More SP11 Questions

Well, I'm gonna answer some more, in hope that it'll help my partner understand me more:

1.  What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?

My needle sizer thing or my tape measure(s) I have abot 5 of each.

2.  If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you?  If
so, how much and what type of project?

I take knitting with me if I'm heading to the store, let alone vacation.  It depends on the vacation, usually some sort of sweater/baby blanket and some socks.

3.  Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?

Either PEI, Copenhagan, Denmark, or oddly enough Missouri

4.  What is your favorite knitting book at the moment?  Do you own it?

Domiknitrix, and yes, I do own it, it's so much fun, great projects

5.  Do you listen to podcasts?  Which is your favorite(s)?

My favorites are Lime and Violet and Cast-on, both have their own quirks, but both totally my speed.

Oh Canada

Ok, so I know I've been back for almost 2 weeks, but I've been studying for this stupid Real Estate Exam.  I took that this morning, so we'll find out soon.  The thought of that is a little scary for me, but hey, it's life right?

So, on to the trip.  It was super fun, I didn't realize how much I missed all my friends from Chicago.  The flights there were kind of special, we left 20 min late from LAX because the piolet was filling out paperwork (seriously, he couldn't do that when we got there?), which made us 20 min late to JFK, because of that it took like 30 min to find a spot for us.  I finally got off the plane and had to run, I mean full bore running with no shoes on carrying all my carry-on stuff.  I get to the other gate and they weren't going to let me on the plane, after a lot of pleading and crying, I finally made it on the flight and was applauded!  When I got to PEI it was wedding central, craziness as is always the case with weddings, but it was fun to get to be part of the whole process.  The batchelorette party was that Saturday night and we had so much fun.  We ate dinner at Esther's cousin Maria's house, then went to Cheryl's (the maid of honor) house for the personal shower, then belly dancing and then drinking and dancing at a local club in Charlottetown.  Here's some pics from that insanity:

Some of the Girls at Cheryl's

Esther doing a shot of whiskey after losing at one of the games.

Belly Dancing!

Esther dancing with the owner of the restaurant.

That's all of us after belly dancing!

So then Monday we went deep sea fishing, which of course means I went deep sea puking, but that's only because I really suck at not getting sick in the ocean.  But it was ok, I had a blast despite the fact that I lost my breakfast.  Here's some pics of my friends from Chicago on the boat:

Ryan and Jeremy.

Jeremy after catching his first fish.

Me and Bonnie, we were the two sickies.

Rachael when she caught her first fish.

Then Tuesday was the wedding, it was beautiful, Esther looked amazing.  I sang a duet with Chris and we also sang some Praise and Worship songs, with Esther's bro Nick, and Josiah's brothers Jeremy and Jesse playing in the band, and Josiah's sister Danielle singing with us.  It was awesome.  I only have a few pics from that because I'm lame and forget that I own a camera half the time.

Eshter with her brother Nick and brother-in-law Greg.

Awesomely odd pic of Esther, but you can see how gorgeous she looked.

Could you think of a more amazing place to have a reception.

Aubrey, Rachael, Me and Esther before the reception.

Aubs and I with the boys in the background.

There was a cake at each table so you could take as much or as little as you wanted.  This was a really neat touch, I think everyone liked it.

I swear one of these days I'm going to post some knitting content, maybe I'll remember to take pictures Wednesday night at Pub Knitting.  We'll see.  I'm working on the shawl collar of the Something Red sweater and should have it done this week.  I'll update with pics I promise!  Oh the other outcome of this trip to PEI is I've decided to move back to Chicago, it's not going to happen until after the first of the year, but it's really gonna happen this time.  Ok that's it, guess I have to get some real work done today.

Pay it Forward

I got this from Twisted Knitster and I think it's an awesome idea.  I mean I love the idea of paying it forward anyway in everything, so here it is.

Here's how it goes:

I promise I will send a handmade gift to 3 random people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange.  The deal is, you have to post this in your blog too, just something to make peoples days a little better.

Secret Pal 11 Questionere

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love alpaca and wool, some cottons, and silk.  Basically anything natural.  I'm not a big fan of acryllic, but if it's blended with something I love it, but I can't stand mohair, it makes me break out.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I use a vase, but I'd like something a bit more organized,  I could make it myself, but honestly, I'm lazy.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting for about 8 years.  My Dad taught me to knit because I was in a play where I needed to knit on stage.  I'd say I'm an intermediate knitter, working on becoming advanced.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I don't but maybe I should work on that...

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lavender and rose, sometimes I'm a girly girl, but I also really like deep musky smells like Amor Amor by Cacheral.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Not so much a sweet tooth, but I'd say my favorite candy is Resees Cups.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I'm a big sewer, I'm learning to spin, now that I'm back from Canada I'm going to fix up my wheel.  But I also do lots of do it yourself stuff, I can't even think of them all.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like punk, jazz, blues, swing, ska, rockabilly, psychobilly, and some hard rock and metal.  And yes I'm all over the MP3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

My favorites are black, red, purple, and green, I wouldn't say there are any colors I just can't stand.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I have 1 dog, and maybe getting 2 more if my parents move, but we'll see.  I live with 4 roommates for now, until I move to Chicago, at which point I have no idea what my situation will me.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear hats and scarves, I want to wear more mittens but I think that will have to wait until I move to Chicago.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I love to knit sweaters, and wierd small things.

13. What are you knitting right now?

Right now I'm working on a blanket and a sweater and who knows what else.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

I love handmade gifts.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I like circular and I prefer aluminum.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I own both and love them both.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

No clue, about a year I think.

18. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween, I mean what's better than people dressing up and celebrating the dark.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

Gnomes, Livind Dead Dolls, Bleeding Edge Goth Dolls, and Yarn.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don't have any subscribtions, but I need to, I read Vouge Knitting, Interweave Knits, K1, and a few others.  I would really love the Lace Today book or any of the Elizabeth Zimmerman books.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Fair Isle and steeks.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am a sock knitter, and my feet are a woman's size 9, with a really high arch.

23. When is your birthday?

December 15.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

I'm BeeSting on Ravelry, come find me!

Awesome Ending to an Insane Weekend

Ok, so I know I need to add some knitting content real soon, but my camera is broken.  The LCD screen thing (yep, I'm totally technical) is cracked, kind of sucks, but I get paid Friday, so I will get a new one then.  But I have been working non stop on an afghan for some friends that are getting married in August.  It's the Sampler Afghan from Cables Untangled. It's really cute, and a great summer project, because you only work on small pieces at a time and then seam them all together.  It's coming out really well.  But that's about all I've been working on.

I didn't get to work on the blanket much this weekend because I baby sat my neice and 2 nephews.  Zoie is 12, Zack is 10, and Zane is 6.  I had a blast, but man do kids wear you out, especially when you're the only one taking care of them, I really don't know how single parents do it.  But we had fun, the kids had a movie marathon on Saturday while I was at a wedding, we went to Ruby's for dinner on Friday, and I took them shopping a couple times.  They had fun, so did I, plus for payment I get a couple free adjustments (my cousin's fiancee is a chiropractor) and awesome handpainted cotton yarn (pictures to follow as soon as I get a working camera).  It's beautiful, and how can you argue with getting paid in 1000 yards of nice quality yarn?

So, as if getting awesome yarn isn't enough, I came home last night to my invite to Ravelry.  That's right I am now a raveler (I don't know if that's what you'd actually call it).  It's such a cool site, I'm starting to add my stash to the site, but without pics it's not really as fun, but soon enough I will get it all added. 

All in all it's been a good last couple of weeks, work is insane this time of year, but what do you expect?  This is the time of year when everyone moves.  So that's been a little stressful, but that's why I knit right?  It has been helping a lot!  I guess that's it for now, I'll update a little later too, hopefully with pics or something.

YAY Tattoos!

No I didn't get another one, well not yet anyway.  I took my best friend on Monday to make appointments for us to go get new tats, and she got her first ever.  I was like a proud mother, I know a little wierd right?  But what can ya do? So here she is getting the tat:

I know she kind of looks dead and it kind of looks like Mike is doing an autopsy on her.  So anyway we went to Outer Limits Tattoo in Orange. It was way fun, So on with it, here is her new tat:

Isn't it adorable?  And if you know Sarah, you know it's perfect for her.

Anyway I know I haven't posted forever, but just an update,  I finished the wicked and have started on a jedi top for a friend's baby, I'll post pics when I get a little further along.  But since the last post I have moved and gotten a new car.  I don't have any pics of the new car yet, but here's the odometer at 99 and 150 miles:

Yeah so it hasn't been very warm, can you tell? The first one was at almost midnight and the second was in the afternoon the next day.  Silly coldness I'm getting sick of it!  But we do get this because of it:

That's driving to Pub Knitting in Laguna, gorgeous right?  There are some reasons I do stay here and pay way too much rent and way too much for gas.  Anyway here is our little Pub Knitting group:

Though we usually have a couple more people, not a whole lot and I"m kind of digging that.  I am finding, however, as summer is fast approaching (where did the first quarter of the year go?) we are going to need to find somewhere with less tourists.  I guess that's all the updates for now.  I'll take some more pics and update again soon!  I promise! I'll stop taking 2 months to update!

Just for good measure here's a pic of me and Sarah on our friend Pete's Motorcycle:

2 FO's, a WIP and Some Other Randomness

Ok, so being the cute amazing girlfriend that I am, I decided to make cupcakes for Mr. Artichoke for his Birthday. But I couldn't make just any cupcakes, they had to be awesome and weird, just like Mr. Artichoke himself, so I decided on Black and Tan Cupcakes. They were wonderful, though I think next time I make them I'd figure out some other kind of icing, this was a little too drippy, weird. But here they are:

And a closeup

So, while I was making cupcakes, I heard these random kids yelling and laughing outside. So I went to the front window to see what was up, and who knew there would be a random little train in front of my house? But there was, sometimes I wonder about Southern California.

I know, I live in a weird Neighborhood, what can I say?

Ok, so on to some knitting, I finished my Dad's sweater, just in time for him to take it to Austria for him. It's the
Leo Sweater from Knitty, I made it with Esprit in Grand Canyon. I think it turned out mighty cute, I just need to get a picture of him wearing it now.

And a closeup of the ribbing.

It fits him perfectly, I couldn't have mapped it out better if I had written it myself. He wore it all over Austria and Italy, apparently it was colder than he'd thought.

A week and a half ago, one of our (Sarah, Lawrence, Joe, and I) favorite cast members was debuting and signing a pin she designed and won a contest for. So we got to take a picture with her.

And yep, that's me in a wicked shirt. Went and saw that the 15th, so amazing, I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. It is one of the better written and perfomed musicals I've seen in quite sometime. And you can't miss going to Off Vine Restaurant. One of my favorite places to eat ever.

I did promise another FO, so here you go:

I have to say that is probibly the worst picture of me wearing a sweater ever, but it is the most comfortable sweater I've worn in a long time. It's Starsky knit in Oriental Mandala. It's so Squishy, I can't recomend it enough. I knit a large, and I'm by no means a large, and it's still a little big. I opted to not have cuffed sleeves, so I knit them 5 inches shorter, and I put in a button band instead of a belt. I love, love, love this sweater, I finished it Sunday night and I have already worn it twice!

So I went to Disneyland last night with Mr. Artichoke and met a bunch of his friends, it was so much fun. It's always nice when you get along with your SO's friends, and beyond that, my friends love him, so we're good all around. But I digress, I was sitting outside of the Riverbelle Terrace knitting and the sun started to go down. I don't think I've seen such an awesome sunset in a long time.

Then as I was walking down mainstreet to meet up with Mr. Artichoke the sun was at the most amazing angle and made me remember why I love Southern California and Disneyland so much.

What was I knitting, you ask? Well I'm working on the Wicked Sweater in Karaoke. It is so soft, I didn't know how I'd feel about soy silk, but it is so nice feeling, if I can knit a bunch more in that I would be a happy happy girl. Though I am wanting to try some of the new bamboo stuff that's out there, I think it'd be a good summer fiber, but maybe soy silk would be too. Hmmm decisions, decisions. So I made a good deal of progress on it last night. I cast on Sunday and had only finished the ribbing before I got to Disneyland, now I'm 8 sets of increases in. Take a look:

Isn't it pretty? It's gonna be so great! I can't wait to be able to wear it!

Ok, so I want to leave you with, by far one of the oddest vehicles I've ever seen.

For those of you that can't tell, all that detailing is rhinstones, yep, truck drivers are an odd bunch.