Noolie Knits

Catching Up (again)

I've really been slacking off in the posting department, haven't I? So, what have I been up to?  Well, it's kind of hard to know where to begin.  I guess I'll just jump right in and give it a shot.

I've been really bad about this one!  I was awarded the "You Make My Day" award by Amy, Zonda, Carrie, and Arleta!  How good does that make me feel?  Pretty darn good, I'll tell ya!  You all make my day, too.  I'm supposed to now list ten people who make my day, but I just can't do it; there are just too many of you who I consider my friends (bloggers and non-bloggers), and all of you make my day whenever I click on your blogs or open an e-mail from you.  So, consider yourselves listed ;-)

Spinning: 

~ Can you believe I have not spun on Alice since taking the class with Amy on the 2nd?  Me either.  I keep meaning to, but I keep getting sidetracked. I'm hoping to get back to the wheel this weekend.  I'd like to practice all that I learned with Amy before I forget it all.   

~ That doesn't mean I haven't spun at all.  I took out the clown puke fiber and spun a bit more of that on the spindle.  You'll have to take my word on this one; I have no photographic evidence at the moment.  This will be an ongoing project for quite some time; there's a LOT of the Clown Puke fiber (it was an 8 ounce bag!).  I'll probably end up spinning some of it on Alice at some point, but for now, I'm enjoying spinning it on the spindle.

~ You may or may not remember that I bought a Turkish Drop Spindle during Amy's Grand Opening sale back in November.  While I was there, I picked it up and tried spinning on it and found it rather easy to use, so I bought it.  During my spinning lesson a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to Amy that the minute I got it home, I lost all ability to spin on it.  What's up with that?  This past Saturday night, I decided to give it another spin (hehehe) and guess what?  Yep, I actually can spin on a Turkish drop spindle.  Of this, I do have photographic evidence. 

This yarn will be used to make some felted fish for the mobile I want to make Clover (hopefully, before she's too old to enjoy it).  You may remember that my last attempt at felted fish for Clover ended up as a catnip filled kitty toy.

Knitting:

~ Speaking of Clover's mobile in the making; I've almost completed the knitting on the sea turtle.  I still have to add the tail and 4 legs, then felt it and stuff it.  Don't ask me why it's taking me so long to complete; I think I'm just easily distracted these days and I haven't really been sticking to one project for any length of time.

Once the knitting is finished on the turtle, I'll begin a starfish or two.

~ Just when we all thought that I was no longer capable of knitting anything of any substance, I've started (and made quite a bit of progress on) a sweater for Samm. Granted, it's still a mindless knit, but at least it's a step in the right direction :-)   Samm loved the color of the felted clogs I made and said she'd like a hooded sweater in that color.  The clogs were knit with Lamb's Pride, and while I'd love a sweater knit with it (and in fact, have one), I knew it'd be too heavy and fuzzy for her comfort.  Enter Plymouth Galway yarn in the Oatmeal colorway.  It's a very pretty color, a smooth wool yarn (no fuzz factor here), and it meets with her approval.  Combine this with Knitting Pure and Simple's top down hooded sweater pattern and we have a match made in heaven.  Here's my progress as of yesterday morning:

I've since started working the bottom split section and am just about done with the front; two inches to go.  This project is progressing nicely; I'd like to be done with it by the end of this coming weekend.  Think I can make it? Oh yeah, this is the button I think I'll be using. Pretty cool, don't you think?

Life:

~ The job hunt continues for Chris.  He's working hard every day at trying to find something.   We are trying to keep our thinking positive; some days are easier than others, but we'll get through it.  We certainly are not alone; it's a sucky economy out there!

~ Clover is doing wonderfully, and brings us much joy every day.  We are incredibly lucky to have Samm, Jay, and Clover living with us! 

I guess that's enough for one day; I'll try to post more regularly from now on; no promises though :-) 

Have a great day!

A Parade of FO's

First -

Thank you, thank you, thank you all so much.  I knew I could count on you guys to make me feel better!  You have given me some hope; hearing how many of you have gone through the same thing and come out the other end is very encouraging.  With all the good vibes coming our way, Hubby is bound to find something!

Now, on to the promised post of (mindless) FO's.   I've been knitting up a storm, but still, they are all small, mindless projects.  Oh well, knitting feels good whether it's mindless or not.

The slippers I knit a while back:

Pattern:  Fiber Trends Felt Clogs
Yarn:  Lamb's Pride in Sable and Oatmeal
Needles:  Size 13

These are some seriously furry slippers!  I was going to shave them, but decided I kind of like the wild fuzziness.  The only problem I have with this pair of slippers is that I shock everyone I touch while wearing them.  Normally, I'd get a kick out of zapping people, but I don't want to zap Clover.  That just wouldn't be cool.  So, I haven't been wearing them.  Does anyone know if there's a way I can make them less electrifying?

I ended up having plenty of yarn to finish the mitts I was knitting to match the Amanda Hat.  I even had enough to make them a bit longer than the pattern calls for.  I am in love with these:

Pattern:  Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn:  Malabrigo in Velvet Grapes
Needles:  Size 7 dpn's

I have an itty bitty camera that I love; it's small enough and light enough to carry in my purse without adding any weight to speak of.  Up until about a week ago, I kept it in it's own hand knit sock.  It was a sock that I knit which ended up being too big so I used the cuff portion as a camera case.  I've been meaning to knit and felt a new one forever, but just haven't gotten around to it.  I guess the kitties knew I really wanted a felted camera case and decided to help me out the only way they know how; they either hid the sock case or they ate it because it is nowhere to be found! They did me a favor, really.

Pattern:  My own
Needles:  size 10.5
Yarn:  Noro Kureyon (colorway unknown)

Not bad, heh?  Samm liked it so much that she wanted one too. 

I used Paton's Classic Merino in the Regency colorway for hers.  It matches her pink camera.  The Paton's felted better than the Noro, which surprised me.  I made a bag out of the Noro quite some time ago and don't remember having such a hard time felting it.  I ended up finishing  the felting of the Noro by hand.

That's all the knitting FO's, but I have one final FO for you.

     It's a crocheted square for a blanket for Elisa's father.  Read about it here; maybe you'd like to knit or crochet a square too.

I have one WIP at the moment; it's the felted sea turtle for Clover.

Doesn't look like much yet, does it? 

 

Well, that's it for now.  Have a great evening everyone!

BIG FEET, tiny head

As I told you yesterday, I have my first WIP of '08 and my first FO of  '08 to show you.

I started a pair of Felted Slippers on the 1st; I finished knitting the first one on the 2nd, and am half way through the second one.  Here's the completed one (pay no attention to the ends still hanging around):

 
Pattern:  Fiber Trends Felt Clog (AC-33)
Yarn:  Lamb's Pride worsted in Sable and Oatmeal
Needles:  size 13

and the reason for the first part of today's title:

Of course, this is pre-felting.
When I was almost finished, I asked Samm if she thought this new slipper would fit me.  She looked at me like I had three heads.  hehehehe I'm easily amused :-)

So, that's the first WIP; you want to see the first FO (and the reason for the second part of today's title)?  I started it on Thursday night and finished it yesterday morning (total time was only a couple of hours).

It's a teeny, tiny preemie hat knit on size 2 needles with Bernat Baby Softee yarn.  Here it is on the top of a coffee mug - can you believe how tiny this is?

Jeanne and Chell are having their 4th annual k3tog Preemie Hat Knitting Extravaganza!  Their goal this year is to send 150 knitted preemie hats to Children's Hospital of St Paul.  Want to help them?  If you do, you will not only feel good about warming an itsy bitsy baby head, but you will have a chance to win prizes! So, what are you waiting for?

I'll end today's post with a little chuckle for you.  Click here.

FIVE DAYS?!

How did this happen? There are only five days left until Christmas. We celebrate with the family on Christmas Eve (during the day), so I guess you could say I only have four days left. YIKES. How are all of you doing? Me – I’m further behind than I ever am at this point.  Thank Goodness (Marcia) for Holiday Headstart or I'd be stressing out even more right now. I did most of my big (if you can call baby and toddler sweaters big) Christmas knitting throughout the year.  But the shopping - haven't done nearly as well with that!

I am taking tomorrow afternoon off to finish up the rest of my shopping; I tried to do that last Saturday but I got frustrated very early on. I don’t do well in crowds or in lots of traffic. There were quite a few words coming from my mouth while driving that weren’t what you’d consider to be in the “holiday spirit”. I gave up fairly early and went home, figuring I’d do a little each night. Wrong. Here I sit with only four days left to finish, and I’ve barely accomplished anything.

I have done a bit of knitting on Jay’s socks (well, actually on Jay’s sock). Here’s a picture as of yesterday morning:

Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn on size 5 needles; 48 stitches, Garter Rib.
(the blanket this is sitting on was knit for me by my then boss when I was pregnant with Samm; Clover uses it now)

 I didn’t accomplish a heck of a lot more on it last night; just finished up the gusset decreases and called it a night. If I continue at this rate, Jay will have just one warm foot on Christmas morning.  Samm looked at me like I was crazy when I told her that I might have to put just one sock in his stocking. Obviously, she’s not a knitter.

 I finished spinning the blue/green singles I’ve been working on.

  Since taking this picture, I have plied half of it. I find the plying to be the most difficult part of spinning; am I alone? I’m hoping to finish this up tonight. It’s making a really pretty yarn!

And speaking of pretty:

What do you think she’s dreaming about that’s making her so happy? Dry diapers, maybe?

A Bit of Knit

I'm falling behind - on the Christmas knitting, on the spinning, on the blog reading and commenting.  But really, can you blame me?  If you had the choice between reading blogs, knitting, spinning, or holding the world's sweetest baby, what would you do?

I have managed to get a bit of knitting and spinning done, though.  I finished a pair of mittens for Jay's 8 year old niece, Cheyla:

Yarn:  Plymouth Baby Alpaca Brush Paint
Needles:  Size 5 dpn
Basic Mitten Pattern - Ann Bud

That picture is a bit bright and this next one is a bit dark.  Truer color is on this post.

This is how I was able to get the mitten sized correctly; Jay had her draw him a hand Turkey on Thanksgiving day.  Pretty clever, no?

I also started a hat for Alyssa (Cheyla's one year old sister).

Yarn: Same as above
Needles:  Size 5 Addi Turbo
Pattern:  Basic roll brim hat

There has been more knitting on this hat since the picture was taken; I'm just about ready to begin the decreases.  I'll make another hat like this for Cheyla and they'll have matching hats and mittens for Christmas.

I was able to get in some spinning time last night; I finished the first bobbin of this.  I really hope to get another bobbin done soon as I have plans for this yarn.  I better start finding more time to spin!

Well, that's gotta be it for tonight; it's already after 10:30 and I have to be up at the hideous hour time of 4:30 in the morning.   

Goodnight all.

Project Update

I think I've gotten into a bit of a small project rut but I don't see anything changing until after the holidays.  I thought I was pretty much done with  Christmas knitting, but as it turns out, I can always find just one more gift I want to make (or two or ten)!  This is okay because I'm knitting for people I really want to knit for, but I'm craving a challenge!  Oh well, there'll be time after Christmas. 

Until then, I'll just plug away at the small projects:

Another pair of Toddler mittens
for KUTO and Month of Mittens KALs

Yarn:  Trekking XXL color 126 (doubled)
Needles:  size 6 dpn    
Pattern:  Basic Mitten Pattern - Ann Budd


Bob Hat

Basic 84 stitch hat on size 8 circulars
1.5" K1, P1 rib
Yarn:  Paton's Classic Merino


The "Bob Mitt" has been renamed "Mitt". 

I got to this point before accepting the fact that it was going to be way too small.  It fit me, and even though I don't have the smallest hands around, I don't think mitts that fit me will fit a man.  Oh well, they are now on the back burner for a while and I've begun new mitts for Bob.  I'm trying a different pattern; actually it is a mix of a few different patterns.  Here's where I am so far:



Jay's Boot Socks

Yarn:  Lamb's Pride Worsted, Sable
Needles:  size 5 dpn's
(oops, the picture looks upside down)


Felted Catnip Fishie


This got mixed reviews:
(click pics for bigger)


Ralph isn't sure at first, but eventually succumbs to the nippy goodness.


Rico loves the fishie!


Peaches Loves it; Ruby - not so much


Moogie and Ruby discuss the fish and decide - Nope, not for them.

Have a great day everyone!

WARNING - Long Post Ahead

Today is Hubby and my 25^th Anniversary. TWENTY-FIVE YEARS!  How did that happen?  We have been married for more than half of my life – WOW.  Shouldn’t I be sipping a drink with an umbrella in it on a tropical beach somewhere right now? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing on your 25^th anniversary?  Instead I’m sitting here in my heavy wool sweater, watching the snow fall outside my window. Just doesn’t seem right.

I know I haven’t posted in several days; sorry about that. I’ve really meant to; as a matter of fact, I’ve actually composed at least one post each day in my head. They just never made it to the blog.  So, what have I been up to? Let’s catch up, shall we?  Bear with me; this is where the title comes in:

I spent last night trying to get some good photos of Samm’s jewelry for her etsy shop. I got some of her necklaces done (although I need to try to get some better ones) and still have to do all her bracelets, watches, and earrings.  Hopefully, she’ll have the shop updated by this weekend.  Right now there are 6 of her necklaces listed; if you check them out, just keep in mind that they are really quite a bit brighter than the pictures would indicate. They are quite lovely; I’m very proud of the work she does!

 Friday was spent at a meeting all day in So. Portland, at SMCC. The morning session was spent listening to exciting speakers tell us all about State regulations concerning gravel pits and what to look for when assessing them. Doesn’t that sound exciting? I know you are all jealous that you didn’t get to be there. The afternoon session was a rehashing of a new tax law.  It was worth it though, because not only did we get lunch served by the Culinary Arts students, but I finished a pair of Toddler mittens for the Knit Unto Others and Month of Mittens knit-alongs.

Reynolds Odyssey Yarn
size 6 dpn's
Basic Mitten Pattern from
The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

I got home with just enough time to change and get to work at the gym at 5.  I started a hat for my BIL while at the gym, but I have no picture.  It’s not really anything to look at yet.  I left my house at 7am on Friday and didn’t get home for the night until after 9pm. I was a wee bit exhausted! 

Saturday was spent running all over Nashua with a friend of mine. We take this trip every fall, stopping at all the same stores and eating burritos and drinking Margaritas at Shorty’s.  It’s always a fun day, although this year it really wiped me out.  I’m not yet over the stupid cold from hell (working on week 3 here!) and I tire very easily these days. There was minimal knitting on Saturday; I was able to complete a toddler mitten cuff in the car on the way to Nashua, but that’s it.

Up at 4:30 am on Sunday (well I guess after hitting the snooze it was more like 4:45). I have to get up this early to be at the gym to work for 6am.  I finished another pair of mittens while at work though.

Stats same as above except I used some very old Bernat washable wool from the stash.

I also started a pair of fingerless gloves/mittens for my BIL for Christmas.  Yep, I made him socks; I'm making him a hat; AND I'm making him some fingerless gloves.  One of the benefits of doing Holiday Headstart this year is that I have more time to knit now without all the stress. Here's what the glove/mitten looks like as of this morning:

The color is more accurate in the picture of the socks from this post. 
Yes, as a matter of fact, I am making matching socks, hat, and gloves.
I know; I'm a weirdo, but I'm hoping he'll like them.

Sunday evening was spent with Alice; I haven’t done any spinning for a while and it was really nice to get back to it. I’m spinning some gorgeous and wonderfully soft fiber that Manise gave me when she delivered Alice to me.  I’m not sure what the fiber is (Manise?) but I do know that it is sooooft! It’s a real pleasure to spin, too.  It is just the most luscious shades of blue with shades of green thrown in.

Manise, I am really enjoying spinning this.  Thank you so much!

Sometime  last week I loosely spun some yarn for the felted fish I wanted to make for Clover’s room. Well, it turned out much smaller than I expected (BEFORE) felting, so Samm and I decided that I should felt it and make it a catnip toy for the kitties.  Here it is as it sits now; I still haven’t felted it.

Okay, I think we are caught up and I’ve bored you enough for one day. If you’ve stayed with me this far, thank you! I keep telling myself that I’m going to post more often so that I don’t end up doing these long-ass posts, but alas, I just don’t find the time.

Have a great day and be sure to tune in tomorrow for WTF Wednesday.

On the Mend

Boy, this cold has kicked my butt!  I'm not usually such a wimp about a cold.  Yeah, I'll whine all day long about it, but usually I'm still able to function.  Not with this one.  I went to bed on Wednesday night and proceeded to shiver and shake all night long, even with a down comforter, two afghans, wool socks, and flannel jammies on!  This is where I spent all day Thursday and most of Friday:

  I spent the days blog reading and sleeping (and using up that entire box of tissues in one day).  Never did touch the stocking until Friday evening when I was able to sit up in my knitting chair in the living room for a few hours.  You know I'm really sick when I can't even manage to knit!

Things started looking up a little bit on Friday night and I was able to finish the knitting portion of the stocking.  I then found a site to create some knitting graph paper according to the gauge being worked and planned how I'd put "CLOVER" in duplicate stitch on the front, which I did on Saturday morning.  I'm so pleased with how this stocking came out. Samm really loves it, too. 

Check out the pocket; isn't it cute?  I wasn't sure how that would come out, but I'm pretty pleased with it.  I used an i-cord bind off across the top the of pocket; I think it put a nice finishing touch to it.

Some close ups:

 
I'm not crazy about how the "V" came out, but I don't see any other way I could have done it.  I used the Eye of Partridge heel and did a stitch combination on the top to resemble it (I used purls instead of slips on the top).

After finishing the stocking, I decided I HAD to get out of the house; I was going nuts (plus we had no food in the house).  So, I went grocery shopping - not a good move.  I really wasn't quite up to being on my feet for two hours yet.  I was totally wiped out!  I spent the rest of Saturday quietly - taking an afternoon nap and knitting.  I needed to be able to get up on Sunday morning and make it to work at the gym.  It was not easy getting up, but I did it.  Thankfully, it was an extremely slow day at the gym so I didn't have to get up to clean as much as usual and I managed to finish the first "Bob Sock" and start the second.  After work, I took a nice afternoon nap and vegged on the couch.  I spent the evening quietly knitting on the second Bob sock and catching up on some blog reading (you guys doing the NaBloPoMo are killing me!) 

So, want to see the Bob Socks?  I rather like the colors I'm using; I think they look kind of sock monkeyish (new word) :-)

Pattern:  Garter Rib
Yarn:  Paton's Classic Merino
Needles:  Size 5 dpn's

Plans for today?  Well, since it's a holiday, I get another day to relax.  I plan to take it easy and do some spinning until I have to meet Patti at the gym.  Luckily, I'm feeling a bit better today but I think I'll take it a little bit easy at the gym.  Then back to work tomorrow.

Ooops, I almost forgot; Chappy's mom is having another calendar contest.  Post a picture of your November calendar and you could win one of her beautiful calendars.  So, here's my entry:

Each year, my Dad makes a Family Calendar.  It's so much fun to see which photos he'll choose (as long as you're not the one whose embarrassing photo is chosen!)  You have until the 15th to get your entry in; what are you waiting for?

Stealing Again

Again, I’m stealing the Sheep’s WNBP format. My excuse this time is that my brain is in a fog due to a horrendous cold and I am incapable of smoothly transitioning from paragraph to paragraph.

 

•  I woke up in the middle of the night Monday night (guess it was technically Tuesday morning) feeling like someone had snuck into my room while I was sleeping and scraped a layer or two of skin off the back of my throat. Holy Crap, it hurt! I knew as soon as I felt the pain that it was the start of a snot-filled week and a half. I get this same sore throat at the beginning of most bad colds. I’m all doped up on cold medicine and still I cannot breathe. Ugh!

•   We had a guest speaker at Chicks with Sticks last night. Doctor Chris from York Chiropractic Health Center spoke to us about ways to prevent the common pains we knitters get in our necks, backs, shoulders, hands, etc. He also showed us some very easy things we can do to help alleviate the pain because as Patti told him, “You can’t always teach old dogs new tricks.” He realizes that it’s nearly impossible to knit without holding your head in the downward position (I’m sure there are some out there who don’t have to look at their knitting, but I’m certainly not one of them). The stretches he showed us will come in very handy at the office too.

•  Mel brought his completed Koolhaas with him. What a beautiful hat, and soft, OMG is it soft!

•  I started and am about two thirds of the way through a Christmas stocking for Clover. I wanted her to have something that she could keep forever in the very special colorway that Heather created in her honor, “Sweet Clover”, and figured what better than a Christmas stocking. Heather was nice enough to dye some up in a worsted weight superwash merino and to also dye some coordinating green for me to use for the top, heel, and toe. Here it is:

 

What do you think?

I’m going to put her name on it in duplicate stitch (in pale pink or white) and there’s one other little surprise that is going on at Samm’s request – a pocket in the front. Why a pocket? Because the stocking that Samm has had all her life (until last year when I made one for her) has a pocket in the front and each year Santa brought a new little stuffed animal to put in it.

• There hasn’t been a whole lot of progress made on the socks I’m knitting for my BIL (aka Bob Socks). I’ve knit about two more inches on the first one; I’m thinking I should get busy working on that again sometime soon. After all, Christmas will be here before you know it and I also want to knit him a pair of convertible mittens.

• I’m teaching a mitten class at The Yarn Sellar, so naturally I decided that I need a new pair of mittens.  I knit on them when I could during the class and haven’t looked at them since (the class was last Wednesday). The final class is next Wednesday and I’d like to have one finished and one at the point of where I told the class to be (decreases at top of the hand). Maybe I will; maybe I won’t.  I haven’t taken any pictures of the mitten in progress yet. Maybe next post, then again, maybe not.

• That's all I've got.

• Have a great night!

 

Weekend ReCap

I may have said this a time or two or twenty, but just where do the weekends go?

Another thing - how in the heck does everyone keep up with everything; blog reading, blog posting, knitting EVERYthing you want to knit, spinning, and stuff around the house?  (Not that I've ever been the one to do the majority of the housework, but it seems I never have enough time to do the little things around the house that I want to.)  I guess I just need to win Power Ball and be done with it, huh? 

Anyway, enough of that. Let me tell you what I did with my weekend (short as it was).  I slept until almost 8:30 on Saturday morning; I seem to be doing a lot more of that lately.  It used to be, if I slept until 7 I felt like I'd slept the day away.  It was a crappy, rainy day and I thought I'd just veg out at home and knit.  Sounds like a good way to spend a rainy day, doesn't it?  Yeah, well I still needed to go to Wally World to pick up a few items so I just amended my plan to veg out for the afternoon and knit.  Nope, didn't happen.  I did do some spinning though. 

First, I soaked and hung up the green merino that I had finished spinning and plying on Friday night.  This is where it stayed until this morning, when it was finally dry enough to take down:

Pretty convenient to have that hook in the ceiling above the tub; I didn't even put it there.  Hubby used to use it when he wanted to give his hanging plants a good watering (when we had some).  I couldn't believe how long it took for this to dry, and it was pretty annoying to have to keep moving it to the hook on the door when showering (hmmm, maybe the steam from all the showers held up the drying process; duh).  Anyway, want to see what it looks like now?  Of course you do.

(click for bigger)

This is a very good representation of the actual color; I'm kind of amazed that I was able to take such an accurate photo! This was spun from the gorgeous 100% merino fiber that Gina hand dyed (colorway: Woodland Forest) and gifted to me.  That's 3 oz. of what seems, I'd guess, to be worsted weight (didn't use the wpi thingamabob).  There's about 165 yards there.  I love the dye job that Gina did; the subtle variations in color are just beautiful.  This yarn is so very soft.   I'm not sure yet what I'll make with it, but for now, it's sitting happily in my basket of handspun yarns (most of which were spun by others and gifted to me).

Back to Saturday - after hanging the spun yarn in the bathroom, I pulled out the fiber I purchased recently from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  I purchased one of their Sheep 2 Shoe kits with absolutely no intention of spinning sock yarn (I'm no fool; I know that at this point in my spinning life, I wouldn't be able to spin it the way I need to for socks).  I just liked the colors and knew that Samm would too and thought there'd be enough to make something for her or Clover.  I was right about Samm liking it; she was home when the package arrived and she has been hounding me to hurry up and finish the green merino so that I could start spinning that.  Here's what it looked like when I dumped it all out on the floor:

I had to put the big picture up so that you'd get the full effect of just how COLORFUL this yarn is!  Can you say "Clown puke"?  Actually, I love the bright colors, which by the way, BMFA calls "Sherbert".  I was very careful where I broke the fiber so that I could keep the color sequence (not that you can see it here).  I thought I'd try to spin a single ply heavy worsted weight to make some stuffed fish for Clover's room.  Samm wanted felted fish, but this is superwash merino, so that's not going to happen with this.   I had a bit of trouble with the spinning, though; I was overspinning it bigtime!  I'm not quite sure what I need to do - do I loosen the tension?  HELP!  Anyway, what I did with the bit that I'd spun was to wrap it tightly on the niddy noddy trying to remove a bit of the twist as I wound it and then I soaked it while still on the niddy noddy and let it dry.  Seems to have helped a little, but it's still pretty energized!  Here's a picture of the little 35 yard skein:

I've predrafted a bunch of the fiber and I'll try spinning  it again when I figure out what I need to adjust.

I did a very little bit of knitting on Saturday night; I began a boot sock for my brother-in-law for Christmas.  Only did the ribbing and a few rows of the cuff:

I'm using Paton's Classic Merino in Rich Red and Dark Grey.  I'm using the garter rib stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks and as you may have guessed from the picture, will have contrasting rib, heel, and toe.  I'm thinking of doing another pair with the colors opposite.

Sunday morning was, as always, spent at work at the gym.  While there I managed to get quite a bit done on Hubby's sock. 

I should have finished this sock yesterday, but when I got home from work (after running some errands), I laid on the couch, alternately watching a Law & Order marathon and napping.  I did knit a bit more on it after dinner, but just couldn't stay awake long enough to finish the damn thing! I went to bed at 9:30; I think I must be getting old.

She's Back!

Tina's back leading the parade of FO's (if you call 3 FO's a parade)

Velvet Grapes:

Yarn:  Malabrigo "Velvet Grapes", 1 skein
Pattern:  Knitting Pure & Simple Baby Tunic (minus the hood)
Needles: sizes 7 & 9 Addi's

Clover's Crocheted Log Cabin Blanket:

Yarn:  Plymouth Jeannee, 11 colors
Pattern:  My own, inspired by Mason-Dixon Knitting's knitted Log Cabin Blanket
Hook:  Size H

and
Bunny Grabbit Blankie:

Yarn:  Berroco Plush
Pattern:  Mine
Needles: 10 1/2

So, what's that leave on the needles?

Boy Socks

Yarn:  Sockina
Pattern:  Just your plain ole stockinette sock
Needles:  Crystal Palace size 1 1/2

I started this pair of socks for myself, but I didn't do a gauge swatch (never do for socks) and they are working up to be too big for me, but they'll be just right for the hubby.  I figure it's about time I make him another pair of socks anyway, so these are for him. 

There are a few other things on the needles, but I'm not actively working on them; not sure yet whether I want to finish them or not. 

I've got a very small amount of the green merino to finish spinning; I'm hoping to get that done this week.

Next up:  Christmas stocking for Clover using the yarn that Heather was nice enough to dye up for me in the colorway she named for her, "Sweet Clover", (check out all the new yarns she's put up in her etsy shop this week!), socks for my brother-in-law for Christmas, and then, finally, a sweater for me.  I would like to make a new sweater for myself soon; it's been a while.  I'm not sure which one I'll make yet.  I've got a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head.

Well, that's enough for today; have a great one!

As Promised - A Post

I know I haven't been around here much this past week; hope you didn't miss me too much ;-)  I've been fighting a migraine since last Saturday; not yesterday, last Saturday!  I pretty much lost the battle by Thursday and spent the day taking the heavy duty meds and feeling lousy all day. I had either excruciating head pain or extreme nausea from the pain meds.  Fun.  Friday, I woke up and didn't feel like I was doing a whole lot better, but had to go to work or my coworker would have been alone in the office all day.  I did go home after he got back from lunch. It's now Sunday night and I can still feel the pain in my head.  It's not nearly as bad as it was Thursday and Friday, but it's still there.  With all this, it's been a bit difficult to keep up with the blog reading and the e-mails and with keeping this little blog up to date.

But, you're not here to listen to me whine, are you?  Moving on.....

Through it all, there has still been some knitting, crocheting, and spinning going on around here.  The only day I wasn't able to do anything was Thursday; every other day I managed to get something done.   The mailman has also been busy delivering more packages for me. 

Crocheting:  The secret project is done (except for blocking) with almost a week to spare.  YAY!  I enjoyed this project, but I really was ready to be done with it.  Pictures next week.

Spinning:  I finished spinning up a bobbin full of the green merino. 

Knitting:

The Ice Cream Sweater is complete (except for buttons)
Pattern:  Baby Sleeve to Sleeve Cardigan
Yarn: Trekking XXL, color 126
Needles:  Size 2 addis
Cindy inspects and approves.




Itty Bitty Doggie Sweater. 
I made this sweater for Samm & Jay's friend's itty bitty puppy, Chezza.  Samm says she's a "Juggy", part Jack Russell and part Pug.  I really wasn't sure this was going to fit (it's really itty bitty), but Jay got a picture of Chezza wearing it and it fits her perfectly.  The picture he took was on his cell phone; he's going to try and get a better one for me to post here. Until then, you get the monkey modeling it.
Pattern: Penny
Yarn:  Lamb's Pride worsted, Green Apple
Needles:  Sizes 5 and 6

Velvet Grapes:

1 1/2 sleeves and neck band left to do.  Sooo Soft!



Bunny Blankie
I'm winging this; I'll stuff the head lightly with fiberfill and the rest will be a blankie similar to this.  I'm using Berroco Plush - sooo very soft.

I cast on for a pair of socks tonight; I'm feeling the need for a sock fix.  I'm using the Sockina Cotton yarn that Patti gave me.  I've only got a few rows done, so no pics yet.

Mail:

I received my copy of Crazy Aunt Purl's book this past week; haven't had a chance to read any of it yet (headaches and reading don't really go too well together).  I'm anxious to dive in, though.

I've saved the best for last:

The BEST Secret Pal ever strikes again!
Look at these goodies, will ya?
Grapefruit & Orange Bath stuff (soap, lotion, shower gel) smells incredible!
A black kitty box filled with yummy caramel candies.
The greatest book with a most appropriate title; Samm and I had great fun looking through this book.  My queue has suddenly just about doubled in size!  Here's one example of something from the book that will be knit very soon: it's a Christmas tree hat; isn't it great? What a funny picture; makes me laugh every time I look at it!
Some closeups of the items in the front row:

Rubber Duckie soap and Lemon hat and booties for Clover.
OMG, this hat and booties are so damn cute and so soft!
Clover certainly will not be wanting for any knit items; lucky little girl!
And check out this yarn:

When I first saw this yarn, I thought it was just beautiful; the colors are great.  Then I looked closer; check out the colorway name:

Isn't that great?

Now I ask you, do I have the best Secret Pal or what?!

Okay, that's enough for me tonight.  Gotta go rest my eyes.  Goodnight.

It's Official; I'm Spoiled Rotten!

Oh.My.Gawd!  I am seriously so spoiled.  Just take a look at what was waiting for me when I arrived home yesterday:

This incredible book and adorable handmade card from my Secret Pal!

I just can't believe how generous she is (remember the chocolates from last week?).  This book is wonderful; I've been wanting to learn Fair Isle knitting and this book is just the thing I need to get me going on that.  It not only has a great section on techniques, with what look like very helpful pictures, but it starts out with a history of Fair Isle knitting.  Very interesting!  You can definitely expect to see some attempts at Fair Isle knitting on this blog in the very near future (as soon as I finish up some WIP's).  Thank you so much, "Jane"; you are way too good to me!

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There still hasn't been a whole lot of knitting going on around here; for some reason, I've been exhausted every night this week.  I've gone to bed earlier and earlier each night.  If I keep up this way, I'm going to have to leave work early to go to bed :-)  Last night's bedtime was 7:30!  Can you believe that?!  Pretty much the only knitting that's been done this week is what I can do in the hour or so in the morning before getting ready for work.  I did go to Chicks with Sticks on Tuesday and managed to get a little of the secret crochet project done.  I'm going to have to really start busting my butt to finish that in the next couple of weeks.  Guess I'm going to have to start trying to sneak in a few rows here and there at home.  The bigger it gets, though, the harder it is to quickly stash it in the bag if I hear someone coming into the room.

Even with the limited knitting time I've put in, I have managed to accomplish a little bit.  Here's the Ice Cream Sweater as of this morning:

This isn't the best picture, but you can see that I am just about ready to bind off the front and back stitches and work on the second sleeve.  Once I start the sleeve, I think it'll fly right along.   I'm ready to be done with this.  Not that I haven't enjoyed knitting it, but I do seem to have had it on the needles for a while.

If you're on Ravelry, you may have noticed that another project was started last week.  I'm teaching a top down sweater class and decided to make one along with the class.  I'm sure you'll never guess who I'm making it for.

Tina in "Velvet Grapes"
(no, it's not for Tina; she's just the model)
Pattern:  Knitting Pure & Simple Baby Tunic (minus the hood)
Yarn: Malabrigo, color "Velvet Grapes"
Needles:  Addi's size 7 & 9  I'm using larger needle sizes on this sweater than I did on the last one because I want it to be just a bit bigger than the last one, but not a whole size bigger.

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I'll leave you with a little something I spotted on the car in front of me at the stop sign the other day:

A Moment of Silence Please...

...as we mourn the passing of another swimming pool season.

 

I always feel sad at the end of Summer.  I LOVE Summer weather; I think I'm living in the wrong part of the country. 

Maybe that's the reason for the funk I've been in this past week.  I can't seem to get out of my own way and I've barely accomplished anything since finishing the sweater last weekend.  I went to Chicks with Sticks on Tuesday and while the company was wonderful (as always), I just couldn't get into the knitting.  I know, I know; it shocked me too.  I brought some baby socks I was working on; I wasn't happy with the foot and planned to rework it.  That lasted all of about 10 minutes before I was bored with it.  I got out the sweater I had started ages ago for Clover using some of Gina's hand-dyed yarn, but I couldn't get into that either.  I actually ended up leaving a little bit early; that is absolutely unheard of!

I did mange to finish one sock on Wednesday morning, but didn't knit a stitch  Wednesday night and went to bed at 8:15!  Geeze Louise, what's wrong with me?  Oh, here's the sock:  

Last night I did stay up to do some spinning.  First, I finally finished plying the spindle spun singles that I did using the fiber that was left over after spinning and knitting this hat.  It kind of resembles a pile of worms:

Okay, so maybe it's a bit more colorful than a pile of worms.  There's just about 50 yards here.  Is that enough for some itty bitty mittens; you know, the little baby things that have no thumbs?

Once I got the worms soaking in the sink, I went upstairs and got Alice out for a little quality time together.  I think it was just what I needed.  I watched some mindless T.V. and spun for hours.  I finished the BFL I was working on and decided to go ahead and ply it last night too.  I finished around 11:30.  First thing this morning (after making coffee) I wrapped the yarn onto my new niddy noddy.  It's really kind of purty, don't you think?

and a close up: I soaked it, and hung it to dry.  I can't wait to see how it looks dry.  I'm pretty happy with this even though it is not the most evenly spun yarn around.  There's about 284 yards there and I'm guessing it's about worsted weight.  I'll check the wpi after it's dry.  I have a lot to learn still, but damn, I'm loving the spinning!

I think I'll finish the other baby sock tonight.  After that, I need to decide if I want to continue with the other little sweater or start something new.  I'm thinking I'll probably start something new :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

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CLICK TO HELP
(and for a chance to win a great prize): Goal - $1,500Raised - $55515 DAYS TO GO(more details here)

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Progress Report

It turns out that it was a blessing in disguise that the Baby Kimono was too small.  I'm loving the new sweater; the yarn looks so much better in stockinette stitch than it does in garter.  Here is Tina* modeling my progress so far:

and a close up of the yarn:
The yarn is Plymouth's Jelli Beez; it's an acrylic/wool blend. Pattern is Knitting Pure and Simple's Baby Tunic.

*I've named her Tina because I'm evil; both my hubby and Samantha are freaked out by dolls.  I believe hubby's aversion to dolls comes from the Talking Tina episode of The Twilight Zone, hence the name Tina.  See, evil - bwahahahaha

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Now, an update on

Donations are at 33% of my overall goal!  There are just under 4 weeks to go; can we do it? 

Also, I said that I'd draw the first prize and add another one once we hit $500 and we are just $10 away from that!  So, if you've been thinking about donating, now's the time to do it.  Any help you can give will be much appreciated!

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It's Labor Day here in the United States today which means a day off work for most (unfortunately, retailers don't generally observe this holiday except as a means to make more money by having sales; hubby is a programmer for a retailer so he is at work today).  For me, it means an extension of my vacation.  The weather today is supposed to be my idea of perfect, sunny with temps around 84 degrees F.  I'll celebrate the holiday in the best way I know how; a bit of knitting, a bit of spinning, and quite a bit of floating in the pool.  I hope you all have a great day, too!

Where has the week gone?

Can it really be Thursday already?  The last several days have just flown by!  I've meant to post; really, I have, but there just aren't enough hours in the day.  I'm also incredibly behind on my blog reading and e-mails.  I thought that with two weeks off work I'd be able to keep up with things.  Wrong! 

So, what have I been doing with all my free time?  Well, the weather has been absolutely perfect for several days now so I'm sure you can all guess where I've spent a good amount of my time.  Yep, the pool.  It's been great, very relaxing.  I've spent a couple of hours each afternoon just floating and reading a very good book.

I've also completed some projects and started some new ones.

I crocheted a couple of granny squares for Colleen; she's putting blankets together for her local children's hospital.

I started a new sweater for Clover on Tuesday; I was just feeling a very strong need to make her a sweater NOW.  So while at Chicks with Sticks, I picked up some yarn in a really pretty mint green color with flecks of pink to make the Baby Kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting.  I took a picture of my progress so far, but it is a really crappy picture so I don't think I'll post it here.  This is such a quick knit, I should be able to show you the finished picture real soon (unless I've just jinxed myself by saying that!) 

Speaking of Chicks with Sticks, Mel and The Sheep were unable to attend and both were really missed :-(    We did have a special, first time visitor this week, though.  Mel's partner, David, joined us; it was great to finally meet him and hopefully he'll join us again.

Yesterday, I finally finished the test knit I've been working on; it's currently drying on the blocking board.  It'll be a couple of weeks before I can show you pictures, but believe me when I say, it'll be worth the wait.  I am very happy with this FO.

This one's for you Patti; also finished yesterday:

School Socks

(this is a strange picture; guess I won't stand the socks up to take pictures again)

Yarn:  Soctoberfest by Scout
Needles:  Crystal Palace size 1 1/2 dpn
Pattern:  Plain ole stockinette on 64 stitches

These are my August socks for SAM4; finished just in time.  The first sock only took 2 days of classroom knitting to complete; the second sock took almost a month!

 

That brings us to today.  I got a new hairdo this morning (no pictures until after the cold sore from hell is gone).  Spent a couple of hours in the pool this afternoon and then spent some time with Alice on the deck.  After my lesson with Cheryl and Manise on Saturday, I put Alice away until the test knit was complete.  Now that I've finished that, I can spend some time getting to know her better.  I sat on the deck spinning for about 1 1/2 hours; I must have looked pretty funny sitting there in my bathing suit spinning away.  Good thing I have a nice private back yard.  Here's what I accomplished:

(Apparently, I'm a lousy photographer; the colors are actually more purple than this photo shows.)
The fiber is some BFL I got from Amy in a "Learn to Spin" spindle kit that I bought back in the fall.  This is about one ounce; there's a total of 4 to spin.  I think I'm doing pretty well, although there are some overspun and underspun bits.  I think I'm getting the hang of it though. 

That brings us up to date; I'm hoping to spend some time tomorrow and over the weekend catching up on some blog reading and e-mails.   

I'll try to be better about posting, too.  No promises though :-)

Saturday Sky

One minute I was floating around in the pool, reading my book and enjoying the hot sun.  The next minute, I was racing to get out of the pool as the clouds and thunder were moving quickly overhead.

Right now I am sitting inside watching the thunder and lightening storm outside the window.  I keep jumping at every roar of thunder or bolt of lightening, but I sit here in my wet bathing suit hoping it'll pass by quickly.  I just know that once I change, the sun will come back out. 

In knitting news, Ella's sweater is finished except for the seaming.  There are only 2 seams, but I think I'll wait and bring it to the gym tomorrow morning and do it there.  I want to work on the SKB tonight; I'd like to finish it before it's too cold to wear it.

I'll be away at school next week; I'm leaving shortly after work tomorrow.  Not sure how much internet access I'll have.  I'm hoping there'll be connections in the rooms, but I'm not counting on it.  I'm hoping I'll have at least some limited access and if I do, I'll be in touch. 

Have a great week, everyone :)

ETA:  The thunder and lightening has stopped, the rain is almost gone and the National Weather Service has just now issued a "Severe Thunderstorm Warning" for our area.  Sheesh!

One Finished, Another One Started

Heaven forbid I should finish up everything on the needles before beginning something new!  I finished my Sockapalooza Pal's socks on Friday night as I'd hoped, and instead of getting busy finishing my Simple Knitted Bodice, I cast on for another project.  In my defense, I hadn't yet made anything in July for the Holiday Headstart project.

First, the socks:

 

(The cuffs really are the same length even though they don't look it in this pic)
Pattern: Waffle Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Yarn:  Socks that Rock medium weight, "Monsoon" colorway (Feb. 07 Club yarn)

Needles:  Crystal Palace size 1.5 (size 1 for the heel)

I'm pretty happy with them.  At first, I was a bit disappointed with the pooling in the gusset; but have decided that I actually kind of like it.  I don't think there's anything I could have done about it anyway, except maybe use an afterthought heel.  I didn't even think about that until the socks were just about done and there was no way I was ripping both back to the cuff and reknitting all that!  Besides, I've only used the afterthought heel twice and that was on felted Christmas stockings.  I'm not confident enough in my ability yet to use it for gift socks. 

Next up, the new project:

Finished front and beginning of back of Yankee Knitter's Fisherlad Guernsey. This is for my great-neice, Ella. This is a really quick knit; I hope to finish it in the next couple of days.

I finished spinning the fiber for Clover's mittens, now I need to ply it. There's a lot more there than it appears; hopefully, it's enough for the itty bitty mitties :-)

I still haven't even started the July Sockamania socks; I'm hoping I can finish Ella's sweater and get going on the socks before the end of the month. I'm thinking if I could knit a pair in less than 2 days (as I had to do for Sock Madness), I should be able to get this pair done. Only time will tell, I guess.

That's it for today. Have a great one!

THURSDAY EDITION

Where does the time go, and how is it that the work days seem to drag on FOREVER, but the evenings just fly by?  I fully intended to use the Sheep's WNBP (Wednesday Night Bullet Post) format for a post last night, but by the time I was ready to sit down, it was already 8:45!  WTF? How did that happen?  I hadn't knit a stitch or read a single blog yet, how could it be that late? 

But it was, and I had to choose between writing a WNBP, reading blogs, knitting on the Sockapalooza sock, knitting on the Simple Knitted Bodice, or doing some spinning I've been wanting to get to.  The spinning won out (the fact that I want to use the resulting yarn for Clover probably influenced my decision a teensy bit).  I had some of the same fiber I spun for her hat left over and am hoping I can spin enough to make a teeney tiny pair of baby mittens.  I'm spinning a whole lot finer now and will have to ply this. (I really don't have a clue how to do that, but I'll figure it out.)

Check out how thin this is compared to the first batch. It's also a LOT more consistent.  After spinning for about 1 1/2 hours, I took the remaining fiber and pre-drafted it so it'll be all ready for the next spinning session.  Here's what I have left.

Fuzzy Balls :-)

I did finally finish the cuff of my Sockapalooza pal's 2nd sock this morning.

The plan is to knit the heel and at least through the gusset decreases tonight and try to finish it tomorrow night.  I really don't know what is taking me so long to knit this pair of socks.  Well, that's not really true; I do know.  I seem to have a bit of ADD lately and can't stay focused on only one thing.  There are just so many things I want to knit, then there's Ravelry, and blog reading, and planning baby knits.  I need to focus! 

Speaking of blog reading, Bloglines has done something really screwy to me.  One minute it said I had something like 70 blogs to read, and the next minute it said 20!  I do not read that fast folks; it just willey nilley marked a bunch of my feeds as read.  I am not a happy camper!

Picture Post (mostly) and NEWS

This is my brother, Tony and his new wife, Karlene.  Don't they look happy?  They were married Saturday, 07/07/07.

My nephew, "little" Tony and my neice, Heather

(This is the most accurate picture of what the sky looked like)

This is where they were married.  I was a wimp and skipped out on the ceremony (and 2 hour sail) on the boat and just went to the reception.  I was afraid I'd get sea sick or make myself sick worrying that I'd get sea sick.  The reception was held here; drinks and hors d'oeuvres overlooking the harbor.  It was a very nice time.

Although you wouldn't know it from my last few posts, I have been knitting, crocheting, and spinning (not enough spinning for any pictures though).

I've knitted quite a bit on the lace portion of the Simple Knitted Bodice. What's that? You don't think it looks like much knitting? There was quite a bit more knitting done than shown in the pics; it's pretty hard to show the rows that had to be tinked! There were several of them. At least as many as you see completed in the picture. It's stupid really; it's an incredibly easy 4 row repeat (and 2 of those rows are all knit). Apparently, I just can't keep my mind focused for 189 stitches in a row. Oh well, only about 2 or 3 more repeats to go; shouldn't take more than a month or two ;-).

I crocheted 3 Fish Baby Washcloths last night when I got home from Chicks with Sticks (well, I finished the 3rd this morning).  I first saw these done on Vickie's project page on Ravelry and marked them as a favorite.  I was so happy when she asked me if I'd test her pattern.  How could I resist? Not only am I going to be a Nonni (grammy) in December, but Samm wants to do the baby's room in an ocean and fish theme! I can see some of these as decorations and stuffed toys.  I made the top one using a size H hook and some Peaches and Cream cotton; the middle one is in Bernat Cottontots using a size J hook, and the bottom is done in Cotton Fleece with a size I hook.  I love them all.  This is a fantastic quick and easy pattern; Vickie did a great job!  She'll be posting the pattern soon. 

A "Spare Square" for Colleen's blanket drive.

8inch diagonal knit square - 10 rows garter, 5 rows seed

size 8 needles

One strand each: Plassard Layette, color 209 and Lion MicroSpun in white.  It's very soft.

A sqaure for the Rebuilding Greensburg project.

Another 8inch diagonal knit square, this one in garter stitch

size 8 needles

Reynolds Odyssey, color 409

Since we're on the topics of washcloths and squares, this would be a good time to direct your attention to Rabbitch's latest do-gooder project. She is collecting washcloths for the Women's Information Safe House; read about it here.  I'll be making a few; how about you?

AND NOW FOR THE BIG NEWS:




Meet Clover !

Shamelessly Stealing Ideas

It's Wednesday (for about another hour) and I've decided to steal the idea follow the lead of the Sheep and do a WNBP (Wednesday Night Bullet Post).  Here goes:

• Today was a holiday here in the U.S. - Independence Day, better known as "the Fourth of July".  Most people celebrate with BBQ's and fireworks; not me.  What'd I do today?  I went to the gym with Patti first thing this morning, came home and floated in the pool for a couple hours, took a nap on the couch for a couple hours, had takeout from "York's Best Roast Beef & Seafood Rest." (that's really the name) for dinner - YUMMY, knit for a while, and now posting on the blog.



• I know you are all wondering how I can stand all the excitement, but to me, this was a perfect day.



• I finally posted the Haymarket Bag pattern.  There's a link in the sidebar. (If you make it and find a mistake, please let me know)

• I started my Sockapalooza pal's socks on Sunday and finished the first one tonight. 

Yarn:  Socks that Rock, medium weight, Monsoon colorway (Feb 07 club yarn)

Pattern:  Waffle Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

• We had a great "Chicks with Sticks" night last night at the Yarn Sellar. Mel and Annie were there, as well as Doug (whose in town for a few weeks). It was really a good time. Annie, Patti, and I ended up staying for quite a while afterward just chatting.  It was a really good night and I only had to rip out a few rows of the sock.  I guess I can't do anything more complicated than straight stockinette when I'm gabbing.



• I reserved my room for SPA 6 today.  It's going to be in Freeport in February.  Hurry and make your reservations if you're going (and you definitely should be going if at all possible)!



• Amanda is having a contest; all you have to do is answer some questions (all the answers are in her previous posts). 



• My first spindle spun yarn:

(sorry the pic is so blurry)

I finished this on Saturday and soaked it and hung it to dry overnight.  I'm not sure how much there is, certainly enough for a baby hat or something small.  I still have more of the same fiber to spin.  I love the colors and I'm pretty happy with the yarn (although you can definitely tell which part is the beginning!).

• Bloglines tells me I have 147 posts to read.  I had planned on catching up today, but was busy floating and sleeping and eating.  Guess I'll have to catch up tomorrow.



• I am taking vacation time tomorrow and Friday; my plan was to float in the pool, but given the forecast, I don't think there'll be much of that.  Oh well at least I won't be working :-)



• It is now almost Thursday so I guess I'll stop here and go to bed.

Goodnight.

Busy!

Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I should or responding to all the comments like I should.  I feel like I have no free time anymore and I can't figure out why.  I can blame Ravelry for some of it; but since I've only been on that for a week, that's not really it.  Do you ever have times in your life like that, when it feels like you'll never have enough time to do all the things you want to do?  Oh well, I'll just keep doing what I can and try not to worry about the things I don't have time for.

Another thing taking up my time is the spindle spinning. I've been doing quite a bit of it lately. I've pretty much filled up the spindle with my first real spinning (even though it is a bit thick and thin) and I've been working with my new spindle and the fiber Gina gave me.  I brought it with me to Chicks with Sticks last night so I could show off my new skills.  Can you guess what happened?  That's right; I couldn't spin without the yarn breaking to save my life.  I blame it all on Roger; he put a jinx on me (just kidding, Roger; I still love you. But don't tell Patti).

This new spindle is quite a bit lighter than the other one, and I've been able to spin some pretty fine yarn; fine as in skinny, although I think it is mighty fine looking too :-)

I've also gotten quite a bit done on the Simple Knitted Bodice. I'm at the garter ridges before beginning the lace section. I tried it on when I joined it and it seems like it'll be a good fit. The garter ridges and lace portion are knit in a smaller needle size (of course I didn't do a gauge swatch for the smaller needle size so keep your fingers crossed for me).



The V-neck turned out a bit lower than I wanted, but not quite as low as the pattern called for. I guess I'll have to wear a cami under it after all. Although, with the lace section in the middle, I probably would have anyway.

The second River Valley sock for Sockamania hasn't seen much action lately. I've completed 2 1/2 pattern repeats in the cuff (nothing picture worthy) and will be ready to turn the heel after I finish the third repeat. I don't really need a lot of time to finish this; I just need to pick it up again. Perhaps tonight.

That's it for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow; I'll be announcing a contest!

A Post for Patti

I've been trying to finish up some of my MANY WIP's over the last couple of days.  I have so many things on the needles that I was beginning to feel like I'd never finish anything. 

On Monday night, I finished the crochet bag that I've been designing; it just needed a decent handle.  I looked online and saw that Joann Fabric had just what I wanted so I went there on my lunch hour on Tuesday.  All they had in the store were butt-ugly ones; I was desperate to get this up in the shop (I'm doing a class on it in a couple weeks) so I bought it.  I put it on during Chicks with Sticks that night and hated it (big surprise).  So, yesterday during my lunch hour, I ran over to WalMart and bought a cheap purse that had the perfect handle.  Cut the handle off and put it on my bag and I love it. 

Yarn: Fantasy Naturalle mercerized cotton, color #8011 (the pictures aren't very good; it's a really pretty celery green)

Hook:  Susan Bates size H

Pattern:  My own

I'm very happy with the way this came out and I can't wait for the class to be done so that I can take the bag back and use it.


Remember the Monkey I started for Luke's soon to be born baby? Well, this is what it looks like now:

What? Doesn't look like a monkey to you? I wasn't feeling the love for the monkey so I made this little guy. The yarn for the monkey wasn't working up into a nice soft blankie so I was going to use the Berocco Plush cream color just for the blanket part and attach that to the monkey head; but again, I wasn't feeling the love. I've always loved the littled Plush Bear on Berocco's website, so I decided to make that head. I'm glad I did; this is incredibly soft! I wan't one for me :-)


I didn't finish this any too soon either; Luke's wife, Julie, has been having contractions for several days and finally went to see the doctor yesterday (she's due on the 18th). They decided to induce her yesterday afternoon, so this bear is done just in time. Who knows; I may have finished the blankie right as Julie was finishing giving birth. I did tell Luke that she couldn't have the baby until I finished what I was working on. 

I've also almost completed another pair of Magic 28 socks; I just have to do the foot and toe and I'll be done with pair #4. I'll finish that tonight and can mark off another WIP.

I've been making the Magic 28 socks while teaching a sock class (a class of one). The class was finished last night; here's Jamie's first ever sock: Didn't she do a great job?! She wouldn't let me take a picture of her, just her foot. She used Encore yarn and size 5 dpn's. I think it's easiest to learn the mechanics of making socks using worsted weight yarn rather than fingering weight. That way you only have to get used to the multiple needles and can concentrate on the process rather than fight with what feels like dental floss and toothpicks.

I was going to give you a list of my remaining WIP's, but I don't have any more time; I have to go get ready for work. Maybe tomorrow; then again, maybe not.

Have a great Day!

Happy now, Patti? ;-)

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.

Lots of Random Stuff

·        Samm’s Etsy store is finally up; I've put a link in the sidebar.  She’ll be updating it later this week with some more earrings, a few necklaces, bracelets, and at least one watch.  I’ll keep you posted when she updates in case you’re interested J

·        We had a beautiful long weekend; the weather was perfect all three days.  I went to dinner with a friend in Portsmouth on Saturday night and we ate outside by the water, had a couple Margueritas, and did some shopping.  It was the perfect weather for it.

·        I’ve almost completed the Fisherlad Guernsey that I started way back at the end of April.

 

Since taking this picture, I’ve knit to the cuff on that last sleeve; just a few rows of k1 p1 ribbing to go and then seaming up the sides.  I’ll finish this up tonight at Chicks with Sticks.  It’s always good to bring something mindless J

·        I’ve given up on my May Day socks for Sockamania.  While I love the pattern and I love the yarn and the way it’s working up in this pattern, I keep making stupid ass mistakes.  Also, for some stupid ass reason, I cast on for the small size (knowing full well that my size 8 ½ feet are not small).  I kept telling myself that they were going to fit.  Ha! Joke's on me.  When I got this far, I decided to try them on.  That was the final straw; the sock is in time out.  I’ll frog it and reknit it after I do the socks for June.  Not a very good start to this knitalong!

/

·        I started another pair of socks yesterday while sitting in the sun.

 

You are not imagining things; I am knitting a sock toe-up!  Mel gave me directions to the Sherman short row method and showed me how to do it a while ago when he came to Chicks with Sticks (I promised him I wouldn’t call him a dick, so the name must remain the same).  This method is so easy and very, very neat – no holes!  I’m going to try the heel flap for toe-up socks that Chris suggested for this pair of socks.  Getting pretty adventurous, aren’t I?  (I'm using Cascade Fixation on size 3 dpn's)

·        I received this beauty in the mail last week 

 

It’s the May Spunky Club yarn;  Spunky Eclectic Tough Sock,  Superwash Wool/Nylon blend, “Nightshade”.  Pretty, yes?

·        Being the big ole copy cat that I am, I ran right out to Kinko’s yesterday, after reading Auntie Ann’s post, and got my copy of this book spiral bound:

Now that it’ll stay open, maybe I’ll use it more.

 

The End J

A Handy Tip

When you are driving down a road and see that a cop has pulled someone over, and you know that you'll be returning on that same road in  just a few minutes, be sure that on your return trip you are going the speed limit!  Sheesh, I really am getting old.  I went for my lunch time trip to get an iced coffee, saw a car pulled over and said to myself, "Self, make sure you are not speeding on the way back."  I continued on, got my iced coffee, and promptly forgot all about the cop.  Another tip:  it really is helpful to admit why you were stopped when said cop asks, "Do you know why I stopped you today?" and act like you are sorry (even though the only thing you're sorry about is that you are old and forgetful).  Thankfully, I only got a warning.

On a happier note, let me show you the decadent purchase I made last night while at Chicks with Sticks:

Tilli Thomas
This is, without a doubt, the softest yarn I have ever had the pleasure of fondling and now it's mine, mine, MINE! 

Oh, you want to know what I'm going to make with it, do you?  I've been thinking about this pattern for a while and bought it yesterday:

It's the Simple Knitted Bodice by Stefanie Japel. Isn't it lovely? Of course I won't make the V-neck quite so low (sorry, Roger) :-)  I can't wait to cast on for this, but I have forbidden myself from casting this on until after I finish the May Holiday Headstart project and my MayDay socks for the Sockamania and SAM3 KAL's and the blankie portion of the monkey doll/blanket.

I've done a little on the blankie; and I do mean A LITTLE! 

Notice the arm reaching in there; Peaches is trying to claim this as hers.


"It's mine, I tell ya; all mine!"

She also tried to nab the silk.

"What, you can fondle it, but I can't?"

I'm telling you, ever since she started knitting, I really have to fight for my own yarn!

Finally, I decided if she really wanted to help, I'd put her to good use modeling the Spare Square I made for Colleen's blanket project.

"Can I model the silk top when you finish it?"

Dream on!

Saturday Sky on Sunday

This is pretty much what our sky has looked like all week. I'm just about sick of it and am more than ready for some sunshine! We are supposed to get some tomorrow, just in time to go back to work.

I haven't really done much this weekend; yesterday was spent lazing around the house all day. I did make a silly monkey head, though.

Just the head (with huge mouth); no body. I'm going to make a little mini-blanket to attach to this head. When Samm was a baby, she received a little mini-blanket with a teddy bear head and she loved that thing. It ended up being called Spot Bear because she always had to find the good spot (the stinky baby breath spot) to sniff and rub on her cheek while she sucked her thumb. One time when she was about 5 years old, she wanted to tie dye the blanket part. The directions on the tie dye kit said to iron it after dying it and the damn blanket part just sizzled up and died when the iron touched it. OMG; it was so traumatic. But we saved it by sewing the edges (which didn't burn and which just so happened to contain the "good spot") to the head. She still has that silly thing. Anyway, I've made a few animal heads with blankies attached for people having babies and this one is for my co-worker, Luke, whose wife is due in a couple weeks. He specifically asked for it (well, not the monkey, just an animal head with the blankie).

I've also been working on my "May Day" socks for the Sockamania Knit-a-long. I started these last Sunday at work and completed one 24 row repeat of the pattern and I finished the second repeat this morning at work. I'm ready to start the heel. I need to finish this pair by the end of the month for this knit-a-long and they'll also count as my SAM3 May socks. I had a little trouble with the pattern last week, but discovered it was because I was doing my Make one purlwise wrong. I was making it much more difficult than it had to be. I've got it figured out and it's going pretty smoothly now.
I'm using Trekking color #126. I ordered this yarn on e-bay the day I saw the socks Carole made with it. It makes me think of ice cream. I love it.

The Booga Bag is dry and ready to be assembled. I won't assemble it until tomorrow night at class, but here it is unassembled.

The color is most accurate in the big picture without the straps.

Now I have a confession to make: I didn't make it a full 24 hours without smoking. I'm not giving up though, and I'm not too proud to ask for help. So I called my doctor and got in for an appointment to get a new drug I've been hearing about. Apparently, this is pretty much a miracle drug. It is specifically for helping with quitting smoking. It blocks the nicotine receptors in the body so that the nicotine doesn't have the effect it normally does. I started taking it yesterday and am supposed to take it for a full week while still smoking and then quit on day 8. I'll continue taking the medication for a full 12 weeks (at which time I can decide if I want to do another 12 weeks). Supposedly, I should have no withdrawal symptoms once I quit. The doctor said it has been extremely successful and my sister told me about a friend of hers who has tried to quit multiple times over the years and was able to with this. She said that towards the end of the first week, she didn't really want a cigarette but had to continue until her "quit date" on day 8. She hasn't smoked in 10 or 11 weeks and never once craved one. I am so ready for this to work that I know it will. I'll keep you posted. Friday is my last smoking day; Saturday is day 8 - quit day.

Sweaters

This weekend was spent working on a few sweaters.  Little people sweaters. 

I finished the buttons for the pink/purple sweater.  Can I just say, I don't think I'll be crocheting little buttons with dark purple yarn again anytime soon.  My old eyes just can't take it!  The stitches were nearly impossible to see, but I managed and now I'm done.  I think they are perfect for this sweater. 

Minnowknits Gardi Cardi in Lamb's Pride pink and purple.

This is my April project for Holiday Headstart and will be for one of my great-neices.  I'm so glad I joined this KAL; I'm really getting a good headstart on my Christmas knitting. 

(Is it weird that I felt a little bit bad hanging Ted from the wall to take this picture?)

Next up, I finished the back of the Mock Cable sweater I started last week.

This is another Christmas present for my other great-neice.

I've put that aside while I knit this:

Yankee Knitter's Child's Fisherlad Guernsey in Plymouth Encore. The color is really a darker, deeper, beautiful green. This will be for my great-nephew for, you guessed it, Christmas.  See that little section of sleeve?  It was an almost finished sleeve around dinnertime last night.  As I was measuring it (10 of 10 1/2 inches done, by the way) I thought something didn't look quite right.  I looked closer and realized that I had knit the stupid sleeve inside out!  It's picked up from the sides of the sweater, which I did correctly, and then there are several patterned rows before starting the stockinette section that look the same on the right and wrong side.  I didn't even notice that I started the stockinette with the knits on the wrong side until I was almost done.  I was not a happy camper!  I ripped out the offending sleeve and put the sweater in timeout for the night.

While the sweater was thinking about what it had done, I started a dishcloth for Carrie's contest.  I'm making the Garterlac dishcloth found here, in some very bright Sugar'n Cream yarn.  I completed all but the last layer of top triangles; picture next time.  I really love the way this looks, but I'm not sure how soon I'll be doing it again - my hands are killing me!

I know I promised pictures  of the squares for Betty's blanket, but I'm lame and didn't get them taken yet.  All the squares I've received  so far are blocked and ready for the hard part of deciding how to arrange and join them.  There are still a few squares in the mail, but I think I can start to get an idea of how to arrange them.  I plan to start the process of joining them Wednesday or Thursday and hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.

That's it for today.  Have a good one :)

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!

I Made Yarn

Some might call it crap, but I call it yarn :-)  Brenda is taking a spinning class and gets to bring a wheel home between classes.  She had an extra weekend between classes this time and was nice enough to invite me up to her house to try it out.  She showed me how to spin and then how to ply and this is what I ended up with.  It's not much, but it's my baby.  Not enough to really do anything with, except maybe frame it.  Brenda's hubby, Howie, took photographic proof that it was actually  me who made the yarn.  Do I look a little frazzled?  I learned that I can't talk and ply at the same time.  The picture shows Brenda trying to help me fix the result trying to do both. I think I may possibly have caught the bug; I'm going to be making a phone call today to see about taking some classes myself.  Thank you so much Brenda, for taking the time to teach me what you've learned!

I started the baby sweater for Samm's coworker Saturday night and continued work on it at the gym on Sunday morning.  This is what I accomplished.

I love a good baby knit - they work up so fast!  The green color doesn't show up very well in this picture, it's actually lime green.  I'm using Encore yarn  (can you say "washable").  The pattern is the Little Sister Sweater (even though it's for a boy) by Amy.  I would have finished this last night if I could have managed to stay awake past 7:00!  I'm pretty sure this will turn into another FO by tonight.