Eastburn Adventures

So tonight was the first Knit In of the season at Simply fibers, and it was a blast in spite of the fact that Zarah is out of town, Brianne had to work, and Kate had family obligations. The blogless Jeri and Stephine joined me though, and all was well. Until I noticed that Carol had started carrying Dream in Color Smooshy - and it had just come in today. I was still fine - until she announced a sale of 25% off ALL sock yarn. I caved. I had no choice. I bought two hanks; one in Gothic Rose and the other in Chinatown Apple. At $16/hank - unheard of. Is it bad that I feel like I'm cheating on Sheri and The Loopy Ewe? I love TLE and it is my first choice for sock yarn, but I just couldn't pass up the sale. (Sheri, please forgive me!)

Since the purpose of the Knit In was to well, knit - I did that too. Backing up, I finally finished Lola's cursed Short-Row Hat last night. After trying it with no less than 4 different yarns, the winner was Farmhouse Yarns Bo Peep Sock Yarns in Cornflower.

Last night I started Calorimetry in Twilleys of Stamford and I finished it tonight.

I also started the first of 4 pair of Fetching for Christmas gifts; more on those later.

I also managed to squeeze in another Lizard Ridge square. I think this is number 21.
Lastly, I'd almost forgotten that I'd promised a shot of my new yarn cave. It's so nice to have everything all in one place and to have my ball winder and swift set up all the time. This little alcove in our basement was our exercise room (with basically one recumbent bike), and since we've joined the gym, it's not been used (not that it was used a lot before). So it makes the perfect yarn room for me!

Now I have to go put my new stash in its place. The good news? There's plenty of room for more!

I don't think anyone would be surprised to learn that I love to travel (probably more than I love knitting, but since they're not mutually exclusive, life is good. Plus, since I can take knitting with me on my trips, it's even more satisfying.) I love seeing new places, returning to old favorites - sometimes so many times that it almost feels like a second home (can anyone say Alaska?) - and everything that goes with it: the planning, the research, the packing, and the great photography possibilities along the way, not to mention the opportunity to just slow down, get away from the everyday routine, and enjoy the moment.

No, I don't have an immediate big trip planned, but you know what? Travel doesn't have to be big to be satisfying. Robert and I took a day trip yesterday to Ha Ha Tonka, a Missouri State Park about 90 minutes from Springfield. It was an absolutely perfectly gorgeous fall day - and with temps in the 60's, who can believe it's November? We missed the peak fall foliage, but it was still beautiful to hike around, and picnic. What's cool about Ha Ha Tonka is that one of main trails leads to some castle ruins. Yes, you read that right. A castle. In Missouri of all places. Just another reason I love to call it home.

On the drive up to the park, which is near Osage Beach, MO, of course I was knitting in the car. I've only got the thumbs left on the first pair of three Christmas Fetching. We also stopped at the Yarn Basket. Kate really liked this store when she stopped, but I wasn't that impressed. It's probably worth a stop if you're in the area, though.

All in all, yesterday was one of those picture-perfect days.

Forty-seven knitting days left till Christmas. I know I said I was giving myself leeway to not knit everything on my list, but then the realities of the budget monster kicked in. (BTW, someone on Ravelry first named the "budget monster" and it stuck with me.) So, I'm back to knitting gifts, which has a bonus of being a great stash-burner.My remaining list:

Three pairs of Fetching (it only takes me about 2 hours/pair for these)

One pair of Fuzzy Feet (thanks to Zarah for finding this pattern)

One pair of Cocoknits Malabrigo Loafers (except I'm not using Malabrigo)

Gentlemen's Socks with Lozenge Pattern (from Knitting Vintage Socks)

Pink Ribbon Socks

These are the 4th pair of Fetching that I finished this past weekend.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Bullfrogs and Butterflies in the Vera colorway, which I snagged from Brianne in the Springfield Knitter's last swap.

I also need to make the Celebrate Awareness Tote from the September 2007 issue of Creative Knitting by the end of the month to donate to a silent auction benefiting Relay for Life.

This was a rather productive weekend, knitting and otherwise. I've been working on the Celebrate Awareness Tote that I'm donating for a Relay for Life silent auction, and finally got around to taking photos.

This is my first attempt at Fair Isle and my second felting project. It's probably my last felted project for a while, too. Don't get me wrong, I like the way felted projects look, and I like the fact that felting covers a lot of mistakes, but I'm thinking that as big as one has to knit a project in order for it to become the proper felted size - I could have made a sweater or two! I just need to finish the back and the miles of i-cords for the straps and this project will be finished. I'm tempted to purchase this to help with the i-cords - has anyone ever used this before?

My friend Angie came over on Saturday for our annual tradition of making our own Christmas cards. Before I learned how to knit I was an avid rubber stamper, and dabbled in some scrapbooking (although it never was my favorite craft), and I still have a roomful of supplies. (This is where my allowance used to go before I found yarn.)

Saturday afternoon the Springfield Knitters invaded my house came over to hang out and knit, and we had a great time as usual. Zarah left behind a ball of yarn she's using on the Sunrise Circle Jacket - I'm still trying to decide what the ransom should be! Kate was teaching her beautiful daughter Hayley how to knit, and she was doing fantastic; and Brianne's son Owen was opening the door to strangers with the greeting, "Hello, friends!"

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, although a little windy, so Robert and I finally closed the pool for the winter, and best of all, it was a two Starbucks weekend! (I am so addicted.)

Can you believe it? My blog will be one-year old on November 17. It hardly seems possible that so much has happened in a year. I started this blog because Amy had been talking about hers and the geek within me was interested in having my own website, even though I didn't have any experience with web design, javascript, or html (and I still don't!). However, I managed to find a hosting service, register my domain name, and through trial and error set up this site using WordPress.

I'm really proud of all the things I've learned from entering the blogosphere, and more than that, I'm grateful for the blessings of new friends I've made through this blog - those I've met in person , Sarah, Brianne, and Kate - and those I only know via the web, Trish, Sue, Jaime, and Sonja - and for everyone who has commented on my posts. Blogging really has opened up a whole new world I never knew existed.

But now - now it's time for a change. There were lots of ideas I had for the site that I just didn't know how to do, and I really wanted a customized blog that was styled to my own tastes, was was just more - me. Thanks to the technical genius of Kate, on November 17th I'll be launching my new, improved, and redesigned blog. I'm giving you a heads up, because I'm pretty sure you'll need to update your feeds in your reader of choice - Google Reader, Bloglines, etc. The web address will remain www.eastburnadventures.com.

I can't wait to hear what you think of the new site (shameless plea for comments - especially from lurkers). And, if you've been considering revamping your existing blog or starting a new one, I'll be the first to recommend Angelo Studios (shameless promotional commercial for Kate).

See you on the flip side!

So about two months ago, Kate and I were talking, and she mentioned that my website needed to be updated because it was soooo sloooow loading (partly because I tend to use a lot of photos in my posts, and partly because I didn't realize that I was uploading a huge sized file for the photos). She immediately set me straight on that and I started using Flickr as my photo-hosting site and made the pics much easier to insert in my posts.

I also mentioned that my blog anniversary was coming up, and that I was not opposed to suggestions for improvements to my site. That led to a discussion about the need for completely overhauling my blog, which Kate could do (for a very reasonable fee - that also included 2 Starbucks beverages). I agreed, and thus began the almost endless exchange of e-mails and phone calls that went something like this:

Kate: How do you like the color?

Me: It needs to be more of a burnt orange. Or a brick red. You know, fall colors.

Kate: (changes colors) What about this?

Me: No, that's too red. Too orange. Too - too.

(This conversation went back and forth for several e-mails until I was happy. I hope your monitor shows how pretty the color scheme is!)

Then we had this conversation:

Me: Can you make a thingy like on this [insert web address of choice] blog?

Kate: What are you talking about?

Me: The thingy. At the top (or on the side, or on the bottom).

Kate: Yes, I just have to [insert technical jargon/babble/foreign language].

Me: Thanks! What about doing a whatchamacallit? Or a thingamajig? Oooh! Can you make a whoozit?

Kate: [inaudible sigh - wondering how I function in life] Of course! That's so easy. There, it's done!

Me: I can't see it. Where is it?

Kate: It's there - it looks great! Wait - what browser are you using?

Me: Right now? IE.

Kate: Stupid IE.

(Thus, we know we still have some bugs to work out if your browser of choice is Internet Explorer. Please e-mail me at tammyATeastburnadventuresDOTcom (a new e-mail address!) and let me know if you see anything weird so we can fix them. But if you switch to Firefox, everything should be fine.)

Anyway, I'm very excited to launch year two of Eastburn Adventures. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to gaining lots of new readers!

Thanks for all your hard work, Kate! (And tell Jer that we're still friends!)

Oops - something isn't working with the comments feature - I know a couple of folks have left comments today, but I'm not receiving them. Please stand by. :-)

Whew! I had a little bit of a panic mode yesterday when I didn't receive a comment on the new site all day long - but technical support - I mean Kate - figured it out, so I was able to retrieve all your nice comments - thank you very much! Unfortunately, I didn't get the e-mail notifications (that's also been fixed), so I couldn't respond to individual comments. So this is one big group Thank You!

Now for knitting content. While all the blog stuff was going on, I managed to get the Celebrate Awareness tote seamed and felted - thanks to Zarah seaming the bottom and one whole side for me at Knit Together. The girl is crazy for mattress stitch!

Pre-felting:

And post-felting:

Now I just have to make about a mile of i-cord for the handles. Ick.

Okay, so here's something that's lacking in Ravelry (but only because I didn't put it in anywhere). You know how you have a "stash" at Knit Picks of stuff you want to buy - sometime - but maybe not right away? It's like the Loopy Ewe's wishlist. I've clicked away, usually for the larger size options needles that didn't come with the set, and the additional sized cables and fixed circulars, with the occasional book, and of course, yarn.

Herein lies the problem. Sometime - I think within the last week or two - I added 10 balls of Main Line in the Red Velvet Cake colorway to my KP stash. I. don't. know. why. Did I mean to add only one ball, but instead it's a typo for 10 balls? Did I really mean to add 10 balls - thinking that's an inexpensive way to get a sweater's worth of yarn? If so, what sweater? The only one I've been seriously considering lately is A Cardigan for Arwen, but why Main Line? Why Red Velvet Cake?

I'm thinking I heard mention of this particular yarn in this colorway on Stash and Burn, but which episode? Why did I immediately stash it? I must have had something in mind. And if I can't remember, does that mean I should just ignore it in my KP stash? Or should I get it knowing that it's right for some sweater, someday? Is it a sign? Or did Knit Picks come up with a brilliant marketing plan to randomly add stuff to my stash, knowing I'd probably buy it? (Kelley Petkun - if you're reading this, please note - this is a baaad idea!)

Can anyone help me? Nicole? Jenny? Was it your idea to do subliminal messages through your podcast? (Yes, I know I'm obsessed and completely missing the point of the "stash and burn" premise.)

I'm thinking I probably need to order it regardless. I saw that the new issue of Knit Scene is republishing the pattern for the Central Park Hoodie, now in larger sizes. Sigh.

Just a quick post to wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A few things I'm thankful for:

1. Jesus loves me
2. Robert loves me (and I love Robert)
3. My family
4. Good friends
5. Knitting
6. Ravelry
7. Yarn stores

We're off to a quick trip to Lebanon, MO for dinner (which also means 2 hours of knitting time in the car), and to watch the Cowboys football game (because of #2 above, I can finally say, "go 'Boys" - I used to be the anti-fan - and this means another 3 or so hours of knitting).

The second pair of Christmas Fetching are finished, and the i-cord handles for the Celebrate Awareness Tote are felting (for the 3rd time in the washer). (I should add as a #8 for what I'm thankful for - the little hand-cranked i-cord machine - I never would have finished those handles if I hadn't bought it!)

Enjoy your turkey day!

The Celebrate Awareness Tote is finished! Now I just have to get it to my friend Angie for the silent auction benefiting Relay for Life.

The holidays seem to throw a crimp in my usually ordered schedule, and this season is no different. We've got events every weekend between now and Christmas. I'll try to stay on top of things, but no promises. :-)

Thanksgiving was okay - we drove to Lebanon to spend the day with Robert's family, watched the Cowboys win, I knit on one of the gazillion pair of Fetching, and we drove home with no leftovers. Good for the diet.

Friday it snowed! Yippee! (But it didn't stick.)

We skipped the Black Friday sales except I went and hung out for a couple of hours at Simply fibers and did end up spending a little cash. I caved and bought another skein of Dream in Color Smooshy, and I got 8 hanks of Classic Elite Fame for Clapotis. Knit Together is starting a knitalong in January. Hopefully, I'll be done with Christmas knitting by then!

Saturday was our Annual Peanut Brittle Makin' Days, and this year my niece Lisa joined us for the first time. It's always an amusing time with family, and everyone who's received some of our famous brittle has been very complimentary. (See this link for more details from last year's PBMD's.)

Sunday we had a baby shower for our good friends Nathan and Cheyenne - the recipients of the Baby Yoda sweater and hat. It made my day to see how excited they were about it!

Back to work yesterday, and already the Christmas invitations are coming in. There's 3 work parties (one we'll miss because we'll be out of town), our choir banquet, our anniversary, friends' annual Christmas dinner, and a belated celebratory dinner for Robert passing the Series 7 exam. Plus, we're planning a trek to Silver Dollar City with my sister and brother-in-law to see the Christmas lights, and then an overnight trip to Kansas City to see the lights on the Plaza (and Robert's got a few surprises up his sleeve, too)!

And somewhere in the midst of all this, I still need to start and finish another pair of Fetching, a scarf, and possible 2 pair of socks all before Christmas. See why I can't keep up with blogging?