miss me??

Goodness, it feels like it has been ages since I last blogged. I had the intention of blogging for the past few days but just haven't been able to! My first week of work has been going okay. Although I heard today that I just might have another kid to add to my schedule starting next week. My fingers are so uncrossed for that one. lol. Even though I won't be making too much with the number of clients I have now, I kind of like only having one kid an hour and a half MWF. I thought having to wake up early everyday was going to kill me but I underestimated myself! It hasn't been that bad. It is difficult getting to bed early though. The earliest I can go down is about midnight.
Lots of stuff to talk about..my saucy socks are almost a completed pair! I'm one pattern repeat away from starting on my toe! I absolutely love my saucy sock. :) Here's a side view of my first completed saucy. Here's the main pattern in the front. Look at my eye of a partridge heel!! The toe is done the same way too. :)

I haven't touched thermal (but I've thought about it!) and I haven't really touched my chevron scarf. I did cast on for a new project out of Lace Style though. I casted on for the little lace shrug the other night. It's coming along. I just hope I have enough yarn for it. I've been contemplating starting the two-tone shrug out of Fitted Knits too. I've got some patons wool lying around! I would make it one color though--possibly with some small trim of another color. We'll see. Swell is still waiting on its tassels too! I know, I know..I suck. Life goes on.
My Cookie A. Class!!
Where do I even begin?? First of all, it was exciting to meet a knitting celeb! She's my first one!! She was really cool and funny. There were eleven of us taking the class. A few of the people had been in the class just previous to the one I was taking. I kind of regret not taking all three classes she was offering, but who am I kidding? I'm no millionaire. ;) One was enough and let me tell you, there was a lot of information to take in--especially for me, the one who didn't even want to become a sock knitter yet here I was taking a Cookie A. class!!!!! We talked about the advantages and disadvantages to toe-up and top-down socks, she got into some trig. with us a bit, talked about how to alter a sock for someone with a big instep/heel, etc. It was fascinating! We had one break and during our break is when I got up the nerve to ask her to sign the monkey pattern for Robyn! I said that I was a bit embarrassed to ask but my Canadian friend was wondering if I could get her (Cookie) to sign a pattern for her. She got embarrassed herself (I don't think anyone famous gets used to people wanting their autograph/to take a pic with them!!) and was like, "What should I write? Should I write something nice-or should I write something that's me?" I said she should write something that was her. I will not post what she wrote because Robyn hasn't even received it yet. So if you wanna know what she wrote, you'll just have to wait til Robyn receives her pattern! Oh yeah, she asked if it was for my sp and I said that sp10 was over and that it was actually for my hostess. :) After I asked her to sign the pattern, there were others to ask...and then someone got up the courage to ask to take a pic with her. I didn't need a pic with her. Though I took some candids during our break.
Oh!! everyone at the class got to see and touch my finished saucy sock (including Cookie!). Apparently, in the class previous to ours, they had talked about the eye of partridge heel and the gal sitting next to me noticed the sock I was working on (before class had begun) and I told her what pattern it was, where it came from, and that it had an eye of partridge heel (little did I know they had just discussed those in the earlier class!). She told all the gals that were sitting around the table that I had a sock with an eye of partridge heel and passed it around. It happened again during our class so Cookie got to see it as well. She's not a fan of that heel but whatever. I just liked learning a new heel!
Near the end, we were supposed to swatch this chart she created for us and I didn't have any yarn to swatch with--nor did I have any needles (other than the stuff I was using for my second saucy) and I wasn't about to buy more needles and more yarn (remember, I'm not buying yarn for a while!!). She came around and asked me how swatching was going and I told her that I didn't have anything to swatch with so she grabbed some yarn and needles out of her bag for me to work with. :)
For my first knitting class ever, I think it was pretty good. I would've benefited more had I gone to either the toe-up class or the top-down class I think but I was hoping that everything she taught would be covered in my overview class and the info I expected to get was just kind of glazed over. Oh well...she did have extra handouts from the top-down class so I have one of those. I just didn't get a toe-up handout.
Oh and get this...

I. didn't. buy. ANY. yarn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did buy some patterns though and a really old Cast On magazine. I bought the twisted flowers sock pattern, the gothic spire sock pattern, and I purchased the eyelet cardi pattern from Blue Sky Alpaca. They had one in the window and it was amazing. There was a woman working on one too, and I just had to have it. I was good about not buying the yarn yet..but I don't know how much longer I can wait! lol. Well, it turns out that Cookie was teaching these very same classes @ a yarn shop closer to me...but they were charging more than what Unwind charged. Go figure.