yum after a run!  Can you tell we had left over eggs after camp this weekend??

Speaking of… camp has been going well.  Weekends keep flying by, with some really fun families- but I’m just ready for summer.  Itching.  For.  Summer. 

Last week Kim and I went on a recruiting trip to Indiana (first time there!) and had a great response at both Indiana University (beautiful old campus) and Purdue (great students!!).   We’ve already had three applications come in from them (they were Fed Exed, how cool is that!)  and TWO of them were boys.

Okay, yesterday I got mad work done on leadership orientation and I have to hammer the rest out today, because I’m now in charge to developing the oldest camper program, which I’m really excited about, just need to get cracking on.

Enjoy the weekend with Weirdo!  Tell him I say hi and wow him with your amazing culinary skills!!

Love you,

C

So, I joined a yarn club...

I just received my first yarn club shipment from MadelineTosh, and it is beyond gorgeous. There were three color families to choose from: Jewel, Natural, and Neutral. I chose Jewel because I am in love with the bright/intense colors that she does. So, without further adieu....meet "Lolita":

There is enough to make a sweater of some sort (around 1300 yards). It is superwash, single ply merino in fingering weight. I have some in a couple of other colors, but I think this is my favorite, so far! I'll be getting 2 more shipments of yarn through the yarn club. In April I'll receive 3 skeins of Pashmina (superwash wool, silk, and cashmere...YUMM!), and in May a skein of Eyre Light (no link because it's not a yarn they sell wholesale....but it is merino, silk, and baby alpaca....double YUMM!). 

Are you madelinetosh-ed out yet? I'll move on, in case you are! 

Next up....Ravelympics medals! I was able to complete 3 projects, which was pretty gosh darn exciting! French Press Slippers were for the Felting Freestyle, the Heirloom Baby Blanket was for the Giant Slalom-ghan, and.....

A Sock Hockey Medal for my Crazy Cabled Slipper Socks:

I made these out of the "Jazzercise" yarn from my spinning class. The pattern is Cabled Footies from the book "One Skein". It calls for worsted weight yarn so they knit up REALLY quickly. I want to wear them every day, seriously. They are so cozy.

I also just started a pair of Sweet Fern Mitts, from "The Knitter's Book of Wool". It is a fabulous book by Clara Parkes of "The Knitter's Review".  I joined a ravelry group that she has and we are doing a woolalong! Every month is a different kind of wool and last month was Cormo. I spun up some Cormo fiber and started these:

The yarn is really soft and cushy. Wool for the month of March is Blue Faced Leicester and I'm in the middle of spinning some up...then I'll just need to find another pattern.

I've also been doing a little sewing on a secret project. I just finished all the components today and it's ready to ship to the recipient, so just a sneak peek for now:

Phew. Are you sick of looking at yarn and crafts yet? I'm going to be casting on for another Knit-a-long with Purl Diva, but I'll wait until I have something to show before I delve into the details.

Weirdo is coming this weekend on his way to Hawaii! Hopefully the rain will hold off so we can go do something fun. Speaking of weather....I think I could easily be a meteorologist here in Oregon. Seth and I were laughing the other day while watching the weather. Every single day we hear, "Well, today it might rain, but it might be sunny" or "It looks like the clouds will lift this weekend, or they might stay". It's really pretty amusing.

Well, I'm off to eat lunch and take the pup for a walk before the rain (or no rain!) starts!

Love,
Liz