Noolie Knits

Warm Hands

While I have been knitting, I haven't really completed very much lately.  I was a total failure with SAM8 in October; not completing a single pair!  As the end of the month was getting closer, I almost dropped everything and knit a pair of worsted weight toddler socks but I didn't even manage that.  Oh well; there's always November, right? 

While I didn't finish anything to warm the feet, I do have two FO's that will warm the hands.

As  you know, I went to Rhinebeck this year.  As the time to head out was getting closer and the forecast was looking grim and I wasn't able to find my fingerless mitts, I realized that the handknit pink mittens I did find were going to clash terribly with my new red coat and the Crocus Wrap that I was planning to wear.  Besides clashing, how would I fondle yarn and fiber if my hands were totally covered in full mittens????

What's a Knitter to do when she finds herself in this situation the evening before leaving for a big fiber event?   Go stash diving and cast on a new pair of mitts, of course! 

Thankfully, I had some yarn (Paton's Classic Merino) in a red that would go pretty well with the wrap, which I wore folded in half so that it was the width of a scarf.  I also found some brown that I could use as a contrasting color; the combination was perfect.  I cast on and just started knitting hoping that I'd be able to complete the pair before the start of the festival.  Lucky for me, Patti was doing the driving so I was able to knit all the way to NY and I knit some more Friday evening in the hotel room.   Success!  They were finished right before I went to sleep Friday night and I was able to wear them on Saturday.

Samm is a Twilight fanatic and happened upon the pattern for some Bella Mittens recently and asked if I'd make them for her.  Turns out, that very pattern was already in my queue.  I didn't have it in the queue because I'm a Twilight fanatic too (not that there's anything wrong with that), but because I thought they were lovely mittens and I really like how long the cuffs are.   I picked up some Berocco Peruvia in a beautiful gray at Yarn and Fiber Company when I went to visit my ManchVegas knitting friends  a little over a week ago.  Apparently, I wasn't alone in my quest to make these mittens; Melissa had just purchased some Cascade Ecological Wool to make a pair for herself.  She started hers that night.

Here is my completed pair:

Clover was with me when I finished them and decided to try them on for size:

"You're right, Nonni; they do have long cuffs!"...Clover

 
"Step away from the mittens and no one will be hurt!"...Rico

 

Hopefully Samm will be able to get them away from Clover and Rico in time to wear them to the midnight opening of the movie.

Christmas is Coming

I finished Clover's Christmas dress today and I have to say - I LOVE IT!   We tried it on her as soon as it was finished and it fits her perfectly (and will be fine if she grows a little between now and Christmas).

She looks absolutely adorable in it, but you're just going to have to take my word for it.  I can't show you a modeled shot until after she has her Christmas pictures done. 

Until then, how about a picture of it tacked to the closet door?

Pattern: Oriental Lily by Georgie Hallam Yarn:  Cascade 220 Superwash Needles:  Size 7 circulars

Mods:  All the white you see in the picture is seed stitch.  The pattern called for garter stitch but I like the look of seed stitch much better.   The pattern would have you knit the garter edge of the bodice as you went along, but I wanted a contrasting color and seed stitch so I picked up and knit after finishing the bodice.  I made the dress longer than shown in the pattern picture; this dress falls below Clover's knees. I added a crocheted flower to the top to tie it all together.

This was such a simple little knit, but I think it's my favorite yet (that may have something to do with how cute it looks on Clover)!

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Thanks to everyone who responded to my request for good thoughts for Roger.  I meant to respond to each of you individually, but I've fallen terribly behind in responding to e-mails.  Please know that I really appreciate all the good wishes you sent and I shared them with Patti and Roger who were really touched by them. 

Are You Sitting Down?

I have an announcement to make and I don't want anyone to fall over from the shock of it.

Are you ready?

 

You are sitting, right?

 

 

I finally finished my Cabled Yoke Sweater!

Cabled Yoke Pullover from Rowan

Yarn:  Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in M77, Blue Magic

Needles:  Sizes 8 and 9 circulars

There really are two sleeves there but if I didn't lay one in the back, the sweater would have fallen off the chair.    
Close up of the patterning    
  This has been a difficult color to capture; I'm not sure why. This  photo is closest to the actual color.  

I am so happy to be finished with this sweater!  I currently have just one active WIP on the needles and that is a sock.  That means I'm all set to start another project.  I plan to do some gauge swatching tonight for Clover's Christmas dress.  

 

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Before I leave you today, I want to draw your attention to something very important. 

 

 Zonda plans to walk in the Relay for Life in October and could really use your help.  She is part of a team with some of her coworkers.  They have a great team name and logo (they work in x-ray):

 

The Skeleton Crew

 

  Click the picture if you'd like to help her out by making a donation!

Slumber Party

Remember going to slumber parties as kids? 

Staying up all night, eating tons of junk food, laughing and giggling with the girls, playing games. 

Those were some good times, weren't they?

Why should all that fun be left to kids?  It shouldn't, and it wasn't this past weekend.

Patti, Sharon, Eileen, Carol, and I decided to have a slumber party at Sharon's house.  It was a typical girls' slumber party.  We laughed, we giggled, we played games (knit & spin), we ate (and ate and ate and ate).  The only thing we didn't do was stay up all night.  Wait, we also didn't play Truth or Dare; hmmmm, maybe next time.

We never left Sharon's house from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. 

Not only was it a fun weekend, it was a productive weekend.

   

 

I crocheted two bath puffs and a washcloth, knit one sock for Clover (the second sock was finished last night), finished spinning Selfish, and started spinning the Spunky Club July fiber, Beach Day.   Thanks for letting us invade your house, Sharon; I had so much fun!  

To top off the weekend, I got  home and received this from Clover:

A handpainted pencil holder for my desk.    

I'll end with a picture of Clover's finished socks.  I  used Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock yarn for this tiny pair of socks.

  They fit her perfectly and she loves them - I call that a success!

 

Sitting on my Butt

I had a crazy busy weekend, but a good deal of it was spent sitting on my butt.  Kind of sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?  It's not.  I went to a BB King concert on Saturday (it was awesome!) which involved sitting in the car for the 2 hour drive to the hotel, on my butt at dinner, on my butt in the hotel relaxing before it was time to go, on my butt at the concert, and more time on my butt in the car on Sunday morning to get home.  Then it was right back into the car (and on my butt) for a 2 1/2 hour drive(which should have been 1 1/2 hours) to go to my niece's bridal shower, more butt sitting at the shower, and again on the way home.  Man was I tired by the time I got home!  Who would've thought you could get so damn tired sitting on your butt?!

I'll tell you all about the weekend in another post, but for now I'll update you on the other things I've been doing.

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Spinning:

  "Spring Leaves", 4 ounces, 335 yds, fingering to sport weight, 2 ply.

This beautiful Merino Silk fiber was hand dyed  and gifted to me by the wonderful Gina.  I truly enjoyed spinning this and am really going to enjoy knitting it - it is VERY soft and the colors are gorgeous!  Thank you so much, Gina!

8 Ounces Alpaca/Merino/Silk roving purchased at the Spinning Bee back in June.  I spun the singles a bit thicker than usual hoping for a dk or light worsted weight 2 ply.  The singles are still on the bobbins so we'll have to wait to see if I was successful. 

My current spinning project is the June installment of Spunky Club Fiber:

I'm almost 1/2 way through this 4 ounces.  The colors are spinning up beautifully.   

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Knitting:

I finished the TOFUtsies ankle socks.  

 

This is pair #6 for Summer of Socks '09 (apparently I can not count because I thought I've been working on pairs 7 and 8 but after going back and checking, I see it's only  6 & 7).   This pair also counts as my August socks for SAM8.

Pair number 7 is nearing completion.  I have no picture of the progress, but as you might expect, the second sock looks just like the first.  Once this pair is complete, I'm going to get back to work on my long neglected sweater. 

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It seems Hubby has been getting a little nostalgic lately; look what he dug out the other day:

 

1986        and       1993

 

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Seen in the backyard on Friday morning:

Sorry for the blurry picture; here's a better shot of one of the babies:

Cute, isn't it?  

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Have a great day!

WOW!

It's really been a long time since I last posted anything that I've been working on!  I was scrolling back through my posts to find the last thing I shared with you, and was shocked to realize that it was all the way back on July 2nd!

Since this is supposed to be a blog about my fibery pursuits, how about I show you what I've been working on?  Don't get too excited though; I haven't done all that much in 5 1/2 weeks.   

I can't remember the last time I knitted anything that wasn't a sock; I do know that it was before Summer of Socks '09 began.   My poor Cabled Yoke Pullover still sits with just one sleeve left to be knit before I can move it over to the FO category.  I don't see that happening anytime too soon.  Probably not until SOS'09 is over on September 1st.

Now that I've shown you what I haven't been doing, let me show you a couple of FO's:

Pair #5 for SOS'09:

Spring Savasana Socks
Dream in Color Classy in Pansy Golightly
Started July 11th - Finished July 20th

These were a gift for my sister; I gave them to her when I visited her in the hospital after her surgery. She loved them.

This is the second pair of Spring Sasavana Socks that I've knit and won't be the last. (As a matter of fact, I already picked up some yarn for the next pair!)

 

 

Pair #6 for SOS'09:

Slip Stitch Heel Basic Socks I used my handspun (Spunky Club Fiber Soul Windows) Fiber content: SW Corriedale w/10% nylon Started July 3rd - Finished July 22nd  

I'm very happy with these; not only do they look good (IMHO) but they feel wonderful.

This is my first adult sized pair of socks using my handspun; my first handspun socks were for Clover using the same handspun.

 

That's it for FO's.  Do you want to see my current WIP's?   You might as well say yes because I'm gonna show you anyway.

Pairs 7 and 8 for SOS'09 (Hey, I told you it was all socks all the time around here these days.)

Toe-up, Short-row heel, plain ole stockinette stitch, sewn bind off.
Mountain Colors yarn in the colorway "Ruby River". Started July 22nd One sock down - one to go.
This yarn is incredibly soft - kind of makes me wish I were knitting this pair for myself instead of Hubby.  He does deserve them, though.  He has 2 pair that are wearing out. Anyone who loves their handknit socks to the point of wearing them out deserves more; don't you agree?

Gusset Heel Basic Socks
(This is the progress as of yesterday morning; I've done a couple more inches since then.)

I'm using the remainder of a skein of TOFUtsies sock yarn that I used for another pair of socks back in June of '07.  One skein of TOFUtsies goes a LONG way. I split the remainder in half and am just going to knit each sock until I run out of yarn. I expect they'll be fairly short socks, but we'll see.

That's enough projects for today, don't you think?  I have been doing a little bit of spinning and I'll try to get some pictures and share that with you soon (soon being a relative term).  

I was away at Property Tax School last week and did bring my wheel and had really hoped to get more spinning done than I did.  I pretty much vegged out in the evenings - didn't keep up with the blogs; didn't get much knitting done, got very little spinning done.   What a waste of alone time!

 

This & That on Thursday

How about a bit of the random today?

 ~It's now July and it's STILL raining!  Will it ever stop?

~It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't also COLD.  Yesterday was July 1st and we broke records in these parts for the coldest high temperature since 1976!  Enough already; I wan't to start breaking temps for the hottest low.

~Hubby got my pool set up early this year. 

~I was in it for a couple hours one day about 3 weeks ago (it really wasn't warm enough but at that time I was already sick of the rain and took advantage of a sunny day).

~This is our busiest time of year at work.  We are preparing our final tax assessments and need to get things ready for bills to be printed.

~Our computer server is having fits with our assessing software and keeps kicking us out of our program or not letting us get into it at all.

~It's been a long couple of days at work and today looks like it's going to be more of the same.

~Looking on the bright side - I can now spare a couple of minutes to write this post.

In knitting news:

~I finished my Crazy socks last night.

SOS'09 Pair #3 Yarn: Austermann Step 6, color #111 Herbst
Needles: size 2 1/2 dpn's
Pattern: top down, afterthought heel, stockinette stitch on 48 stitches

~Surprisingly, I was even able to match up the colors! 

~I'm not crazy about the Crazy Socks, but they'll be warm and my feet can use some warm (see above).

~Finishing this pair leaves me with just one WIP.

~The Cabled Yoke sweater is nearing completion - just one sleeve to go. 

~That neck looks a little wonky in the picture, but it's really not. 

~The "just one WIP" thing won't last long - I'm hoping to cast on for my next pair of socks tonight.

In Spinning News....

~I've got nothing.  I've done no spinning since the Spinning Bee.

~That'll change tonight because tonight is Chicks with Wheels night.

~That's all the random I have for you. 

~Have a great day.

It's Almost Summer...

It's almost Summer (really it is; never mind the weather) and with Summer comes Ali's Summer Knitting Goals Contest.  She's got some really great prizes to give away and all you have to do for a chance to win is list your goals and let her know that you did.  You don't even have to achieve your goals; just list them.  What could be easier?

 I joined Summer of Socks  for the first time this year and as I told you last month, I also joined the Sock a Month KAL.   I guess it will come as no big surprise then, that I'll be focusing on socks this Summer.  That doesn't mean I won't be doing anything else; there are a few non-sock things I'd like want to accomplish.

So, here's my list of Summer Goals:

    ~Knit a pair of socks with my handspun (I have some ready for that)
    ~Knit toe-up and feel comfotable doing it.
    ~Try new heel construction (I guess that’s a given with toe-up)
    ~Use up some stash yarn
    ~Finish the sweater I'm currently working on (only 1 1/2 sleeves left to knit)
    ~Start theHighlander sweater by Anne Hanson
    ~Find a pattern and yarn for a Christmas dress for Clover 
      (suggestions welcome - Samm wants a wide striped red & green dress for her)
    ~Practice my Fair Isle knitting

I know that this looks like a big list of goals for such a short period of time, but if you look closely you'll see that the first four goals are all sock related and can be accomplished with just a couple pairs of socks.

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Anyone who's read my blog for any length of time (actually, even if you've only read this week) knows that I love Summer.  There is one thing that Summer brings that I don't love - bees.  I freak anytime a bee flies around me.   I know you're supposed to just be still and they'll go away, but I just can't help but scream and flap my arms around and run in circles trying to get away from them.  It is not a pretty sight.

Samm and her friend had a baby shower for a friend of theirs the other day.  Samm's gift to the Mom-to-be was a basket of Burt's Bees products and she asked if I could make a Bumble Bee to add to the basket.  Of course I said yes, and of course I decided Clover needed one as well.  Then I decided that Clover's boyfriend, Bronson, (the to-be-born baby's big brother) also needed one.

That's how I happened to make this swarm of four bees:

Pattern: Bumble the Bee
Modifications: I wanted a little bit bigger bee so I used a bigger hook, doubled the yarn, and did an additional increase round.

Clover absolutely LOVES her “bumbees" and Bronson apparently liked his enough to give it a kiss before running off to play with something else :-)

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Have a great night!

A Picture Post

Another picture of Clover and Samm. Samm thought I deliberately cut out her tattoo in the last post so I thought I'd show it to you today.   
 

I finished a pair of socks...

Yarn: Marks & Kattens Clown
Pattern: Stockinette Stitch, top down socks on 60 stitches. Eye of Partridge heel.

 

...and started another:

Yarn: TOFUtsies     Pattern: Rainbow Ripple  

 

Over the past week, I've received more goodies from some very good friends - I'm so spoiled (and I love it)!

 

From the wonderful Dana and Dianne - a souvenier from the festival they work so hard to put together, The Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival: 

A Nana Sadie Rose bag!
With crazy black cats on the outside and pawprints inside (along with many pockets for needles and things) - Perfect!

I'm saving my pennies so that I can buy my own souvenier next year.
2010 Sedalia or Bust!  Right Marianne?

More birthday goodies from Patti and Roger:

Goes perfectly with the rest of the birthday gifties they bestowed upon me.

 

Wait, I'm not done yet.  Even more birthday goodies arrived in the mail on Friday. This package came from the sweet, sweet Gina.

Chalice Cable Handwarmers pattern by Alison Green Will,
the yarn to knit the handwarmers - Rowan Felted Tweed,
and some scrumptious Jojoland Cashmere laceweight yarn!
Don't you love the wrapping paper? And that card is too cute! (click here to see it larger so you can read it)

Thank you all so much - you're all too good to me!

I received one more goodie package in the mail on Saturday - this one wasn't a gift; it was my May Spunky Club fiber:

"Pansy" 4 ounces of Romney
Gorgeous isn't it?  

Clover thinks so!

I have just a couple more photos to share with you before I end for today:

 

This is how hubby spent yesterday morning.
You KNOW that made me happy!!!

I'm on a Roll

Here's another completed pair of socks. 

Plain vanilla socks using size 1 1/2 (2.5mm) dpn's
Yarn: Schoeller+Stahl Sockina Cotton
Started: October 2007
Finished: May 19, 2009
 

No, that's not a typo; I started these socks in October of 2007!  The first sock sat for over a year in timeout because I thought it was too small for Hubby (and it was too big for me).  As I told you when I let that first sock out of timeout a couple weeks ago, either the sock grew or hubby's foot shrunk because the darn thing fit this time! Whatever the case, this is another pair of finished socks in 2009.  That makes 4 pairs of socks finished in 2009 or 4 times as many as I finished in 2008!

I'm feeling so good about the return of the sock mojo, that I joined Summer of Socks 2009 (Ravelry link here).    I was a bit hesitant to join because I was kind of afraid that committing to knitting socks might be just what it takes to cause the sock mojo to take a summer vacation, but this year's theme is LOW STRESS so I think I should be okay.   I haven't decided exactly what my goals will be for SOS (I still have a month to decide), but I do know that one of them will be to use some of the  mountain of sock yarn I have in the stash! 

Why don't you join me and the millions of others (okay, maybe that's a wee bit of an exaggeration) knitting socks this summer?  Come on, you know you want to. 

It's a Wrap

Ooops, it's been almost 2 weeks since I posted the picture of my Crocus Bud wrap soaking and waiting to be blocked.   I guess it's about time to show you the finished pictures.  I'm sure many of you have seen these already on Ravelry, but for those of you who haven't, here they are:

 

Yarn - my handspun from Louet Northen Lights  in the colorway "Burning Bush" Pattern:  Crocus Bud Wrap Crochet Hook size J Size before blocking:  13" x 60" Size after blocking:  19" x 66"  

This is my first big project with my own handspun and I'm incredibly happy with how it turned out.  The size is exactly what I wanted; long enough to wrap around my shoulders and rest on my arms, but not so long as to get in the way.  It's also just the right width to keep my shoulders and arms warm in a cool room.  My plan is to wear this with a brown dress to my niece's wedding in September.   

I have one more FO to show you today.   This one is a much smaller project.  I'll be attending the Granite State Knit-in at Loon Mountain in a couple of weeks.   We have been asked to bring a teddy bear dressed in a handknit sweater.  These will be given to kids in emergency situations to help comfort them.  Here's mine:

Pattern: Wee Wonderfuls Stockinette Cardigan
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft color Rubine Red (yes it is that bright and yes, it is pink, not red!)
Needles: Size 9
Mods: I did seed stitch edging instead of garter and used 2 buttons instead of 4.

Both the bear and the sweater are very soft.  I thought the bright (to put it mildly) pink on the black bear would make some scared little girl very happy; I hope it works.

Holy Cow...

Has it really been nearly a month since I've posted anything even remotely fiber related?  How does that happen?  It's not like I haven't been doing anything; I have even managed a few FO's in that time (very small FO's, but FO's nonetheless).

Would you like to see proof?

Of course you would.

FO #1 - Luke's Square

Italian Square
from the book Encyclopedia of Crochet by Donna Kooler 
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK yarn
Size I hook (if I remember correctly).

 

FO #2 Spinning Bags

 
Pattern: Felted Spinning Wheel Bags (Ravelry Link) by Shannon Geddes
Yarn:  Lamb's Pride Worsted;  Color:  Cranberry Swirl
Needles:  Size 11
Here is mine in use.

I made these for the three of us in my spinning group who have Ladybug wheels.  This bag is the perfect size for all the little things you like to have nearby when spinning; I have my orifice hook, oil bottle, small pair of scissors, wpi tool, and spinner's guide in mine. 


FO #3  Sherry's Hat

 
Pattern: Foaming Waves Chemo Cap (Ravelry Link)  by Maureen Keenan
Yarn: Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple 100% silk;  Color: Dusty Rose
Needles: Size 5

I knit this hat for a woman who I used to go to church with and who my sister has worked with for years.  She is undergoing chemo for breast cancer.  I knit all kinds of good thoughts into that hat for her and I'm guessing she could use some of your good thoughts as well.

FO #4  Sockotta Socks

Pattern: Top-down, Stockinette stitch, afterthough heel
Yarn: Plymouth Sockotta Sock Yarn; Color #6674
Needles: Size 2 dpn's  

These socks flew off the needles (NOT);  they only took 11 1/2 months to complete!!! 

I have two projects currently on the needles (technically, one on the needles and one on the hook), and I've completed a spinning project and begun another.  I'll save those for another post though.

Have a great day!

Did I Finish?

Yes, I did! 

I finished the mansocks last night.

I would have finished them early yesterday if I wasn't a moron who knits toes sideways.  Of course knitting toes sideways means having to rip out several rows and pick up all those teeny tiny stitches.  That takes some time let me tell you!   I blame it all on Patti since it all happened while I was visiting with her.  Since I have never, ever knit a toe sideways before, I just can't think of any other explanation.  Makes sense, doesn't it?

I left her house with the second sock looking exactly as it did when I arrived.  I didn't get a chance to pick it up again until late in the afternoon, but I did manage to finish the toe before dinner and the heel after dinner.  Once all ends were woven in and pictures were taken, Clover and I brought them upstairs where she delivered them to her "Gampy".

(please ignore the nipple at the end of the toe)
Yarn: Cascade Sassy Stripes
Needles: size 2 dpn
Pattern: A bit of 2x2 rib followed by plain ole stockinette for an eternity, and an afterthought heel.  Nothing fancy here.  

I had to find something to work on in the waiting room of the dentist's office this morning, so I decided to "wake up" a hibernating sock.  This will be my mindless knit for a while and I'm thinking that tonight I'll begin the Crocus Bud crochet wrap using my "Burning Bush" handspun yarn.

Something Rarely Seen Around These Parts

I'm about to show you something you have not seen around these parts for quite some time - it's an FO and it's for ME!

This FO started out wanting to be something else.  You may remember my sad tale of denial from this post.

After that failure, I just couldn't bring myself to start the same sweater over again, so I used the yarn for a different sweater:

Why yes it does actually have sleeves; I just couldn't get them in the picture (hey, I was rushing). Here it is on the blocking board yesterday afternoon:

I know, it's still hard to really see what they look like; I'll try to get a modeled picture for you soon.  I have it on today, and I will be going to Chicks wiht Sticks tonight, so maybe I can beg someone there to take a photo of me.

Details:

Pattern:  Knitting Pure and Simple Neck Down Swing Coat
Yarn:  Cascade Ecological Wool   ~   Needles:  Sizes 8 and 9.

Mods:
~I wanted a little less swing in this Swing Coat, so instead of increasing every six rows, I increased every 8 rows.  If I were to make it again, I'd leave out the back center increases (with a butt like mine, I don't need to be drawing attention to it).
~I did the entire collar in seed stitch instead of most of it stockinette with 3 garter ridges as the pattern called for.
~I used seed stitch at the cuffs, the bottom of the sweater, and the button band. 
                            I do love me some seed stitch :-)

More pics:

Seed stitch:

        

Buttons:    

(The true color of this sweater is somewhere between the brownish and the grayish of these pictures; truly hard to capture.)

The sweater during the inspection process:

     

It would appear that it passes inspection!

Teeny Tiny Hats and More

Although you wouldn't know it by my last couple of posts, there has been knitting going on around here.  Actually, make that knitting and crocheting going on. 

CROCHET:

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the first preemie hat I made for the K3tog Preemie Hat Knitalong.   I had anticipated making several more when all of a sudden, I looked at the calendar and realized that the month is almost over!  How did that happen? 

I had been crocheting a little hat in the style that my friend's grandmother taught me 100 years ago when I was in high school.  It should have taken me only a couple of hours to do, but because of my inattention to the calendar (and apparently to the hat) it took me over a week!  Well, since I cannot send just two itty bitty hats, I decided I'd look for a quick crochet pattern and whip up a few more itty bitty hats.

 

These hats all use leftover acrylic yarns - Caron Simply Soft, Bernat Softee Baby, Plymouth Jelli Beenz and size "H" crochet hook.

Clover personally tested the hats on her baby:

She approves.

I did crochet one extra one for her baby to keep; I didn't get a picture of that though.

KNITTING:

Hubby mentioned recently that he'd like some more hand knit socks, so I went stash diving and found the perfect yarn for some mansocks .  I told hubby that these would take awhile because I have some other projects I really want to get done but I've been working on them a bit here and there.  I brought them to the doctor's office with me yesterday and when the doctor appologized for making me wait, I told him it was fine because I got some knitting done.  I don't know about you, but I don't mind waiting in the doctor's office as long as I have my knitting with me; I actually kind of like it.

 

 
Cascade Sassy Stripes (superwash) yarn Size 2 dpn's    

The Replacement Sweater is coming along nicely. I've tried it on and believe it will be a nice fit; a little loose but not huge.

Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool
Needles: Size 9 circular Pattern:  Knitting Pure and Simple Swing Coat

Of course Clover had to inspect it:

She's withholding judgement until it's complete.

Ruffles

I was finally able to get pictures of Clover in her finished sweater.  Let me tell you, it wasn't easy.  She's much too busy to stand still and model.  Here's what I managed to get.

 

Pattern:  Child's Ruffle Sweater by Lynn McCarthy

Yarn:  Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-Wool Balance

Mods: The pattern would have you pick up all the needed stitches for the ruffled collar; I found that too difficult and instead picked up 1/2 the number of stitches called for.  I then increased by K1,M1 across on the first row.  This was easier and I don't think you can tell the difference.  The only other mod I made was to knit the sleeves about an inch shorter than called for.

I thought I was going to have a really hard time finding buttons for this sweater, but while at Chicks with Sticks last Tuesday, I decided to look at the buttons there.  I wasn't really expecting to find anything, but I opened the button box and these were sitting right there, begging to be used.    They were perfect!

(click for bigger)  

I'm very happy with this sweater; the pattern was simple, yet not boring and the yarn is awesome.   I think the  finished sweater looks adorable on Clover (and it'll fit her for a while, which is always a plus).

 

Next post:  WIP's

 

Have a great day!

 

 

Small FO Report

I have a couple of small FO's to show you. 

You might even call this first one a tiny FO.  This is a preemie hat that I knit for Jeanne and Chell's Preemie hat drive (Ravelry link).

Yarn: Plymouth Jelli Beenz
Needles: size 4 dpn

This was a very quick knit; I just cast on 68 stitches, did 6 rounds of k2p2, knit for a few inches and started the decreases.  Easy Peasy.   I'm hoping to get a few more done before the deadline of February 5th. 

Next up - "The Mayor":

Check out the striping on the top:

Pattern: Waffle Hat by Gail Bable
Needles: size 8 circular
Yarn: My handspun

As I said on Monday, the fiber (Fat Cat Knits, Falkland wool) was gifted to me by Colleen's son, The Mayor, for Christmas.   I decided that the best use for the finished yarn would be a hat for him.  I just hope it fits him!

I have one more FO, Clover's Ruffle Sweater, which I finished on Sunday morning.   I'm waiting to get a picture of Clover in it though, so that one will have to wait.

Have a great day!

Christmas Weekend Wrap Up

Christmas at Noolieville was very nice this year.  Christmas Eve was spent as it usually is, with half the day at my Dad's and the other half at my Mom's.  All (well most) of the family was present; we were missing one brother and sister-in-law and one of my nephews didn't make it with his wife and 2 kids.  It was really quiet without all the little ones; Clover and my niece's daughter, Kayla, were the only two little ones there.  They did have fun and were good for putting smiles on everyone's faces though!

Christmas day was a quiet day spent at home.  When Jay and Samm brought Clover over to our side of the house (where Santa had left the gifts) in the morning, she was still half asleep.  She saw all the gifts and just kept walking around the room for a while like she just couldn't believe there were more prezzies to open.

This is my favorite picture of the day:

It's like she's asking "This is all for me, really?!"  

How do you like the hair-do?  If you click on the picture, you can go see the rest of the Christmas Day pics, but be warned her hair doesn't get any better until later in the day ;-)

 

I received some very nice gifts; Samm, Jay, and Clover gave Chris and I a really nice digital frame to hang on the wall.  I can't wait to find some time where Chris and I can sit together and choose the photos to load into it!

 

I received a lot of fiber related gifts:

 

Hubby did an awesome job with the fiber related gifts:  Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard and Alden Amos' Big Book of Handspinning, Never Not Knitting calendar, an entire set of Susan Bates bamboo handled crochet hooks (these should make the crocheting a little easier on my hands), and from the Loopy Ewe, some gorgeous wool/seacell fiber by Creatively Dyed in the Key West colorway.  

My Dad and Step-Mom gave me two beautiful skeins of Les Oiseaux Laceweight from Skylark Yarns.  I have a couple patterns in mind for this.

Colleen's son (who sent Flat Stanley to visit me a while ago) sent me some very, very beautiful Faulkland wool combed top to spin from FatCatKnits.  Yummy; so nice.  Thank you so much Mr. Mayor!  Colleen also sent a fun book for Clover from her family; Samm had fun reading it  to her at bedtime last night.  I was listening in from the other side of the door and Clover really seemed to be enjoying it; she kept giggling.  Of course, that could have been because her Mommy sounded a bit silly trying to speak the Spanish words with an accent :-)

It's been great having five days off of work; I've been sleeping in late each morning and not really doing too much of anything.  This is really just what I needed because I've had a horrendous cold for the past two weeks, but I think I'm finally on the mend.  It's amazing how quickly you can get used to sleeping in; I'm not looking forward to getting up early tomorrow.

Oh yeah, one more thing.  I promised you modeled pictures of Clover's Chrsitmas Sweater and I always keep my promises. (If you're on Ravelry, you may have already seen them).

 

It's very hard to get her to stand still long enough to get a good picture!  

Oh, I almost forgot -  I'm sorry I didn't respond to all the comments about Clover's picture with Santa.  I do have to tell you all that while she was afraid of him at that moment (and apparently for several moments before the picture was taken), right afterward, according to Samm, she was smiling and giving him high fives!  I do love that picture though, I love how calm Santa looks and I love the way he's holding her - so sweet!

Time to Spare

I finished Clover's Christmas sweater with time to spare.  I finished it Saturday evening; sewed the buttons on and everything!  Well, I guess not everything; I still need to sew a tag in it.

(I know this is a lousy picture; I will get better ones tomorrow when she's wearing it.)

Pattern: Yankee Knitter Pattern #23, Basketweave Cardigan Needles: Size 5 & 6 Yarn: Lion Brand MicroSpun in Lily White  

Mods: I used seed stitch for the bottom, cuffs, and button band instead of k1p1 rib. I also used only 3 buttons on the top instead of buttons all the way down the front.
I love how this sweater came out and it fits Clover perfectly. I think she loves it too as she carried it around a bit, rubbing it against her cheek, after trying it on. Yes, it's that soft!

I finished a few other small projects this past weekend.

Squares for the Afghans for Pine Ridge  project:

I used Berocco Comfort left over from the Monkey Blanket and a size I hook; the pattern is the Plain Jane square. I'll be mailing these before the end of the month; I'm hoping to send at least 2 a month throughout the next year.

A couple of Christmas Ornaments for Clover:

Again, the red is left over Berocco Comfort and the white is left over Microspun from Clover's sweater.

Patterns: Santa Baby Ornament and Mini Mittens

I plan to make Clover two ornaments every Christmas; you may remember that last year I made a mini sweater and mini stocking from her Sweet Clover yarn.  Now, if I could just find those ornaments, it'd be great.  Guess I'll have to do some digging through all the Christmas stuff from last year.  We only have a teeny tabletop tree this year, so I didn't even get into the Christmas boxes.

Fear not, I'll find them!

Unintentional Break

I really didn't mean to take a blog break; it just kind of happened.  When I realized that it had been over a month since my last post (other than the Friday with Clover posts), I was shocked.  I kept meaning to blog; as a matter of fact, I wrote many blog posts in my mind.  Those don't really count though, do they?  Unless you can read my mind, I need to make the time to actually get those posts from my head onto the blog.

Making time to get things done just hasn't been working out very well lately.  When I have had the time, I haven't had the energy.  I'm going to make a serious effort to change that. 

Even though I haven't been around blogland very much, I have still been knitting and spinning; there's even been some crocheting. Granted, not nearly as much time spent with the needles, hooks, and wheel as I'd like, but some. 

As you can imagine, there has also been a lot of new and exciting changes with Clover.  You got a glimpse of one of the changes in the last post.

 I don't want to bore you to death with one very lengthy post filling you in on everything at once, so I think I'll break it down into several smaller posts. 

Tonight's post will be all about the FO's (don't get too excited, there aren't very many).

First - A Sweater for ME:

Pattern:  Metro Pullover by Oat Couture Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn Galway Colornep (the color doesn't show very well in this shot; it's a lovely olive green with flecks of red, yellow, and blue) Needles:  Size 8 and 9 Mods:  The only modification I made was to knit this in the round to the arm holes.
I picked up the perfect buttons for this from the Malabar Glass booth at Harvestfest, which was held last month outside my office.  I wasn't sure at first, but once on the sweater, it was obvious that they were made for it! 

I Love this sweater; it fits perfectly and I've already worn it a few times since finishing.

Second- I hope you're sitting down for this one:

Samm's Sweet Socks   STARTED:  February 20, 2008 FINISHED:  November 11, 2008 (yep, you read that right - February to November for one pair of socks) Yarn:  "Sweet Clover" bamboo/merino, (dyed by the fabulous Heather of Sereknity and Serenkity Boutique) Needles:  Size 1 1/2 dpns Pattern:  Standard cuff-down sock with eye of Partridge flap heel
I honestly didn't think I'd finish a single pair of socks this year and then I suddenly felt the need to finish these. I'm glad I did. They are beautiful socks (thanks to Heather's beautiful dye job) and there's enough yarn left to make some matching socks for Clover. Just have to get around to starting them.

Third: Two FO's in one.

Part One - Clover's Hat

Pattern:  Thorpe by Kirsten Kapur Needles:  size 9 Mods:  Added a chin strap with button instead of the braided ties Yarn: My Handspun, which brings us to...   Part Two - Neapolitan

4 ounces "Neapolitan" Merino/Silk 80/20 fiber from Spunky Eclectic Spun 2-ply - approximately 66 yards bulky weight (well, actually it's a little thick and thin, but mostly thick)

This spun up so incredibly soft that all I want to do with it is snuggle it. But, I decided that a nice warm hat for Clover might be a more appropriate use for it.  I think I made the right decision; the hat is incredibly soft and fits her perfectly.

I think that's enough for one post. More catching up next time. I promise I won't wait another month; I'm going to shoot for at least one more post before the next Friday with Clover.

Goodnight!

Actual Knitting Content

It's been a while since I've talked about actual knitting here, hasn't it?  Well, today you're going to get an FO, a WIP,  and  even a look at what I've been spinning.

The FO:

The Fogbuster Beanie Pattern by the wonderfully talented April
Yarn handspun by The Sheep

 

This was an easy and well written pattern that produces a great hat!  I'll definitely be making more.  Annie's yarn was a real pleasure to work with and produced a very soft hat.  How nice to knit a hat that was designed by one friend using yarn spun by another friend.  It's great to have such talented friends :-)

The WIP:

Metro Pullover
Just a sleeve and collar to go.

I'm hoping to finish this by the end of the week, but don't hold your breath waiting.  Seems I don't get in as much knitting time as I used to.  I blame Clover; she's just too much fun.

The Spinning:

I've spun about half of the 4 ounce bump that I bought from White Barn Meadows at SPA back in February.

I haven't been doing so well getting in my 10 minutes a day; as a matter of fact, last week I only spun on Thursday with my spinning group. Gotta do better.

My plan with this fiber is to Navajo ply it once I'm done spinning the singles. I know I won't get a whole lot of yardage that way, but I'm hoping it's enough to make a neck warmer. Only time will tell.

Have a great day!

Catching Up Part 2 - A Spinning FO and Health

I was beginning to think it'd never happen, but it did.  Last week, I finally finished spinning and plying the Campfire fiber I bought at Fiber Revival.  I not only bought that fiber at FR, but I spent that day spinning it and thought I was doing pretty well.  I spun nearly every day since, but it still took me over a month to spin just 4 ounces.  Sheesh! 

That's really okay though. It was a joy to spin; the colors were very soothing to me and the fiber (merino/silk) was so soft.  I think I've accomplished pretty darned close to what I was going for with this.

 
 
Fiber: Sereknity  70% Merino/30% Silk Colorway:  Campfire 2 ply; 22 wpi; 560 yards  

I'm not sure what to use this for. I initially was thinking about Abby, but that only requires about half the yardage I have here.  This is so nice that I want to use it all.  I'm thinking a lacy scarf, but it'll have to wait.  As you may have noticed, my last two lace projects haven't gotten very far; one was even frogged.

 

I haven't had the concentration level need for lace for quite some time.  I hope to regain that concentration very soon though.  Which brings me to the second part of this post.

 

To make a very long story short(er); I've been having some health issues for a while.  When I say for a while, I guess I really mean most of this year.  You may remember back in February when I was diagnosed with thyroiditis.  With this condition, the thyroid goes from being normal, to overactive,  to underactive, and back to normal.  This can last several months.  Back in May I was told everything looked good and to come back for bloodwork in September just to be sure the levels stayed normal. 

 

Well, for several months I've been having pain off and on in my hip area and muscles all over.  It got so bad that the pain was daily and  I wasn't able to sleep.  After I started noticing a lot of my hair in my hands after washing it,  I decided that instead of just having bloodwork done, I'd make an appointment to see the doctor.  Turns out that my thyroid levels did not come back to normal; I now have an underactive thyroid. 

 

This is no big deal; just take a pill every day.  I'm fine with that.  Turns out that the thyroid can cause all the other problems I've been having as well and after just over a week on the meds, I am already feeling a difference.  I actually had a couple of totally pain free days over the weekend.  Today's not as good, but at least I know it's just a matter of time before I feel good again.  I'm not really sure I remember what "good" feels like but I'm anxious to find out!

 

You're probably wondering how my not being able to do lace has anything at all to do with all that.  Well, turns out that lack of concentration is also a symptom of underactive thyroid, so I'm blaming my inability to do lace entirely on that. 

 

That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Catching Up, Part 1 "The Knitting FO"

You may remember that I said I was going to try to catch up with the blogging (both reading and posting) over the weekend. 

Didn't  happen. 

It's really not my fault, you know.  It was rainy and gross outside.  Everyone knows that when it's rainy and gross outside, you must stay inside and be a lazy slug, and take lots of naps, and generally not accomplish a whole lot.  It's the rule, and  I'm nothing if not a rule follower.  Get up off that floor and stop laughing; I've been known to follow rules (when it suits me).

So, here's my plan for catching up:

    ~~I'll post about what's been going on in and around Noolieville in installments and

    ~~I'll spend my morning coffee time and a bit of every evening reading blogs until I catch up (it'd certainly help me catch up if you all slowed down on the posting for a bit).

So, let's begin with the catching up, shall we?

As you may have gathered from the title, I have a knitting FO to show you.

The Watermelon Sweater Size 8 needles Freshisle Fibers Suffolk Wool in self-striping watermelon, watermelon pink, & watermelon red No real pattern; I used the schematic from the garter cardi as a rough guide.

I'm pleased with how this came out.  I was afraid that it would be too scratchy as it's not really the softest wool in the world, but once I gave it a good soak in Eucalan wool wash and some conditioner, it softened up quite a bit.  Clover didn't seem to mind it one bit when I put it on her and spent about half an hour trying to get her to model it for me.  She's just much to busy to waste her time modeling so I had to take what I could get while she was on the move.

You can see it fits her perfectly and should fit for a while (hopefully).

Next post - a WIP update, or a spinning FO, or a spinning WIP.  Guess you'll just have to come back to find out which it'll be.  Can you stand the suspense?

Friday with Clover (in an FO)

 
Pattern: "Angel in the Snow"
from The Little Box of Crochet for Baby (a gift from Colleen)
Yarn: Cotton Fleece & Plush
Started: 8-26-08     Finished: 9-3-08 Model:  Clover Grace :-)  

 

Are You Sitting Down?

 

If not, I suggest you do.

 

Because I'm going to show you something that will really shock you. 

 

It's something that has not been seen here in Noolieville for a very long time. 

 

It's an FO!

 

It's an FFO

 

A Fishy Finished Object:

 
Pattern: One Fish Two Fish by Bobbi Intveld
Needles: Size 8 circular and dpn
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton in Honeydew and Azul
 

Does she like it?

"For me?"

Hugs

Kisses

I'd say she does :-)

It was definitely worth all the ripping and reknitting to see her reaction when I gave it to her! 

A Spinning Update (Finally)

First, thank you for all the comments of support yesterday.  Chris and I both really appreciate them!

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Now, it seems to me that I owe you a spinning update since I haven't given you one in two weeks.  Not to mention the fact that I promised you one last week and then went on to just ignore that promise.  Ooops, sorry.

I guess it's true that practice makes perfect.  While my spinning is still VERY far from perfect (VERY, VERY FAR), I can see improvement.  I've been doing really well with 10 Minutes a Day; there have only been a few days since starting this that I haven't managed at least ten minutes.  Most days I do much more than that.  So, would you like to see what I've been spinning?

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First let me show you what I usually do on Tuesdays (since Tuesday night is Chicks with Sticks, and there's not really much spinning time).    
(click for bigger)  This should look familiar since I've been working on it off and on (mostly off) for several months.  This is what I refer to as "Spinning for Fish".  The plan is to knit or crochet fish and felt them to make a mobile for Clover (I might have this completed in time for her high school graduation).  Hey, there's nothing that says a mobile has to be over a crib now is there?

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Next up is the Cotton Candy yarn.  Yep, I said yarn.  It has been finished for over a week now (it's what I had  planned for last week's update that never happened).  Here's a little mosaic of it from start to finish.

   
This is 8 ounces of Louet Northern Lights Wool Top
226 yards of heavy worsted, 8 wpi

It’s a pretty curly yarn, with some overspun areas and some underspun. It does seem to be fairly well balanced, though; it hangs straight down without twisting back on itself at all. I’m planning to make hats with it for Clover and her two cousins.  I love the colors, and I actually like the look of the thicker spun singles plied with the thinner ones.

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I'm referring to this next fiber as my Mystery Batt because I picked it up at Amy's during her Grand Opening event and almost immediately lost the label. 

(again, click for bigger)

The colors are fairly accurate; look how pretty the batt is compared to the singles.  Thankfully, once plied together, the resulting yarn is a much prettier color than I expected. 

I spun fairly thin singles and did a 2 ply, which I think is about a DK weight.  Since it's still hanging in my bathroom to dry, I haven't yet checked the wpi.  I have about 82 yards.  Hopefully (no promises), I'll be able to get a decent picture of it for you for tomorrow's post (if there is a post tomorrow).

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Crazy Hat Lady

I've been known for a long time as the "Crazy Cat Lady"; I'm thinking that may change soon to the "Crazy Hat Lady". 

Presenting hats #8 and #9 for the 300 Hat Project(also #3 & #4 towards my summer goal of 8 additional hats):

Pattern:  Amanda Hat
Yarn:  "Handspun by Laurie" (a local spinner)  100% Romney Wool Needles:  Size 8 Luckily, a nice long soak in Eucalen softened this up nicely!
 
Pattern:  Ball Band Toddler Hat
Yarn:  Paton's Classic Merino, color- Regency
Needles:  Size 6
This hat was started yesterday afternoon and completed last night.  Now that's a quick knit!  (note: if you make this hat, cast on 76 instead of 78 per the errata)

You might think that I'd be getting a bit sick of knitting hats at this point, but I'm not.  I'm really enjoying it.  I think it's because I'm not making the same pattern more than twice and most of the hats have some sort of patterning so that even though its all fairly mindless knitting, it's not boring knitting.  Plus it's for a good cause.   Next hat up:  Noodle Cozy

It hasn't been ALL hats ALL the time here at Noolieville though; there's actually been a little progress made on the Lisha Lace Scarf(another 20 row repeat) and there's been spinning.  Joining the 10 Minutes a Daygroup was the best thing I've done for my spinning. 

Tune in tomorrow for pics of finished yarn and what I'm spinning now.

WNBP (Wednesday Night Bullet Post)

• Another week, another hat. This time it's the Banana Republic Hat Knockoff.
  

• Mine is done in Lamb's Pide Bulky in the Pistachio colorway.
  Needles: Size 8 for the seed stitch band; Size 10 1/2 for the rest of the hat.

• It's an easy and enjoyable hat to make. I'm one of those people who likes doing seed stitch, so the band was my favorite part.

• This is my 8th hat for the 300 Hat Project and my 2nd hat towards my "8 more hats this summer" goal.

• This morning, I cast on for hat #9 The Amanda Hat  in the handspun yarn given to me last week by a friend and coworker.

• It will now be set aside until next Tuesday night because when I finish this post, I'm going to begin this , Lisha Lace Scarf.  I'll be using the gorgeous cashmere yarn which was a birthday gift from Gina. I'm pretty excited to get going on this.

• You may have noticed that both these patterns were designed by Gina; she's one very talented woman!

• At some point tonight, I'll also get in at least 10 minutes of spinning. This may end up being the only night that 10 minutes really is only 10 minutes. After all, there are just so many minutes in a day, you know.

• I finished a third bobbin of the cotton candy the other night, but it was kind of a nightmare. I was spinning away, happy as could be, when suddenly I realized I was WAAAAAYYYY over spinning it. It was terrible! I remembered Amy telling me that when you do that you can run it through in the opposite direction being careful not to take out too much of the twist.

• Can you guess what happened? Yep, took out too much of the twist. Sent it back through again and think I finally got the twist pretty much okay.

• It was like I hadn't ever spun this fiber (or any other fiber for that matter) before in my life - never mind the fact that I'd been spinning this fiber for the last week and 1/2. Oh well; whatcha gonna do, huh? I have one bobbin left to spin and then a decision to make about plying.

• ~Kristie brings up a good point about using the singles; she mentions I might want to avoid that if they aren't nice and balanced. HA! I guess we know how this is going to turn out, don't we?

• Since tonight is Wednesday (as noted by the WNBP), that must mean last night was Tuesday and Chicks with Sticks. It was a smallish group, but a lively one.

• The Sheep came down for her weekly S.O.C.K.S. Program (2nd paragraph). I like to give her grief for having summers off, but really I'm glad she does. Otherwise there would be no S.O.C.K.S. Program and no Tuesday night Sheepie visits. That would just be sad.

• What was sad, was that Patti couldn't be there again last night. She was in San Antonio at a conference. She's expected home tonight though and that's a good thing. I miss my friend     :-(

• Speaking of Patti, last word I heard was that her Dad had taken a bit of a turn for the better. This is good news, but he still needs lots of your good thoughts and prayers sent his way, if you can spare them. He has a long road ahead of him.
  
  

WNBP Short Version

I don't have much for this week's Wednesday Night Bullet Post, so I've added a little something silly for you at the end of this post.

• Last night was Chicks with Sticksand I'm sure you know what that means (at least what that means this summer). Yep, another hat for the 300 Hat Project. This one is crocheted:

Pattern: Skater Beanie(Ravelry link) Yarn: Cascade 220 (maroon) & Lamb's Pride (yellow) Hook: Size H

• This is the reason I didn't find ten minutes to spin on Monday. I had planned to just get it started so that I could bring it on Tuesday to CWS, but I got a bit carried away and worked on it instead of spinning. It's not that I spent a lot of time on it; but by the time I sat down to do anything, it was already pretty late.

• I made up for the spinning I missed on Monday before going to CWS last night, though. I sat down with the intention of doing about 15 minutes and next thing I knew, I had been spinning for half an hour and all of my pre-drafted fiber was gone and I had finished the first bobbin of Cotton Candy. No picture of the full bobbin; you'll just have to take my word for it :-)

• I did start another hat when this one was complete. I managed an entire 2 rows of the rim. This is going to be the Banana Republic Knock-off hat, using Lamb's Pride bulky in Pistachio. I'll probably finish the rim and then set it aside until next Tuesday night.

• Clover went for her 6 month check up today (even though she'll be 7 months next Thursday). We were guessing that she weighed 18 pounds and we were pretty darn close. 17 pounds, 14 ounces and 27 inches long! I've been thinking she looked like she was growing a lot in length recently; guess I was right. She's a big girl. 75th percentile in weight and a little higher in length. She had her vaccinations and all is well with her. She's a happy, healthy girl.

• And now for the chuckle I promised you:

   

WNBP

It's Wednesday and that means it's time for some randomness in the form of a Wednesday Night Bullet Post!

• Yesterday, I received yet another Birthday present in the mail.  This one was from Dana and Dianne.

(photo shamelessly swiped from Dana)
It's a gorgeous pendant made by Sonya Forte'.
Thank you so much, Dana and Dianne; you know how much I LOVE it!

• Yesterday was Tuesday, which means last night was Chicks with Sticks at my favorite LYS.  I look forward to CWS all week.  It's always a good time with good friends.

• Not only is CWS fun, but sometimes a person might even learn something new.

• I learned something new last night. I'm probably the last knitter on earth to learn this.  Did you know that if you are using interchangeable needles (like my new Harmony needles) that are assembled with the little metal thingy (yes, that is the technical term) that you stick through the hole to tighten the cable to the needle,  you can thread a lifeline through that hole and knit it right into your row?  No stopping to thread a needle and having to be extra careful to make sure you go through every stitch and yarn over.

• I was close to the end of a repeat on Twinings, so I finished up the couple of rows I needed to this morning and tried out that new little bit of knowledge.  It was a little difficult getting the lifeline through the tiny hole, but I just used the little metal thingy to shove it through and guess what - it worked!  YAY! 
  

• Speaking of Twinings, I am now back to where I was before having to rip it out; three measley repeats complete.  I just don't know where my time is going, but I don't feel like I'm getting in the knitting time I want (and need).

• Yesterday, I knit another hat for the 300 Hats Project.  Everyone knows that I am not capable of knitting lace at CWS, so that has become my night to knit hats.  I arrived last night with the stitches cast on and the first row knit and finished this in the few hours that I was there:

Avalanche Hat

• That was Yesterday. 

• Today - well, let's just say that some days it'd just be better to stay at home with the people you love - know what I mean?
  

• I really need to just win PowerBall and be done with it.

 

 

FO, WIP's, & 300 Hats

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted about anything I'm working on, hasn't it?  There really has been a bit of knitting going on around here, even some crocheting.  Spinning, on the other hand, has not been happening lately.  I'm going to have to fix that.  But for now, let's take a look at what's been on the needles (and hook) and what's come off.

Samm said that Clover needed some more bibs, so I made this one for her.

"Baby Bib o' Love" by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne
Yarn:  Lily Sugar'n Cream, colorway:  Playtime
Size 8 needles.
Mods:  I  put a snap on it instead of a button, and I'm really not very pleased with it.  I think I'll replace it with some velcro.

I have a lot more cotton yarn, so I'll be making a couple more soon.  Because working with this cotton is so hard on my hands, it takes me a few days to make one and then it takes a while before I feel like doing it again.


Have you noticed the lack of socks around here this year?  Yeah, me too.  What's up with that?  I do have two socks on the needles; not a pair, 2 single socks. 
    


Samm's Sweet Clover socks (which are actually almost ready to begin the toe) and my Sockotta socks.
 Both plain ole stockinette, top down socks. 

Nothing difficult, so why can't I seem to finish even one?  No big deal, though.  Remember, I decided to stop putting pressure on myself with the knitting.  Knitting is my enjoyment and relaxation and I'm not letting it get stressful.  No matter how much I want to finish some socks.

I've started another lace project. This is The Twinings Stole by Anne Hanson

I'm using some Fino that I won quite a long while ago from Kelli. This is the first project I've actually knit with laceweight.  I've only completed 2 repeats of the 16 row lace pattern, (actually, I almost completed 3 repeats but had to frog back a bit) but I think it's coming along nicely.  My plan is to complete this shawl before tackling the Flight of the Honey Bees. 

Samm bought a new camera and naturally it's just enough longer than the old one that it doesn't fit in the case I made recently for her.  That's okay though, because I like that one better than the one I made for myself so I'm using it. I crocheted Samm a new one today.  Here it is before felting (sitting next to the one that I'm now using).

I used Lion Brand Wool in "Flower Garden" and a size K crochet hook. I just crocheted until I thought it was big enough and then felted it. It is drying right now; I'll have a completed picture in a couple days.

Okay, I've shown you an FO, a prefelted FO, and some WIP's.  You may be wondering what the 300 Hats in the title is all about.  You know I have NOT knit 300 hats in the last couple of weeks.  As a matter of fact, I haven't finished even one hat in quite a long time.  I did, however, begin a hat today for Colleen and the 300 Hat Project.  The quick details are that Colleen's friend, Kristy, will be traveling to the Ukraine in September and working with several orphanages.  She'd like to bring 300 hats with her and Colleen has offered to be her East Coast Connection.  She'll collect hats through the end of August.  Please click the link for more details.  Oh yeah, there will be prizes too!

Here's my first hat for the project: It's not much yet, but I've only just begun. I plan to knit hats all summer, in between other projects. Won't you join me? 

(Remember to come back tomorrow for my contest!)