i must have some kind of sickness.

yesterday, while on my lunch hour, i went over to nordstrom rack, where they had an entire wall of scarves, hats and mittens... yes, they were very cute, but when i looked at the price tag? $12.99 for a hat? yes, that's *super* cheap...and in my non-knitting days, i would've bought it in a heartbeat. of course nooo... i could knit one that's better. (but forget the fact that the yarn *i* like would probably drive up the price at least threefold.)

case in point:

while perusing the internet last night, i came across this website called funwithyarn.com, and fell in love with one (well, multiple, but this is what was available), called 'citron baby' - it reminds me of cupcake frosting: (must've been the cupcake that i bought at sunflower market earlier this week.)



it's absolutely gorgeous, and i knew i just couldn't pass it up. but what am i going to knit out of it? a hat, of course. a hat that's three times the price! :) oh well. i *lurve* it.

anyways, this past monday was my birthday, and, my boyfriend and i were going to go out to dinner after he picked me up after work... so, i opened my presents (build-a-bear chippendale cow...he's cute, but only wearing a bowtie and carrying a box of chocolates and roses, hence the 'chippendale') and flowers (of course) - which i actually took a photo of, but forgot to upload it for this post - but, he was super sleepy, so i told him that we'd just go 'next time'. it's okay. after running a stop sign, and then almost hitting this woman in the crosswalk, it was definitely for the better. he got home, and (almost) immediately went to bed. sheesh!

ok...time for work...until next time!

i can't sleep...so here are my answers for:

a contest...in honor of tali's first birthday! (happy birthday!)

1. where is your favorite knitting spot?

anywhere and everywhere! i've actually found that the time i spend on the cta has been a great help - i actually *have* fo's now!

2. if you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) - what would you do instead?

i'd take up piano lessons again. learn how to sew really well. and i'd *master* the craft of baking really, really, really delicious goodies.

3. if you could travel anywhere in the world - where would you go and why?

i'd love to go to ireland - i'd love to see two things: the sheep and the yarn!

4. when you were little - what did you want to do "when you grew up?" are you doing it?

one of the things i wanted to be was a lawyer. and no, i'm not doing it.

5. what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

strawberry or apple pie

(i actually have a few finished projects to show off, but, with all the excitement of the going-ons today, i totally forgot to photograph them! next time, i promise!)

so with my birthday coming up (next monday), i told my boyfriend that i wanted to go to the pumpkin farm that was advertised on a few billboards along i-55 and lagrange rd. on the way to his place - and he agreed to take me. anyways, i guess he talked to a few people, and found out that this one in hobart, indiana - county line orchard - was *way* better, so, we ended up taking a little trip out to indiana yesterday morning... what a fun morning it was!

we took the little tractor ride out around the place, and went out through the apple orchards...since it was so late in the season, there were only a few varieties left, and i was unimpressed with everything but the suncrisp apples - totally delicious! (kinda similar to my beloved honeycrisp) we ended up picking a few dozen of those. (as my boyfriend says, they're totally fresh off the tree!) we headed to the little 'pumpkin patch' nearby, and picked up a few small pumpkins, and this is the part that cracks me up... when you're finished with your apple and pumpkin picking, you go to this little tent at the front of the orchard so you can weigh & pay...and we were behind this dad, son and grandma that had this wagon with *two* bushels of apples. they weighed the first one, and it was like 28 pounds, the other was like 36. and while they were doing this, the grandma was like, "how much are the apples per pound?" and had this kinda astonished look on her face... anyways, the point of my little story is these people had like $80+ worth of apples, and i really don't think they had intended on spending that much. but what are you supposed to do? say, "oh, let me take some of these out...i didn't want this much..." anyways, after weighing and paying (and, i should add that we weren't surprised by our amount) we dragged our apples and pumpkins back to the car, and then headed to this little petting zoo that they had in the back...i wish i would have brought my camera! you feed these goats and lambs and llamas this seed stuff from your hand, and let me tell you - these guys loved it! a goat even bit my hand (not hard) because he was so excited - and i didn't even have any feed at that point! (we still had to go and buy some!) i even bottle-fed a baby calf (ella) out of this *giant* baby bottle...it was the cutest thing *ever*. (again! the camera!) so, after that, we went and had lunch from their little outdoor grill, and then our last stop for the day was back inside their big red barn where we picked up a few things and i also bought a apple cookbook - i mean, what *else* am i going to do with 9# of apples? (actually, i probably only ended up with 6...my boyfriend kept some.) so this afternoon, i came home, and started my little project:



apple streudel muffins, from my apple cookbook! (they did turn out quite delicious, if i may say so myself!)

okay...well, i have a knitters tea swap package to prepare and i'm gearing up for sp9 tonight...until next time!

secret pal 9 questionnaire!

since i can't sleep...here we go!

1. what is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? what fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

i like wools, especially "different" ones (think: colinette) and handpainted yarn as well. i don't really like acrylics and "novelty" yarn such as eyelash or fun fur -that type of thing.

2. what do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

i'm using this bucket from garrett's popcorn. i'd love to be more organized and sew up a knitting needle organizer of some sort (so i can actually *find* my needles when i need them!), it's just that i have *so many* needles that i'd have to make an organizer for every kind (ie. shorts, longs, bamboo, birch, bryspun, etc.)

3. how long have you been knitting & how did you learn? would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

i've been knitting for a few years (maybe three?) now. my mom had orignally shown me how to cast on and knit, however, by the time i actually *did* these things, i had totally forgotten. so, i bought one of those long, chunky scarf kits with my 40% coupon at michael's, and taught myself from there. i would consider my level to be intermediate.

4. do you have an amazon or other online wish list?

yes, i do.

5. what's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)

i'm super-sensitive to all body products that are scented, but i absolutely *love* bath and body work's 'sweet vanilla sugar' scent for candles and home fragrancing oils. i also love 'birthday cake' fragrance as well!

6. do you have a sweet tooth? favorite candy?

oh my gosh, yes! i absolutely *love* those brach's caramels from the bulk bins. they're the best! ooh! and i love cupcakes, too!

7. what other crafts or do-it-yourself things do you like to do? do you spin?

sewing. i just upgraded my singer (that i just bought) to a viking. i'm not that *serious*, but i guess i am a bit ambitious.

8. what kind of music do you like? can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a cd)

i *love* soundtracks (grey's antatomy - the best music *ever*!), musicals, and i guess what they'd consider to be "pop" or "top 40" as well.

9. what's your favorite color(s)? any colors you just can't stand?

i absolutely *lurve* pink, or a pink/brown combination, or a blue/brown combination... i also love the "fall" palette when it comes to handpainted yarns, and i absolutely adore the color silver sage, especially when it's combined with a khaki or taupe color (like my tiles!)

10. what is your family situation? do you have any pets?

my two cats, madeline & griffin, allow me to live with them. (sometimes.)

11. do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

i definitely wear hats, scarves and mittens. not too much into the poncho thing, though...

12. what is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

probably hats and scarves. they're so quick to knit up.

13. what are you knitting right now?

i'm currently *obsessed* with cabled hats, so, i have two on the needles currently, and i'm sure i'll have more very soon. (i've made two so far in the past month or so.) i'm also knitting this scarf from french girl, which i've been knitting *forever*. (i started last thanskgiving, ripped it back, and, am in the middle of it again just now.)

14. do you like to receive handmade gifts?

yes, absolutely!

15. do you prefer straight or circular needles? bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

i usually knit on shorter (10") needles if my project allows it; and i absolutely *love* brittany birch needles. i also like bamboo, and am really liking bryspun for my lace-y projects. i *love* addi turbos for circulars.

16. do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

yes, both. bring on the yarn in skeins, baby!

17. how old is your oldest ufo?

so old, that i can hardly remember. i don't think i ever finished my *first* project (after the scarf-from-a-kit) when i first started knitting, of a hat/scarf/mitten set in a super bulky weight yarn.

18. what is your favorite holiday?

christmas!

19. is there anything that you collect?

does yarn count? :) i have amassed a small collection of maneki-nekos, and really, that's almost all that i collect (although my house is just *filled* with stuff...)

20. any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? what knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

i'm always dying to get my hands on something new; i just saw colinette's 'skye' in the 'dark umber' colorway at this yarn shop (it was part of a kit), but, it's absolutely, absolutely gorgeous. i would also love some 'lobster pot' yarn, in their slightly variegated pink color, although i can't seem to find the non-cashmere version anywhere. also, i'd love to have this cabled beanie knitting kit. i currently do not have any knitting magazine subscriptions; i usually just buy them if there are enough patterns inside that strike my fancy!

21. are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

i'd really love how to knit continental-style. it'd make my ribbing on all of my hats go so much more quickly!

22. are you a sock knitter? what are your foot measurements?

no, i'm not a sock knitter. small needles scare me. (i'm doing a hat on a #6 right now, and it's taking me *forever*.) that, and the fact that i lose all my socks. but i do wear a size 8 shoe, though!

23. when is your birthday? (mm/dd)

october 23! right after all this fun begins! yay!

happy anniversary!

today marks our (my boyfriend & i) one-year anniversary. woo-hoo! in celebration, we went to go and see "hamlet" at the chicago shakespeare theater at navy pier last night. since i only live in the city and have *never* been to navy pier previously, after we saw the play, we walked around navy pier a bit to check it out, and of course, no visit to navy pier is complete without a ride on the ferris wheel:



i can't believe a year has gone by so quickly! happy anniversary, baby!