Skillful & Delicious

Sorry It's Been A While.

2008-03-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Christine Tagged me back in Febuary and because I'm a terrible friend, I didn't see it. So here it is:

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Hastings
2. Hastings
3. That Place From High School
4. Denny's (SUCKED)

Four places I lived:
1. Santa Rosa, Ca
2. Fulton, Ca
3. Kingman, Az
4.

Four movies I’ve watched over and over:
1. High School Musical
2. Catch And Release
3. Love Actually
4. Garden State

Four shows I watch:
1. Bones (WOOO)
2. Buffy
3. Family Guy
4. Girlicious

Four places I’ve been:
1. Seattle Wa
2. San Fransisco
3. Chicago O'Hare Air Port (LOL)
4. Phoenix, Az

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. FLY Mailing List
2. Japanese Pod
3. Live Journal
4. Firefly Academy

Four favorite things to eat:
1. Sushi
2. Chinese food
3. Steak
4. Chris' Rice

Four places I’d rather be:
1. San Fransisco
2. Anywhere but here.
3.
4.

Four things I look forward to this new year:
1. More money coming in.
2. Getting this kid who lives with me healthy
3. Finishing projects
4. Loosing some weight.

Four people to tag:
4. Anyone else who wants to! Because I don't know anyone who reads this

Stuff.

2008-01-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

So I have no pictures for you. Sorry about that. I will talk about my New Years "Resolutions" though, just because I feel like it.

First off I really hate the word "resolution" so we are going to go with "goals". For some reason, the word "goals" doesn't harbor as much panic as "resolutions" does.

I talked about my knitting goals, but I will elaborate on those.

KNITTING GOALS FOR 2008!!!!

1. Learn to spin!
This is a big one for me. To learn to spin. I want to be able to make yarn for small projects, especially for very personal gifts. I think that if I am spinning (and sometimes dyeing) my yarn, that when I explain the work that went into it, people will cherish them more. Maybe not, but it would be really nice to bonk into an old friend 30 years from now and have them tell me that they still have that afghan I made for them and that they love it.

2. Learn to do fair isle and intarsia.
Haha. I do not really know how to do these things. I think that someone will have to show me. No kidding. It just kind of puts me off, but there are so many things I want to do that involve these techniques.

3. Become good with lace.
I feel like I'm the only one who can't do an entire project of lace. I just want to make one thing and decide if I like it. I like it when I'm doing it, but crap, I just can't finish it. I always screw up.

4. Start buying GOOD yarn and weed out the crap!
Now, this isn't always so realistic. I live in a town where there is ONE LYS and a Walmart. The LYS has comparable prices to online (a teeny bit higher, but not usually enough to warrant paying for shipping) but her selection fails. Her selection of spinning fibers? NICE. She's getting a better selection all the time. I think she needed to settle in a little. Like finally some Brown Sheep and some Rowan (WHAT!?). So I'm super excited about adding yarn that doesn't feel like plastic (or knit up like plastic). I do like Caron and makes for really awesome kids stuff for a reasonable price.

5. Design at least ONE pattern!
I don't care if it's one crappy lace headband. This is a big goal for me.

6. Knit socks!
I CAN knit socks. Kinda. I've done a practice sock. I want to make socks for my kids, partner, friends and family. I want to do this badly.

7. START DYEING MY OWN YARN!!!!!
This is probably the biggest goal. I want to expand my project base by dying my own yarn. No more "Oh Crap. I can't find XXXXX Color or Colors!" I want to be able to do a little experimentation and get the colors I want in the yarn I want, at a reasonable price.

NON-KNITTING GOALS!

1. Learn to Sew
If my youngest child and I are going to live with the biggest butts in existence (okay, not quite, but pretty close), I need to be able to alter clothing to comfortably fit us. I am passionate about that. I should be able to buy the clothes I want with out having to spend money on tailoring.

2. Start Quilting.
I can quilt. This is something I have ALWAYS loved, but never stuck with. So I want to start quilting again. I'll start with baby quilts and simple quilting and work my way up. Yes.

3. Change my eating, sleep, and exercise habits.
I need to get off of my fat butt and do something about me. I need to work out at least 6 days a week. I need to work on what I eat and how much I am eating. I will not go on a DIET. I don't want to feel guilty for what and how I eat. I don't want to feel guilty when I go to Laughlin and want to have Sushi. I don't want to feel guilty when I go to a Birthday party and have cake and ice cream. What I want is to have the self control enough to say "Hey, I would like some cake and ice cream, but only a small piece of cake and only a small amount of ice cream." and not go back for seconds. This is important to me.

4. Get to Under 200 pounds.
I feel very healthy and happy at between 180 pounds and 200. While I would love to be smaller, if I am successful in goal number 3, I should automatically loose weight to a certain point. If I stall at something around 160-200, I won't push myself, or feel guilty. If I get smaller, good for me! That would be great. So my Goal. To loose around 50 pounds FOR THE YEAR.

I think that that is about it. Hopefuly by the next time I post I will have some pictures for you.

Thank You!

2007-12-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

2008 Knitting Resolutions

2007-12-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

So Texas Purl Gurl put up a post about her own 2008 Knitting Resolutions! Here are mine:

1. Learn to spin!
2. Learn to do fair isle and intarsia.
3. Become good with lace.
4. Start buying GOOD yarn and weed out the crap!
5. Design at least ONE pattern!
6. Knit socks!

I'll have to make a bigger post to add detail and also my Non-Knitting resolutions.

Oh Noes! New "Crack", I Need Yarn, Christmas Presents, NWS Video

2007-12-10T15:54:00.000-08:00

Oh boy. Knitting Daily and Interweave Knits have given us a way to get our crack with out having to scower E-bay for hours to find old Interweave patterns that are out of print. They have so lovingly given us Interweave Knits Store where I will be getting the Central Park Hoodie Pattern. That makes me happy. NEW CRACK!

I desperately need to buy some good yarn. I'm CRAVING it. I would really love to go to a yarn store in Flag or Vegas and fondle large amounts of yarn and than BUY SOME. Really.

I hit BIG!Lots and got some more cheep yarn. Some more Glittallic and Lacette this time in more pleasing colors. The Glittallic is this lavender and it's actually very pretty. That stuff is soft as hell. The Lacette is a beautiful pale blue, and they were ONE DOLLAR EACH! NICE! So I picked up 3 balls of each. I think. Oh well. CHEEP!

I'm using the Blue Glittallic to make my Step-Daughter a scarf. It's about 6.5 inches wide so it will be pretty cuddly. I'm hoping I have enough yarn for it to be a decent length. *Cringe* But it's knitting up fairly quickly on 7mm needles. It's a basic Garter Stitch Scarf. So:

CO 26 sts
Sl Purl Wise the first st on every row.
Knit across row.
When desired length is reached, bo.

Wow. EASY PEASY.

I just need to sew in the ends of THE CLAP scarf and than fix THE HOLE. But Lelia is in love with it. It's "OMG TOTALLY something Hannah Montana would wear. AWESOME." That's right Lelia. AWESOME.

Okay, the video is NOT WORK SAFE. Because they say Penis, Vagina and Butt. But that's about it. It's making fun of the Ying Yang Brothers Whisper Song which in it's edited state, is kind of sexy. It leaves something to the imagination, however, in the explicit version, I have to say.. IF ANY MAN WERE TO SAY THAT TO ME, I WOULD FUCKING PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE.

Anyway, on to the Bing Bong Brothers:

"THE CLAP!", New Knitty, Magknits, New Journey Front Man!

2007-12-06T17:07:00.001-08:00

First off, the new Journey front man is AMAZING! Here, have a video:

I also just started listening to Lime & Violet. How I did not know about them is beyond my scope of reasoning because they are super awesome. I mean, really, really awesome.

The new Knitty is out, and it is AMAZING. Jeanie is probably my FAVORITE! Honestly though, all the patterns are amazing.

So I saw the Toirneach Kilt Hose and IMEDIATELY had to make them for Chris. Of course, I knew that I couldn't surprise him with them, because I'd have to measure his feet and HUGE calves. That and there was a chance he would go "Wow hunny... those are... nice...? Maybe... I love you?" and than I would be in tears and it would be messy. So I showed them to him and he LOVED them, so we are going to order a color card for the Knit Picks Swish Superwash and than when he decides on the color, we'll order the stuff for it and I'll make it. I have a feeling he's going to choose the new Heather Redish color that comes out in January. But he's really excited.

I like MagKnits okay, they don't have the best patterns, but sometimes they are pretty good. Like the Zombies Need Not Apply, which is one of my favorite patterns EVER! Anyway, there aren't many patterns in this issue, and there are only 2 that I would consider making. I was pretty disapointed. I liked Five Fruits and Excuses.

A small note about excuses. IT COMES IN BIG GIRL SIZES! OMG! Thank you Nikki Adams for thinking about the girls with some body!

I've been working on THE CLAP! It's honestly the easiest and most repetetive pattern out there. But I'm really enjoying it. I'm down to decreasing, as I've decided to give the scarf to my oldest daughter, Lelia, so she can run around and DRIVE PEOPLE CRAZY pretending to be Hannah Montana. I'll get some footage for you guys. Because he Christmas Present is going to include the "How to drive the people you live with crazy pretending to be Hannah Montana" collection. I'll post crappy pictures of this package after I have it purchased and wrapped.

Once again, I am very, VERY sorry for my terrible photo taking skills. Really, really sorry.

2007-11-30T10:56:00.000-08:00

This is my long term boyfriend Chris. We've been together for, almost 6 years. Here is a picture of him, since I have not taken any pictures of my knitting.

I finished Calorimetry. I ended up still being WAY to wide and WAY to long. But it keeps my ears warm. I need to adjust the buttons and maybe add another one on the other side for keeping both ends secure.

I finally joined the bandwagon and cast on for "THE CLAP!" I've honestly wanted to for a while, but have been to lazy. I cast on with some crappy Patons sparkly yarn that I picked up at BIG!Lots (Which I LOVE! Now if only Ross would carry yarn!) for a whole wopping $1 a ball. But the pattern is much easier than it looked, as well as being very easy to memorize. Which can be important for me because I'm blond times 10.

I Love This Stuff.

2007-11-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sweaters, Semi-FO's, Casting Off, The Clap

2007-11-11T21:10:00.002-08:00

So I got the back done on Baby's First Tattoo (Stitch 'N Bitch Nation) and it looks okay. This will be my first sweater, so I'm kind of excited to get it finished. I still have to do the REST of the sweater. Now that is where things get bad. Most of the instructions are fine, but for the Front Left piece I get confused. I'll probably read over it tonight, like 4030 times, and than surf the net, pull some hair out and then at some point tomorrow I'll go "OH!!! I GET IT! DUH!" That's the way it always happens.

I re cast on Calorimetry the other night. This is such a simple pattern. The first time I did it, something went HORRIBLY WRONG. Okay, it was my knitting and the fact that my head is NOT THAT BIG. Really. So I was more careful this time.

I used that Caron Simply Soft Heather in Purple and size 6 needles. It's still a LITTLE wide, but it's a good length. I'll take some decent pictures of it when I get the button and put it on it tomorrow. Now, I wanted a stretchy cast off so I used the Elastic Cast Off from Dominitrix. It's K1, slip stitch back to left needle, k2tog, slip stitch back... and so on until you complete the cast off. It probably wasn't the best LOOKING cast off for the job, but it's stretchy. Maybe my Cast ONS shouldn't be so loose?

I've been trowing around the idea of making *sound of empending evil* THE CLAP! BWAHAHAHAHAHA. If you haven't heard of the Clapotis and you are a knitter, you live under a rock. Seriously. But I don't want a WHOLE GIANT THING I WILL NEVER EVER USE. I want a simple scarf for breezy weather. I'll start throwing around some ideas once I can afford to buy semi decent yarn for it.

I AM SO SORRY WITH MY TERRIBLE PICTURE TAKING SKILLS! I will have Bryson take the next set of pictures. He is so much better than I am.

One last note. I am IN LOVE with the fact that the Knit Picks Harmony DPN's come with 6 needles. That's fabulous.

Baby's First Tattoo & Adopted Children

2007-11-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

I finished the back on on Baby's First Tattoo. My needles always seem sticky now or hard, and my hands seem to sweat to much. It's really irritating. I was thinking of using an Anime style bunny for the picture and than making a bunny hat in the same colors (Black and White). The sweater is for Vile's Baby. Chris aproves of the color.

Something Chris and I have ALWAYS talked about, is adopting/fostering. Perticularly older kids, where Chris has a soft spot. His parents recently (in the last year or so) started adopting/fostering kids. They pay more attention to their "New Children" than the older ones. Not that they ever gave their two oldest a real chance. But lately, Chris' Step Dad has been real... Nice. And to Chris. Everyone is nice to me! I mean, I'm Kara. I'm awesome. Anyway, I'm getting way off topic. This lead to the discussion we have been having for the last 6 years. Adopting/Fostering. Maybe in six months to a year we would start. When we are settled. Kids from infant to 7 or 8 until the little kids are older. Than maybe teenagers.

This post makes no sense. Maybe I'll post again later.

Ball Joint Dolls

2007-11-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

Something I've always been interested in are Ball Joint Dolls (BJD). BJD's are jointed dolls that come from Asia and vary in size and detail. Karen Vail does this introduction to BJD's that is very informative.

I think the thing I've always loved about these dolls is the individuality. Each doll is created by you with various parts to make this doll that at some point stops being a doll and becomes an extension of you. I find them to be like knitting. When I knit or crochet something a piece of me goes into each piece and is an extension of me.

BDJ FAQ

The problem with BDJ's is the nice ones, are freaking expensive. REALLY expensive. But the possibilities for each doll are endless. The eyes, hands and wigs (yes, wigs) are removable and replaceable at any time! I love this. The thing is, sometimes your paying $100 + for a head alone, just so you can have one that's different.

So I've chattered enough, and Chris is falling asleep on the couch. So for your viewing pleasure, links!

Okay, so it's only one link, but if you go to the bottom of the page they have a links list of where to by them. Trust me, if you start looking you won't be able to stop.

Beginning your journey

Halloween, Costumes, And Bad Swatches

2007-11-01T23:34:00.000-07:00

I knit a swatch for Baby's First Tattoo with Caron Simply Soft. As you can see, This is a TERRIBLE swatch. I'm absolutely frustrated with the quality of this awful swatch. As you can see from this CRAPPY photo, that the cast on is nice and loose, the knitting is fairly even and I screwed up, but who cares, it's a swatch.

What I'm upset about is that tight cast off. Honestly, I have always done a tight cast off, and I thought I was doing it all loose, but I have GOT to do some swatches for doing a cast off that is loose and stretchy. This Cast Off is NOT loose or stretchy. In fact you can see where along the bottom, it's all loose and bunched up. The top is stretched as far as it will stretch to! It is seriously that tight. So readers, what cast/bind off do you use for a nice stretchy one?

I love Halloween. I always have. As a kid, it's the one time of year that you can stay out late on a school night, dress up in stupid costumes of your favorite characters, and eat candy until you gain 20 lbs. As a parent it is a completely different joy, and crazy amount of self induced pain. My favorite part, other than watching the kids enjoy trick or treating, is simply raiding their candy for the next month. Now I know why my Dad was always excited around Halloween.

Around here, Halloween is kind of lame. The kids can't wear their costumes to school, half the houses are dark, and sometimes (like where we are) you have to drive to go trick or treating. This year, a bunch of groups, including the classic car club decided to get together and do a trunk or treat. This is where you go trunk to trunk and people give you candy. It's a neat idea, and if it's small it works. This one, they must not have expected as many people because it was so disorganized and crazy. The first time we got there, there was a line to the street which was a busy street. We skipped and went door to door instead. When we got back, there we had to stand in a long, disorganized line where people would stop to talk to all the people they knew and than get mad that you went AROUND THEM. Please. If you are going to talk to your friends, keep walking! Hello! We left after one row because most people where out of candy and the place was just lousy.

Door to door was terrible too. Some houses more than make up for the fact that 30% of each block is blacked out. It was really disappointing, but I'm pretty sure that EVERYONE IN KINGMAN was at that stupid Trunk or Treat. It was actually pretty sad. I remember being a kid and going door to door. There would be maybe 2 houses on three blocks that would be dark, and you would come home with a pillow case FULL of candy.

At this point, Chris and I are currently discussing the idea of in the next few years, having Halloween parties for the kids and their friends and parents. Invite some kids and send home massive amounts of candy and party favors. It would be safe and fun.

I now leave you with a picture of my Cat who lives with my Mom because my Son is allergic. I got her before my oldest was born and had her up until August when I had to send her to my Mom's. She's still mine, and if I ever left town or my parents were to move I would bring her home and we would figure something out. I love her like my she's one of my own. She was so happy to see me last night and followed us to the car.

Switching Blogs, It's The Hip Thing Don't You Know!?

2007-11-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a total wimp. I decided to switch, but this isn't because I didn't like Word Press, only because you have to pay to change the CSS and I can't change the full layout the way I wanted to that way, and DAMN if I wanted to PAY to change my CSS (donating NOT included) I would buy a domain name (which IS in the future).

Projects have been moved up and down in my que. Projects have been temporarily abandoned. Projects get added every day.

My main goal is to start knitting for two babies on the way. First off Rachel is having a baby. So I need to add her to my list. Jekob and Angie are having a baby! This somehow got me really excited and I started making plans of all kinds of things to make mini Jekob! It's a girl, by the way. I've been making Chris keep track for me.

I'm leaving this post short because I'm adding and subtracting to the layout and in general being lazy. Forgive me. I will be adding more later.

Since this is a "new" blog. I will leave you with a picture of me.