I’ve been bad!

I know it may seem to everyone that I have dropped off the face of the earth!  I got new sock yarn from China. . .Yes, China!  It is wonderful. . .I am working on my digital camera situation at the moment.  I will eventually put photos up.  The yarn is American Marketed either. . .it is written in Kanji and everything.  I’ve already knit up a squire for the blanket with it.

So, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged.  I am no longer seeing the boy.  I am however seeing a guy named Tim and things are going very well.  Almost too well.  You have to stop and ask yourself is this too good too be true, and can two people really have this much in common and get along this great? Falling for someone is difficult, because it means you could get hurt.  It is always scary to put your emotions on the line.  I guess if I don’t try I have already lost something, and life is about risks.  We don’t learn how to purl or do cables, by sticking to what we think is easiest.  Knitting really is a metaphor for life.  I have also moved and am now living with my friend Katie.  This is the first time I have ever had a “roommate”  it has been an adjustment but I think we are getting along fine.  I’ve made a lot of great new friends.  Life is good right now no  complaints!

Is this getting boring yet?

I think I might be boring everyone with my constant updates about my dating. . .but we went out again last night.  It was good. . .we made plans for next week.  I’m very happy. . .happier than I thought I could be.  Now, I have heard that there is a Koigu shipment I am trying to restrain myself to stay away from YDK because I don’t get paid until Friday.  I like the Koigu very much.  Oh, I alsmot forgot I told him about the knitting.   I don’t think I scared him away, but I think he was just being polite when we said he didn’t think it was weird. 

I am going to knit on the blanket for awhile.  Maybe pictures tonight. . .I’m going to borrow a digital camera for awhile. 

Life updates and some knitting too!

Well first things first, there is an awsome contest going on over at Shelly Kang’s blog.  If anyone reading this hasn’t checked out her blog it is well worth it.  It is one of my favorites. 

I realize that July hasn’t been a great blogging month for me. . .and as I am a new blogger I should probably make a greater effort to blog.  I have however just been incredibly busy.  I will be better I promise.  Well,  last time I blogged about my date I was a little hesitint to be overly optimistic, but things are going even better.  I got asked on another date last Wednesday which I went on.  This date consisted of dinner at Grizzly’s  and was very nice. He called me today again!  So things seem to be on the right track there.  As I said before I am not looking for anything too serious right now.  I do really like this certain fellow though, and am curious to see where things may leave.  I have a question for all of you knitters out there, at what point do you let them know about the knitting, and the yarn stash?  I am not embarrassed by any means, but muggles are often less understanding about these things.  He might think I’m a tad bit ecenteric. . .okay so I am tad bit ecentric.  I better wait a bit just yet.

In other news, I have tickets for Country Jam this weekend, and I am planning to see Bon Jovi!  I am a huge Bon Jovi fan and this is very exciting for me.  I have to work third shift the night before so I will be going later in the day.  I am hoping the weather isn’t too hot.  It should be so much fun.  I’m going with my younger cousin Erica, and two friends Katie and Sarah.  I am actully planning to move in with Katie on August 15th. 

I am really sorry for the lack of pictures lately, my camera isn’t working the best right now.  I am working on getting a new one.  My blanket is now in it’s third row of squares and I am so in love with it.  I haven’t worked on another project it’s just miters miters miters.  I find myself just spending time staring at it.  Sarah from Yellow Dog gave me a generous donation of her brand new sock yarn that I will photograph and put up later in the week.  

I almost forgot I lost 10 pounds!

I’m cheating on my knitting!

Who knew being outgoing was so much work!  I haven’t knit much in the past two weeks and I have no updates on knitting.  I feel like a bad knitter!  Who is there for me no matter what. . .the yarn.  Who keeps me warm on cold nights. . .the yarn.  Who cheers me up when my day is going bad. . .the yarn!  I am full of shame and guilt that I could cast my knitting off so quickly after meeting a man! 

Well, since I know what update everyone is really waiting for I won’t hold out any longer.  I went on my date last Friday, and there was some food and drinks, some talking, and well let’s just end the description there.  I am not really looking for a relationship right now, and I don’t think this individual is either.  We had a great time and will probably see each other again.  I don’t think much more will happen though.   It’s all good.  It’s like a bumber sticker I read somewhere “I haven’t found the right one yet, but I’m having a great time with all the wrong ones.” 

Great week!

I am usually pretty much a home body.  Overall, I enjoy quiet evenings at home knitting, spinning, reading, and watching movies.  Lately, I’ve been feeling a bit lonely and as if life is happening all around me and I am just taking a back seat to it.  For my readers who don’t know,  I seperated from an eight year realtionship back in December.  It was a difficult ordeal as we had been living together for three years.  I am just starting to get on my feet again.   I have decided to be more out going, and social.  With this new found attitude I went out a few times this past week, swimming in a lake, out to a friends wedding, selling veggies at the farmer’s market and oh so much more.  I am so tired, but it is great.  I feel so alive I’ve made new friends!  I found a new roommate that I hope to move in with at some point in August, and I saved the best part for last.  I met someone. . .someone I thought I really had chemistry with. . .someone I’ve been thinking about since we met on Friday.  We talked for several hours when we met and then he asked for my number.  He didn’t call until yesterday,  I thought he wasn’t going to, but then it came!  We are going out for a date tomorrow!   What to wear?

A little more about me

I have been blogging for a couple weeks now, and I noticed in my stats that I have picked up a a few readers!  Thanks so much for checking out my blog.  I really didn’t expect to get as many hits as I have been getting.  I would like to know who my readers are. . .so please feel free to drop me a comment and introduce yourself! 

I decided to tonight that I will write a little more information about myself to help people get to know me better. . . So here goes

1)  I am the youngest of three girls in my family.

2)  I have no children but, 6 nieces and 1 nephew . . .Selena 10, Sophie 7, Aniesa 6, Amara 2, Maya 2, Jasmine 1, and Adam 3mos.

3)  I love Japan. . .I studied abroad there in 2003,  and I speak Japanese.

4)  I love to travel

5)  I don’t eat seafood, lettuce, mayo/miracle whip

Now there’s a list of odd facts, if you’d like to more just ask!

Look Look Look!

Today was my first attemp at rainbow dyeing.  My mom and I dyed a skien of Rowan Cashsoft 4ply  with food dyes.  We used the paint brush method, and cooked it in the microwave.  Here is a picture of the yarn being washed after we dyed it.

and here it is hanging on the clothes line. . .

 

 and finally the finished product!

 

We are calling this colorway “Rainbow Sherbert.”  This was so much fun that we cannot wait to get our hands on more yarn to dye.  We already have many colorways made up in our heads that we hope to try out.

 

Big Wheel, Little Wheel

 Today was a spinning day for me.  I am not wearing my hand brace today, and making full use of my much improved hand.  I pulled out my antique spinning wheel  which is roughly 130 years old and decieded to see if I could make her go.  Yes!  after making two drive bands for it I was able to sucessfully spin yarn!  I need a threader for this wheel though because the orifice is much smaller than on my kromski.  I am pretty excited at the fact that I can spin yarn on the same wheel my great great grandma spun yarn on. 

 

After playing around with the big wheel for awhile, I decided to work on spinning some of the Merino wool top I bought from The Fiber Garden.  It is in the colorway Rose Quartz.  It is so soft and easy to draft.  I  feel that I have much more control over thickness with this top, and since my goal is fingering weight yarn I need to get it as thin as possible.  It was such a beautiful night tonight for spinning outside. 

 

Gmail and WIP

I have a new email address which will be the only one I check,  laurajkent@gmail.com.  I went with gmail, because they offer alot of space, and well it seems like everyone one else was doing it! 

I got my yarn stash cleaned out! (for now)  I got most of it to fit in my IKEA bins.  I suddenly more room then I ever knew I could have, and you know what that means.   I can fill it up agian with new yarn!  Joke!  Actually, I finally recieved my Knitpicks package, and I am going to stop.  Really, I am not going to buy anymore yarn until I finish three projects.  I am counting sock yarn as stash, so I will not be buying any of that either.  The three projects I will be working on are:

1) a 75% completed cabled jacket out of Clasic Elite Sky tweed.  (That’s my niece’s persian cat Lily)

 

2) a wallaby sweater which is 50% completed out of Casscaid 220, and Rowan Tapestry.

3) a 50% completed Sally’s Favorite Summer Sweater out of Lion Brand Cotton.

I will also continue to work on the blankie (up to 28 squares on the first row, I’m planning to do 33 squares across, and socks.

Harry Potter Knitting

I am still waiting for my package from knit picks. . .it is coming for sure today!!!!  In the mean time I received an amazon.com package which contained Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel.  I love this book so much it contains knitting patterns inspired by Harry Potter.  I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and when I was watching the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets I fell in love with Molly Weasley’s crochet housecoat.  Low and behold it is in this book!!!!  It calls for knitpicks Sport and Worsted weight shine.  I can barely crochet, but my mom is awesome at it and agreed to make the coat for me.  Yea!  (Mom will understand the meaning behind that yea!)  This book also has many wonderful patterns for both children and adults, as well as all sorts of other items.  I think it is a must for any Harry Potter fan!  Speaking of HP. . .the movie and the book both come out next month.  I can hardly wait!  I started reading the books in 2001 following my highschool graduation.  It’s been a long journey to get to the seventh and final book in the series.  I am currently reading the books again, but I have only made it to book four.   I’m not sure if I will have time to get all the way through six in time.  I hope I can at least make it to five before the movie comes out on July 13th.  As is the tradition I will be attending the movie at midnight!  as well as the book release on the 21st at Borders.  I don’t think my mom will have time to make my coat in less than a month so I am actually shooting for Halloween.  It is always so much fun to be with Harry Potter fans of all ages and be reminded that you are not the only freak obsessed with J.K. Rowling’s fantasy world.   I expect to be doing some HP knitting during both events. . .anyone in the Eau Claire area interested in having an HP knit night at the book Party contact me!