Noolie Knits

WIP Wednesday on Thursday

It's my crazy busy time at work and will remain that way for a couple more months.  Add to that the fact that I'm also very busy in my non-work life - knit night, spinning night, watching Clover on days Samm works (after I get home until Jay gets home from work), or just plain playing with Clover.  This makes it really difficult to blog regularly.  I've decided not to stress too much about it and stop apologizing for it,  but I would really like to get in at least one fiber related post a week. 

This week's post was meant to be a WIP Wednesday post, but I didn't finish it in time (see above) so you're getting it today. Just pretend for a moment that it's Wednesday as I show you my current WIP's. (The ones I'm actively working on anyway; like most of you, there are plenty more that have been stashed away to take a timeout and which may or may not be ressurected at some future date). 

SPINNNIG:
 

Sereknity "Beach Glass" 4 ounces of lucious Alpaca/Merino/Silk  

I'm loving the way this is spinning up.  I split the fiber only once lengthwise to get nice long color repeats.  I intend to navajo ply in order to keep the beautiful colors intact.  The singles should be finished tonight at Chicks with Wheels. 

KNITTING:

  This is the completed back of my Cabled Yoke Pullover.   

Since taking this picture, I've completed the front up to the point where I need to begin the patterning.  It's now on hold until I finish this next item:

 

   Spring Savasana Socks (Ravelry link) by Gina House  

This is Gina's newest sock pattern (the one she gifted me last week).  While doing a partial stash organization on Sunday, I rediscovered this yarn that Patti gifted to me quite some time ago.  It is Dream in Color Classy and it is perfect for this pattern.  It's very soft and squishy and feels wonderful on my foot.  The pattern is great; it's very easy to remember the 4 row pattern repeat and it's quick.  I started this first sock Sunday afternoon and finished it on Monday!  I've started and completed the ribbing on the second sock and plan to finish that by the weekend. 

CROCHETING: 

Warning - Very Bright Photo Ahead - Use Caution when Viewing!

I haven't shown you any progress on my Crocus Wrap for a while and since it was a beautiful sunny afternoon after work yesterday, I decided to snap a picture on the deck.  Immediately after taking the picture below, my camera battery died.  Had it not died, I would have attempted to get a better photo for you.  

Crocus Wrap
My handspun Louet Northern Lights yarn in the Burning Bush colorway (which is much pretty than the picture would lead you to believe; check it out here.)

I'm enjoying crocheting this wrap;  I don't need it until mid-September so I'm just taking my time and working on it when the mood strikes.  It doesn't look so hot unblocked, but when I stretch it out to get a preview of how it might look when finished, I'm very happy.  Now I just need to lose enough weight to fit into the dress I want to wear with it!
(I should be able to do it - I've lost 11 1/2 pounds since mid-February;  just have to keep my motivation up to lose another 10.)

WIP's

As I mentioned on Sunday, I really have been doing some knitting and crocheting (spinning too, but I'll save that for another post).  I have a few projects that are currently occupying what little knitting/crocheting time I have managed to find. 

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Samm has a friend who just had a baby boy on Monday.  She asked me a while ago if I would make something for the baby, and since his Mommy loves monkeys, I thought the Li'l Monkey Blanket (Ravelry link) from The Happy Hooker book would be perfect. 

I am not using the yarn called for (Bernat Softee Chunky), instead I'm using Berroco Comfort.  It's a smaller gauge so I have to crochet more rows to get the correct size squares, but I think it's a much nicer yarn.  Here's a picture of about 1/2 the squares needed.

  And the squares with the monkey faces on them.

Go ahead and laugh; I can take it. Just ask my friend Eileen; she got an awful lot of entertainment out of these monkeys at Chicks with Sticks last night.

I have finished several more squares since taking those pictures; I have just two to go and then I'll join them and crochet the border.  I'm planning (hoping) to be finished by the end of the weekend.

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The next couple of projects I have to show you are using yarn that I bought while in Vermont for a knitting weekend a few weeks ago with Patti and our Manchvegas knitting friends. 

The yarn and pattern for this sweater was chosen after seeing the sample sweater at The Knitting Studio in Montpelier. 

Pattern: Child's Ruffle Sweater by Vermont Fiber Designs
Yarn: O-Wool Balance in Ruby (a lovely blend of organic wool & organic cotton)
Can you guess who I'm making this for?   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   The Reader's Wrap: (Ravelry link) The yarn was purchased at a wonderful little shop called The Vermont Yarn Shop at Plainview Farm in Plainfield, VT.  Several of our group picked up some of this yarn (we took all she had).  It's an amazingly soft cormo/silk blend from This and That Farm.  This project is currently on hold while I decide if I can really stand to knit 60 inches (20 inches wide) of almost all stockinette stitch.  I'm thinking I may pull this out and add a little patterning to it; nothing fancy, just enough to hold my interest.  We'll see; any suggestions? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~      

Quickest Shawl Eva!

On the yoga blocking mat
(I love my new blocking wires;
I wasn't sore at all after blocking this shawl unlike before.)



On the deck




It's the perfect size




The obligatory Goofy shot.


DETAILS:
Pattern:  Eva's Shawl
Yarn:  Kauni Effektgarn 8/2
Hook size: K
Size:  56 inches wide; 28 inches long
(just right for the office)
Started:    June 4, 2008
Finished:  June 6, 2008

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!)

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.

 

Yes, I'm Still Here

Apparently when I write, "I'll give you a real post this weekend," it really means "I'll give you a real post eventually."  But you knew that, didn't you? Let's catch up a little, shall we? 

Last Monday was Patriots' Day, which is a holiday here in Maine and also in Massachusettes {and no Patti, it is not to celebrate the football team ;-)}.  I decided to take the Friday before it and the Tuesday after as vacation time so that I would have a nice loooong weekend; kind of a mini-vacation.  I figured I'd sleep in every day and I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish.  So, what did I do?  I woke up every morning by 6 or 6:30 (even 4:30 one day!), but at least I wasn't waking up to the obnoxious sound of the alarm clock.  I didn't do a single thing that was on my list either. 

In other words, I did what I felt like, when I felt like it.  It was WONDERFUL!

I started my mini-vacation by taking a trip with Patti to Yarn and Fiber for their Friday Night Knitting Club led by the wonderful Gina.

What a great way to kick off a vacation; it was a really good time.  Of course, knitting with a group of friends is always a good time; knitting with this group of friends always makes my face hurt from all the laughing.  Here are a few pics:

 
The Gang
(Sorry Ericka & Chris; I seem to have only captured the backs of your heads)

 
Lora (with her gorgeous new do) & Heather with Stitches
    


Melissa brought Rusty and he actually let me take his picture!  Any other time I've tried to take his picture, he's run away from me.  I guess that means he likes me now :-)


Of course, he had no choice about this  picture; after an evening of romping around the store with Stitches, he was pooped right out!

Naturally, there was yarn purchased.  I went with the intention of picking up some yarn to crochet another shawl like this one.  For that, I picked up some Silky Wool.

  The yarn feels wonderful and it's just the color (or lack thereof) that I was looking for.  I started the shawl that night and have only worked on it at Chicks with Sticks on Tuesday night.  There's not much done yet, but here's a shot of what there is.

I also picked up 2 balls of Kauni Effektgarn

(Yes, the one on the right really is that bright!) I'm thinking smallish wraps or shawls out of both of these.  Time will tell.

That's how I began my mini-vacation; can you guess how I ended it?  Why, by knitting with friends on Tuesday night of course.  Tuesday was an extra special Chicks with Sticks night.  It was school vacation week here in Maine and when it's school vacation, a certain Sheep must knit with others (really, it's the law).  Not only was the Sheep there, but Melissa joined us again and Mel was also there (while Mel is a regular, he has been very busy lately and we haven't seen much of him, so it was a treat to see him).  Melissa, of course, brought Rusty who amazed us all with his drinking water from a bottle capabilities.

(Too bad my camera wouldn't cooperate and take a clear picture; sorry about the blur.)

So, I started and ended my mini-vacation with good friends and spent the time in between spending more time than usual with the world's sweetest baby, 

 

 

and enjoying just doing whatever I wanted to do (or doing nothing). 

What could be better?

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!