I've moved!!

I've decided to move my blog.

I hope you'll come visit me!

www.sharkypurl.com

Thanks again, SP10!!

Here's a picture of all the goodies my super-fantastic SP10 sent me! Thanks again...I love everything!

I couldn't wait to play with that fancy roving...so look what I did tonight...80 yards of silky love!

Thanks again!!!!

I'm alive...but my old laptop isn't

Yes, it's been awhile. Things have been busy and in the middle of it, my laptop decided that it no longer wanted to take a charge from the power cable. Good news...the fellows I work with bought me a brand new MacBook. I love this little sucker.

I have lots to share...but no pictures. I lost the sync cord for my phone and need to buy some batteries for my camera.

Let's see...what's happened over the last few weeks...

- I turned down a pretty great job offer.
- I've been working on final touches on our summer cottage which is hitting the market this week. (anyone looking for a nice house on a lake in northern Illinois?)
- Moved my hang out room from the second floor "creepy room" to the basement. It's nice and cool down there for the summer.
- and a TON of other stuff too...

My mom and I went on a field trip this past Saturday to The Fold in Marengo, Illinois. It's about 90 minutes west of the city...in the country. Mom was totally overwhelmed with the selection of yarn (biggest collection of sock yarn ever!), roving, etc. She picked up some fantastic sock yarn and some dyeing supplies for my sister. I bought some sock yarn for my Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap partner...a beautiful skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Boucle for a shawl, and a cool roving kit "Blue Moon Western Luxury Collection." It's going to be fun!!

We had a nice lunch in downtown Woodstock and then stopped at an antique mall before heading back. It was a great day.

Know what made the day even better?! When I got home there was a package for me from SP10!! This crazy woman sent me some super kick-ass stuff!! A book called "The Knitters Bible Knited Accessories" (which I've never seen and LOVE), a hilarious bumble bee tape measure (pull the stinger to measure!), size 6 bamboo dpns, and yarn...lots of yarn! A gorgeous skein of Socks that Rock in Rare Gem colorway --- all my favorite deep jewel tones! A skein of pretty purpley/pinkish yarn from Mama Llama called Vino. 4 skeins of Wool of the Ande --- 2 in Chocolate and 2 in Asparagus...maybe not two items you would eat together - but the color combination is great! She also sent me some beautifully dyed roving --- I'm not sure what kind of fiber...maybe some kind of wool, the hair is really long. (oh ya, and a third skein of Lorna's Laces for the knee sock pattern she sent me earlier!)

I'm such a lucky girl...I have so much stuff to keep me busy!!! Thank you, Thank you, dear SP10!!!

I'm off to meet my sister and brook for a little knit night...I hope to post pictures of my goodies soon!!

Oh Yaaa, Fargo

My trip to Fargo on Tuesday was a flop. The day started off with our flight being cancelled. The airline said it was mechanical issues...I'm sure it's because the flight wasn't full. So, we waiting a few hours at O'Hare to board the next tiny plane to North Dakota.

I travelled with two fellas I work with. Good news...nobody ended up in a woodchipper!

After our meeting, we our flight was delayed a couple hours. So, let me tell you, I know the Fargo airport pretty well --- all 4 gates of it!

Here's a view from the airport. The view was pretty much the same from all directions --- flat, green, and not many trees.

I did start on a sock on the way home. It's coming along nicely and will be my daily travel project on the train to work.

Ravelry --- it's really cool!

Got my invitation to the beta version of Ravelry. I got to say...it's pretty cool.

It's an amazing tool to keep track of your stash, tools, current projects and past projects. The search tools are cool...want to know what your sock would look like in another yarn? Do a search and see a couple hundred finished Jaywalkers!

I'm tired...so this probably doesn't make much sense.

I have to get up early tomorrow for a field trip to Fargo, North Dakota. No sleep over...just flying in for a meeting and then heading home.

Double Tagged!

I've been tagged by Beth and Marly to share Seven Random Facts about myself.

According to the rules, I'm supposed to tag other people...but I welcome anyone reading this to share their random facts on their blog (just let me know so I can come read it).

If you don't have a blog, feel free to share a fact or two in the comment section!

1. I always have an extra leash in my car for when I see dogs running around by themselves. You might be surprised (or not) that I see a lot of pooches running around Chicago and my town --- it freaks me out. I'm always afraid I will see one get hit by a car... I don't even want to think about it.
2. I have a low tolerance for bad manners.
3. My hair hasn't been past my shoulders since 4th grade. I like to have my hair in the shortest bob possible...it feels weird when I can feel hair on the back of my neck. I actually shaved my head before I graduated from college --- boy was my mom pissed. I always wanted to do it and figured it was the last chance before I got a "real job."
4. My family moved around quite a bit when I was growing up. Between kindergarten and 12th grade I attended seven schools. I made my Sacrament of Reconciliation twice (raised Catholic) but never studied the 50 state capitals.
5. I'm very uncoordinated. It's not unusual for me to suddenly fall down while walking down the street. The most embarrassing time was crossing Michigan Avenue in the heart of a major shopping district in Chicago during lunchtime. It was crowded and I just fell in the middle of the street. Of course, I wasn't hurt...I just picked up my bag and kept walking like nothing happened.
6. I debuted my line of edgy handmade greeting cards at the 2003 National Stationary Show in NYC. It was almost sold to a major greeting card company...They just didn't have the vision.
7. In 5th grade, I participated in an exchange student program and lived with a family in a suburb of Paris. I still can't believe my parents let me go! I studied french during Junior High but switched to Spanish in high school. On my recent trip to Mexico, I kept mixing up French, Spanish, and even a couple Polish words.

What I'm Knitting...when I actually knit

My lady-friends were over last night for Knit Night. I felt like I had the energy drained out of me --- could have been from my shitty day at work or the warm temperatures last night. Either way, I wasn't filled with the usual amount of energy --- even after Kathy brought me the World's Largest Big Gulp of Coke from 7-11!

I have two projects going on right now. One is a super-cute baby vest for Erin's babe, Jack. I didn't want Erin to see it until it was completed...but I couldn't help myself last night and showed her the progress. I was really hoping to be able to give her a finished project last night...but it's hard to finish a project when you keep leaving the pattern in different places!

I'm also working on this purple Leaf Lace Shawl - pattern by Fiber Trends. The yarn is stuff that I've been spinning --- an alpaca blend. The color is much prettier that this picture...not so grey and drab looking.


This is my first shawl project, and it's a lot easier than I thought it would be. I can see how these can be addicting.

(hmmm, do you think I need a new digital camera? these pictures are awful!)