Stitch n' Bitch

This is what T says I do when I knit. I stitch, or drop a stitch rather, and then I bitch! The swear words come FLYING out as I figure out how to make things right again.

You see, I am a very novice knitter, I never really learned how, I just watched a friend do it and started doing it. Bored with the idea of a simple scarf I dove right into a baby hat project with tiny little needles and thing gauge yarn. It was kind of a nightmare to make but I thought the hat turned out really cute! I only had to stop into our local knitting store about 5 times for advice to get the hat finished!!

What I realized about knitting is that once I have spent $30 on some organic, free-range alpaca yarn :), an unqunatifiable amount on needles, markers, and stoppers, plus 60 precious hours of my time, this silly hat is worth like $500! Also there is a 100% chance that if I made the item for myself, I won't ever wear it.

So why knit???
I don't know if its the snowy weather, or the fact that my friends just had a baby or if I am simply channeling my 70 year old self, but these patterns have me itching to start stitching!

Hat for new baby N:

http://acechick.typepad.com/knitchicks_patterns/2006/01/strawberry_bean.html

http://www.p2designs.com/pdfs/ptn-froggyHat.pdf

http://www.spudandchloe.com/blog/2009/10/apple-hat-free-pattern/


Fingerless glove for me:

http://knitting.about.com/od/mittenpatterns/p/fingerless.htm

http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/mikado-gloves.html

Nothing to Wear

I want my closet to look like this!


I am in serious need of clothing re-hab! I need to go through my clothes and get rid of anything and everything that I don't wear or doesn't fit. Then I need to strategically purchase the items I need to make my wardrobe complete.
I am usually good at getting rid of anything that is not flattering or that is old, but have a hard time getting rid of stuff that doesn't fit. I have a lot of clothes that are a little big for me, and I keep thinking, what if I gain some weight? If I gain weight, I don't want to have to go out and buy new clothes because of this! The clothes that are a little big are usually nice items that I feel guilty getting rid of, since I spent so much money on them. I am also guilty of purchasing things a little big in the first place. So I hang on to these items and they just make my closet look full, but I realize I can't wear half of it. Doesn't that psychology seem weird? You would think that I should have the opposite opinion. Get rid of all my bigger clothes, so if I gain a couple of pounds, I will feel motivated to work it off rather than go buy new clothes to fit my fuller figure!?!
I got a really good tip from a fashion blogger Style on a String. She said to organize your clothes by type and color. So when you put all of your black shirts together, you can get rid of any that are faded and don't fit and know that you still have 2 left. This way you can also recognize holes in your wardrobe. If you realize that you have a cute item that fits but you never wear it, you probably need something to wear it with! Then you can make a list of the items you really need.
This weekend I want to take inventory of my clothes and make a list of what I need.
Unfortunately, the amazing custom closet will have to wait :)

Race Across the Sky

I had the good fortune of attending the world premier of this movie Race Across the Sky which is about the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.

Before the movie began, we got to hear the from a panel of racers. The panel consisted of:

• The Leadville 100 Race Director- cool, older guy who has been doing this race for years
• Lance Armstong- 1st place
• Dave Wiens- 6 time first place winner who got 2nd to Lance this year
• Travis Brown- local rider- 7th place
• Matt Shriver- 3rd place, T and I's good friend and the FLC cycling coach

It was such a treat to hear the racers talk about the event before seeing the action unfold on the big screen. The movie did a great job of capturing the emotion of the gruelling race, along with the strategy that unfolded among the top riders.

• Here are my take-aways from that inspiring evening:
• Lance Armstrong is tiny! (I joked with T, who is very skinny, that Lance even makes him look fat!)
• I am really proud of our friend, Matt, who worked hard to help Lance win, and had a great race himself, finishing in 3rd place. His help to Lance is the only reason why Lance came back to our tiny town to help raise money for the FLC cycling team, and repay the favor to Matt.
• What race or physical challenge should I sign up for next?! I think everyone in the room was thinking that. The emotion involved in accomplishing a tough race is what most of us live for. Its a good challenge that typically makes us appreciate what our body can do rather than bag on ourselves about what we can't do. I was especially touched by the woman who almost died when a car hit her on her bike one day. While laying in her hospital bed, all she wanted was the ability to ride a bike again. It was pretty awesome to watch her cross the finish line of the Leadville 100!
• Lance is a pretty bad ass mountain biker, especially since he spends all his time on the road. I just LOVE that pro mtb guys think they can beat him on the mountain bike! (This is coming from someone who is not the World's #1 Lance fan either. I like the guy well enough, but I certainly don't idolize him)
• A quote from the race director himself "you can do more than you think we can."

All in all, fun night out, and motivating movie!

What am I doing with my life?!?!