a dillydallyknitter: December 2006

Sunday, December 31, 2006

Last FO of 2006! Happy 2007!

Last night I cast off on my Flower Basket Shawl:


Right now it looks like a little blobby so I can't wait to block it and see how it comes out. After it dries, I'll post a better photo. It's my first lace shawl and I used DK weight yarn so I'm excited to try the next one with lace weight yarn.


I found this on Wound Too Tight's blog and discovered that I'm a:

C-List Blogger

Fine with me! After all, I'm the Cpurl!


Happy New Year!!!
I hope 2007 brings you many blessings! (and yarn)

posted by cpurl17 @ 12:46 PM   8 comments

Friday, December 29, 2006

Good Bye 2006! Happy New Year!

To say sayonara to 2006, how about a little Socks That Rock ménage à trois?

A few days before Christmas I stoppedby Purlescence to see their latest shipment of STR.

Lagoon


Rolling Stone


Carbon


I wish I could claim that my 3 year old point and shoot Canon suddenly started taking such clear photos but these were taken with my friend R's Nikon.

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So, like many other knitters out there, I'm going to resolve to start out 2007 by knitting out of my Stash.

"He who breaks a resolution is a weakling;
He who makes one is a fool."
~F.M. Knowles


I also have the usual non-knitting resolutions to make too.

"New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual." ~Mark Twain


Yarn Resolutions for 2007

I will knit out of my Stash and not buy more yarn except under the following conditions:
  1. When I attend yarn festivals, shows or while I'm on vacation (Stitches '07 is only 2 months away afterall)
  2. When Purescence gets more Socks that Rock shipments
  3. When the Moon is in the 7th House and Jupiter Aligns with Mars
  4. I get a raise, bonus or win the lottery
  5. On days that end with Y
Ok, I'm weak but I do have some knitting goals for 2007:
  1. Learn Fair Isle knitting
  2. Knit a lace shawl with lace weight yarn
  3. Learn to spin
One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things. ~John Burroughs

Happy New Year!

posted by cpurl17 @ 5:36 PM   11 comments

Monday, December 25, 2006

ABC Blog Rollin', Christmas Style...

I'm combining the last letters of the ABC-along with a little show and tell of some of the nice gifts I received for Christmas!



U
U is for UPC Code. In this case, it's the code for "No Idle Hands: The Social History for American Knitting" by Anne L. Macdonald. So when I'm not knitting and I'm reading, I can read about the history of American knitting.





V
V is for Vogue "The Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Volume Three: Color Knitting: The Ultimate Stitch Dictionary from the Editors of Vogue Knitting Magazine." So when I'm not knitting, and I want to play, I can play with color knitting.



W
W is for Walker. Barbara Walker's "Treasury of Knitting Patterns." So when I'm not knitting, and I want to study, I can study knitting patterns from a classic.



X
X is for Xesus, which is the Galacian version of "Jesus". Galacia is located in Spain, where this Nativity set was made. Watching over Jesus is Xavier, his pet camel and a new addition to the stable. (A gift from my wonderful friend Miss K.)
You'll be happy to know that there has been no violence at the stable for the past few days, Santa brought the gangsta kitties great gifts and all is well chez cpurl.


Y
Y is for Yarn Meter. So when I'm not knitting, and I want to measure something, I can measure how much yarn I have left! (I can't wait to try this out)




Z
Z is for Zimmerman. Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting Around."
So when I'm not knitting or measuring yarn, I can learn from a Knitting Legend.



All the knit books and yarn meter were gifts from my beautiful baby sister.

I hope Santa was good to you all!!

P.S. I wish I had a photo but my Dad's sock is about 1.5 inches too long in the foot, gah! So I'm going to undo the toe and shorten. I also wish I had done some calf shaping. Next time I knit man socks, I'm using worsted weight wool!!


posted by cpurl17 @ 11:02 PM   3 comments

Sunday, December 24, 2006

All Was Calm...All Was Bright..

Last night around 1:00 AM I finished putting the last bow on the last package and sat to enjoy the peace and quiet.



This morning I was sitting downstairs while my sister was taking a shower in my bathroom (I have the big tub) when suddenly I hear rain hitting metal. Except it wasn't raining. My upstairs tub was leaking into my kitchen. HoHoHo! But I don't care. It's Christmas Eve. I can deal with it next week. And I'm eating dinner at my mother's house and I have another bathroom and my sister is making me my favorite chocolate/peanut butter/butterscotch/rice krispie treats so it's all good.

No matter where you are and how you celebrate, my wish is that your're surrounded by family and friends, warmth and love. God Bless Us, Everyone!

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Blog Stalking Assignment: Tacky Christmas Lights

Here's a family that decided to hang a reindeer from the roof. One year they had a plastic Nativity on the roof and Mary blew over and you could see her, um hole.



Every town has one. That street where EVERY home puts lights up for the Holidays. This one is called Candy Cane lane and it really is very cute with displays like this:

But this family is in the middle of remodeling:


Yet had enough team skills to light up the outhouse:


Four years ago, when I was house hunting, I looked at a house on this very street. If I had purchased it, this would be my house on Candy Cane Lane! LOL! ('cept mine would have a knitting them, of course)

posted by cpurl17 @ 11:38 AM   4 comments

Saturday, December 23, 2006

"On the 2nd Day of Christmas My SP Gave to Me...

...A Package Too Nice to be Called Cheap-y"

First, some Christmas love for my SP:
I have no idea who my CA$P is, other than the state she lives in (unless it's a ghost address) but she's so much fun. Her emails and notes crack me up and make my day. I found out that we both love the show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" so I know she has great taste in entertainment (if you go to the website you can download the most beautiful rendition of "O Holy Night" performed by musicians from New Orleans).

She made me another fabulous hand-crafted card. Notice the 3-d effect of real hooks!

Look at this--The biggest most gi-normous spool of yarn I've ever seen in my favorite color:

Other goodies: A photo album, a HoHoHo ornament, a Rubiks cube keychain (so I can be like Will Smith), monkey band-aids (heeeeee!), cute Christmas buttons, treats for the kitties in their very own red stockings. And my gifts were tucked inside the cutest, softest red stocking--I'm guessing all three were hand crafted (if you look carefully at the big one you can see the cuff is ribbed!)


And she knit the sweetist little toy for Mika:

And Cary. SP admits she got carried away with the K1,M1

Kitty approved!!


Later that night, I hung the kitty stockings on the tree. I think they're made from a recycled sweater and hand sewn. They're so soft.

Luckily for me, it doesn't just say "Ho"



Thank you Cheap@$$ Santa! I hope Santa is good to you!!

Oh, and for those of you who are following the saga, I'm happy to report that the Nativity remains untouched this morning. Maybe those kitties are finally getting in line for the big Day.

Note: Snow courtesy of Nederlass via the LadyLungDoc. LLD always posts the most peaceful photos of her home area.

posted by cpurl17 @ 8:42 AM   6 comments

Friday, December 22, 2006

Oh Now This Can't Be Good

Today was a good day. Several of us from my dept at work went to the Giving Tree warehouse and helped the elves sort toys and "shop", i.e. match children's gift requests with the donations received. After a nice lunch at a local Chinese restaurant I come home to find this:


Actually it was my mother who found it. She thinks my kitties need to go to Sunday school

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Time for some serious ABC along catch up so here are R, S, T

R is for Restroom.

A few weeks ago Turtlegirl posted a photo of an amazing restroom in her supermarket. This is a shot from my camera phone of the Ladies Lounge at Bloomingdales, San Francisco Centre.


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S is for Simone

Simone and her brother Rory were shelter kitties adopted by my sister this year. I think she's adjusted to her new life quite well, don't you?

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T is for Triplets

My cousin and his wife has baby boy triplets 9 months ago. They were born preemies but are doing quite well as you can see by their cute smiles!

posted by cpurl17 @ 2:43 PM   10 comments

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Friday Candy

This time of year you're likely to find peppermint twists or chocolate Santas in the candy jar but chez Cpurl, you might find yarn hiding in the candy jar!


Vesper sock yarn so sweet, it deserves a candy jar home!



This is my first ever skein of Vesper sock yarn scored in a swap with Zknitter:



On the first night of Winter, it's a good reminder of warm Spring days



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Gansta Kitties Busted!

I heard some rustling around the tree and caught Cary and Mika dragging a gift under a chair. Cary's superpower is that he can smell food thru anything except the 'fridge and glass. I've caught him dragging Tupperware acrosss the floor because treats were inside.

The evidence of gift destruction:

posted by cpurl17 @ 3:41 PM   5 comments

Behold! Another FO! (Sorta)

Ok,Ok, it's a half FO:


I'm making my Dad a pair of socks. These are the first guy sized socks I ever made and a) it took FOREVER and b) it seems so huge (even tho' it measures up to the chart in Sensational Knitted Socks. So, knowing that I'll never finish sock two, I decided he can try on sock one, and I can make adjustments before I start the second one.

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Baby Jesus vs. the Gangsta Kitties:

Round Two: Gangsta Kitties:

What is Joseph's staff doing on the floor?

posted by cpurl17 @ 9:06 AM   5 comments

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Lo! An FO!

Shocking, but true! I finally finished a scarf/Christmas gift for a dear friend of my Mother's and she even got it send off in the mail with her package on Monday.

Rowan Cashsoft Aran (57% merino, 33% mircrofibre, 10% cashmere)

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Baby Jesus vs. the Gansta Kitties

Round One: Gangsta Kitties

posted by cpurl17 @ 9:07 AM   5 comments

Monday, December 18, 2006

Now This Is the Kind of Monday I Can Get Excited About.

My Birthday is turning into a 3-day weekend! Today I came home from work and found a package from the super fabulous, uber-cool ALI!!


I opened the box and out poured what seemed like endless goodies: Three skeins of super soft Classic Elite Premiere Pima cotton/tencel in a lovely soft lavender color, a Christmas ornament with two little kitties sitting in a box, party invites, create your own card kit, a hysterical magnet that says "Ever notice how 'what the hell' is always the right decision?" (I think that's how I made my last employment decision), some sassy stickers and two beautiful candles. And tons and tons of candy--most hysterical are the katzen chocolates.

Already on my tree:

My sassy magnet (too bad I can't load photos properly!)

Just a few of the funny spiteful and delightful stickers (It's like the followed me around with a mic)
And the candles, which you can see by the color of the basket they're standing on, fits perfectly in my family room.


Oh! And I was tagged today by Nathania

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog

1) I know weird and useless facts about the most random things. Witness my Christmas weirdness: Last week I saw a candy cane on my bosses desk and blurted out, "Oh, is that a Hammond's candy cane?" How many people do you know that can spot a handmade candy cane? (Hammond's by the way, makes Martha's favorite ribbon candy. Just sayin')

2) I'm half Japanese and hate to eat fish. Makes me kind of a joykill at the Sushi bar. My Mother blames my Dad. He refuses to eat fish. She also blames him for my fat legs.

3) I don't like to go barefoot in the house. I have to wear socks or slippers. Even in the summer.

4) I can't stand scary movies. Once I was cajoled into seeing the movie "Alien" and I sat and I stared at my lap the entire movie. (Lest you think I'm a total wimp, the sight of blood in real life or needles doesn't freak me out)

5) I love Disneyland. If I lived in Southern California, I'd be an annual passholder. I'd work there.

6) I'm weird enough to be obsessing about my answers. Are they weird enough? Am I too weird? Do I Care? What's wrong with being weird?

And I'm going to break the rules because I'm also lazy and tag the next 6 of you who read this post!!

posted by cpurl17 @ 8:52 PM   3 comments

Sunday, December 17, 2006

It's a Birthday Miracle...and (more) Blogstakin' posts

News update from the sister front:

As the sun started to rise on the date of my birth....

The lights came back on! Behold the power of the Cpurl!


Anyone need a Christmas tree?



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For Blogstalkin' Sunday, I've decided to bore you with even MORE of my Christmas Christmas ornaments. I think I've said this before but my ornament stash is bigger than my yarn stash. I'm one of Those People when it comes to Christmas but this year cut back and only decorated the downstairs of my house.

Here are a few of my favs:

Rocket Santa


This is from a set of three. My sister stood in a long line to have it signed by Christopher Radko


My pie-eyed Mickey and Minne - also a gift from my sister

Here is a vintage clip on ornament I got on ebay from Russia


This is a hand painted view of Salzburg from an amazing Christmas shop in Austria. I went there with my good buddy K and had a wonderful time. Austria is beautiful.

Even though his arm is broken, this Santa is still a fav because he was given to my by an old roommate, Diana. Sadly Diana died of a freak heart condition while she was in grad school at UCLA. A former Olympian (swimming) who had a tough childhood (both her parents died tragically), she was smart, beautiful and a great friend.


Two from many trips to Disneyland during the Holidays

Actually, just about every one on my tree means something to me. I love to hang them on my tree and think about the friends and family, past and present, who have been a part of my life.

posted by cpurl17 @ 10:20 AM   7 comments