I Heart Knitting

I did!

I got the recipe from this book, and boy was it worth the work!  And by work, I mean using the food processor I received from my parents for the first time.  Chris has used it to grate cheese, but I’m more of a mini-prep kind of girl.  The food processor was big and scary to me.  But now that I’ve used it, I love it!

My first attempt at ice cream resulted in chocolate all over my kitchen counter (apparently the food processor has a hole in the center or the bowl… who knew?).  My second attempt resulted in the richest, cremiest, chocolatey-est ice cream EVER!  So rich and creamy that it needed to be cut with some store bought vanilla.  Only a few spoonfuls and you’re done.  There will be much more ice cream in the future – as a matter of fact, I’m chilling some pumpkin ice cream as I write this.

Chris and I have some major plans this summer.  It started with our reception a few weeks ago.  Memorial Day saw us putting some finishing touches on our Kitchen Remodel.  We really only have to repaint our cabinet doors and install the baseboard, and we’re done!  Last weekend was my birthday, which had us busy, busy, busy!  And this weekend, we’re going to Charleston, South Carolina for a friend’s wedding.  I think next weekend, I can breathe.  During the time between our reception and now, I finished a pair of socks:

Speaking of my camera, for my birthday Chris bought me a very nice 50mm lens.  I had signed up for a photography course at the local University, but vacation plans for the summer got in the way, and sadly, I won’t be taking it.  But the lens was already purchased before I dropped the class.  I love it, but the weather here in Ohio has been… sketchy.  It is either raining or humid, and the sun don’t shine (though as I type this sentence, it looks like its gorgeous outside!).  I haven’t had a chance to really take any pictures with the new lens on my camera in good lighting.  I do have a few pictures, but haven’t processed them yet.  They don’t look great on my camera, but that doesn’t mean anything.

I am thinking of continuing my busy summer by signing up for a different photography workshop, this one geared toward fiber artists.  It is a weekend workshop in Versailles, KY with Gail Zucker.  I hate to leave my husband with the dogs alone for a weekend, so I haven’t signed up for the workshop yet.  I’m still thinking.  Anyone want to convince me that its necessary for me to go?

July 17 will see Chris and I heading down to South Carolina a second time, only this time, we’ll be heading to vacation spot extraordinaire – Myrtle Beach.  The vacation spot wasn’t my choice.  Every year, Chris’s ENTIRE family goes down there.  This year, our work schedules allow us to go, too.  It should be a good time, even though it is SO CROWDED down there.  I’ll just forget about the crowds and have a good time.  I survived Las Vegas, twice!  Myrtle Beach will be a breeze.  Besides, there’s a ton of liquor left over from our reception, along with LOTS of margarita mix.  We’ll just have the party suite, and will be fine!

A friend of Chris’s, and by extension a friend of mine, and his girlfriend are having a baby in June.  Their baby shower was this weekend, but unfortunately, I couldn’t go.  We (finally) had our wedding reception, which was a super blast!  I decided to make something for the baby a long time ago, but the parents didn’t want to know the gender.  So off to Ravelry to find a suitable, gender-nonspecific knitted or crocheted item.  I started off looking for a floppy bunny pattern, but none really jumped out at me.  Then, I happened upon this pattern (rav linky).  Adorable, doesn’t look too hard to do, probably a quick knit.  I was correct on all counts.  I started it on May 8 and finished on May 20.  I didn’t work on it nonstop, so it wasn’t a stressful project.  And it is adorable!!!

Apparently, it was a big hit at the shower.  I’m glad the happy parents-to-be enjoyed it.  Congratulations Dane and Katie!!!

I’ve been knitting some socks lately, and I thought I’d share some photos of my FO’s.

Socks that Rock – Firebird

Knit Picks Felici – Marsh

Socks that Rock – Lunasea

ONline Supersocke 100 – 1053

Pretty boring, no?  Actually, no.  These were knit over the past six or so months (other things were knit, too!).  My desire to knit a sock yarn blanket has finally overwhelmed my desire not to, so its off to the sock yarn stash I go.  Most of what I’m going to knit with my sock yarn stash, in order to make leftovers for the sock yarn blanket, is going to be… well… socks.  I have a few scarves in my queue and possibly a mitten or two, but I’m really planning on making  a lot of socks.

I scoured through Ravelry looking for great sock patterns and found quite a few that would make simply lovely socks.  However, I’ve come to the conclusion that I really prefer basic stockinette socks.  They just feel better on my feet.  This is so sad, as I love knitting socks!  And I love knitting patterned socks!  But I just can’t wear them.  Too much going on in the shoe, and I’m not a huge fan of socks where the pattern just disappears at the heel.  I might be able to squeeze in a Skew, a Nutkin, or maybe even a no-purl Monkey, but for the most part, boring socks to come.  Its ok, because I like knitting stockinette socks just as well as other kinds.

I joined eHarmony during the summer of 2007, as finding that special someone wasn’t so easy to do when a) you work from home and b) you’re on the road at least 1/3 of the year.  Over the summer and fall, I met a few people, but none too special.  Then, one day, I emailed Chris.  And life hasn’t been the same since.

We met in November of 2007, got engaged in November of 2008, and married one another in November of 2009.  The ceremony was small, a Las Vegas wedding, but not a “Vegas wedding”.  It was beautiful and classy and I doubt that I’d have had it any other way.  It is probably best to just get to the pictures, so here goes.

So there it is… a random assortment of pictures from our awesome wedding! It was a great day, and so far, its been a great marriage!  I couldn’t have picked a better man (or rather, eHarmony couldn’t have picked a better one for me – thank goodness I listened).

I have been composing blog posts in my head for MONTHS!  Because it has been at least that long since I have actually posted.  I know that I’ve lost readers – like my mom who stopped checking ages ago – and I’m sure that so much has happened it would be impossible to share everything.  So my comeback to the blog world is going to be quiet, and I’m not going to share all the stuff that I’ve knit since my last post.  There are two things that I will touch on – Marriage (hi, husband! In case you ever check this) and my shawl.  But I’m not going to do that today.  Today, I’m just starting fresh.

I decided a week or so ago that I was completely sick of having beautiful yarn – of having it just sit there and me not use it.  So I took my favorite thing that I’ve ever bought, and I started it.  So far, this is what I have.

The Fiddlehead Mitten is looking pretty good, no?  I’m just now working on the second one.  I’m hoping to be done by Sunday (for the Knitting Olympics).  It seems unobtainable (anyone see Avatar?  Did you notice the metal they were trying to get was called unobtainium?  Its ruined the word unobtainable for me) at the moment, because I haven’t been knitting like I should.  But the project wasn’t really a true Olympic project for me.  My thinking behind it was that I probably could get it done, while working on my true project.  Cleaning my basement so that I have a craft area.

At the beginning of the year, I started a new job.  A job where I will no longer travel.  A job with the company that I’ve worked with for 8 years.  A job where I actually have to be in my office, which is in my house, and not at a coffee shop or the library.  So I decided that I should probably have a comfortable office.  My office was in my basement, which was fine.  The basement is finished, and there is carpet, and, now that we have a door on the basement, is warm.  But its not convenient.  And the desk that I had used to work for me, but wasn’t going to work for the new job.  The only other room I had in the house that would have worked for an office was being used by yarn.  We moved all of that down to the basement and got my office set up in the former yarn room.  But of course, we did it kind of willy nilly.  So my Knitting Olympics project was to get all the willy nilly-ness of the yarn in the basement organized and lovely so that my craftyness could flourish.  We’re close.  Very close.  And by the end of the weekend, I should have an uber-awesome area for my yarn and other craft supplies.  I should also have a sewing table, which thrills me to no end!  Since we’re not done making it awesome, no pictures just yet.  Soon, though.

So that’s it – my comeback.  Nothing exciting.  But expect more regular updates.  I really think that since I’m home all the time, blogging should really be part of the schedule.  There are exciting things happening in the world of a home office worker who knits.  Seriously.

That’s how much I’ve got done on my wedding shawl. And, if I do say so myself, it looks gorgeous.

A few weeks ago, Sew Mama Sew hosted a giveaway, where they gathered the links to SO MANY BLOGS that were having a giveaway over the weekend.  I decided that this would be a great way to a) possibly score some free swag and b) discover more sewing blogs, as I’ve really had a desire to sew.  Well, I was lucky enough to accomplish both!  First, the swag:

This fabric came from the giveaway over at Terri’s Notebook.  And what a great prize it is!  There are three fat quarters (the pieces on the left) and three half yard pieces (over there on the right).  I’m so thrilled with it, as it really is going to make something great.  I’m thinking of getting my stitch on and making a patchwork bag.  Or… I might try my had at something Denyse Schmidt-y since this fabric is from her Katie Jump Rope collection.  It really is great!

Aside from the fantastic swag, I was able to discover a few (or more) blogs.   I fully intend to go back to the giveaway posts (more here) and checking out things again.  There really were so many blogs on there (even some knitting ones!).

Chris wins the crafty fiance of the year award – once again. For my birthday, he got me a Nancy’s Knit Knacks Heavy Duty Ballwinder and a Schact Cricket Loom. That’s not the reason I’m marrying him, but its definitely a perk!  Hopefully I can get pictures up later!

I love New York!