What a week.....

This has been a great week of knitting. As most of you know here in OKC the week started when Stephanie aka The Yarn Harlot came to town. I'm posting more pictures taken at the library and at Gourmet Yarn at the book signing. I thought this was so cool. The pictures I posted earlier in the week had two ladies I didn't know. It was a "crowd" picture I'd taken at the library before Stephanie came into the room. I got a comment on my blog the other day from one of the ladies telling me they were the two on the front row. How cool! They are from Kansas and drove all the to OKC to see Stephanie.



I have heard from other attendees that we had a group of ladies come in from Fort Worth. AND we had one lady from Alaska!!! It is so thrilling to hear about people coming from afar to this event.

Here is another shot of Stephanie taking her sock/crowd picture.











This is Ellen, a lady I do not know, and Sue waiting patiently in line to get their books signed.
















Here is another great shot of Margaret and Stephanie, each holding their sock.














This is Sandy, Margaret and Susan (all Gourmet Yarn shop people) getting their books signed. I believe that is Anita with her back to us and Linette who was part of the reception committee in the background.
















And this is Susan and Carolyn holding their books with Stephanie.













And Jennifer, this is another picture of your mom!

Oh, in the first picture on this post, that is Rosemolly and Katie on the front row knitting away!!


So this has been my knitting week: The Yarn Harlot on Tuesday, Wednesday I met up with Shelly and Rosemolly and knitted, Thursday Karen and I drove up to Gourmet Yarn and sat on the sofa to knit. It was pretty funny.....when we arrived the sofas were full. One sofa cleared pretty quick so Karen and I grabbed seats. Eventually we noticed Katie and Kevin were on one sofa and Karen and I sat on the other so we had a K group. Yeah I know...silly but funny in any event. Then Saturday Karen suggested we go sofa sit again so we went back to GY. Eventually Anita and Terri joined us. And I understand we'd just missed Susan and her visiting sister. With weeks like this I wonder what I used to do before I knitted. Hmmmmmmm?

Knitting WIP's: I'm still slaving away on the Nina Shawl. I've reached the halfway point and am on the downhill slide but barely. I started a cotton bathmat Friday night. It's addictive. Then Saturday while sitting next to Karen and seeing her do a provisional cast-on, she taught me to do the same. So we both started our Bathing Beauty washcloths. Yayyyyyy!!! Next week Terri, Anita, Karen, Jan and I are going to learn toe-up socks. Margaret, I'll be in the special needs group so I'll need LOTS of assistance. :-) I hope you are ready. lol

The Wonderfully Funny Yarn Harlot!

The crowd gathers....Anita said there were 138 chairs (hope I got that number right). At first I thought Ok, nice crowd I bet we'll have around 80. Someone did a headcount at some point and said 113. I was close!! Originally I guesstimated between 80-100. People LOVE the Yarn Harlot.









Susan and Karen both while away the time by knitting a few stitches.














And here she is!! Taking our picture. With The Sock. She truly is one funny woman. She had the whole room laughing. Even the few guys who braved all the women were seen laughing. Could it possibly be the first time they had heard that a knitted Willy Warmer pattern exists?? lol And the way she explained the "engineering dynamics" was a snort and a laugh into itself.









I LOVE this picture. I think Margaret should put it on her website, permanently. For that matter, maybe Stephanie should also.



Below are pictures taken at the book signing. Emily gave Stephanie a tornado! Thank God it's only a toy and not the real Oklahoma deal!!





















The line for the book signing was long but it moved pretty quick. Stephanie was a real trouper about personalizing any and all books. She jumped up for constant pictures with other knitters and their socks. She also started collecting quite a few gifts. The girl was making out like a champ!







And this was after all the books were signed and the nerves were gone. My biggest regret is that the place was so loud I couldn't hear the conversation, darn it.

But the best thing of all is that Stephanie and Jayme both were left with one helluva good impression of Oklahoma knitters and I don't think they'll forget us any time soon. Not to mention that any time they hear the song Oklahoma!! they will remember how the whole room stood up and sang our state song. We did a mighty fine job, even the newer Oklahomans!

Sunday Sunday

These are some pictures of two pots of petunias I have out on the patio. As you can see the purple and whites are doing very well.


Even though I planted in self watering containers, I find I have to water every day. This heat has been so intense I think it evaporates or the plants are needing more water than usual.








I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago when this pot of petunias were doing well. I went out this morning and every bloom appears to be eaten back to the spines that hold the bloom at the base. It almost looks as if someone took a lighter and burned the flower except it's not singed. This is the second time I've gone out and found this pot of petunias like that. Does anyone have a clue? Is it some kind of insect? But I can't figure out why whatever does it to this pot and not the purple/whites. Weird!





I found this picture somewhere in my travels on the net. I thought it was sweet.

On the knitting front, I spent most of my Saturday at Gourmet Yarn. I sat on the comfy sofa and knitted while Margaret taught classes. I feel a tiny bit guilty as I heard some valuable tips in the seaming class. lol Hopefully, when I ever knit an item that has to be seamed I'll remember what I heard. Anita came in and sat and knitted for awhile also. Of course we talked about the upcoming visit of Stephanie, The Yarn Harlot.

I knitted on the Nina Shawl while at Gourmet. I also fumbled around and figured out how to do a provisional cast-on. BUT, it's very very messy looking. lol This is a new washcloth pattern and I thought I was doing pretty well when I realized I had 47 stitches and not 46. It was going to mess up the whole pattern so I frogged it. Isn't that what I do best???? lol I've also started a baby blanket for charity knitting. I pick it up when I want something mindless and a different color to stare at for awhile.

If you haven't been in Gourmet Yarn in awhile you need to stop by. Margaret has gotten some beautiful wood cabinets and the whole front of the store is completely different. It amazes me how the different display shelves show the yarn so well. Two of the cabinets make the novelty yarn just POP. I also found out yesterday that Margaret has carried some yarn that I've never noticed in her shop before, Rowan Summer Tweed. I knew she carried Rowan but I'd never noticed the Summer Tweed. Anyway, the shop is looking great. She still has the sofas and they are as comfy as ever.

My Bloginality

My Bloginality is ENTJ!!!
My Bloginality is ENTJ!!!

Let it snow! Let it snow!! Let it SnoooooooW!!!!!!

With all this talk of global warming, I had a discussion with a friend of mine. He believes this scorching July we are having across the country is a result of global warming. I'll have to be honest, I haven't read that much on it. I have enough concerns with taking care of my job, my chores, my life and Lexi. When I start reading about what's going on in the world I tend to get very depressed. Now please don't think I totally stick my head in the sand. I do pull it out every now and then and read or listen to a bit but then I have to go hide again. But back to the weather. What I have noticed more than anything is it seems our seasons have jumped up a month. For instance, I had to turn the ac on in April instead of May. I believe the last two summers July was our warmer month and August was unseasonably cool. Sorta like September used to be. Has anyone else noticed that?



I'm at work and don't have access to my pictures. So I found some on the net that I hope brings some relief to those of you who read this. I could really use some good wet snow right now. If that happened right now, then I might take some notice!! lol




I put Tracksy on my blog several months ago after Shelly told me about it. I love that little feature as I find it so interesting to see who is reading my blog. Well, it doesn't tell me WHO but it tells me (most often) where they live. I have noticed two "faithful" readers who I don't know in Atlanta, Georgia and the other in Manassas, Virginia. Hi!!! Whoever you are!! lol Thanks for reading my blog. Ok, enough with the shout outs, back to my original train of thought. lol Often times I'll have someone who plugs in some words to search on and my blog will pop up on their list. I have been pleasantly surprised at how many people search for "terms of endearment" and my blog pops up because of my post on that subject a couple of weeks ago. I had another search yesterday that was a search for "kay". Hey!! I was smiling that my simple name and my blog amongst hundreds and thousands popped up in that search.


This morning though, I found out someone did a search on some words that I don't know if I like. They did a search of "fondling + petting + pictures". Yuck. I have a sick feeling they were not looking for a blog that talks about fondling and petting yarn and showing pictures of knitted items. That kinda gave me the creeps.

Stay cool out there!!! Winter is on its way!!!

Nina Shawl and record breaking temps

If it wasn't bad enough locking my purse, keys, knitting and lunch in the car on Saturday, I woke up Sunday feeling a little warm. I thought it was just me. Got up, got around. About noonish I was getting ready for guild and realized I was perspiring like the house was warm. Check the thermostat and it's reading 5 degrees higher than I keep it. Hmmmm, I close all the blinds and leave for guild. Come home and yep, it's 80 degrees in the house. It was a little warm that night, stuffy and warmer the next morning until the a/c guys got here and gave me a freon fill. Ahhhhhhh. I actually got cold last night and had to bump it up. Nice feeling then but it made outside feel all the more brutal. I do not know how people who have to work outside do it. I'd die. lol Of course, the fact that I'm lily white and have worked indoors all my life might contribute to my intolerance of the sun. lol Something has to give and soon. Please!!!!!

Guild had around 27 people attend on Sunday. Kathy showed us some entrelac examples. She had a felted entrelac bag that looked great. Maybe it will motivate me to get my market squares bag out and finish those last few rounds. Some day. lol

The picture above is the latest of the Nina Shawl. It's moving along nicely. Please ignore the drop of condensation from the can of Coke. It did dry and there are no spots.

I want to ask a question of you. I am thinking of knitting my first sweater. I have some requirements (as far as my desired yarn). I want a DK weight yarn and a natural fiber. I do not want anything that pills. I'd prefer cotton since I'm pretty warm natured. What yarn would you suggest?


This picture of Lexi was taken a few months ago. She was a sleepy girl tolerating me taking pictures of her in my bed and the flash going off in her face. She's such a sweet baby.

Sweltering Saturday

When I moved to Oklahoma City in August of 2000, everyone was complaining about how hot it was. I was very puzzled as I thought it was a pretty mild summer. I was talking to my mother on the phone about the fact and she mentioned something I had not thought of and that was the wind blows more here and the humidity isn't nearly as bad as it is in Tulsa. That's the area I had lived in most of my life until the move here. Hmmmm....that made sense. Well, since then I still thought the summers here were mild compared to what I was used to. That is until this summer. I wished I could pack up


and move to San Francisco or somewhere in that area where it's so much milder in temps and doesn't have the humidity we have here.

I left the house mid morning with plans to go to Gourmet Yarn to pick up my flyers to post regarding The Yarn Harlot's visit on the 25th, and to have lunch with Margaret. I made a few stops, picked up a few items and then went to Gourmet Yarn. I have this purse I bought a month ago. It's the largest purse I've ever owned. I now hate it. It's so big and cumbersome. I put it on the passenger seat when I drive.


I had the purse and several other items on the
passenger seat. I turned the car off, cracked the windows and I guess I hit the electric lock. I sure don't remember hitting that lock. But I also put my keys in my purse. I got out of the car and shut the door. Walked around to the passenger side to gather my items and the door is locked. I locked my keys in the car!!! lol This is the second time in my life I've ever done that. I went into the shop and got the phone book and started calling locksmiths. Did you know those 24 hour/any day places are often not open? They have a message machine to gather messages.
And you know how that could turn
out. You might hear from someone by Monday! lol I kept calling and finally caught a man who was on the road, the Hefner Parkway, and heading north. He was there in about 12 minutes and unlocked my car. Whew! I was sooo glad. I felt so foolish. But when I told him this was the second time I'd ever locked my keys in the car, he informed me I had one more time coming. Ugh!!! lol I carried my keys with me in the yarn shop for awhile after I got in. I felt so much better with that key in my hand.


On the knitting front, I'm still working on the Nina Shawl. It's coming along nicely and I have to tell you, I get bunches of comments from people about the color combo and pattern. It's an attention getter I guess. I managed to spend the rest of the day knitting on the sofa while Margaret taught a sock class. Karen was taking the class but I think we sat and talked on the sofa most of the time. I was teasing her and Margaret about the sofa being the special needs spot. lol

For tonight's viewing pleasure, I took some pictures of the clouds the other day after one of our very needed storms. I love how the sun lights up clouds behind stormy clouds.

Tomorrow is the July meeting of the Guild. It's at Belle Isle library, north side entrance, 3-5. Bring your knitting, any show-n-tell items you have and enjoy!! Hope to see you there.

The Assembly of the Blanket

I promised Susan I'd post pictures of our earlier efforts. This is the only day most of us got together and put this together. I was rather surprised we made so much headway. We not only made the decision of where to place the blocks (this was NOT easy lol), we managed to stitch all the blocks into two larger sections.









Rosemolly, Anita and Shelly.












Terri and Emily.












And this is Susan looking at her blanket for the first time. I think it would be safe to say she was stunned. In a very good way!!

Our Newest Knitter....

This is Ginny. Rosemolly's baby and Shelly's grandpuppy. She is our newest knitter. Need I say more?

Nina Shawl Update

STRIPES!! I just love this color combo. I never would have dreamed I'd like a bright pink but with the zinnia orange, I love it. This is a very simple knit with the fair isle being the biggest "challenge". And it really isn't much of a challenge. Believe me. It's the colors that just reach out and grab me.






As you can see I've made some progress but not a lot. Isn't it funny how a job can get in the way of our knitting? Hopefully I'll get some serious knitting done this weekend.












You didn't think you'd read a post without some Lexi content did you? lol I wished I knew how to put those captions in that Crazy Aunt Purl uses. I could really have some fun with this picture because contrary to popular believe cats can talk. When I got Lexi she wasn't much of a talker. My previous cat, Thunder Kitty, was a talker. I'd ask her a question and she'd reply. So it took me awhile to get Lexi to respond to me. Yesterday morning I was gathering my stuff to leave for work. The eastern sun was shining thru the back door and kitchen window and Lexi LOVES her sunbeams. She was rolling around on the floor in the sunbeam talking to me. What was she saying? She was telling me she needed some foot lovin's before I left for work.


And this is the routine we go thru most mornings. It always includes foot lovin's but the sunbeam is a nice extra. It was difficult taking this picture. lol I usually have to put a hand on something to keep my balance and she went out into the middle of the room (that's where the sunbeam was) so I had to pull a chair over to hold onto, balance, rub my foot down her side AND snap the picture. lol She rolls from side to side so I can rub each side with my foot. Once in a blue moon she'll roll over onto her back and let me give the tummy spots some foot lovin's. But most often the tummy spots are off limits.

A Lexi Post

I'm sure you've all heard some people say cats have no personality. I tell anyone who says that to me that they have not paid enough attention to a cat long enough to know. lol As I was starting to type this post I heard this strange thumping in the bathroom. I knew what it was but got up to investigate anyway. Lexi was in the bathtub chasing her tail in the dark. When I stepped in she froze to look up at me. She was so excited and ready to zoom thru the house. lol Last night I had put her freshly washed and dried blankie on her chair. As you can see in the first picture she was enjoying it very much. She showed her tummy spots!

In this picture she is contemplating trying to capture that tail again. She knows she'll never really catch it, that isn't the goal. It's the chase that matters! I think she also knows she's entertaining her Mama also.















This is when she settled down. She loves to sit in the cool dry tub in the summer. I think she likes to cool "things" off. lol



I knitted two nights in a row on the Nina Shawl. I'm past the fair isle section and into the melon and orange stripes. I'll take some pictures in the next day or two for an update. It is such a striking color combo. I'm really pleased with it.

I also joined the Mason Dixon KAL. Someone on that site modified the Nina Shawl and made a dish towel!!! I might just have to do that. It would be a quicker gratification, that's for sure.

Don't forget, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot will be here in OKC on 7-25-06. If you can make it into town we'd love to see you there!

Happy Fourth of July!!

This is not only the birth of our country but the first anniversary of my blog. lol I didn't realize until the other day when I went back in archives that my very first blog entry was on the 4th last year. Time sure does fly.

The Nina Shawl Begins!

Here it is, the beginning of the Nina Shawl from Mason Dixon Knitting. I fell in love with the color combination used in the book so I had to pick the same colors, although, I saw a picture somewhere on the net of a beautiful blue and green combo. Oh well. This is Classic Elite's Provence. The book called for the hot pink (more melon to me), zinnia orange, black and celedon. Now I don't know about you, but when I saw the picture in the book, that did not look like a pale seafoam-ish color to me on the checkerboard section. So, I opted for white. I think it goes better and looks more crisp and clean. I also decided I wanted a seed stitch border instead of the garter stitch. I also wanted it wider than the 5 stitches called for in the book. The checkerboard is knitted in fair isle. I have no problem using two colors on the knit rows. The purl rows, well let's just say I drop and pick up. lol It seems to be working just fine. This is a very easy knit with the fair isle section the most difficult but it isn't even that. Probably just a bit more tedious.



If you were at the last guild meeting you'd know what this is. But in case you didn't make it, this is a CD container. JoEllyn gave us a tips presentation. This was one of her tips. I work with a couple of new college grads who burn CD's alot. I asked and one guy brought me an empty in days. This particular case is a soft plastic and not the easy-to-break type. I used an ice pick to make the hole. If you have a delicate yarn, JoEllyn suggested you roll up a piece of sand paper to file down any rough edges. As you can see, my yarn cake of Provence fit pretty well. I'll admit at the very beginning I didn't know if it was going to work. It was a bit snug but has been fine so far. Usually with Provence I do an outside pull as it tends to tangle up on itself but the inner pull has worked really well with the CD case. Yes, it does have a spindle on the bottom and the yarn cake fit fine around it. Pretty cool idea, huh? Thanks JoEllyn!

Margaret carries the colors of Provence for this shawl at Gourmet Yarn. After seeing that blue-green combo, I might have to check her stock and see if I can find those too.


This is Miss Lexi, acting nonchalant and cool. Isn't she doing a marvelous job?

Knit-In Cookout

Tonight was the cookout at Gourmet Yarn's Knit-in. We had a pretty good crowd (considering most of my buds didn't show up!! ;-) ) I think Margaret's knit-ins are getting so popular she's going to have to rent space to hold all of us. lol We had a great time. Rosemary commented on how neat it is to see what everyone is working on. I know what she means it gives me motivation and inspiration.

















This is David, Margaret's partner, who just also happened to be the cook for tonight's cookout. He did a darned good job.

















Here are some pictures of tonight's group. As you can see, heads are bent, fingers are flying and we're getting somewhere.















Rosemary caught me aiming my camera and smiled for the picture. She doesn't have her cardi on in this picture but I noticed the green in her cardi lights up her green eyes. She also won the first place prize for her guacamole.


A clapotis update: I need another skein of yarn and the shop I purchased the yarn at is out. Margaret is one smart woman. She has seen how people love that yarn and love the feel and touch of it. She's ordering some and I'll wait until she gets hers and then I'll finish the clapotis. Which if you read my blog very often, you know it just gives me a reason to start something new!!!! lol So I cast on and managed to knit about 11 rows on the Nina Shawl from Mason Dixon Knitting. There is something about that color combo that just grabs me. I'll post a picture when I've made more progress.














But to finish off tonight's post, I'll leave you with a picture of the Lovely Lexi, Queen of the top of the office chair.