MIA, FO's, and CPaAGG

So I have been MIA on this thing for two months. I have tons of excuses but mostly it has been out of laziness. Do I really need this blog since I have Ravelry to keep up with everything? But, if you're not a member of Ravelry you cannot see my projects and such so I guess I'll keep this thing going for now.

Finished Objects!!

Yes I have actually finished a few things.

First off, Ber's Sidewinder socks are done! WOO HOO!!




These socks would not look so awesome if it wasn't for the beautiful Wollmeise yarn. It is my favorite yarn of all time.

I also completed some baby booties - one pair for a girl at work and another for Jen, the creator of CPaAGG on Ravelry.

The first ones were done in Regia sock yarn and the second were, of course, some more Wollmeise. Aren't they the cutest things ever?!?

So 2008 is off to a good start when it comes to finishing up projects.


CPaAGG

The Completely Pointless and Arbitrary Group Group is a group on Ravelry that has been the center of my online life lately. If you are a Ravelry member and have a wicked sense of humor, I suggest joining in the fun.

Recently we had a Secret GroundhogBunny Swap (to celebrate a bunch of holidays at once) which was, of course, completely pointless and arbitrary. Pictures of my haul are located here. I'm too lazy to post them all on here too.

I'd like to thanks DreadPirateKel for the wonderful goodies and scary horrors that were included in the package.

Secret Pal, Dirty White Boy and Rock of Ages

SUMMER CAMP SWAP 2007

Over on Ravelry a group of us decided to do a swap. The theme was sending packages to other knitters who are "away" at summer camp. We were supposed to send them yarn and goodies related to where the sender is from. My secret pal is BroadwayKnits from Memphis. Here is what she sent:

1) Cat treats for the cats

2) Reese's Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Cups (get it...from Memphis)

3) BBQ Seasoning

4) Toys for the cats

5) Opal Rainforest II Sock Yarn in Hummel (Bumblebee)...awesome

6) A personalized LolDog from her dog, Tony, saying how he sent the treats and toys for the Quats

7) A skein of Socks That Rock Mediumweight Sock Yarn in the color Henpecked.

How freakin cool is all of this?? The cats have gone ballistic for the toys and treats. The yarn is awesome. My first skein of STR...woo hoo!! And in mediumweight so that the sock making will go quickly...super cool!

As you can see, Quirk wanted the picture taking to be finished with so she could play with the toys that were sent to her. She can be so demanding (um...I have no clue where she gets that from.)

I only hope that my Secret Pal that I'm sending to will be as happy with his/her gift.

ROCKING IN THE RAIN:

Last Friday my friend Tonia and I went to the Styx, Foreigner, and Def Leppard concert at the Tampa Bay Amphitheatre. It was pouring rain so the mile hike from the parking lot to the venue was quite interesting. I wish I was exaggerating but it is a well known fact that the parking for this venue is ridiculous. Parking at one end of the Florida State Fairgrounds...and the amphitheatre is at the other end. RIDICULOUS. At least our seats were out of the rain...but we were pretty soaked by the time we got there. We missed most of Styx...which is fine by me. Actually, we could hear "Sail Away" when we were standing in the merchandise line. Tonia got a Def Leppard t-shirt and I got a hoodie. Woot!! Def Leppard hoodie!! We did, however, make it to our seats in time for Foreigner. I admit it...I wasn't expecting too much. They were freakin AWESOME! All of the hits...one after another....except..... Dirty White Boy. Gah. I actually didn't miss it until later but it would have been cool. And then....DEF LEPPARD!! I used to have a huge thing for them "back in the day." As soon as they were on the stage...I remembered why. They were amazing! It was basically a 20,000 person sing along the whole night. Sweet.

Naked knitting and other bits

I know....it has been a while since I have posted. I highly doubt that anyone has been sitting on the edge of their seat though.

Yarn School:
The airline tickets are booked and it's a total green light. I'm so excited!! I hope I don't get addicted to spinning because I can't imagine my cats letting me spin in peace.

Sidewinders:
One sock done and the other in progress. They should be completed in time to give to my sister next week. These socks are so awesome! Updated pics will be up soon.

Ravelry:
The coolest website. EVER. And my addiction to it is probably part of the reason why I have been updating on here like I should. There are only so many hours in the day!

Book Sale:
Holy discount batman!! KnitPicks has 40% all of their books. SWEET!! I have picked up a bunch for Ms. M. to use as some of the gifts for our "True Yarn Diet". She already knows about it so I'm not ruining the surprise by posting here.

Yarn Diet:
So the working out schedule is not yet working for me BUT I have been eating much healthier and have already lost 7 lbs. WOOT!! I should be receiving my first "gift" soon. Besides the books mentioned above - I have also made a "surprise" order to use as gifts. I cannot wait to be able to 1) give it to Ms. M. 2) post the info here.

Cats:
I know I wrote on here about Quirk having some skin issues. All appears to be well and both cats are healthy, happy, and spoiled.

'Vog On KAL

On Ravelry a 'Vog On Knit-a-long has been started for the 'Vog On sock pattern from the new Knitty. Then I decided to start a group blog for everyone participating. WOO HOO! Now I just have to finish the socks I'm working on before starting these. I'm still figuring out what yarn I'm going to use for the Vog's ....which for me should actually be called "Croc Ons".

Ravelry and clapotis (hey, I rhyme)

RAVELRY

Oh Ravelry, how I am becoming addicted to you. First it was the forums...now I have sworn to friend everyone with a cat avatar (not really a long story...but not an interesting one so I'll spare you.) It is such a joy to look not only at other people's wonderful triumphs but to feel the camaraderie of the knitting disasters that everyone shares.

CLAPOTIS

Oh Clapotis, how I am bored to tears by your repetitive pattern. Luckily I am using malabrigo so the softness of the fabric makes up for the constant k1, ktbl, k3, ktbl. However, dropping stitches with malabrigo is a time consuming business. I'm almost 1/4 of the way done with it...so it shouldn't be too much longer. I know it will be beautiful when it's done.

KNIT IT PUBLIC DAY

Tomorrow is World Wide Knit In Public Day and apparently all of the other local knitters took this to mean "let's meet up super early in the morning and knit." So, I may not make it to any of the "planned" events but I will be knitting in public at some time within that 24 hour period. I hope to see others out there knitting too.

YARN SCHOOL

It's a possibility that I will be attending "Yarn School" in September. Supercool! I'm crossing my fingers that Ms. M says "let book it." WOOT.