Pumpkin Hat

Pumpkin Hat, originally uploaded by Alissao.

My WEBS order came super fast, and arrived today, so I was able to finish the Little Pumpkin Hat this evening. Another cute one...

Almost a pumpkin...

100_4142, originally uploaded by Alissao.

I got this far with the Little Pumpkin hat from Itty-Bitty Hats when I ran out of orange. shoot. I'm halfway through the decreases so it is really close to being done with orange but its all gone. So this one's on hold until more orange arrives from WEBS. While I was ordering I got a few more colors of Goshen, for a few more baby hats. I know, I'm addicted to baby hats. But they're so adorable and quick to make! I might start a baby sweater next though...

Bunny Tail hat

Bunny Tail hat, originally uploaded by Alissao.

Here's a Bunny Tail hat! From Itty-Bitty Hats of course. This is the same Valley Yarns Goshen as the Marley hats, the hat in Linen and the inside of the ears in Ballet Pink. The pink ears were knit separately (just cast on to fit and knit garter as long as needed, rounding the top with some k2tog - I think the ears are a different size on each size hat so it would be different for each) and sewn on.

Free Birthday Stuff!

I've been signed up for Coldstone Creamery's free birthday ice cream for a few years now, and I used to get Baskin-Robbins until they disappeared from the area. So I started wondering who else would give me something free just for having been born. Most if not all of these send you a coupon by email, some of them a week or more before your birthday so you need to sign up enough in advance.

This is the list of clubs I signed up for, with links to the sign up pages, and what I receive (updated as they arrive). Just so you know, most of these will also email you throughout the year, with some other coupons or new product info. Personally, it's easy enough to delete those for the enjoyment of the free food. But if you hate that kind of thing beware...

Coldstone Creamery - free ice cream
Baskin-Robbins - email coupon for a free scoop
Red Robin - free gourmet burger of your choice (sent one week before birthday, good for 14 days)
Uno - free appetizer with purchase of two entrees for joining; $10 off $25 food purchase for birthday
Moe's Southwest Grill - One free burrito, good on your birthday and for 3 days after (id maybe checked)
Dairy Queen - BOGO Blizzard coupon for joining; same for birthday
Macaroni Grill - free chocolate cake for your birthday and anniversary (no purchase required), receive one week before birthday, good for a month after your birthday
Ben & Jerry's - BOGO regular cup or cone for joining;
Ruby Tuesday - free dessert with any entree (receive one week before birthday, good for 14 days)
Buca di Beppo - free dessert with purchase of any entree (valid on any dessert but Dolce Platter) received one week before birthday, good for 30 days
TGI Friday's - free appetizer with $15 food purchase for joining;
Arby's - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
Friendly's - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
Olive Garden - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
PF Changs - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
Taco Bell - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
Chili's - Didn't receive anything. Signed up too close to birthday?
The Melting Pot - free chocolate fondue for two for joining;
The Cheesecake Factory - No sign-up required: "Just let your server know that a birthday is being celebrated and, at the end of your meal, the birthday guest will be presented with a complimentary scoop of ice cream with a lit candle accompanied with a “Happy Birthday” song from our staff. In addition, we also offer our birthday guests the option to purchase a slice of cheesecake, which will arrive on a plate decorated with chocolate sauce and sprinkles."


If you're looking for more take a look at this link, but be aware that some of these are either outdated or never true in the first place...

Birthday Month!

My 30th birthday is this Friday. Due to some circumstances outside my control we'll be spending a good portion of my birthday weekend doing something else. So it was decided that I would jump right past a birthday weekend or week (which apparently many people celebrate including my friend Food/Crafts/Books Girl) and go for the birthday month. This year, my birthday is the Month of June, people. :-)

Then, as if a month isn't long enough my birthday party was this past Saturday, which was actually still May. ;-) Being my 30th, it was a bigger-deal party than usual, including people from work and wonderful friends who came all the way from Brooklyn to stay the weekend. As was fitting for someone born in 1978, the theme was a 70s Dinner Party kind of thing. I didn't get many pictures, but this was my cake (carrot)

and this, was my leisure suit-Elton John glasses wearing husband
and here he is again in a close-up with a can of TaB
A friend has requested that he wear it again to her wedding in October so this thing has not seen its last days yet.

So that was the first thing of the Birthday Month, the party (which was great fun). Another part of this will be an attempt to get as much free birthday stuff as possible. I'll be posting a list of the birthday clubs I signed up for and what I receive, as well as a link to the website I got them from so you can try to find others in your areas that I don't have in my neck of the woods.

I'm also compiling a list of things I want to do for the rest of the month, you can see that over in the sidebar. I'll be crossing things off when I've done them and blogging them so that will explain the sometimes cryptic descriptions.

One other thing that I'll be doing for most of the birthday month, is eating marvelous chocolates!
My friend brought me these MarieBelle chocolates from NY and they are not only beautiful

but delicious (and interesting flavors)! I'm eating one a day and so far I've tried Soba Cha and pineapple.

In other news - knitting wise, I'm working on the bunny ear hat.

Marley #2

Marley #2, originally uploaded by Alissao.

Here's the second Rainbow Marley! This is the same as the first one, just using the colors in a different order. All on a #7 needle, with this yarn there wasn't a big difference between a 7 & an 8 but just enough that I like the 7 better.

Next up? a bunny tail hat!

Not-So-Rainbow Marley

Not-So-Rainbow Marley, originally uploaded by Alissao.

Here it is, the first finished Marley hat. I love how cute this pattern is and I really love the squiggles on top. I've already cast on another one, doing the colors in a different order...

Squee worthy baby hats...

I'm only half way through the first one, but I think I might be addicted to baby hats. I first fell in love with the cutest baby hats ever, from reading the blue blog. Alison (author of Charmed Knits) has knit a bunch of Susan B. Anderson's baby hats (and other projects) and I really fell in love with them. I bought Itty-Bitty Hats (just look at the cutie on the cover!) when it wasn't available from the local libraries and I just knew I'd want to make at least a few of them over the next couple of years (with the baby boom going on between friends and family...). When I was at WEBS in March I picked up yarn for Rainbow Marley (ravelry link) and bunny tails (ravelry). I should be able to get more than one Rainbow from the yarn I have since you use bits of so many colors.
I'm calling mine a Not-Quite-Rainbow Marley because I couldn't get all the rainbow colors in the yarn I was buying... so it is a semi-muted rainbow. I'm using an 8 instead of a 7 because I didn't have a 7 in the right length. It's a bit loose, I'll use the 7 next time. I was just too anxious to start it last night to wait for a trip to the store. You can't see the pattern that well in this photo, laying down like that, but the different stripes use different patterns - most are knit, some are garter, and then a few wild cards are thrown in like seed stitch. The yarn is Valley Yarns Goshen (cotton, modal, silk) it is a little splitty but soft. I like it. This hat is for my soon-be-born nephew, my brother went through a reggae Bob Marley phase so I'm hoping he'll like it. :-) I haven't gotten to the cool part yet, with the squiggles on top, that will liven it up.

The other thing I like about this book is that for each pattern, there's a little box listing every technique/stitch you need for the pattern. Then it tells you what page each is explained on in the book! Not only does she give you all the info you need but she tells you which page so you aren't flipping all over looking for the stinking seed stitch if you can't remember which one it is! Each stitch also lists how to do it for both straight and circular knitting which is a bonus to not even have to think it out at all.

Sunfire and Moon dog

First the knitting... as mentioned last time, I'm making a pair of short socks using the Broadripple pattern. I want them to wear with shorts and my pink converse sneakers so I don't want them too long and I'm only doing the pattern on the leg. The first sock is just getting the gussets because I haven't been knitting much. I'm kind of in a rut, I feel like I should be making the baby surprise jacket for my future nephew but I just don't feel like it so it's making me not feel like knitting period. I did wind the yarn for it, and I started the cast-on but I'm just not feeling it right now. So I think, along with these socks, I'm going to start the Rainbow Marley hat from Itty-Bitty Knits for the same future nephew instead. Something I need to get done, but not a sweater on infernally small needles.

Now, on to Sunfire and Moon dog. This
is Sunfire and this
is Moon dog! Sunfire is my new PINK (obviously) bike and Moon dog is Trevor's. No, we didn't name our bikes, those are the model names and are printed on the bikes. Isn't mine kind of retro? I love it. Also I love how 60s surf movie/Gidget Moon dog sounds. Also they are pictured on our front porch which I also love. An enclosed porch is a lovely thing to have.

Now I just need to learn how to ride it...

The Yarn Harlot, WEBS, Socks, and the Loopy Ewe...

Last Sunday I went to the WEBS hosted Yarn Harlot talk with two friends, Kate and Katie. It was, of course, great! I got a few pictures at the talk then my camera died so I didn't get any at WEBS or around town. Thanks to Katie scouting out our seats, we were only in the fifth row so you can actually tell who it is in the photos, unlike last year. ;-)

Here's Stephanie getting the camera out
more getting ready

And here she is with the sock, taking a picture of the other side of the theater.


After the talk and the Q&A, we went back to WEBS for a bit. The book signing line was already long so we didn't do that (she said she'll be at Rhinebeck again this year and last year I was second in line with no problem so hopefully I'll get one then) but we did get these nifty tour buttons!

I didn't really have any shopping plans but Kate and I both fell in love with this Plymouth Royal Llama Silk and each got it in different colors. It is sooo soft and scrumptious! It might be a lacy scarf, or it might be a hat.

My other purchase was from the button department, which is quite extensive! Especially extensive was the skull button selection! There were five or six different designs, believe it or not. These were voted the two best designs, one of each for Trevor and my sister who is a big skull fan. Project to be determined, or I might just give them to her to add to something on her own.

Next, the socks! I finished them Tuesday morning just in time to wear them to work. I loves them and they got many compliments at work.
Then I cast on my next pair! I'm making a short anklet pair for the summer out of this cute pink, green, and lilac Fixation. I'm doing the leg using the broadripple pattern but then I'm going to drop the pattern because I'm going to wear these with my pink converse sneakers so the foot pattern wouldn't show anyway. Not enough done to bother with a photo yet though.

I needed a needle that The Loopy Ewe had in stock so I ordered that and got one of their cute little tote bags too. It's a good size, good for a baby sweater sized project, or my sock bag and wallet etc.

The hang tag says "Sock yarns don't count as stash!" hee!

This was my free gift from this order, a super cute Loopy stitch marker.

edited to fix a link