Wow, I'm just a few days short of the 1 year mark of not posting.  That's sad.  But here's the good news!  I'm back and posting.....just at a new address.

See my new blog here.  Make sure to bookmark the new site as this will be my last post on this site.

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I know, I know, I've been gone WAY too long!  Thanks for being patient and hanging around, I do appreciate it.

So with the holidays and a birth and visits and trying to knit for everyone and their sister/brother I thought I'd catch you up on what my season has been about.

My DD and her boyfriend came to visit for Christmas, YAY!  I HAD to take them to some of the best eateries in town that they don't have up North like Mellow Mushroom and the OK Cafe (yum!).  Then I topped it off with a Coca-Cola Ham for Christmas dinner.  I love adding a few pounds on her with loving cooking LOL  She appreciates it but not the workouts she has to do when she goes home.

Now to balance out those calories we went to the Georgia Aquarium and walked/gawked thru all the wonders.

And what truly makes the holiday special?  Why family and friends of course!  DD got to meet BFF Jill...looks like they hit it off, don't you think?

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We had lunch with some of the Snarkys and it was a blast with great food and lots of laughs!

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And if you think I've forgotten to post my knitting accomplishments, think again.  Here are a few things I've finished (or am close to finishing) for the season.

Here's BFF Jill in her Baby Bolero from One Skein Projects.  I also made a Basketweave Blanket for her that I just need to bind off.

And DD wanted something in her sorority colors so I made her my first hat.  And what's the good of having a warm head if your feet are cold?  I made her these worsted Horcrux socks that she just raves over.

I'm pretty pleased with the socks because it's my first stab at the Eye of Partridge heel and I'm tickled with how elegant and sturdy it is.


I have a few other things on the needles near completion but  you'll have to wait to see those.  Gotta keep you coming back somehow, right? :-)

Hope your Holidays were wonderful!

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So, it's been over a month and I've been busy.  I went back home to visit family and friends.  Although it was a working vacation I still packed in a lot of fun....and trips to the LYS.

First, see this guy?

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No he's not a PROFESSIONAL chef, but he should be!  Chris is in his element, happy to be cooking up some yumminess in honor of my visit.  I'm so coveting the recipe to the chili he made...it had chocolate in it! :-)

Not only was dinner delish but then he had setup the infamous "Tiki Bar".  I forgot (or was too smashed) to take a picture of the Tahitian Barbie that sits in a martini glass LOL

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He built the Tiki Bar with his own hands (and machines).  It has a fridge, a collapsible top (for easy garage storage) and a kicking sound system to pump out the tunes.  Wish I was closer so I could inherit Tiki Bar v1.0 when he moves and makes his upgraded v2.0 model.

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Above is my friend John.  He and Quinton started up their own consulting firm a few years back and I just got to see the office.  Yes, the bar is in the office.  And across from the bar is this:

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Eight theater chairs and a big flat screen tv.  They actually do get work done in this relaxed environment.  I think I wanna work for my friends :-)

These two beautiful girls are my daughter and my best friend's daughter. 

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When I can still remember Ally being a little stinker in diapers it amazes me how fast time passes by.

I even taught a couple of friends the basics of knitting.  I took Rachel with me to Threadbear and showed her all the fabulous fibers that are available to knit with.  She totally "got" it.  With the gifting of yarn/needles and pointing her in the direction of some helpful websites she did this:

RachFirstHat

This is less than a week after casting on!  I know there is a really cute baby underneath but I just think the hat is gorgeous and I hope she feels proud of her first FO of many to come.

Of course I did my fair share of damage in stash enhancement.  My latest discovery that I just love is GGH Tara.  It's a cotton blend that feels soooo soft and knits up just beautifully.  I'm making some baby items for a friend so I'll have to reserve the pics for later.

After 30 days up north I headed south to here:

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This is where I stayed with my friends to attend SAFF.  What is SAFF?  The Southeastern Animal and Fiber Festival or what knitters may call Fiber Heaven :-)  If you have a fiber festival near you, get there!

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How exciting is it to meet a best selling author?  Quite!  And when it's the Yarn Harlot I was just over the moon!  For you non-knitter friends out there I know you have a fantastic sense of humor and you really need to read Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  Reading her first book there were several occasions of beverage explosion from my lips with the accompanying coughing, gasping, laughing to tears.  Her next was just as good.  DH would wake with me shaking the bed laughing my head off.

We were blessed with an event here in the ATL hosted by my favorite LYS Knitch. Kim, the owner, was gracious, calm and organized.  To get approximately 700 knitters into and out-of the neighborhood with nary a stabbing with our pointy little sticks is an accomplishment I'd say.  Well knitters are well behaved on the whole but this was like a rock concert. 

We Snarkies got there early, had leisurely lunches and then got into the Knitch Zen corner for some knitting.

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I eventually made my way over to the Dark Horse Tavern to meet up with Claudia, Regan, Melissa, Fatima, Doug, Lou and others that I know their names are escaping me at the mo.  Had a yummy stout, knitted, laughed and got ready to stand in line.

So what do you do when you're waiting on line to get into the theater?  Why knit on your sock of course!

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I apologize for the pic quality, there's only so much my cell phone can handle.  This was AmyN by the Starbucks sign while we waited for the doors to open.

A couple of badly lighted pics of the crowded line in the store.  This line continued out the door, down the street and around the corner.  I would of paid money to see the faces of passersby wondering what we were in line for and then noticing that we ALL were knitting on the street.

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Me finally cozy in my 2nd row seat.  That's the beginning of Impressionist Sock.  I felt inspired by the event, truly, and began plotting my own path with the sock.  Hopefully the design in my head will come to beautiful fruition.

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Ok, so you're probably saying "What's up with the blog, lady?"  Well, sometimes life happens to ya and things get out of hand and posting is just one more thing on a busy schedule.  I try not to do many things motivated by guilt so even my dear friends couldn't get me to update.  But there's been so much piling up I have to catch up or it'll never get done.

So here's what I've been working on since we last met.

Baby Hat

There as been a baby boom amongst family and friends lately.  And I mean a BOOM, okay?  Well for a niece in NM I made this little trio of items.  The hat was cute, and the kimono was adorable, BUT

Baby Kimono 1

the booties...are the cutest thing EVAH!  The pattern is from Saartje Knits (the pattern is free) and they are incredibly fast to knit.  The temptation is just to do dozens of them to keep on hand for quick gifts.

Saartje Booties 2

My enabling knitting friends took me on an innocent little trip to a fabric shop to just get ONE fat-quarter to make a lining for my purse.  It's been eons since I've stepped into a fabric shop and boy have things changed!!!  I drooled and fondled and picked up some yummy fabrics.  AmyN then did me a huge favor and stitched together this sock pouch from a couple of my choices.

Isn't it loverly?  The Snarkies (the knit gang) are into quilting ya see...and they totally enjoyed getting me hooked on fabrics.

Ok, back to baby stuff.  So my daughter-in-law is expecting in April and she really wants a baby blanket but I just can't do another diagonal...nooooooo.  Instead I'm doing a Baby Bobbi Bear.

Baby bobbi 1

I need to finish his arms and ears then give him some eyes and a nose and he'll be the cutest bear around.

And as if all this wasn't enough I got this idea that I wanted to design a sock.  Yep, I'm dipping my toes into designing.  It was all inspired by some beautiful Koigu Katey & Laurie got me in Charleston.  It is my all time favorite colorway.  Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

Sock design 1

It reminds me of impressionist paintings.  The pic doesn't quite do it justice.  If my pattern is successful and not horrific I'll be posting it for free.

Now the piece-de-resistance.  Katey has designed this incredible bag.  Hers is pink & green and is the large version.  I'm only 5'2" and the large version looks like I'm carrying my mom's bag, so I made the smaller version.

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I still need to line it (remember, the fabric store trip?) but I couldn't resist using it already.  It neatly holds 3 small projects, my knit-kit and my wallet with plenty of room for other stuff.  It's called The Luckiest and I do feel pretty lucky to have a clever designing friend.

Ok, that's it.  I'll do better at keeping things up around here.

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So my enabler friend Katey sends me an email today.....it has a link to the largest stash I've ever seen!  Not only are the pictures of the stash lovely to look at (drool over) but within the comments are wonderful supportive statements from the DH & DIL of the Stash Owner.  You've gotta check it out....it gives me something to aspire to even if it's by half.

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So I've been lax in updating....stop throwing those tomatoes at me!  I've been knitting, frogging, tinking, spinning and hopefully sometime today Andean plying.  Pics are coming of either my success or failure.  But in the meantime I found this little test that I just had to take.  My Results are:

   

       
       
   

   

        What Kind of Knitter Are You?
   

   

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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so I've been lax in posting ALL the many things going on but I promise to catch up with everyone shortly.  But a big, wonderful, geeky thing happened this morning that I couldn't wait to talk about....I'm on Ravelry!!!!  Wheeeeee!!!!

For those that don't know, Ravelry is the hottest thing going in the knit/crochet world.  I wish them much success, but I don't think they need my wishes being folks are clamoring to get on board.  If you sign up (free) PLEASE remember they are still in beta test mode and BE PATIENT.  It's free, they are working hard and fast to give us all this valuable tool, the least we can do as a community is be patient and supportive.

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DH is pleased with his new socks.  Even though it's warm and these babies are meant for the winter months, he's wearing them now and won't take them off.

See?

Please ignore the big gaping hole in the heel.  I'm still perfecting how to pickup those stitches and not leave a hole that's as big as the Grand Canyon.

Thuja was quick and fun to knit.  The pattern is so simple that I can just do it by memory from now on.  Now let's see what else I can finish.....or start :-)

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So, I have a cold.  I thought I was beating it, but it beat me up instead.  I started taking various cold meds so I could breathe and thought I'd just settle down and knit my cold away.  Bad idea.  My poor DH's Thuja sock has so many errors in it it's pathetic.  But what to do when my hands are itching to create?  Ahhhh, polyclay to the rescue!

I dug out my pasta machine, my old clay and a tin which became......my knitting tools box!

Beautimous, right?  It's got some bumps here and there but I'm pretty pleased with it.  I've got about 6 more tins laying around so that should get me past my cold meds and back to knitting.  I think I'll open an Etsy shop and try to sell the excess boxes LOL

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