Taylor Hicks wins American Idol!

Yay! I'm glad Taylor won, although Katherine was great too. He just had more personality and originality. As some of you may know, my husband is obsessed with Legos. We have Legos everywhere and now my son likes to play with them too. He loved watching American Idol with us and we've all liked Taylor from the beginning so he asked which Lego man looks like Taylor. So my husband sorted through the thousands of Lego pieces and came up with this. I think it looks a lot like him! We decided to list him on eBay so hop on over and take a peek. I'm actually a little sad to part with him, but it's all been fun. I'm surprised how much interest we've gotten in him, we've already had over 1000 hits on the listing in 2 days! Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol, Soul Patrol!!!!

I Heart Lorna's Laces

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn is by far the best sock yarn IMO. Yes, even more so than Koigu and STR, who both have some great colors but are not as nice to knit or as soft. I had some money burning a hole in my PayPal account so I bought some LL's on Ebay. The colors are Vera (which I saw at MDS&W and attempted to fight Jes for but she won) and Somerset. I apparently have a sock yarn addiction. But, I have a finished sock, that counts for something right? This is STR Moss Agate and the pattern is Yarrow Ribbed Socks by Nancy Bush. And as soon as I finished this one I cast on immediately for the 2nd to avoid second sock syndrome. I'm a little tired of this color and I really want to cast on a new pair of socks with my LL's but I'm determined to finish these first! I also pulled out the Belted Wrap Jacket and worked on that some this weekend. I was surprised it took me over an hour just to finish one repeat of 10 rows! But the pattern is so much fun to knit and is a nice break from the tiny sock needles. I frogged the Silk Cami I started with the Cotton Patine and haven't cast on for it again. I still feel the need to finish the projects I've started and I'm not sure that's the right pattern for the yarn either.

Chicken Pox, oh no!

The quilt top is almost finished, I just need to sew on the border. I just realized I never showed the baby quilt I finished a few months ago, the top is finished and it is on my quilting frame now so hopefully I'll be able to finish that in the next few weeks. I've had trouble deciding which quilting pattern to use, but I made the quilt with the intention of donating it to Project Linus and to practice machine quilting so I should just pick something and finish it! I need to get it off the frame so I can quilt the Wallpaper quilt. I'm really happy with how it looks, I especially like how the border is 3 smaller strips, I think it really pulls it all together. Hubby spend all day Saturday cleaning the "sewing room" which used to be his room that he is now sharing with a 10' long quilting frame that takes up half the room! He didn't put up too much of a fight because he really doesn't use the room much anymore but he insisted the orange paint color and Marilyn Monroe pictures had to stay. I think it looks really nice and I love having space for my sewing supplies, although the dining room table is still covered with fabric and my other sewing machine! We're thinking of getting a rolling stool to replace the desk chair because there's isn't enough room for it. And my son has the chicken pox! I thought since he had the vaccine that he wouldn't be able to get it, but apparently that's not how it works. Before the vaccine, the average number of pox someone would get was 600 to thousands and with the vaccine the cases tend to have less pox and be much less severe. Hopefully it won't be too bad but it looks like we'll miss out on our family's company picnic at Hershey Park this Saturday. Bummer, I was really looking forward to it :( It's been years since I've been to an amusement part and actually been able to ride the rides since I always seem to be pregnant. Oh well, there's always next year.

Another Quilt Begun

I bought some Tracy Porter fabric today since it was on sale at Joann's for 40% off! I got more than 10 yards of fabric for only $40, not bad at all. I'm making Kaffe Fasset's Wallpaper Strips Quilt from Quilt Road. I'm not sure if the fabric is right for this pattern but I just grabbed what I could with 2 unruly children. For those of you with kids, do you ever feel like you're in a daze? I'm trying to pick out fabric and my son isists on making a "cave" in the shopping cart by laying bolts of fabric on top. As they repeatedly keep hitting the ground and the baby is screaming because she is being pinched. So I'm not sure what I got or how it will look but that's pretty much par for the course these days. I've already cut the strips but I'm scared to "randomly" cut the lengths. Plus, I have no idea when I'll have enough time (without kids) to lay the quilt out and at least get the strips sewn together.

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

Well, I don't know what everyone else thought about the MDS&W Festival this year but I have to say I was a little disappointed. This was the first year I went and I couldn't believe how crazy it was. There were people everywhere and everyone apparently was there for Socks That Rock and Koigu! Jes and I got there a little after 9 am when it opened but we took our sweet little time eating breakfast in the car. By the time we got the The Fold to get some Socks That Rock, there was hardly anything left! I managed to get 3 hanks (Ruby Slippers, Falcon's Eye and Moss Agate), not necessarily colors I would have normally chosen but I like them nonetheless. We wanted the light weight but all they had was medium weight. I've already started a pair in the Yarrow Rib from KVS. Then we found the Koigu booth and that was complete madness as well. I guess it was mill ends at like twenty-some cents an ounce but by the time we got there, there was a huge line with people with armfuls (and baskets full!) of Koigu. I have to say at this point I was really pissed off, seeing all those pushy b!&%$s in line with tons of Koigu falling out of their arms, I mean save some for the rest of us! How much Koigu does one person need? I calmed down after a while and we enjoyed the rest day. The weather was beautiful, not too hot and it didn't rain which I was worried about being a possibility. A couple other booths had some Koigu so I got 4 skeins of that as well at the regular price (but at least I could see the colors in person and not have to pay shipping). I also got a wool/mohair blend (that I realized was a bit smelly when I got home and hubby exclaimed, what is that smell?). I plan on making Clapotis with it, they had one on display in their booth and the yarn was all such beautiful colors I had trouble picking one! So, overall it was a fun time and I'll probably end up going again next year, especially since it's only an hour drive from my house. And at least I'll know what to expect and will arrive EARLY so I can be a b%#@$ in line with armfuls of sock yarn!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

It's my birthday today! I had the best birthday weekend ever, full of family, friends and lots of yarn! Can you guess what I got for my birthday? Yep, it's a Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D Micro Lens for my Nikon D70! So you'll probably be tired of pictures of flowers pretty soon! But you'll love the close-up yarn pictures!!! And my lovely sock pal, Neysa, received the socks I made for her and seems to really like them! Go check them out and see her cute dog, Lucy, posing with the socks. I'm so happy!!! I loved making the socks for her I can't wait for the next Sockapaloooza, I had such an amazing time participating this year and was so lucky to have 2 great pals!

Friday was the best day ever!

I had an awesome day on Friday! First, my son had his karate class and did really well, he even got a best student award, which when you get 7 of them you receive a trophy. So now he has 3. So when I got home my husband greeted me saying something came in the mail I've been waiting a while for. So of course I think it's my Sockapaloooza socks. He pulls out the new Summer Interweave Knits magazine, which was exciting but not what I was expecting. But that tricky fella had something up his sleeve. My socks came too!!! I was so excited and nervous about opening them. This being my first exchange I didn't really know what to expect, what if I didn't like them? But I was so excited to open the package and see these beautiful socks made just for me. I was literally jumping for joy in the kitchen! They are absolutely gorgeous and perfect for me. I love the color, they are made out of Socks That Rock in the Rose Quartz colorway. I had been wanting to try some STR yarn so I was thrilled that this is the yarn my sock pal chose for me. The pattern is so pretty and the socks fit perfectly! Thanks you so much, Adrienne, I love them!!!

MD Sheep & Wool

The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is tomorrow! It's only about an hour drive from where I live and this will be my first time going, I am very excited. My birthday is Monday so I will be treating myself to some presents and my best friend and knitter extraordinaire Jes is going with me! She has a knack for remembering yarn brands and stuff so I'm letting her lead the way. I don't have any projects in mind so I have no idea what I'll come home with. We're most looking forward to buying some Socks That Rock yarn, I have a feeling I'll mostly come back with sock yarn. I'm not sure what else, I'll just have to see what calls out to me when I'm there and hope I buy enough. Stash enhancement here we come! Not to worry, there will be tons of pictures in my next post!!!

SockapalOOOza Sendoff!

Here they are, waiting to travel across the country to my sock pal. I really hope she likes them! I am so glad I decided to participate in this exchange, it has been so much fun. I received an anonymous e-mail from my pal and she sent my socks from Canada on Friday!!! I feel so lucky to be getting socks from Canada. And about the silk camisole I started, I had to say something about it not fitting, didn't I? Cuz guess what, it doesn't fit! I got a 2nd set of 5's out so I could try it on and it is definitely too big, by about 22 stitches or so which is the difference between sizes so I'll just knit the size smaller and go from there. I have to say I was a little disappointed so that's why I haven't done much knitting this week, I needed some time away from it before ripping it all out. I'm so glad I bought that ball winder! I still haven't done it yet but I will as soon as I post this. I'm also thinking about starting another pair of socks. I have some solid Lorna's Laces (periwinkle) and need to decide on a pattern. I'm thinking of making Conwy from KOTR. Not sure though. I want something with an interesting stitch pattern since I'm using a solid color. Hmm....