Yarn sale!

Today started a little later than I would've liked. I've done a good job lately of getting up around 8:30ish, but today I couldn't seem to get out of bed. This morning I watched some shows on my TiVo (and yes, some of them were Matlock) and knitted on my dishrag. I've finished two different types of the patterns from the Mason-Dixon book.















I really like the ones with two colors, and they're really easy to make. I've decided that I'm going to use that technique to make placemats for my table. It looks kinda plain by itself (although it usually ends up covered with stuff), and this is some easy mindless knitting that will spruce it up. So...that means yarn shopping! Michaels was having a $1 sale on the Sugar and Cream yarn that is perfect for this project (cotton and washable!), so I stocked up.




These two color sets will be for the summer. I realize now that I probably should've put the striped ones in front, but oh well. I love how bright they are!



These two colorways will be used for winter. I found two different greens at Hobby Lobby that seem to fit these, as well as a really pretty purple/blue/pink skein. I only had 10 min at Hobby Lobby before they closed (who closes at 8pm?), so hopefully that'll all work out.

This is for Spring. I think I found more Spring type stuff at Hobby Lobby, but I wasn't so concerned in the few minutes I had to grab and go. Plus, spring's a ways away, so it can hold for a bit. I have no idea what I'll do for fall, which is coming up. I'd love some orangy-red stuff, but I didn't see anything like that. Maybe I can find some online. I also want to say that some of these look better in person than on the photos.

So, there's my obsessive yarn purchasing. I don't really feel bad though, because it was so inexpensive. Oh, and everyone's getting washcloths for Christmas. There are some cute mitered ones I'd like to try...

For those here from the Mason-Dixon KAL, welcome! I'm still new to the blogging thing. If you'd like to do some reciprocal blogging linkage, send me an e-mail at julieanneknits AT gmail DOT com. =)

Other Stuff for Today
Besides my excited yarn purchase, I went to visit my friend Jana at Hollywood Video. I bought 5 VHS tapes for around $8. I got a Cookie Monster songs tape, Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Train, and two Blue's Clues. This makes me ridiculously excited, because there are now new movies to watch at Daycare! Since it's been so hot lately, we run out of stuff to do inside. We usually kill a little time watching a movie when we can't go outside. I've seen Sesame Street Fiesta! about 100 times. I was hoping to find some Wiggles tapes, but unfortunately I didn't see any. The Wiggles are popular, and the kids sit still for a decent amount of time and sing the songs.

After yarn shopping but before video shopping, Riley and I went to the dog park. He ran around a good deal, so that made me happy. It sometimes seems like he has a hard time getting started running around and actually playing with the other dogs. Maybe he's more like me than I realized. =)

Plans for Tomorrow
Tomorrow will probably be a knitting day, just hanging out around the house. Scott was busy today, but he'll probably be over tomorrow. We have a deal where he plays his football game and I knit. It works out quite well.

Scary...

Tonight Scott and I were about a second away from being in major trouble. We were coming home from the show and were at the light from the interstate to Thompson/Briley. Our light turned green, Scott started to turn left, and a vehicle came flying down the road from Briley. They ran the light way after it had turned red, and were going crazy fast. Neither of us saw the truck until it was past us. Had Scott been a second faster, or the truck been a second slower, we would've hit on my side. It was really scary. The truck proceeded to run the next two lights on the street. It's too bad that we couldn't see his license plate. By the time we realized what had happened, he was too far away to see. But anyway, it's over, and everyone's safe. Nashville drivers are freaking crazy.

Lots o' Stuff

Since my last big post, a few momentous occasions have happened for me in the world of knitting. Firstly, I got to hear Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon knitting speak at Threaded Bliss Yarns in Brentwood. I bought their book, and was fortunate enough to have it autographed by both Kay and Ann. This picture was taken in front of the Cascade 220 wall (aka. "The Perfect Yarn" wall).















About a week later, I got to hear Stephanie Pearl-McPhee speak. She was ridiculously funny. I presented her some Goo-Goo Clusters, which you can see as a bright glare in this picture




I also started (and have since completed) my first pair of socks. Here's a pic of my sock with the famous travelling sock. Mine is on the right.















Here's a picture of my first sock on my foot. Woo!
















Those socks were made with Arcania Wool (or something like that), and aren't really very comfy. I think my feet are a little too sensitive for a worsted weight sock. When I took it off, I could see all the purl bumps on the top of my foot. I'll keep these socks, since they were my first pair, but I probably won't wear them again. On to real sock yarn!

Let's see...I have a few pictures from the fourth of July, where I spent the day knitting on my second pair of socks. The yarn is Simple Stripes from Knitpicks, in a color that I think they're sold out of. My friend Urs sent me two skeins of this yarn in a package. Here are a few shots of the fireworks, including one of the sock enjoying the night.











































See that blob? That's the sock. The sock has been put on hold for a bit, due to a frustration that took an hour and a half to fix. It seems that one of my decreases came undone, and it was impossible to tell exactly where it was supposed to go. I had to pull out all the stitches I picked up, as well as take out the heel and some of the heel flap rows. I'm at the point of re-turning the heel, but I'm giving it a break for awhile.

Baby Riley
Riley is officially a year old! His birthday was on May 14th. He's a good boy. I took him to daycare yesterday, and he did really well around all the little kids. I was worried that he might be too excited and spastic around them, but he did a lot better than I expected him to. Here are some pictures from Riley's birthday.






Medical Update
I've been on my thyroid medicine for about a month now, and I'm not sure if I'm feeling an effect or not. I've had some good days, but I've also had some really bad ones (meaning I sleep most of the day). I've also attempted to change my schedule around so I wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. I function better staying up later, but unfortunately the rest of the world doesn't work like that. Riley and I have been getting up between 8 and 8:30 (*way* early for me) and walking. It's been pretty hot here, so some days it's harder to walk than others. We have a mile and a half circuit that we do if we don't get too hot. So anyway, I'm attempting to do some things for my health, and I guess we'll see if everything works out.

School
I finished my first year of grad school on July 1st. At this point I have a 3.787 GPA (without my last class factored in yet), which I'm pretty happy about. I have two classes I could've done better in, but oh well. I still don't have an internship site, and classes start back in a little under a month. Goodlettsville Middle School is our backup, so that's probably where I'll end up. It's amazing to me that we don't have more connections with children and adolescents in the Nashville area. The two options I've been given are Goodlettsville or a school out in Dickson. Dickson is 50 miles from me, so that's not very feasible with my schedule. The weird thing is that my mom went to high school where Goodlettsville Middle is now. I just hope (if that's where I end up) that they know how to use me and can give me some good experience.

I guess I'm all caught up for now. I need to run to the bank at some point today (I hate going to the bank), and then I have one of Scott's shows tonight. One of my favorite wrestlers is going to be there, so I'm excited about that. I plan to take my knitting, and hopefully will get some done during the more boring matches/intermissions. Next week is a work week, and I'll be there from 12-6 everyday. I might babysit on Friday, depending on how things work out. It's been years since I've done any babysitting though, and I'd have no clue how much to charge. If it's just one baby, it would be pretty easy and I should have time to knit when he sleeps. I like being with babies, so this could be fun. I guess I'll see on Monday if the times work and such.

I'm back!

So, I've decided to start posting on this blog (and others) again. It seems like everyone is connected by blogs now. I read knitting blogs on a daily basis, so why not write my own? I also would like to be able to look back later and see what was going on in my life when I posted. I have some pictures to upload, but I'll get to that later today/tonight. Right now I need to shower and get ready for Family Fun Night (which kinda fizzled, as only one person will be coming besides me and Scott). Scott bought us some games last week, so we can start having friends over and have stuff to do. In town? Want to come over and play games? Let me know. =)