Playing with the shinies :)

More stitch markers!

 

 

And another set from sale-bin Halloween earrings :)  Ghosts this time!

And another bookmark for a gift swap.  I swear, I'm probably using more O and K beads than the makers of that package reckoned on :)

I'm also starting to branch out from just stitch markers.  Dabbling with row counters (more on that in another post) and playing with jewelry some more.  I've posted pictures of a bracelets I've done, and a necklace, and here are two more.  I'm really very pleased with each of these, as they are both pretty close to what I was picturing in my head as I planned them!

The packaging said these were peridot-colored, but I disagree; they are a much prettier  color (am not a fan of my birthstone!).  I consider these as a nice, light, spring-time-y green, rather than the dull yellow-green that peridot usually is.  The necklace itself is done on wire with crimp beads.  I'm starting to get the hang of those! It takes a little practice, but I guess that's true of most things with beading, or any craft really!  I didn't want these to be in a pattern, so the shorter strand is just randomly pulled from the smaller sized beads, and the longer strand is alternating the smaller and longer beads, again in random order.

I found some beads a while ago shaped as nice little Christmas lights, and was only waiting to  find the right project to use them with.  This project is actually inspired by the sample project on the Oriental Trading website page for the beads.  I thought the lights should go all the way around though, not just as the little handful at the base.  This is beaded on pins connected to a small chain.  You can kinda see how it comes together in the picture on the top, as I was laying them out, to get the color pattern as I wanted.  Unlike with the peridot necklace, these are in a pattern, not just randomly pulled from the bag of beads.  And ta-da - now I have my own Christmas light necklace!  Unlike Mom's, these don't actually light up, but I am still pleased with it.  ;)

 

Vegas Races #2: The Rock & Roll Vegas 1/2 Marathon

I ran the Strip!  

And it was a HUGE race!  They announced that there were nearly 30,000 runners between the two races (the half and the full), and looking at the results later, there were over 19,000 finishers in the half alone!  As you can see, there were tons of us!  I started way back in corral 25, and we weren't even the last corral - there were 32 altogether!

 

If you couldn't see, in the right hand picture above is a Pace Rabbit.  Fun!  The back of his shirt says "Follow Me" and in the two circles below it says "Run 10, Walk 1" (the run-walk pace he'd maintain).  Written on the inside of his ears is 2:30, his pacing time.  And I was so distracted by his ears, I didn't even notice the tail at his water bottle until I was looking at the picture later on my camera!

The race itself, in terms of running, was actually a pretty good one for me.  I'd had the Head Cold That Wouldn't Die through a lot of November, so was a little worried at how I'd hold up for this race, when I had only had one real long run since Long Beach in October.  I did OK though. It wasn't a PR race, but I was only about 8 minutes off my PR, so I was pleased with that (in a 2 1/2 hour race, 8 minutes isn't as much as it seems!)  So apparently a good training plan for me was to train for a big race in October, "taper" in November (i.e. get sick for a month), then race in December again.  Seemed to work!  Most importantly, though, I kept my pace steady through the whole race, and wasn't feeling like death warmed over when I finished - both I consider very important achievements!

 

The course was a good one. For the half marathon, the course ran up the Strip from Mandalay Bay, looped through Downtown, and then back down the Strip back to Mandalay Bay again.  The two pictures below are from the part of the course in Downtown (yes, that is a building shaped like a glass of beer).  First time I'd been in Old Vegas, actually!  Besides being nice and flat, I liked the course because you could see the landmarks easily.  So, as you got closer to the finish line at Mandalay Bay, you could see yourself get closer to New York, New York, the Luxor, etc.  It was a nice, visible sign of the miles passing.  The busy-ness of Las Vegas, which is so distracting when you're driving, really helped the miles pass too. You could appreciate all the crazy casino buildings, all the flashing lights and billboards, etc. and it helped distract you from the fact you'd been running for 2 hours at that point!

 

I couldn't have asked for better weather, either.  It WAS a little on the chilly side, I will admit, as we were waiting around for the starting line.  And I did wait as long as possible to check my gear (and my sweatshirt) before starting the race.  But we weren't moving then, and the sun wasn't really up yet, so it was understandable.  Once we got moving, thought, it was perfect.  No real breeze, just a little air moving; not too glaringly sunny; and just cold enough that you felt comfortable as you ran.  I do like cooler races like this compared to summer ones!  My 1/2 Marathon PR was a March race, come to think of it!

 

And I have to say, I'm getting better at taking pictures while I run these races!  :)  Since I take regular walk breaks on most of these races, I've been using those to grab some pictures.  The camera is all pulled out and ready to go as I'm still running along, then as I slow for my walk break, I pause, take my picture, and then keep walking.  It works out pretty well, too.  I try to be good about going off to the side when I start a walk break, so people don't run over me, and that makes it very easy to pause and take a 2 second picture, without adding tons of time to the race.  And it's not like the pauses are extra stops in my run, either.  I have to slow to a walk anyways when I grab water or a gel - I'm just not that coordinated to do it as I run without spilling on myself or dropping everything.  So I take my picture, grab my water, and then my minute walk break is up and I'm back to running.  Perfect!

 

The Rock and Roll series of races always pays a lot of attention to the music on the course (the whole gimmick of "Rock and Roll," right?).  There are always local bands spread throughout the race courses.  My favorite band this race was the one at the very beginning, a Blues Brothers cover band. "You make me wanna Shout" and similar songs - perfect music to get you pumped up before a run.  Just so upbeat and happy!

And of course, being Vegas, there are the Vegas-only touches to the race.  There was the Run-Through Wedding at the Venetian, for example.  Yes, it's legal, and there were a bunch of people getting hitched or renewing vows.  And of course their running gear reflected their happy occasion.  I saw one bride-groom set with Mickey Mouse ears on their headgear, but they were too far away to get a picture :(

Another Vegas touch was the large number of Running Elvi (the plural of Elvis, if you didn't know).  Here are just 2 of many pictured below.  I think they said that Vegas boasts the largest number of Running Elvi of any of the races.  I do know they had a special reception for all of those decked out as Elvis, though!

One of the things that was uniquely Vegas, too, was the number of billboards for the race.  I've done R&R races in 3 other cities now (Virginia Beach 3 times, San Diego once, and the Phoenix-Scottsdale-Tempe area once).  And yes, there is a lot of advertisement of the race in the other towns, but Vegas is designed for flashy, noticeable ads - a major feature of the Strip area, really.  And with this race, there were several billboards that were for us!  First time I'd ever been on a billboard :)  The billboard on the upper left is from the starting line area, and the one below it is the electronic view of the race.  The Mandalay Bay board was showing the news coverage of the race, so as we waiting in a later corral, we could watch the runners ahead of us setting out.  Pretty neat!  The other two boards (the electronic ones) are from Bally's and Planet Hollywood along the strip.  Those two each had several screens with messages for the runners that they'd scroll through.  I'm just glad I got clear shots of each!

 

A final Vegas touch to the race was at the exit from the finishers area (where you head out to get your checked gear and meet up with family and friends).  There were showgirls there to pose with us.  The camera person on my lane was nice enough to grab a quick shot with my own camera too, which I'm very thankful for!  The showgirls cracked me up, though, because to stay warm in spite of their costumes, they were all wearing warm boots.  Very sensible, I know, but it made smile to see a row of women decked out in feathers, silver, sequins... and Uggs.  :)

And of course, I had to get a picture with my medal and number and the Vegas sign.  Thankfully, the sign was located between the finish line area and our hotel (we stayed south of the Strip).  Meant that I didn't have to walk out of my way to get my picture!  Little things that tired legs appreciate :)

Oh, and if you want to see them, here is the link to my official photographs.  And yes, my good-picture-luck at mile 11 holds steady, Mom, though there is another picture in my batch where I blinked :)

Vegas Races #1: The Great Santa 5K

The Las Vegas Great Santa Run:  a paired 5K and 1-mile set of races to benefit a local charity and compete for the Guinness Book of World Records category of " Largest gathering of Santa Claus."  Fun! 

And added bonus?  They announced before the run began that we broke the world record!  It's not official yet, though, but if it is, then Life Goal for Zach checked off:  be in the Guinness Book of World Records.  They didn't have the final count to announce, just that we broke the previous record, but I know looking at the race number bibs people were wearing, we saw numbers over 14000!  That's a lot of Santas!  Hopefully no one else breaks it before the next Guinness edition is published :)

I loved all the costume variations too.  These below were just a few that I saw.  There were Santas with all sorts of hat variations, a handful of elves, Waldo (as in Where's Waldo), Christmas Elvis, a Mrs. Claus or two, tons of dog costumes... Such creativity!  There are some great pictures in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's photo slideshow of the event, and in the ESPN video of the event.  Oh, and the purple reindeer antlers you see in a lot of the pictures were a hand-out from one of the race sponsors, so not really a 'costume variation' per se...  ;)

 

The run is a charity event to benefit Opportunity Village, an assistance facility for adults with intellectual disabilities.  Assisted living options, vocational training, recreation... all sorts of programs are offered.  So, not only is it a fun event, the run supports a really good cause!  And of course, any charity event comes with guest celebrities.  Below you see the Las Vegas mayor, Santa, and a pair of show girls.  Robin Leach was also there!  (His write-up of the event said that the bib numbers topped out at 14,595!!)

 

This is really more of a "run" than a "race."  From a race perspective, it was crowded, and the course was confusing (two laps through a portion of the shopping center, then a final lap around a larger loop to the finish line).  Not everyone knew where the course was exactly, and with that many people... just more confusion.  Still, I wasn't looking for a fast run.  I wanted to have fun, support a good cause, and stretch my legs before the half marathon on Sunday.  Listening to people talk in the crowds on both Saturday and Sunday, there were a lot of other runners there dressed as Santa with the same idea in mind!

 

So, in short, If you're looking for a PR-type 5K, this is not the event for you.  If you're looking for a fun run benefiting a good cause, then definitely check it out if you're in the area!  Who knows, you might be lucky and be there for a year they break the record  in the future!

I feel so clever!!

So, at Wal-Mart the other day, and stumbled across the last of the post-Halloween sale.  Yes, I know it's Thanksgiving this week - it was the very last of the post-Halloween stuff (so, the 90% off bin) and it was just the few things left in the jewelry department.  Mostly earrings, really.  Which suited my purpose perfectly!

Looking at what was there in the sale basket, I saw that the earrings were beaded, and in such a way that I could dismantle them!  So, cute Halloween beads and charms for $0.75 for 6, not $3 for 6!  Score!

I found the beads (I mean, earrings) last week as I was running errands, but didn't get a chance to play with them til this week.  Here are all the supplies, ready to go.  I'm using a slightly larger jump ring this time (10 mm).  This isn't an already soldered jump ring, like the ones I usually use, but was a little bigger than the ones I usually use too, which I felt balanced the larger charms well.  I've also got the pins and some faceted beads for accents (and some extra pretty), so I'm ready to go!

As you can see, yes, they really were earrings!  The strings of pumpkin charms are held together by small jump rings, and attached to the earring hook by just a simple wire loop at the base of the hook.  To take apart that style of loop is very simple - it's just the reverse of attaching anything with a jump loop.  Open the ring slightly using the fine-nose pliers, slide the charm/bead/chain on or off of the ring (in this case off), close the ring again with the pliers.  You can see in the picture on the right a better view of the chain o'pumpkins once they are detached from the earrings.

 

Here's the first one done!  A little blurry, I know.  My old camera's not always great on the super-zoom :\  Still, you can get the idea.

The charm is hung on a one-inch pin with a loop at the base.  Thread a faceted bead (or two) on the pin, then wrap the pin around the jump ring, as you would a "normal" stitch marker.  Add the charm to the pin by opening the loop on the end, sliding on the charm, and closing it up.  Like I said, the opposite of taking apart the earrings to start with :)  I found it was easiest to add the beads to the pin and attach it to the jump ring first, and then add the charm.  Less chance of bending the charm unintentionally as I was attaching the marker to the jump ring.

You can also see I've added a little orange bead on the ring itself.  That isn't there just for decoration.  I actually got the idea from one of the stitch marker groups in Ravelry that I am a member of.  With jump rings that aren't already soldered, the rings are closed using pliers, but it is very hard to get them totally shut, to create a smooth, snag-less loop.  That is alright with a lot of yarns, but if you're using a particularly fine one (lace weight, or light fingering weight) or if you have a very fuzzy yarn, you run the risk of snagging in the jump ring.  That's the same reason I'm so careful with making sure the ends of the pin are totally pressed down into place, to leave as little as possible that the yarn could catch on.

Anyway, the purpose of the little bead is to cover the opening of the jump ring.  It's the same method as I used to create some simple stitch markers when I first started playing with these. 

And here's the new set!  Ta-da, six cute, cheap, easy, re-purposed pumpkins!

I feel so very clever because I hadn't played around much with repurposed charms yet (repurposed in that they were once earrings and are now stitch markers).  It totally opens up sources of cheap charms and beads!  Post-holiday sales and old earrings at thrift stores would both be great sources of cheap earrings.  As you can see, the earrings were $0.75 from Wal-Mart, and I was able to make 6 stitch markers from the set - only about 12 cents a bead.  Compare that to any regularly-priced bead shop!  Even Oriental Trading Company beads are usually about $8 for 24 beads, coming in at about 30 cents a bead.  Granted their sale beads bring that down a good bit, but it's still nice to have other options, you know?  You can bet I'll be keeping an eye out at the post Christmas and Easter and 4th of July sales too!  At this particular post-holiday sale, I was able to find the pumpkins used here, as well as earrings with bats, candy corn and ghosts, all drop earrings with enough beads to make a full set of stitch markers, so plenty of options for seasonal beads, and all only $0.75 on sale.  There was  even a set of absolutely adorable little metal spiders, not scary or gruesome at all, but all I could think was how much my yarn would catch on their little legs.  Oh well...  Still, am very happy with my pumpkins!

NaKniSweMo Update!

Cumulus is off the needles as of Saturday!  It looks like I'll actually finish NaKniSweMo in the official Mo!  :)  The Ravelry page for it is here.

And from the back!

I love how the yarn showed the detail in this pattern.

And of course the buttons!  Zach is probably so sick of hearing my talk about these buttons :)  No, they're not sewn on yet, just laying in place on the sweater.  I wanted a picture where you could see the colors in the shell with the yarn.

I will graft the 7 stitches under each arm, and then figure out something for the pockets.  I don't really want to use the same yarn for the pockets - reading reviews, it says that the pockets can be very bulky. And let's face it, who really needs extra bulk around their hips?  So, I think I'm going to use a worsted yarn from my stash knit on a narrow gauge.  I also want the pockets to be densely knit, since I tend to stick a lot of stuff in my pockets, and don't want to worry about things falling through.  So, the project may or may not be done "on time" depending on how long it takes me to figure out my pocket situation, but at least the bulk of the knitting is done when it 'should' be! :)

And of course, I would be me if I wasn't starting a new project as I finish up another!  This time it's a shoulder wrap (small shawl) which could easily be a short scarf as well.  It's actually free online, if anyone's interested :)  I've Raveled it here.

It's a Red Heart pattern, using one of their yarns, Shimmer.  And I'm pleasantly surprised with how it's working up!  It's a bit fuzzy to work with, and can be a little splitty, so be careful when working with it.  On the plus side, though, it's got a nice little bit of shimmer, is pretty soft and not scratchy, and (being Red Heart) is nicely affordable.  Also, neither here nor there, it's kinda thin - others on Ravelry have said it's almost a DK weight yarn.  Just something to think about if you're substituting it.  Personally, I liked it better than some of the other shimmery yarns I could find in stores.  Berroco Lumina, for example, is much more metallic - good for some projects, but not what I was looking for here.  So, for once, I actually stuck with the yarn recommended in the pattern!  *gasp*  :)

 

It's a diamond-shaped shawl, with soft-pointed (blunted?) ends - start narrow, widen and knit straight, then narrow back down at the other end.  The lace runs down the middle, adding two more rows when the shawl is wide enough.  When I took these pictures, I had just started the two outside lace repeats, so it's almost as wide as it will be (not that you can tell on the needles, of course).  You can just barely see the new lace sections at the needle in the pictures.  You can also see a little of the shimmer in the yarn - no, that's not dust on the yarn or the camera!

 

Oh my goodness! The cuteness!!

Such adorable food!!  Some people are so clever at these things.

Hello Cupcake is blog by a pair of cupcake bakers.  They have a pair of books, too:  Hello, Cupcake and What's New Cupcake?  Such clever decorations on these cupcakes!  I personally love the corn/Indian corn cupcakes, and the mini-pie cupcakes.  Lots of creatively arranged jelly beans on these.

Hello, Adorable is another website with lots of cuteness.  They have office and home supplies and so forth as well, but the section I really like is the edible section.  Cute cupcakes from Hello Cupcake, and some adorable bento boxes too.  I really like the Totoro bento on the first page, and the Cookie Monster cupcakes on page 2.

Speaking of Totoro, Icanhazcheezburger has a food picture spin-off site, called My Food Looks Funny, which featured this coffee art.  Awesome!  But would I want to drink my coffee when it looks so cute??

And of course bento is a wealth of cute food ideas.  Cooking Cute is a great intro to bento site, and check out the bento on the main page :)

And the piece de resistance, the Knitting Basket Cake at Cake Journal.  Too much fun!!  Now to find someone to help me make it for my next birthday...

I can't wait til I'm able to help friends and family make fun cupcakes and cakes for young folks' birthdays :)  Zach doesn't appreciate the wondrous fun of corn-on-the-cob cupcakes...

X is for...

eXtra large!  Or, eXperience is the best teacher!

 

This was my second project ever.  Well, second project following a pattern (I'm not counting the doll blankets I made when I learned at age 10).  And believe it or not, I did swatch.  In fact, I'd already made the matching scarf the same pattern (ribbing) and same yarn.  And yet...

Looking at it later on, I think the biggest problem was that I really had no idea about sizing.  The gauge wasn't bad, but having never made a hat before, I didn't realize how you want sizing to run.  With hats, you want a certain amount of negative ease, right?  Well, I do.  I don't really make berets or slouchy hats.  I like the closer fitting ski or skull sort of caps.  This was supposed to be along those lines.  Except, being a new knitter (like I said, my second project), I was worried about making it too small.  Heads in my family run on the larger side, and mine is no exception.  So, I tried to err on the side of caution.  I ended up being VERY on the side of caution!  It was a very long, very large hat.  A friend in college with a head even larger than mine laughed that he didn't think it was possible to make a hat too big for even his head, so this project was noteworthy for that reason alone! 

This project has since been frogged.  I've already reused part of the yarn in my Traveling Woman shawl, and the rest is waiting to be reused as a cowl.  Still, a good learning experience about how much ribbing stretches, and about the importance of proper ease in a project :)