Noolie Knits

Wednesday Night Bullet Post

It's that time again; time for the randomness of a WNBP.  Let's just get right to it, shall we?

• Remember the sweater my friend Mary made for her great-nephew?  Well, to everyone's surprise, she actually got it packaged up and mailed before he graduated from high school (just teasing ya, Mary).  Check out how handsome the little guy looks in it.

What a doll!
 

• More kids in knits:  my great-niece, Ella, and great-nephew, Colin, in the sweaters I made them for Christmas.  Aren't they just the cutest kids?  I'm so happy that the sweaters fit them so well and yet there is enough room in them that they should still be able to wear them for at least the beginning of next winter.

• The wrap I'm knitting as a booth sample for Lark is almost finished.  Just a couple inches left, a picot edge on each end, a trip to the blocking board, and I'm done.  No progress picture yet, it looks just like the last picture only longer. 

• I've really got mixed feelings about finishing this.  On the one hand, I can't wait to see how it looks after it's blocked.  On the other hand, I'm going to be really sad to package it up and mail it off.  But, I'm really happy with my work on this project and I hope Lark will be happy that she chose me to knit it for her.

• I have enough of the Luminesence yarn in the color Redwood to knit one for myself, and that's exactly what I plan to do.  I'm thinking I'll wait until either late summer or early fall, though.  Can't knit the same pattern two times in a row.  It's a rule.  I wouldn't want to become known as a rule breaker ;-)

• Last night was Chicks with Sticks night, which requires a mindless project (at least for me).  I brought the crochet shawl I showed you yesterday and managed to add a couple of inches to it. 

• Weight Watcher's is still going well, for both myself and Samm.  I'm down 20.8 pounds!  I'm kind of surprised at how fast the weight is coming off this time around.  I'm not complaining though.

• Speaking of weight, when is it ever appropriate for a coworker to tell you that you were "not at your sexiest when you were at your thinnest" and then go on to say "you kind of started to look like a boy"?  Yep, you read that right, and yes, it was a male coworker.  How do you respond to that?

And the most important "bullet" of this WNBP:

• Please send lots of good thoughts hubby's way tomorrow.  He has an interview for a dispatcher's position at a nearby police station.  This is just the second step in the hiring process; he had to take a test about a month ago, and if he does well in the interview tomorrow, there will still be a background check and a lie detector test.  It's quite a lengthy process.

 

WNBPOTM

Wednesday Night Bullet Post On Thursday Morning.  No excuses; just didn't get it finished in time for Wednesday night.  I have a totally random list of stuff to share with you; more so than usual.  Here goes:

• First, thanks to all of you who commented on Mary's first sweater in the post of a couple days ago; I forwarded every comment to her and I think you guys really made her day :-)  In case you didn't see it, here's a comment she left for you.
  

  "To all of you lovely knitters.....
  Thank you for your encouraging words and kind comments....I couldn't have done it without Noolie! The card will read "Made with love by Aunt Mary and Noolie Julie Schramm" LOL
  Now I have to start a pink one for my first granddaughter, Olivia, who was born on February 13th. I think I'll make a size 4T....sorry Jules, here I go again."

• I hope I didn't offend anyone with the mole-rat post; I was going on the assumption that you guys don't offend easily or you'd have left me a long time ago.  It's just that when I received it in an e-mail from Patti, I HAD to share it with you.  I also had to share it with my two male coworkers, but for some reason, they didn't laugh nearly as hard as I did.  Go figure. 

• The only one who really seemed offended was Samm; so much so that she left me a comment for the first time ever.  Yes, it's true; we used to have rats as pets as she mentioned. Let me tell you, they really did make wonderful pets.  They are such snuggly little guys; you can't help but love them (once you get over the tail, that is).  Oh yeah, and the boy rats - well, let's just say there was no mistaking that they were boys; they drag their balls behind them, they're so big. The difference between our cute little ratty friends and the naked mole-rat is fur; our rats had fur and didn't look anything like a dick :-)

• Speaking of balls, you might not know this, but Patti used to have some pretty big balls.  Not anymore though.  Now she has this:
  

• Isn't that a gorgeous sweater?  Of course the pattern is Amy's Big Ball sweater pattern and the yarn Patti used was in the colorway "Riverwalk".

• Samm made some gorgeous stitch markers last night; I woke up this morning and there was a baggie with a ton of them on the stove with a note from her.  I, of course have no pictures yet; I'll have to show you tomorrow.

• I also have no pictures of the two new projects I've started (who can start just one at a time?).

• I started a neck warmer for hubby from my handspun (because Brenda says you need a plan for your handspun, so that's what I planned). I really like the way it's coming out.  I'm just kind of winging it as far as a pattern goes.

• I started the lace wrap for Lark.  Truth be told, I started it a couple of times.  First I cast on with Addi Turbo's and did a few rows, fighting every ssk (there are a lot of ssk's).  Then I thought to myself, "Self, didn't you use bamboo when you made that lace vest and you didn't have such a problem with the ssk's; why not try those."  So I switched to the bamboo needles and did a couple rows.  Not only did I still have a problem, but somewhere along the way, I had dropped a stitch and it fell all the way to the first row (all 6 rows, big deal).

• What a difference the right needles can make!  I got myself some Addi Lace needles and started again last night.  OMG, I have to tell you;  it's like knitting an entirely different pattern.  Those ssk's are a piece of cake!

• The pattern and the yarn are both wonderful to work with, and now with the lace needles; I'm thinking this wrap is going to be a true joy to knit!

• I'll have pictures of my projects for you soon; promise.  Neither are anything to look at yet.

• I'm still having a huge problem keeping up with my blog reading.  Do you think it's even possible at this point?

Well, I guess that's enough randomness for one day.  Have a great one!

My First Shawl

But definitely not my last!  This is a crochet shawl, which took me one week to complete.  An easy, yet beautiful pattern.  I used about 460 yards of Jojoland Melody yarn (yarn I received in a trade with Tempe).  The pattern is "My Blue Jeans Shawl".  Enough talk, how about some pictures?

       

A couple pre-blocking:

 

I was amazed at how much I was able to stretch this shawl to block it; at first I was a bit nervous, but then figured "Ah, what the hell; I'm gonna stretch this sucker as much as I can."  I wanted it open and lacy after all. I'm so very happy with this.  I see another of these in my future; the only change I will make for the next one is that I'll make it a bit bigger.

So, what's next you ask?  Well, I just happened to receive a package I was expecting from Lark in yesterday's mail.  I'm going to knit a sample for her of Cheryl's Diamond Illusions Wrap.  I'm so psyched to get started on this; it's gorgeous and the yarn from Lark is, of course, scrumptious.  I'm hoping to do a gauge swatch in the morning; I think this is just the motivation I need to drag my ass out of bed early like I used to, and knit before work.  There is no better way to start the day and I have been sorely missing that time.

I have so much more to catch you up on, but I think I'll try to do it in a couple of posts throughout the week.

Have a great one!

The Big Reveal

Now that Lark has launched her new business, I can show you the test knit I completed for her a few weeks ago.

Moonlit Eve Vest designed by Cheryl for Skylark Yarns

I am so obviously NOT a model; please ignore the tired and stupid look on my face and the stupid poses.

A closeup: This was a great pattern, knit in one piece to the underarms, then divided to work the front and back separately.  The lace pattern is easy to memorize, but not so easy that you'll get bored.  And the yarn "Grey Pearls" is to die for!  It's a blend of  alpaca and bamboo and it is just luscious!  I do believe this vest will get a lot of wear!

Thank you, Lark, for this test knitting opportunity.