What I've been doing all day

My back hurt, my arms were sore, and I was covered in paint.

Yes, I have been painting the fence for a little profit. But what teenager doesn't need a little money?

I have to tell you, it felt really nice to take a warm shower when I was all done. It was refreshing and it took most of the paint off (though I do still have some in my hair).

And what did I buy with my money, you ask?
An iPod nano! I bought it all with my own money, most of it from babysitting (they really do pay me well there). I've uploaded my songs already(all 160 of them...I got the 2GB), and it has a really great sound. I have a feeling that it's going to get used!

I also started a shawl for my mom. While I orginally planned on making a Kiri, I realized that I couldn't figure out how I should change it from triangle-shaped to a rectangle and that all I was making was a bunch of holes when I used to lace repeat. So I ripped that out and started with another lace pattern. Unfortunately, that was when the TV was on and I was paying more attention to the TV that I was to the lace. Rip, rip, rip. Feeling discouraged, I was looking through an old issue of VK (spring/summer '05, to be exact) and stumbled upon a stitch that I like more than the last one. Here's what I have going so far, and I'm really pleased with it. I also got lucky on the yarn color and it matches the dress it's supposed to match perfectly.

So that's all for today. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Karma with the help of a radio

Neighbors can be a great thing, they really can. We have wonderful neighbors to the back of us that are almost like family to me. I babysit for their little toddler, they pay me well, and I love spending time there.

On the other hand, there are our neighbors to the left of us. I don't even know their names, actually; I just know them as loud and annoying. They seemed alright when they moved in, just occasional "hi" worthy sort of people.

Then the hot tub parties began. Our neighbors invited friends who brought radios and beer to spend the night outside. There was always loud music and loud voices and I could usually make out snippets of conversation or a song on the radio, both sometimes innapropriate.

It was 1 AM on a Friday night last December that I finally lost it. I was having a sleepover with my friend and couldn't fall asleep because of the loud music and voices. So I talked to my mom, I talked to my dad, and then came to the conclusion that they couldn't do anything about it. Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I stormed back up to my room, opened the window, and with the loudest voice I could muster, yelled "SHUT! UP!". They stopped talking after that, and I was finally able to go to sleep.

They haven't said a word to us since.

Fast forward to the summertime and the man over there has decided he likes to do his business outside. And believe me, he's as loud as he was with his friends in those hot tub parties. So my mom and I wanted to have a little fun after we were sick of hearing him. We grabbed our friend the radio and his companion the volume dial tagged along. Up and up and up the sound went, until we could no longer hear our neighbor. My mother and I laughed and kept the radio on for the rest of the night.

Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to help karma along a little.

My yarn arrived!

This arrived from Sarah's Yarns today! Woohoo! And it was so fast, I just ordered it on Monday! It is Jaggerspun Zephyr in Sage that is going to become a Kiri Shawl for my mom though not in a triangle, she just wants one long rectangle. I have to figure out how to double strand it though, because it is just in one cone with only one strand in sight. My deadline is a month. We'll see if I can get it done.

In other news, my knee, which has been bothering me since track club has started, does not tolerate running very well. I can't even lean on it it hurts so badly. But the thing that seems weird is that I've had TWO MOTRIN today (one at 12, another at 3) and it still hurts. I'm begging my mom to take me to the doctor, because I have a track meet next Thrusday, and then track is over. It is so frustrating.

I deserve to be ignored (but I have pics)

I deserve to be ignored. I really do. Because I have gone almost three weeks without a post. You don't have to read if you don't want to, just click the little "x" at the top of the screen. But if you're forgiving, you'll continue reading.

Thank you. : )

Here is what I've received from my secret yarner ("mugs") from KH:The yarn is from irishbabyknits.com. I love it! The color is the greatest and it is sooo soft. I can't wait until it gets cold enough that I can try it out. She also made the stitch markers herself and put them in a little lipstick case. I'm so happy with what she gave me!

I also received some books from KnitPicks and 2 40" cables for MLing. The books are more exciting to look at though. I think I like Favorite Socks the most. There are tons of patterns I want to make in there, and they all look like they're going to fit my narrow feet. I like Fitted Knits and Domiknitrix equally the same. I am currently obsessed with top-down raglans right now, so Fitted Knits feeds that addiction. The only problem is that I would have to increase less because most of the bust sizes are too big for me. Easily doable though. Domiknitrix has lots of instructions from casting on to I-cords, which I didn't expect when I ordered the book. There are some patterns I want to knit nonetheless, but I think it will be more of an instructional book that a pattern book for me (I also like the smell of the book, but that isn't something I've admitted to friends and family because I fear they'll label me as insane).

Here is a WIP, what I have started from the yarn that took THREE WEEKS to arrive from Wisconsin (I think! I can't remember the state. I know it began with a W). It was from hellokitty165 on KH. She even said that she'd give me the money back for it after while because it was taking so long to arrive.

It's a, you guessed it, top-down raglan. I based it off of this month's surprise from Knitty, but I changed the gauge and don't plan on increasing as much as it says to in the pattern because of my 30" bust.

I also finished a pair of socks from leftover yarn from my V-Neck Sweater, but they are too small. I went up a size from what it said to use and cast on the amount for the child size. I just keep thinking to myself that I should have gone up another needles size. Darn. Here's a WIP pic as I haven't gotten any pics of them as a FO.

They are really a little bit darker, but you get the idea. There is a mistake on the left on because I accidentily knit another row than I was supposed to when I got the yarn all tangled up. Don't ask me how these thing happen, they just do.

Also, I get bragging rights because my uncle and aunt brought over a Viper! My dad got tons of pics of my cousin and I in the car, and I thought I'd just put them in (really, I wanted some bragging rights). Here they are!

My cousin and I goofing off. My dad called us gangstas. We told him that we were in the hood.

My cousin wasn't too happy when I told her I wanted to try. It took a little convincing (well, a little shoving didn't hurt either).

My cousin and I have very active imaginations. She thinks she's a fish, and I am pretending I'm a midget spy. Laugh all you want, but we're the ones having more fun.

Finally, one last normal pic, just to redeem whatever dignity we have left.

Last but not least, I also made a new friend. Her name was Twiggy. She arrived on the collar of my dad, and left on a leaf an hour later.

I think my dignity is gone.

I'll be back sooner next time, I promise!

FO

Igonore the arm, I had no idea why I put it there, but it shows off the shape of the sweater well.
My mom says I look like my grandmother, all posey-posey.
Suki doesn't like my shirt; maybe it's the smell (it was blocking, so it was damp). If the pic looks dark, just look at the screen on an angle, or scroll up. Whichever way works for you.
Lying with my sock yarn that I have yet to use.

I just finished this yesterday. I ended up changing the gauge, got rid of the garter stitch edges, joined in the round to make a v-neck, and added waist shaping. I crocheted slip stitch on the edge of the v-neck to make it lie flat, which it did after blocking, only one side is tighter than the other. I used 2 skeins of Cottonease, only dipping into the 3rd for the ribbing, which means it cost around $10 to make. My mother can't believe that I spent that little, and is thinking of not taking me shopping so I can just make my own clothes from now on for cheaper. I said I'll think about it.

I have also cast on for Pomatomus two at a time on ML, but the k2tog tbl's are driving me crazy, as well as hurting my hands. I think I'm going to have to buy a tiny crochet hook to help me, but I'm worried that they don't make them that small. I'll have to see, otherwise I have to frog.

A happy day, a WIP, and a FO

Sorry I haven't felt like writing much...I've sort of been in a slump. I did have a wonderful day on Friday though, because it included a) a massage at a day spa, including back, scalp, and neck. I smelled like lavender the whole day; b) more yarn, including sock yarn and some yarn for my mother's top and; c) I bought some awesome knitting books.

Sounds like a great day, right? So here's a pic to prove it:

The small dark blue sock yarn is Wildfoote from Brown Sheep Company. The red stuff is Rowan Linen Print for my mom's top for Mother's Day (I'll let you know when I cast on...). The other sock yarn is called OnLine, but I'm thinking about returning it because I don't really want a "faux fair-isle" type of thing. The books I got were Rowan Beach Cool, with my mom's pattern and a few others she wants me to make her (I"ll let you know when I cast on for those as well) and Twinkle's Big City Knits. I really like a lot of her patterns, even though they are for "heroin chic" girls. I am on the tad thin side anyway. I'm thinking about reworking them for a smaller gauge though for spring and summer, since chunky knits are usually heavy. The best part of it all? My mom bought everything! Yes, it was a big suck up day here in Sarah world.

Here is also what I have been working on for a while. It's based off Glampyre's boobholder. I adapted it to my gauge and size though, and once I got to where I wanted the v-neck to end, I joined in the round. Looks like the only way I'm going to make something that fits is to invent it myself. I've gotten three inches farther along than in the pictures, and am now ready for ribbing. Then I'll only have the sleeves to do, and I don't plan on adding much length, so it should be done soon. I can't wait. It'll be my first wearable item!

Sorry the pics weren't great, I had to take them myself. You can see my dog and the edge of my clarinet in the background which I haven't played for ages.

I also recently attended a bridal shower for my third cousin...I think (she's the daughter of my dad's cousin, to make it more confusing). That was on Sunday. I had never met half the people there before, but they all seemed to know who I was. I had never met Kelli (for whom the party was being thrown) before, at least I didn't remember her because she says she remembered me being shorter. I made her a bag from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and it actually was a quick knit, as I started it on Thursday and finished on Saturday. The only modifications that I made were to knit it on Magic Loop and to line it. Otherwise it's the same.

My mom was holding it up for this pic, she wanted to make it look "fancy". We went over to my grandma's house so she could sew in the lining that I had picked out (my mom wanted flowers, but I said no). The ties are also from my grandma. Wasn't she nice?

The bag, in total, cost about $5 or $6, because the fabric was about a dollar and I used some cheap Simply Soft. And I don't think it looks half bad.

I also took tons of spring photos, but I think I'll save that for another post (probably later today).