Bad Parenting Ahead

I just got my Ravelry invite.

Do you think if I leave out a box of Kix and some opened bottles of water for the girls they can take care of themselves tomorrow??

:)

Woah Nelly!

We had a beautiful weekend here in sunny, but not too hot yet, Florida. Wayne took Friday and Monday off and we ended up having a lot of family fun.



Friday: We spent the morning at the movies watching Shrek the Third - not the #1 choice of part 3 movies I wanted to see, but Ali's too little for Pirates. I maintain that the first Shrek movie was funny and that no subsequent films should have been made. But the gingerbread man makes it almost worthwhile.



Saturday: Letterboxing Gathering!! We met up with some Central Florida 'boxing friends at Hontoon Island State Park. There were cooties and hide n' seek boxes that made the rounds while we exchanged stamps with our new friends. The cutest were pencil topper cooties.





Group photo - note Ali and I making the same silly face, we are not a family of many silly faces. This is the go to face. :)

We had the baby backpack so soon after we arrived, the four of us headed out to find the 2 boxes not on the Nature Trail. First box, no problem, everyone was happy, it was a short hike. Hooray! Second box, different story. I didn't read the clue as thoroughly as necessary and we wasted a lot of time looking around off the wrong trail. Wayne intervened and got it sorted out though and hooray again! However by this point we were like 2 miles from our starting point and none of us had brought any water.



We started back and I stopped to look for another box that was on the way back telling Wayne we'd meet back up at the campsite (1/2 way back). I gave up on the box pretty quickly, desiring water more than the box, and hustled to catch up with Wayne. But Wayne wasn't at the campsite, so I hustled some more to catch up with him.



I am not a hustler.



By the time I made it back to the pavilion I was wiped out. We rested a bit and ate a little lunch - the famous Target sandwiches. We got to meet a few more 'boxers who'd arrived late. And in order to be able to leave at a decent hour, we headed back out to find the 6 boxes along the hiking trail.



At this point, I'd like to mention that we had walked close to 5 miles. All I had eaten all day was 1 piece of raisin bread and half a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread. One of the basic things you learn when you're diabetic is that the more you exercise, the lower your sugars go. For instance, when I cycle, I bring a carb-rich snack and eat it halfway through my ride. I very rarely go low.



We started out the hiking trail and I wasn't feeling 100% but figured I could tough it out. About a mile in, Ali was starting to complain, I was starting to ache all over and we decided to start back (so we wouldn't die in the woods), no boxes found. Wayne said we could always go back another day. We sat down to rest and when I stood up I was seeing spots. I didn't say anything, but tried to keep my head down and put one foot in front of the other. Low, low sugar.



I made it to the end of the nature trail, but just barely. Wayne and the girls left me at the end of the trail and went back down the road to the ranger station to have someone drive out to get me. The ranger came quickly and Wayne had a Coke for me when I got back. After a lot of genral confusion and Coke drinking, we said our goodbyes and headed home.



Needless to say, I will not hike almost 7 miles in one day again without a lot more sugar. It took all day Sunday to recover all the way. Ick.



Monday: Swimming and BBq with my parents and then Eve's goodbye dinner. Yummy food, sad sad occasion.



Not a lot of knitting, but a little more progress on Wicked, a little more progress on my Sockapalooza socks. I was also having some tennis elbow issues which have slowed me down - I think that was caused by the stitches getting too tight on my circ for Wicked, now I'm knitting it on 2 circs which is a lot more comfortable.

Happy Hats

Penny's hats made it safely to Colorado and Aileen promises modeled pics as soon as Penny gets here - ETA late-July, early-August. :)

The Tagging

Is a little overwhelming, but I have been tagged a few times for the meme of the week - 7 weird things about me. Here are the details, post 7 weird things, tag 7 other people to do it on their blogs. I've done a lot of these, plus a round of 100 things, so instead of thinking up 7 completely random things, I've decided mine will all be food related.

1. I *heart* butterscotch pudding.

2. I will eat Cool*Whip right out of the tub, Wayne says this is disgusting, I say this is delicious.

3. I love plain popcorn. No butter, no salt. Although they are occasionally good. :)

4. My favorite part of a baked potato is the skin. Sometimes I eat more of the skin than the inside.

5. I worked as a cashier in a grocery store in high school. To this day I quiz myself on produce codes when I go through the self-checkout.

6. I don't eat those freezy-pops that come in the plastic sleeves, I used to cut my lips on them as a kid and now I'm scared of them.

7. I prefer my PopTarts cold.

I'm not going to officially tag anyone, but please feel free to get in on it if you'd like. :) Leave a comment though so I can check it out.

Don't Dream It's Over

Did you watch HEROES last night?? It was awesome. Even if you walked away thinking, "well, they could have . . .", look at it this way, there's always next season. And in the hierarchy of season/series finales that we've been assaulted by this week, this one ranks very high. (Do you watch L&O:CI?? What was that?? And ER?? I'm not very invested in "New Dr.", I may not even watch next season. I could go on . . .)

Last week was a little crazy as ye olde Expedition was out of commission again. Luckily it turns out that one of the ignition coils that was recently replaced was just bad and the mechanic fixed it for free. :)

We did however make it to Disney's Animal Kingdom with the wonderful Eve on Wednesday. What a great day we had! The weather was pretty tame most of the day and the girls were in great form. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but the girls got some sticker pictures at the Rainforest Cafe - these were our third attempt. Girls are wiggly.



This weekend I made a big purchase for myself - I got an elliptical machine! For my house! Sayonara gym! I love that I can just hop on for 15 minutes while children are busy with playing or naps. No loading of children, no checking them into the questionably safe kid care, no gawkers. I love it! Maybe now I can start to drop some weight.

You may notice the strategic placement of the elliptical in front of the AC vent, I'm no dummy. :)



This weekend I had the opportunity to cast on and begin my Wicked. I really like the crossover pattern in the collar and have started the dreaded increases. I need to take a day or two off from this to put in some much needed Sockapolooza sock work and to make some invites for my sister's baby shower. See that cutie stitchmarker, you can get some too, that spell your name, go here.

Stash

Robin asked us to flash our stash for our SP group. I hope I win.

p.s. Ravelry, I'm ready for you. You may pick me now. :)

Woo hoo!

Happy belated Mother's Day to all those Mommys out there in blogland. Mine was spectacular! Even though Wayne didn't get home from working until 2AM on Saturday night, he got up and he and Alison made me chocolate chip pancakes. What was even better is that they did it quietly ("With whispers Mommy") and I was actually suprised when they came in to wake me. :)

Since I'd already ordered myself a gift I didn't expect Wayne to announce I could have whatever I wanted when we stopped at the mall after a lovely lunch. I thought shoes. But not Blahniks or Choos, Crocs. I've been coveting the cutie-Mary Jane style ones for a while, but haven't been able to spend the $35 on myself. After a quick trip to Journeys, where I was almost dissuaded by some Keds, I had happy, happy feet.

We spent the evening at my parent's where with just a little bit of side dish help from me, my younger sister served an amazing Mom-loving dinner. The husbands helped out too, but Wayne was concentrating on being super-Dad and didn't pitch in as much with the dishes.

And on Monday when we got home from dance class, I had MAIL!! Check out this tower of packages.



On the top is the rest of Nicole's birthday present ordered all the way from Alaska on etsy. It's a surprise so I can't give any more details this minute.

The middle is my Mother's Day gift to me! My Peace Fleece and ZephyrStyle Wicked pattern from kpixie!!!

Love!!!

Hopefully today I will be doing some swatching. O yes, there will be swatching for this project, it is going to be perfect.



The last box is the Sisterhood of the Travelling Stash box #2!!! I can't even explain how amazing it was to unload this box. Emily and I got straight to work - we covered my entire king-sized bed with yarn!! Then Emily had some other ideas for the box while I caressed and snuggled it all. It was hard to make decisions, but I only have a week to get it in the mail, so I'm trying to give myself a lot of time to make it to the post office.



And lastly, the knitting has been slow, but consistent. I started a Water Bottle Sling from Amy Singer's Knit Whit. It's essentially a sock, but with no heel. It will probably take a while, we all know how slow I am at socks. And a few more rounds have made their way onto my Janet Lace Shawl. My concentration has been low lately and I don't want mess it up so I don't knit on it everyday.

Okay, actually lastly, Heroes was awesome last night! Does anyone know of any Heroes-themed crafts that are fairly reproducible and not too time consuming???

. . . Letters

Dear Wayne,

Hello my love! Thanks for working so hard. Thanks for still remembering that this Sunday is Mother's Day. Thanks for saying you'll make time to take the girls shopping on Saturday, even if you have to work too.

However, there will be no need to go shopping. I have purchased a bit of a gift myself. I found some yarn and a pattern and what can I say? You're very generous. How generous?? Well, let's just say that not knowing will be the part of the gift that gives back to you.

Love,
Your wife who was only momentarily more in love with this yarn than you :)

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Dear Bank:

Thank you for sending me a new Visa checkcard before the old one expired.

I can only hope that the new number will not be memorized quickly and will instead deter impulsive yarn purchases that may be an embarassment to my family.

Sincerely,
Woman who will now have to get off her ass and find her card when Internet shopping binges attack

Holy Smoke!

This smoke is crazy!! Add a named tropical storm off the coast to two states on fire and you end up with a lot of inside playtime. And today we were going to blow up the little pool . . .

Yesterday the girls and I went up to the Rock Springs Run Reserve in North Seminole County to do some letterboxing. It was a nice day with a decent breeze (albeit smoky) and we had a map, compass and lots of water. Great, right? No, no, no. Instead we ended up wandering around in the woods for about 45 minutes and this momma was seriously worried we were lost on the "marked trails" for about half that time.

In the end we made it out of the woods, but instead of finding two boxes, we were only able to find one. I need to start doing a little research ahead of time, 'boxing on our own is fine in a park, but these wilderness areas are going to be the death of me.

For clarification purposes, yesterday I apparently wasn't too worried about smoke exposure, but this morning on the news they highly recommended not letting your children outside. I can take a recommendation.

After a visit to SuperTarget and the arrival of the mailman, we were all set up for some indoor fun.

Alison picked out a Princess Ariel watercolor painting set and Emily got her Happy Apple that I found on ebay. Did you have a Happy Apple when you were a baby?? I highly recommend them, they have the most beautiful, true chime-y sound ever. No new toy stacks up to it.

While at SuperTarget we cruised by the prepared deli sandwiches and they are yet another thing I highly recommend. For $2.99 I got an amazing turkey and havarti cheese sandwich on 8-grain bread! It was a delight for my tummy and very filling. Plus it was only $3!!! Go buy one and fill up your tummy too. :)

In knitting news, I'm working on a stack of quick projects for someone who is coming soon and can't show them off 'cause they're secret. The shawl has been getting a little action when I'm awake enough for lace knitting after the girls are in bed. I still need to sew the sushi onto the wallet. Finishing is a harsh mistress.

R2D2 Hat Recon

R2D2 Hat Recon

Karabella Aurora 8 (100% Extrafine Merino Wool, 98 yds. Per ball, 4.5 sts/inch)
Yarn A: Gray: Color #201
Yarn B: Blue: Color #23
Yarn C: Black: Color #1148

Size 7 16" circular needle

______
With Yarn A,
CO 90 sts.

Join and begin working in the round.
Rnds. 1 – 6: K1, P1 ribbing
Rnds. 7 – 8: Knit

Change to Yarn B:
Rnds. 9 –13: Knit

Change to Yarn A:
Knit Rnds. 14 – 34 (20 rounds)

Knit Chart 2 while noting the shaping below, decreases will fall in the middle of each color block:
Rnd. 35: Knit, carry yarn B across the 2 stitches of yarn A
Rnd. 36: K7, K2tog, *K13, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end
Rnd. 37: Knit
Rnd. 38: K6, K2tog, *K12, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end
Rnd. 39: Knit
Rnd. 40: K5, K2tog, *K11, K2tog, repeat from * to last 6 sts., K to end

With Yarn A, Knit Rnds. 41 & 42

With Yarn B, Knit Rnds. 43 & 44
Rnd. 45: K10, K2tog, repeat until end.
Rnd. 44: K9, K2tog, repeat until end.
Continue decreasing until 18sts remain.

With Yarn C, continue decreasing until 6 sts. remain.

Break yarn and draw through to close top. Weave in all ends.

Using duplicate stitch, stitch Chart 1.

CHART 1

Row 1 of CHART 2 for patterning

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This pattern is not my own doing entirely, the charts and basic idea came from Maria aka Shortstuff411 on craftster. She posted her version here and I've knit it before, but wanted to modify its size and try with the duplicate stitching idea. Try one or the other, heck, try them both and may the force be with you.

*Modeled by Nick, who does not have a rattail, although the picture makes it look that way. :)

Genius Walking . . .

I am crazy brilliant! Inspired by Lesley's bravado on the subject at NYGK the other night and overwhelmed by the amount of things I've committed to knit, this morning I taught myself to knit 2 socks at the same time! That's right readers, no more Second Sock Syndrome. Woo hoo!

I'm anxious to see how the heel is going to go, but for now, bliss!

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My sweet Emily has been rocking an icky cold all week - and I've experienced my first case of eye boogers as a Mom. Eeww. Anyway, she's happiest in a warm bath and is averaging about 2 a day since we just want to see her smile. Yesterday I took nakey baby pics. :)

I thought some fresh air may be just what the doctor ordered, and yesterday was the first relatively smoke-free* day we've had in a while, so we headed to Crane's Roost Park and enjoyed the beautiful day**. Alison took the opportunity to take some pictures of Spring.

And the knitting couldn't help but join in. Do you see that GoKnit pouch?? It's from my Secret Pal, I think I glossed over it in my thank you post. I love it! The first day I had it I was going to use it while at the Fair, well I got there and went to loop it onto my belt and, oops no belt loops. Since then it's spent quite a bit of time looped to the stroller. :)

Speaking on gifts, my great friend Carlin, a newish knitter, sent me my late-Christmas present. Vogue's Stitchionary 3!!! There are lots of great color motifs in here. As a flipped through it I was amazed how many times I thought to myself, I could put that on a sock. We'll see.

*The whole state of Georgia is on fire, I'm sure you've seen this on the news, all their smoke is blowing through Central Florida.

**It's nice out, but also in the very high 80s most days. Hot!

Promises, promises

I totally promise to post more - like did I really finish the Sushi Wallet?? What am I knitting now?? - but can't this minute. Instead I leave you with two links that may be the death of me. :)

All of my money may end up here

All of my time may go here

Friday is for Felting

Felting, felting, felting.

I really enjoy making felted items. There's something rebellious and subversive about doing exactly the opposite of what you are supposed to do with the fibers. It feels dangerous and I love to watch the process happen and seeing the stitches close in on each other.

I get a little bored on knitted felted projects since they are usually so big, so I thought I'd try out some different felting projects. Using the tutorial found here and some roving purchased here, isn't it gorgeous??, I made some beautiful felted soaps today.

While I was at it, I finished up the body and attachments for my Sushi Wallet and threw that in the washing machine to felt up. The packaging for this kit is deceptive, I know it's called the Sushi Wallet, but I envisioned it as a Sushi Changepurse. It's actually almost 8 inches wide and very spacious.

I've been on an etsy buying spree for Secret Pal gifts and got a little something for myself. My recent love of black and white damask print has been manifested in the most amazing checkbook cover ever. Thanks Laura! One of my favorite things about etsy is how so many things come packaged like gifts. Everyone loves gifts! She even included a handwritten card! Lovely!

And in the crazy, randomness of Orlando, we were at the park today, not any old park, one of the swankier parks in the downtown area and saw this sign:

That's right Moms, if you're going to be running around with the kiddies, remember to take off your stilettos first. Funny thing is, you can see the areas of the squishy, recycled tire ground that have already been pocked by heels. Madness!

A Magical Day

1. wishes show, 2. Nana, Ali, Emi & Minnie Mouse, 3. Ali & Megan, 4. Emily & Nana, 5. Ali & Emi on Cinderella's Carrousel, 6. Nana and Alison discuss photography, 7. Ali, Emi & Mickey Mouse!!, 8. Sisters in Minnie's house, 9. Nana and the girls with Walt and Mickey, 10. Megan & Emily, 11. Emily dreaming before the wishes show, 12. Emily on the Carrousel, 13. Nana, taken by Alison

On Wednesday, my Mom and I took the girls to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Now we've had annual passes to Universal and Sea World, but never Disney, and while Alison has been before, there's still a lot of mystique to Disney. What a great day we had!

I packed enough baby and people food for the whole day and made a deal with Alison that if there were no fits we could stay all the way to the fireworks. And that kid pulled it off. Not one tear or stamped foot was seen all day. All day being 9:15am until 9pm when the wishes fireworks show started. Then we had a bit of a I'm-sleepy-you're-sleepy-I-just-want-to-lay-down hiccup, but we quickly recovered. We didn't get home until 11:15pm and Mom still had to drive to her house. What a great Nana!

Unlike the other theme parks we've been to, the Magic Kingdom has lots of rides that babies can go on - everything in Fantasyland, plus good rides like Pirates of the Carribean. Ah yes, PotC has been revamped a little to incorporate Johnny Depp. You can't hate Johnny Depp animitronics. Very lifelike. :)

The girls got to meet Micky and Minnie Mouse and Emily got her own pair of ears with her name embroidered on them.

Alison used all her bravery and went on Big Splash Mountain and almost went on Space Mountain, but the kid with the measuring stick inside said she was 1/32 of an inch too short. Irritating since the girl outside said she was fine. No bravery was necessary to get her onto this one, since it's all inside she had no idea what I was taking her on. Tricky Mommy.

It was a wonderful day and wouldn't have happened without the generosity of a knitterly friend, thanks Eve! I think you're awesome and the girls do too. :)

Panic Attack!!!

The power on our street blinked about 15 minutes ago. No big deal, except when I turned the cable back on and went to watch something off the DVR all my shows were gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Replaced by shows from 2 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!! I called the cable company and the lady told me they probably won't be able to get them back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm off to iTunes to see if I can download my missing LOST episodes.........

Fun Weekend-O-Rama!

We were very busy this weekend, busy having tons of fun!

You're waiting with bated breath to know if I finished R2 aren't you?? I did, but it was an 11th hour finish if ever there was one. Duplicate stitch takes a lot longer than knitting, so while the re-knit of the hat in the round took just a few hours, I was stitching for 3 days. In the end it turned out great, but I don't have pictures yet.

Wayne and I talked about this on our way to the party. Ordinarily when I give something handknit to someone, I want them to immediately love it so much that they try it on (assuming it's a wearable knit). This is how I roll. I knew that this wasn't going to happen with the hat though and tried to prepare myself, not because Nick didn't love it (he does!), but because he also loves his hair which I knew would be styled by the time we got there and that would prevent any hat trying-on. And that's exactly what happened, he opened it, there was much fanfare about how awesome it was/I am/Star Wars is and then promptly said, "I'd try it on, but I don't want to mess up my hair."

So pictures are coming soon, when I catch him on a bad hair day or at the end of the day when he's stopped caring. :)

As far as the recon pattern goes, I'm waiting to hear back from the chick who did the pattern before I post it. I'd really like her permission since it is her chart.

A night on the town was good for Mr. Megaknits and I - we had a few drinks, met some new people and even did a little dancing. And we didn't get home until almost 1AM, I can't tell you the last time we were out that late. We must be the oldest 26/27-year-olds alive.

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The fun didn't stop on Saturday either. I went and (wo)manned the Not Your Grandma's Knitting Group table at the Central Florida fair and got to meet quite a few people who are interested in knitting. I also got to receive all the compliments for the items we had on display. :) And was the first to see the results for the Creative Arts competitions. I won two 2nd place ribbons, one 3rd place and two honorable mentions. :)

One of the girls in our group won 1st place with her gorgeous Lady Eleanor shawl! I'm so proud. I know other people entered and won things, but I couldn't be 100% sure about every item 'cause the tags were hard to see. Congratulations ladies!

When my shift was up, Wayne and the girls joined me for an evening at the fair.

1. Central Florida Fair 2007: Kiddie Ferris Wheel at Dusk,
2. Alison riding the caterpillar coaster,
3. High school photography that caught Wayne's eye,
4. Emily seeing the sights,
5. Ali playing "Dairy Toss",
6. Gorgeous quilts,
7. Crochet Nicole got an honorable mention,
8. The Birthday Socks took second!,
9. Em's Pinwheel Sweater won third!

Also on Saturday, before the Fair, the mailman came. Where's the fun in that you ask?? Here's the fun:

AN AMAZING PACKAGE FROM MY SECRET PAL - THANKS PAL!!! YOU ARE AMAZING!!!

1. What's this peaking out??,
2. Wrapped goodness,
3. Unwrapped amazingness!,
4. NORO!!! It is so beautiful, I did it justice and took this photo in natural light.,
5. Alison loves "Crabby"!,
6. "Spring Tulips" by Spritely Goods - Handdyed DK! Holy Project Spectrum. :)

Can you believe the amazing-ness!! Also included, but not individually photographed are: a note on cute stationary - pal, you've got really cute stationary; a chibi set of bent needles; Burt's Bees Hand Care Kit, o yeah, the whole kit; Ginger and Green Tea Mineral Bath set that smells delicious; a bottle of Hempz hand moisturizer; another ball of cotton, I love cotton. I think I'm going to use the "Spring Tulips" to knit Alison another shrug for ballet, it's very soft.

---

Sunday I attended my knitterly friend Jessica's baby shower. It was a lot of fun and her Mom made a really yummy lunch full of stuff I love. We played some games, ate until our bellies were full and got to spend some time just hanging out. I brought a diaper cake and am so impressed with myself that I took pictures to show you. :)

R2 Recon

Our friend Nick, an AVID Star Wars fan, is celebrating his birthday tomorrow. As a gift to him, I'm knitting up another R2D2 hat from this pattern. I finished it the night before last and was sadly disappointed with how it turned out. I changed a few things from the last one I made - I used sz. 8 needles, knit it flat and used Aurora 8 yarn. I'm thinking that the two former changes were the problem. My seam looked horrible. It was way too big. Ick!



I was only cheered by this sight on my TV. Leah Remini knitting! What a pleasant surprise! I've thought she's hilarious for years, but now I know we could be friends if we ever met in real life. My apologies to Leah if you ever see this, it's not the most flattering screenshot, but I had to catch it quickly. :)



Anyway, it didn't take too long and I had this. And started over.



I've decided to nix the intarsia, it pulls too much, and instead do duplicate stitching based on the chart. If all goes well, I'll repost the reconstructed pattern when it's finished.

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Do you know what these are??



They're beanbags! In dance class on Monday Alison and her classmates danced to some crazy beanbag dance and she informed me that she NEEDED beanbags.



I dug around in my fabric stash and she picked some she liked. We attempted to hand sew them together, but she didn't want to pay attention and I hate to hand sew. In the end I brought out the sewing machine and got them finished in about 20 minutes. They have received the Ali seal of approval and are being carried around on heads all over the house.

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Mr. Megaknits has decided that since he hasn't gotten hired up in Atlanta yet and the house hasn't sold yet that the most practical thing to do is start a business in the meantime. He's off galavanting around Orlando doing renovation and remodeling work, while I have just spent the morning printing, reading, filling out and trying to understand all the city, county and state paperwork. O, and setting up the books. He's lucky to have me. :)

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Finally, thank you to all the new visitors who stopped by to check out YARNIVAL! The number of hits lead me to conclude it was a success! If you're interested in submitting to next month's issue, visit Linda and fill out the form.

Thanks to the contributors for linking back and to Chris for getting the word out. If you love me and want more, bookmark me or subscribe to my blog with bloglines. :)

YARNIVAL!!

Woo hoo! This is the April 15th, 2007 edition of Yarnival! And what better theme for today's issue then taxes. :)

Let's start off with the forms, you know the usual suspects: 1040, w-2, 1099, Schedule C. Think you've got all the forms you need, sharpen your pencil and dive into these handy tools.

lucia presents Maggie Shawl Calculator posted at The Knitting Fiend, saying, "I wrote a handy calculator for a simple shawl. It creates directions and estimates yarn needs."

Feel like you're in a rut? The Positivity Blog gives us 8 Ways to Spark Your Creativity posted by Henrik Edberg.

Elinor presents Yarn Wear Tests posted at Exercise Before Knitting, saying, "I think postmortem yarn reviews could be really useful so I've dug up some baby knits to see how they've held up to 6 months of spit up, drool and frequent washings."

Maia cooked up Yarn Recipe posted at Maia Spins, saying, "In this post I discuss how to make spinning batts on a drum carder and how different spinning methods will change the look of the finished yarn."

Are you feeling overwhelmed?? Too many "subtract line 39 from line 40, unless it's greater than line 2"s?? Perhaps it's time to call in the professional accountants . . . These guys are sure to be helpful. You've got people.

Miss T presents In Praise of Vintage Needles posted at Miss T's Mystery House of Yarn & Horrors.

What the hell is a LYS?? Kim presents Knitblog Lingo posted at Knits with a silent K, saying, "It's a glossary of knitblog terms, abbreviations, and acronyms, for people who are just starting out reading blogs."

Pooch presents Favorite Knitting Accessory posted at Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit, saying, "This post is about my favorite knitting accessory, the magnetic chart/pattern holder which is as essential as my yarn when I knit! :)"

Hooray, you did it! You finished the forms and lucked out even further - you're getting a refund! For those of you who opted for direct deposit, here's a little instant gratification.

Nicole presents Knerq: Swish poncho posted at Knerq, saying, "A simple finished object that turned out well despite a yarn substitution and a pattern that was not as specific as it could have been."

Rachel gave us the not so instant Finished Object: My White Whale posted at Lickety Knit, saying, "Rachel shares a great story of making her man a sweater and all of the trials she endured to get to the finish."

Megan presents Knittin' Mittens posted at Woolly Interlude.

Amy presents An astounding object posted at Knit Think.

But if you decided to wait for your check, here are some great ways to pass the time.

Niki Anders presents Arm/Leg - Warmers posted at The-A-TEAM.

Ann-Marie shares I Dreamed of Africa sock pattern posted at thechickwithsticks.

Okay, okay, so maybe you filed back in January, or live in a different country where April 15th doesn't grip your heart with fear, or maybe you just want to take a break from the tedium of the IRS website. If that's the case, here are some diversions.

Hannah presents Complexity and Dependability posted at The Purloined Letter.

Elvis D presents Social posted at 365fiction.

Kim presents Shopping for a New Car while Knitting posted at The Purloined Letter, saying, "Describes shopping for a car in terms of types of yarn: luxury, American made, etc. Short but funny."

We just assumed posted at Domesticat, saying, "Funny story about how she almost didn't know she was her friend's maid of honor."

Parenting posted at The Soapy Knitter, saying, "Compares knitting to parenting."


That concludes this edition.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of yarnival! using our
carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

May 15th Issue to be edited by Laura of Fiber Dreams. :)

Ramblings of a Mouth Breather*

1. I won those jelly beans in a 'guess how many' contest at an Easter party. I'm thrilled, mostly because I used math to make my guess and now remembering the formula for volume doesn't seem so useless - high schoolers take note. Wayne however does not seem to understand how to eat Jelly Bellys and keeps grabbing them by the handful and then spitting them out when the combo doesn't work out. I have printed this out and posted it near the jar, maybe now he'll enjoy them more.

2. Find yourself getting disinterested with LOST?? Is that perhaps because you didn't watch the first, or even second, season during live broadcast but instead on DVD?? Set your DVR, let them back up a little. Much more stimulating. I'm half way through March.

3. When you are hopped up on 'Quil, whether Ny or Day, do not attempt to knit from a chart. You will read it two or three times, it will be a simple repeating pattern and 3 rows in you'll realize you can't count. Then you'll have to un-knit it, hoping against hope that you won't drop a stitch 'cause you definitely can't handle that. Once you're back to the beginning of the mistake you'll be exhausted from all that and still have made no progress.

4. YARNIVAL will be posted on Sunday, maybe late Saturday, but definitely by Sunday. :)

* I am sick. It's just a cold that has been developing for the past few days, but I am miserable and can't breath through my stuffed up nose. Where's my ChapStick??

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