Twisted Stitches

Post-Spring Break Post

Well, Spring Break came and went in a flash as usual. I spent a few days visiting my good friend Rachel (who I've known since I was 3) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Ed went with me, and drove the entire 8 hour drive (which actually only took 6 1/2 even with the Milwaukee construction... shh, don't tell the WI/MI police...) and he wouldn't let me drive. He just kept saying "Just stay awake with me and talk." So I did. I talked, and I knit almost the entire drive, both ways. Now that's saying something, since usually I get motion sickness so easily, it's dangerous just driving to the grocery store and back. But whether it was the excitement of seeing the northern woods of Michigan, or the stress free 5 hours after Green Bay (no traffic, whatsoever, just trees and coastline, and miles and miles of peaceful quiet), I managed to start and finish the left front of Mom's CPH, as well as get sme significant progress on the sock for Klose Knit and one or two lines of the back of Arwen.

While we were there, Ed and I saw Lake Superior for the first time, and visited this cute little cafe/shop called Falling Rock where they sell local artists work from pottery to photography & woodworking. Ed crushed Rachel in chess (or he would have if Rachel had kept playing) while I wandered through their extensive library of books for something knitty (unsuccessfully, might I add *pout*). And since Monday was St. Patrick's day, we had green eggs and ham for breakfast, and went out shopping to buy corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Four grocery stores and a little over a hundred miles later, we had our elusive corned beef. We hiked through crotch high snow to get firewood for the hearth, watched as an intelligent squirrel antagonized her cats from beyond the safety of a glass door, spotted deer around every bend, and wound yarn to the laughter and silliness of Rachel (*door slam* "Ed, can you open the door again? I'm lonely"), and both Ed and I can't wait to return for the summer to enjoy the river, the wilderness, and the peace. (Did I mention their house is RIGHT on the river? No, not a houseboat, but off the bank, silly!)

Most exciting, though, is that I finally have photos of Rachel's Wanderlust. The full project details can be found at my Ravelry notebook, but here are a few photos of this most intense sweater. :)

Since then, I've knit about half way through the right front of Mom's CPH, progress that I made just today since I have time to knit in class again. Haha- what was it that you're supposed to do in class? Take notes? Pay attention? Participate? Oh... whoops... I turned the heel of the Klose Knit sock, and am really excited for Thursday's Knitting Illini meeting. Why? Because that's the day that Ed and I cast on our Entrelac socks! Yay for men knitting, especially men that happen to be my boyfriend.

That's good for now I think, unless I happen to think of something more to add later. Tata!

The Younger Twisted Sister

Blissful Nothingness

So over this weekend the hubby and I did a blissful, wonderful nothing with NO KIDS. Our anniversary was Thursday, so Papa and Nana picked up the kids Saturday morning and didn't bring them back until Sunday evening. SO with all this time on our hands, what did we do? Well, we relaxed. I knitted uninterrupted while we watched the Departed (my goodness...grown up movies? Rated R?! in the middle of the day?!) We played some video games, we ate spicy spicy Mexican food without worrying what to get for the kids, then we actually went out. To a bar. With friends. Until 2:30 in the morning. We met up with everyone at a little Irish bar close to our home that we can walk to. I found out that I LOVE watching Rugby. Honestly. Football players are wimps next to these guys. Wow. I thought the collective amount of brain cells left to football players must be low, but Rugby players? They must share one single one with the whole team with the amount they get hit. The bartender was explaining it to us and he was telling us about Blood Substitutions. They get hit and hurt so much, they have a substitution in the rules for guys bleeding too much. Crazy.
So after that, we went home and slept in. Even so, we were exhausted and run down from one too many beers, so we lazed about again, played more video games, watched the Bears game (wow. did anyone see it? The Bears actually had an offense that scored in the game. Amazing), knitted more, and waited for the kids to come home exhausted and a little sunburnt, but raving about the fun weekend. My son? All he cared about was that he got to ride the train. Lately we have been going going going every weekend that it was really nice to just sit around and do nothing and not have to worry about the kids.
On to knitting. The Secret is finished, so I can show you some progress on other things since I have had tome to work on other things!
Here's my daughter's socks that I actually finished before the secret. All the pictures are blurry for some reason, so I picked the best I could. They are done in a sock yarn called Tiny Toes, but that's all I remember since I can't find the label.

And these here are my current projects. The blue in the background is a sweater from the new Berroco book. It's really cute with pockets in the front that once finished will go to its home at my LYS. Along with the colorful knitting on it which is the beginnings of a scarf out of the new Marisol Project book. The last item in this pile is a new design of mine in Suri Merino. I have raved about he yarn before, so I won't go into that again, but I am loving how the design is turning out and I can't wait to get more of it finished. Unfortunately, the cable rib slows it down (it's just sooo pretty though it makes all those cable rows worth it!). So those are my projects for this month, along with another Central Park Hoodie I have to finish up for the hubby's Gram.
Ahh...back to the regular daily life. Off to make Snickerdoodles and paper crowns with the kids!
ETS

Spike It

So I am working on a new design currently which I am hoping will be up and running this week. It is a simple tank top with a bit of flair at the hips, fitted under the bust and utilizing short rows for the actual bust (cup size). It is turning out as hoped and the Noro Lily yarn is wonderful to work with.
I have another design to post, but I can't just yet. I am in "negotiations" on it, so until all of that is worked out, it stays off the blog, but let me tell you, it really is adorable!
I'll also have my soaps up soon on here as well. I have special edition ones that I sell at my LYS (My Sister's Knits in Chicago, for those in the area).

They are, of course, Twisted Stitches Products, and all of the names are related to knitting somehow. I have 4 batches that I am working on getting packaged this week as well. I use natural products in all of my soaps as well as pure essential oils. 

With all that I have to get finished this week, I also have the 2 monsters of my own and the additional monster that visits us during the week. Todays agenda? Backyard swimming!! We have a cool little shark pool that should keep them busy so that I can finish up the tank (and maybe a chapter of Saving Fish from Drowning....one can hope!)