Oklahoma Loot

Q: What's a girl to do who's been working way too many hours and running short on knitting projects?

A: Vacation day and a road trip for yarn!!

I called up my KIP friend, Laurie, grabbed a rental car and we made our way south to Oklahoma City. Our first stop took us to a spinning shop, Tres Hermanas in Ponca City. Check out the beautiful spinning wheel and needle felted rocking horse that was intricately made by the shop owner.

From there we traveled to Guthrie for antique shops and a somewhat expensive stop at Sealed with a Kiss where I purchased a shrug kit. My favorite shop turned out to be the very hip and retro yarn shop, Happy Cat, close to the OU campus in Norman. It was so colorful with ecclectic touches filling the spaces between all the fabulous yarns.

By this time, we started running out of time and made a quick stop at The Gourmet Yarn Co. in Oklahoma City. Right around the corner we finished our day with a frozen margarita on Lake Hefner.

It was a GREAT day and boy am I worn out!!

50 Things About Me

1. I was not named after anyone
2. I have been married over 17 years
3. I am a true Libra
4. My Chinese Zodiak Sign is the Horse
5. I have lived in one city my entire life
6. I am an only child
7. I find humor in being a redneck
8. I could be a truck driver
9. I like hats, boots and belt buckles
10. I am an optimist
11. I am attracted to loud, dramatic people
12. I twirled a baton as a child
13. I was a cheerleader as a teenager
14. I broke my tailbone as a cheerleader
15. My first car was a Ghia Mustang
16. Hersheys chocolate makes me happy
17. I got braces at age 18
18. I am nearsighted
19. My favorite beer is Corona
20. Raw Oysters and Corona is my favorite meal
21. I quit a waitressing job after the first day
22. I dropped Economics twice
23. I hate math
24. COPS is my favorite t.v. show
25. I used to read a ton of murder mysteries
26. Now I only knit
27. I knit obsessively
28. I wish I didn’t have to work and could knit 24/7
29. I am crafty
30. I have my own craft room
31. I am adventurous
32. I love to travel anywhere
33. My favorite state is Texas
34. I despise showers and only take baths
35. Tiny dogs make me nervous
36. Goats give me the creeps
37. I like spiders
38. I am deathly afraid of snakes
39. I secretly like to eat raw hamburger
40. I am looking forward to retirement
41. I want to own a Winnebago
42. I like to fish
43. I want my own bass boat
44. I can still do the splits
45. I once qualified for Nationals in bodybuilding
46. I have my own Harley
47. I hang with strong, independent women
48. I can sunbathe all day
49. You’ve Got Mail is my favorite movie
50. I live to ride and knit

Collared Tank #3

My love affair with the collared tank has come to an end. This is my third (and probably last) in a steel blue/grey Saucy cotton yarn. Although I was completely smitten with this pattern and great fit, I need a break and new project.

Wild Kingdom

For living in the city, my house sure is a hotbed for wildlife. Corn and birdseed attract a herd of squirrels and baby bunnies nest under our backyard shed. The wrens have arrived and soon the yellow finches will travel from the south and pass through my feeders. Tonight I discovered a third nest by my front porch and a baby robin has hatched. In fact, all the nests have babies and I have begun to have anxious, fearful feelings of being witness to some tragedy that could fall upon them.

April Flea Market

The flea market building will be closed for renovation during the next four months so this was our last opportunity for a while to scope out market bargains . As usual, I found a basket for a steal, an old watering can and a mason jar bird feeder just perfect for the front porch finches.

Baby Finches

Ssshhhhhhh......the babies are sleeping!!

Front Porch Wildlife

It's hard to believe Spring is here with the snow showers we had yesterday but proof is right on my own front porch. Nestled in a hanging flower basket is a house finch nest and right around the corner I discovered a robin's nest perched low in an evergreen tree. Incubation for both is about 12-14 days so I keep peeking in for babies.

Collared Tank #2

Here I go again...I'm knitting and can't stop. I get a little obsessed when I come across something that fits really well and I like a lot. I've already started on my third Collared Tank from knitsimple in yet another color. We'll just have to wait and see how many of these I crank out before I burn out.

For a totally different look, Pr3tty Knitty has replaced stockinette st with a very lovely lace pattern that gives this simple pattern a little kick.

A Knitting Chair

My denim chair finally arrived from Ethan Allen. Caution: If you ever order from this place you better have a ton of patience. I waited four months but it looks great in the denim that I chose and fits perfectly in my knitting nook. I now have a special place to sit and read, knit and come up creative ideas.

Grandma's Wedding Reception

My grandmother got married last week and we had a reception party tonight. She's 83 and her new husband, Junior, is 86. I'm a believer that life is short and a person needs to go for whatever they feel is important in life. In their case, they sure have had a long life so far and isn't it great they are still "going for it". Seeing them dance, smile and kiss was absolutely priceless.

NIKE 100-Mile Reward

I've loved NIKE since childhood. It took everything I had to settle on my Asics running shoes over NIKE but I did it only because with my eyes closed, the Asics felt the most comfortable and this is so very important with running. Anyways, today was the day I strolled into Dick's Sporting Goods in search of a gift for self for completing my first 100 running miles (yes - I'm still celebrating) and look what I found. OMG--Every girl needs a NIKE running skirt with a reflective stripe!! (BTW: That's not me in the picture but soon should be after I complete my next 100). This Dri-FIT skirt features a built-in compression short and strategically placed pocket in the back.

I Made It - 100 Miles

I made it -- 100 miles by April 1st!! Just wrapped up my last 3.5 miles this morning to reach my goal. I'd love to say it was easy but towards the end, it felt like I was running a marathon every day to catch up. It was my own doing (laziness) during the month of February in which I only managed to run 2.84 miles the WHOLE month. No excuse but that I get so lethargic and lazy in the winter months. Anyways, I wouldn't have done it without Runagogo! Now, on to the next challenge of another 100 by July 1st.

March Flea Market

There were loads of antique dealers at today's Flea Market. I was delighted to sift through junk boxes filled with old sewing notions but only settled with a few items that I had a need for. The baskets add to my knitting room collection.

And....yet another sewing basket to hide more yarn!

Collared Tank

Just finished up this collared tank from the Spring/Summer 2007 knitsimple mag. Substituted 4 skeins Reynolds Saucy mercerized cotton on #6 cn for size medium. This cool little number was only 20 bucks!! I just love the cabled collar details and the way it stands up on it's own -- too cool. The only change I made was to sl st the collar sts for a nice, clean edge. It's good on it's own for a casual look and then again the collar stands up nice under a suit jacket. Starting a second one tonight and will work in a little more waist shaping. This one's a favorite.

A Day of My Favorite Things

Today was a blur of some of my favorite things: Being on the road, Dallas, Shopping, Knit Shops & Joe's Crab Shack all in one day. I drove a total of 750 miles for the main purpose of buying a new handbag - don't ask - it's complicated. I left the house at 5:00 a.m. and got back at around 9:00 p.m. Talk about a whirlwind of fun in the "BIG D"

Fosters Western Shop in Denton is one of my favorite stops along the way that has reasonably priced rhinestone belts, accessories and clothing. Then to the Galleria to get my new, larger LV handbag. Passing through Macy's (to the parking garage, of course) I found a Nine West denim pant suit for work that was on sale and will be perfect for the summer months. I couldn't dare leave town without hitting a knit shop or two. I had never been to Passion Knits which is in the Highland Park area so I checked that out (pictured - neat layout of knitting area "lofted" above the sales floor). Made my way back north by way of Plano and my favorite knit shop in Texas, The Woolie Ewe. There, I did order a kit for a Queensland top and the pattern/yarn for Fiber Trends Felt Alpacas & Llamas. Joe's Crab Shack is a favorite stop for peel 'n eat shrimp, oysters, clams & Coronas.

Wicked Hand in My Pocket

I can hear Alanis Morissette singing along with me, "I've got one hand in my pocket....."

In case you missed my previous rants, I had a late start waiting on backordered Rowan Denim for the Wicked knit-a-long with KIP and SNK. This project also did double-duty for Project Spectrum in Blue for the months of Feb/Mar. The denim cotton yarn shrinks 20% in length just like a pair of jeans and takes on a fade over time. I debated knitting it longer for shrinkage but didn't and it turned out just fine as I like my shirts to ride above the low-waist line anyways. The only adjustment I made was to finish the bottom in the crossover rib pattern.

Run Yourself Ugly Update

Husband's injury put a complete stop to my workouts but I'm back into my running shoes this week to work on my 100 miles by April 1st. I'm behind at 49.15 miles and need to get my rear in gear--literally. I started a new dietary thermogenic supplement, TIGHT!, that seems to give me the energy to wake up before the 4:30 a.m. alarm clock. (I'm hoping it's claim to burn fat pays off, too). What I really like about this supplement is you only have to take one pill every 24 hours.

On the Road to Recovery

Last week was hectic for both husband and myself following his surgery. It's a ton of work being a caregiver and we had many challenges but somehow we survived the week. His f/u appointment was this morning with Dr. Miller and there was a Frankenstein moment as they removed the bandages revealing the staples in his knee. Whew... I didn't hurl ... and the doctor released him to go on with his life with a full leg brace and crutches for six more weeks.

Tempting II

Okay, I'll admit it... I completely lost interest in this Tempting II sweater project. It all started when I ran out of Rowan Calmer and had to order another skein from out of town. Other projects came and went and I was determined to get things caught up this weekend. While the pattern was extremely simple and looks great on the tiny designer, my sideways knit top band turned out ridiculously too big. Although I had read other posts with the same problem, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I was having a problem. I followed all the directions and started over 3 times which took up my whole Saturday. By Sunday, I'd lost all my patience and replaced the [k2tog, k1] with [k2togs] and knit the band on a 2x smaller needle. I'm happy with the results and especially like the comfortable feel of this yarn.

DIY: Pincushions

When mom and I go to the monthly flea market at the colliseum, I'm drawn to baskets, handwrought alluminum, vintage potholders and vases. We've been "pricing" the vintage glamour girl head vases and finally found a couple we could reasonably afford with pincushions in mind. This was a weekend for completing projects and I gathered up some red velvet to complete our fashionable pincushions.