Meme - 7 Random Things....

I've been tagged by Canary KnitsSeven Random Facts. In non-rebel fashion, I will comply....

Here's the rules:

Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I started going to Africa when I was 13 years old. I went every year until my mid-twenties and went the last time - around 3 or 4 years ago. My Mother has an orphanage in Malawi SE Africa, a soup kitchen for runaway street kids in Kenya, and works in leprosy colonies in northern Africa, as well as India. I have grown up volunteering for her non-profit organization or working under a government grant on/off for years.
2. While I am the baby of the family, I often take on the matriarchal role - from settling disputes between my parents to offering child rearing advise to my siblings...meanwhile I have never been married and only have 4-legged children.
3. I am very argumentative...and have been finding this out more lately with Mr.New Guy.
4. I play the violin, although it has been at the ex's house for almost 9 months now. I use to play for the Church choir and want to start back up again, but am nervous that I have lost my skills.
5. Things have been stressing me out at work lately, but I'm trying to keep my head up.
6. I am left handed as are all of the females in my immediate family, but knit using a continental/right-handed combination.
7. I'm really working on branching out with my knitting skills, including seaming and color work.

In a non-conformist way, I will not tag anyone this time around and just offer anyone interested in sharing to join in on the fun, it's therapeutic....lol.

P.S. There's a pic of me and one of Brandi in the park from our KIP excursion on Sunday. Aren't we enjoying the San Diego sun!

Busy Knitting Bee… loooooong post

So I’ve been a busy bee with knitting these days. I have managed to go to the Infinite Knitters Starbucks meet-up for the last 2 weeks in a row and am going this evening. Who-raw!!! I have a quick FO pic that will be re shot soon….my Ella Rae shrug is finished and worn to work, but not quite finished due to running out of yarn. I cast off for the mere joy of an FO…it’s been sooooooooo long, but am having my trusty knitting bud Brandi frog back the entire neckline. I have already placed an order for one more skein of the Shibu in Caramel along with 5 more skeins in the color blue haze. I’m really loving this shrug. The pattern is so easy to remember and the finished piece is a great addition to any warm weather wardrobe, where the temperature can drop just enough to make you wish your back was covered. I’m making one for my Mother for Mother’s day while I wait for my last skein. I had 3 skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran from a previous secret pal swap. I ordered 2 more skeins to make sure I have enough to make it for her, but am loving the texture and feel so far. Here’s some progress pics of both.





Sunday afternoon Brandi and I met with the Ravelry Knit Nutz group to do a little KIP at Balboa Park. Let me tell you – it was a scorcher that day…my car said it was as much as 97°. What was so great, was that we were on the lawn, under some trees, but a fountain. Could it get anymore “picturesque”? Yes, it could – there was a man playing the saxophone nearby…not too loud, just great background music while we sat, knit, ate, and chatted amongst each other. For those in the San Diego area, please feel free to join. Next week we will be meeting at the Living Room in La Jolla at 1:00 pm. This is a nice little spot, which I was first introduced to a year or so ago when I met a Knitters Review member named Gail in person for a little KIP action. Good memories all around.

Today I had a wonderful surprise, I received the most beautiful gifts from my favorite color swap pal Laura from D.C. She is a spoiler indeed. Since I am actually both a quilter and a knitter, Laura spoiled me with both! The package includes a National Cherry Blossom Festival bag filled with:

• Washington, D.C . – Then and Now book. Perfect for my coffee table! I also love that Laura put little stickies in it sharing her experiences at different locations.
  
• Fons & Porters Quilting Magazine – A perfect way to get me back on the quilting wagon, since it’s been a full year!
  
• The Quilters Apprentice – a Jennifer Chiaverini book. I am hoping to go away for a little getaway sometime soon and this will be the perfect read.
  
• Yarn Harlot’s “Things I Learned from Knitting”. This baby is going with me to Balboa park this weekend!
  
• A cute DPN case
  
• Notecards
  
• Last but not least….(hey – she made me open this one last too! Lol)…7 skeins of Ella Rae Bamboo Silk in plum. The color is GORGEOUS and it feels so luxurious, I can’t stop touching it.

Thank you so much Laura. You are so wonderful! I couldn’t have picked out better myself!



I have a long-over due meme, but will save that for Tuesday or Wednesday, as this post may have dragged on past the normal knitter’s attention span. Plus…I’ve got to look over my blog roll before meeting with the Infinite Knitters myself to catch up. I’ve missed all of you!

Knit Night and Fusion

I am always planning on going to the many knit groups that there are in San Diego. Last week I missed Bobmas Even at the Grove and missed Knitnutz the past two Sundays. Well - I managed to make it to the Infinite Knitters Knit Night at Starbucks after work yesterday. I had a great time. I had been missing my friend Brandi and I knew she'd be there. It was a blast and she and I stayed until Starbucks kicked us out at 10:30 pm. Here's some pics from the group, including a budding tradition...shooting pics of our "knits as friends". Gotta love the mind of knitters. Unique to the core.


So I've been plugging away at my Fusion project. I have only 8 more rows (2 pattern repeats) before I'm on the second side. It's a pretty easy pattern and I should be finished by early next week. Here she is hanging out on the bushes and then a close up of the pattern design.

Vegas without Knits

I am back from Vegas, without having cast on for my new project and without getting rid of my "whatever makes me hack and cough and not breathe" thing I have. Being under the weather did not help liven things up for sure, but I still managed to make it to see the big Cirque du Soleil production K À.

The Mandalay Bay at a beautiful french restaurant called Fleur de Lys. Chef Hubert is amazing. Despite the smaller portions, everything added up to a perfectly filling meal with tones of taste. I started my meal with the chilled oysters with champagne on top. The main course was filet mignon with lobster tails and a whipped potato that was as smooth as cream. For dessert, I chose the cheese plate along with jellies and honey comb. Perfect! Trust me. Since I don't have any knit pics, I'll give you a photo laden post of my trip.

The Bedroom with Sitting Area overlooking the pool

The entrance at the Venetian

After a tough day on the tables...lol...naah, just pooped!

The suite was over 1200 square feet with four flat screen tvs (bar area, living room, bedroom, & bathroom), a sitting area in the bedroom, a jacuzzi tub, and two separate bathrooms. If I could even have that kind of set-up in a condo to purchase in San Diego - I'd be happy! lol

So....about the bf. He's the guy that I mentioned a while back. We had a date and have been seeing each other ever since. I'll keep you posted...

Frogged Again!!!!

I am soooo bummed. I tried on my tube toporini and it just doesn't look nice on me. I'm not sure what it is, but instead of finishing it up for FOs sake, I've frogged. This is the second project in a row and with the same cottonease yarn. I'm heading to Vegas with my BF tonight for the weekend and have packed a new project that I hope I'll only get a chance to work on at the airport and on the short flight. The fact that I'm under the weather is even putting a damper on my trip. A bunch of meds later, I hope I'll be feeling good by tomorrow morning. Back to knitting....my new project is from Ella Rae - Book Seven. It's called Fusion and calls for Ella Rae Shibu which I ordered from elann.com. Please send out some good knitting vibes my way - I need to have a positive FO and I mean stat! I'll try to take some Vegas pics to post on Monday.