well, nothing new

Nothing new to report. My internet at home is out so, I have to blog at work. A pesky situation since I am not supposed to be doing it :-)
I am debating about sending my sp a final package. She hasn't blogged much, which has been a disappointment. She never posted pics of my first box, and just wrote a "hey I got my box, will post more later" kind of thing, and never got back to it, yet she finds time for ravelry almost everyday. I am a little bummed about that. Can't decide if I am going to do this again next round or not. I did get some great pals the first two rounds, and my upstream pal is pretty great. *sigh*
Well, the socks for baby bro, as I mentioned were a hit. He wants elastic in them because he is concerned about stretching them. I think I'll just make him another pair. He says he wears them to bed every night and he plans to take them when he goes to shoot at Sundance. My socks hit the slopes!!!! um, make that the lodge, he doesn't ski.
I am making gloves for middle sis. They will match her hat and purse.
Big sis.......don't know what she gets.
Big nephew will probably get a hat. I think I know just what to use.
Stash reduction is the name of the game this year.
I think Big Bro will get socks too!

*sigh*

I wasn't going to do it, but when one of the chicks on the team guessed my age at 52, I had no choice.  Dark Chesnut, here I come.  
Also, I am frantically searching for a christmas project.  I think I have found a couple for me, but I need stuff for the family.  What to do?  Suggestions helpful.  
Last year it was hats and scarves and purses.  I think this year a purse for the older sister, a bigger hat for mom (yeah, I know I said she was off the goodies list, but she does wear the socks, and she is my mom after all).  The little girls are getting money.  Basic, and I don't have to worry if they like it or not.  Hmmmmm, that leaves about 9 other gifts.........

6 weeks of madness, and so it begins

For anyone who has worked in retail, they totally understand.  It's actually 7 weeks because it all began today, or maybe 8 weeks because it started a bit last week.  
What am I talking about? What we generally call "THE HOLIDAYS".  
It's that rush of 4 holidays in a 6 week period, starting with Thanksgiving and ending with New Year's Day.  I had a customer get a little miffed because I told her we didn't carry cocktail loaves except during the holidays.  She informed me that Rosh Hoshana (forgive my spelling if it's incorrect) IS a holiday.  I tactfully left it at that.  Unfortunately for her, when it comes down to it, it's not a major holiday as far as the retail market is concerned.  
The biggest holiday of the year in a grocery store is Thanksgiving.  The next biggest is Christmas.  New Years is usually pretty big too, with Hannukah thrown in tasty, sweet icing for the cake (a roving bonus holiday since the dates change every year - it's based on the Jewish calendar).  
I can't tell how much my dept in my new store is going to make (company policy), but we are talking more than I have ever participated in making in a dept.  It's stunning.
New store?  I left my old store like 3 weeks ago, and now I am working in a lesser position in a store closer to home.  I am enjoying not having to work as hard, and not having to work as long, and the shorter commute.  I like my new crew.  I like my new team leader.  I don't like the decreased pay, but life happens.  I don't have to do all the work, and it's a revelation.
It's also giving me the chance to actually be an assistant, something I never did.  It is actually kinda fun.
But this weekend it's all about pies.
Hundreds and hundreds of pies.  
I will be so sick of pie, it won't be funny.  
I may not have time for knitting!!!!!  
I'll be working 12 hour days!!!! 
Oh well.  I can knit now.

Finished baby brother's socks.  
Well, they started out as baby bros, I thought they were 
too girly a color for him, and then decided to keep them, 
then I thought I would let him decide if he wanted them.  
I mean, I really wanted to give him some socks, ya know?
I showed them to him, asked him if he liked them, 
and told him I had made them for him, but if
he didn't like them, I would keep them.  
He smiled and put them on.  He liked the stripes, the fit 
and the thickness. 
He slept in them the two nights he was at my house.  
I felt good to have made something he liked.  
Nothing like knitted love :-)


And here, finally, is cozy in all it's knitted glory.  Pictures don't do it justice.  
It is indeed, very cozy :-)

  
Oh, and here is my Fantine, from French Girl Knits.  
The color won't come out right. 
It's actually teal, not the blue it appears to be in this picture.  Very bulky, very warm.  
Needs a button :-)

how lost am I, Hah!

I was sitting here, for like an hour, trying to figure out why it was still 1am.  then I looked at the tv schedule and I was still confused, why was Cowboy BeBop on????  Then I looked up the usno clock, it's two am.  um, shouldn't it be later.  Well, I finally looked up daylight savings.  Cheesy-peesy, today is fall back day.  I could have enjoyed an extra hour of sleep and I spent my time watching anime!!!!!

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sock one, almost done

Wooohoooo, whatever my problem with youtube was, it's now fixed and 
I am once again back in the Naruto saddle!!!!!  
I've been watching my favorite anime on youtube (yes, it is a cartoon, but this ain't buggs bunny - not that I have anything against him, he's my fav!), I love anime!

I am also working on my first toe up sock for me?  This one is in a thinner yarn, not quite fingering and its on  us 3 needles.  I had planned to give it to several different people, then I decided I needed a pair of socks.  Pics later.  I have discovered I really like the provisional crochet cast-on.  It's so easy!

Happiness is......

.....a new package from you secret pal!
Yes, I am happy.  Wanna see why?
Now, to sorta give you a little bit about this, I have little sheep push pins (small row of 4 sheep traveling sideways).  They are adorable.  Love the sheep.  I have this delightful, yummy, soft, sensual, sensational Malabrigo in Tuareg (can we say oooooooooooh?!).  There is a little sheep note book (very cute, and quite handy).  And now we get to the spooky part.  Why spooky?  Well, this weekend I was in NY (no, didn't get to go to Rhinebeck, even though I was only 100 miles away!!!!!!) and I was in this Japanese bookstore.  My neice and nephew and I were poring over the gummies.  We debated, strawberry, kiwi or peach????  Well, peach lost (I wanted peach, out voted by teenagers).  Well now I have a bag of peach all to myself!!!!!
Also, last week at Stitches East I fondled the Interweave Holiday issue.  Decided no, I am not getting it yet.  This weekend went to Purl (great yarn shop, friendly staff) and again fondled the mag, decided to pick up yummy red silk/angora/wool instead (gloves for moi).  Glad I didn't get it, 'cause now I have it!!!!  Thanks so much pal!  Feeling quite spoiled, but concerned about the mind reading thing.  

cozy

Project Cozy complete, but for the blocking.  Now we will see if my idea works.  Taking a page from Mistress Brenda D I trotted off to the HomeDepot and bought some small rods, 3 feet in length (3 bucks a rod, 6 rods).  I need to wipe em down and then its on the bed they go.  my makeshift blocking tools.  I am determined this baby is going to New York with me this weekend.

12 more inches!!!!

Yes!  12 more inches to go on Cozy.  That's only six more pattern repeats, followed by the final 3 rows of garter stitch.  I could be finished tonight!  Then it just needs blocking.  I am thinking of taking it over to A Tangled Skein to have them block it.  I have neither wires nor space enough to block it myself.  It's going to end up about 6 feet long, my bed isn't quite long enough.
 
I am thinking of making a sweater for my nephew.  He is such an adorable boy.  He was so happy yesterday.  His football team won 30 - 0, and he sacked the quarterback!!!  Yippee for him!  

Heard from my pal again, she is plotting another package :-)  

well....

Off to the post office tomorrow morning to mail my pals first package.  Not going to post pics, in case she sees this, but I 
think she will like it.  
She likes socks, and there will be a sock pattern and yarn included.  I tried to find stitch markers,
but no luck yet.  I may have to try my hand at making some.  I have included a book from her wishlist.  I hope the list is up to date.
on the knitting front, I am 3/4 done with cozy.  I will be so glad to be done.  Can't wait to block it.
on the personal front, job issues I won't discuss.
on the physical front, it is so freakin' hot I can't stand it!  Where is fall!!!!?????

The stash moves out of the closet.........

Well, I have probably missed the deadline, but here are pictures of my stash anyway.  There is more, it's just scattered all over my apartment right now and I don't have the energy to look for it.  
I keep it in the closet to, well, I was going to say keep it away from the cat, but since she sneaks in there anyway, I guess that's not exactly how it's worked out.  I keep it there to keep it off the floor, basically.  The Namaste bag was a gift from a friend who has a friend who gets this stuff for FREEEEEE!!!!!!  How cool is that!  She has all this stuff and when she found out about me, she gave me the bag and a needle case and the bag was overflowing with yarn goodness.  Needless to say I was very happy :-)  
The yarn in the bag with the ribbon was from my trip to NOLA last year.  I bought this lovely hand dyed and hand spun purple and red yarn at this shop,  The Quarter Stitch.  Wonderful shop with a lot of great yarn.  If anyone gets a chance to hit the big easy, drop on by.  The staff was great and the selection wonderful.  
Yes, there is the infamous pink and black bag I felted, I still 
need handles to finish it.  See Justine, I did make it :-)  Still need to add the flower too, and the leaves.  

I am on vacation!!!!

Hmmm, I wonder if I can figure out where Kelly stored the pics on her laptop...............................................................................................................

Aha!! Here we go, me, gasping for breath on the trail. Yes, I know it looks like I am laughing, but trust me, it was the proximity to death in the form of the crumbling cliffs over the waters of slightly frigid Lake Superior.

Now I am currently ensconced in a lovely room in the Hilton something or other in Cincinnati. Very nice. Ooops, it's quarter to 4 and I promised to take something over to the center where Kelly's massage conference is taking place.

Gotta go!

Hey Shelby!!! Don't end the contest before I get home!!!!!!

I got goodies!!!!

Got my first package from my wonderful sp 11 partner.  There is tea, cookies and a cute little mug from her trip to Hawaii.  Yes, this tea is going with me to Wisconsin :-).  Can't wait to try it.  
There is beautiful yarn in my favorite colors (silk and wool, yummmmmm).  A tin of baby altoids (yummy).  Bath salts.  I was longing for a relaxing bath *sigh*, what timing!And chocolate, two chocolate bars!!!!  They are going to be savored, ahhhhhhhhhh.  Thanks so much for the package.  I love it!

WooHooo!!!!

I finally have a Ravelry thingy.  My name is Sakurak (i meant to make it Sakura-K, except it didn't quite come out that way, oh well).  
This afternoon I left work and found myself about to start singing.  I am officially on two weeks vacation!!!!!!   Soooooo glad to be able to sleep in tomorrow, sheesh!!!!  No baking, no problems, yes i have to send an email to my atl, but after that, all done (talk about your run-on sentences :-)
I leave for the Apostle Islands on Tuesday, then it's on to Cincinati (don't ask, I have a friend who is going to a conference, I am hitting the tea shops and book stores, and museums).  It's all about the leisurely drive.  I do have to return for inventory, but it's all good.  
Now I have to run to the post office to pick up my first package from my pal!!!  Luckily it's at the main post office and they don't close until midnight.  Can't wait to see what it is!

why i love/hate cozy

I love the color
I love the yarn, soft and silky
I love the pattern
I hate the pattern
I hate the fact that at least once every two pattern group repeats I end up with either 14 stitches when I am supposed to have 12, or 11 stitches when I am supposed to have 13
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
And now I can't find that blasted usb cable for the camera *grumble, grumble*

no pics, buuuuuuuuuut......

I just got a prezzie in the mail from Justine (sp 10 pal)!  I almost snatched it from the postal worker (not a good thing to do), and then I started opening it on the way out of the post office (first flap was undone before I hit the vestibule, second flap just as I hit the door), then in the middle of the street I opened it up (the light was red, I was fine) and when I hit the car I cheated and started reading the first chapter of my new JD Robb (it's now put away, becuase I have 6 more books to go before that one, but I ain't makin' no promises it's gonna stay put away ;-).  I love the magnets, the note pad, and especially the felted "k".  The little stickers are way cool (they all have little k's on them  - woo hooo!!! yea for k!!!), perfect for that photo album I have been meaning to finish up.
Thank you so much, you spoiled me rotten!

What am I doing up??????

Haven't the foggiest.  I have been having difficulty quieting my mind to sleep for the last couple of weeks.  Maybe I should see my doctor.  

Anyway, tomorrow is the first meeting of the very small snb group I started.  We will see how long this lasts.  It's basically a group of people from work, getting together to talk and have coffee at the local starbucks.  I hope we stick to it.  They are really cool women, all team leaders at the store, I get along with them well and I think a few of us need an outlet.  We will of course be knitting, or something.  

Making great progress with Cozy.  The socks, um, haven't really done anything with them.  Still just toes.  I am doing a toe-up sock, but I don't have a pattern in mind and I need something simple.  I just purchased Interweave's "Favorite Socks" and I found a pattern in there that might be easy enough (need something challenging, but not frustrating) since it says for beginning sock knitters.  It's top down though.  Hope that doesn't matter.  I guess the lace pattern will be fine, and no one will know but me anyway, so who cares.  
So, that's what's on the needles!

As for what I did today, here is a picture of the cake we (my decorator and I) did for my Store Team Leader's daughter (she's 3 and today was her birthday party).  
The theme was butterflies (bet you couldn't guess that).  
The mom bought in all of these little paper butterflies that she had cut out (better her than me). The cake is peaches and cream (sliced peaches, yellow cake and sweetened whipped cream).  
I did the writting and the design, Bishnu iced the cake.  It was fun.  

Games? I looooove games!!!

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?  Well, I would have to say stitch markers, especially after working with cables and lace patterns.  It makes life sooooo much easier.

2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If
so, how much and what type of project?  I do take a project with me, and it's whatever I happen to be working on.  Don't care about the size or the type.  

3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?  Hmmmmmm, that's a toughie.  I loved the Outer Banks, but what's not to love about sitting on the beach in the fog at sunrise.  I also loved Mesa Verde.  But the Cali coast is probably my real fav.  I love the drama of the coast, the sound and sight of the surf, and the peace of all of it.  And San Francisco is not bad either.


4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?  In the past I have really used those Elle knitting books that came out in the 80's (I think they are all out of print now).  I made several projects in those, and I return to them often for inspiration.  I don't think I have a current favorite.  

5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)?  I think my favorite knitting podcast is Cast-on.  

So psyched!

Heard from my sp11 pal yesterday.  I'm excited all over again.  I have new friends (Lynda, Justine, Shelby, Katie and Sabine) and now I am getting what I hope will be two new ones.   I can't wait to find out who I am going to spoil.  I also love the fact that Shelby is my hostess again.  I had such a great time last time.