Yarny Pictures

Yarn, in its various forms, is one of my favorite things to photograph.  Here's some of my recent pics:

scraps from weaving in ends of my granny square blanket

scraps, but with the wrong focus...i think it looks cool :)

a heart i made for a friend of mine :)

I've decided to collect my yarn scraps in this mason jar.  So far it's mostly granny blanket scraps, but there will be more, I promise!

Easter in Chicago 2011

I think Easter in Chicago might be a new tradition for the Deeter family :).  Last year, I wound up having Saturday & Sunday off (in addition to my standard Monday) (the ONLY weekend I had off in my 2 years working at that theatre), so my parents and I came up to Chicago for the weekend.  We ate at ESPN Zone (and watched the Yankees), had a wonderful brunch including a whole fried chicken, and saw Billy Elliot!  It was great.

This year, I live in Chicago, and since I'm running a show right now, I couldn't come home for the weekend.  So, obviously, my parents came here!  My dad found a GREAT deal at the Palmer House downtown, and I stayed at the hotel with them Friday-Sunday.

We had a great dinner at Berghoff on Friday before I headed to work.  After my show, Dad and I had some drinks at the Palmer House bars.

Prosecco in the Lobby Bar

beautiful chandelier in the Lobby Bar

the other bar, that, when the PH was opened, was a feather dancer bar

delicious apple tart dessert!

On Saturday, we did some shopping at the usual Deeters-in-Chicago-spots: Filene's on State Street, Nordstrom Rack, Macy's, Old Navy, and mom and I went to DSW in Lincoln Park and found shoes for the 2 weddings I'm in this summer.  It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day.  Dad ended up heading up to catch the Cubs game.  They saw my show Saturday night, and we had a delicious pub Easter lunch at The Bar On Buena with my roommate. 

Tulips along State Street!

To top it all off...Dad got me a GRILL for Easter!  So on Sunday, after my show, roomamte Mikey and I grilled out for the first time.  It was amazing, and I cannot wait to keep grilling!!

Sunset over the back of our apartment while we grilled.

My Current Yarning

What's been keeping me busy on my crochet hook recently?  Aside from crocheting up washcloths for my Etsy Shop, this stuff:

 A shawl for the weddings I'm in this summer.  The first one is in May, so there's a chance it will be chilly.  Using Caron Simply Soft (with which  I have a love/hate relationship).  Bridesmaid dress #1 is a champagne/beige color & dress #2 is purple.  So basically this ripple shawl will be perfect.

The other floor manager on my current show has a 11 month old son.  Sunday will be his first Easter.  She saw me making some Bunnies & Chickies for other people, and she requested one of each for Charlie's First Easter Basket.  She already had some yarn for me to use.  I had been making these with Vanna's Choice Baby, so worsted weight.  These little guys are in Bernat Softee Baby, which is significantly thinner.  So these guys are a little smaller.  But equally as adorable!

And the wedding afghan for BFF bride #1.  I took quite a long hiatus from it...look, I just needed a break.  But since the wedding is on 5/14, I've got to get my rear in gear!  I've gotta make 17 more granny squares, finish stitching them all together, and then crochet a lovely granny border. 

So clearly, if I'm working on anything but the shawl or afghan between now and their May 14th due date, slap me, k?  Once you're done reading, check out my Etsy Shop, deeter's yarnings, for some awesome washcloths!!!

Mindy Kaling Interview with The Happiness Project

I agree with everything that is said in the beginning of this article… I love Mindy Kaling (actress/writer/producer for THE OFFICE, and she has an AWESOME twitter presence (@mindykaling).  THE HAPPINESS PROJECT is a book that I got my mom for Mother’s Day/her birthday last year, and she has since given to me so I can read it.  It’s in my TO-READ pile, and hopefully I’ll get to it ASAP.

The author did an interview with Mindy, and, as usual, Mindy is a rockstar.

Check it out.

ABCs of Me!

If you follow the same people I do on Twitter, you know that the ABCs of Me blog posts have been going around.  Two of my favorite yarn tweeters/bloggers did it, so why not join in?  Those people?  Allyson at The Sweatshop of Love and Amy who is Threadpanda.  I had rehearsal during the day yesterday, then had to run work (and personal) errands, and then I headed to work at the theatre for last night's show.  So I barely had time to read their posts and definitely didn't have time to post.  Today, I'm all in!


A. Age:  25

B. Bed size:  Full -- I just got a new mattress, and my  bed is an antique from my grandmother (and older, I think).

C. Chore you hate:  All of them...but the worst would be cleaning my room...

D. Dogs:  My favorite.  I've got one back home in Indy that I miss TERRIBLY.

Bailey Dog!

 

E. Essential start to your day:  Pressing snooze a bunch of times.  And a bowl of cereal.

F. Favorite color:  Blue.  Ask anyone who knows me...almost everything I own is blue.  And I've been dying to crochet a blue & peach  something or other for myself.

G. Gold or silver: White gold.

H. Height: 5’4″

I. Instruments you play: In 3rd grade, I started on Viola then switched to Violin.  Then in 5th grade switched to the Trumpet, but I couldn't buzz my lips so I switched to Clarinet.  After I caught up to the class in my private Clarinet lessons, I took Piano lessons.  I played the Clarinet from 5th grade through college.  Heck Yes Notre Dame Marching Band!

J. Job title:  Stage Manager/Floor Manager

K. Kids:  None...but I adore my cousin's adorable kids!

They have a sister too, but I don't have any pictures of her.

L. Live:  Chicago (Uptown)

M. Mom’s name: Ellen.  Same as Threadpanda's!  Crazy!

N. Nicknames:  Everyone from college calls me Deet or Deeter.  My BFFs from high school call me Ro.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Nope.  But I went to the ER recently!

P. Pet peeve:  Like Allyson at the Sweatshop, I HATE being able to hear people chew.  Basically it makes me want to hit them.  Also...SLURPING.  Blech.

Q. Quote from a movie:  YOU PLAY BALL LIKE A GIRL!

R. Right or left handed: Right.

S. Siblings:  Only child. 

T. Time you wake up: HA!  As late as possible.  When I'm running shows and working at night, I generally don't wake up til about 10.

U. Underwear:  The Hipster Briefs from Target!

V. Vegetables you dislike: Unfortunately, a lot of them.  But asparagus is the worst.  Worst.

W. What makes you run late: Snooze button.  Or yarn.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Ankle, sternum, and a CT on my head once.

Y. Yummy food you make: COOKIES!  Mom's oatmeal chocolate chip & my no-bake!

Z. Zoo – favorite animal: Giraffes and Penguins!  

My Virtual Fingerprint

I've got a handful of places on ye-old-interwebz that I call my own, and some of them have been updated recently! 

1.  Books I've Read -- I keep track of the books I read in two places.  Listal.com, just as a place for lists.  And this year I discovered Goodreads...and am doing a "2011 Reading Challenge" & trying to read 40 books this year (to beat 2010's 32 books).  I updated both sites today!

Carole's 2011 Books Read on Listal


Carole's Goodreads -- 2011 Reading Challenge 13/40 (32%)

2.  I also have a Tumblr site...a place to post random things I discover on the internets or photos I take. 


Sweeping Sheridan on Tumblr

3.  Of course, you can follow me on Twitter- @theedeeter

4.  And last but not least, my Etsy Shop!  I just added new items this week!


deeter's yarnings on Etsy

OCD Silverware

I'm not generally an OCD person.  In fact, I'm kind of messy.  And by kind of, I mean: I'm messy.  But this morning while making oatmeal, I found something that I AM very OCD about.  The silverware drawer.

Like most people, we have one of those dividers in our silverware drawer: knives, big spoons, little spoons, big forks, little forks.  And we have each of those kinds of silverware.  So when small spoons are in the big spoon slot, it makes me crazy because when I reach in for a big spoon, I want to grab a big spoon.  I have very particular uses for big vs. small spoons & forks.

So, there you have it.  A tiny bit of OCD in me.  Now put the spoons away properly and no one will get hurt.

Hodge Podge-ination

So!  April has not been treating me well.  Between the ER on Friday and stupid stuff that went down today, April 2011 and I are NOT FRIENDS.  In order to cheer myself up, here are good things that are going on in my life right now.

1.  I finished the Hunger Games trilogy yesterday.  It was wonderful, and while I was sad that it ended, I felt like I got the closure I needed after an intense saga like that.

2.  Also reading related, I started a brand new book by one of my favorite authors -- Sarah Addison Allen.  Her newest book is called "The Peach Keeper."  I started it yesterday evening at work, had to force myself to put it down so I could get some sleep, and am more than half way through it already.  Her book "The Girl who Chased the Moon" is still my favorite, but this is good.  SAA's books are the PERFECT books for escaping and day dreaming. 

3.  I sent off the Chickies and Bunnies that I made for my Aunt's granddaughters yesterday.  They magically arrived today, and I got an email saying she loves them.  HOORAY!

4.  The Knit Purl Gurl's March Madness contest is still going on!  And I'm still hoping my name gets drawn for some of Lion Brand's Cotton Bamboo Yarn!  Cross your fingers for me, and then head over to The Knit Purl Gurl's blog and enter one or all of her many March Madness contests!

5.  I'm wearing my super cute new skirt today :)  

 

Ok, that's all I've got.

Whatever Happened to 2KCBW?!?

Hey Friends,

So in addition to last week being a crazy week of tech, some unforeseen circumstances kept me from finishing Knitting & Crochet Blog Week.

I had that crazy morning of running downtown to get an Illinois driver's license so I can get a firearms card (needed for work). 

And then Friday night I made my first trip to the ER...and Friday was first preview too, so that was fun. 

And lastly, today was spent calling EVERY FAMILY PRACTICE IN THE CHICAGO-LAND AREA trying to find someone to take my insurance and see me for a follow up.  And then getting a new prescription filled.  And now I have to go to the laundromat to wash EVERYTHING I OWN (for reals) before my new mattress comes on Thursday morning.

Good news is I'm ok.  Majorly uncomfortable, but ok.  I either had a small scratch on my forearm that got bacteria in it, or some sort of bug bite that caused an infection under my skin--cellulitis--and then it started snaking up my arm--lymphangitis.  The ER gave me a round of IV antibiotics and then sent me home with the rest in pill form.  And the doctor today said it looked to be getting better, and he gave me a prescription for the itchy-burny-ness of it.  So that's all good.  And I'm going back on Friday to have blood drawn to do a comparison from the blood the ER drew to confirm that I'm healing. 

So, as I said.  Dramatic Week. 

Hopefully when things settle, I can catch up on those blog posts, because I love the prompts I missed!

Second Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 4

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?
Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

This is gonna be a quick one because I'm headed off to tech/first preview...

This one's easy!  Last fall, I knitted my mom a headband with some BEAUTIFUL Malabrigo.  And then for Christmas...a pair of handwarmers with the rest of the yarn.  And I KNOW she wears them, because whenever she comes to Chicago, she brings them with her and wears them!  Hooray!  And these are special because they were at the beginning of my Yarn Phase 2 (phase 1 being just garter stitching for months, phase 2 being when I finally learned to purl, and phase 3 being crochet), and one of the first things I made with the purl stitch in them. 

Me modeling said headband.

mitts!

Momma with her headband in the Grand/State Red Line station!

Second Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week: Day 5

Day Five: 1st April. And now for something completely different