Bird's Nest Knits

One more day...

I'm so jazzed - tomorrow seven knitters - Heidi, Wendy, Crissy, Hilari, Mary Kay, Yoly and myself are hopping into a couple of cars and driving up to Big Bear for the weekend! 

The idea came around when Heidi and I were noting how fun a knitters cruise would be and there was one with the Stitch & Bitch chick Debi Stoller.  THEN we saw how much it would be.  *choke-$800HAH-choke*  Got the book, thats good enough for me thanks.  Then we waxed poetic about how nice it would be to get away, and go with people we already knew who we had a good time with and voila - The Knitters Retreat was born.  (for a TENTH the cost mind you).  The cabin has a full kitchen so we are cooking most of our meals and hopefully will get a hike in at some point. 

And yes... there will be booze involved.

It was an incredible sunset tonight - heres what it looked like from my back yard.

Amazing what nature can do with a smog layer.

So with the recent travelling - the time afforded me a chance to actually KNIT.  Amazing I know.  And what do I do with the time?  Do I finish any of the various languishing items in my knitting bag?  Of course not.  I immediately cast for Mariah using the Odyssey 100% merino yarn that I got from Mary Kay not too long ago.  I've fallen in love with cable knitting - even though it requires a good bit of attention to follow along with the chart.  I got one of these:

which rules by the way.   Its got magnets and you can frame the row that you are working on.  Why didnt I think of this?   Brilliant.

I'm knitting both sleeves - also known has gauge swatches - at the same time, and Im liking how its turning out so far.  I've got plans for the body too.  I'm going to run the small cables up the sides to kind of shape the sweater a little bit and to keep the knitting not quite so much stockinette.  I also may do a shawl collar instead of the hood.    Its a super secret Christmas present for my sister.   Hopefully for Christmas 06 and not 09.

I got my first skeins of Sweet Georgia Yarns too.  They are mucho squishy and the color is almost edible.  I've got a long list of socks on my to-knit- list so I'm looking forward to casting on for these.  The left is a skein of Speed Demon Sock Yarn in Viola and the right is Marina.   I love me some worsted weight socks.

Like a Japanese tourist....

I have a small tendency for impulse purchases...  And the latest of these to blindside my bank account is this lovely item.. the Canon PowerShot S2 IS Digital Camera. 

I've spent most of the afternoon taking photos of such important things as the back of my dog's head, various unfinished objects (if only to document the shameful number of them), my toes (which are strangely wrinkly - like my own reverse Dorian Gray) , my gecko, and more photos of my feet.  Everyone's feet are weird looking.  I've never had anyone who had a foot fetish check out my feet - who knows - maybe they are sexy as hell and I dont even know it.  Doubtful.

This camera has a lot of features (read.. unknown buttons and stuff that boggles Nancy's work weary brain) and I should read the manual (read skim through long enough to figure out what the symbols mean but not know how to use them), and learn how to use my camera (read turn a $450 digital camera BACk into the $200 point and shoot that I replaced with it, and leave it on Auto at all times).  See the common theme here?  I am teaching you how to think Nancy.  Try not to be too scarred by it though - we are just beginning.

Just to shake things up - here are some photos of my fur child - just because someone has to balance out all those knitter's cat photos.
(*cough*WendyKnits,AuntPurl,insertyouknowwhoyouarehere*cough*) 

Us dog lovers have to represent yo.  (I am so not ghetto that its not even funny.  Ok... so its a little funny.. at least to me anyhow.)

Isn't she pretty?

So back to those unfinished objects - here they are listed from Oldest to Newest:

Knitty's Cleo - well over two years old - 30% just the boob cups finished
Fingerless Gloves - done except for thumbs - year old - 95%
Manly Sweater - 8 months at least - 35%
Mariah - 2" into the first sleeve err.. swatching.. thats it.. - 6 months - 5%
Annie Modesitt's Silk Ribbed Corset - down to armholes - 2 months 15%

Clapotis - *inward groan* - an inTERMinable month - 35%

Madli's Shawl - 1 week - 0% - ripping back to cast on and redoing 13 rows - serves me right for watching Megladon while trying to knit her.  She was pissed.

You'd think that I could stick to one project - but a fickle knitter I am, yes sirree.   Is anyone planning to go to Knit for the Cure in Pasadena next weekend on the 15th?  Mebbe we can carpool and meet up with some other bloggers.

Oh...  meet my gecko... uh.. I never gave her a name.  She's just.. my gecko.  And I've had her (and another gecko who shall remain unnamed.. har har..)  for about 5 years now.

I've had lizards for years - since college really, some Bearded dragons which were my favorite, and now just a pair of Leopard Geckos.  There's been a moratorium on getting more, I guess the sound of crickets isn't loved by everyone.

Want to know what is enough to make Nancy scream her damn head off?  If only this was a sexual innuendo...

I swear this thing was the size of a quarter.  And by the by - all photos except for this last one were taken by the new toy.