Life's a Ball...of Yarn

Pleasant Surprises

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:40:00 +0000

So there has been a few nice surprises for me this past week. First for one of the most shocking news any knitting wife can ever receive!!!...........HANDSOME KNOWS HOW TO KNIT!!!And not only that.....HE USE TO KNIT AND CROCHET!!! I had told him yesterday that I should put him to work on my knitting by unraveling the dropped stitches on my Clapotis. He promptly said that he only did that a long time ago and wasn't about to start again. He proceeded to tell me that when he had spent time with his grandparents he would knit and crochet since he was usually so bored while he was there. He claims that there is still a crocheted "doily"(I can't spell) at his grandmothers house to this day. I'm going to see if I can get a hold of it.

Speaking about the Clapotis I asked Handsome's help with, here is the work in progress.

The Clapotis will be for my mother. If you noticed on one of my first blogs I had bought the yarn last year at Kid-N-Ewe; it's fourplay from Brooks Farm. I'm already on the second skein of yarn but only about 1/3 way through the pattern. Thankfully I had bought 3 skeins just in case.

Another pleasant surprise I received was this morning, or mainly ongoing through the week. Sasha and Hailey have been getting along so much better that they have been continuously playing every waking moment. And when they are both asleep.......

I caught them in this position when I was finished eating my breakfast. It's adorable how close they have already gotten. I think we made the perfect choice on the new addition to our family. She's relatively smart!! She knows when she's done something wrong, knows how to go into her kennel, and waits patiently until I've finished filling her bowl with food. Handsome says she has a blanket fetish. She loves to lay on blankets, but she always lays awkward. Mainly in ways that would put a crick in any ones neck.

The last suprise I recieved was just a few minutes ago. I went to check the mail and I had recieved a package. It was the beautiful 2ply yarn I had bought from KittyGrrlz on etsy!

It's called Squishtastic Strawberry Shortcake!! It has 56 yards on it, and it's a dream!!! I have no idea what I'm going to make out of it, but I just couldn't pass up the purchase! I'm in love with this yarn, and I think it's going to have to be one of those yarns you save for an awesome knit!! Anyone got any ideas for it? It'll have to be something I keep for myself!

Well this is my last post for this year! I wish everyone of you a Gloriously Happy New Year, and may all your wishes come true this new year!

Yeah Christmas!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:18:00 +0000

Christmas is Awesome!!!

I got my Handsome man cool gifts this year. Though one that he was really excited about was that he finally had a "PAIR" of socks to wear!! He loves them so!! It makes my heart burst to know he's already been enjoying them all day!!

One of the most awesome gifts I got him this year was a Garmin! Since it was such a cool gift and so small I made sure he would take his time opening it!! I had a video but unfortunetly it's a little too big to put on blogger. I'll see what I can do. I'll tell you this though, he had to open 6 boxes, all of them wrapped and all visible corners and edges were scotched taped. Go ahead and feel sorry for him, but I had to make it worth his wild!!!

Now for some random Christmas Stuff.....

Holiday Meme
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping. Just because it takes time and you can make people really struggle for it!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. I got my very own first tree when I lived in the dorms, I doubt a real one would be allowed in our rooms at the time.

3. When do you put up the tree? The day after Thanksgiving. I hate Black Friday so I make it a point to occupy myself at home.

4. When do you take the tree down? ?? It usually depends on how busy we are after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog? A little, add a tad bit of rum and I’m good!! I like Moose Milk better!!!(Moose Milk is an alcoholic seasonal drink that our Canadian counterparts would make for us every year)

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Nintendo!!! You can’t beat an original, the new systems have too many buttons…(this coming from the woman who likes to play World of Warcraft!). But my sewing machine from mom 2 years ago was pretty cool!!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad. He has everything he could need and doesn’t really ever want anything. It’s hard to get something he’ll use and like. This year I got him a cool blanket that I made him!

8. Easiest person to buy for? Justin really. I pay attention to what he wants and needs throughout the year that it’s not hard to come up with something. It gets harder when it comes to electronics though.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I use to help my mom set up the one back home. It was about 6ft by 6ft, it was huge!! I loved it!! I want to get one when we have a house so that I can actually get a whole corner set up for it.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I think I like hugs best, but if I had to choose I’d say Christmas cards. Though I can never get to mass sending, only a select few people actually get them.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don’t recall. Maybe some kind of weird clothing I bet. If it was bad I’m pretty sure I’d try to erase it from my memory.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Miracle on 34th Street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Beginning of November really, more like midmonth. I like to beat the crowds.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? More like White Elephant re-gifting. You get something from the party and use it as a gift later.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies.

16. Lights on the tree? Darn Skippy!

17. Favorite Christmas song? “I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!”

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel. With me out of the military and jobless, the wedding last month, and Christmas landing on a Thursday we decided against driving to El Paso for Parents and Dallas for my Brother. Traffic would have been hectic on Christmas Eve since Justin was working that day, and plane tickets to Oregon would have been expensive as heck.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Prancer, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid Vixen!

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning of course! It’s fun waking everybody up to open gifts!!!

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People fighting to get prime parking spots and gifts. It takes all the cheer out of this holiday.

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have tradition each year, I get Justin a kitty ornament and he gets me a puppy ornament.

23. What do you want for Christmas this year? I wanted a puppy and I got one!!!

24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Right now it’s really a snowflake I painted. Different and cool!

25. Favorite Christmas dinner? Turkey of course!!!

Your Christmas Sprit Level: 75%
Your Christmas spirit is almost as big as Christmas itself. Christmas is definitely your thing.You celebrate Christmas with enthusiasm. You love every minute of the holidays.Your Christmas spirit is inspiring to everyone who runs into you during the holidays.You make everyone's day just a little bit brighter. And that's what the holidays are all about!

Christmas comes early!!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:15:00 +0000

I have finally knitted what I always wanted to knit!!!

A WILLY WARMER!!!

It's a gift for our best friend Dan. He asked me to knit him one and I did. This was the work in process. It took me about 5 days of determination to finish it.

And this was the final product!!

It even stands up on it's own!! Awesome huh!!!!

The willy warmer is currently on it's way to California to meet it's new owner Dan. I know he'll be quite pleased with it and I begged him not to send any pictures of him modeling it. I'm afraid I would go blind and there would be no more knitting for me.

I've also been quite occupied lately because of the early Christmas present Justin got me this year. Can you see it there under the tree....it's like finding Waldo!!

Welcome the new member of our family..HAILEY!!!

Sasha actually wrote a letter to Santa asking for a baby sister. Although how Sasha learned to write still puzzels me....she hasn't written anything since. They are getting along really well and wear each other out playing. I think she's a perfect fit to our family. What do you think?
I have no idea what mix she is, we found her at a adoption event for the Helotes Humane Society. I've always been fond of blends (mutts) cuz you never know what you're gonna get. Like a cracker jack box or those little quarter toy dispensers!!! All I know is that I got what I wanted for Christmas this year and she couldn't be any better!!! She's already housebroken(only 1 accident every 2 days it seems right now) in a week and knows how to sit. Although she had a little virus and some weird breathing thing that is bothering me lately (must be the cold); she's a really cute and great pup!!! I love our little family of 4!

Christmas Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:18:00 +0000

I've come to realize how much yarn I actually have. Justin bought me a big closet-maid for my closet just to hold my yarn. He also got me the shoe insert so that I could organize the yarn. That was a pretty good idea on his part, because this is what it looks like.

There are still 2 small bags of yarn on the lower section, so it's not too bad at least! The storage unit holds it all. I'm definetly not buying any kind of yarn for a long while though, cuz I can tell I have more than enough to last me for a while.

Below is Justin's finished socks!! My first pair of finished socks took me about 1 1/2 years to accomplish. Justin use to joke that he was going to get his pair to the sock he got last Christmas this actually became true due to the fact that I had way too much going on with the wedding. Well in the end he gets to have these!! Finally!!

I also made him a holder for his coffee cup that he takes with him every morning. Here it is displayed on my cup as a work in progress.

And this is the final product!

Well that's all I've made so far. I'll post some more on Dan's gift later. It's a doozy!!!

And I'm Back!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:57:00 +0000

So sorry I have been away way too long!! I've actually changed my name now since.....well...I got married on the 8th of November!!! I have taken the year prior to plan, sort, nitpick, breakdown, bitch, moan, complain, tremble, cry and obsess about Justin and my wedding. It was a wonderful affair. It turned out perfectly well and all I have left to do is change my name, get my dressed preserved, and write thank you notes. Here's a few pics from the wedding that I do have at the moment.

Receiving of the rings.

Us walking back up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Morrell.

But the past year has been very little knitting really. I did finish Justin's sock for Christmas, and he loved his 1 sock. Now I just have to finish the other one for this Christmas.

Him wearing his Christmas Sock.

The yarn is actually from Amanda's LoneStar Arts shop. I can't remember the colors, think it's The Big Blue or something, it's mainly Cowboy colors. Well since he knew I was really getting into my knitting, that's before we started planning the wedding of course, he got me this...........

It's a Swift!!! He actualy got online, looked up every site he possibly could, did his homework on swifts and got me this faboulas Swift!!!! I am so happy he took the time to actually find it for me, because when I rolled up the ball of yarn for his socks.......well........

Lets just say it wasn't so pretty.

I'm back now and ready to get started knitting again. I have a lot of projects on kneedle but I plan to take my time and finish them. I've decided to put them in order of how I'm going to accomplish them.

1-Justin's pair to his xmas socks (want to finish before xmas of course)

2- Scarf for Dan that is halfway done (can interchange between sock and this just to liven it up)

3-Mom's Clapotis

4- My 2 yarn in 1 project scarves!!

5- A blanket for Dad and my nephew, Santiago!!

Well I promise to be on at least once a week to blog!! We'll see how far I've gone on my projects!!!

My Motivation!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 02:54:00 +0000

I started knitting up the warm colored of blue/brown fourplay I bought at kid-n-ewe into a scarf the other day. I'd thought I'd give it to a friend who was going away to colder climates. I found out later that he actually had a ton of them so I just kept knitting it up. I knitted it slowly to enjoy the fourplay and watch the scarf grow. The colorwork was awed and admired by many of my knitting friends. Enid actually wanted to cut off my yarn, I was half way through my scarf, and steal it for herself. Later in the week I found out Justin will be leaving for New Jersey for 3 weeks where it's freezing cold out there!! I thought "Who better to give this scarf to then my love!!" I started to work franticly on the scarf the whole week. Any time I spent in front of the tv, or finished anything I was working on, was spent trying to finish that scarf!! Of course, lately with us trying to bring back the old magic Justin would want me to put down the scarf to hold him instead. I hadn't told him I was knitting it for him yet, I wanted it to be a suprise. So for the past week he'd look at the scarf like some evil little thing that had invaded his lap of luxury, AKA my lap for him to lay on! This evening we watched a movie and I finished the scarf midway through. I wrapped it around his neck and just looked at him. He sayed he thought it was nice and admired it as best he could, especially since he likes to watch how much all my projects grow and always supports my hobbies. I told him I hoped it would keep him warm during his trip to New Jersey. If you've never felt so much love for anything simple you've knitted I recommend that you knit a scarf for your significant other. He was close to tears and utterly grateful! I know it's like the 4th scarf I've knit, no cables, nothing fancy at all; just a variagated yarn with a simple K1 P1 stitch. But that scarf was recieved with such love it almost made me cry. That's one of most favorite projects I've ever made just for the simple reason that he loved it!! I rarely ever keep anything for myself and it's for that reason that I like to give my projects away. It's that happy feeling inside of me when someone understands the thought I put into a project for them. That's what keeps me doing it most of all!

I've sold my first born son.....for Yarn

noreply@blogger.com (Chris) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:48:00 +0000

Yesterday I had talked to the devil personally and sold my first born. I now have a varied assortment of new yarn from Kid-n-Ewe-and-Lamas-Too fair in Boerne. It was a great time!! I actually had to pull myself away from the fair or I'd have to sell my second born as well. I really don't know the damage inflicted on my credit card but I very well may have to put it on ice like my friend Kara did. (Kara, and old roommate, took her credit cards and froze them in cups of water. That way if there was an emergency she could get them and also not be tempted to use them) Either way this is the beautiful damage that I recieved.

That is the complete collection of my damage! Gorgeous isn't it?!! I walked around for about 2 hours trying to stray away from anything I thought was beautiful but had no clue at what I would make out of it. Also I still felt like a newbie because there were still so many things I didn't know about there. The way yarn is dyed, spun, needles used at times, types of stitch patterns, etc. made me fell like I did last year. Of course this year I was able to appreciate a lot more and buy yarn and needles for it all. Let me start with what I did buy.

First we have the beautiful Brooks Farms purchase Riata, Wool/Mohair/Silk. I bought 2 skiens of this so I could make for myself a clapotis. It contains about 375yds each, so of course it's more than enough. I'm just entranced by the soft creams/blues/ browns that it has. I think it's going to look awesome!!

Then you have a discounted skein of Fourplay, wool/silk, 270yds. I found it laying underneath a load of other discounted yarn but this one caught my eye. It looks just like the Riata I bought but its a lot darker. This of course will be another scarf for myself. I know I'm still learning to knit different things but I do love scarfs a lot!!! I'll always will. Maybe I'll give it to Justin though, it does have "Manly" colors.

Then next you have the same type of yarn but it's all in browns and greys. I wanted this to make a clapotis for my mom. I can see her sitting in bed reading a book with a clapotis made out of this yarn around her sholders keeping her warm in the winter. I'm so excited, I can't wait to start on all these projects!!

Now we come to the sock yarn at the bottom. That's Amanda's concoctions (excuse me I can't spell) from Lone Star Arts. They are called Grundge and Little Boy Blue. They are mainly sock yarns, which I plan to convert into socks for myself (Grundge) and for my sister in law!!! That is until I actually finish with my first pair of socks, which I actually had to undo and start over again! But like they say practice makes perfect. I'll just keep at it.

Then I bought some lace weight yarn (Kraemer, Sterling Sil & Silver, Merino/silk/nylon/silver, 420 yds) to make a shawl out of for myself actually. I've never really had a shawl I thought was practical, not too elaborate and could go with anything. So I plan to make one from these. That is once I get over my fear of how long it really takes to make something from lace weight yarn.

And last, but not least were the little things I found while I was there. There is a small grab bag, with enought yarn to make a scarf, it has the pattern yarn and directions for blocking all combined. It came in a pretty pink color. Then I bought some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that is black and blue. Don't really know who I'll give it to but I just loved the combination. Then some size 2 double point needles and size8 circular. I bought the circularto make my clapotis with.

So now I have a ton of new yarn and I really need to clean out my old ones. I think I'll let my friends have all the ones I have no clue what I'll do with. I know we've all done that, seen something we like and want to do something with but never getting around to figuring out what that is. I hope my friends have better ideas for the stuff I have no clue what to do with and make great masterpieces out of them.