Not really. I think we did really well at the bazaar. We had a ton of volunteers for setting up Saturday at 7am and we had a good amount for clean up on Sunday at 4pm. All the tables were filled with new stuff and we had a ton of donated knitted goodies thanks to Sheila and Deborah from stix (and they also donated a beautiful blanket basket).
Due to the whole weekend volunteering, I was not able to make progress on my knitting. In fact, I left the bazaar early on Saturday to do school work and couldn't even achieve that as the neighbors above us had two kids visiting and I am under the impression it was body slamming 101. I went downhill after two hours of banging and stomping so we went for cuban in Montclair's Cuban Pete's for ok appetizers but yummy dinner and un cafe con leche that was fantastico! When we returned the noise remained, so I went to sleep, while DH asked the non-considerate neighbors to lower the noise. They were very nice they lowered the noise two hours later (do you detect sarcasm?).
Anyways, I am now relaxing in my bedroom avoiding the noise. Oh yes, they are still noisy on a Sunday night. Sadly, it's not the owner of the unit it is her boyfriend that is the cause of the noise. So, I am sitting on the bed with my knitting bags ready to work on the right hand front of the CPH.
Well, another four hours helping the folks unpack, then the rest of the day working on preparing stuff for the bazaar, and now at almost 10pm I am still working on the bazaar. I am so beat. B-e-a-t. On the bright side, we do have some nice stuff for the bazaar so hopefully all goes well.
Oh-here are the answers to the Coffee Knitters SWAP. I am sleepy. I go to sleep now.
QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground?
We have a grind and brew machine so whole bean. I can't even express how good coffee tastes when it is freshly brewed.
2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
FULLY LOADED.
3. Regular or flavored?
I do enjoy flavored. Hazelnut, Hawaiian Hazelnut, Coconut, Pumpkin Spice, but no raspberry.
4. How do you drink your coffee?
Light and sweet.
5. Favorite coffee ever?
Hawaiian Hazelnut and Puerto Rico Yauco Selecto.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
I am pretty open, except I agree that instant coffee is evil.
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Baked goods.
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
Nothing I can think of.
9. What treats do you enjoy with your coffee?
#7.
10. Yarn/fiber you love?
Malabrigo. I could knit with it forever. Love it! I have recently felt up the Fibre Company yarns and those are decadent. Did I mention I love Malabrigo?
11. Yarn/fiber you hate?
Itchy or scratchy yarn.
12. What's on your needles?
I am knitting the lift and separate sweater in Zara and the stitch definition is amazing. I am also knitting the Central Parko Hoodie in Elzabeth Lavold. I still need to sew the pockets on the library shawl in Malabrigo and finish Gracie's sweater which is in Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora.
13. Favorite colors?
Earth tone colors. I am all about the sage green, warm reds like burgundy, love purples, certain shades of pink, and chocolate browns.
14. Allergies?
Nope. Not one.
15. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
I am cool.
I don't know how easily you can see this picture, but the front left front is done. In fact, I spent my day off with the first three hours at the service center of the dealership for an oil change, check up, and patch on the tire. It was good I brought with my knitting with me (I felt very prepared). So, I brought the wrap and the hoodie and knit on both of them (not at the same time silly!). Afterwards, I drove to Jefferson and helped the folks unpack in their new home.
After that, I went to snb at stix. Deborah donated some beautiful things for the bazaar this weekend, and I caught with Margaret (who is having a tough week so send her some good vibes). It seems that some of my progress at the car dealership needed to be undone.
Anyways, I finished the front left at stix. I didn't have the yarn on me to start the right front, so once again I busted out the wrap and knitted some rows on the sleeves. I am bored of the sleeves and what's worst is that I am completely under the impression I am going to be short on the yarn I need. So, I need to find more yarn. I feel like I always run short on yarn for large projects, ah the learning process.
Yup, the packing has begun. It is official. We are starting with the books and then moving to the non-essential kitchen items and dishes. I don't know what we will pack after that, possibly dvds and cds. I can't believe how quickly these boxes filled up. I guess it makes sense because we put books in the boxes.
I am creating signs for each box with neon paper that lists the item, the room, and a graphic. The graphic represents the room and then I will make signs for each room in the house with the coordinating graphic so that could help the movers in locating which items go in what rooms.
I have no idea where anything is going. And after seeing the shape of my folks new home today, I want this move organized and quick.
Well, the kitties think this stack is a new cat toy. They are all leaping to see who can get the highest.
I finished the back of the Central Park Hoodie, and I have cast on for the left front. I can't wait to see this sweater finished. I am thinking of adding one button like the Haphazard Knitter and even today while at sns, I was drooling over which buttons could go on the sweater.
Did I mention how easily this sweater knits up? Yarn-A-Go-Go had mentioned that this is a quick and easy knit, which I totally agree.
Did I mention here? Hmmm, it seems one of the Zara balls of yarn slipped out of the armoire into the possession of one of the kitties into the litterbox. Yup. It is not stinky, but it does litter attached and this is the emergency ball I am hoping I will not need. At all.
The goal is to finish this by Thanksgiving. So, if I can finish the sleeves this week, then I can do the finishing over the next two weeks.
Yup, I am a joiner. Super-joiner. Super-Duper Joiner. I joined the Knitters Coffee Swap this week. I couldn't jump on the tea swap because I drink three cups a tea a year (10 if I visit the in-laws in the UK). But, coffee, I drink everyday, one hot steaming cup a day. I was raised in a household that appreciated coffee. On weekends, brewing coffee through the use of a stovetop espresso (cafetera) and warming milk in a pan to cultivate luxurious cafe con leche. It developed in college the promotion of coffeshops and in college I worked as a barista for a local coffeeshop. In this arena, my love of coffee fully grew. I tasted all sorts of gourmet coffees (Puerto Rican Yauco Selecto, Kona, Jamaica Blue Mountain, etc). DH is a huge coffee aficionado as well.
So, how could I resist? I didn't.
So, at Thursdays snb at sns, Remy crocheted a baby cap in a matter of minutes for Warm-Up America. I have heard the women at stix discussing the Warm Up America Cap Initiative, so I thought I would share the sns announcement just in case you haven't heard and would like to participate.
Did you know that your knitting can help save a life?
WARM UP AMERICA/SAVE THE CHILDREN CAP INITIATIVE
stix-n- stitches is urging everyone to participate in Warm Up America’s Baby Cap Drive.
This very worthwhile charity is calling for 250,000 handmade baby caps by January 2, 2006. The hand knitted or crocheted caps will be distributed world wide by Save the Children.
Bring us your baby caps and get a gift from stitx-n-stitches:
1) Go to www.warmupamerica.org for the details and baby cap pattern or stop in to stix-n-stitches for the pattern. There is a downloadable name form that you can use to attach your name to each hat.
2) Knit or crochet 5 baby caps and bring them to stix-n-stitches. They need not be knit in yarn from us, but must be made from soft, machine washable yarn. Attach your name to each one.
3) For each 5 caps you drop off, receive a coupon for %10 off a future purchase. There is no limit to the number of coupons you can receive, but the coupons cannot be combined.
stix-n-stitches will mail all of the baby hats to Warm-Up-America. The caps will be delivered to the White House on January 2, 2006, then distributed world wide by Save the Children as part of an initiative to lower infant mortality.
Go to Warm Up America has more details on the program.
Kerry, my SP9 Host, sent out an email asking everyone to answer, "Tell me a random wacky fact about you, something that nobody would ever guess about you. The wackier the better."
OK, my random fact is I am scared of balloons. I hate the noise of popping balloons and if kids are playing with balloons I will walk away to get some distance in case they might pop. At Rhinebeck I had to leave a stand because a child was playing with one of those balloons shaped like an animal and I was upset because I wanted to go into the booth but I was too anxious. I looked up the word for fear of balloons and found a couple different words.
Well, I have seen this on several blogs including recently Spin Weave Knit Cake so I thought I would take the survey. I typically hyphenate my name so I know if I used the un-hyphenated name (long story). Well, one out of the 77 of people named Monica XXXXXX agree that knitters should be allocated extended lunch time for LYS trips, three day weekends to seam up holiday knitting, and ultimately we should all receive some Malabrigo from someone who loves us.
The CPH has begun! Shown here is 8" so far. I finally busted out the Elizabeth Lavold yarn last night and cast on and knit the rib stitch border and this afternoon I hit the cable pattern. This feels like a quick knit, but, I need to finish my Lift and Separate Wrap Sweater.
Izzy investigating the sweater in progress. Whereever the camera goes, Izzy follows.
PAWS Animal Shelter hosts an annual Holiday Bazaar which sells handcrafted items like pet toys, knitted items, jewelry and baked goods. (I have actually been recruiting friends to donate knitted items as we have had a decline in scarves, hats and such).
What we do have is Elizabeth who crochets balls for cats and sews catnip mice (so adorable) and makes dog bone wreaths which you will not find anyplace else. If you are interested in some special gifts for your cat or dog for the holidays definitely stop over in two weeks in Montclair (and you can stop by stix-n-stitches where I will not be that weekend or modern yarn).
In recent years the governing officials in Montclair have been attempting to shut down this shelter in favor of using cheaper services. Translation cheaper means lesser quality as well as animals being euthanized more quickly. While, PAWS does not claim to be a no-kill shelter it is only used for sick animals where other options have been reviewed. So, this Bazaar is considered critical. All the money goes directly to the shelter where their largest costs have been medical costs. If you have any questions please email me at mmtate@comcast.net as I will be there the whole weekend (from dawn til dusk) working.
To: General Fanbase
From the Desk of : Ninna
Re: X-Men 3
Ninna, the diva, is a huge fan of X-Men. Last night, she loved the special effects in the The Last Stand. Although, she likes the character of Wolverine, like the remainder of her family, she feels that she relates to Mystique the most. She did think that X-Men 2 was better but she attributes that to a different director and couldn't understand the subplot of Phoenix. After this announcement she is returning to watching MonsterFest X on AMC.
Well, we were lucky when we came across a new camera that was on clearance and super duperly reduced. The details on the photos are amazing (which probably can't be witnessed over the 72 DPI resolution) but trust me it is nice as photos of the cats reveal.
My Lift and Separate Wrap is coming along and now I have proof. I have completed the back and the two fronts, so I am now working on the sleeves. I do like this pattern but after reading the pattern I realized this thing has tons of finishing. Tons. Sunday states that is fine because I will be so excited to finish my first sweater I will work through it. I think she's right, I am so excited and I want to wear for Thanksgiving which is plenty of time.
Secret Pal Gift revealed (except for one happily eaten white chocolate skull with gummy brains).
Finally, the revelation of my first package. I think I mentioned all the ingredients, but let me repeat myself,:
- one decorative tin
- two skeins of Andean Treasure in brown (one of my favorite colors)
- Frida Kahlo postcards
- Candle in Vanilla Orange
- Halloween card (blocked by Izzy-the investigator)
- One white chocolate skull with gummy brains (not shown as eaten earlier in the week during a bad spell of blahs but made me very joy joy)
I can't wait to see what my next package will contain.
Rarely have we been able to catch Ella Bean with such detail until the new camera arrived, hooray! You can see so much detail in her fur and her tiny little nose. I am so excited. Her eyes are really bright yellow which shows up so nicely with sunlight as opposed to a flash, but yeah, a nice photo. Translation: More photos of cats to appear on the blog.