Alli's World

I've never been what I'd consider an artist. I've never been struck and *had* to draw something or write a poem or compose a song about what I've just seen or done. But today, I just had to draw this ceiling pattern. I was convinced I could turn it into a a cable pattern. Let me back up and tell you the background.

I'm in Chicago for my Gram's 80th birthday party. Except, it's a surprise, so shhh! :) My sister and her husband picked me up from the airport and we headed downtown to wander around and check stuff out. BIL hadn't been to Chicago before so he wanted to see what he could. My sis found a place called the Chicago Cultural Center. It used to be the Chicago Public Library and was built in the 1890s. I headed in expecting to look at the art exhibits but instead was fascinated by the building itself. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Cultural_Center

In one of the galleries, I looked up and saw this:



I was enchanted. There's no other way to describe it. I just saw it and instantly visualized it as a knitted swatch. My BIL was sneaky and took the above picture for me. In the car ride back to Gram's, I pulled out my graph paper and started charting. 40 minutes later, I had a scarf pattern . Unfortunately, I don't have any solid colored wool with me. I'm going to try and swing by the LYS in town and pick some up.

I've never had an idea grab me before and not let go. It was pretty damn cool. Maybe this designing thing is going to work out after all!

Look what J's parents brought me for my birthday:




It belonged to J's grandmother who recently passed. It needs a lot of therapy and rehab but it's beautiful. Hopefully by this summer I'll be spinning on her.

I'm going to go be happy for awhile! :)

So the new cat likes to eat toilet paper. A lot. You can't leave a roll on the holder without coming back and finding it chewed to bits.

After coming upstairs this morning and finding snow all over the floor, I decided that something had to be done. Camouflage to be specific.

To fit in with my son's Finding Nemo themed bathroom, I decided that Nemo would blend in perfectly. We'll just ignore the fact that I was tried to hide the tp from the cat by dressing it up as a fish. It made sense this afternoon. By the time I realized the irony, the point of no return had been passed.

So, I went rummaging and found an H hook and the appropriately colored yarn. 3 hours later (my crochet-fu isn't as fast as my knitting skillz) we have Hopefully Hidden Nemo:





I've become one of those people. I've crochet a toilet roll cover. There's no turning back. At least I'll have Nemo for company.

Meet the newest member of our family, Fuzzworth.



You should have heard the vet laugh when they asked me how to spell it. :)




A friend found him in the parking lot of our local Sam's Club. He came home with me Sunday night and fit right in. I took him to the vet on Monday and everything went well and he got a clean bill of health. It is lots of fun to have a kitten in the house again. :)




This is the first of SIX pairs of mittens that I made in the last 13 days. That is 12 mittens in 13 days. I am officially sick of mittens. But my school with have the most authentic costumes for their fall play. I finished with about 6 hours before curtain time. Nothing like cutting it close. :)

And now, I need a nap.

We just lost our kitty, Sean aka Mr. Fuzzy Butt tonight. He has been sick for awhile but luckily, it was all over in a few minutes.

Send some good thoughts and prayers that he's having his head scratched and chowing down on some tuna in heaven tonight. :)

Sorry to have been gone so long. The end of school just wiped me out. I have a bunch of FOs and other stuff to share so I am planning on posting a bunch in the coming days. Thanks for hanging out!

My three year old is in the other room singing, "We will, we will, rock you"

How the heck he knows Queen songs already, I don't know. :)

we're okay. I'll post more in the morning.

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Okay y'all. I'm wiped and going to bed but I can't wipe this stupid grin off of my face.

Stephanie liked the Peanut's Pirate Sweater!!!!! And the NC washcloth! (And Laura's soap which she was kind enough to let me give a bar to Stephanie.

I'll post pictures tomorrow but it was so cool and I had a blast!

Yay!

I'll let you know when I come back down to Earth. :)

Dudes, I did it! I actually ran. On purpose, even. :)

It wasn't much but it was a start. For those of you who actually care: 5 min walk warm-up, 2 min run / 4 min walk x5, 5min walk cool-down. 2.66 miles. I rock!

:)

Going to see The Yarn Harlot tomorrow night! Squee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll post pictures..

Warning, lots of pictures on this one! Sorry!

My wonderful swap partner, Eleanor Cadogen sent me a great swap package!





FIrst, she sent a coloring book and race cars for the Peanut.





The package had to pass inspection from the cat!





Here it is in all it's glory. The only thing missing is the ginormous bag of Mike and Ikes which J stole as soon as he saw it. :) I love the bag, its perfect for my knitting. She also gave me a whole pile of sock pattern which I can't wait to dive into!

Now, for the yarn pr0n:




I haven't worked with either of the yarns before so I am really looking forward to it!

And last but not least:



Gryffindor Tic-Tacs!

Thank you so much, Eleanor! (Or whoever you really are!) :)

I finshed the Pirate Sweater! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! (link for you Ravelry folks: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AlliCat236/pirate-sweater )

I went out again today but my shins were a little tender. I think I'll do Curves tomorrow and give them the day off. When will I learn that I am not a teenager anymore and I cannot function on 6 hours sleep?

G'night!

Thanks for cheerleading, guys! It was very nice to wake up and see all the comments this morning! :)

Now back to bed! Yay for spring break!

For those of you members out there, I just did a big update on my projects:

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/AlliCat236

I went out after I put the Peanut to bed. I decided to try a different route and found a gem! It is a very quiet neighborhood with wide streets that I could do loops around for awhile. Best of all, I found a great hill on a dead-end street. You'll have to be a former cross country runner to appreciate that. Today was definitely easier to get out the door than yesterday.

I ordered some shorts and sports bras from www.titlenine.com today so I should be well outfitted when I actually get to the running part. :)

Tomorrow, I'm off to the shoe store to get running shoes and regular shoes that I can wear for Curves. I also need to drop something off at a student's house, go to the yarn store, the post office, Curves and something else that I can't remember right now.

I'm going to try and pay bills and get some grading done before I turn in. It's fun when I actually feel productive! :)

Today I started day one of "Get my lazy ass back in shape program." I'm following the Runner's World 10 weeks to running a half hour program. It's actually 11 weeks in my case because I'm starting with a week of just straight walking.

Since I've always been a race whore, I found one 5k a month for the next few months. I will be following the run/walk plan as I do them so my race times will improve as I run more and walk less. Instant PR's!!!!

Tomorrow or Tuesday I'm going to try and find a log book and a new pair of running shoes. Here's hoping no sprained ankles! :)

I'm going to continue going to Curves on my off days or sometimes in place of the walk/run. I think I've found a time spot where I can walk/run after I put Will to bed. That way I won't feel guilty about taking the time away. Either that or I'll just put his little but in the jog stroller and take him with me!

On the knitting front, I finished the Hufflepuff bag for my HSKS partner, a blanket for Newborns in Need and a pair of Saartje's Bootees for a coworker's baby shower. Yay for being productive!

As soon as I can get the camera to cooperate, I'll get some pictures up. I've got to get back to grading so I can enjoy my spring break! Have a good week!

I received my HSKS package from Eleanor today! It was wonderful and full of great surprises. My camera is being stupid tonight so I will try and post pictures tomorrow.

Have a great week!

We were celebrating a few birthdays at the Open Knit Night tonight at the store. We had a blast! It was nice to sit and knit and drink wine and just unwind.

I had some issues with students over the last few days. Let's just say that I had my ass-kicking boots on today. The situation seems to have resolved itself and I think we're going to be able to get the student some help. Hopefully all will be well!

I have been knitting on my french market bag for my swap partner lately. I have one handle done and three to go. Hopefully I'll get it done in the car on the way to my inlaws' this weekend! I'm also working on a jaywalker sock out of Mama E's C-eye-ber Fiber in the Mama's Pajama's colorway. It looks like Easter eggs! I got it two weeks ago when she came down to the store for a dyeing workshop. Jo had a PJ party on Saturday night and it was a blast. We all just hung out in our jammies and knitted - it was so much fun! I'm halfway up the foot while doing it toe-up and it's really coming out beautifully. I'll post some pictures when I get a chance.

One more day of school! I can make it!