Nicole at Nuts4Knitting presents photos for your pleasure.

Yesterday was a glorious day! Upper 70s, at least, clear sky, and a slight breeze. A perfect day for soccer (FBHS lost but JHS won), a perfect day for a LYS sale, and a perfect day to take photos outdoors. I used my covered patio table as the backdrop. I thought the white of the pristine white (well, probably not) of the table would contrast too much with the yarn colors, so I left the cover on.

First, let me present the Jenna Noro Silk Garden tank.

The pattern is from Berroco Careers. It is 95% completed. I still have to add another row of crochet around the front. Today!

Next, here is the back of my Rowan 31 Evia.

I'm using my Sirdar Wash'n'Wear Double Crepe DK in a peach/pink.

I took this lovliness to PINS yesterday, and everyone raved about the stitch pattern and the color.

They all think it's going to be a perfect spring color for me. And because I want to wear it in the spring, I will finagle the sleeves and make them short instead of long. Never done this before; I might be asking for some help. :) So far I've just begun the armhole shaping. Lots to do until this baby's finished!

The photos which follow are the spoils of war from Quilted Hearts (aka SEX-stash enhancement excursion). I was one of six people who were there 15 minutes before the store opened. At precisely 10 AM, there were about 15 of us waiting to be let in. There was much giggling and many excited knitting and quilting enthusiasts peering through the windows to spot the goody that needed to be snatched up before anyone else could get there first. It felt like the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas when all the amazing sales are going on. Fabric, yarn, and patterns were all 50% off. I did really well!

Here is the Mission Falls Wool I scored.

Katia Sevilla

Spice. Anyone have any ideas what would be the best for this yarn? I love its rainbow colors!

Svale from Dale of Norway. Fourteen balls.

I want to make Fuchia short-sleeve(the cover pic) and Symer tank from this Dale 2001 pattern book I also picked up with this yarn. It will remain to be seen if I have enough yarn.

Two quick notes before I post more tonight.

One--Quilted Hearts, the LYS, is having a 50% off moving sale. Fabrics, yarn, patterns, and more are half off. They close at 2 pm.

Two--Today is the Purple Iris Tea Shoppe (in historic Buford, GA) Needleworking Society meeting. Come join our local version of the Stitch -n Bitch. It's from 2-5 pm. Your first appearance is free, and after that, it's only $5. Can ya beat that?

Got the car tuned up and leaky tire fixed. Went to QH for some awesome deals. Am sitting out back, knitting away until it's time to go to PINS. Then, from PINS, it's off to Johnson High School where my students' soccer team is playing (FBHS vs. GHS) in the third place game of the Mountains Cup Tourney at 5:30 (must be early if I want a decent parking place). I'll stay for the 7:30 championship game (JHS vs. WHHS). Busy, busy day!

More about my spoils of war later. (Mwa-ha-ha...)

My crazy life.

That's usually a gang motto, but lately, it works for this married white female. I've had meetings out the ass, getting my students and coursework ready to farm them out for four straight days while I give the Georgia High School Graduation Tests, and TWO sets of duties this week (morning AND lunch). @%$&^@@ and more @%$&^@@.

There is only one upside to all of this: I can't shuffle papers around while monitoring my kids during the test. Therefore, no grading has occurred. Why am I telling you this? Because I'm knitting. I knit while on morning duty; my eyes don't have to be constantly looking down as they do for grading or reading. I'm quiet, the kids like to see my progress when I'm knitting, and it keeps me (somewhat sane. Yes, just somewhat. I've also been fighting the flu (or something), and I've had zero energy. Miguel and I have been in bed BEFORE 8 PM. No lie. We are wiped out!

Friday night I ordered Queen Kahuna's Crazy Toes & Heels book. I had it Monday. Unbelievable! It even came in a cute little fabric tote bag. It is now carrying my SIP (sock in progress). I read how to begin toe up, 2 socks on 2 circs from Queen Kahuna's book (which I highly recommend!!), pulled out some Lorna's Laces sport in Hawaii (purchased from Rob and Matt at Threadbear), pulled out my size 2s, and began on Tuesday while my kids were working on the Science test (gosh, was that ONLY yesterday? Seems like a week ago). I just finished the toe increases and am working on the foot. I love the vibrant green and purple in the yarn. He instructions are easy to follow.

I read about this book on Melisa's blog. Check out her February 20th post. I loved the look of her heel, and she was kind enough to mail me the info about where to find the pattern. She wrote me that I'll never make socks in any other pattern, and I can see why. (She's also a big fan of Stargate, so she's ranks up there with me!)

What else have I been up to? I've finished the Noro tank, but it's still not wearable. I need to add a little more crochet to the front for me to wear it and be decent. :) I am also working on my Rowan pattern sweater (forgot the name, pics to come this weekend). It's coming along nicely. I love the peachy color I've chosen.

I've also signed up for blogarithm. I read about this on I Hide Yarn (I LOVE that name!). It's a service that emails you when your favorite blogs update. It's faster than trying to check all those wonderful blogs, only to be disappointed when you see the same blog post you read a week ago (yes, like mine lately. grin). I get an email from them overnight notifying me as to which blogs have changed. I then click over to them before heading off to work. Check them out!

Gotta run! It's almost 8 PM. :)

Another quiet Sunday morning.

Miguel has already left to go to his first soccer game of the day. It's a lovely, sunny morning, but I've got stinky hair. Yesterday I went searching for a salon which would permanently straighten my frizzy, curly hair. I've been using a flat iron and love the results, but I wanted a more lasting solution. I went to a few places at the Mall of Georgia. The top price I found--$500. Ummm. nope! Then I found a couple who would do it for $300. That's my car payment--I don't think so. I went to Regis and they wanted $70 for an anti-curl. Sold! It's the same process as a perm, however, the hair isn't rolled but left straight. I also got it trimmed so it's just over my shoulders. I will have stinky hair until Monday evening. Forty-eight hours. Miguel likes it, but thinks even that price is outta sight. I told him I had saved him over $400, but, somehow, he didn't buy it.

I had made the appointment at 11 am and I had three and a half hours to kill until they could see me. I leisurely strolled (which is very hard for me as I am a fast walker) to Barnes and Noble to check our their knitting magazines and books and try to find the second book after "The Daughter of the Forest". I picked up Sally M's "The Purl Stitch" and the next Starfist book (military sci fi). They didn't have the book I was looking for (drat!) and no magazines I couldn't live without (or didn't already have). I then grabbed a gyro from the food court, wandered the mall, bought some Origins face wash and foundation, found a comfy rocking chair in the sun (yes, at the mall), and began to read through "The Purl Stitch". I had been wanting it for a while, and it ate up about an hour of my waiting time.

It other knitting news, I'm still working on my Noro tank. It was too big, so I've been going back and reworking the edges into a ribbed edge (much cussing has occurred) to see if this will tighten it up enough. In fact, it's about time to worki on it again.

Have a great day!

Only slightly off-topic.

I read the most amazing book. I love Anne McCaffrey for her tales of Pern. I love Melanie Rawn for her tales of Strong Hold. I have found an equal to their amazing story-telling abilities. Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest is every bit as entralling as works from the two aforementioned women. This story included magic, good vs. evil, love, hate, greed, power, and loss. Spinning and weaving play a huge role in the heroic feats of the young woman who is the main character. I went to bed last night on page 190 and couldn't put it down. I finally did at 3 AM. I was able to read the last 120 pages this afternoon (544 pages in all). Christi, you will LOVE this book!

How cool is this?

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG APPOINTS SHAUN DONOVAN COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Why is this cool? Shaun is one of my cousins. You go! Read more HERE.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

The clouds have lifted, and the sky is a beautiful Carolina blue. I have the windows open so a nice, warm, spring-cleansing breeze can waft through the house. I just came in from washing and waxing my car (car wax wipe!).

I have gotten a few items in the mail. Yarn, of course! I received an ebay purchase yesterday and one today. I also received my Silky Wool from Threadbear yesterday.

Miguel and I did our taxes this morning. We're getting about three thousand back. Yippee! It's already spent (mentally). We're buying the Home Shield Warranty that our seller threw in with the sale of the house. It was a lifesaver last year (AC problems in the summer), and I definitely want that protection. We are also going to buy plane tickets to Florida to visit Mom and Dad for Spring Break. Much better than driving! Finally, the rest will go toward my car.

All in all, a good day.

Life goes on here. I've put Gyrid aside for the time being. I'm now working on using some Noro Silk Garden (43) to make a camisole/tank from one of my Berroco pattern leaflets. Not too much else going on. I'm still expecting yarn to come in the mail from a few sources (ebay and Threadbear), so I look forward to checking the mail each day. Soccer season has started, and the team is doing good. :) Taxes are getting done on Saturday. Umm...that's about it.
Take care!