Tuesday, January 8, 2008
In Which I am in WAY Over My Head
This is, dear readers, an advance apology to you. Many of you know that I have two small children. Many of you also know that I work full time. What many of you don't know is that I am now enrolled in my Senior year of my Literature BA and that I am also going to school full time. So, if I don't post for a while, do not be alarmed. Merely send up a little prayer that I survive this year.
posted by Eileen at 8:19 PM - 4 comments
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
What I Knit This Year
Today was my first day back at work after Christmas . . . break (can't bring myself to call it vacation) let me just say that the day went slowly but that I was very productive and got all caught up by lunchtime. Can I get a "woot?"



So I've seen several blogs out there with the theme "What is the favorite thing you knit last year?" I decided that I too, would post on this topic. So without further ado, I would have to say that my favorite thing that I knit last year was the "Tilted Duster." I remember when I first saw this pattern. I knew that I would make it. As soon as I could, I bought the yarn on Knit Picks. I bought the worsted weight swish superwash in Clematis Heather. Eagerly I waited. The minute the yarn came in all other projects were set aside. I swatched and even washed my swatch which is a pretty big deal for me!




Fast forward to two weeks later and I had all the pieces ready for assembly. A sale at Jo-Anns led to the purchase of the most perfect buttons for this piece; delicate shell with scroll work detail. I even remember that I was watching "Fight Club" and drinking coffee while seaming. Ah, and then she was done. And she fit-- perfectly in fact. I wear it a great deal, in the office mostly at work since it is pretty hot in Florida, but I'm just glad to get to wear it. I get many compliments and have even been asked a few times where someone could buy one and have gotten the chance to say that I made it.




So yes, the Tilted Duster is my favorite knit in 2007 despite the fact that I even impressed myself by knitting this:




Happy New Year, what is your favorite thing you knit last year?
posted by Eileen at 6:11 PM - 1 comments
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Christmas Vacation Ramblings
Well I'm back from my trip to California. All in all it was a good trip, I got to see many friends and family and I finally got to introduce my hubby to everyone (married almost three years and yet no one had met him!) and the kiddos had a blast as well. Things I could have done without include sleeping in my teenage brothers' twin bed with my hubby and Finn in the room, postponing Xmas by one day and having to rent a car, but again, all in all it was a good time.



Yes, you read that right, we postponed Xmas. Here is why; we flew in on Sunday the 23rd and didn't get into California until 4am our time. Finn didn't sleep on the entire flight and looked like a zombie baby when we landed. Then there was the hour drive from the airport to my Dad's house. Okay. So then the next night, Xmas eve, we go to our very dear freinds' house for our traditional cookie eat and gift exchange and I figured we would be there about an hour and a half and then go (we didn't get there until 8pm) but I was wrong. We were there until nearly midnight. When we got home, we had zero energy to place gifts or fill stockings so we decided to postpone the whole thing. Which we did. Anyone that came by to see us had to be let in on the ruse, but it all worked well and we pulled it off.



My hubby and I also managed to squeeze in a quick overnight trip to The City that I love, San Francisco. Ever since I can remember, I have loved it there. When I was old enough to drive I would go down every weekend that I could. I also have great memories of my Mom there which enhances my love of the city. When I was going to transfer to "big college" from junior college, University of California, San Francisco was choice number one and I wanted to live there the rest of my life. Life has a funny way of changing plans on you and Mom unexpectedly passed away. I ended up joining the military so that I would later have a chance to go to college. Anyway, the whole point of this is that I love it there and this trip further reinforced it because I got to share a place I love with a person I love very dearly, my hubby. We had a great time despite the fact that I left the camera at my Dad's and didn't take a single photo.



We checked into our hotel and walked to Chinatown (after a brief stop at Artfibers, I love that you can walk places!) and found some awesome chinese food, the first good chinese I've had in a good long time, we saw a 25 foot long carved wood fertility penis and I also bought a pashmina scarf on the cheap. The following day we went to Imagiknit which didn't open until 11 (it was 10) so we walked to a small cafe to have coffee and wait. It was worth it, I highly recommend this store if you are ever in the area. There was so much to look at but I settled on two skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy. From there we headed to my personal favorite spot, The Cliff House, the ruins of the Sutro Baths and the best view in the city at Sutro Heights. We had lunch at the Cliff House and from there drove home. It was a great time and very nice to have a vacation within our vacation as my Dad and brothers kept an eye on the kiddos.



So. I hope you had a great holiday season and happy New Year. As I look back on this year, I can't believe how much things have changed and how much they are going to change this year as well. I started off the year in the military in Texas and then got out in June and headed to Florida to start our new life. Although we make considerably less than we did, I feel like we made the right decision and I'm looking forward to starting the next chapter in my life as I've been accepted at the University of South Florida. I will be a Senior and I can't wait for the school year to start.



Some New Years Resolutions for this year include getting fit by exercising more (or at all) and eating better and not eating out quite so much, reading at least a book a month (I used to read about 3-4 books a month but since I took up knitting, that has sort of petered out) and knitting from the stash in 2008. I know this is a lofty goal but as I have enough in the stash to last me for the year, I think I can do it. There are several caveats to this, if it is a gift, it doesn't count, and if I need some yarn for something for someone's birthday etc, then that doesn't count. Oj, I'm getting the jitters already.



Well I go back to work tomorrow, it is going to be rough after my week and a half off. Look, a cute baby!



posted by Eileen at 7:20 PM - 1 comments
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Name: Eileen
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