FOs-Sports-News

I don't know where to start, guess with news. It seems like lately there has been just bad luck circulating in my family. I had a cousin pass away over the last week, she died before her time. Still young, and much more to live for. I attended her funeral yesterday, and have scattered memories of times I spent with her as a kid. I admit that we weren't in touch lately, more of the time I had with her was as a kid. When I go to funerals, I just get all these awful thoughts in my head about the ones closest to me and how I just can't bear to go through it, even though I know someday I'll have to no matter what. Hopefully, later... much much later. I will think positive thoughts **emitting positive feelings now**

In other news, if you can believe it, my hubby, kids and I all have tried at least 3 x to go to the Pumpkin Patch to get some pumpkins, everyone we've went to has been closed! At 8 p.m. no less! Were going to try again tonight, this time at 6 p.m., and we'll see if we finally get pumpkins, if not, off to the grocery store.

For my Sports portion, a good friend gave me a couple of great Lower Reserved tickets to the SF 49ers game this past Sunday vs. Seattle Seahawks. My hubby and I had such a great time, but the game overall was just a mess for the 49ers and horrible at that! I wish they were at least decent or showing signs of improvement, but geez, it's hard being a fan. Only the most faithful of fans stick around during the hard times, my hubby and I being faithfuls, for sure!

Here's how the 49ers make their intro for the game, I love all the fireworks, and huge display they put on, so cool:



And here's the guys huddling up on the field:



Lastly, my FO 8-)...for the Tech Square Afghan. Another square down the "Monogram Square".
I zoomed past this one, totally fun! But hard because you have to pickup stitches that aren't slipped, so it was somewhat tricky, other than that, easy-peesy.

Here's the square pre-monogram



Did you notice that I have begun to incorporate another color into my blanket? Red I thought was needed to add a little kick to all the neutral colors I'm using. I'm really like the red now.

In the book, that middle tan square is where the monogram goes. The author doesn't provide any instructions, stitch patterns for letters, nothing. Kind of dumb if you ask me cause it's whole purpose is adding a monogram, hence "monogram square", duh! So I had to do some knitting math, number of rows across vs. number of columns (stitches) vertically. Then I had to come up with a stitch pattern for my initials "RM". It was easy, but just alot of tweaking to get my letters to fit within the stitches I had. I did look for some monogram patterns, and there are free ones out there, only problem is there all for a larger amount of stitches, so not much help there. In the end, I'm just super-uber happy with how it turned out. I let my hubby choose whether to use Red or Olive Green yarn for the monogram, you'll see here what he choose:



I took this picture early this morning rushing, so I didn't have any time to flatten out the piece so it looks wavy, but isn't. He choose the olive green obviously, which I think looks good and is probably a better fit than having gone with a red monogram. I'm liking how it came out, but I think I might raise that "M" about 2 rows up, what do you think??? Should I leave it or move it up a bit??? Hmm... what to do??

I've also started the next square in line, the "Pocket Square", which has 3 different types of pockets plus a knitted cord. First in the pattern is the Kangaroo pocket. The instructions don't really tell you very well how to form the kangaroo pocket so it took some thinking on my part, but I made it work, and so far, I'm happy with it. I'm currently knitting up the back stitches (wall) behind the front pocket that is already knit. Once the wall height is the same as the front pocket stitches, I'll then do a 3-needle bind off to join and continue knitting until the next pattern change comes into play for the other 2 pockets.



Now you tell me, but doesn't it resemble a woman's thong??? When I laid it out to take pics, I just though, "thong"! Guess I know how to make a thong now 8)

So far so good for it, for now. I also have a secret project I started, very late, last night, which is supposed to be for Halloween, and I hoping I can get it done by Friday. Either way, look out for pics, I'll share even if I don't get it done!

It's Fall Charlie Brown

I got my "It's Fall Charlie Brown" Woolgirl Kit! Yay! It is my most favorite thus far of all the kits I've ordered from Woolgirl. I'll share, but first...

For my Falling For Ewe Swap:
Do you like football? Who is your favorite team?

So first, is "Do I like football?" even a question! I love football, and am a total fanatic with the game! I won't leave my Direct TV service because they have the NFL ticket, which I have automatically renew yearly. I love the NFL ticket, you see every game on Sundays. Football is one of the many things my hubby and I share and look forward to every season. We always plan for our Football Sundays to make sure we can comfortably watch the games. In fact, since this is my first official Fall season ever knitting, I'm starting to realize that I'm having to choose football over my knitting. I still knit during the games, but boy is it hard, especially when its a good game. Plus I have a knit along I'm supposed to be attending every Sunday, but I can't because I'm at home watching football. I've now learned to knit my easy projects during games, cause I literally tried knitting my SofSIII a couple weeks ago, and boy was that a mistake. I had to TINK like crazy.

Onto my team, which is the San Francisco 49ers. I had high hopes for this season, especially after the first few games, but now am just upset because the team is regressing again, and repeating the same mistakes as they have in the last few years. We have the talent and tools to win the game, but the play calling and coaching just aren't cutting it. Mike Nolan (head coach) just can't seem to keep the guys motivated through an entire 4 qtrs. of the game. If we continue at this rate through the end of this season, I know Nolan will be canned. There has been no real improvement with the team, and I bet if he's canned they put Mike Martz in his place, wouldn't be surprising. I just don't get it sometimes. I'm still a 49er Faithful at heart, and will continue to support and cheer on during games.. if only the golden days would return 8)

...and now "It's Fall Charlie Brown"
As I was saying, this is my total favorite kit to date! Maybe it's because of the colors?? Or just cause Charlie Brown is just a cutie? The colors are so pretty and totally me in every way. The minute I opened the package I was just in ahh of it, and didn't want to unpack it cause it looked so pretty in it's packaged state. I LOVE LOVE this knitting bag! Can I say more??? So, without further adoo, since I've strung you on this long, here are the goodies:

A Good Weekend...Part UNO 8)

I hope everyone enjoyed this past Labor Day weekend. It was a very nice one for me, and very productive I might say! I have so much to share and can't fit it in just 1 Lil'O post, so I'll be splitting this baby into 2, the 2nd to follow shortly...

My weekend started with a BANG! I got off at a little before 4 p.m. on Friday, all day all I could think of was... "Is it 4 yet? I wonder if I'll enjoy the game? I wonder if my kids will?"

What game you ask? Well, the last pre-season game for the San Francisco 49ers vs the San Diego Chargers. Woohoo! My husband and I bought 4 tickets a few weeks ago to take the kids and let them experience a real NFL game. We left San Jose about 5 p.m. and headed North towards San Francisco. We were all geared up, I had on my white 49ers tank top with lace trim, and I was wearing this lovely "Moss Ribbed Scarf" in Scout's custom dyed "49ers" colorway...




I'm thinking I might add another 10 inches to it, cause it fits more like a cowl than a scarf, but boy did it come in handy.

Now us (me'family and I) being San Jose natives, left the hot San Jose weather wearing our normal summer clothes to go to San Francisco. You would think that we would know what to wear to S.F., considering we go there all the time, but no sir'ee'bob. I was the only one who brought any kind of warm gear, my scarf a.k.a faux cowl *) and my beige sweater jacket, but nobody else brought anything warm to wear?

So we had nose bleed seats (which I love!) and up there at night in Candlestick, it can get windy & chilly, and it didn't fail to deliver this last Friday as we watched the game. My hubby & kids were all rattling their jaws, curling up, and trying to enjoy themselves. We ended up buying a S.F. blanket for a whopping $55.00 bucks! We've learned our lesson, and we'll gear up next time, but the blanket will come in handy this winter, so I guess it's a positive.

There was also this "49er Elvis", so cute! You gotta see this pic....



You see him striking the signature "Elvis" pose? Look at the back of his shirt.. I love it! "Viva Las Niners"!!!



I always thought "nose bleed" seats were the worst, but now that I know how the view looks, I'm going to pick these seats more often. Check out this view:



Another cool thing, which I swear was a wish granted to me, cause as I was attentively watching the game, still cold under my sweater, I wished silently "If only they had a stand vendor who could serve you hot chocolate right at your seat"... I totally swear I wished this, and then next thing you know... BAM....



I couldn't believe my eyes! I quickly bought a $4.00 cup of hot chocolate..I was just in ahh of it. If only I had wished for $$$, wonder if that would've come true??? Oh yah as soon as I got the hot choco, I took a big gulp and I burned my lips. Guess all that ooh & ahh just took the common sense right out of me 8) Friday's done PERIOD

Begin Saturday... I started off with cleaning, I'm a good knitter, I clean my house before I knit so as not to feel guilty. I can't stand to have guilty thoughts and I really hate the voices in my head sometimes, I'm just totally neurotic, I'm always thinking about something or everything. Thinking of dinner, what to knit next, knitting patterns to devise, colors to dye yarn with, meals to write down, job stuff (I really hate when job stuff creeps in), bills (ahh!), upcoming appt.'s, on and on I go in my head. Is everyone neurotic or is it just me? Are you? I have the hardest time going to sleep, I just can't get my mind blank.

After my cleaning I was just pooped. I decided to finally catch up with my Secret of the Stole III KAL, which I'm so behind because I kept debating over what beads to use, and decided to go and buy some to match my lovely lace yarn. After some lazying around, I just didn't feel like driving down to the bead store. I had some beads I bought from the Knitting Arts going out of business, and decided to go with those. There green, and the lace I have has shades of green in it. I was a little skeptical as I started my SofSIII Hint 1, but I'm really liking how it turned out. I think the beads turned out pretty darn good, in fact I think they give the yarn that special *something*. This is the completed SofSIII Hint 1 portion:



Yarn is Schaefer Yarn Company Andrea lace weight, it is so so soft and silky. I remember when I bought it from GPY, I was just in love with it the moment I saw it and felt the silkyness.

Besides my SofSIII I continued knitting on my Elm Row scarf, this is one of the newer patterns published by the marvelous Ann Hanson from Knitspot, this pattern is so pretty, but I have to say, you do need attention to detail for it. The stitches are your basic increases, decreases & such, but I'm finding I need to pay attention as I'm knitting because the pattern consists of a 10 row repeat, each row has a different combination of stitches. For me, I tend to make mistakes because I have this type of built in memorization I do. I played the Memory game alot when I was a kid, maybe that's where I get it from? You know the game Memory? It's where you have a bunch of cards, each has 1 pair of identical pictures, and you mix them all up, face down, and slowly try to match up the pairs by memorizing where you saw the previous picture cards position? I played this so much as a kid, and it has helped in my adult life, I memorize everything, from numbers, to phrases, etc. For knitting this is good because I can remember entire patterns I knit, and because I memorize stitch sequences, I'll start knitting ahead knowing the next sequence, but with the Elm Row the pattern changes so frequently that I find myself knitting a sequence that is not next in order, so I TINK TINK TINK away!
Anywho, I'm making good headway on my scarf, and I just can't wait to finish it and block it. My little yarn cake is diminishing rapidly. The yarn is the beautiful "Peach Pit" from Scout, one of her debut colorways back in late July 2008. I'm going to custom order more of this color, I love this colorway.





To end this post, I did also get another "TO DO" done, I knitted up a Square from the "Barn Raising Quilt" pattern in the "Knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together" book. Stacey from "Sheep in the City" (great blog!) posted awhile back regarding volunteers to knit a square for Father. I love my Father, and from one kind thoughtful knitter to another, I was more than happy to volunteer my knitting time. I knitted up this square using the softest yarn, I don't have the label on me right now to give you the yarn specs, but I can tell you it is soft, velvety, rich and vibrant. I just love how this *star* pattern evolves as you knit the square. This went out in the mail to Stacey this morning 8)





Okie Dokie folks, I'll post Part DOS later, stay tuned 8)!

Whew! What a weekend (Part Une)

This weekend was totally cool, and so much fun. I have to split this up into separate posts because there's just too much to tell.

First I'll start off with Football, one of my all time favorites, and need I say is starting back up now with pre-season just around the corner. My team of choice, the San Francisco 49ers, they are the golden time, although lately have had some growing pains and some pretty rough patches, nonetheless I'm a "Faithful 49er" and I'm with them through thick & thin. I registered for Opening Day Training Camp tickets a few weeks ago, and this past Saturday was the big day.

It was the three of us, my husband "C", my son "Pops",(less my daugher "Yahyah" who ran off with her grandma), and I, who headed down to the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara, CA bright & early Saturday morniing.

They had it setup real nice, food stands, games, official 49er store, cheerleaders, etc. Plus the main event was on the field, where all the players were stretching, getting ready to do practice drills & scrimmage games. We picked a nice spot on the bleachers, and watched away, plus we took all kinds of pictures.

Here's the 49ers Quarterback Alex Smith stretching:


Here's a view of some of the players:


Here's the entrance to the facility:


After going to the camp, it got me all ready to start knitting some nice 49ers themed garments. I want be in "Knit Style" this season, since I wasn't knitting before, this will be my first official knitting fall/winter season 8-) Sometimes I wonder how it was I never knitted before??? I took to it like a fish to water, from what my mother tells me, I'm a natural because my grandma was a knitting queen & its in my blood. Unfortunately my Mother isn't a knitter, so for now, it's just Lil'O'Me the in the family that knits. I do have an Aunt Virgie who Crochets, she lives in Seattle, WA & my Aunt Mary down the street is quite a sewer, she makes all sorts of cute things, my Mother however does make beautiful jewelry, I'm going to start working with her on making custom stitch markers soon, lookout for those!

Now, a few weeks ago, in the Metagroups on Ravelry I started a thread to see if there were any "49er" fan knitters who would like a group themed mainly around the 49ers but also including just general football or any sport themed knitting projects. I got a few replies, enough to start group, so now I am. The group is named "Knitting Niners", if your interested in joining, just look us up in the groups listing or send a PM to RockyMoreno so I can send you an invite. My intention for this group isn't to isolate other football fans or other sports fans, I really would like group where you can meet other knitting niners, as well as share ideas for knitting projects that can be worn or used in the spirit of sports. Sports are truly a great thing for us humans, they help keep us healthy, by allowing us to engage in social situations, which in turn relieves stress (well maybe not for those that take it a little too seriously), but overall it is a good way to relax and have fun. Plus if you are someone that gets involved in actually playing sports, there's a ton of health benefits there too, your cardio, your weight, your physical health, and if you have kids, its a nice bonding experience.

I'm going to start a knit along for the group for a nice beanie to wear to a game or just to wear in the fall/winter.

So that's it for my Part Une, lookout for Part Duex in a couple days... much more music, knitting, Scout's goodies, and more 8-)

My attempt at a 49ers Colorway

49ers Colorway


Originally uploaded by RockyMoreno

This weekend I learned so much, and so much I can do with that new info. Taking Dye Class from Scout, was a very enriching and fun experience.



What your seeing is my attempt at making a 49er's colorway, in the teams colors (RED/BLACK/GOLD/WHITE). I came close, but I could use more practice. I'm debating on whether or not to remove the white and just make it the 3 colors?



I also still have some blank yarn, all ready for self striping, maybe I'll give my 2nd shot a try?



~Rocky~