Fixed!

I fixed the hat...

Now I have to wash the campfire smoke smell out of it before bestowing it on it's rightful owner... It did a good job keeping my head warm though...

Sweet!

Cone Head.

Darn it.

I went too far.

I know my dad has a big head... but so do I and this hat is way to long. :( I had a hunch as I was knitting that I should stop before the last repeat... but nonono... I didn't follow my instinct. This hat is going to be a pain in the rear to rip too!!! So many cable crosses. BOO.

Now for some pretty pictures. Last weekend, Eric and I attempted to go on a day hike in Sequoia. We drove all the way up the windy road to the giant trees.

However, I wasn't feeling to well, so we decided to start out with the short Moro Rock climb (more like a 300 ft granite stair case really). About halfway up, I threw up off the side of the granite dome. Gross. Ralphing in public is totally not cool. Amazingly, I persevered and made it too the top (actually, I had to go to the top to find Eric). I'm glad I did, even if I was all shaky and sick, because the views were spectacular.

Now, if I can just avoid viruses for the rest of my life, all will be good.

How To Eat A Monkey Cupcake:

A Photo Essay

Rosalind got me monkey cupcakes for my birthday!

They are so happy and cute!

First you eat the ears...

Then you take a bite.

Poor monkey...

But they sure were tasty!

Happy Birthday! Here's a COLD.

So I know I've been awful at posting lately. I think it's all the holiday knitting I'm doing. There isn't much that I can show...

In other news: today is my birthday. I'm a quarter of a century old. :) I really love birthdays. Unfortunately, I came down with a wicked chest cold today and I feel exactly like crap. I sounded like a little frog this morning. Luckily, my voice has mostly returned. Hopefully I'll feel even better tomorrow.

I was a lucky girl this birthday (besides the cold)! My mom bought me the Knit Picks Harmony needles! My dad got me a fancy pants all in one photo printer. And Eric got me this:
A little sister for my D40!! She's so cute! I will call her Squishy, and she shall be mine, she will be my Squishy... Finding Nemo, anyone?

Anywho... She's a wide angle ultra compact camera. Perfect for carrying everywhere. I took her to lunch with my coworkers today... Say hi, coworkers!
I was feeling so crappy that I couldn't even stomach any cheesecake. Oi. I must really be sick.

Here's to Vitamin C, tea, and sleep! Maybe I'll even have knitting to show next time.

'Cause I Know My Mom is Checking...

... I have to update my blog. I've been pretty busy, as always, but I have definitely been knitting all the while. Here's a quick photo update:

Indigo Ripples is just a whole bunch of stockinette right now. Yawn.

Inspired by the Yarn Harlot, I washed some coned yarn yesterday. Here is a before and after comparison. See how the washed yarn fluffed up? Amazing.

I've been doing some Christmas knitting. No peeking Kaylee. Avert your eyes.

More Christmas knitting.

We went wine tasting. It's beautiful up there.

We also visited Yosemite.

And tried to rock climb.

Interesting perspective.

It was a short, but sweet, visit.

I post pictures at Flickr a bit more often than I post here...

Oof. My Tummy.

Not feeling so great this morning. But I think I can handle a blog post. :) I have an FO to report... I finished the ribbed lacy bolero. It only took my 6 days to knit! It took me more time to post about it than it did to knit... Ahem.

Specs:
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Stone
Amount: 143grams
Pattern: Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly
Needles: US8 & US10.5
Started: Sep 2007
Finished: Sep 2007

To be honest, I wasn't too sure about it the first time I tried it on. It wasn't as fitted as I was imagining. But I wore it to work and over the course of a day, decided that I like it! I really like it. :) It was instant gratification knitting and that's exactly what I needed at the moment.

Right now, I'm knitting an Indigo Ripples skirt fast and furious. I'm onto the straight stockinette part after redoing the increases once. The first time was too big, so I ripped and restarted. Now it's fitting just fine.
I'm also starting the process of Christmas knitting. Let the gift knitting begin!

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In other real-life news, last weekend my little brother graduated from Air Force Basic Training. My family flew out to celebrate with him and we had a fun time in San Antonio. Here are some of the most fun pictures.

Many more here...

She's so CHIC!

My beautiful sister obliged me and took some in-action photos of the Swallowtail Shawl I made her.

Her kitty LeeLoo is pretty cute too. :)

Lovin' the swing coat. Kaylee can pull that stuff off easy.

Thanks Kaylee! It looks awesome! Glad you are enjoying it.

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In other knitting news: I started a Lacey Ribbed Bolero and am almost finished. This baby flew off the needles... I think it's been 5 days since I started it? It should be finished within a week... I can't wait to wear it! I love knitting with Cotton Ease.

Relaxing on the ottoman.

Also, the legwarmers are progressing... I'll be flash dancing in no time...

Truly a child of the 80's. YAY LEG WARMERS.

And. I got my hair cut. Yikes! 9" off... I feel 5 lbs lighter!

Swallowtail Shawl Too.

Hey everybody! I'm still here. I'm just really busy doing fun things like rock climbing, camping, ballet (oh and working), so I don't have much time to post to my leetle blog. Add to that the addiction beauty that is Ravelry and you have no blogging by Amanda at all.

However! I do have an FO to report. I finished another Swallowtail Shawl. This one is for my sister.

Specs:
Yarn: Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Midnight Heather
Amount: 50grams
Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl IK Fall 2006
Needles: US3
Started: July 2007
Finished: August 2007

I used every last bit of yarn in the skein on this shawl. I increased the number of repeats on the budding lace to 19, but ended up having to shorten the ending because I was running out of yarn. I probably would have been just right with 18 repeats, but then I would have had to fudge the lily o the valley lace portion of the shawl.

Pretty pretty lace.

Eric obliged in taking a couple of photos of me modeling the shawl...

Wingspan.

I think I was telling him to back up. Haha.

I will be sending it off to my sister shortly and I'll have to ask her to model the shawl herself and send me the pictures.

As for current knitting I have a couple of things on the needles, including more lace and leg warmers. :) I'm also swatching for an Indigo Ripples Skirt. Fun stuff.

Oh and here are some more pics from camping. We came across a lot of critters on this trip.

Maybe pictures of climbing next time! Night night for now.

Oh Hai.

I have been busy and thusly not posting on this here blog. Ah well. Such is life.

Eric moved out to Cali. But he is 3 hours away. So we have been taking turns on the weekends to drive to each other. Last weekend, I went up to see him and we camped in Sequoia. The weather was gorgeous in the mountains. Thank goodness, because it was 107F in the valley. Sweltering!

Pretty waterfall.

I have been knitting my sister a Swallowtail Shawl. I'm halfway through the second lily o the valley lace pattern. And holy cow is it taking forever. Millions of navy blue loops. The things I do for my sister. :) Pictures of knitting eventually... I've come to realize that it is hard to take good pictures of dark lacey-ness.

OH! And my sister got married. Haha... small detail. It was beautiful and she was stunning. It was an all around good time. Here's a picture... all dolled up for the big event:

Bridal Party. Wee!

Until next time!!!