Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Juliet: The Beginnings

The problem with quick knit projects is that they are never really all that quick for me. With that said, Juliet is moving right along. I started this project a couple of weeks ago, in a desire to use up some stash and because I think this project is ideal for the fall-ish weather we've been having. Right now, Juliet has moved to the top of my queue and on the needles for that very reason. Earlier this week, I had Monday and Tuesday off and I thought for sure I would have it completed. It is possible that I could have completed it, but based on the picture below, you can see that it is not finished.





As usual, on my long weekend that I was going to enjoy, things came up that prevented me from my true state of relaxation, but I did manage to get many things completed.

I do appreciate you readers that are still hanging around. I needed to take a break from blogging and focus on others things for a bit. I was really slacking on finishing up the editing and revision of my final paper that I had to submit to my former university in St. Louis. I sat down last week and tackled that beast, sent it off and the professor has already approved it. After I send in a petition to graduate, I should receive my sheepskin for December graduation of '07, sometime in early February '08. To say I'm excited is an understatement. That and working on lingering things.

Something else I'm really wanting to work in is exercise and lifestyle (read: diet) changes. Diet, as in a way of eating, changes. Part of my focus is to lose weight, but really to be healthier.

I'm looking at either joining some online health/fitness communities and looking for good online tools. If any of you have suggestions, I'm definitely open.

Back to Juliet, I'm on the third repeat of lace now and expect I'll probably get up to six repeats and call it good. I've tried it on twice and am pleased with the fit. Now just to get 'er done.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Birthday Goodies

I hope you had a good Labor Day weekend. Mine was great. Very relaxed and relaxing. We hung out with some friends on Sunday evening for a bbq. Ate some Jamaican food, listened to some reggae and other Caribbean music and then came home and watched some movies. It was great to stay at home and spend time with M, just the two of us. And of course we were both off Monday and I have Tuesdays off, so it was a very nice, long weekend for me.

You would think on my day off that I would blog, but quite the opposite. I'm in fact, rarely motivated to blog on my day off. Instead I do fun stuff like laundry, washing my hair and twisting my locs. At least that was yesterday, but I truly cherish my time in the house alone. Hmm, lovely.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas about the tank. I'll probably pick up another skein of the yarn to see what changes I can make, esp. as far as picking up stitches around the neckline and armholes to perhaps make it more wearable for me. It is an ok top to wear, it's not horrible, but not loving it. So we'll see what can be done. It will probably be on the back burner till next summer, but that's a big deal to me.

On to my birthday, which passed over a week ago. All I can say is for the Birthday Card Exchange, you guys rock! My mailbox was overflowing with cards, which really made me happy! My mantle was full of cards. So much so, that I had an overflow station on top of the TV cabinet with additional cards. The musical cards that Del and Bron sent were too cute. And Michelle, that crafty girl surprised me with five, count 'em, five cards. So I had plenty o' cards for my birthday. My sister sent one from her and husband, as well as one from my nephew Chason with a new picture of him. Goodness all around!





Of course, some of my knitty girls had to hook me up with nice knitting gifts.
Nachaele gave me the gift of cold, hard cash which was to be used for yarn. But what the heck, I used it for me, so we're all happy! It's pretty much if I have cash, it's gone in a nanosecond. And Michaele provided the wine for the evening and a couple of bottles that came home wth me (as pictured in the mantle above).

Some Colinette Jitterbug in the Raphael colorway ::swoon::, more stitch markers! and a pair of Addi Lace turbo needles. Yay, I'm excited to have my very own pair of Addi Lace needles. There was also two skeins of Lacey Lamb laceweight in a beautemous red, which I forgot to include in this post. Sorry. But you can see it on Ravelry or Flickr.



And Joan, the Fairy Godmother indeed surprised with a lovely package. Sneaky girl, she is, asking for my address to send a card, which she did, but also included some neat things in her package. A bookmark in the shape of a buffalo (how did you know I keep losing book marks!-I've vowed to only use this book marker in my home library of books, so if I forget to take it out, it will only be lost in my house versus going back to the library!), a notepad with a knitting emblem from lantern moon, a wooden needle case with scrollwork on the case and two bars of Bison Chocolate (yes, I know there's only one pictured, the second is gone) in a milk chocolate bar with a truffle cream center. Yummy, yummy.
Thanks Joan! I loved it.



More knitting has ensued. A new project was cast on and has given me fits and starts with the pattern, but I will let you know about it soon.

Blogging might be sparse for a bit. I thought about taking a blog break, but I think I miss it a bit when I think of actually doing it. I'm working on some personal stuff, nothing major (and don't worry, no baby making is happening over here!), just doing some things for me, which may take away time from the blog. I do plan to blog, but it might be sporadic (which why is this really any different from the way I usually blog, I don't know).

Ciao,
W.