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FO! FO! Trekking 100's Finished!

After several months and many distractions, I finally finished my Trekking 100 socks!  They are certainly wild and I don't think any color patterns were repeated throughout both socks.  To me this is very cool and made the knitting of them all the more fun.  If you like wild mis-matched socks -- try Trekking!

I used Brittany 1's and my own hybrid pattern.  The leg and foot are 64 stitches around. 

I'm so excited because now I can start knitting up my pink/brown Regia Jubilee socks!!

Baby Booga Bag!!

Introducing the Baby Booga Bag -- which only takes 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon!  The baby is the one sitting on the floor.  The regular Booga Bag is hung up next to it for comparison sake.  It's only about 1 in. smaller on each side, so it's still a pretty good size.  And you will have plenty of yarn left in the second skein to make longer handles, I just like mine shorter.  I would like to say that the patterns came back from the printer with the directions for the new baby version included, but he printed 300 patterns with the old original instead of the new one I brought to him.  Argh!!!  So I'm going back later today or tomorrow to have him print up an insert that I can include with all the patterns. 

So -- if you want a pattern with the Baby Booga Bag instructions included, you can purchase one at my online shop.  And if you are a retailer -- all orders placed from today going forward will include the insert with the Baby Booga Bag instructions!

Oh yeah -- and that's Spike over on the right.  He just had to see what I was doing in the spare room. 

Crazy!

I have been knitting a little bit.  I'm very close to finishing my Trekking 100 socks -- yeah!  And I started a pair of mittens for Maddie, but ripped them out when I discovered that they were a bit too big.  Sigh. . .

I want to find time to spin too, but I'm spending all my free time getting caught up on retail orders for BSB.  And any other free minutes are devoted to Stamping Online.  I'm getting in a bunch of new 2006 rubber stamps in the middle of December, so I had to put the discontinued stamps on sale to make room for the new things.  Man!  Have the sale stamps been flying out the door!  (Or flying onto every available surface in the office waiting to get packaged up -- yikes!)

So right now it's work time.  Hopefully later this week I'll have some kntiting and spinning to show!

BTW, I'm wondering if anyone has found any of the new Silk Garden DK for sale anywhere yet?  Yarn shop owners & employees -- heard any news on this?

*** Oh yeah, and our dishwasher broke.  This isn't helping me out in the free time department on 2 counts -- having to wash/dry dishes & having to call/wait for a repairman.  Oy!

Gift for the animal lover / reader. . .

I love Mutts!!  I have lots of the books, a couple shirts, several prints, a few buttons and I even belong to the book club and the fan club.  I *love* Mutts!  So how could I resist this book?  It's called The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell. 

If you aren't familiar with Mutts -- it's a comic about a cat and a dog who pal around together and the strips McDonnell draws are often heart warming or thought provoking as well as funny.  I can't recommend this book highly enough!  It is perfect for anyone aged 4 to 104!

You can find out more about Mutts at the muttscomics.com.

Now I'm off for a day of shopping with Theresa.  I'll report back on any cool finds!

More gifties!

Another great gift idea -- Philosophy Greetings from the North Pole.  Have you ever tried Philosophy lotions and potions?  They are so nice and very gifty.  I gave my sister this gift set last year for Christmas.

Another gift idea!

I love L'Occitane!  So I was very excited to see the L'Occitane Gift Soaps tin when I was at their store last time.  I picked up a few for gifts, but I may go back and get one for myself.  Oh, and their lemon verbena products are incredible!

Kid's Knitting Kit

How cute is this?  Great gift idea!

Silk Garden -- DK Weight!!!

Is this so new that it's not in stores yet?  Because I want some now!!!  Yep -- Silk Garden Lite.  The new yarn crack.

Black Sheep Bags Stuff

The Baby Booga Bag is all finished except for the handles.  And I have even added the instructions for it to the printed pattern.  It's at the printers now and will be available through the online store in a couple weeks and at yarn shops in the coming months! 

This brings me to my latest frustration -- printing.

I tried using CopyMax -- ugh!  The paper seemed cheap and the end result was less than perfect.  Splotches of ink, poorly folded, etc.  So then I went to Kinko's.  Their quality was quite a bit better, but there were problems.  The patterns were billed differently every time even though I got the same thing every time.  Sometimes the folding was off.  Then they switched paper on me 3 times!  They kept discontinuing the one I was using.  Grrr. . . . Finally the straw that broke the camel's back -- they lost my originals.  Lost -- LOST!  And they were totally unapologetic.

So now I'm trying a local printer that is only a few blocks from my house.  He sounded like he was very meticulous -- which is good for me since I'm a perfectionist!  I took in an order for Sophie Bag patterns since I am completely out (and way behind because of the surgery!)  Today when I picked them up, he showed me a pattern and it looked good.  I got home and realized that 2/3's of them were printed completely off-center.  ARGH! 

I called him and he said -- Oh Yeah, your original was off center.  I fixed it part-way through the order.  Now why didn't he mention this before?!?  Was it my original?  I don't know, but tell me before I get home!  And I had already given him an order for 1000 more patterns!

Sigh.  I just want a printer that will print my patterns on decent cardstock, do a decent job and charge a decent price.  Am I asking too much?

Geek Novels?

THe Guardian had a post on the Top 20 Geek Novels  (Found via Slashdot.)  And I see that I have read about half of them (The ones that I have colored purple):

1. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell   (Read at least twice)
3. Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley   
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- Philip Dick
5. Neuromancer -- William Gibson            
6. Dune -- Frank Herbert                      
7. I, Robot -- Isaac Asimov                     
8. Foundation -- Isaac Asimov                   (Read the entire series twice)
9. The Colour of Magic -- Terry Pratchett 
10. Microserfs -- Douglas Coupland         
11. Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson         
12. Watchmen -- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons 
13. Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson      
14. Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks            
15. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein 
16. The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick   
17. American Gods -- Neil Gaiman               
18. The Diamond Age -- Neal Stephenson   
19. The Illuminatus! Trilogy -- Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson    
20. Trouble with Lichen - John Wyndham   

So does this make me half geek?  Or should I resolve myself to the fact that I am completely a geek  :)

New review at Two Friends Collect Books

Yeah!  I completed my list of goals for this weekend.  I just finished up a review of Handknit Holidays and posted it over at Two Friends Collect Books.  Go check it out!

Silly Hat Day!

Apparently I finished the princess hat just in time because Maddie came out of her room this morning with an armful of hats and declared that it was silly hat day.  She has informed me that the hat isn't finished because we need to find some sparkly fabric to attach to the top like princesses always have. 

For this project I used Galway wool for felting for the first time ever and I think it turned out nicely.  As you can see it is solid enough to stand up straight, although it felted a little more than I would have liked.  I suppose with wearing it will stretch out a bit though. 

This project was from New Knits on the Block by Vickie Howell and I have some fun news!  Vickie  is going to be a guest blogger on my blog in early December! I'll give you more info when I find out more details!

Holiday Gift Ideas!

First of all -- I'm feeling better -- YEAH!!!  Hopefully I'll be tip-top for Thanksgiving dinner at my Mom's next week.  After losing 5 lbs in the last week & a half, I'm really looking forward to her sweet potatoes and stuffing -- yum!

I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to be posting a couple of reviews over at Two Friends Collect Books in the next few days. 

And finally I'm going to tell you what I bought Maddie, Landon and Savana for the holidays.

For Maddie, who is a 5 year old, I bought this super cool pop-up book:

For Landon, who is a 5 1/2 year old boy, I bought this super cool pop-up book:

And for Savana, my cute little niece who is only 6 months old I bought a Sandra Boynton book.  Maddie, Pete & I love her books!

What else is a book lover such as myself going to get all the little ones in the family  :)

I'm going to try to think up cool gift ideas for all ages and post them here throughout the holiday season!

Oh yeah!  The princess hat and Baby Booga Bag are dry!  They just need a little shave and they'll be ready for a photo session.  More on that this weekend hopefully!

Princess hat blocking. . .

The Princess Hat os blocking and the second attempt at the Baby Booga Bag is taking another trip through the wash.  Meanwhile, I'm sipping broth and really wishing that the recovery from this surgery wasn't so darn looooong!  I'm bored and cranky and ready to be back on my feet -- I can't stand to sit and rest.  It's just not my nature!

On the reading front, I finished Watermelon.  It was a great read.  You haven't read any Marian Keyes yet?  What are you waiting for??

I also finished Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.  When I picked it up I thought it was going to be about 9-11, but it was sooooo much more.  I hear that his first novel -- Everything is Illuminated -- is even better than this one, so i can't wait to read it!

And right now I'm half-way through White Teeth, which it turns out I had not read previously.  I'm really enjoying it though. 

As you can see, I've been putting in long hours laying in bed reading.  Oh, and playing with this:

What can I say?  I had to buy myself a pre-surgery gift.  And it's pink!  Seriously. . . how could I resist?

Back-tack & Pain

My back-tack package arrived this weekend and it was filled with lots of great stuff sent to me by Joelene over at misocrafty!

She put together a great embroidery kit complete with a boxed kit, extra fabric, threads, an embroidered pincushion, a cute little needle book, beads and buttons.  The bag and pouch this all came in is fabulous too!  I especially love the variegated stitching on the pouch.

There is the cutest little owl patterns too!  Can't wait to try those out.  And she also included a great CD mix.  There is even a handmade book!  Thanks for everything, Joelene!

So this arrived on Saturday which was a very bad day for me.  Turns out, days 5-7 are the worst following a tonsillectomy.  So just when you think you are feeling pretty good -- BAM!  I'm finally starting to feel better today.

Therefore, I don't have much to report and don't feel much like reporting either.  Hopefully tomorrow. . .

Tell me where you are from!

Just saw this on Theresa's blog and thought it was so cool! 

So it's this map that you use to see where all the people who stop by to visit your blog are from!  Please click on the button and leave your location.  I would love to see where all my fellow knitbloggers live!

Princess Hat

On Thursday Theresa came over to keep my company post-surgery.  And believe it or not, I actually finished something!

Well, technically it isn't finished since I have to felt it, but the knitting part is finished.  It's the Princess Hat from New Knits on the Block.  The codeine did cloud my mind a bit and I made a mistake in the decreases somewhere about halfway though, but I fixed it a few rows later.  After felting I expect that noone will ever know  :)

I'm feeling better!

Thank you for all the nice emails and comments! My throat is pretty darn sore, but I'm up and about and feeling better than I thought I would be feeling at this point. I've even been knitting -- nothing too complicated, mind you. Codeine is great stuff, but it doesn't lend itself to the highest level of brain activity :)

Julie is Recuperating!

This is Pete (Julie's husband) and I wanted to let you all know that her tonsillectomy went flawlessly, and she's now home in bed recuperating. She's obviously very sore, but she's on codeine (which already made her feel much better) and antibiotics, and even braved eating some sherbet a while ago. And I'm taking it as a good sign that she just asked me to bring her knitting to her! Thanks to all of you for keeping her in your thoughts!

Books to Recuperate By

Well, the surgery is tomorrow morning at 7:30.  (Made all the more harsh because I don't get out of bed before 8:30 as a rule.)  So I decided to stop at the library to get some books to get me through.  Here's what I have and what I got:

Non-fiction:

• Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich.  I read Nickel and Dimed and loved it, so this one has been on my list.  I'm about halfway through.  Should be able to finish it easily.  (If you haven't read Nickel and Dimed -- it's a must!)
• The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby.  A book about reading, written by an avid reader!  What could be better?  This is a compilation of the columns he wrote for the Believer and they are pretty funny.  (I'm about halfway through this one too.)  Darn!  I should have looked for A Long Way Down, his most recent novel, while I was at the library.

Fiction:

• Watermelon by Marian Keyes.  This was the first book I read by her many years ago.  She is my guilty pleasure and I have loved every one of her books!  Perfect reading for recuperation.  I also have her new book of essays, Cracks in My Foundation, which I can wander through if I need short bits to read.
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.  I think I heard that this was a good book.  Maddie was ready to go and I needed to grab something.  Has anyone read it?  Liked it?
• White Teeth by Zadie Smith.  If you are an avid reader like me, there are probably books that you can't remember if you have read.  White Teeth is one of those books.  I really thought I read it, but I'm not so sure.  At any rate, it is supposed to be an incredible book and I'm pretty confident that it is a good choice.

That's the list.  Except for A Million Little Pieces by James Frey.  I ordered this from Amazon last week and they haven't shipped it yet, hmmmmm. . . Hopefully it will arrive this week because after seeing this guy on Oprah, I must say that I am intrigued!

Signing off!  I'll be back after some rest and hopefully lots of ice cream!

Fun Saturday!

Sometimes you just need to get out and do something fun with good friends!  On Saturday Theresa & her husband John met Pete, Maddie & me at Intelligentsia up in Chicago.  We went on the roasting tour which was very cool.   

After that it was off to the DIY Trunk Show which was in the old field house in Pulaski Park.  Lots of cool stuff to be seen.  I had to bring home this hand-made book:

It's a soft cover with hand sewn signatures.  Here's a view of the spine:

This book was made by Emily of Orange Beautiful.  I'm hoping she opens up an online shop soon because I loved her stuff!  I'm a sucker for handmade books.  Theresa and I have even taken a few classes on bookbinding at Paper Source together. 

Which is a nice segue for a gift I received in the mail from Freecia. . .

A cool box kit from Paper Source!  Thanks Freecia!

And finally I leave you with proof that I have been knitting.  I received this cute book last week:

It's New Knits on the Block by Vickie Howell.  I'll try to get my act together and post a full review over at Two Friends Collect Books sometime soon!  It's has a bunch of cute designs for kids.  Including hats:

I'm making the princess hat for princess Madeleine!

Other new knitting books I receied in the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to review:

Handknit Holidays
Wrap Style
Yarns to Dye For

I'm on a bit if a knitting book buying spree I'm afraid  :)

Up and Down

I feel like I'm manic depressive these days.  One hour up, one hour down.  Today I had an appointment with a neurologist who diagnosed me with migraines.  He seems like a great guy and he shares my philosophy on medication -- only in moderation and only when lifestyle changes won't do the trick -- so I was really up after that.  Then I had a pre-surgery visit with another doctor.  Followed by a visit with the surgical consultant and down I went.  I know it's just a minor surgery, but I was once again reminded of how painful this will be.  I'm sure that has me stressed.

So I guess I'm all over the charts.  I'm really looking forward to the holidays (for a change) because that means that the worst of this will be behind me.  The tonsils will be out, I'll have a handle on the migraines (hopefully!) and life should settle down.  (During the holidays?  What am I thinking?)

I did start a new knitting project and I'll take pictures as soon as I'm a little farther along and it actually looks like something.  I will say this though, it's for Maddie, it's magenta and it's from New Knits on the Block.  Any guesses?

Baby Booga Bag

And I have been knitting a little.  This is my first attempt at a Baby Booga Bag.  I actually knit it back in August on our way to a funeral in Ohio.  It's made using scraps of Kureyon and Cascade 220 -- hence the stripes.  I altered it a bit and I'm kntiting it with plain old Kureyon now.  I believe the Baby version will take two skeins.

Next I'm thinking of doing a "Big Booga Bag" pattern.  Then I may package them together with the regular Booga Bag and sell a special edition version of the pattern that includes all three sizes.  Either that or make babies of some of my other patterns and put together a baby bag booklet.  (Pete says everything is cute when it's small, so he thinks it might be a good idea.)

And I have plans for a big project bag too.  I just need to find time to sit down, work out the numbers and start the first attempt.  (It always takes more than one attempt!)

Let me know what you are looking for in a felted bag project!  I'd love to hear!

Feeling better

First of all, thank you for all the wonderful comments!  I know there are a lot of other people out there who go through this too and sometimes it helps to hear that you are not alone.

The walk helped.  Exercise, sunshine -- both good for combating depression. 

Some of you have asked why I don't take medication and others are probably wondering.  I'm very anti-drug.  My mom is the same way, so maybe I get that from her.  I don't know.  But I went to a psychologist during a very bad time in my life and he taught me alternative ways to deal with the depression.

First of all I exercise.  5 days a week for about 30 minutes a day on the elliptical machine.  (This has had the added benefit of helping me to keep off most of the 50 lbs I lost a few years ago!)  Exercise is good.  And while I did exercise yesterday morning, sometimes it just isn't enough.

I also learned to meditate -- well, I'll call it that for lack of a better word.  He gave me lots of relaxation tapes to listen to.  To this day I still try to start my day by calmly laying in my bed and thinking about the upcoming day.  Which brings me to my next coping mechanism. . .

Routines!  Routines are key for me.  I have a loose schedule that I stick to pretty much every day.  You could call me a planner.  I like to know what will be happening each day before I get out of bed.  Ask Pete, he's probably sick of hearing me say "What's the plan."  But it works for me.

So that's that.  I'm coping.  It's a never ending battle, but I'll continue to fight it.

Sad

Sigh.

I suffer from depression and I do not take medication. I've been this way since I was a child, so at this point in my life I'm pretty adept at dealing with it. It's cyclical and I can usually feel it coming on. I can try to cut it short, head it off. Mind over matter kind of stuff. But today I'm having one of those days where I can almost feel myself being locked into place. I know what to do but instead I'm sitting here doing nothing. I'm in it's grip.

There is no telling what brought this on. It can be anything really. It's never about anything anyway. Just a random release or lack of release of certain chemicals in the brain. I try to hold onto that thought -- as if to disassociate myself from what is actually happening to me.

So I just told Maddie to go get her shoes. I know that if I get up. . .move. . . do something. . . I'll start to pull myself up out of this deepening and widening hole. It's a gorgeous fall day here. Maybe a walk in the fresh air will get the chemicals flowing as they should.

I hope. . .

Back-tack!!

My back-tack pal got her package from me and I think she likes it!  Go check out her blog -- One Good Bumblebee -- and see the cute stamps she's already made here.

I got her a linoleum block printing kit and I have to confess that I bought doubles of everything for myself too!  I'll be trying my hand at it in the next few weeks.

Little Witch!

Here's my little witch! It was a damp night for trick-or-treating, but she had fun. And the girl has a bag of candy that she will *never* be able to finish. In fact, she cares so little for chocolate, that she hasn't even looked at her candy today. At times like this I wonder -- Who's daughter is she?!?!?