Voluntary Product Endorsements - Round 1

A long time ago, in a land far, far away (Murfreesboro, TN, to be specific) I used to update a livejournal. Periodically, I would endorse new products I found to be particularly fabulous. I now feel a need to bring this practice into light once more. Let us begin.

1. Uncrustables.



Sure, they look a little odd, and you can find them in the frozen foods section which might seem disgusting because it's a "sandwich" made from soft bread, but I'm telling you, they are divine. I can't get enough.

2. Diet Pepsi Jazz Caramel Creme.



I'm not keen on the marketing of this product ("Jazz"? That's just corny), but holyshit, it is good. I'd put it right up there with Diet Dr. Pepper. Let's just hope it doesn't fade away like Crystal Pepsi.

3. Sanford uni-ball Signo bit 0.7.



This pen is smooooooooooth. Unfortunately, for my job, I pretty much need to have them in blue, but all of the office supply stores I've been to only sell them in tri-color 3-packs (one blue, black, and red), or 3-packs of black ink. Grr. I must find them on the Internets.

4. Garnier Fructis Sleek 'n Shine Sheer.



I have really fine hair. "Fine", as in thin, people. At the risk of sounding like a hair commercial, this shampoo makes my hair feel sleek, without weighing it down. It is worth all three dollars. Trust me.

5. Taco Bell's 7-layer crunchwrap supreme.



There is always a time and place for Taco Bell. This thing is just as good as their mexican pizza. Mmmm. I think, between the two of us, Jake and I have eaten 10 of these during the past week.

6. Gold Bond Foot Powder.



Lastly, this product and I have won a battle that has been ongoing since...well, nevermind. Too much information, I suppose. Just trust me on this one. Again, this product is worth all five dollars you'd have to spend to get some of it.

Sock knit-a-long!

Check it out! This is such a great idea, and I'm really looking forward to it. Starting June 7th, the Haus of Yarn in Nashville will be hosting a sock knit-a-long, meeting the first Thursday of every month. The cost is $5/session, and they'll give you a $5 gift certificate that is redeemable anytime during each month.

Um, really, how can I NOT do this? Really, there is no cost involved, since the Haus is my absolute favorite yarn shop ever. I go in there at least once a month anyway to shop and end up spending a sizable amount of cash. I'm also looking forward to getting a few pointers from Leah...I would love to know how she picks up the two stitches as the end of the gusset, as to not leave a hole (I do this differently, and probably not correctly every time), and I've heard she also has some great ways to avoid the inevitable weirdess people usually get while executing the kitchener stitch.

Please join me!!! I'm going to call and pre-register today! :)

Smiles,
Erin

I just realized...

...I broke every cardinal rule of fashion yesterday. I wore a brown, leather belt with black, leather shoes and carried a white, leather purse. I have problems. I didn't realize that until I came home last night. Whoops. I doubt anyone even noticed, though.

Also, I'd really like to know how one becomes a cast member on VH-1's Celebrity Fit Club. I mean, is there a talent person at VH-1 assigned the job of booking the show? If so, is that person really on the phone all day with managers and talent agents of the random has-beens saying things like, "Well, we've noticed that Screech has really been packin' it on lately...do you think he might want to be on TV again?" I just can't imagine that this would go over well. Or, are these managers beating down the door at VH-1 trying to get these freaks in the limelight again? I'm just wondering.

I broke down.

I've been really good lately (lately, as in, say, the past two weeks) about not buying so much sock yarn. I kind of broke down today, though. I couldn't resist. I bought this.

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! I've not heard of this brand before, but I'm excited, nonetheless. Getting yarn in the mail is the absolute best, don't you think?

Oh, yes.

The Lord hath answered all of my prayers. Check it out. I'm going shopping.

Love,
Erin

More photos from (last week's) Meetup

Mary Leigh so kindly sent me more pictures from last week's Meetup. Check them out on flickr.

Last night's meeting was totally awesome. Again. I say it every week, but it just keeps getting better. I bet we had at least 22 people last night. It must have been a record!! I believe that Laurie took a few candid shots last night...hopefully she'll send me those when she gets a chance (hint, hint)!

Smiles,
Erin

Meetup Night

WOW! Tuesday night at Portland Brew was fantastic!!! I'm pretty sure it was the largest group we'd ever had. It was so nice to see Niquie and Jinjifore again!

Luckily for my bad blogger self, several people brought cameras, including Laurie P., who sent me these rockin' shots:



That's me (I swear, I am not that horrid-looking in person), Jennifer, Niquie, and Laura (from left to right)...



(from right to left) That's Mary-Leigh, Kim, Eli, and I'm-hoping-they'll-forgive-me-for-not-remembering-their-names on the end, and the side of Laura's head.



That's Betty, Jessica, Barb, and Catherine (from left to right)...



That's those-two-I-still-can't-remember-their-names-and-I'm-hoping-they-
won't-hate-me, and Eli, showing off the 13 inches of the scarf she knit in 10 minutes.



Eli again, showing off 4 more inches after 10 minutes, and Kim...



And finally, that's Barb, Catherine, and those two nice ladies again.

A good time was had by all! I can't wait for next week. Please join us sometime!

The Knitting Guild meeting is tonight, and I'm hoping to go.

Smiles,
Erin

I shouldn't knit when I'm tired.

Last night, after the festivities of Easter (I got to fill and hide eggs this year!), I came home and started the leg of a sock from Charlene Schurch's second book - More Sensational Knitted Socks. I was able to score a copy while I was at the Harmony of Fibers festival a few weekends ago. I started a pattern from the Eight-Stitch collection within the book called "Scrolls". So, I knit about 10 rows of the 16-row pattern with no trouble and then flaked out at around row 11 somehow like a big dope. I tried to unknit and then start over, but then I couldn't figure out what row I knit last. I felt like a tard.

One time, while knitting at the library (which is going on as I type this), Ann asked if I ever knit socks with patterning instead of just the plain, stockinette socks I knit all the time. I replied to her, "Well, I've started a few of those, but those generally don't ever get done." The problem is, I want to get out of that rut...I've been there, done that. I've bought so much hand-dyed sock yarn, and knit so many plain socks out of it, that now I'm a tad bored with all that, even though they're all still so beautiful (to me, anyway). So, I want to challenge myself, and knit a little more "impressively".

So, if I'm going to knit more impressively, I'm going to have to resolve to not do it when I'm tired, otherwise I'll just get frustrated and screw it all up and knit "retardedly" vs. "impressively" and then toss it aside and then start another sock.

And yes, that's a lot of rambling, and for that I apologize. You don't have to read it if you don't want to.

Thank you for enjoying this post,
Erin

Also.

How cool is this thing?



I don't really ever eat toast, but this thing looks mighty handy. It's the One-Click Butter Cutter.

Oh hell...maybe I just like the name.

And I realize this has nothing to do with knitting. I'll get on that soon.

Thank you for enjoying this post,
Erin

DOG.

I'm sorry. They just really make me laugh.

I love DOG. I can admit it.

Um, yeah.

As much as I love hand knitting my socks, I really, really want one of these.

Someone...please tell me it's a bad idea.

Harmony of Fibers??

Is anyone else going to the Southeast Fiber Forum's Harmony of Fibers event at Montgomery Bell State Park on Saturday???

Apparently, Charlene Schurch is teaching sock and yarn dyeing class, though I'm not sure if I've missed the boat on registration or not. Hrm.

Meetup night!

Tonight's Meetup was so much fun. I guess I didn't realize just how much I missed going last week until I got there tonight. Anyway, it was excessively hot in there (apparently, their air conditioning is broken), so we're contemplating a new location. I'm thinking The Frothy Monkey might be an idea. I think they even have a patio. I might call tomorrow and see if they'd be okay with having a bunch of knitters Tuesday nights. Also, we missed Kim!!

On the way home I stopped at the new Which Wich on West End. Have you guys been there? Um, yeah, it's pretty much awesome. I had an egg salad sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and avocado, with some chips and a rice krispie treat. DELISH!

That's all I've got for now.

Thank you for enjoying this post,
Erin

So sick. Oh, and I bought some new needles.

Hello, everyone. I realize I have been a little lax on the whole blogging thing lately. I really need to get up off my ass, quit knitting, and take some pictures of all of these socks. For that, I apologize.

Anyway, if ever there was an excuse...I have one this week. Let's just say that I think I've lost 15 pounds in 2 days. Enough said? YUCK. So, I've been out sick from work for two days, much to my dismay. My new job is definitely keeping me busy (that's the way I like it!)!!

But, I did manage to find some time to buy some new needles:



Yes, I realize that I knit socks, and not lace, but pointier, golden addis with a red cord??? Let's just say I couldn't resist. I purchased mine from Little Knits, but I also just found that Yarnzilla has them (cheaper? I'm not sure...their shipping might be more), as well.

I've also been lusting, badly, after this (Jake, you can stop reading now):


That's a Namaste Jetsetter knitting bag. The Haus of Yarn had one in stock a few weeks ago when I was there, and it was all I could do to not grab it. I had one of their frequent buyer cards filled up, so I had a $25 dollar credit, too...that I spent on yarn instead. Idiot!! Oh, well. At least it was some Colinette.

Foul. Just foul.

So, this morning, I decided to clean up my new office a little bit. I had a few towers of boxes from the people who had this job before me. Well, these people were so kind as to leave me a little envelope full of paper clips, binder clips, and rubber bands...so, I'm sorting through the pile, and found one of THESE:




What's that, you ask? Oh, it's just a flosser. That's right...a dental floss holder!! AND IT WAS USED.

I'm gonna go wash my hands.

The Nashville Knitting Meetup

I'm happy to report that this night's meeting of The Nashville Knitting Meetup was another success! In my opinion, here were the highlights:

1. We had a new member with us! Mari rescues parrots! Thankfully for us, she had pictures with her to share with all of us.
2. Laura made fun of my cankles, as she gracefully tried on her nearly finished sock with the double-pointed needles still on it.
3. Catherine brought along some of her fabulously hand-dyed sock yarn. Of course, I bought two skeins. I couldn't resist. The stuff is absolutely gorgeous. I can't wait to start knitting with it!
4. Bonnie stumped Catherine and I, as we tried to help her figure out what row she was on as she was knitting her Wavy scarf.
5. Barb told us a hilarious story about how she had one time considered purchasing a trampoline that she could place next to her bed, which would aid in her getting into her high bed, and then out.
6. Some dude sat with his laptop, right in the middle of our circle for most of the time...we all knew full well that he was listening to all of our stories and was enjoying every minute of it. After a while, his girlfriend (or, some girl that was his friend) showed up, and said, "What's going on here? Do you have something you want to tell me?" Priceless.
7. Kim showed us her completed Oktoberfest sock and a swatch knit out of the Monsoon colorway from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I am extremely jealous that she is a member of the Rockin' Sock Club.
8. Catherine's daughter, Alicia, joined us, and although she wasn't knitting, had with her a completed purse that she carries. It had a gorgeous lining, and we were all in awe.
9. Eli started a hat, tried on the ribbing, and then decided she didn't like it and could start over and have another whole hat done in about an hour anyway. ;)
10. There was plenty of bitching, as it should be.
11. I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all.

Viva la Revolution!

I've wanted to become a member of the Nashville Craft Mafia for some time now, but tomorrow, I'll have a chance to check it out at The Revolution of Craft at the Cannery Ballroom from noon-5. I can't wait! Is anyone else going??

Lots of...

...socks. That's right. I've finished 3 more pairs since I last posted. That's right...pairs, not single socks, though, there are some of those, too. I probably should take some pictures and post them, but I've been having a lot of issues with my laziness. You understand.

Thank you for enjoying this post,
Erin

Woah.

Wow. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this:



Very creative? Hahahha...check it out and get yours on etsy.

Make sure you check out his other items for sale, including his kind of totally awesome Jake Gyllenhaal knits.

iPhone

I don't know what my problem is, but I really want one of these when they come out:



Apparently, Cingular will make you sign on for another 2 years to get it, but DAMN - look at this thing!!!!