What a Long, Strange Year it has Been.

First off, let me say that I do not like writing these Year in review things. Frankly, no one really cares that Lindsey Lohan went to jail for the umteenth time this year after being caught with drugs yet again, (you want to shock me, tell me when she gets cought with a book) and if you follwo this blog, you pretty much know what is going on in my life. However here is an EXTREMELY brief synopsis of how the year went for me:

News Year Day, Madrona Fiber Arts, son turned 5, Sewing and Stitchery Expo, Husband's Birthday, signed up for the Hazel Knits sock yarn club, Disneyland and Universal Studios, new spinning wheel, Oregon Flock and Fiber, Snowmageddon four hour commute home, Thanksgiving, work sucks, Christmas, OMG! Final batch of yarn club shipment.

With that all said and done, I now give you the final shipment of the Hazel Knits Yarn Club for 2010!

As you can tell, Wendee has once again outdone herself, and included a great suprise in this shipment in the form of a project bag printed with a blue sheep to match the yarn colors. I had so much fun this year that I plan to sign up for this club again next year, as well as the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Sock Club. Awesomeness!

In other news I have the final totals for my year long challenge to see it I could burn down my stash by knitting 10,000 meters in a year. Well, it was a great challenge to see if I could keep from buying new yarn throughout the year, and I slipped up a few times, but I managed to do it and then some.

The total is (imagine a drum roll here): 12,047 meters of yarn knit in a single year!

I have a few ideas for next years challenge, but haven't completely decided on what to do. I will post it early next year though.

Until then, Happy New Year! See ya'll on the flip side.

Christmas Ornament 2010.

As you may remember from a prevoius post, every year I make a Christmas Ornament for my tree using beads and other interesting bits and pieces. However, unlike last year, I try to make five different color variations (Last year's ornament contained some hard to find vintage beads, and I could not find other colorways that I liked).

And now, the colorways.

Traditional: Red and Green are often the most common colors associated with Christmas, and I couldn't resist just making one like this, accented with 24 carat gold seed beads, and red and green Swarovski Crystals set off by bright white Swarovski Crystal Pearls, This on is definately a keeper

Nick: Sometimes I have no choice but to drag my little boy along with me on trips to the bead store, but he never seems to mind. So for this one, I Let the little guy pick the colors in this one. Of course he went for his favorite color (purple) and a rich emerald green, I decided that this one would be a bit diffrent, as I used Crystal Copper Swarovski drops for the corners of the netted fringe. This one is kind of my favorite because of the rich colors and the beautiful contrasts between the colors.

Carribbean: I was not sure how this one would turn out, but i fell in love with the Carribbean Blue Opal Crystal beads and I love the drops that I used in the corners of the netted fringe (Crystal Golden Shadow). This one actually turned out better than I thought it would, and I ended up really liking this one after all.

Lilac Summer: When Swarovski announced this pale lavender and light green as their new colors, I could not resist making another purple accented ornament. So this one was born, however to take some of the overwhelming gold out of the equation, I used the 14 karat gold seed beads instead of the 24 karat ones.

Vintage: This was another color selection I was not to sure about, but turned out wonderfully. I thought about making an antique inspired ornament and decided on a pale rose matched with the Palace Green Opal Swarovski beads, giving this ornament a bit of an Asian look with the jade greens. I went with the Nickel plated seed beads in the netted fringe here and really ended up liking the pale jade and pale rose seed beads in the body of the ornament as well.

Anyhow, that is the ornaments ffor this year. Perhaps next year, I will really go crazy!

Happy Holidays!

Port Gamble Ghost Confrence 2010.

I really meant to post this blog earlier, and to be honest I have three really good excuses as to why this blog did not get posted earlier and here they are:

1. The hotel I stayed in did not have the wireless internet that was promised to me and I had no access.

2. My son had me out for two hours on Halloween night Trick or Treating, and I was tired afterwards.

3. I takes a long time to go over paranormal evidence, and I have been quite busy.

4. I was being lazy

Anyhow, here is a summary of my adventures, and what I found:

The first evening, we got to meet the speakers and hear many interesting stories about their evidence into the paranormal. Some of them made us laugh, and others served as a cautionary tale to warn us of some of the dangers of paranormal investigating. I was excited to learn as much as I could though, and took everything in.

After the opening and introductions, We were all invited to go on a Ghost Tour of the historic town of Port Gamble, and we stopped at pretty much every building some of which include: the General Store, the Post Office, the church where an apprition of a one armed man is seen running through the churchyard, and the Graveyard.

It was a thoroughly interesting tour of an EXTREMELY haunted town, and I loved hearing the history of the beautiful town and some of the basis for the reported hauntings. However, the graveyard kept pulling me back and making me want to go back for a quick walk around for a secret tour. (I know, not bright.)

Anyhow, I stopped off at the pavilion where most of the Ghost Confrence was taking place, and sipped a cup of coffee while reading a book. I listened to people chat back and forth, and as people petered out and left for the night, I packed up my own belongnings and headed out to may car, but something about the graveyard was just talking to me.

Well, I walked up to the graveyard armed with only my camera and my car key and started walking round taking pictures of some of the headstones when something really interesting appeared and took me by suprise. This strange fog appeared with an image of a person's head and shoulders showed up, and it was a clear night with no rain. I even held my breath when I took the picture to steady myself.

Anyhow, after I took this picture, I headed back down to my car and headed back to my hotel in Plousbo where I found out I had no internet access. Frustrated, I went off to bed as it was going to be an early morning for me the next day. As well as a late night.

The next monring, I had a really hearty breakfast of Corned Beef Hash at the diner inside the General Store, and it stuck with me through the whole day, making me even skip lunch because I was just not hungry. I attended may great seminars and got some great information about the art of Ghost Hunting, and what not to do while investigating. (One being not to investigate alone. my bad) After dinner though, was the true moment of excitement for all of us, because we were going to take part in an actual ghost hunt.

That evening, at seven, the groups met and we all began our investigations. My first stop for the eveining was the basement of the towns Post Office/ Community Center. Historically, the basement was once the town's morturary, where all of the dead lumber mill workers and their families eventually were prepared for burial. About 22 seconds into my first investigation, I got an EVP of a person saying "What are you doing here......get out". My little digital recorder really paid for itself that night. As I caught several more EVPs there and some unexplained footsteps that seemed to come from above us.

Our second stop for the evening found us in the Community Hall, where we were trying everything from sitting on the stage, to asking questions to see if we would get anything, but nothing seemed to trigger any activity. Thinking outside the box, andther person and I began playing music on the piano that was sitting just off the stage on the right, and despite it being EXTREMELY out of tune, we were pretty good. After both of us left the stage, I snapped this picture and got some interesting Orbs that were perhaps triggered by us. Immediately after taking the pictures, A single note was tapped out on the piano. The group got me to go up again and try the little tune I tapped out on the piano, and to everyones suprise.......the piano was in tune. I tried the same song again, and the piano was no longer in tune. Is that cool or what?

After a very interesting visit to the Community Hall, it was time to move onto the Walker Aimes Mansion across the street, where there have been reports of full bodied appritions as well as unexplained sounds. I didnot get much for photographic evidence, but I did have something brush my hair in what was called the Nannie's room in the attic, and in the front sittin room, I was sitting alone when I could again feel something again lift the hair on the side of my head as if they were looking at my earrings. (I was wearing an old fashioned looking pair of lavender crystal earrings, mabie she liked them.) In the basement, we got some unexplained tapping, and again I felt like someone put their hand on my elbow, and my arm got ice cold around my elbow.

All and all, it was an interesting trip, and I am looking forward to next March, when husband and I are going back for another investigation with OPPS. This event is a charity hunt to raise money to restore the graveyard. It will be a fun advenure.

Better Late Than Never, October Sock Yarn Club.

Sorry about the lateness of this post, I have ben up to my elbows in other projects and getting ready for a two day road trip across Puget Sound. I will elaborate on that trip later though, right now I have some bragging to do.

Because my litttle model was a bit cranky this time around, I was unable to get him to do his obligatory pose with the yarn and swag this time, so I snapped this picture of my spoils.

I was suprised by this shipment not because of how unfall the colors were, but by how much I LOVED them both. I think the red skein has been spoken for with the awesome sock pattern, but the green is still up for porject yumminess. I may make a shawl, but I am leaning toward another pair of socks. One can never have enough socks you know.

Anyhow, stay tuned in for m y next adventure to historic Port Gamble for a special Halloween road trip and activity. I am leaving here on October 29 and spending the night over there and returning late on October 30. The plan is to post the first blog on the evening of the 29th and on the 31st (Trick or Treating permitting).

A Descent into Madness Part 5: Completion.

I finished the Lyra cloth tonight, and I am happy to say that it turned out great, after blocking it on a new set of lace blocking wires that I recently bought at Cultured Purls on my way home from work yesterday.

Now onto the next adventure.

My Fiber Bin Runneth Over: Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival 2010

From the looks of this fiber bin, I am not kidding too.

As many of the spinners and knitters around the area know, last weekend was the annual Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby Oregon, and I just had to go. We even got lucky too because after a couple of weeks straight of rain and all around yuck, we got a reprieve from the fiber gods, and the sun came out on Saturday.

My Mother, who tagged along with us spotted these really awesome baskets right off, and had to buy one to store all the supplies needed for her quilting projects, I even liked hers so much I ended up buying one too because it was so pretty. Mom even commented on how so many people were walking about carrying these baskets for their purchauses. They did come in handy despite my beringing along a few reusable market bags.

In order to please my son, and give him some time with things that interseted him, we then went straight to the barn to see all the animals and to give him a chance to pet some of the beautiful creatures. However, if I were one of these critters, and I were surrounded by people who wanted my fleece, I would be a bit nervous too.

Of course though, I told my son that he had to ask the owner of the animal before he petted them. And he could not run up on them, as it made them nervous. My mother commented on how sweet and gentle eyed these Alpacas were, and she could not get over how soft their fleece was.

However, there was much more to do and see at the fiber festival, and I had some shopping to do, and my son's college fund to blow (sorry Nick).

The lawn area was full of vendors and I really did not know where to start, so I just picked the outermost booth and worked my way to the other side of the lawn. There was so much to see that I couldn't help but take my time and just peek in each stand.

Between the lawn and the buildings, we decided to give our eyes a rest from the sensory overload and see what was going on in the penned off area near the spinning circle. What we saw made us laught so hard (no the dog is not hunting the ducks), that we had to stop and watch a while. The working dogs had their work cut out for them competing for top honors, and because of the size of the pen, and the anxiety it causes the lambs to be seperated from their mothers, ducks were used to show off the dogs skills. This dog was really good at his job, and managed to herd all six ducks into their pen, despite some dissention and bad duck words from his "flock".

After our rest, we decided to go into the two buildings, and found more treasures than our arms could carry. We had such a good dat in all, and made pland for next years festival along with a trip to Sock Summit next August.

One last treasure I managed to snap up was this knitting/spinning bag from Slipped Stitch Studios, along with some of their hilarious buttons, however I did not have a hard time finding goodies from other vendors too. I found treasures from : Sunset Fibers, Dicentra Designs, Chameleon Colorworks, Crown Mountain Farms, WoolGatherings, and Blue Moon Fiber Arts.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me now, spinning up all that fiber and making it into something amazing.

A Descent into Madness Part 4.

Well, here is the update.

I finished the knitting, but now need to block the darn thing. It took me two days to do the crocheted cast off, but I did it.

Now I just need a set of Blocking wires.

A Descent into Madness Part 3.

I know it has been a while since I have updated this blog about my ongoing projecct that is the Lyrs tablecloth, so here it is. I last left off on row 149, which took me up through a flower motif and I am working on the corner leaf panels. It is a bit difficult to remember sometimes though where you have to do pattern repeats to create the corners. I solved this problem by placing diffrent colored stitch markers right before the panel to remind me where to do the repeat from the chart.

I have also learned to ignore the prevous row as charted because I was getting confused as to what I was doing because the charted row I was knitting on made no sense in the charted row I had just completed. None of the symbols matched up and it was making me crazy. Sometimes you just have to let things flow.

Anyhow, until next time.

Sock Yarn Club! August Shipment.

So yesterday I found a great suprise waiting for me when I got home from work. I go another shipment from the Hazel Knits Sock Yarn Club. This month was another great suprise for me not only because of the AWESOME colors I got (The spicy brown was my favorite), but it came with two goodies this time. Wendee sent along an exclusive shawlette patter from Stick Chick Knits, and a cuite cookie cutter to make gingerbread men with. I sense a need to bake coming on now.

New Spinning Toy!

I would have posted this earlier, but I was having too much fun playing with my new toy.

I got a Kromski spinning wheel!!!!!! Nuff said.

I have been wanting one for a while because I really liked the quality, and they have gotten alot of great reviews from some of the sites I have visited. However, I was having a hard time getting the money together, but I was more than suprised to recieve it for my annivessary gift. I think I really need to thank someone big time now.

I wasn't even scared when I saw the box sitting in the living room, and remembered my complete lack of skills at carpentry. The DVD that came with this beauty was a HUMONGOUS help though, and it took me about two hours to assemble my Kromski Minstrel.

It turned out beautifully too. I it a really sturdy and beautifully made wheel. True quality and fine craftsmanship here.

The oriface is taller than my Ashford Traditional, which required me to find a taller chair.

I'm still doing a happy dance all over the house.

Now I am off to spin some awesome yarn.

Your Demotivatior for now.

It's been a while since I have blooged, and I can't think of anything to post right now. So, have a DEmotivator in the meantime.

A Descent into Madness Part 2

As you can see from the above picture, I finally lit a fire under my own butt and started the Lyra Doily. I have found the first few rows to fly by quickly and they have been somewhat easy to work. However, as I progress further into the project, I am finding it a bit more difficult to work, and sometimes have to rely more heavily on the chart as I go instead of my memory and my ability to repeat the pattern of stitches from it.

I've still got a way to go, but I think it may all go smoothly. However, I may be wrong.

A Descent into Madness: Knitting Lyra.

About a month ago, I made an aquisition that gave me a bit of a headache and made me swoon, not to mention scared the S**t out of me. I managed throught the Lacis website to purchause the pattern for Herbert Neibling's "Lyra" tablecloth pattern.

I then did the really dumb thing of buying the yarn and needles before recieving the pattern and now I am comitted to it.

Frankly, I may have to take a leave of absence from work and check myself into an asylum to knit this one.

However, I am comitted, and I will knit this amazing pattern for my Christmas Pattern if it kills my Family (note I did not say me).

I may need to order a set of lace blocking wires though.

Anyhow, Wish me luck as I go insane slowly.

Allergy Season Claims Another Victim.

With my eyes watering so bad I can't focus, and sneezing fits even worse. (I sneezed so bad, I slammed my forehead on my steering wheel.) I am sad to say, that despite the crappy weather Washington State is stuck in, this allergy season has got to be the worst I have ever experienced.

My son is suffering throught it too, leaving us both to wonder when the trees will stop shedding pollen and take their painful grip off of us.

I hope it is soon too, because I am out of Claritin and the sneezing is getting worse.

Sock Yarn Club! June Shipment.

So today I got my first installment of the Hazel Knits Sock club, and I LOVE what I got.

My little guy was the first to spot the package when we got home, and he must have paced about carrying it for at least five minutes while I changed my clothes and got settled in from my long day at work. He was so funny while I opened the package, he was like a blue tissue paper tornado while helping me open my goodies.

Now, before you scroll down, I should warn you about the Spoiler ahead.

Your sure?

No, Really?

OK. But don't get miffed with me if you are hoping for a supirse later.

The shipmnet came with a cuite little knitting nitebook with Post It type labels and arrows to mark charts and instructions, and a beautiful skein of Green and An even prettier skein of blue yarn appropiately called Belle and Leaf.

Now the only problem I have is deciding what to knit with them.

Thanks Wendee! We both loved the shipment.

FatCatKnits......Yummy!

Today I got a package in the mail, and my son was all over the fibery goodness inside it. I raided the website at FatCatKnits.com and plan to shop there again soon. All the fibers were wonderfully colored, and so soft and fluffy, I can tell already that I am going to enjoy spinning them and knitting them into something wonderful.

By the way, if anyone needs a spokes model, hs is for hire.

WWKIPD!

Yes, yesterday was World Wide Knit in Public Day, and it was great. I met up with a group of ladies at Cafe Felice at the Landing in Renton, and ended up spending about three hours there just chatting and knitting. It was great fun to see what projects were being worked on and to meet new people.

i may have even found a fun knitting group to join.

Wild Fibers, Mt. Vernon

Well, with the promise of a Hazel Knits Trunk Show, I packed up my son and headed north to Wild Fibers in the cuite little town of Mt. Vernon. We enjoied the drive through Skagit Valley, sang along with the radio, and drank gas station coffee (I drank the road laxitive, not my son.)

When we got there, it was a bit of a bear to find a place to park, but we eventually found a spot a few blocks away, and we didn't mind because it gave us a chance to take in the town and all the really cool shops around Wild Fibers.

However, when we got to the shop, I was blown away by how nice everything was and how organized the entire shop was. Everything was neat and clean, and it was a really inviting place to just walk into. The staff was really friendly and made you feel like you could approach them with any question you had.

Needless to say, I ended up with three skeins of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock, including one skein of Wendee's newest colorway "Cherry Fizz". It was so bright and fun I could not pass it up. I even picked up a kit for the "Prickly" mitts designed by Melissa Goode (Stick Chick Knits), and can't wait to start them!

It was such a nice day, that I couldn't resist walking aroun downtown. You couldn't believe my suprise when i saw another LYS just down the road a bit from Wild Fibers. I didn't remail nong because the Store smelled bad inside, and is was so cramped it made me feel a bit clausterphobic after a while. I can't remember the name of the store, but I don't think I would go back there again.

Totals at This Point (Finally)

It's that time again. I have some totals in the distance knitting challenge I have set for myself. Happily, I have not added any more yarn to my stash, and at this point, have gone through a TON of yarn, and made some really great projects.

To this date, I have removed 6,632 meters of yarn. Leaving me at over half way to my goal for the year.

I have a few more projects lined up, so I will be doing more knitting, and remove more yarn from my stash.

Vacation Time: Part 4

I meant to post this blog about a couple of weeks ago, but between the cat getting sick. Fighting with my husband, laundry, and my Mom's car, I haven't had much time to do anything here.

Anyhow, I give you the rest of the California Trip:

We checked out of the Holiday Inn in Aenheim on Wednesday and set off to find a Bead store called Brea Beads. Sadly we used an online map site to get directions, and had a bear of a time trying to find the location of the store. We did eventually find it though, and I bought a few fun treasures.

We then set out for The Universal Sheraton, and arrived early for check in, but were allowed to anyways.

Hungry, we found this themed resturant at the City Walk and stopped to explore everything that was there.

We couldn't resist this huge sweet store, and I ended up leaving with several pounds of candy which I am still eating at this time. Good thing I got some toothbrushes to take care of all that sugar.

We looked around a bit more, and then made our way back to the Hotel to rest up for our visit to Universal Studios the next day. Little Nick could not wait to meet his Uncle Rob either.

On Friday we got up early again and bought our tickets for Universal Studios. We had to wait a bit, but we were all excited to see all the stuff at Universal Studios.

Uncle Rob was happy to see all of us again, and her even got hugs from little Nick.

Uncle Rob however, decided to try and feed some of the local wildlife.

On the Studio Tour, we saw a big mess, and hoped the Homeowner's Insurance was paid up on these houses.

I then caught Nick hanging out with some shady characters.

The end of the day came quickly, and we ended up eating out with Rob and Lynne at PF Changs a few miles from the hotel, and had a great time that night.

Friday, we went to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles and saw many interesting exhibits, and got close up with some really rare stones from all around the world.

For dinner that night, we ended up eating at the CityWalk again at the Hard Rock Cafe, where I paid shockingly twenty six dollars for two beers. I got to keep the glasses though.

Saturday we set out for home, and made it to Redding, where we stayed at the same hotel we slept at on the way down, and set off again Sunday morning for home. Unfortunately for us, the car broke down twenty miles from the Washington border and we had to call in cavalary. We got the car towed back to the dealership and my husband had to drive down and get us that night from Oregon. I was so happy at that time to just be back home. After fighting traffic, and being told how to drive a car for a week, I was just happy to sleep in my own bed.

Vacation Time: Part 3

Last night I was going to post this blog, but when we got back from our day at Disneyland, our hotel did not have power and I didn't have internet access. When we woke up this morning though, the power was back on and we were able to get a nice shower because we were sticky from our day of fun, and a nice breakfast.

Day 1:

We started out the day with a nice breakfast, I went for the fruit platter and Nick was suprised with Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes. I guess now I am going to have to practice making these pancakes.

We boarded the shuttle and arrived at the park by ten a.m. and started out our day on main street. Before passing through Sleeping Beauty's castle, Nick got his first glimpse of the man that made it all happen, and the mouse that made him memorable.I don't know who was more excited, Mom or Nick.

After riding The Scary Adventures of Snow White, and Peter Pan's Flight, we had to stop before the Teacups and get Nick a set of Mickey Mouse Ears.

They even Embroidered them for him to make sure he would always remember this trip.

After the Teacups I had to have a bit of fun on my level, so I went off and rode the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Mom and Nick went off and rode the Alice in Wonderland ride. Unfortunately for them, the ride broke down with them in it and they had to wait to be let off. And they thought they were going to have to wait for me.

Of course, we had to ride The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, and another Disneyland staple, It's a Small World. And as I type this I am still trying to get that song out of my head. (Didn't I say I wanted to avoid that ride?)

With all that said and done, Mom decided that she couldn't hold out much more and went back to the hotel at around five in the evening, but Nick did not want to leave. Mom took the shuttle back to the hotel, and Nick and I hung out for the parade, and did a bit of shopping.

Day 2:

We started out the day with some of the rides we did not ride yesterday, and we were ready to go this day.

We got smart though, and figured out the Disneyland Railway station. The best way to get around that really huge park. We started out with some shopping, and worked our wat through Tommorowland, I even got Nick on his first rollercoaster with Space Mountain. Nick though, couldn't last as long as he did yesterday and after several rides, he got too tired and went back to the hotel at about three in the afternoon.

That left me some time to have a bit more fun on my level.

I wandered over to the California Adventure area and found the Tower of Terror and rode that up and down and back up again. I then weno on California Screamin, which was a blast too! I didn't have much time, becaue the lines for those two rides were pretty long, and they were closing the park on that side, I decided that it was time for me to get back to the hotel too, and that night we sat around watching Shreck and eating Chinese Food.

Vacation Time: Part 2

Well, here I am again, however this time I am typing less than a mile from the Disneyland theme park. My little boy is so would up that I am afraid that he is going to start bouncing off the walls any minute.

We got another early start, and were eager to get on the road. However, Nick decided that he needed to tidy up the room before we left. I told him it was OK, and we loaded the trun up and headed off toward Sacramento.

A little bit after leaving, Mom said that she was really hungry and we stopped at Jack in the Box for fruit smoothies, and a breakfast sandwich. Nick loves his fruit smoothies.

At lunch we stopped at a fun resturant called Andersen's Pea Soup Resturant. Don't worry though, there was more than pea soup to eat. We ate so much we thought we were going to need a nap before we started out again. We were happy to eat that much though. It lasted us until we arrived in Aeniheim.

Tommorow we will be visiting Disneyland and there will be a longer blog then, but tonight I am very tired and need to get some sleep for tommorow.

Vacation Time: Part 1

Today we started off on our vacation to California, and jeez did we start out early. We left my Mom's place in Spanaway at about six in the morning.

We passed this really cool bridge at about seven in the morning just north of Olympia while the rain fell on us until about Salem. We then found that the clouds were breaking up and we had sunny skies all the way to our first stop in Redding.

We stopped at the Country Cousin Family Resturant in Centralia a short time later and found that the eggs were really that fresh as they advertised. I just hope this little bird did not become someone's lunch later. Just south of Salem, Oregon we stopped and ate some snacks. We all used the bathroom and I ended up driving the car the rest of the way, at least until I was too tired to continue. Then Mom took over and drove the rest of the way to Redding, California.

Before We left the rest stop though, I managed to snap a picture of this pretty Iris.

Just after we crossed into Northern California, I looked back and saw little Nick asleep and got a chuckle about the way hes was sleeping. It wasn't much longer that we ended up stopping at the Ramada Inn in Redding, California.

Tommorow night's update will be from Aneheim, California. If we can make it without falling aslle alongside the road somewhere.