Gretchen Stitches

My favorite holiday!

2009-04-05T19:02:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow marks the day of my favorite day of the whole entire year: Baseball Opening Day! I have my tickets for my favorite team, the Minnesota Twins, and will be having breakfast (hot dogs and coffee) on the Metrodome plaza. I hope to attend a rally at the IDS building at noon, also. I can hardly contain my excitement!!! :)

GO TWINS!

Just things

2009-03-29T22:37:00.005-05:00

Since I haven't blogged for so long, I didn't know where to start. I thought I would show a couple of pictures to show what I have been up to on my time away from blogging...

I finished my T-Shirt bag and gave it to the recipient. It was really fun to knit, and a great way to recycle old T-shirts...

And I have been traveling. I went on two trips to the same place in a month's time!

E and I went to NYC at the end of January and joined his Dad and Step-Mom there. I will post more pictures soon. I went back to NYC a month later as a chaperone on a field trip for an all girls' High School choir. It was a lot of fun, but completely exhausting!

Can I do it?

2009-03-22T10:06:00.001-05:00

Can I get back to posting more regularly? I hope so! Here is my attempt to get back into blogging!

Life is good...

2008-10-11T23:07:00.004-05:00

I have successfully completed my first week at my new job, and I have to say, LIFE IS GOOD! I haven't felt like this in some time, and it feels good...

New Beginnings

2008-10-03T08:23:00.003-05:00

I start a new job on Monday, and I am really looking forward to it. The job that I was at was completely sucking the soul right out of my body. I am very much looking forward to the change, the new beginning. I am also looking at this time as a new beginning for other parts of my life. This hopefully will include my blog...

Stay tuned...

He's probably right...

2008-08-12T21:01:00.001-05:00

My husband just asked me when the last time I updated my blog. I told him that it has been awhile and he replied "Just think of all of the people that you are letting down..." Sorry to all 3 of you that have been let down...

The start of something good!

2008-06-23T13:15:00.005-05:00

Soon we shall have raspberries!

Out on a limb...

2008-06-23T13:01:00.006-05:00

The babies are growing so fast. I have been wanting to update on their growth, but time hasn't been on my side lately. I have also been dealing with "fuzzy" pictures, but after purchasing a small tripod, I took some really good pictures. Enjoy!

And a picture of mom, sitting on a branch...

Update on the birdwatching (my newest obsession)

2008-06-16T09:49:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are following this story, I thought I would give you an update. The chicks are now starting to lose their down, and they are turning from white to light brown. They have been standing alot and flapping their wings at the side of the nest, so I bet it won't be long before they are flying!

I have a friend who volunteers with the Raptor Center at the U of MN. She came over this weekend and got some good pictures of the birds and the nest. If she emails any of the pictures to me, I will make sure to post them on here.

On a side note, I saw one of the tree guys in the grocery store the next day, and he was very concerned for the birds. I told him they were doing fine in our tree and the parents had come to our nest. He told me that when they took the branch down, they were just about to put it into the chipper when they noticed the babies in the nest! Thank goodness he was concerned enough about them to yell stop. (To tell you the truth, I think he was the only one that was concerned in the crew that was working on the tree removal.) He said that the owner of the tree wanted it gone because it was "messy". I am sure that our neighbor knew that there was a nest in the tree. He may not have known about the babies, but he should have taken some precautions to relocate the nest. I am going to do some investigating...

My good deed for the day (or possibly the next couple of weeks)

2008-06-10T20:38:00.011-05:00

I had called in sick to work today due to an upset stomach overnight. I debated whether I should or not, and now I am so glad that I stayed home. I think I just may have saved some lives today.

Our neighbor has a HUGE tree (probably about 130 years old) behind their house and it was so big that it practically covered half of our yard. I had noticed this past winter that there was a hawk living in it and had built a nest. I watched the hawk fly around many times as I took my dog out. I saw the hawk this past weekend in the tree and took its picture. It isn't a great picture, but you can see how neat he is.

So, today, on my sick day, I took my dog outside and noticed that the HUGE tree was being cut down. My first thought was the nest! (I get kind of nutso when it comes to birds...) I went in and asked my husband (who happened to be working from home) to come outside to see what was going on. I voiced my concern to him about the nest, and we went over to talk to the guys who were working on cutting down the tree.

The guys were nice and were explaining their tree removal process when I asked if they knew there was a nest in the tree. They said that they had found the nest and that there were 4 babies inside. They had taken them out of the nest, threw the nest away and laid the birds on the grass away from where they were working. I looked at the birds, saw that they were ok, but it still didn't sit right with me. When E and I returned home, I asked him about what I should do, and he suggested that I should call The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. Having taken my Summer Camp kids on field trips there, that was already on my mind.

I called them and spoke to their receptionist who was very concerned about the situation. I gave her some information and then she said she would call me back. After a few phone calls later, I talked to their Clinic manager, Lori, who said that she wanted to come out and see the birds. She explained that this was a dangerous situation for the birds, and that she had put a call into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department to see about the legality of this situation also.

When she arrived, I took her back over to our neighbor's and let her see the birds for the first time.

She explained to the guys that these birds are protected by the state and federally, and are never to be handled unless you are qualified. One of the guys said that he thought that if he just left the babies on the grass the mom would come back for them. Lori said that that was very unlikely, since hawks never go toward the ground. It is too dangerous for them to be near or on the ground.

After Lori had seen the babies, she called a tree guy that the Raptor Center works with. She asked if they could relocate the babies to one of our trees, which is what E and I were going to suggest anyway. The tree guy said he would come out, and in the mean time, Lori and I started to make a man-made nest.

When the tree guy arrived, he went over and got the babies and put them in a box until we were ready with the new nest.

The tree guy then climbed the tree and started to make a base for our nest. Once we had the nest ready, he put it in. Then it was time for the babies to go on to their new home.

And now they are in their new home, in a nest made by those who care about them very much, in a tree that is in OUR yard!

The mom and the dad have been circling the tree quite a bit, but they have not yet gone into this new nest. The tree removal guys were still working on the HUGE tree until 8:45 pm, so I am thinking that the mom and the dad were waiting for them to leave. I HOPE they will go and find the babies in their new nest. Time will tell if they go back for the babies, but with the way they have been circling, I am thinking that they eventually will.

VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! 6/11/08!

Mom (I am assuming it is Mom) is on the nest as of 6:45 am today. What a happy ending!

How I love the Farmer's Market!

2008-06-05T10:04:00.003-05:00

This morning, I decided to park the car when dropping E off downtown. He had to go to work, and I got to walk around Nicollet Mall. Thursdays in the summer on Nicollet Mall are my favorite because that is Farmer's Market day. I have had such a busy few weeks, that I thought I would take a little time this morning before heading to work to pick up some flowers and fruit. Here are the flowers that I bought and put on my desk immediately!

Aren't they awesome! (Gerbers are my favorite summer flower...)

Swap!

2008-05-20T21:42:00.004-05:00

I received a lovely package in the mail the other day. It was from Christy who had my name in the Spring Fling Coffee and Knitting Swap. Here is a pic of what I got:

I can't wait to make the scones. They are cocoa chocolate chip, so I am sure that they will be good! Thanks Christy!

A bit Looney!

2008-05-19T15:17:00.004-05:00

I have a new favorite addiction: Watching the LOON CAM! A man in Northern Minnesota has offered his lake bank the last few years to Loons who are nesting. This year, the loons came back, and you can watch them live here. Just click on the loon cam picture. You can also read the Loon tales to follow their day to day behavior. I put it on my computer at work and leave it up while I do tasks at my desk. It is exciting when you see the loons taking turns on the nest and sneaking peeks at the eggs. The eggs will (hopefully) hatch in the next 3 or so weeks, so tune in and wait!

Sheesh!

2008-05-09T13:55:00.002-05:00

So, it has been one month since my last blog post.

I feel like I have been on a roller coaster this past month, with my lows being really low and my highs being, well, low. I am now getting my feet back on the ground and I will be a better blogger. I promise!

Getting caught up

2008-04-09T12:50:00.006-05:00

So I have finally found the time to upload some of the pictures that have been on my camera. Here are some of the things I wanted to show you:

My favorite holiday: The Minnesota Twins home opener! We played the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I know, a very ridiculous name), and we won!

Pat Neshek (aka "my guy") had a super game. He is a relief pitcher, and only usually gets to pitch for an inning. Here he is getting ready to strike out the batter for STRIKE 3!

Haha, funny joke Mother Nature!: When we got home from the game (which was the day before April Fool's Day) we had to shovel the driveway to get the car in. I took some pictures the next morning.

Even though I wasn't extremely thrilled with the snow, it was quite beautiful...

So many things to update!

2008-04-04T17:54:00.005-05:00

So I have been a little silent lately, and I apologize. My life has been a little busy lately, and we have been trying to do some work around the house. I was going to post a bunch of pictures today, but I think I may have left my camera at work, at least I HOPE I left my camera at work. I have pictures of our little pile of snow that used to be our Easter snowman, a really mean trick that Mother Nature pulled on us the day before April Fool's, and my celebration of the the High Holy Holiday, the Minnesota Twins home opener! But I guess those pictures will have to wait.

I can add to this post that one of the requirements of the swap that I am in right now is to take in my blog about another swap member's blog that I found something that we have in common. I guess it would have to be the person that I will be sending a package to, Ponyknits. She posts that she was in a Red Sox Swap, which intrigued me. Since baseball is my religion, I thought her post about that was neat-o!

On my knitting needles at the current time are coffee cup cozies that I knit, felt and sell at knotnbauble.com, and a baby blanket that I just can't seem to finish!

It's Spring?

2008-03-25T14:33:00.002-05:00

So the calendar says that it is Spring, but the weather says something else. Here is what E and I did on Easter this year after our annual trip to the Nye's Easter Brunch...

Springtime Knitters Coffee Swap!

2008-03-20T14:51:00.002-05:00

Well, I am in another knitting coffee swap, and I must fill out this questionnaire. This will be helpful for my swap partner, but if you aren't my swap partner, and don't really care, just skip this post!

Coffee
1. What is your preference? Whole beans or ground?I like a medium to dark roast, usually the darker the better. Either whole bean or ground is fine. (I do own a grinder.)

2. What kind of coffees do you enjoy?A rich, bold roast; a light, fresh one, or something in between? Leaded or non? Most definitely leaded, with a rich, bold taste.

3. If you were headed out right now to buy some coffee for the house, what would you be picking up? Whole bean, dark or French roast.

4. Do you drink for caffeine, pleasure, or both? Usually for pleasure, as caffeine does not really do anything to me.

5. Do you enjoy flavored coffees? How about add-ins or flavored creamers? I do enjoy the flavored coffees, but not so much the add-ins or flavored creamers.

6. A large, lovely mug or a small, dainty cup? Give me a substantial mug.

7. Describe your perfect cup - not JUST the coffee, but how you'd enjoy it! Room for sugar, no cream.

8. You're sitting down to enjoy a nice cup in the local coffee shop, knitting bag in hand, iPod all tuned up - or maybe you're there with a few friends for knit night! What treat do you pick up to enjoy with your coffee? A sweet, rich brownie, or something more healthy? How about a salty treat? What goes best with that great cup and company? Usually chocolatey goodness goes with my coffee in this situation, but I do enjoy a dunking cookie.

Yarn
1. Do you knit or crochet? I knit.

2. What are your favorite types of yarns to work with? Most of the time wools, but am open to cottons and wool blends.

3. What do you have on the needles (or hook!) right now? A baby blanket that was supposed to be done in February, coffee cup cuffs and wine cozies to felt.

4. What are your favorite colors in yarns? What about those that you'd never find in your stash? Usually earth tones. I am not such a fan of pastels and bright pinks and purples.

5. What sort of needles or hooks do you enjoy using? Any you just detest? I like bamboo needles, and try to avoid working with metal needles when I can.

6. Are there any particular notions you absolute do NOT need? Some of us swap a lot - are you sure that you have enough tape measures to last your lifetime? Enough stitch markers to mark every stitch of a 10 foot wide afghan? I don't feel like there are any notions that I have too many of.

7. You walk into the yarn shop and have exactly and only enough money to purchase 2 skeins of yarn in their 2 for 20 special they have going. The choices are a soft, thick cotton/viscose blend in your favorite colors, slightly variegated..a beautiful sock yarn that's just squishy and sproingy in your hands.. a soft, worsted weight wool like malabrigo.. and a lovely bamboo blend with colors to just die for. Which do you walk out the door with? I would take a skein of the malabrigo and one of the bamboo.

Spring
1. We're starting sign-ups on the first day of Spring - is it already truly Spring-like where you are? No, but I am so ready for it. Here in MN, we are hearing a prediction of 3-6 inches of snow for the first day of spring.

2. What's your favorite spring flower? Do you have one? Tulips

3. What do you most look forward to about springtime? Baseball season! Also warmer weather so I can start wearing capris.

4. They've predicted a gorgeous day tomorrow - Sunny and about 65 with a nice breeze - how do you spend your day? Trying to be outside, talking my dog for a walk and finding a nice cafe that has outdoor seating.

5. The day after, it's going to be cooler and pouring down rain - does that impact your mood? How do you spend that day? what helps cheer you up? Doesn't really alter my mood, unless it is continuous days of rain. I would try to use that time organizing and cleaning my house, and then catching up on my Tivo.

Odds n Ends
1. Do you collect anything BESIDES yarn and needles? Snowmen

2. Are you allergic to anything? Not that I know of

3. Do you have pets? Yes, one lovable dog!

4. Is this your first swap, or are you an old pro? What are the last 2 swaps you participated in?I have been in a couple of others. Ironically the last 2 were coffee swaps.

5. List 3 of your favorite blogs - craft related or not - and tell us why you love them. "Oh, it's THOSE girls" MN Twins baseball blog (absolutely hilarious), Pumpkin Girl's blog (local crafter) and Slashfood (interesting blog about food)

Happy Bunny Cupcakes!

2008-03-18T16:14:00.002-05:00

I recently went to an Easter egg dyeing party and decided I would contribute these cute cupcakes to the party. I found the recipe on BettyCrocker.com

She's a winner!

2008-03-18T16:09:00.003-05:00

I can't tell you how excited I was to find out that my good friend Kathy had the winning bid for the peacock scarf I knit!

Peacock scarf

2008-02-27T16:49:00.002-06:00

The school that I work at has a fundraiser/auction every year in March. It is quite the "to-do" with people in attendance dressing in very fancy clothes and spending oodles of money. This year, I decided that I would donate something to the live auction. (Actually, I bought the yarn, knit the scarf, and then decided I didn't really like the colors. The yarn was expensive Malabrigo hand painted wool, so I hated to part with it. I decided to do something good with it instead.)

At the school that I work at, there is an order of Nuns that raise peacocks. Since the colors in the yarn were teal, aqua and gold, I thought that I would call it the peacock scarf and donate it to the silent auction.

Bottle of red, bottle of white

2008-02-10T22:01:00.000-06:00

So my friends Becky, Niki and Erin and I get together about once a month for a good ol' happy hour. We go way back (we were all gophers) and so we have been doing this quite a while. Not too long ago, we decided that instead of having a happy hour, we should find somewhere to do a wine tasting. Niki found a wine tasting class through her Community Ed program, and booked us.

The class was held at a wine shop called "Wine Styles" in Champlin. It was a great wine shop with a lot of selection and well organized. We tasted a bubbly one that was almond flavored (YUM!) and a couple of reds and whites. I am not a huge wine drinker, but it was a lot of fun. The last wine that we tasted was a dessert wine called "Chocolate Amore". I wasn't too sure about it, but after taking a sip, I was hooked! It tasted like a liquid Tootsie Roll. It was pretty good.

It was a nice diversion from our regular Happy Hour. Unfortunately, Erin was sick and wasn't able to join us. (Niki's Step-mom was a fabulous step in for the ailing Erin.) Here is a picture of Niki and Becky toasting to Erin's health! Get well, Erin, we will catch you next month!

I think I am finally ready to talk about it...

2008-02-08T21:11:00.000-06:00

Last week, a trade was made. It was a trade that made me so upset, that yes, I had tears in my eyes. I felt betrayed and angry. I felt as though there was no hope for the future.

Now time has passed, and I feel a little better. So maybe this year will be a year of rebuilding. I will stand by my guys. I will still yell at the top of my lungs. I will still buy the ticket.

It still stings a bit though...

Oh my!

2008-01-28T14:07:00.001-06:00

So, I was a big fan way back when, but when I saw this, I thought, maybe they should just leave a good thing alone...

Cupcakes!

2008-01-26T10:54:00.000-06:00

Over the Christmas break, I had a woman who runs a candy making business out of her home called Sweet Wishes, come and teach the kids in the Extended Day program that I coordinate about cupcake decorating. I had her come in last school year during our Spring Break to show us how to make candy. Judy, the woman behind Sweet Wishes, is fantastic! She really knows her "stuff" and engages the kids totally into what they are about to do. And, the best part, she brings everything with her, so you don't have to go out and purchase supplies! (If you have kids, I recommend her for birthday or school parties.)

On the day she came in, we were able to decorate 4 different cupcakes. I even got into the action! Here is my favorite of the 4, a ladybug...

Isn't it cute? I was pretty proud of it! Here are the others...

There is a tie-dyed cupcake, the lady bug, a teddy bear's picnic cupcake and worms in dirt. So much fun!

I think she had something to do with it!

2008-01-17T06:53:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago, E and I were "up North" at our favorite B & B, Woodland Trails. It just happened to be my birthday, so we went out for dinner at a steakhouse in Siren, WI, that we go to when we are at Woodland Trails. We were early getting into Siren, so we decided to shop a little. We stopped at a store that was next door to an antique shop that we had been to before. When we visited the antique shop before, it was the dirtiest, smelliest antique shop we had ever been to. In fact E, with his allergies, walked out sneezing.

E decided he was just going to "peek his head" into the antique shop, and I warned him about the sneezing fit he could acquire while we visited. But, this time, the shop was clean, neat, wasn't smelly, and you could actually walk through the aisles! We mentioned how much we were impressed to the shop owner, and she said that she requires all of her sellers to wash their items. Then, she pointed to one area of the store, and said that the seller in that area has a hard time washing his stuff, but he was getting better. I looked over, and I couldn't believe my eyes! Not because everything was clean, but because there happened to be a blue cracked glass pitcher that matches a set of tumblers that were my grandparent's.

When my Grandma passed away last year, I asked for those tumblers, as I had always loved them when I was a kid. I didn't really want anything else, and I was lucky enough to get them.
(I did acquire a few hundred knitting needles, also, which is not a bad thing either!)

Sometimes, I think there are little signs from my Grandma, and I really think this might have been one of them. Especially since it was my birthday, I really do believe this.

His name was Barry, he gave us glowsticks...

2008-01-13T17:23:00.000-06:00

So, about 2 months ago, on our commute into work, E and I heard that Barry Manilow was coming to town. We were impressed when we heard that Barry wanted to reach a wider audience, and was offering tickets at a price of $7.99. I told E that secretly I have always wanted to see Barry Manilow in concert. After hearing this, I think he was a little surprised, but said to me, "if you can get tickets, I would entertain the thought of going with you." I am not really sure if he was serious, but, I ended up getting tickets and E was a good sport for going along with my closeted dream.

So Friday night came, and we ventured out to the Xcel Energy Center, a building that was made mostly for Wild hockey, but has surprisingly excellent acoustics for concerts. (In fact it was in that very building that E and met at a Barenaked Ladies concert.)

When we arrived, we waited for the elevator with 3 other people that happened to be about our age. That was refreshing, as I had a thought that we may be the youngest people in the entire building. When we were in the corridors, it was amazing to see many women, mostly in their 50's+, dressed in tight fitting, low cut dresses with big huge hair. E and I decided that the name for these women had to be "Mani-hos".

We went to our seats, and we were in the front row of the top deck. I thought they were going to be good seats, but we literally had to climb down the side of a cliff to get to the front row. I am not really good with heights, so this was a bit unnerving.

There was one open seat between me and the next group of "Fanilows", and so I thought that the seat would remain empty. No one comes to a Barry Manilow concert alone, do they? I was wrong. In walked a lady, probably in her 40's, ready to rock with Barry. (E leaned over to me and said, "Aw, she came to the concert Man-alone." ) Good one!

The usher climbed down the cliff to our row before the show began and started passing out individually wrapped yellow sticks that had "Manilow: Music and Passion" printed on them. If you cracked the stick in your hand, they glowed a fluorescent green. I am pretty sure the "Fanilows" were probably going nuts for their "Maniglow" sticks. It was kind of neat to see them all on the main level from our seats. E cracked his Maniglow stick in his hand and it lit up very brightly. He said, "There we Manigo". :)

All in all, the concert was good, but Barry brought a bit of cheese with him. He joked how he was Prince, and then said that he was kidding because he had a bigger nose. He called himself a "sex god", talked about drugs in the 60's while smoking a fake joint but then said the only drug he does is Lipitor, and few others that were seriously cheesy.

Even at 64 years of age, his voice still sounded good, and he was moving around alright, even after hip surgeries. My favorite part had to be when he ended up doing a duet of "Mandy" with himself, while they put up footage of his Midnight Special concert from 1975. That was actually pretty cool.

All in all, it was fun, and now I can say that I have seen Barry Manilow in concert. I know that most people my age would laugh at me for wanting to see him. Being that I was raised on many different kinds of music, I am ok with saying, I am a fan. Maybe not a Fanilow, but at least a fan...

Happy 2008!

2008-01-01T13:48:00.000-06:00

Well, another year has come and gone, and I am actually happy to say that I am glad to see it go. It has been a really hard year. With the loss of my dear Grandmother and dealing with some infertility issues, I can say that I am truly looking forward to 2008.

My resolution for myself this year is to be a better budgeter. My personal finances are finally getting to where I want them to be, so I have some ideas to become better at planning a budget! Also, I would like to possibly open my own Etsy store, and with that I want to manage my crafting time more wisely (instead of leaving it all to a 2 month period and freaking out!). I have some of my stuff on Knot and Bauble but I think I am ready to expand.

E and I have decided to make a resolution together, also. We are planning on making a "menu for the week" for dinners together and sticking to it. We see this as a way to save money and calories! One of our favorite things to do recently is to go to Trader Joe's on Sunday mornings. We figure if we sitck to that routine, we can shop for the week and then come home and plan our menu.

I am never really that good at sticking to my resolutions, but I think this time may be different. (I am sure I have said that before!)

May you all have a healthy and happy 2008!!!

My dirty little secret...

2007-11-30T21:59:00.000-06:00

For those of you who know me, know that Becky and I have a little secret... shhhh! Don't tell anyone... we like to go and play bingo! I know what you are thinking, we are not trashy enough, or don't have enough gray hairs to qualify, but we love to go and play every so often at Carousel in Brooklyn Park. Well, now we have a new place to play...

My Coffee Swap package arrived!

2007-11-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

Kim, my coffee swap partner sent me an awesome box full of knitting and coffee goodness. When I opened the box this is what I saw:

I had so much fun unpacking it! It was full of great coffee and yummy cookies. And, the best part, silk/wool yarn. I have no idea what to knit with that, but I know that I will find something. It would make a beautiful scarf, I know...

In the box, also, was the cutest little dpn holder I had ever seen. 2 little girls, held together by stretchy cord. I had never seen anything like that !

In between stitches...

2007-11-30T21:29:00.000-06:00

So even though I have been busy stitching and sewing, I have had time to knit a couple things that aren't part of my sale inventory. When I was on my yarn shop hop, I found some really cool yarn that I picked up a ball of. This is what it looks like:

And all knitted up into a cute little hat, it looks like this:

I LOVE this yarn, most of all because it is self striping, and being that it patterns itself, you look like a pro knitter, changing colors all of the time!

Time to breathe, time to blog

2007-11-30T21:15:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers of my blog (all 3 of you),
I have let you down, leading you on like I did in my last post. I have been busy sewing and stitching my little fingers off for the past couple of weeks. This was all because I procrastinated and had to put a bunch of stuff together for the 2 craft boutiques my things are in this weekend. Of course, I have known about each of these boutiques for quite some time, but I chose to this and left everything until the last minute. That'll teach me!
So if you are around this weekend in the Twin Cities area and want to check out the two boutiques, the information about one can be found here. The other is at my dear friend Kathy's house in St. Paul. Email if you would like more information at gretchenstitches@comcast.net.
If you want something a little different, but really cool craftwise, check out the No Coast Craft-A-Rama. It is my favorite sale of the year! Really cool and very hip items, and all handmade!
My promise to you is to keep up with this little blog. I promise to be a better blogger in the new year.

I haven't forgotten about you...

2007-10-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

Just checking in to let you know that I have been up to my eyeballs in jam, works in progress and singing in my friend's wedding. I have a much more calm weekend ahead, so I promise I will post a picture of a hat that I knit with that awesome yarn, Knitcol...

Yarn Shop Hop!

2007-10-14T14:01:00.000-05:00

Seven local yarn shops in the Twin Cities area were sponsoring their 2nd annual Yarn Shop Hop this past weekend. I had gone on the "hop" last year all by myself, which was fun, but I thought it would be even better to do the trip with someone else. I talked Becky into joining me this year. We decided to both take Friday off of work to go Yarn Shop hopping. At the first shop you visit, the shop gives you a card to have stamped at each of the shops. Since the name of the hop this year is "Tools of the trade" each shop also gives you knitting tool.

Thanks to mapquest, we had our trip directions in hand.

I was the navigator and Becky was the driver.

We set out on a course to the 7 seven shops Friday morning. We left my house around 9:40 and were to our first shop when it opened at 10 am. The first stop was Sheepy Yarn Shop in White Bear Lake. Having been on the hop before, I knew that this wasn't my favorite of the shops, and I told Becky this. I think she had the same feeling, as we were out of the shop in about 15 minutes. After getting our stamp card and the tool, a sock chibi and a clear plastic pouch that would serve as our "tool bag", we were out of there. We stopped quickly at a small Farmer's Market next door, we were back in the car and on our way to The Yarnery.

I think The Yarnery has to be my favorite St. Paul yarn store. Even though it is a smaller shop, it is very well organized and the people are always very helpful and friendly. I picked up a kit to make a felted birds nest. Becky picked up a pattern to make a jack o'lantern hat for a child. We got our cards stamped and collected their tool, stitch markers.

We had planned out our route so that we would be at The Yarnery around lunch time. We planned it that way so that we could take advantage of being right next to Cafe Latte for lunch. I always have the same thing when I go there: Egg Salad on sourdough, and this visit was no exception. I thought of taking its picture only after it was gone.

It was YUMMY! Cafe Latte is known for their desserts, and Becky had a really good looking one, Raspberry Imperial.

After lunch, it was off to Mendota to 3 Kittens Yarn. Becky picked up the cutest pattern to make a child's hat that looks like a sock monkey. We had fun at 3 Kittens, finding lots of yarn and looking at all of their samples. We got our card stamped and collected a stash inventory card for our "tool bag". Our next stop was Zandy's. Becky bought a few skeins of Berrocco Comfot yarn. It was so soft! I think she is going to make up some little hats for a friend that just had twins. We got our cards stamped and were given tape measures for our tool bags.

We were back in the car after about 20 minutes at Zandy's heading to my favorite Minneapolis yarn store, Needlework Unlimited.

Their store is beautiful and big. It is so inviting. Becky picked up a couple of patterns and I picked up a small Lantern Moon bag and a pattern for small knit bears. (After talking to Becky last night, sounds like she liked Needlework Unlimited so much that she went back there to pick up some needles yesterday!)

We got our cards stamped and was given a small bag of safety pins for our tool bags. After spending a good chunk of time at Needlework Unlimited, we had a bit of drive to our next stop, located in Excelsior, Coldwater Collaborative.

Again, another great yarn shop. The people that worked there were very friendly and helpful. I had a question about a scarf that they had hanging in their shop, and the woman working there said that they didn't have the pattern any more. She apologized but then stood there with me and the scarf and figured out the pattern. She then pointed me in the direction of the yarn that was used. I was already to pull out my debit card, but then saw the price of the yarn: $23.00 a hank! While it was fantastic yarn (Colinette Point Five) I couldn't justify the purchase. Maybe someday when I have more of a budget for luxury yarn... We got our cards stamp and were given a stitch holder for our tool bag.

We then were on our way to our final stop of the Yarn Shop Hop, Amazing Threads in Maple Grove.

Like the name of the shop indicates, it is an amazing shop. It is well organized and the lighting in the shop helps to bring out all of the amazing colors of the yarns. I ended up buying a pattern for a baby hat and the yarn it calls for, Knitcol yarn, which is self striping. So, knitting with it makes it look like you changed colors several times, and makes the average knitter look like a genius. Gotta love that! We got our cards stamped and were given needlepoints for our tool bags. Since this was our last stop, we turned in our completely stamped card to go into a drawing for the GRAND PRIZE.

We were told that the grand prize's value is estimated between $2000 and $3000! Becky and I agreed that if either of us were to win it, we would split it with each other. I guess we will cross that bridge when we win it!!!

Fall is in the air...

2007-10-11T16:12:00.000-05:00

It is getting cold here in Minnesota.

Funny how a creature who wears a fur coat 24/7 can feel it too.

So I guess I am apricot...

2007-10-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

As I was surfing the web today, I came across a survey that asks what color of orange you are. Since I was intrigued to find out (and bored at work) I decided I would check it out. Here are my results:

You are Apricot

Soft and sweet, over time you let your provocative nature shine through.
You are definitely unconventional, but you don't broadcast it.
You offer people a fresh perspective on life - so fresh that it can be shocking!

What Color Orange Are You?

It is pretty true, although sometimes I find it difficult to have a fresh perspective on life, and it is hardly ever shocking...

Go there and have 5 minutes of fun!

Knitter's Coffee Swap 3!

2007-10-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

So, I have been invited to participate in the Knitter's Coffee Swap 3. I participated in the the first one, but missed the second one. I am really excited to take part again. In the first swap, I was paired up with a woman from Canada and she sent me some really awesome wool yarn, yummy treats and delicious coffee. (You can check out her blog here . )

The original organizer of this swap is knittymama, a fellow Minnesotan, and a fellow bassoonist! :) If you want to check out Knittymama's blog, you can find it here .

So we were asked to answer some questions so that our swap partner would know a little more about us. Here are the questions and the answers:

QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? Mostly whole bean

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully-loaded please

3. Regular or flavored? Either, I like them both

4. How do you drink your coffee? With sugar

5. Favorite coffee ever? I don't know that I have a favorite

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? I usually tend to gravitate toward the darker roasts

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? I have been known to dip a cookie into my coffee from time to time...

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? Nope

9. Yarn/fiber you love? Wool (for felting), cotton blends

10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Acrylic

11. What's on your needles? Socks, coffee cup cuffs that will be felted

12. Favorite colors? Earth tones

13. Allergies? Not that I know of...

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I am really excited to be participating in this swap!

The shop

2007-07-11T14:22:00.001-05:00

I have been working with a woman who is creating an online shop full of hand made crafts and goods. Although the shop is not open yet, you can still go and look around. You can access the shop at www.knotnbauble.com. I have some of my hand-knit coffee cup cuffs on there, as well as a selection of my placemat purses. Feel free to check it out!

For Becky!

2007-06-29T10:43:00.001-05:00

Becky is my bingo buddy, jam making friend and knitting pal, just to name a few of the titles she holds. (I taught the girl how to knit last year, and I swear she can now knit circles around me!)

Becky must be checking my blog, because I talked to her yesterday and she said, "You haven't blogged lately." So, Becky, this blogs for you...

Here it is, post #2!

2007-06-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

So, here is my attempt to keep up with this blog. I was just trying to post some pictures, but I have to have E show me how to do that part of the blog. Thank goodness I married a computer geek!

Speaking of E, he asked me this morning if I have even knitted a stitch since my first post, and I was very proud to tell him YES! As we were sitting deciding what to do for dinner last night (I had forgotten to take something out of the freezer for thawing), I got a few more rounds done on my wine cozy that will be felted when it is done. When it is looking a little more finished and I learn how to post pictures, I will show you what it looks like.

Bear with me, I am new to this!

2007-06-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

Hello Blogland! After contemplating whether I should or shouldn't (trust me, my life isn't that exciting to write about), I have decided to enter the world of blogging. It seems like everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't I?!?!

Mainly, this blog will be a way to talk about my love of crafting (knitting, emboridery, sewing). My hope is that this motivates me to get working on some of those unfinished projects, and then hopefully show the finished product!

There may be times where I use this outlet to write about things on my mind that are not crafting related. Who knows where this will go!

Already, I am feeling that this is a wee bit boring. I really want to do this, and am inspired by the other bloggers that write the blogs I read. So like I said, just bear with me!