The Yarn Diet is off, the Yarn Diet is on. Much like the real diet that I am on. But, if someone else purchases yarn for you does it mean that the diet was off? Okay, so I reimbursed said person for the yarn. So I made it officially on diet until today, when my good friends Norma and Jan went with me to Needleworks in Champaign and Mary's in Eureka.

What a great day! I took a vacation day and the first stop was Needleworks. I haven't been there since they expanded way back last year. What fun! I got yarn for two birthday presents, two baby gifts, Lavold's newest books that we had been looking for, some great cotton yarn for a top to match some jewelry I bought last night from Lady Remington and Deb Bigger, yarn for Univ of IL color socks, cotton Opal for socks, a great new shawl from Hypen Boy Designs (aka Matthew Hesson-McInnis) to be knitted from Cherry Tree Hills Yarn that I had a home, and a new Tee pattern from Designs from Dove Cottage. Wheww--

Then at Mary's in Eureka, Berroco Suede for a tank, a ball of Tahki, Dahlia to make another drop stitch scarf.

And as I walked out I said, I am done buying spring/summer yarn, and I am done til Stitches Midwest. But that is a lie, since I know in July when I go over to Iowa I will have to stop at a yarn shop.

Mean while, the Charlotte sits there patiently waiting for me to start up on it again. I will post pics as I complete this wonderful lot of yarns I have just brought into my home.. The yarn diet is back on as is my food diet!! Stay tuned.

This is my version of Charlotte's Web Shawl. Doesn't it remind you of Mexico Vacations?? 

A few weeks ago, I went kind of looney and created lists for myself. My knitting was getting just way out of hand and I have got to get a handle on it before I go to Stitches Midwest in August.
First I made a quick list of all the projects that I want to do that I have yarn for and that was within my sight. The list came to a quick count of 34!!! Is that over the edge or what. I need to be on a Yarn Diet!
So I made myself another list of which I titled it "Get a Handle on Yarn/WIP". This list has stipulations. There seven projects on this list: 1-Car Knitting(yes I knit at stop lights and sometimes into the green)2-Xmas/Birthday Knitting, 3 and 4 are my Knit Nite projects and at work knitting projects, 5- is an idiot project by my chair at home 6- is a more complicated pattern by the chair,(just in case it is quiet) and the 7th project is a little project that I keep downstairs with me for watching the news in the a.m. while getting ready for work.
The stipulations attached to myself is two things. The first being that I cannot start a new project until one is finished and I do mean FINISHED! The second stipulation is I cannot buy any new yarn until I use some up. Originally it was I could not buy yarn from a vendor until what I bought from them has been knit up, but pleeeease let's not go way off the deep end on this. I already have a list for Stitches Midwest! I have got to at least knit up one of the garments from two years ago SMW, don't I??

The Mobile 

Happy New Year!

Okay, it is a new year and I have already made a list of dos and don'ts for me. After spending a couple of hours looking an elusive pattern that I know is somewhere with a WIP and seeing all of the yarn I have, I absolutely do not need to buy any more yarn until the next millenium comes around. BUT--as my good friend Norma says "need has nothing to do with it". Seriously, I have enough sock yarn to out fit a small village.

So as I knit today away, I have got to work on some of that sock yarn. Last week, I made a list of those WIPs in my near vicinity, counting 22 want to bes. Two of which are Christmas presents 03 not 04!! That does not include the Christmas 04 that I want to start now so I am not knitting after the holiday has come and gone.

So, keep me honest, check and see how I am doing as the year progresses! Okay, along with all that I really want to learn how to use Frontpage, add pics to this blog and a couple of other computer things so I don't seem so stupid. And of course this is the year I will make it to my goal weight, I will run the Race for the Cure in May and I will run the Steamboat Classic in June!

Big list huh? But that is what a New Year is all about! And last but not least, enjoy life, because mine is good and I have such a great family and equally great friends!

Knit On!

Happy Friday!! I am back to blogging. Last night I spent the night knitting with some very special friends. It is amazing how knitting has brought me some great friends. We get together every week either at Barnes and Noble or at one of our friend's house. We knit a little, eat a little and solve a whole lot of the world's problems! Last night we exchanged some cool gifts that I know I will treasure. They were lovingly knit and sewn and picked out especially for each one of us and that is what makes it so much more wonderful!

Anyway I am continuing the countdown of knitted Christmas Gifts that must be done by Christmas Eve. Alas, I do not believe the car wash scarf will be complete, nor the ONKO Sweater will be done, but I hope to have the other two little projects complete by tomorrow night. OHHH, I cannot wait until I can once again get back to knitting just for me. How about the rest of you?

Okay, with a little help from my friends in knitting, I have decide to keep on knitting the Pickpocket Tunic out ot the Regia Crazy Cotton. It is striping quite nicely, but at the rate it is going, it could be next Spring before it is done. But that is okay, because if you think about it, one should really stay a season ahead in knitting. And if I really believe this then, the Christmas knitting I was planning for this year should be all done, right? Yea, sure.

I am in a slump with my knitting. I bought some Regia Crazy Cotton, thinking I was going to knit this neat little t-shirt that has these little blips of color. But after knitting the rib and then knitting a little on the body of the t-shirt(and looking at the yarn wrapper for only about a week) the light bulb went off and I discovered I had bought mass quantities of a yarn that no matter what you do is going to stripe.

So, I am sort of bumbed out and I just can't quite get back into it. I started the Pickpocket Tunic from Jamieson's 1st Shetland book out of it, and it is going to be okay, but it is just not quite what I want. I do a token few rows on it, but my heart is just not in it. Consequently, I don't want to knit anything at the moment. Now anyone who knows me, knows that this is just not my style.

I am not happy if I am not knitting every waking moment. However, I am reading a book by Donati and so I am not exactly being a slug and I started cleaning on my basement yesterday, dusting out my knitting magazine collection and re-arranging them. I almost tossed all of my old Vogue Knitting magazines, but as I sat there looking through them, I saw some possibilities of sweaters that I can knit, that I never thought I would. So I kept them.

So at least I am thinking knitting, and that counts as still having the passion for knitting.

Welcome to Day 1 of PJKnits Blog. If I am typing I am not knitting!