Its over.....

The summer olympics has come to an end and so has the Ravelypmics. I'm excited though I've only managed to finish 2 of my 4 events. My sock put was a bust ~ I think I'm burned out on making socks though I did manage to co some ankle socks for the Da Boy and will finish them next week, hopefully. I was going to do WIPs wrestling but I never did find that lost ball of yarn and I got my yarn for my oldest UFO so tangled that I couldn't get it undone in time to finish before the flame was snuffed out at 10:59a my time. Oh well, it was a blast and truly a challenge for me that I look forward to doing again.

I've not been doing much and we are going on a mini-vacation tomorrow. Woohoo! I will be back on Wednesday but then I will be working everyday at the store thru to Sunday. I'm really not looking forward to it but it will help me not have to make up so many hours once the fair ends. That begins next tues too ~ I hope I'm ready. Da Boy has a birthday comin' up too ~ he'll be 16yos. Can you believe it ~ my youngest will hit his first big milestone and I'm not ready. Sorry, but he's the baby and the last one to turn the big "16" so I'm a bit emotional about it but I'm so pride of him ~ he's such a great kiddo.

My knitting ~ I've tried to start my SOTSiii over 6x and I'm hoping to get it started again tonight though I probably should go to bed since I'll be driving for our trip tomorrow. heehee ~ I'm not sleepy, I'm watching bbc comedy and I've had a wonderful time out to dinner with friends after knitting at the coffee shop. It was so much fun though I didn't knit, I crocheted trying to get that old UFO done. I did finally get the yarn untangled thx to help of my friend Kim. ;) I've only 6 more rows of pattern, then the 5 rows of the border. Once I do these then I add the scallop edges and ribbon. I need to find it a home when I'm done since I've been working on this thing for 3yrs ~ most of the dc are too big for it. LOL I've a friend having a babe in Oct ~ I may just give it to them though I do want to make them a pink one. Hmm....I'd better get busy since this took 3yrs, who knows how long the next one will take. These blankets usually only take 4wks, boy have I been slow.

I plan to make another One Row Scarf out of Cascade 220 in a lovely shade of black/grey. I can't wait to get started its for a co-worker who asked me to make her a scarf last year. Yes, I know but you know finding the motivation to knit a scarf and the right yarn and pattern when its a gift take a little time. Its different when $$ or the supplies are provided ~ then I'd have to just get started. LOL

Well, off to knit, read and watch tv. I also must set the recorder for Mystery ~ Inspector Lynley ~ love that handsome man. heehee. Hope you all are having a wonderful nite ~ have a great week.

~ SP12 Qs ~

Catching up on the SP12 questions of the week ~ starting with the recent one. Enjoy!

#11
What is the best thing you've ever received in the mail/post?

I've received some awesome packages in the mail but I'd have to say my very first SP10 packaged would have to be considered the best ~ the yarn, the books, the goodies ~ oh I could go on and on.....but I'll stop especially since my recent SP12 package was awesome too. I love getting packages in the mail which would explain my addiction to swaps heeheee!

#10
What Olympic event would best describe you knitting/knitting style?

ETA ~ My event would probably be the balance beam ~ my fav in my youth ~ since some of my knitting doesn't fit my personality nor my experience level or my available free time creating an unbalance state of being. Though sprinting wouldn't be to far behind since I love to take off on something. Now if I could only finish some of these somethings. ;)

#9
Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?
Nope ~ though I have signed up to enter 3yos ago but never did finish that lovely blanket. LOL I'm considering it this year now that we have a sock category but we'll see. I'll share if I do decide to enter. I work the fair and am allowed to enter as long as it isn't an area I manage and knitted or other handcrafts are not under my supervision. Yeah me!

#8
What is your favorite supper for a hot summer evening?
Tuna salad with ritz type crackers from Aldi's ~ yummy. Oh don't forget the homemade iced tea ~ delicious!

Recipe ~ just need a can of tuna (albacore is good), macaroni noodles, mayo, onions and seasonings ~ Adobo, season salt, pepper and onion powder if no onions. Thats all ~ so easy.

Blogging groove....

I think its back and its in place of my knitting mojo. Hahaha, now thats a real laugh. I seem to do either or the other ~ go figure. Anywho, I thought I'd tell you all what I did on vacation since some of you seem interested ~ why I don't know. ;)

Warning ~ this is very boring so read at your own risk or skip to the bottom for the current stuff. ;)

Tues Aug 5th ~ my day began w/work that allowed me to leave after only being there for 1hr. Yeah me! Then I began to take a long look at my vacation plans to Tx, they were looking very bleak. At this point, it didn't look as if we were going to make it and then I discovered that if I rented a car on thur it would be almost half the costs so I booked it for 3days at the reduced rate ~ knowing I had 2 free day coupons and went to bed around 3a. ;) Not much knitting but feeling better about getting away for a few days.

Wed Aug 6th ~ did some errands, found a hotel for dirt cheap and planned my projects for the Ravelympics and went to bed early.

Thur Aug 7th ~ wake up late, go figure and leave to p/u rental at 7:45a (pick up was for 8a). Stop at Wally World for snacks and then meet hubby at Sbux for some road brew. Sent dh to get breakfast at McDs while I grabbed a bargain on pb at Walgreens. We finally get back to house at 9:15a and pack up and leave at 10a. Now please note this is about 1hr later than planned. LOL Drive thru OK to TX ~ lovely drive with lake scenery and all. Pics are on dh's cell, I'm driving and no one takes out the camera. Arrive in Dallas about 2:15p and head over the Purple Cow for some grub ~ really wanted a purple vanilla milkshake. The burgers and fries were awesome as usual but the shakes were disgusting ~ watery, pale and tasteless. Now folks I must tell you this is not a Purple Cow milkshake, this is....I don't know what it was but it was gross. I was not happy to spend $55 and get a bad shake. Oh where is my Va Beach PC when you need it. We then left and arrive at our hotel at about 4:45p ~ can we say not good. Remember I said the hotel was dirt cheap, well there was reason. It was a very old hotel (note: old and shabby, rundown are two different terms but for the sake of those who may love this hotel we will just say "old"). Our first room was really bad and they upgraded us to a suite which was much better. Dh was ready to leave but being as late as it was we'd end up paying for the night and still have to find something else. However, I must say there were 2 good features ~ 2 a/c units and access to all major highways ~ 30, 35 & 75 right at our door w/o the noise, now that was nice too. The girls and I left dh to enjoy the a/c to attend our conference in Fort Worth which was not a 36min drive as predicted by mapquest but an hr w/traffic due to construction on 30. Wow ~ we arrived about 15mins late and had to find a parking space. Not too bad for me but for Riley who wanted to go to youth ~ she wasn't happy about arriving late. LOL After this we all went to get some food from Jack in a Box but that wasn't good either ~ no one likes being overcharged do they?! We went to 7-11 for drinks and back to the hotel. It was nice to sleep in a cold room for a change.

Fri Aug 8th ~ Shabby SheepRavelympics begins today, I'm up at 6:30a to c/o at 7a but end up in the shower, pampering myself and not casting on until 10:00a. ;) Everyone got up around 9a and we left for Sbux at 10:15a. We stayed there for about 2hrs ~ maximum time allowed in parking space then we went looking for a yarn shop. The GPS directions turned us around, I left the mapquest ones in the room but we found it finally in a little quaint section of downtown Dallas. Shabby Sheep was really nice, we loved it and will definitely visit again. There were yarns from locate spinners that I'd love to have. Above pic of the place ~ very nice right?! After visiting for about an hr everyone was ready to eat so we had lunch at Pot Belly's recommended by our new friends at SS ~ its a sandwich joint and it was good especially the pickles! We returned to the hotel for a break then decided to go find the QT (Quik Trip) and after about 1hr 1/2 we found it (don't ask, just know it wasn't pretty or cool, well maybe the lake we found was pretty ;D) ~ purchased regular priced 32oz drinks (they are .49 at home but .89 here) and gas. We stopped off at Wally World Neighborhood and returned to the a/c'd hotel room. I relaxed while knitting and watching cable til dh mentioned dinner. We all got dressed and left for dinner at 9p. We couldn't decide what to eat and finally ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings were we watched the opening ceremonies of the olympics, the yankees, and tennis ~ all at the same time. We didn't make it to any of the conference mtgs but that was ok since I got to buy some lovely lace yarn in a beautiful red, pics later.

Sat Aug 9th ~ Ripley's Believe or NotSk8Chick and I went to the morning mtg after arranging for late checkout. We then checked out and started our journey back home. We took dh to run an errand then to Wendy's for lunch. After lunch we went back to the nice Sbux in Highland Park and stayed the maximum 2hrs ~ I think thats funny but its a strip mall next to SMU and you'd never be able to park if people stayed too long. Then I found out that the other yarn shop I wanted to see was no longer in busy and found the Woolie Ewe in the phone book. The only problem was they were only open til 4:30p and it was 2:30p and we didn't know where they were. Dh's GPS worked this time and they were 12m from where we were so we hopped in the car at 3:15p and arrived at 3:30p ~ who know it would only take about 10mins (I missed it and had to turn around). It was really a nice store ~ warehouse like. They had yarns I'd wanted to touch and feel for a while plus yarns I only have 1 or 2 balls of but now can get more if I want. It looks as if they have every color of Cascade there is along w/the handpaints ~ I was lovin' this visit. I sat in the floor at the clearance books ~ bought myself several but no yarn. I'll have to return another day when there is more time for that. I became friends w/one of the workers on Ravelry and I will definitely be going back. We left for home at 5p after a quick stop in Albertson's. Dh had to drive most of the way since I started to fall asleep. We stopped off at a roadside fruit stand which had lots of signs pointing them out on the road ~ delicious cantaloupe and peaches. We got peaches and cherries ~ Sk8Chick's fav. Off again and arrived home about 9:45p.

Sun Aug 10th ~ Returned rental car at 8a and returned home for a nap. We went to our sbux later but didn't do much b/c it was still vacation. ;)

Mon & Tues ~ normal days off, started packing for upcoming move, updated ravelry stash after finding yarns I forgot I owned; wind some hanks and label bags and boxes ~ really boring stuff but relaxed nonetheless. End of vacation.

Told you it would be boring but now you know. I think the best part was the decision I made on Friday to allow myself to relax no matter what we did. I am more relaxed and I don't feel the need to be doing something every minute. Though my knitting has turned into a slump ~ frogged that sock I was working on b/c I lost several sts but didn't recover them LOL, life is good and I'm taking control of it. If I had to sum up my vacation I would say:

I needed it more than anyone will ever know ~ I learned to be myself again ~ I learned to drive like a texan ~ I made new friends at lys and sbux ~ I enjoyed my family ~ I'm ready to do it again like next week and just might.

I just started a new One Row scarf using some stash I swiped from my dd ~ she just found it while packing up her room. It will be a nice skinny one for her and maybe she'll give me mine back. Ha...I know I'll never see it again as something for me but I can dream.

Well, I think thats enough rambling from me. I'm off to read others thoughts on life today. Have a wonderful weekend, I will since I don't go back to work until tues and have plans to knit and maybe a road trip ~ I'll keep you posted. Good nite!

I've been good.....

why you say ~ because I received really cool things. ;) Yesterday, I received my 2nd medal and

bouquet at Ravelymics ~ Event: Gift Knits Pentathlon.

Then I received this in the mail:

I got some yummy new chocolates to try ~ Bug Bites & Chimp Mints

I got Sparking Bath Antistree in vanilla-bergamont soap ~ I think I better use it tonite ;D

I got a knitting button

and.....some lovely Pagewood Farm Sock yarn which is lovely shades of orange just like fall trees.

Thank you very much SP ~ I love my package. ;)

On the knitting front ~ my mojo has started to dry up. You read that right. I don't seem inspired to do anything. I can't find that lost ball of Cascade to finish off the B2S, my spare a square has become a nightmare ~ I had to rip back 10 rows and now there are 18 more to go. I tried to knit it in the car on the way to work ~ lost a needle ugh! Then tonight as I co for the sock put ~ you know I only have 10 days left ~ my knit pick #3 circs break. Oh no.....now I must use my dpns and I'm really slow using them. Though I love knittng w/them very much ~ using them relaxes me. Oh speaking of relaxing me, they relaxed me so much I fell asleep, lost a needle and a few sts and decided I better post my SP package before something else happens. LOL

I really want to finish strong in Ravelympics but it looks abit bleak at the moment since my work schedule is very hectic. I was also hoping to go to Stitches Midwest but I'm not up for driving 11hrs so I may not get to go. I did manage to get off work so maybe I'll do a shorter road trip to either TX or OKC. I'm not sure but I'll let you know what I decide. Though work is proving to be a challenge, I will soon have a break from it to work at the fair ~ woohoo! I'm not sure I'll be entering anything at this time ~ still thinking about it ~ but can't wait to eat some cotton candy, sausage n onions, cinnamon rolls and a yummy red candied apple. I'm getting fat thinking about it. ;)

Off to read a few blogs and emails then off to bed ~ up at 5a. Yeah I know too early and I'm really tired. Have a great one.

Look what I won ;)

I won a medal and

received a lovely bouquet for my Scarf Stroke event.

Yeah me! Congrats to all the finishers ~ there are alot of them. Some have even finished more than 2 items per event. Wow ~ not sure I want to be that speedy but it has been a blast. Looking forward to watching more of the Olympics and finishing the last 2 events.

My next event ~ Sock Put

Pattern ~ Gumbi Socks by Gina Yeats

Yarn ~ ?

Needles ~ 2s

More as soon as I've decided on the yarn and that should hopefully be tonight. However, I'm not allowing myself to co til I finish the "spare a square" for colorcrazed. Its becoming a bane of my existence ~ keeping losing sts usually the yo but I'll keep plugging along. Btw, the Happy Feet yarn is no longer on my favs list ~ too nappy, felts on itself, taggles really bad and not as smooth as I like it. Nonetheless, the colorways are beautiful. I believe I'll gift the remainder of the ball w/its pal skein. After winding another skein ~ a lovely blue shade ~ Riley has swiped it. I believe she plans to make baby socks. LOL

I need to update on our trip, my knitting, my life ~ ok maybe not my life that would be boring. I'm really not in the mood to blog so I'll save that for another day. ;)

Have a wonderful evening.

2nd Event Completed!

Event ~ Gift Knits Pentathlon

CO ~ August 10th @ 8:30 pm (CST)
BO ~ August 11th @ 8pm (CST)


Pattern ~ One Row Handspun Scarf by Yarn Harlot
Yarn ~ (?) Nashua Creative Focus Chunky
Needles ~ 15s

Totally awesome ~ 2 down and 2 to go. Yippee!!

1st Event Completed!

Event ~ Scarf Stroke

CO ~ August 8th @ 10:30a (CST)

BO ~ August 9th @ 9p (CST)

Pattern ~ One Row Handspun Scarf by Yarn Harlot

Yarn ~ Reynolds Smile #101

Needles ~ 13s

The games have begun!

I've joined the other adventurous thousands on Ravelry and have signed up for 4 events and I'm on 3 teams:

Events ~ sock put and scarf stroke with Team OkieKnitters

Event ~ Gift Knits Pentathlon with Team Tardis

Event ~ WIPs Wresting with Team Hopelessly Overcommitted

I'm enjoying the challenge and can't wait to see how many medals I win. More later. ;)

~ Weekend Getaway ~

This usually looks like us when we are going on vacation. However, this weekend we are one member short ~ Da Boy is with his best friend and family in another state. We will be leaving at 8a tomorrow for our mini-retreat ~ 3days, 2nights in an a/c'd hotel room. Yes! ice cold room here I come. Our plans changed again because it was more budget friendly to leave on thursday instead of wednesday. Hopefully we will get to take a couple of more mini-retreats before the fair begins ~ I've one planned for 2wks from now. Then after the fair ~ I've planned a long week of nothing for all of us. Hubby wants to go to Vegas for our anniversary which will be just 2wks after this long week ~ wow 2 vacations in one month, now thats livin'.

I'm off to check a few emails, finalize my knitting plans for the Ravelympics and go to bed ~ I'm driving. ;) Take care and have a great weekend.

ps ~ Happy Cast On to all my fellow Olympic knitters ~ I'll be casting on at 7a on friday. Woohoo!

~ Cloth goodness ~

This post has lots of cloths to show off since thats what I've been doing while keeping cool. We leave Wed for the conference and I'm looking forward to some RnR in an air conditioned place. It reach about 115 w/the heat index yesterday and let me tell you it was hot hot hot even in the cool a/c'd mall which was crowded due to tax free day. LOL I'll update more when I'm feeling better ~ enjoy!

L2KDC Summer Swap ~ its lovely and she sent stitchmarkers too. Since I only sent a cloth and some hand cream ~ I sent a lovely thank you today. I hope my pal likes it ~ it was that lovely crocheted flower I made when the swap began and then I realized it was suppose to be knitted. Heehee ~ it worked out.

9 Baby/Child size washcloths

Oh ~ here is the ISE6 scarf, you know Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf I did:

Talk w/you all soon.