This could be trouble...

I bought my fabric for my sewing class this weekend! I'm very proud of myself for exhibiting huge restraint and only buying what I needed for my class. I really wanted to buy yards of such pretty and fun fabric and sewing books! But in the end I decided to make it through my class before I make any other sewing purchases, like say, um, I don't know...maybe a sewing machine. Minor detail really.Here's the fabric I bought for my pajama pants! I was drawn to it when I first walked into the shop - it just made me laugh! It's little baggies of gold fish with names like Helen, Swimmy, Splashy and Bjorn under them. How can you not love it?

The Nine Lives of Hailey the Dog

Hailey had a little episode the other day - congestive heart failure. My mom rushed her to the vet and they were able to calm her down and get her regulated again. But the next two weeks will be touch and go. The vet said Hailey needs to lay low - no barking, no running, no chasing anything. Now for anyone who knows Hailey - or any dog for that matter - that's going to be a difficult task. But Hailey has lived a long, happy life and hopefully she'll be around to raise trouble a little longer.

My interview with the Yarn Harlot

The story I did with the Yarn Harlot and several Purly Girls is now online (actually, it was online last week and am sorry for the delay!) The Purly Girls were great for letting me drag our cameras to the group and chat with them on t.v. We are a fun group! Check out the show!

Crazy Aunt Purl & Crazy Cocktails

Tonight I met up with a few Purly Girls for happy hour before heading over to hear Crazy Aunt Purl's book reading. It's been a long few days (especially today) and I'll be honest, I was looking forward to happy hour since about 8:15 a.m. I got to the restaurant a bit early and proceeded to order, drink and eat until the rest of the girls showed up. Then we all ordered, drank and ate until it was time to go grab a seat.

Now, I'll admit, I may not have had a lot of food in my tummy and I may have sucked down those cocktails pretty quickly, and while some may say I was a little drunk, I'll just admit I was a wee bit tipsy. But it was Aunt Purl, so all was well.

We get there and the only seats left are right in front. Seriously, right in front. See:

I felt like a little kid sitting on the bench in front of all the grown ups. It was fitting. We were rather giggly.

She was really funny and I laughed and we all knitted (I had to put the knitting away b/c there is a reason I don't really drink at PG!). But sitting in the front (right in front) did have it's advantages. When it was time to line up for the book signing, we all just stood up and were already in line. I haven't read her book yet, but after tonight I'm looking forward to pouring a glass of wine and curling up with the knitting and the book for some good entertainment!


Amanda showed off her new hat! I'm in knitting envy. This is on my project to-do list. Not only is this a beautiful hat, it's Amanda's first dpn project, first lace project and first circular needles project (she's our resident crocheter - but we love her anyway!) Way to take things slow lady!

Fantasy Football: Week 6

After two really rough weeks on the sidelines, I'm thrilled to report the Knitting Football Stars are back on top! It was a tough victory this week, but a victory none the less! Plus, it put me back on top in the rankings! I'm looking forward to more domination on the gridiron!

Catching up

A busy week and another weekend of traveling lead to very little knitting (and pretty much very little nothing else too.) But lucky for me, this past weekend's travels found me heading out to Mara's rustic cabin on the Olympic Peninsula. It had no electricity, no phone, no water but breath taking views and much relaxation. While we invited the boys, they turned us down - probably out of a mixed fear of a football weekend out of touch with the games or the possibility of being trapped in a rustic cabin with two slightly-crazy-wine-drinking-knitting-Jane-Austen girls. It's a toss up really.

No worries for us. We packed our knitting, bottles of wine and hit the road. Not a lot of knitting was accomplished, but it was very fun and relaxed! The view from the cabin.

The view from the beach.

I finally cast on for Matt's socks! They'll either be a birthday present, Christmas present or Groundhog's day present - which ever comes first!

And the vest is coming along nicely! The back is just a few inches from being done!

Home Sweet Home

It was a fun and relaxing trip to Les Bois. But I find it fitting that I came home to Seattle today, October 9 - the three year anniversary of moving to Seattle! Although, the trip started out a little rough. Basically it involved me, the Alaskan Airline ticket agent, my over-weight bag, too many liquids and I may, just may, have accidentally dropped the f-bomb (I was laughing at the time about all of this). Classy I know. What can I say, it was 6 a.m. Boise time and I had been up since 4:45 a.m. If you can't have a sense of humor at that time of day, then really, what's the point.

Airline and knitting woes

It's another weekend of traveling for me. This weekend's destination: Boise, Idaho. I opted to start my weekend early with a Thursday evening flight to Boise. With three knitting projects in my carry on, I was ready for anything. Well, I tried anyway. Here's how my weekend started:

The hubby drops me off at the airport and takes off - with my wallet still in the front seat of the car. Long story short on this one - I was driving when we pulled out of the parking garage downtown, paid the attendant, then tossed my wallet to him as I pulled out through 4 lanes of traffic to hop on the I-5. He was quick to return it and I whipped through security with an hour to kill before boarding.

I hit the bar for a little cocktail and knitting before boarding. Happily drinking my gin and tonic and knitting away when it's time to switch to the bigger needles. No bigger needles. Here's what the patrons (who, incidentally were all men watching Sports Center saw):
Me: Jumping out of my bar stool and proceed to empty the entire contents of my knitting bag onto the bar (while swearing under my breath and now downing the rest of my drink). No needles. They weren't in the two other little baggies of projects either. No problem. I gather my stuff, pay my bill and head to the gate to finish my wait and work on project number 2: my new vest. (Incidentally, I was hoping to finish a baby's hat for a gift for a friend I'm having lunch with on Friday. Not happening now).

I'm now sitting happily knitting with project number 2. I've got 6 1/2 beautiful inches of ribbing when it's time to switch to the bigger needles. New problem. I've started the project on the bigger needles. Deep breath. As I begin to rip out, they announce there is a "mechanical problem" with my plane and their looking into it. A 20 minute delay. OK, now I have time to cast on. Silver lining here. In the process of the ripping out and casting on (and one slight mistake and rip back) they announce 3 more times my flight is delayed. Finally, I'm only 3 rows into the ribbing when I've made another mistake. Only this time, I can't for the life of me figure out where the hell I've messed up. Another delay - for me and the knitting. The solution? Throw the crap into my bag and I stormed off to the book store where I bought 1 entertainment magazine, 1 fashion magazine, 1 bag of Chex mix and 2 things of chocolate. I came out of the store and got a text from the hubby. One of my star players on my fantasy football team tested positive for pot and was being pulled. Must drop him pronto. Fabulous.

Three hours later, I'm finally in Boise. Wide awake after my sugar-high-mindless-gossip-mag-very-bumpy-plane ride to Boise.

I'll be hitting my favorite Boise knitting shop first thing to get all the needles I thought I had and to start over. Here's to a new knitting day, tomorrow.

Fantasy Football: week 3 - A shake up

The news from the sidelines is not so good this week. After a 3-week winning streak, the Knitting Football Stars lost this weekend. We are barely hanging onto the lead and are in a tie with The Good Cousin. It's time for a gut check. Time to make a few choices and cut a few players. Others will be warming the bench. Defeat is not an option.

Memory Lane and FO's

The road trip last weekend to Moscow, Idaho was a great nostalgic get-a-way - plus I had lots of time on the road to knit! As usual, the University of Idaho campus was fun and beautiful, even if the football game was a little painful to watch.

The arboretum in the early stages of fall.

Vandals trying to make a stand against Hawaii. One of these years....it'll be our year...again. Sigh...

And I was able to finish the mittens from Weekend Knitting for a b-day gift for a dear friend! I used Manos and they knit up so quickly! A great, fun, easy project!

Henry's Sweater

It's the baby cardigan from Knitting Pure and Simple. I changed the design a bit (aside from the few "design elements"). Instead of the two I-cords, I just used snaps and added the buttons.

On the road again: destination Moscow, Idaho

This weekend I'm hitting the open road and heading to the beautiful Palouse region in Idaho. We're going to visit some family and cheer the Idaho Vandals football team! I'm really looking forward to visiting the campus. It's just so gorgeous in the fall with all the leaves turning vibrant shades or red, orange and yellow! My camera is charging and the knitting bag is ready to go. I'm also hoping to put a dent in some of my projects including these mittens which are long over due for a friends birthday gift!

Fantasy Football: Week Three

The Knitting Ftball Stars are 3-0! Undefeated baby!

Girls Weekend Get-A-Way

This past weekend, the girls and I headed to Winthrop for a little R & R. There was lots of knitting, reading (I finished the best book!) and just hanging out!


The girls found a guy for a quick photo-op!

Pretty Methow Valley (didn't pay attention to the name of the river...)

We were there for two nights and these are all of Rebecca's projects....

And there was a Square Dancing Festival in town! They shut down part of the main drag (and trapped our car)! We spent the time watching the toe-tappin' couples and shopping through the cute stores!

Fantasy Football Week Two:

After a rough Sunday, I was surprised to see that the Knitting Ftball Stars are still dominating in the league! My defense left a lot to be desired, but luckily my opponent had an even rougher Sunday.

(Editor's note: I'm a little scared about how much I'm picking up about football. I could go into more detail, but I won't. What I find annoying about all of this, is how I can absorb the football lingo/stats/etc. but still can't remember how to SSK when I come across it in a pattern!)

"Obsessively Crafty"

That's one of the new terms I learned from the fabulous knitters I interviewed for my story (or as Rebecca would say - strong-armed into it). Interviewing Stephanie was a lot of fun. We both like to talk about knitting and we both like to knit, so it was a bit challenging to stay focused. And at the end of the interview, she asked about my knitting (we were both knitting during the interview) so I tried to play it cool even though I was secretly gushing on the inside.

(This is a pretty bad picture, I was actually not that far away)

Later we attended her talk at Third Place Books where she continued to entertain with her humor, wit and knitting passion! As usual, she drew a huge crowd plus lots of Purly Girls were there!

(Rebecca and Sasha knit while listening)

(Jessica captures her sock for the moment. Jessica also gave me the term "Obsessively Crafty" I like it better than my Craft A.D.D. term.)

Reasons I like my job.

At my job, I get the opportunity to take complicated political issues and make them relevant to people's lives in a way they understand (hopefully). I get to explain the issues (which, less face it are sometimes really, really boring) in a fun way that gives folks a sense of what city leaders are talking about. I also get to meet interesting, inspiring and fabulous individuals; the political leaders working to make a difference to kids just inspiring change while living with a fatal disease. I've even had the chance to interview a Hollywood Hottie. And tomorrow, I have the chance to sit down with another A-lister:

The Yarn Harlot.

I'll be interviewing her for a story on local knitters, how today's knitters aren't your average, stereotypical knitters and her role in all of this. Then I'll be heading to her book signing to hear from her fans and why they knit.

Hopefully, I'll see you there!

Just have to brag a bit....

So this is a non-knitting comment (kind of). I have succumb to the football in my household and instead of fighting it, I've embraced it by creating my own fantasy football team. I'm in a small league with the new hubby, his Cousin Mike and Cousin Mike's girlfriend Kim (also known as Cousin Kim). Knowing very little about individual players, the computer just randomly selected my players while the hubby, knowing lots of stats and stuff, picked most of his out. We faced off against each other this first week of football, and I have to say - with pride - that my team - the Knitting Ftball Stars - DOMINATED the league! That's one for the knitters and NOTHING for the non-knitters! Stay tuned to see how I fair this week....

A new season starts

A new season has dawned in my household. It's a season that allows much more knitting (not that I need permission for knitting). I can have many more nights to go out and meet knitters or more nights (or afternoons) to curl up at home with a good chick flick and my knitting. I call it knitting season. Others simply call it: football season.

Weekend Get-A-Way!

Matt and I on Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest. Don't we look cute in our Idaho Vandal gear? It was game day on Saturday!

We took advantage of a three day weekend to pull out the map and find a spot in Washington we had never visited. Destination: the Olympic Peninsula and the Olympic National Forest! It was a beautiful weekend with great weather (until the end - we were in a rain forest!) and fun times! We even took a quick day trip to Victoria, B.C.

The historic Empress Hotel in Victoria. They were having a classic boat show in the harbor.

The Sunken Garden at Buschard Gardens in Victoria.

Marymere Falls in the Olympica National Forest ...a pretty hike through an old growth forest to the falls.

Ruby Beach along the northwest coast of Washington. Note the pouring rain. What would a trip to the rain forest be without a little rain?