I'm Potty for Harry ...

I know that there is no way I will get another pair of socks finished for a second sock swap, but I can mange to put a kit together! :) I joined the Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap, and it looks like a lot of fun! We will be making a project bag and stocking it with the goodies needed to make a pair of socks. Of course, there is yet another questionnaire ...


1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?
Hufflepuff

2. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.
Crystal Palace 6 inch - size 1 or 2 depending on the weight of the yarn.

3. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
Sure! Anything but Brittany birch - they always break on me.

4. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?

5. If your pal decides to send candies or chocolates are there any that you don't like?
I can hoestly say that other than vomit flavored Bertie Bot's, I haven't met many goodies I don't like ...

6. What are your favorite scents?
vanilla, cinammon

7. Do you have any allergies?
Highly allergic to cats!

Felted Bag Swap Questionnaire

I joined another swap - The Felted Bag Swap. We are going to swap socks. Oh, no, wait, what are we swapping again??? Oh, yeah! A felted bag ... *grin*

1. How long have you been knitting or crochetting? How did you learn?

I have been knitting for almost 2 years, and I have been crochetting for ...GULP... 30 years. I learned to crochet by looking at pictures in a crochet pattern book. When I was about 13, one of the big fads was a doll with long curly legs and arms. I loved them and made a zillion of them. They looked kind of like the M&M guys in drag. I learned to knit when Jenn brought in her unbelievabley gorgeous Fair Isle sweaters that she was making as gifts in to work one day. She taught me - she is the bestest knitting teacher in the world :)

2. What are your favorite yarns to knit\crochet felted bags with?

I have felted with Woolbearer's Handpainted, Cascade 220, KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, Lamb's Pride, and Jamieson's. All have felted well, and I really don't have a favorite. The color is the most important thing - it has to be the right color for the project.

3. What are your favorite needles to knit\crochet with?

It depends on what I am knitting - I like DPNs for socks, and KnitPicks Options for other items. I have a large selection of straights and circs, and it really just depends on the projects. I use Boyle crochet hooks.

4. What are the last 3 bags you knitted\crochetted (include URL for Yahoo! or flickr album or your blog if you have them!)? You can also link to patterns if you don't have pictures of your finished objects!

a) a green cabled bag with bamboo handles for my Knitted Purse Swap 2 partner
b) a burgundy/green felted purse for my International Tote Swap partner
c) a beige messenger bag for my Knitted Purse Swap partner

5. Do you carry the bags that you make, give them as gifts, or both?

I usually give them in swaps. I have also knitted a couple for charity fundraisers. I usually carry the bag that I receive in a swap :)

6. What is your favorite felted bag that you have made for yourself?

I have only made one bag for myself - it was my first one. It is okay, but nothing to write home about. It is too shallow, but I use it sometimes for carrying a small project.

7. What are your favorite colors? Do you like bags in these colors or choose other colors?

My favorite colors are blue and green, but I love all colors, and there is not a single color that I dislike.

8. Chocolate: White, Milk, Dark, or not so much?

Dark, baby - it's good for your heart ;) or milk chocolate with Hazelnut.

9. Coffee, Tea, or Milk?

Coffee - preferably european style - very strong with cream. I don't do the brown water coffee served at most places in the US. Iced tea, especially sweet tea. Milk with hot out of the oven brownies.

10. Do you prefer sweet or salty treats? What kinds?

I prefer sweet over salty. Chocolate.

11. If you went into Bath and Body Works and could only come out with one item, what would it be and what would it smell like?

Brown sugar vanilla bubble bath. I also like their aromatherapy Sensual Jasmine stuff.

12. Do you enjoy any other crafts or hobbies? Do you collect anything?

I also cross stitch, quilt, and sew. I collect small glass ladybugs.

13. Are there any bag patterns you have not yet knit, but hope to someday?

I saw a really cool pattern for a grey felted cabled hobo bag in one of the knitting magazines at Borders last year, and have been kicking myself for not buying it ever since!! One day, that pattern and I will meet again, and it will be MINE, I say, MINE!!

14. What is currently OTN (on the needles) for you?

a) Natural Dye Studios Sock Club socks
b) Circle of Friendship socks
c) Nantucket Jacket
d) Baby Sac (a Phildar pattern - I am learning to knit in French)

15. What is your most recent finished object before that?

The green cabled purse for my Knitted Purse Swap 2 partner.

16. What's cutest: Puppies, Piggies or Pixies?

Puppies are very cute - I just love the way they romp and play and who doesn't love "puppy breath"?? Pixies are very cute as well, and I have a couple of pixie candle holders that I really like. Piggies ... well, piggies are good for breakfast. Let's just leave it at that.

17. Do you enjoy reading? Books, Magazines, or both?

Yes, I do enjoy reading, but I am kind of picky about my books. I like most magazines. I subscribe to Golf for Women, Interweave Knits, and Better Homes & Gardens.

18. Do you have any children? (kid-kind or pet-kind apply!)

I have 2 children who are grown and live independently. I live with my boyfriend, and he has two teenage sons that we spend time with on the weekends.

19. What are some of your favorite yarns for other projects?

It really depends on the project. Color, hand and drape are the most important factors. For baby items, I like to use Snuggly DK or Plymouth Cherub. For socks, I like superwash wool/nylon blend. For everything else, it depends on the look I am trying to achieve.

20. And for the final question, one I see debated all over: Novelty Yarn: Love it! Hate it! or It depends!

I really don't like novelty yarn scarves. I can't stand anything fuzzy near my face. I have seen some interesting bags with some novelty yarn carried along, and I would like to try that. So I guess I am in the "It depends" group.

About allergies and smoke:
I am highly allergic to cats, and the smell of cigarette smoke makes me nauseous.

An FO!!

I finished my Purse for The Knitted Purse Swap 2. I am very pleased with it, and think it came out pretty good. I couldn't believe how incredibly soft the yarn is - it is Royal Bamboo by Plymouth. I hope that it is durable. One thing that I did not like about working with this yarn is that it splits like crazy! There are about 692 strands, and some always want to stay behind when you try to knit ... ugh! What a pain! But the fabric has a lovely drape, and I can see that it would make a wonderful summer sweater. I might have to bite the bullet and use it again!

I am in the process of packing the box of goodies to go into the mail tomorrow!

I received my first set of stitch markers!

Aren't they beautiful? They were made for me by Marsha, in Rochester, NY. I love the colors - especially the faceted cat's eye beads - very pretty! She included a tin of cinnamon heart - YUM! Thank you Marsha!!

And the Winner Is ....

EVERYONE!! That's right, everyone is a winner at Chez Ladybug this morning :)

Lisa, Cheryl and my SP10 pal answered the question I asked on March 30th correctly. Lisa and Cheryl, drop me an e-mail with your snail mail addy, and I will get your book out to you right away. SP10 pal, TRHM has been sworn to secrecy, so he will e-mail you for your addy, send out your book, and promises not to reveal your identity to me. Or, you can wait until after SP10, and when your identity is revealed, I will send your book. Which ever you prefer.

Stay tuned for pics later today - I have an FO!! and I received the most beautiful stitch markers in the mail!

Vexed by Harry Potter

I have enjoyed the HP movies just as much as the next gal, but I am not really a hardcore HP fan. But lately, every since joining the Hoqwarts Sock Swap, I have been immersed in all things Potter. This link was posted by Becky on the HSS blog, and I couldn't resist trying it. It is a name generator to find your HP name.

I typed in my name, and it came up with Phyllida Kwikspell. Very cool. There is also a male version, and I couldn't help it, I just had to know what TRHM's HP name would be. He always uses his full name, Michael, not Mike for anything official and his middle initial, "C", even though he HATES his middle name. One of the first things he did when we started dating was swear me to secrecy regarding his middle name, so I can't tell you that it is .... HA - I can't tell! Well, guess what his HP name is?? Sirius Butterbeer - I laughed so hard I almost fell off the chair!!

Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

The Sorting Hat was placed upon my head,
It whispered to me, then it said,
“You are hard working, friendly, and fair,
Hufflepuff will welcome you there!”

2. Shoe size?

My shoes are a size nine,
But make them wide to fit fine.

3. Foot Length? Foot Circumference?

I measured my foot and found it is square,
It is 10 inches here and 10 inches there!
Short socks are best,
To fit all the rest!

4. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

For sock knitting, DPNs are the best
Believe me, I’ve tried all the rest!
About the Magic Loop everyone raves,
All the time and energy it saves!
I’ve tried the Loop, and it left me flat,
Again, I won’t be doing that!
On two circs, the socks, they soar,
So I tried two circs, but nevermore!
Once my faves were Brittany Birch,
They snapped in half, leaving me in a lurch!
Crystal Palace, six inches long, in size two
Are for sock knitting, the only DPNs that will do!

5. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?

I am adventurous, that much is true,
I will try anything, chosen by you.

6. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?

My friends at Ravenclaw, with beauty fair,
Look lovely in any color they wear!

7. Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?

Wizards are found all over the World,
Socks will be knitted, socks will be purled.
They will be packaged, and by swift owl delivered,

No matter where you are, your location can be conjured!

By the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!

I made it into the Hogwarts Sock Swap! Whew! I was #92, and the cut off is 100! I put on the sorting hat, and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Guess who else is in Hufflepuff? My International Tote Swap partner, and the creator of that gorgeous ladybug bag, Cheryl!

For this swap, we are assigned a partner. We make a pair of socks in their house color (the sorting hat has been very busy!!) and send them to our secret pal with a new pair of sock knitting needles and a stitch marker, also in their house color.

I am working on my questionnaire answers, and will post then very soon.

Row counters

I've received some questions on the row counters, so let me explain ...

Many of you know that I am a no-rules kinda gal - I believe in doing what works for you, not necessarily what the directions or pattern says to do. I guess that is the rebel in me that I inherited from my mother, lol! The row counter is sort of like that - use them the way they work for you!

I use the row counter to keep track of repeats in a pattern. You will notice that one end has one bead between the rings. That is the "start" end. You slip the first ring onto the needle. As you complete the row, you move to the next ring, letting both ends dangle down. I only advance mine on the right side rows, and find them especially useful for keeping track of cables - they are an easy way to keep track of when it is time to cable.

For those of you interested in making them, they are really easy to make. The first thing I do is make a bunch of jump rings (I wrap wire around a large knitting needle), you can also use ready made jump rings available at your local craft store (Michael's Craft, A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby, etc). Then I make the bead units to go in between the rings. I use sterling silver findings for mine because it is pretty. I purchase packages of eye pins, so I don't have to make both loops :) I use a small seed bead then a larger bead, then another seed bead and use my round nosed pliers to make a loop on the other end. Then it is just a matter of putting together the sequence - ring, bead unit, ring, 2 bead units, ring, 3 bead units ... you get the picture ... You can make these as long as you wish. I find that they are most practical with 5 rings. But hey, no rules, right? So make them as long as you wish!

Stitch Markers

I participated in my first ever Stitch Marker Exchange. I've made earrings, but haven't tried stitch markers. I was feeling adventurous, so I signed up for 3 international partners. Robyn worked really hard, and matched all of us to the number of partners we requested. For this exchange, we are supposed to make 5 markers for each of our partners. I made 5 markers and a matching row counter. One set is mauve and white, one set is green and orange, and the last set is blue and white. I made my own jumprings by wrapping sterling silver wire around a size 11 knitting needle. It was a lot of fun, and I think I will make these sets to send out in all of my various swap packages. They are going in the mail today to Canada, Ireland and Hungary - how cool is that??

The Great Turtle Race

Did you know that leatherback turtles are over 100 million years old?

There is a website that is dedicated to tracking the journey 11 leatherback turtles are making from Costa Rico to The Galapagos Islands. They are calling it The Great Turtle Race. You can go to the website and choose a turtle to cheer on in the race to The Galapagos. You can also make a donation to leatherback turtle conservation through the site.

Of course, as a Drexel University alumna, I had to choose Drexelina.

My favorite knitting accessory

Our SP10 Hostess is having a contest, and wants us all to blog about our favorite knitting accessory. This has been a really hard post for me to do, I've been thinking about this for almost 2 weeks. The truth is, I have tons of knitting accessories, but don't have a fave ... I have a WONDERFUL knitting needle case for DPNs that my International Tote Swap pal, Cheryl, sent me. I really like that a lot :) It keeps all my DPNs organized into little sections. I have some beautiful handmade stitch markers that The Uber-Talented Jenn made me, as well as those funky lime and violet rubber markers and those peach and aqua moveable markers. I have needle gauges, scissors, blocking pins, all sorts of knitting accoutrement ...

But I have to say that my absolute favorite "knitting accessory" is my computer. I know that most people don't think of it as a knitting accessory, but I use it for most of the things I knit. When I want a cool pattern, or some cool yarn that I cannot find in any of the many yarn shops I visit, I can always find it online. When I find a pattern, and there is a technique that I have not used, and need some help in figuring it out, I check the internets. Amazing what you can find on those internets, isn't it?? If I am still stumped, I zip off an e-mail to one of my wonderful knitting friends. When I need a little lift, I can always count on the many talented knitters out there and their blogs. When no part of my tri-focals will read a chart, there is always the trusty scanner/copier/printer and the enlarge button :) When I want to share my latest project, I snap a few digi-pics, and upload them to the computer for posting.

One of my favorite songs has the lyric "This old guitar gave me my life, my living, all the things I love to do ... "** It might sound silly, or geeky, but my computer has given me so many of the things I love to do - TRHM (we met online), all kinds of knitty goodness (and all my other crafts, too!), and all of my wonderful knitty friends! I have been blessed to meet some really wonderful people through blogging and all of the knitting groups, KALs and swaps I enjoy! So I have to say that the computer is definitely my favorite knitting accessory!

** Do you know the reference? If you can name the artist and the title of the song, post a comment. I'll put all of the correct answers into a hat, and TRHM will draw a name for a copy of The Yarn Harlot's latest book - The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting.

Purse Swap

I have finally gathered all of the perfect materials for my Purse Swap project. I have found a stitch pattern that I like, and designed a purse using it. This fabric will be the inner lining, and there will be pockets and a zipper compartment. I think it might turn out to be my best FO ever!

Vicarious Yarn Shopping

Jenn requested that I share photos of the goodies I picked up on my vacation, so this morning, I did a little photoshoot on my dining room table.


The first shop I went to was KnitWitz. There were two ladies knitting, and a little boy, about 9, in the shop. The little fella was home sick from school, sort of. He had broken his arm, and was having a rough day, so he went to work at the knitting shop with his Mom. One of the things I really liked about this shop was the play area they had for kids. A lot of shops have a basket of toys, mostly for toddlers, but this shop had a good sized play area, with two of those low to the ground video-game raocker chairs, a cozy plush rug, and a TV with a VCR. It was tucked away in the corner so that the kids could have thier own space while still being supervised. They could watch a video (Star Wars was the flick du jour that day), and lounge. There were also knitting needles and yarn for those kids who are interested in giving it a go.

The shop had a nice selection of yarn and patterns. There were baboos, mohairs and silks along one wall, a cabinet full of baby yarn, and another wall of merinos, alpacas, and wool. I started chatting with one of the ladies who was working on socks. She expressed a concern that the toe would be too pointey for her because her foot is square. I told her that was the best thing about knitting your own socks, you can make the toe fit your foot! I saw the lightbulb come on as she realized that she didn't have to follow the pattern exactly! It was really fun! Well, at this shop, I got some baby yarn, and the perfect yarn for an exchange I am doing. I bought 2 skeinseach of Sirdar Tiny Tots in baby blue with dark blue and white pips, Plymouth Dream Baby in blue white and yellow, Wendy Velvet Touch in pink, white and spring green, and Wildfoote sock yarn. I also got 4 skeins of bamboo in a dark lime green.

I got this great pattern for a tube top made from 2 skeins of Cascade Fixation and the yarn to make it. Of course, this is not a pattern for me, but something for someone else.










These patterns are for me. Yet another sweater that I will probably never get to, LOL, and a pair of socks. They had this adorable scarf pin, and I just had to have it because it has a ladybug on it :)







This little fella was too cute to pass up! He is made from real alpaca, and although it looks like hide with fur, I have been assured that is not the case.









The second shop was A Stitch In Time. As I entered the shop, I realized that I had been here several years ago, before I learned to knit. They have a huge selection of counted-cross-stitch and needlepoint patterns, canvases, threads, wools and accessories in addition to an impressive yarn selection in the back. Even though the yarn section is very small, they manage to have lots of variety neatly organized and arranged. I purchased a cross-stitch pattern.




During our week in Orlando, I went to Sip & Knit. This was a very nice shop, with three large rooms filled with knitterly goodness! In addition to the three rooms, there were lots of accessories, buttons and bags in the foyer area near the cash register. Although I was tempted to buy all sorts of wonderful things, I was mindful of my commitment to Stash Along, and only purchased two skeins of Wildfoote sock yarn and two patterns. I really like these patterns - they are Danish patterns, and I don't often see European patterns in my LYS.

So I used my free day for March early on, then took a strike in Stash Along just a couple of days later. YIKES! I'd better stay out of the yarn shops for a while!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig!

I can't believe we have been home for almost a week. Well, I have. TRHM left for Colorado at Oh-God-Thirty Monday morning. He is at school learning to fix a new model of self-checkout lane.

We got home Saturday at lunchtime, and had a couple of errands to take care of, including a visit to the ER. As a retired service member, his "primary provider" is Maguire Air Force Base's medical clinic. Unfortunately, they do not have weekend hours, and it takes weeks to get an appointment. They do not have "walk-in" hours, and if you are sick and need to see a doctor right away, they tell him to go to the local ER. Nice. Your tax dollars hard at work ... errrrrrr... So, we headed off to our local ER, and waited for 2 hours. TRHM has a sinus infection. He was feeling crappy, and he was very cranky, having been in the car for the past 18 hours. The nurse practitioner who saw him was very sweet, and guess what? She is a knitter!! Yep, we talked about knitting, and I gave her my phone number and e-mail.

On Sunday, I did the laundry, ironed TRHM's shirts, and packed his suitcase for his trip. We got up in the middle of the night on Monday, and I took him to the airport. It has been a busy week without him! I took his youngest, Daniel, for a haircut on Monday, and to the Yu-Gi-Oh tournament at the local comic shop on Tuesday. I have been knitting away ... and frogging ... and will post progress pics later today.

Down Day

Day Three was a down day. We planned to do some shopping for the business, and some yarn shopping. It was a bit of a disappointment, we went to 5 comic shops, and only 1 had any furry material. But we did find a couple of books that we needed.

We also went to a lovely yarn shop called Sip & Knit. They had lots of wonderful fiber goodness! There were three rooms - the first room had all sorts of wonderful alpacas, merinos, and wools. The woman from the shop sat at the table knitting and chatting with TRHM while I shopped. He told her all about Sock Wars and the purse swaps I've done, and it was so fun to listen to him be enthusiastic about my knitting. The second room was filled with every imaginable felting yarn, and lots and lots of beautiful felted bags. The third room was mostly pattern books. They had the usual patterns, Fiber Trends, Oat Couture, Ann Norling, etc, but also binders filled with European patterns. I bought two Danish sweater patterns - one a beautiful lacy shell and the other was a pretty twin set. I also bought two skeins of yarn for someone else, so I don't think they should count in my Stash-Along ...

Epcot

Day two of our vacation - we all went to Epcot. We had a great time touring all of the countries, and had some terrific meals. Lunch was at The Marrekesh Cafe - complete with belly dancer. It was great fun!

We went to The Biergarten in Germany for dinner. The show was terrific, and the kids really enjoyed dancing to the Oom-Pa-Pa band. My sister and The Birthday Boy did the chicken dance.

He misses his birdies

TRHM feeds the birds at home every day. The first thing he does every morning is look out the window at the birdfeeders. He loves the birdies, and has been worried that they haven't had any food since we have been gone. Before we left, he filled all three feeders to the very top, and filled a bowl with seed, and put 1/2 a loaf of bread out for them.

Everywhere we go he shares his stash of chocolate chip cookies with the birds and ducks.

Vacation!

After the show, we headed down to Orlando for a vacation. The first day, TRHM and I went to Universal. We had a wonderful time, and went on all the attractions.

We walked through the retail/restaurant district called City Walk, and went right into the WRONG gate ... oops! We ended up in Islands of Adventure. It was really cool, we went through the Dr. Seuss-land through to the Neptune attraction. TRHM was really impressed with special effects, and we had a lot of fun. We came out of Neptune, and I was looking on the map for Amity and the Jaws ride, and couldn't find it. That is when I realized we were not actually in Universal Studios ... so we headed to Guest Relations at the main gate, and they were very accommodating. In fact, they said that it happens all the time, and another couple came in behind us with the same problem. We chatted with the fellow who was greeting people and directing them to the correct customer service lane, and he gave us some free Express Lane passes. Normally you can buy these "add-ons" (as if $65/person isn't enough and you need to spend more), and you can get into the Express Lane at the attractions. We went into Universal, and managed to get into all of the attractions. We had a great day, and ended with some time in the hot tub at the house.

Today is Epcot with my family. FUN!!

MegaPlex

This weekend was MegaPlex in Jacksonville. It was more like MiniPlex. There were very few attendees, and we were the only dealer. You would think that as the only dealer, we would do a landslide business. Not so. The website described this show as sci-fi, fantasy and anthro. Yeah, RIGHT! We had 16 feet of goodies, toys, rare action figures, Yu-Gi-Oh playing cards, all sorts of goodies. We were looking forward to selling some of this inventory, as we do not normally have an outlet for it. There was some interest, but no one was buying. Sales were very light and there was not much in the way of other activities.

One of the fun things about this weekend was that my sister and her kids arrived Saturday evening. The kids spent the night at the hotel with us. It was the first time they had ever seen "furries". They were well prepared, though. I gave them these plush half masks that I sell on the table, and they watched the fursuit parade.