Flush with Success

Flushed with success at completing my first sock, I joined the Six Sock Knitalong.



Now I'm wondering though if I have too many knitting projects in the works!

1) Elise -- Finished the back on Sunday (Photo coming soon!) Need to cast on for the front.

2) Weekend Sweater -- Hood completed. Started one sleeve.

3) Fall Socks -- One sock done. Second sock casted on.

4) Cloverleaf Socks -- Have yarn! Need to cast on.

5) Harry Potter Scarf -- started a year ago, languished in a box since then.

6) Top Knit Heart Baby Hat -- Cast on. Need to finish by mid-July for birth of baby.

Now those are just the active projects. I also have a ton of projects to start. i.e. I have the yarn, the pattern, the notions, I just need to start.

1) Fiona Bag

2) Debbie Bliss Cabled Sweater

3) Sitcom Chic Cardigan

4) Multi-colored scarf

Whew! Now that doesn't include the patterns I dream about or the one that is in the mail to me. Looks like I need to take my yarn and boss it around! I'll be doing that tonight as I start dog-sitting for Roux (aka Hoover).

Now I need to go and contemplate my yarn indiscretions.

ENFJ

While visiting Nake-id Knits today, I was intrigued by her link to a non-sanctioned Myers and Briggs personality test.

I discovered I am:

Your Type is
ENFJ
Extroverted 78%
Intuitive56%
Feeling 22%
Judging 1%

ENFJ type description by D.Keirsey
ENFJ type description by J. Butt

Qualitative analysis of your type formula

You are:
• very expressed extrovert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• slightly expressed feeling personality
• slightly expressed judging personality

I think this is pretty true. I'm not one to be quite in large groups and I do almost everything based on what my gut says. Sometimes I do take on other's burdens which Mot has been working on me for years to stop doing. I also seem to be in the same category as Oprah which is pretty darn cool to me! This personality type might also be why I blog!

I worked on Elise last night while relaxing at the dog-sitting place. I reaced the armhole shaping before running out of yarn. I was in a groove too! I'll just have to make sure to carry more yarn with me.

Starting on Tuesday, I'll be staying with Roux the dog while his Momma heads off on a research project for 6 weeks. Watch for massive Roux photos! I wonder if he'll pose with yarn for me? Probably not! He'll just try to "hoover" and "lick" it!

Have a great weekend!

Having a week



It's been a rough week for Supergirl. I've been failing to live up to all my superstar powers.

The concert season started up on Sunday with Jewell and then Wednesday night was Clint Black. Two concerts to work in one week make me tired along with my regular job, an awesome knitting class and Lizzy and Molly dog-sitting. I think I've taken on too much! Also I've been feeling a bit stressed since my temporary position comes to close soon and they haven't told me if I'm joining the team permanently yet they keep giving me stuff to do in the future. Grrrrrrr!

Tonight I head over to Andi's to get last minute Roux instructions and a house key. Starting on Tuesday, I'll be hanging out with Roux the dog for 6 weeks. I'm looking forward to the adventure. Also I'll be a bit closer to my friends so that will be nice. Of course, I'll be a bit further from my cat and stuff, but I'll work it out. I'm Supergirl!

Not one to forgo jumping on the bandwagon, I made my own icon this week! Destiny even got to star in it!



Well tomorrow is Friday and that is nice! This weekend I'll be participating in Flying Wheels and riding 50 miles with Julie. Stephanie is going for a 70 miler and Eric for 100 miles! Whew! We'll be tuckered out after that! I also have a baby shower to attend on Sunday along with my little brother's birthday celebration. Lots of fun going on! Now if only I can get my Supergirl powers back!

A Word From The Blogging Co-Star

Rebecca asked me to blog today since she's tired and doesn't have much to say. Well, she should since she did attend a fantastic (so she says) knitting class last night at Hilltop Yarn. They completed measurements and discussed garment design. Next week, she'll learn how to adjust patterns. I'm not sure what they means for me but I'm sure it's not good. She's probably try to knit me something and then post a picture of me wearing it here.

I start Masters of Nursing program on Thursday so with Rebecca having to serve as my patient, I'm sure it'll even out in the end.

That's all from this blogging co-star! I have studying to do!

Matya


Me and Roosty signing off!

Knitting Strong

It was a busy weekend with little knitting BUT that will change tonight! I've signed up for a "Knit to Fit" class at Hilltop Yarn tonight and soon I'll be about to adjust patterns on a whim! Yea-haw!

I did finish my first sock last Thursday and to help avoid Second Sock Syndrome, I cast on while knitting with some super fun knitters at Third Place Books. I met the owner of a future yarn shop in Shoreline who I'll be knitting some swatches with, met some people I had heard off and got to knit with Kit! Super fun!

This weekend while not spent on knitting was spent on training and working. I ran 10 miles on Saturday (well about 7 miles were run and the last 3 walked due to HEAT!), worked at the coffee shop that evening, went to Tri Training on Sunday where we swam and ran (I ran 3 miles without wanting to stop!) and finished up by working concert security at the winery. It was a fun weekend but now I'm beat!

Now I must go and finish up my swatch for my class this afternoon. Oh and I guess I'll get back to work too :)

Because I can follow as well as lead

After seeing this list on JStrizzy's Blog, I had to do this myself! I've bolded all the books I've read, italized all the books I have and plan to read and have left alone the books, I've not considered yet.

Beowulf
Achebe, Chinua - Things Fall Apart
Agee, James - A Death in the Family
Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice
Baldwin, James - Go Tell It on the Mountain
Beckett, Samuel - Waiting for Godot
Bellow, Saul - The Adventures of Augie March
Brontë, Charlotte - Jane Eyre
Brontë, Emily - Wuthering Heights
Camus, Albert - The Stranger
Cather, Willa - Death Comes for the Archbishop
Chaucer, Geoffrey - The Canterbury Tales
Chekhov, Anton - The Cherry Orchard
Chopin, Kate - The Awakening
Conrad, Joseph - Heart of Darkness
Cooper, James Fenimore - The Last of the Mohicans
Crane, Stephen - The Red Badge of Courage
Dante - Inferno
de Cervantes, Miguel - Don Quixote
Defoe, Daniel - Robinson Crusoe
Dickens, Charles - A Tale of Two Cities
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment
Douglass, Frederick - Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Dreiser, Theodore - An American Tragedy
Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Musketeers
Eliot, George - The Mill on the Floss
Ellison, Ralph - Invisible Man
Emerson, Ralph Waldo - Selected Essays
Faulkner, William - As I Lay Dying
Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury
Fielding, Henry - Tom Jones
Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby
Flaubert, Gustave - Madame Bovary
Ford, Ford Madox - The Good Soldier
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von - Faust
Golding, William - Lord of the Flies
Hardy, Thomas - Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Hawthorne, Nathaniel - The Scarlet Letter
Heller, Joseph - Catch 22
Hemingway, Ernest - A Farewell to Arms
Homer - The Iliad
Homer - The Odyssey
Hugo, Victor - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Hurston, Zora Neale - Their Eyes Were Watching God
Huxley, Aldous - Brave New World
Ibsen, Henrik - A Doll's House
James, Henry - The Portrait of a Lady
James, Henry - The Turn of the Screw
Joyce, James - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Kafka, Franz - The Metamorphosis
Kingston, Maxine Hong - The Woman Warrior
Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird
Lewis, Sinclair - Babbitt
London, Jack - The Call of the Wild
Mann, Thomas - The Magic Mountain
Marquez, Gabriel García - One Hundred Years of Solitude
Melville, Herman - Bartleby the Scrivener
Melville, Herman - Moby Dick
Miller, Arthur - The Crucible
Morrison, Toni - Beloved
O'Connor, Flannery - A Good Man is Hard to Find
O'Neill, Eugene - Long Day's Journey into Night
Orwell, George - Animal Farm
Pasternak, Boris - Doctor Zhivago
Plath, Sylvia - The Bell Jar
Poe, Edgar Allan - Selected Tales
Proust, Marcel - Swann's Way (Currently Reading)
Pynchon, Thomas - The Crying of Lot 49
Remarque, Erich Maria - All Quiet on the Western Front
Rostand, Edmond - Cyrano de Bergerac
Roth, Henry - Call It Sleep
Salinger, J.D. - The Catcher in the Rye
Shakespeare, William - Hamlet
Shakespeare, William - Macbeth
Shakespeare, William - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Shakespeare, William - Romeo and Juliet
Shaw, George Bernard - Pygmalion
Shelley, Mary - Frankenstein
Silko, Leslie Marmon - Ceremony
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander - One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Sophocles - Antigone
Sophocles - Oedipus Rex
Steinbeck, John - The Grapes of Wrath
Stevenson, Robert Louis - Treasure Island
Stowe, Harriet Beecher - Uncle Tom's Cabin
Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver's Travels
Thackeray, William - Vanity Fair
Thoreau, Henry David - Walden
Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace
Turgenev, Ivan - Fathers and Sons
Twain, Mark - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Voltaire - Candide
Vonnegut, Kurt Jr. - Slaughterhouse-Five
Walker, Alice - The Color Purple
Wharton, Edith - The House of Mirth
Welty, Eudora - Collected Stories
Whitman, Walt - Leaves of Grass
Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Gray
Williams, Tennessee - The Glass Menagerie
Woolf, Virginia - To the Lighthouse
Wright, Richard - Native Son

In knitting news, I'm at the grafting the toe part of my sock. I'm meeting up with some knitters tonight and will get their advice and help on this challenge!

Look for pictures soon!

Moment of Silence for the Brittany Needle, Please



I've broken a needle. I'm not sure how or why the death occurred but it did. Luckily it was a Brittany needle and a replacement is winging itself to me right now. Another lucky thing, I had 5 needles so my sock work continues. I'm at the toe shaping and I can't wait! The only thing holding me up is finding time to knit. I am going to a knitting group tomorrow though so I look to finish my sock then.

In running news, Mot and I went for a 30 minute Tempo run around Queen Anne. She dislikes running the same courses and is easily bored. So we set out without a specific course, our only mandate was that I needed to run for 30 minutes at a certain pace. We weaved and wove our way around and had a great time all the while checking out house prices and screaming in amazement. Some houses on the loop cost almost $1 million! Whew! That's a lot of yarn!

I start my Knit to Fit class at Hilltop Yarn and Needlepoint on Monday and I'm so excited. I do have some homework though. I need do a gauge swatch for my chosen pattern in my chosen yarn. That means I need to decide on a pattern and then make the swatch. I have a two patterns in mind so I may do two swatches and see which one they think I should use in-class.

Hmmm much to consider...

Knitting Soirees

On Sunday, I went to my very first Fiber Raven Soiree and I had a blast! You can tell by my picture here. I learned so much about sock knitting and as Sheila said, I might continue knitting these. It is certainly fun to show people my nearly finished creation. I'm trying to forget that once I complete this, I'll have to cast on for its mate.

I also trained on Sunday and Monday for my future races (those that are yet to be determined). On Sunday, I took a quick dip in Lake Washington where the water tempature couldn't have been over 50 degrees. Without a wet suit (I'm looking for one), I almost froze! We then did some biking hill repeats which warmed me up nicely! Last night I went for a 70 minute bike ride with some friends on the Burke Gilman trail. It was a wonderful ride and the visit to the Taco Shop afterwards made it even better!

So this week is shaping up for knitting, training and yes reading. I've been taking time to read Anna Karenina and it is such a nice break during a busy work day.

Whew! Still much to do so I'm off to do it!

So Much Yarn

The new Yarn shop in Belltown, So Much Yarn is fantastic! Even Stephanie got into the action and was feeling up the yarn! I made her pose with one of her favorites, in pink!



And I snapped a quick shot of the owner, Lauren who was also my knitting teacher during her tenure at Acorn Yarn in the University District.



I made a few purchases but returned the camera before snapping some shots of them. I purchased another skein of Regia sock yarn, another skein of Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora for some baby booties and a slipped stitch scarf set with green ribbon yarn and pink mohair yarn. All of which are going to be great!

Tonight, Mot and I watched a Spanish flick called Kilometer 0 which I highly recommend. I also knitted on my one sock. I'm about an inch from the heel turn. Spooky! Tomorrow is the Soiree so look for an update on that fun! I'll be bringing a camera!

I also ran this morning. It felt harder but I think that was because I had marathon brain going on. I need to get back to just running in that moment. Then I do great!

Whew! Fun times! Lots of adventure with new yarn stores, running and knitting. Stephanie and I also saw The Stepford Wives after visiting the new shop and its another movie I'd recommend. What a hoot!

Reading and Knitting

I've been busy lately reading and knitting. When I'm not knitting on Elise, I like to take a break and work on my sock. This weekend when I attend the Fiber Raven Soiree, Ryan of Mossy Cottage Knits will be there for moral and technical support.

Here is my sock as progress currently stands. I love it!



I've been working on the heel flap and that seems to be going well. I'm not at the heel turn, yet so nothing to panic about now. That will come later.

I've also dived head first into the Oprah Summer Reading Book, Anna Karenina. Oprah very nicely provided a "reading training guide" for this book and so I (being anally organized) put tabs in my book. This way I know how far I need to read to reach my weekly goal. Once I reach the goal, I remove the tab. By the end of the summer, this book will be tab-less!



So far I am really enjoying this novel. I've never read Tolstoy before because his books are always quite long and in-depth. After this though, I think I'll be able to tackle "War and Peace!"

I'm still reading Proust and I do enjoy him too. It's fun reading two book that are translations. Makes me think I'm a smarty pants!

This afternoon as a reward for working so hard this week, my boss is letting me leave at 3 p.m. Since a new yarn shop is opening downtown called So Much Yarn , I'll be heading down there to check it out. I still have Mot's (my blogging co-star) camera, look for pictures in my next post. I can't wait to check out another knitting store!

In honor of Mot, my blogging co-star who doesn't read my blog unless I make her! Here is her co-star photo as she poses with her Kid Valley shake! I'm adding it to the sidebar later!



Happy Knitting to all! I've got some running, reading and knitting to accomplish!

My Typical Day


This is a very heavy image posting! Just a warning!

I got up while dogsitting and was greeted by Lizzy!


Are you up yet?



I got up and after getting ready began my favorite commute down the 405!



First a coffee though!



Traffic, and more traffic





I’m almost there! I think!

Once at work, I checked my email and found out I had been accepted to the Marine Corp Marathon in DC on Oct. 31st. Looks like I have a lot of running in my future!



Then I had my favorite breakfast of granola and yogurt with a scoop of jam! Yum!



Next I had to deal with the boxes. We ordered 5,000 folders and they are living in my cube for the time being. Do you know how many boxes 5,000 folders fill?



Then I had to get lunch for my boss

This is the walk from my office to her favorite lunch place.



These men were a fashion mishap! What not to wear would have a heyday with them!



She likes Taco Time.

Now it was time for my lunch! Mac ‘n Cheese and a Salad.





Back to work! This is the view of my desk



Afternoon munchies – Chocolate is good! These are mini-Shrek M&Ms



Time to go home! First coffee with a friend!



Yum! That was a good Ice Grande Nonfat Chai!



More traffic on the way home!



I’m almost there!



I’m beat!



Here’s my street!



Time for dinner! Why is everything I’ve eaten today been in a bowl?



Time for Destiny to go outside!



I’m sitting outside with her eating dinner



She’s busy exploring.



I bought this frog for my Mom. He’s so cute!



Time for a bath!



Destiny thinks water is so wrong though!



All Clean!



Television watching and knitting!





Relaxing at the end of the day! Nothing better than knitting and reading to finish off a day!

I've accepted the marathon

I've accepted this. I made this decision long ago and fate granted me my wish. Now I just need to prepare to run and run very far. Stephanie is coming along and Tracy and Jeff will be there so it will be good. Look for many more posts about running.

Whew! It feels good to have made a decision. And it will feel great to accomplish this goal!

OMG!

This morning, I arrived to this in my email box.



An email saying I had been accepted to the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC on October 31st.

I AM FREAKING OUT! Who am I to think I can run this far? I need to think about this. I know I've been giving Rachel advice but it's far easier to give advice than actually do this!

What I had planned to show you today was this --


My progess on Elise!

And a close-up of her neat-o stitches.


But I really need to go and freak out for now. Better stuff later, I promise!

Also work is insane! I have a huge pitch to help out on for tomorrow and my boss is in continual meetings! Whoa is me!

Musical Idols

On Saturday night, Matya got to meet her musical idol. She was giddy with excitment when she told me about seeing Angelique Kidjo in concert and then how she had the opportunity to meet her and have her picture taken.



Now while I opted not to attend the concert, I'm glad Mot did. She got to meet Angelique which brought a huge smile to her face!

As for me, I've been busy knitting on my sock and Elise. I want to finish both but with all my triathlon training, the knitting has slowed a bit. I will however be attending the Fiber Raven Soiree on Sunday! I love any chance to meet more Seattle knitters so Sunday will be a great day!

I'm still running after all this time...

Looking like a true survivor...I ran 8 miles along Alki Beach with Julie today. With the wind strongly fighting me, I quietly sang some Elton John in my head until I could hear Britney Spears on my headphones again. Yes, I do listen to cheesy music while running. I have two criteria for running music: 1) It has a good, quick beat and 2) I could sing the words in my head while running.

Today started out cloudy and rainy but during my run, the sun decided to shine and it made for a good run. It only the wind hadn't decided to blow! It made the last mile almost unbearable!

Somehow it's been a busy day with barely any time for reading and knitting! I'm about to rectify that with some quality time with my wool. I have too many unfinished projects to not settle in for quality yarn time.

Inspired by Becky, I did however receive the following in the mail!



I too plan to make a chocolate poncho like this:



But unless I can find Phildar Ruban yarn in the US, I'll definitely need to go to France in November with Stephanie. She laughed when I told her that now I have to go to France to get yarn! I believe her words were, "Well, whatever gets you to come with!" Here's to hoping I can afford it.

Time to knit!