Friday, January 11, 2013

Friday Mishmash

We had two days of really heavy thunderstorms this week.  Some of you may remember that Paco the Wonder Dog is a wee bit afraid of thunder, and he usually ends up on my lap during a storm.  He stayed for so long that I finally started taking pictures:
Poor scared pup, squeezing his eyes shut!

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The winner of Book Giveaway #3 - Stick with Exercise For a Lifetime, is:

Moss!

Congratulations!  Please send me an email (40somethingsjourney@gmail.com) with your mailing info so I can give it to my contact.  If I don't hear from you within a week, I'll have to choose another winner.  The next book giveaway will be on January 15th.

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I've had some AHHH knitting moments this week...but also, unfortunately, a few ACK knitting moments as well.  A big ACK was when I realized that the cable on a pair of circular needles was hanging by a thread.  I like to use ChiaoGoo Red needles when I knit the magic loop style - their cables are thin and really pliable, and work great.  However, my heart nearly stopped when I realized that I was thisclose to losing my work - ACK!
Left:  cable hanging on by a thread; Right:  hat in progress.

The needles are guaranteed, and Steph, the owner of my favorite yarn store, is ordering more, so hopefully in a week I'll be able work on this hat again.

An AHHH moment with knitting came when, after I'd organized my leftover yarn and rewound some loose skeins into balls with my new ball winder, I realized that I had enough to make another hat.  Not just any hat - one that I'm designing.  I knew I wanted a wide rib for the brim, plus the multi-colored yarn in stockinette to show off the color; and I wanted to use the rose color for some texture with a thin garter stripe.  I couldn't find a pattern for it on Ravelry, so I just invented my own...and it's turning out - AHHH:
Changing yarn color frequently means a lot of ends will need to be woven in...but doing that means the project is finished, so it's a good feeling when you get to that point.

But I also had an ACK moment when I was going to begin the decreases - I counted stitches and was missing one.  It took me a few minutes to realize that I'd dropped a stitch a few rows back - ACK!!!  I had to put a locking stitch marker through the dropped stitch until I could get some help with it.  Luckily last night was our monthly knitting guild meeting, so I brought the hat there and my expert knitter friends got me back on track...whew!

Speaking of knitter friends, another AHHH moment came last Sunday, when I went to my very first Knit Along.  What is a Knit Along, you might be asking?  Well, it's where we all knit the same project at the same time.  The yarn store in Navasota hosted it, with one woman, who had already made the project, leading us along.  It was really great to knit alongside so many people, get help immediately when I got to a couple parts that didn't make sense right away, and just plain fun to be with knitters - AHHH!  Here's what I've done so far:

I know it doesn't look like much yet, but I think the hard part is mostly done because I've done the heel turn (the bump on the needle).  This is a sock - the pattern is Turkish Bed Slippers.  Honestly, I wasn't planning on attempting a sock for quite a while, but with this much support, how could I not try?

I'm also knitting away on my Honey Cowl, using some Madeline Tosh yarn that my mom gave me for Christmas...and this yarn is definitely an AHHH knitting moment.  I've heard a lot of people rave about MadTosh yarn and now I see why.  It feels wonderful to knit with.
So, so pretty - I can't wait to finish and wear it!

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Be sure to come back on Monday - I'll have a very special guest post up...and seeing as this will only be the second-ever guest post here on my blog, I promise it will be a great one!

Have a wonderful weekend - we're running 7 miles tomorrow morning, hopefully not in the rain.

23 comments:

  1. Poor Paco. He really looks flustered with the storm. Years ago my mothers friend used to give us slippers she knit all the time. I remember them being comfy but slippery on floors. I kinda miss them now

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  2. Love, love, Love dat Paco! Your knitting looks great. At first I thought the sock was undies, ha. Enjoy your 7 miles, Shelley.

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  3. Ah poor Paco, my heart melted at the right picture. I love this dog.

    I'm so impressed with all your knitting. Every Friday I love looking at what you are making and every Friday I promise myself I am picking up knitting again and I never do :)

    Hmmm do I really have to wait an entire weekend before I know who the guest poster will be? Damn you're mean :)

    Have a great run tomorrow my friend.

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  4. OMG. When I saw that picture of the sock, I thought you were knitting yourself some underwear!

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  5. Thank you so much, Shelley. I've sent you an email with lots of exclamation marks and my mailing address in the UK. I have decided 2013 is going to be a good year!

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    1. So glad the winner ended up being outside of the U.S.! Enjoy the book!

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  6. Aw, poor Paco! The picture of him squeezing his eyes shut is priceless!

    Kick those 7 miles ass tomorrow!! Woop!

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  7. Paco's face is priceless! Poor little thing.

    I found and followed your blog while searching for weightloss blogs to enspire me on my weightloss journey:)
    Have an awesome run!

    -Marissa

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  8. I love love love Paco. He should have his own blog :) Bless his little heart. Our dogs are scared of thunder too. It's the only time they ever try to get out of the house which is scary!

    You go with your knitting and your running. Pretty soon you'll be doing both at the same time!

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    1. Ack, at the same time? I'd probably trip and stab myself!

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  9. The Paco photos need to be submitted to some sort of contest. That is all.

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  10. Poor Paco!

    LOL at Zozo - because that is *exactly* what I thought about knitting underwear! :D

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    1. Where are your minds?!?!?!

      Actually, I thought it looked like a thong when I was taking the photo, but couldn't make it look any different. Next week, it'll look more like a sock. :)

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  11. OH sweet Paco!!!! Poor little pup! Hopefully the storms pass soon! I love your knitting projects. And add me to the growing list who saw the sock photo and thought wow..."knitted undies". HA! So funny!!!

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  12. Does poor little Paco have a thunder shirt? it's like a weighted vest (that we have for Avery) but for dogs. It's suppose to help calm them during storms.

    Do your hands hurt from knitting sometimes? I feel like my arthritis would really hurt after knitting.

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    1. My hands ache sometimes, especially when I'm knitting with a heavier yarn. I've found that if I have several different projects going at the same time, I can switch things up often enough that it doesn't bother me.

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  13. Awwwww....poor Paco. I was also going to ask if you had considered getting him a thunder shirt!

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  14. Poor Poco! What a cutie! Love dogs and their little quirks. There personalities so hilarious!

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  15. Wow, I put my hand into knitting and pearling once upon a time. Your work is excellent. I'm also forty and struggling with losing weight. Do you have any tips for weight loss?

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