SP Package 2

On Thursday I came home between my last two classes because I was tired and thought some fresh air and change of scenery might help wake me up. Boy am I glad I did! I came home to find a package from my Secret Pal! Look what she sent me:

She had a really cute birthday card with a kitten and yarn on the front, a package of two DP Wip Tubes (which I really needed), a beautiful suncatcher, and some gorgeous, soft, yummy Fleece Artist Trail Socks yarn in the Seafoam colourway!

Thanks so much Secret Pal - I love it all!


Look how gorgeous the suncatcher is held up to the back window...sooooo pretty!

I've used Fleece Artist once before and find the socks to be nice and soft, especially after washing them. I have another hank of Fleece Artist wound into a ball (I had it with me when I went to South Korea), but haven't knit it up yet. I have the pattern for it (one from Monica), but I was waiting on the size 0 needles. I now have size 0, so all I need to do is get knitting.

I've got a presentation coming up this week, on Thursday, for the Social Studies Education class I'm in. It's a group project, and we are actually going to do a few activities in our lesson which we learned last semester when some of our class went to the Wetlands Center not too far from here. That was actually for our science class, but we chose to do this presentation for a grade 4 class, and in that curriculum there is a section on how humans affect rivers, lakes, oceans, etc. We talked it over with our prof (she also taught us the science class last semester) and she gave us the go-ahead to do it. She didn't get to go to the workshop with us, so she said she's anxious to see what we learned there. I'm sure it's going to go well. We've got another meeting or two this week to put things all together to make sure it falls into place.

A few months ago I got a new camera (Pentax K200D). A few weeks ago my friend, Michelle, invited me over to her place to help me learn some hints and tips for taking pics. I've used a 35mm SLR camera (Pentax as well), but I don't remember all that I had learned for using it. Besides, things are a little different with digitals...but the basics like aperture, f-stops, etc. are still the same. Anyway, we got some flowers at one of the grocery shops and did some macro shots. I've got about half a dozen up on my other blog, Confirm The Work of Our Hands, if anyone is interested in seeing them. I can't seem to get the posts to link, but they are the first two posts listed (would be the second and third if I manage to get a post made there before someone has a chance to visit).


I'll leave you all with a nice close-up of Tinker Belle. I had to snap quickly because she wouldn't stay still too long!

Happy knitting!

Keeping Busy With School

Just a quick update...

Haven't been working on any knitting lately - well, that's somewhat of a lie...I did do a few rounds on a couple of scarves I've got on the needles. They will be going on next year's mitten tree at the church, so there is no hurry for them.

I did join the scarf exchange over at Ravelry and we got assigned our people to knit for the other day. Have to check with my downstream (I think that's the right term) person and see if she wants this to remain "secret" or not. As for me, if my upstream pal sees this - I don't mind if this is not secret. Have to start looking for a good pattern and nice yarn to make the scarf. We have to send our packages out by the middle of April (I think it's the middle, though I have to double check on it again).

My birthday was yesterday and it was nice. In one of my classes, they all sang me Happy Birthday and one of the girls sitting at my table laughed and told me I was turning red, lol. My mom made me a cherry cheesecake and gave me some money, and the fellow I've been seeing since early December took me out to dinner at Swiss Challet (it was my choice of where I wanted to go, and Swiss Challet is my favourite).

Well, just wanted to post a quick update. Need to get back to the homework. I'm working on a rough copy of my bio-resume for one of my classes. I have a lot of it written out already so I just need to type it up and finish the parts I don't have completed - and tweak things up somewhat. I've also got some other homework to do as well, though I think tonight will be "light" for homework.

Anyway, happy knitting to you all!

A Meme

Found this on another blog and thought it sounded like it might be fun, so I did it as well. Feel free to do this meme as well, and let me know. I'd love to see which things you've done!


Copy, paste, and bold what you have done!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Gone rollerskating
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar eclipse)
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise - Does a Nile dinner cruise count?
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Acted in a play or performed on stage
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa - Egypt in Feb. 2008
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies - It's Girl Guides in Canada, but same thing
62. Gone whale watching (not yet, but hopefully this year)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - not a whole book yet, but a short story in an anthology, as well as a chapter in a book by several authors.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Won money
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Lou Diamond Phillips
92. Joined a book club
93. Had to put someone you love in Hospice Care
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a safe and fun-filled New Year's Eve last night. I got to spend the evening with Richard Dean Anderson (sigh)...mind you he was on the screen of my laptop while I enjoyed viewing him on Stargate SG-1! I also did a little knitting while watching the DVD.

Well, I had wanted to get my mittens finished before midnight, you know, so I could add them to my list of completed items for 2008. However, such was not the case. I did get a lot of the second one done last night, though. I'm not overly satisfied with the way I chose to close the top though (Kitchener Stitch). I should have just pulled the yarn through like the pattern called for. However, I didn't particularly want them coming to a point either. Also, somehow one mitten is a little roomier than the other. I think I must have knit it with a looser stitch...

The pattern I used was Mittens for Children & Adults (pattern #NN106) from Sandy's Needle Nook. I made the Ladies size using Briggs & Little Heritage yarn, and 4.0mm DPNs.

I got up today and found it was storming. It started through the night (the snow started up around 9:00 or 10:00 pm) and it continues as I type. It's definitely a good day to stay in, wrap up and keep warm and do some reading and/or knitting - or watching RDA some more ;o).

So, this morning I finished off the second mitten and had my mom pose for them outside. She wanted to get the front walk shovelled off, and I offered to do it but she declined. She didn't want me to hurt my back again. However, she's not as young as she used to be so if it's too heavy, I don't let her do it (even if it means putting out my back again). She said if she got too tired that she would stop and have me finish it. Thankfully, the entire walk wasn't drifted in. Towards the driveway, there was little to no snow; it all seemed to be mostly around the front step area.

I finished work on Monday and have the rest of the week to myself. I started on another Tube Scarf (see the previous post) while at work, but haven't worked on it since. I may pick it up later on and work on it, or I might start something new. Maybe I'll see if I can find a nice scarf pattern on Ravelry to use with my Malabrigo my SP13 spoiler gave me! I can't wait to knit that up - the colours are soooo pretty, and the yarn is so soft!

Well, just wanted to give a quick little update. I wish you all the best for 2009, with