I wonder if this will actually post?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Weekly Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap Topic
Today the ladies who organize this swap asked us:
TOPIC OF THE WEEK Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?
My favorite thing is the change in the weather. I live in Houston and it's been unbearably hot here since, well, April. I look forward to cooler weather. I'd like to walk across the grocery store parking lot and not break out in a sweat. I'd like to spend more time outdoors. I'd like to wear a sweater.
OK, the seasons changed on the calendar, but it's still in the 90s here. But the days have gotten noticeably shorter and the nights are a tad cooler. So I decided to celebrate/anticipate/nudge the season into coming quicker by doing two things.
1. I wore shoes that cover my toes! I don't think I've done this since April.
2. I opened up and wore my brand-new tube of Chanel Vamp lipstick. I love this color, but given that it's rather dark, I always think of it as a fall or winter color. That fresh tube was calling out to me! And since the calendar says fall, I listened.
Happy to fall to everyone!
TOPIC OF THE WEEK Autumn has now officially begun here in the States!! What is your favorite thing about Autumn/Fall? Why?
My favorite thing is the change in the weather. I live in Houston and it's been unbearably hot here since, well, April. I look forward to cooler weather. I'd like to walk across the grocery store parking lot and not break out in a sweat. I'd like to spend more time outdoors. I'd like to wear a sweater.
OK, the seasons changed on the calendar, but it's still in the 90s here. But the days have gotten noticeably shorter and the nights are a tad cooler. So I decided to celebrate/anticipate/nudge the season into coming quicker by doing two things.
1. I wore shoes that cover my toes! I don't think I've done this since April.
2. I opened up and wore my brand-new tube of Chanel Vamp lipstick. I love this color, but given that it's rather dark, I always think of it as a fall or winter color. That fresh tube was calling out to me! And since the calendar says fall, I listened.
Happy to fall to everyone!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Christmas Around the World Questionnaire
1. Are you religious?
Semi. I am Catholic but not as devout as I should be.
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced?
I learned to knit about 20 years ago in college. After a few years I stopped but I still bought a lot of knitting magazines. About 3 years ago I picked it up again. It came back really quickly. I think I’m intermediate.
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting?
I run, read, and cook.
4. Favorite color(s)?
Blue? I like most colors. Right now as I write this fall is approaching so fall-leaf colors stick out as appropriate for this time of year. Basically I like all colors and think they all look good in the right time and place.
5. Do you collect anything?
No.
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?
No.
7. Do you have any pets?
I have a calico cat named Maggie and a yellow lab puppy named Lucy.
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate is great for the Christmas season, tea is good all year round. I cannot stand coffee or anything coffee flavored.
9. Cookies or Sweets?
Cookies! I love eating them and baking them too.
10. Do you knit socks?
Sadly, not yet. I’d love to, but haven’t had a chance to learn yet.
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits)
Recently I’ve made a couple shawls and have been working on some simple sweaters.
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do?
Yes! I put one in the family room and a small one in the bedroom. The first year I put up the small one, I put little shiny balls all over it. My cat took them all off and played with them. Now that I think about it, I don’t know what the puppy will do to it, so perhaps I won’t put one in the bedroom this year. But of course I’ll still have the big one in the family room.
13. Favorite holiday treats?
Potica. I think it’s Slovenian. It’s a sweet bread. Imagine a yummy yeast dough, rolled paper thin, then covered with a nut and brown sugar mixture. Then that is rolled (like a jelly roll) and baked. It’s incredible. I get potica in my hometown in Colorado every Christmas. It’s not available where I live now.
14. Favorite holiday smells?
The Christmas tree and wreath smell.
Peppermint.
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Please elaborate.
Traditional. I go home to my family. We wake up, go to church, and open the presents. There are always lots, even for the pets. Then we have a big turkey dinner and for dessert we have birthday cake because it’s my brother’s birthday. Later friends may stop by and we relax with them.
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions?
I like it all…the preparation, anticipation, great food, time with family and friends.
17. Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about....”
Taking time to celebrate and appreciate my family.
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….?
A snowman. (Snowwoman?) Wearing a stylish, hand-knit scarf.
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given?
They are all good!
20. When do you start your Christmas?
After Thanksgiving.
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them?
Yes. I have made them several times in the past, when my inner Martha Stewart has come out. Sometimes I don’t have the time and then store-bought cards are just fine.
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish?
Potica (see #13). Tamales. Bailey’s Irish Cream.
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do?
Open the door, listen, clap, the offer them cookies.
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas morning.
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both?
Mainly family on the actual day, often with friends before Dec. 25.
Semi. I am Catholic but not as devout as I should be.
2. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider yourself a Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced?
I learned to knit about 20 years ago in college. After a few years I stopped but I still bought a lot of knitting magazines. About 3 years ago I picked it up again. It came back really quickly. I think I’m intermediate.
3. Do you have any other hobbies besides knitting?
I run, read, and cook.
4. Favorite color(s)?
Blue? I like most colors. Right now as I write this fall is approaching so fall-leaf colors stick out as appropriate for this time of year. Basically I like all colors and think they all look good in the right time and place.
5. Do you collect anything?
No.
6. Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?
No.
7. Do you have any pets?
I have a calico cat named Maggie and a yellow lab puppy named Lucy.
8. Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate?
Hot chocolate is great for the Christmas season, tea is good all year round. I cannot stand coffee or anything coffee flavored.
9. Cookies or Sweets?
Cookies! I love eating them and baking them too.
10. Do you knit socks?
Sadly, not yet. I’d love to, but haven’t had a chance to learn yet.
11. If not socks then what? (tell us about your favorite knits)
Recently I’ve made a couple shawls and have been working on some simple sweaters.
12. Do you put up a Christmas tree? If not then what do you do?
Yes! I put one in the family room and a small one in the bedroom. The first year I put up the small one, I put little shiny balls all over it. My cat took them all off and played with them. Now that I think about it, I don’t know what the puppy will do to it, so perhaps I won’t put one in the bedroom this year. But of course I’ll still have the big one in the family room.
13. Favorite holiday treats?
Potica. I think it’s Slovenian. It’s a sweet bread. Imagine a yummy yeast dough, rolled paper thin, then covered with a nut and brown sugar mixture. Then that is rolled (like a jelly roll) and baked. It’s incredible. I get potica in my hometown in Colorado every Christmas. It’s not available where I live now.
14. Favorite holiday smells?
The Christmas tree and wreath smell.
Peppermint.
15. Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional or unconventional way? Please elaborate.
Traditional. I go home to my family. We wake up, go to church, and open the presents. There are always lots, even for the pets. Then we have a big turkey dinner and for dessert we have birthday cake because it’s my brother’s birthday. Later friends may stop by and we relax with them.
16. What are your favorite holiday traditions?
I like it all…the preparation, anticipation, great food, time with family and friends.
17. Finish the sentence: “For me Christmas is all about....”
Taking time to celebrate and appreciate my family.
18. If you were a Christmas ornament you would be…….?
A snowman. (Snowwoman?) Wearing a stylish, hand-knit scarf.
19. What was your favorite gift you've ever received? Or given?
They are all good!
20. When do you start your Christmas?
After Thanksgiving.
21. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you make them or buy them?
Yes. I have made them several times in the past, when my inner Martha Stewart has come out. Sometimes I don’t have the time and then store-bought cards are just fine.
22. What is your favorite Christmas dish?
Potica (see #13). Tamales. Bailey’s Irish Cream.
23. Carolers are at your door. What do you do?
Open the door, listen, clap, the offer them cookies.
24. When do you open presents? Christmas eve or Christmas morning?
Christmas morning.
25. Do you celebrate with family or friends or both?
Mainly family on the actual day, often with friends before Dec. 25.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap Weekly Topic
In order to get us reluctant bloggers to blog more, the Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap organizers are giving us a topic to blog about each week. This week's topic concerns whether we change the kinds of yarn we knit with as the weather changes for autumn.
I don't really change the yarns I use to knit with as autumn arrives. For one thing, I live in a very hot part of the country. The calendar says fall long before the weather does! So I continue to work on my mostly-unfinished summer projects. I had ambitious plans for a couple simple summer sweaters, but I still haven't finished 'em, so I'll keep knitting on 'em until they're done, no matter what season we are in!
However, once some cooler weather comes, maybe late October, I'll be ready for some cold-weather projects. Maybe I'll finish that alpaca scarf I started for my mom last fall!
I don't really change the yarns I use to knit with as autumn arrives. For one thing, I live in a very hot part of the country. The calendar says fall long before the weather does! So I continue to work on my mostly-unfinished summer projects. I had ambitious plans for a couple simple summer sweaters, but I still haven't finished 'em, so I'll keep knitting on 'em until they're done, no matter what season we are in!
However, once some cooler weather comes, maybe late October, I'll be ready for some cold-weather projects. Maybe I'll finish that alpaca scarf I started for my mom last fall!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Exchange Questionnaire
1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I knit. I learned about 20 years ago. After many years of not knitting at all (but still reading knitting magazines, as my collection shows), I started up again about 3 years ago.
2. Have you made dischloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both?
I have made many dishcloths before. Some are for myself. I think they are a good project to learn new stitches or techniques and if I make a mistake, I can still wash my dishes with them. Some are gifts. Last fall I made several for a friend as a housewarming gift. I gave several as Christmas gifts to family members too.
3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before?
I mostly use Peaches & Cream or Sugar & Cream. I am willing to try any kind of cotton yarn.
4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles?
For dishcloths I seem to use straight bamboo needles.
5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much?
Since the theme is fall, I’ll go with the colors of fall leaves. I don’t think a neon dishcloth would be attractive, but I haven’t seen neon cotton yarn.
6. What do you like best about Autumn?
I like the cooler weather best! I like the start of football season too.
7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of ‘em? or No Thanks!
All pies are good to me!
8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school, or the one who overslept on the 1st day?
I liked the first day—seeing all my friends again, new school clothes, and brand-new crayons!
9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap.)
Definitely I celebrate Halloween. I still carve a pumpkin, I put Halloween candy on my desk at work, and I love to answer the door to the trick-or-treaters.
10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose?
Dark chocolate, almonds, and red licorice.
11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;)
I have a puppy (3 months old), a calico kitty, a boyfriend, no kids.
12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why?
Let’s see…what yarn is understated until you get to know it but then it’s fun and outgoing? If there is such a yarn, it and I would have similar personality traits.
13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths?
So far I’ve only used them as dishcloths but I have a new one I may try as a face cloth.
14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays)
Thanksgiving! It’s great to relax with family, prepare and eat delicious food, and there’s no commercialism associated with it. It’s just a time to celebrate family, friends, and food. Also, my birthday is very near Thanksgiving each year (and last year was on Thanksgiving) so in addition to pumpkin pie, I get birthday cake for dessert.
15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about?
No allergies, no aversions, just looking forward to a fun exchange.
I knit. I learned about 20 years ago. After many years of not knitting at all (but still reading knitting magazines, as my collection shows), I started up again about 3 years ago.
2. Have you made dischloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both?
I have made many dishcloths before. Some are for myself. I think they are a good project to learn new stitches or techniques and if I make a mistake, I can still wash my dishes with them. Some are gifts. Last fall I made several for a friend as a housewarming gift. I gave several as Christmas gifts to family members too.
3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before?
I mostly use Peaches & Cream or Sugar & Cream. I am willing to try any kind of cotton yarn.
4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles?
For dishcloths I seem to use straight bamboo needles.
5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much?
Since the theme is fall, I’ll go with the colors of fall leaves. I don’t think a neon dishcloth would be attractive, but I haven’t seen neon cotton yarn.
6. What do you like best about Autumn?
I like the cooler weather best! I like the start of football season too.
7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of ‘em? or No Thanks!
All pies are good to me!
8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school, or the one who overslept on the 1st day?
I liked the first day—seeing all my friends again, new school clothes, and brand-new crayons!
9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap.)
Definitely I celebrate Halloween. I still carve a pumpkin, I put Halloween candy on my desk at work, and I love to answer the door to the trick-or-treaters.
10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose?
Dark chocolate, almonds, and red licorice.
11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;)
I have a puppy (3 months old), a calico kitty, a boyfriend, no kids.
12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why?
Let’s see…what yarn is understated until you get to know it but then it’s fun and outgoing? If there is such a yarn, it and I would have similar personality traits.
13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths?
So far I’ve only used them as dishcloths but I have a new one I may try as a face cloth.
14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays)
Thanksgiving! It’s great to relax with family, prepare and eat delicious food, and there’s no commercialism associated with it. It’s just a time to celebrate family, friends, and food. Also, my birthday is very near Thanksgiving each year (and last year was on Thanksgiving) so in addition to pumpkin pie, I get birthday cake for dessert.
15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about?
No allergies, no aversions, just looking forward to a fun exchange.
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