Noolie Knits

Randomness again

I received an e-mail at work from hubby this afternoon that read "Water is going in the pool starting now."  WooHoo!!!!  Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be much of a pool kind of weekend.  Maybe I can squeeze in a little time on the floating lounge chair on Sunday afternoon if the temps reach the higher end of what's being predicted.  Keep your fingers crossed for me; you know how much I love my pool and the sun!

Check this out:
I'm winning the battle! I know it doesn't really look like much, but I really am getting more comfortable with the spindle spinning and am actually starting to produce something that resembles yarn. It's getting a little more consistent, too; no more huge chunky sections followed by lace weight. It's starting to look more like a heavy worsted weight. This is a real accomplishment for me. Thanks for the "park and draft" tip, Amy; it's making all the difference. I'll keep working on this a bit each most nights and before long, I may even spin some useable yarn.

My crochet bag is coming right along. I have about 2/3rds of the body done and then it's on to the straps. I toyed with different ideas for the center section to give it some texture, finally deciding on a section of half double crochets and bobbles. I think it works; what do you think?


I packaged up the Dulaan knits and sent them on their way yesterday.
Thought I'd take a little break from the charity knitting once that was in the mail but remembered that I am teaching a sock class tonight. I need a sock that's at the start of the heel flap so I can demonstrate how to do the heel. You tell me; what's quicker than a little Magic 28 to accomplish that? Here's the cuff of sock #1 of pair #4 ready to to start the heel.

For this pair, I'm using some leftover yarn from a sweater I made last year. I love the subtle changes in color and the yarn is very soft. I decided to shake things up a bit and knit a ribbed cuff. I get too bored doing plain ole rib, so I did a 3 row repeat of K2, P2 for 2 rows, then knit a row. I know there's a name for the pattern, but don't ask me what it is.

I don't even want to think about how many WIP's this makes; seems I've been starting an awful lot of projects lately and have precious few FO's to show for it. Oh well, such is the life of a knitting addict :-)

Lazy Blogger

Wow, I've certainly been neglecting the blog this past week.  It's not that I've not been doing anything.  I have a lot to share with you; too much for one post, so I'll spread it out over the week.

Today I'll show you the knitting (and crocheting) I've been up to.

I finished the sweater for my Holiday Headstart May project.  This will be for my very handsome great-nephew, Colin.

This is not the best picture, but it does show the color accurately. You may have noticed that the color of this sweater seemed to change each time I posted progress pictures. Who knew that dark green could be so difficult to capture with the camera.
Pattern: Yankee Knitter's Fisherlad Guernsey (child's size 6)
Needles: Addi Turbo sizes 6 and 8
Yarn: Plymouth Encore, Color #1234

I thought I had finished the knitting at Chicks with Sticks last Tuesday night and did the seaming when I returned home. Wednesday morning I looked a little closer and realized that the last cuff I knitted was much bigger than the other (it fit loosely on my wrist; way too big for a 3 1/2 year old!). I not only forgot to switch to the smaller needle size, but I also forgot to decrease 8 stitches before beginning the ribbing! I ended up taking the seam out up to a couple rows above the cuff and reknitting it. Oh well, at least I finished it in time to count it for my May project :)

I finished the first sock of my first pair of toe-up socks. I decided to go with the heel called for in the directions for the Sherman Sock given to me by Mel. I have to admit, I didn't think I'd like that heel, but I really do. Now, to start the second sock.


Next up:


Pattern: Magic 28 by Norma
Yarn: Cascade 220, lost the band ages ago, but suffice it to say the green is MUCH BRIGHTER than the picture depicts (believe it or not). I could have used some sunglasses while knitting these.
Needles: Brittney Birch size 5 dpn's
This is pair #3; 25 to go.
This pair of socks ends my Dulaan knitting for this year's shipment; I'll be packing up the knits and shipping them off sometime this week.


There has been a bit of progress on the "Monkey Blankie" but it's nothing to look at yet. I really don't know why I haven't finished it; it's a teeny tiny mini-blankie, but I just can't seem to stay interested in it. I better get going on it though; my co-worker's baby is due very soon!


I started a crochet summer bag yesterday. I'm designing the pattern as I go. I'm using Plymouth's Fantasy Naturalle mercerized cotton yarn in a light green color (I'm too lazy to get up and look at the label right now). I haven't been able to get good pictures yet, but I'll give ya what I've got:

This is a really lousy picture of the outside; it doesn't really reflect how the finished bag will look, so I really don't know why I'm bothering to post it. It does, however, show you how much I did yesterday. (It also explains why my hands hurt today; crocheting is much harder on my hands than knitting.) Here's another picture for you:

This is the inside, bottom of the bag. I think hope this bag will turn out nice and if it does, I'll post the pattern in case anyone would like to make one.

That's what I've been working on over the past week while I've been lazy about blogging.

I've also been doing a couple things for my health. Actually, doing one thing and not doing another. Today marks the beginning of DAY 9 of no cigarettes!!!! I'm telling you, Chantix is a miracle drug! I took it for one week while continuing to smoke and then quit on day 9 (you're supposed to quit on day 8 but I had plans that I knew would make it too hard to quit that day). I'll continue to take it for a total of 12 weeks and then decide if I need it for another 12. I haven't had any physical cravings at all; although I have had times when I've thought "I'd normally have a cigarette now" and that felt strange at first. I'm getting used to not smoking, and I know that I am through with it.

I've also gotten back into a regular workout schedule. Thanks to Patti who has agreed to be my "gym buddy". It's harder to blow off the gym when someone is expecting to meet you there. I went three times last week and will go 3 or 4 times this week. Now I just have to get my eating under control; I'm thinking it's time to get back to Weight Watchers.

Well, I've got to go get ready for work.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about our trip to Amy's (some yarn may have followed me home).

Have a great day.

Catch Up Post

Betty's blanket was delivered yesterday afternoon.  Unfortunately, I had to deliver it to her in the hospital; she was admitted again yesterday for pain.  I was happy to be able to bring a little sunshine into her day with the blanket, though.  She was so touched that so many would take the time to help make this blanket for her.  I only stayed for about 15 minutes or so, and the whole time I was there she was rubbing the blanket and admiring it.  I didn't ask to take a picture because I didn't think it was appropriate since she was in a hospital bed.  Thank you for helping me to give a very special person a little bit of joy on a day when she really needed it!

Now, let's catch up on what I've been up to. As you know, there hasn't been a whole lot of knitting of late, but there has been some.

I started, and almost finished, this pair of socks for Dulann a week ago Sunday and only just got around to finishing them this morning.

Pattern: Norma's Magic 28 Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino, Leaf Green Needles: Brittney size 5 dpn This is only my second pair of Magic 28 socks; 26 to go. Good thing there isn't any time limit on this!

I'm teaching a Booga Bag class at The Yarn Sellar. The first class was last night. There were 5 students in the class and they all did really well. It's fun to see how the different colorways of Noro Kureyon work up. Here's my bag so far:

 

I'm using color #90 (don't you just love the creative color names Noro uses?).  I plan to have this felted for next week's class; the studens should be finished knitting the bag portion and be working on the 5 to 6 FEET OF I-CORD at that point. It's a two week class, though, so I want to be able to explain the felting process and the finishing process. That means I'll be knitting exclusively on this until it is done.  This also means the two kids' sweaters are still on hold. No problem; I'll get back to them soon.  Notice the gorgeous stitch marker on that bag?  That was a gift from the wonderful Heather a while back.  She makes beautiful stitch markers and dyes gorgeous yarn; you should really go check out her store.

Recently, I won a contest over at Susan's blog and the prize package came in the mail last week. Check this out:

 

Claudia Handpainted yarn in the most incredibly gorgeous colorway and some adorable stitch markers. I love them. Thanks, Susan!

Have you seen that Rabbitch has opened up her online store? Is it wrong that I made sure I ordered what I wanted before telling you about it?  She just opened it up today and will be updating it daily for a while; go check it out.  I bought the set of fridge magnets designed by her very talented husband.

 

The Sheep is going to be walking in circles to help fight cancer and is doing a bit of fundraising (she's giving away prizes, too).  She's real close to reaching her goal; how about you go on over to her fundraising page and help her if you can (and maybe win a prize).  Go, Sheepie, Go!

Okay, that's the end of the catch up game; have a wonderful day :)

Pick a Title (cuz I've got nothing)

The weather seems to have taken a turn away from winter around here.  We saw temps in the high 70's on Saturday!  It's been beautiful weather ever since.  We do expect to see a change back to more "normal" temps by the end of the week, but that's okay.  I think (hope) we have seen the last of the winter weather for a little while.

So, what have I been up to?  Well, before we get to that, let me tell you a bit about what Samm's been up to.  She has been making some jewelry to sell and plans to give 10% of all her sales to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of Betty.  Isn't that sweet?  She makes me so proud.  We plan on setting up an Etsy store for her soon (where I may add some things too), but in the meantime I've posted a link to her finished jewelry in the left sidebar.  I think she does very nice work; check it out.

On to what I've been doing.  I finished the Garter Cardi for my great-neice on Friday night (except for buttons).  I went looking through my Lamb's Pride stash to see what I had to use for sleeves that would look nice with the pink body of the sweater.  I found some deep purple that I love and I think it looks great.

All it needs now are 3 purple buttons and it can go in the FO column and I can post it on the Holiday Headstart blog as my April project. Do you know how hard it is to find just the right color purple buttons? Not easy! I spent a good portion of Saturday searching for buttons with no luck. I decided why not crochet some buttons out of the leftover purple yarn; didn't work. I made a very nice button, but Lamb's Pride is just to heavy to make a small enough button for this sweater. I had to teach a class last night at the Yarn Sellar, so I looked at their buttons; nothing in the right color. I checked out all the purple yarn looking for some lighter weight purple in the same shade; I never realized how many different shades of purple there are!  I left empty handed and discouraged.  Then, this morning, just as I was getting ready to leave for work, I remembered that I had lots of leftover yarn from the Christmas stockings I made.  Success!  There was some purple Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in the EXACT shade of purple I need.  It is worsted weight, but it's a much lighter worsted than Lamb's Pride so I plan to give it a shot tonight.  Wish me luck.

I also finished the Mason-Dixon felted boxes.  I ended up cutting pieces of cardboard to put in them while they dried so they wouldn't droop and lose their shape.  I think they came out pretty good.  Hopefully, the intended recipient will think so too.

Here they are stacked. I've been pretty lucky lately with the felting; these stack just the way I was hoping they would.  

I have just one more FO to show you.

 

Some Magic 28 socks.  This is a great little toddler "sock recipe" by Norma.  She's started a blog ring to "Stamp out cold feet".  Check it out; it's a low pressure knit-a-long for charity.

I was able to start and complete this pair during my 6-hour shift at the gym (in between cleaning and helping customers).  Fast, easy, and for a good cause; these are going in the Dulaan pile.  I used left over scraps of Patons Classic Merino from the felted boxes  for these.  1 down, 27 to go :)

I have started another sweater for another of my great-neices; it's the Mock Cable sweater by Yankee Knitter.   I'm just about done with the back, no picture yet. I think I'm going to do the cardigan version, but I haven't made a final decision yet. I'm using some DK wool yarn that I bought from an estate sale a few years ago.  I think it's probably from the 70's.  It is a really pretty shade of light blue.  It's not the softest wool, but I'm hoping that a soaking in some wool wash will soften it up.

Well, that's about all I've got for you today. Have a wonderful day!

A Post With Knitting!

Can you believe it?  It seems like it's been a while since I've posted any actual knitting content.

It's still rainy and nasty outside, but nothing like the past couple of days.  Kevin tells me the storm is going to pull out of here by tomorrow and be warm and sunny Friday and Saturday. YAY!  I could stand a little sunshine :-)  Enough about the weather, let's talk knitting.

There has been some knitting going on around here.  Wanna see?

• Two Dulaan Cupcake Hats

 Pattern courtesy of Norma.  This is a great, fun, and fast pattern.  I think it took less than two hours a piece to make these.  I see more cupcakes in my future (at least these cupcakes won't make my pants tighter than they already are!).  These, of course, are going in the box for the Dulaan Project.

• Rainbow Ripple socks

 

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock

Needles: Crystal Palace size 2 dpn

This pair of socks is a gift; can't say who they're for yet because she has been known to occasionally check out the blog.
I have a confession to make about these socks; I didn't really knit them.

Peaches did. And she was some pissed when she caught me trying to take credit for her knitting!

 

• There has been progress on the Minnowknits Garter Cardi

Do you see the problem I've run into though? One sleeve and a collar left to knit and very little yarn left. I bought this Lamb's Pride yarn 2 or 3 years ago and thought I had more than enough to knit this sweater. Hmm, I think I was wrong. So, what am I going to do? I had some very good suggestions from Brenda and Patti. Brenda suggested removing the cuff of the sleeve and reknitting it in a contrasting color and then knitting the other sleeve the same and using the contrasting color for the collar. Add a flower or something in the contrasting color to the bottom edge of the sweater and it'd pull it all together. Very good idea which I was all set to do until I took a really good look at how much yarn I had left. Nope, not enough to knit the main part of the sleeve even with the yarn from the cuff. I showed Patti last night at Chicks with Sticks and she made another very good suggestion which requires a little more work, but not much.  Frog the completed sleeve and knit the main portion of the sleeves in a contrasting color and knit the cuff in the pink.  Then knit the collar in the contrasting color and use buttons in the same contrasting color.  So, I guess that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully this will be an FO by the weekend.

•   Felted Boxes from Mason Dixon Knitting.  This is the mid-sized one, pre-felted:

I've also finished the smaller one and plan to make the large one tonight. These will also be a gift.

I was going to show you the squares I've received so far for Betty's blanket; I took pictures the other day.  But then I received SEVEN additional squares yesterday and haven't yet taken pictures.  I'm going to try to get pictures tonight or tomorrow and then I'll post them for you.  They are absolutely gorgeous!  I can't tell you how much this means to me.  This is going to be one very special blanket which I know wil bring a lot of comfort to Betty.   

I have to take a minute right here to apologize to those of you who have sent squares and haven't received a thank you e-mail from me yet. It certainly isn't for lack of appreciation, more like lack of any ability to be organized. I'm so far behind in my e-mails; I promise to catch up in the next day or two. I know, I'm lame.

I'm also way behind in my blog reading.  I've only managed to read a few posts a day.  So, if I normally comment on your blog and haven't for a while, please don't take it personally.  I'm trying to catch up!

 
I had a lot more to talk about, but I think I've rambled on enough for one post, so I'll close here.
Have a great day, everyone!

Ups and Downs

Today was a day of ups and downs.   First, I got to work this morning and was told that Betty is back in the hospital.  Her pain has been very bad and they admitted her to try and get it under control and do some more tests.  I didn't go see her today; she had a few visitors from work and I figured I'll wait until tomorrow and see her at lunch. It's so very hard to know that someone as special as Betty is suffering so much.  That definitely started my day on the down side.

My day was brightened, however, when Lisa arrived to have lunch with me.  She was heading to MA to her Dad's and knew she'd be traveling through my neck of the woods around lunchtime so we made plans to meet.  She came into my office bearing something very special.  Just what I needed; a square she knit for Betty.

Not only is it beautiful, it's incredibly soft as well! Thank you so much, Lisa, it's perfect.
We headed to Greenleaves for lunch because what's better than having lunch next door to the LYS. Of course, dessert was a visit to The Yarn Sellar.
We had a very nice lunch and a very nice visit; Lisa is every bit as nice in person as she is on her blog. I'm really glad she suggested the get together. Don't you just love meeting blog friends in person?

After work, I went to the gym (I really needed to after eating Chinese food for lunch) and when I got home, I found two packages waiting for me. I love it when the mailman brings me packages :-) There was another sqaure for Betty's blanket:
This one came from Nishanna. It is so soft and pretty. Thank you, Nishanna. The arrival of the squares today really helped my mood. Just what I needed.

The other package was a prize package. I didn't do much to win this prize, just run around my house getting pictures of all the creatures' feet for La's DeFeet of Cuteness contest. For some reason, she liked my pictures; I don't think it was so much that all my babies have the cutest feet (of course I think they do, but I'm their Mommy) as it was the sheer number of feet - 9 cats, 2 turtles, 2 geckos. Why yes, some people refer to my home as a zoo; why do you ask? Look what she sent me:
A great set of stitch markers. I love them! Thank you, La.

No knitting yet today; that'll happen after I post this and read some blogs.  I did, however, finish something.  Actually, all I did was sew on three buttons, but that was what I needed to do in order to officially call the Avalance Vest an FO.  Here it is with buttons:

The buttons aren't anything special; just some plain ole yellow buttons to match the vest. I looked high and low for some better buttons, but in the end, this is what I ended up with. Oh well, they do the job.

Now, I've got some blogs to read and some knitting to do. Have a good night, everyone!

A Real Weekend!

I can't remember the last time I had both Saturday and Sunday off without being out of town.  As you know, I work Sunday mornings at the gym; anytime I've taken a Sunday off, it's been because I was going away for the weekend.  It feels very strange (a good kind of strange) to have 2 days off without any plans.  I could easily get used to it.  So, what have I done with my 2 days?  Not a whole heck of a lot :)    After the Sock Madness stress, I really just wanted to do some mindless, relaxing knitting.  My opponent finished her socks before I left work on Friday and knowing I was officially out of the race was kind of a relief.  I haven't touched the Round 3 sock all weekend.  I like the pattern and I like the yarn; I do not really like the yarn with the pattern.  I think I'm going to take it out and use a lighter colorway for the pattern.  I didn't feel like starting the second Lorna's Laces sock either.  So, what'd I do?  I'll show you in a minute; first, look what I received in the mail on Friday from Colleen:

A square for Betty's blanket. Isn't it beautiful with the Hugs and Kisses cables? The color is actually more yellow than the gold the picture shows. It's so soft too, made from Cascade 220 Superwash. Thank you, Colleen!

After receiving her square, I decided that Betty's square would be the first thing I did for the weekend. I looked through my 365 Knitting Stitches A Year calendar and decided on the Diagonal Garter Ribs stitch.

I used Berroco Ultra Alpaca and size 8 needles over 42 stitches.

After completing Betty's square, I was still in the mood for squares so I got out a crochet hook and the final bits of Plymouth Encore left over from a baby sweater and crocheted a granny square for Colleen's Spare Square drive.  

I was still feeling like doing simple, mindless knitting after completing the squares, so I decided to make a couple more hats for Dulaan:

On left: Dulaan Avalanche Hat made with some more of the yarn sent to me by Ryan. The pattern calls for size 13 needles, but I used size 11 and it came out plenty big enough. This is one warm hat! Very quick and easy pattern, too. On Right: Another hat made with 3 different strands of dk on size 11 needles over 56 stitches. Again, a very quick knit.
That was it for Friday and Saturday knitting.

I got up this morning and decided to start my Holiday Headstart project for April. This is what I got done on it this morning;

just the garter stitch bottom of the back. I had to put it down and get some stuff done around the house; much as I'd like to, I can't knit ALL the time. I'll work on it some more tonight. I've made this pattern a couple of times before and really love it. It's Minnowknits pattern, Garter Cardi #168QK. I'm using Lamb's Pride worsted weight in a deep pink (I know, it doesn't look pink at all in this picture; it's the best I could do). This is going to be a Christmas present for one of my great-neices.

Now, I'm going to go take a nap before hubby gets home from work.  I hope everyone had a great weekend!

I spoke too soon!

Yesterday I said that I thought Spring was finally coming to Maine. WRONG!  Today was a lovely, sunny, relatively warm day.  The forecast for the rest of the week, not so much.  For crying out loud, it's April.  I kept waiting for the weather man to laugh and say "April Fools", but it never happened.  Oh well, that's Spring in Maine.

If you ever get the opportunity to see Loretta Laroche, you really have to do it.  But be warned, you want to make sure you use the bathroom right before the show starts; if you don't, you are sure to pee your pants from laughing so hard.  She is absolutely hysterical.  Hubby and I went to the Music Hall in Portsmouth last night to see her. This is the second time we;ve seen her and I'm telling you, we have never laughed so much as we did at her shows.  My face still hurts today.

I promised you some knitting content and that's what you're getting (like it or not). 
First up, my Holiday Headstart project, a set of felted stackable bowls:

These were based on the pattern in One Skein. I adjusted the needle size and yarn weight for the small one and knit the bigger ones longer than the pattern called for so that I could roll the top down. I'm very pleased with how they came out. Look, they actually even fit inside each other!

I haven't decided who is getting these; I have a couple people in mind.  I definitely plan to make more of these bowls, in different sizes and shapes.  This book is a great little book; I've made a few of the patterns already and plan to make a few more in the future.


I finished another Dulaan hat on Thursday.
I used one strand of Lamb's Pride worsted weight in pink and one strand of purple Knit Picks Wool of the Andes held together on size 11 needles. Another very quick knit.

This is another Dulaan knit. I received a box of "Avalanche" yarn from Ryan on Friday and cast on for the Avalanche Vest Friday night. I finished it (except for buttons) around 2:00 yesterday afternoon. It'd have been done even sooner if I didn't have to knit, rip, knit and rip the button band and the edges of the armholes. I just couldn't seem to pick up the right number of stitches to make it lay flat. I ended up getting out a size K crochet hook and doing a row of single crochet around the armholes and 2 rows on the buttonband. I finished off the button band with a row of slip stitches to give it a more finished look. Now, I just need to find some appropriate buttons and I can call it an FO. You'll be seeing some more Dulann knits made from the Avalanche yarn; Ryan sent me 9 skeins and this used about 3 1/2.

I didn't get a whole lot of knitting done today. I went to work from 6-12 then came home and (sit down, Missa Louise) did laundry and dishes and other domestic type things all day. I'm beat; I'm not used to that! The only knitting I did was this Rainbow Ripple sock I started as a gift (can't tell you for who as she might read this). I got the leg and 1/2 the heel flap done.
I'm using Lorna's Shepard Sock on size 2 Crystal Palace dpn's.

Now, I think I'm going to just sit back and knit for a little while then go to bed.
Goodnight.

The Cat and the Hats

I finished Betty's hat Monday morning; just in time to give it to her when I drove her to her treatment that afternoon.

That's Phoebe posing with the hat; isn't she a cute model? I put some crocheted curly-Q's on top of the hat so it wouldn't be boring. As soon as I gave it to Betty, she put it on and wore it in for her treatment. She looked so cute in it. Please keep the good thoughts and prayers coming for Betty; she really needs them right now. I've shared some of your comments with her and it really touches her heart that you all care so much.

As today's title would imply, I have more hats to show you. I made two more for the Dulaan project. April gave me this yarn (scroll down; it's the crayon yarn) and I promised to use it for Dulaan.  The yarn is dk weight, so I combined it with some old gold colored dk weight wool that I had in the stash and made the hat to the left of our supermodel. I used size 9 needles over 70 stitches and did a k1p1 rib for a few rows then just simple stockinette. 

For the hat on the right, I used some red Cascade dk weight with the crayon yarn for the rib and crown and used the red, gold, and crayon yarn for the body of the hat. For this hat, I used size 10 1/2 needles over 63 stitches.

I think I have enough (1 1/4 oz) to make one more hat with this yarn. I'll have to use it just for the body of the hat and use something else for the rib and possibly the crown.

This brings my Dulaan total up to four.  I hope to get several more knits done for Dulaan by July.

In my post the other day about the Chicks and Manchvegas knitters, I neglected to mention the goodies I was gifted! Gina was so sweet and brought me some of her handspun yarn and hand-dyed roving in my favorite color - green.

73 yards of handspun wool blend with sparkles and 100 glass beads; color-Honey Dew

Phoebe approves:
This is 3 oz. of hand-dyed 100% merino; color-Woodland Forest.This beautiful roving is going to have to wait until I either win my battle with the drop spindle or have taken some spinning lessons.  It's just too pretty to take a chance of ruining it. 

As if that weren't enough, Heather also brought me a present. Man, am I spoiled! She made these beautiful stitch markers and I just love them! I've already put one to use with the Dulaan hats.

I have just one more picture for you; this came in the mail the other day. This is the Spunky Club yarn for March. It's so bright and cheerful; just what I need right now while waiting for Spring to really arrive here in Maine. It's the Skinny Sock yarn in "Dandy Lion" colorway. I can't wait to get this on the needles. Perhaps for Sock Madness round 3?

Have a great day!