Too Many Projects

Baby is here

2008-01-08T19:04:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

Sorry for my LOOOOONG delay. I was too wiped out to blog towards the end of my pregnancy and now I'm really busy taking care of the baby! He arrived 6 days early, on December 18th. He's the most precious baby ever!

I packed some knitting for the hospital. Obviously I was delusional. I haven't knit a stitch since December 17th. I miss it, but sleeping, eating, and brushing my teeth are more important than knitting right now!

What's been going on

2007-10-27T22:20:00.000-05:00

First off, a very belated thank you to Parikha of the brown sheep for sending me this book. I won it in a blog contest several weeks ago. I've been reading Parikha's blog for a long time now, check it out if you've never read it. The book isn't very inspiring, but it will be good to refer to if I'm in the mood for a good basic knit. Plus you can never have too many knitting books, right?

I've got two sleeves for the Pea Pod baby sweater. This project has been sitting around for awhile while I've been working on other things.

Ariann is almost finished! You may remember that I screwed up and wasn't actually making the raglan decreases because I was still increasing in pattern. I had to rip out several inches. This photo is out of date-I really only have about an inch of collar left to go.

I actually finished a pair of socks for Soctoberfest! Let's see if I can get a picture of them up by the end of the month!

Eeek

2007-10-10T18:31:00.001-05:00

Yeah, it's been a looong time. I have been knitting, just too lazy/busy/have better things to do (sleep) than update the blog.

Pregnancy, Week 29: All is well. Minor hiccup: I failed my first glucose test so I had to go in for the 3 hour "we're going to draw blood 4 times and you have to pee in a cup 4 times, and don't eat anything past 10 PM the night before" test. Thankfully I passed. Otherwise the pregnancy is pretty uneventful except for being tired.
Had a birthday last month.
Went on a camping trip. The first night was about 38 degrees. Found out that sleeping with a hat on is a pretty good idea.
Attended a fondue class with friends.
Finished a sock for Socktoberfest. Hope to get the second one done this month, too.
Found out that my company is going to be laying off a significant number of people. Yay. Was pretty bummed for a couple of weeks, but realized there is nothing I can do except hope that things turn out for me. Not a good time for me to look for a job.
Had a class reunion. It was really a good time. Most of my classmates turned out really well. I graduated with around 80 people, and many of us have known each other since kindergarten. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy just thinking about all those people.
Framed my very own cross stitch piece. Yay, me!

OK, enough babble. I'll check in again when I can get off my lazy butt and upload some photos.

FO: Baby Sweater #2

2007-09-03T15:05:00.000-05:00

Daisy by Stephanie Pearl McPhee, 6-12 month size
Started: 23Jul07 (?)
"Finished": 18Aug07
Buttons on: 23Aug07
2 entire skeins of Bernat Cotton Tots in Sweet Cream
Sz 5 Addi Turbos

The verdict: Cute sweater, easy, and no stress except for almost running out of yarn. A good TV knit.

Today is the last day of the MN State Fair. That means summer's over, people. Time to start thinking about pumpkins, apples, leaves, and wooly sweaters. We went to the fair last Saturday. The first place we went was the craft building to check out the knits. There was a gorgeous Lizard Ridge there (it won a special award), plus a Pea Pod baby sweater, Fetching wristwarmers, and some Nancy Bush socks, and lots of other beautiful items.

Happy Birthday, Mom

2007-08-31T16:45:00.000-05:00

I finished this cat scrapbook just in time for my mom's birthday. I didn't know what to give her , so I decided that a cat scrapbook would be perfect. Way back in April I raided her house to find some pictures (they are scattered all over the place) and then added some of my own. I've been working on the book itself for the past month or so. I found it pretty enjoyable because I used a prepackaged slab of paper and coordinated dodads. Less decision making for me! Easy to stay focused! Plus I found that I enjoy the 8 x 8 format much better than 12 x 12. Here are a few shots of the finished product.

Baby's First Gift

2007-08-30T18:27:00.001-05:00

Baby Z got his (yes, it’s a boy!) first gift in the mail. Isn’t it appropriate that it’s an adorable handknit sweater and hat? It was made by my in-laws next door neighbor. I discovered she was a knitter when I unveiled my FIL’s birthday gift at his party a couple of years ago.

One of my employees is going to have a baby any day. Of course I gave her a hat. It got high marks from her mom, a knitter visiting from Algeria . She was impressed that I knit it in the round. Maybe I need to give her a circular knitting lesson! If she only knew how wonderful it is! I also gave away another baby hat to a coworker a couple of weeks ago (2007 is a big year for babies in my department). My stash hats are dwindling, especially the boy or gender neutral ones. I don’t know anyone who has had a girl in over a year!

Easiest baby bib ever

2007-08-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

Baby Bib o'Love from Mason Dixon Knitting

Lily Sugar 'n Cream, summer splash

Started: 21 July 2007

Finished: 22 July 2007

The opening on the bib seems really small. Is it really going to fit around a kid's neck?

Here's another post that has been sitting in my blogger account. I'm going to have to take some new pictures one of these days and show you what's I've been knitting.

Today is the one year anniversary of starting my new job. Time flies!

Baby sweater #2 in progress

2007-08-06T21:02:00.000-05:00

This is the body of Daisy in a 12 month size. Who knows if I'll have any time to knit once the baby gets here. I'm thinking not. How do people do it?

I forgot to post this before (I tend to make a few entries at once and publish them over a few days time)...both sleeves are done all I have left to do is the seaming. I have a TEEEEENY TINY bit of yarn left. There were some tense moments as I neared the end of the neckband.

Question

2007-07-29T17:27:00.000-05:00

Q: What would inspire this baby hat knitter to branch out into making a baby sweater?
A: You're right! A little one on the way!

Yep, Baby #1 (currently being called Zeke or Zoe by our friends) is expected to arrive on December 24th! My husband and I are still a bit in shock.

Expect to see a lot of baby knits in the future!

Heartbreakingly Cute Baby Kimono from Mason Dixon Knitting
Lion Brand Cotton Ease, almond, a little over one skein
Started: 20 May 2007
Finished: 21 July 2007
I would have been done sooner, but seaming up the garter stitch was giving me problems, especially the sleeves. Ugh! But after several tries, I think it looks pretty good.

Something's going on here...

2007-07-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Connected again

2007-07-18T18:06:00.000-05:00

The house is coming along, but oh, so slowly. We've been out of town most weekends, and I never have much motivation to get anything done after work. The picture above was taken the day the movers were here.

We've had internet since Monday. Woo hoo! Now I just need to find some time and energy to catch up on everything I've missed. Everyone seems to be talking about Ravelry, and it's probably best that I remain in the dark about it! It seems like it would be a good place for sucking up time.

So...knitting. I don't remember if I ever showed you myJitterbug sock that doesn't quite fit. (The gorgeous yarn was given to me by the ever generous Kathy). I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. In the background you may be able to see our lush "lawn."I dug out some Trekking that I purchased while attending First Saturday Knitting many months ago. I needed an easy small knitfor car trips. It's just stockinette, but based on the Humiaa socks in KOTR. (I really don't like to knit without a pattern!) My 2007 sock count is really pathetic. Gotta get going on that!

Checking in again

2007-06-20T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm back at the apartment which means three things:

1. We unfortunately had to pay for it through the end of June.

2. I have internet access right now. (I don't work on my own blog at work, but I occasionally read some!)

3. I should be doing some cleaning so I can finally be done with this place, instead of blogging. Oh well.

Things are going well, I've just been really busy. The house still looks like a bomb hit it, but I am slowing unearthing treasures I haven't seen in months. I've been most excited by food related items such as my waffle maker and my ice cream maker. Yum!

I'm working on a couple of small knitting projects, but I'll wait to tell you about those until I have some pictures to show.

Hopefully things will settle down soon and we'll have internet access at the house.

On the move

2007-05-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

We closed on Friday and have the keys to our NEW HOUSE! We moved some of the stuff from the apartment yesterday and will take another load today. We're moving the air mattress today, so we are actually going to stay in the house tonight...just three days until everything else gets delivered! I am really looking forward to spending some quality time on our couch...9 months sitting on the camping chair was long enough.

I'll probably be more quiet than usual for a few days. No internet at the house yet.

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice long weekend!

Hats, hats, hats and a sock in progress

2007-05-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

I've been a hat machine lately. They are easy to knit, quick, and I know I can make them without screwing them up. We close on our house on Friday (!!!) so I haven't been doing anything too challenging lately.

I also have a nearly completed Jitterbug sock. I think I have to rip out the toe and make a foot a little longer, though. Seems like the sock wants to slide off my foot, so I'm hoping adding some length will help. Otherwise I'll have to rip it all out and make the cuff a little tighter.

Still around

2007-05-08T21:49:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, at least 3 weeks have passed since my last entry. Things have been hectic around here.

Phase 1 of the move is complete. I nearly wept with joy as the movers carried our belongings out of the condo and into the truck. I didn't lift a finger!! Our stuff is getting delivered at the end of the month to our NEW HOUSE. Can't wait!

Ariann is not going anywhere. I was blindly following the pattern and not THINKING (I think at work, why do I want to think when I'm knitting?? ) about what I was doing. I was doing raglan decreases while simultaneously working the yo's in pattern, not realizing that I had stopped doing the corresponding pattern decreases, so really I didn't do any decreasing at all. Duh. I'm scared to rip it back because I'm not sure I'll be able to get it safely back on the needles with all the yo's. It's in time out until I feel strong enough to rip.

I started a sock last night but I'm not sure I like it. It's probably going to get frogged.

I knocked out a couple of baby hats last week. I KNOW I can always make those look good, plus there are a lot of babies in the works around here and my hat stash is getting low.

That's it for now...back with some photos sometime soon!

Things are coming together

2007-04-16T18:13:00.000-05:00

I've been kind of quiet lately because there's a lot going on. Thankfully good things are happening for once! Ariann is still my only thing on the needles. She continues to grow. I think I have about 25 rows left, then it's on to the collar. My husband helped me put it on last night (don't want any stitches flying off my KP Options!) and I think it's going to fit quite nicely once blocked.

Here is a glimpse of my Oh My Gawd I Love It So Much new kitchen.Natural light, natural light, natural light. Expect to see some more food photos on the blog.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that we decided to have the walls painted (latte)! I've been living with apartment/condo white for far too long. Although it's still a neutral, it really warms the place up.

My husband started his third week of work today. He started the same day we FINALLY got an offer on our condo. I am a lot more relaxed now that I know we can actually PAY for our new place. Early next week I'll be babysitting the movers at the condo (paid for by my company, woo hoo!). Sometime at the end of May they will deliver my belongings to the new house (the only good thing about selling the condo so late is that the movers will store our stuff for 30 days so we won't need to lift a finger!).

I'm going to be settled soon!!!

Ariann and a Big Ole Snowman

2007-04-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here's my progress on Ariann. This is after frogging about 6 inches of the body because it was too big and an entire sleeve because it was too small. My gauge is apparently radically different when doing this kind of pattern in the round vs. flat. Oops. I also did something revolutionary: I washed a swatch in pattern. That's how I decided the body was going to grow too much when blocked, even though my stockinette swatch was right on. For once I listened to my inner knitter.

I've been working on Ariann exclusively since finishing Ene. It's nice to see some progress in a couple of weeks rather than a couple of months! I'm already thinking about my next sweater. I have some Cascade 220 stashed and I'm trying to decide if it wants to be a Must Have Cardigan or a Twist. Something cablely, that's for sure. I've had the pattern for the MHC in my hands twice at my local Joann's over the past few months, but it keeps finding its way back to the shelf.

Forgot to post this...

Started: 12Jan2007
Finished: 26Feb2007
Pattern: Bent Creek Winter Zipper
Dimensions: 5 1/2 x 5 3/4"
Stitched over 18 count linen using 6(!) strands of floss

I learned it is possible to cross stitch when you are dead tired from lack of sleep and too much crafting at a scrapbooking retreat.

Six months later, a finished Ene

2007-03-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

It's been a long road. After casting on 375 stitches, messing up after the first couple of rows twice, casting on two more times, and running out of yarn, she is finally done! This is the crowning achievement of my knitting thus far, requiring far more concentration and perserverence than any other project.

Pattern: Ene's Scarf by Nancy Bush in Scarf Style

Started: 15Sep2006

Finished: 07Mar07 (off the needles), 11Mar07 (ends woven in)

Yarn: Blackberry Ridge Laceweight, 2.5 skeins, cream

Needles: Knitpicks Options, sz 6

Finished Mini-Clap!

2007-03-06T17:37:00.000-06:00

Started: 21Jan2007
Finished: 02Mar2007
Pattern: Clapotis, you all know it. Did only the first set of increases.
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden #204, courtesy of KathyKathyKathy, holiday SP extraordinaire, ~2.5 skeins
Needles: Sz 8 Clover bamboo

I finished this in time to get a few wearings out of it this winter. A fun knit!

So close...

2007-02-25T10:05:00.000-06:00

I ran out of yarn. 27 more rows to go. Fear struck me earlier in the week when someone on the Scarf Style KAL ran out, and I saw that my ball of yarn was looking dangerously small. This would have been the perfect excuse to run over to The Sow's Ear and get some more, except I don't live anywhere near there anymore! I don't think my two closest LYS carry Blackberry Ridge. I'm going to put a note on the knittyboard to see if anyone has any leftovers, otherwise I'll have to do some calling around or else break down and order some online and probably pay too much for shipping one skein. Oh well. I assume that this yarn is still made in this color, if not, then I could have a real crisis on my hands.

We have a house! I got to go inside on Thursday. I'm really excited! I'm glad they got the roof on because we got at least 6 inches of snow yesterday. The house is all snug and dry in its Tyvek shell.

We're supposed to get more snow today. Woo hoo! Perfect for sitting around and knitting.

Retreat

2007-02-21T18:53:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm still here. I went to a scrapbook retreat a couple of weekends ago and it really threw me for a loop. I've never really been into scrapbooking (although I do own a good deal of scrapbooking stuff plus two empty albums...) but I have done my share of cardmaking in the past. A coworker invited me along to a weekend retreat up north, so I figured I would get out of town for awhile. Plus, who can resist an entire weekend of crafting?

There were 12 people total: 11 women, 1 man. Aside from eating, everyone was working on stuff the whole weekend. I scrapbooked all of the Christmas photo cards I had from 2003, 2004, and 2006. 2005 and anything prior to 2003 is still at my unsold condo 275 miles away along with all of my paper crafting supplies. I made my pages in no time, then worked on Ariann a great deal and worked on a snowman cross stitch.

The first night my friend's cell phone had low battery and was beeping every 10 minutes or so while I was trying to sleep (I didn't know exactly where it was coming from until the next morning.). There were 5 of us sleeping in the room and only 2 of us heard it. Eventually I gave up and went and slept on the couch. Keep in mind I was excited to sleep in a real bed at the retreat instead of the air mattress I've been sleeping on for the past 6 months!

Anyway! (Anybody still reading?) I was so tired on Saturday I messed up my Ariann and basically just cross stitched for the rest of the weekend because knitting required too much thinking for my tired brain.

I was so burned out on crafting that I didn't do anything for AN ENTIRE WEEK! I finally got back at the knitting on Sunday.

So it seems as though I am going to become a scrapbooker. Once I am reunited with all my belongings, I plan on finally working on my Disney trip from 2003 and my wedding album from 2004. I haven't hooked up with any knitters here yet, but it seems that there are plenty of opportunities for me to be a social scrapbooker. Two coworkers and I are planning on going to an Archiver's scrapmania sometime next month, and if I get invited to another retreat, I'll sign up in a heartbeat. I learned that scrapbooking does not need to be the crazy, over the top pages you see in magazines. Don't stress, just get it done.

ETA: photos

Cold weather updates

2007-02-04T20:40:00.000-06:00

It hasn't been above zero for a couple of days now. Wind chills of -20° or worse. That didn't stop us from going for our usual weekend walks.
It's been awhile since I've been in love with ALL the projects on my needles. I just want to knit ALL THE TIME. I started a mini-clap awhile back with three lovely skeins of Silk Garden that had been living in my stash. I can see why every knitter on the planet has made a Clapotis. Ene is coming along. I don't get much time to work on it since it requires my full concentration.

And introducing my newest project, Ariann:

I wanted to get it started before a little road trip I'm taking next weekend. I can't believe it's been so long since I've worked on a sweater!

Aran Braid Socks

2007-02-02T22:59:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Aran Braid Socks
Started: 07Sep2006
Finished: 17Jan2007
Yarn: Zitron Libero, color 140
Needles: Sz 2 Susan Bates Aluminum

You can't really see it, but these socks have the most intricate cabling I've ever done!

When in Doubt, Make a Hat

2007-01-29T20:50:00.000-06:00

Note: Buster (previous post) isn't my cat. He belongs to my mom. If he were mine I'd be showing you cat pictures every time I post. It's best that he doesn't live with me.

Here are a few hats I've made over the past few months, but haven't blogged about.

I gave this one my sister in law's boyfriend for Christmas.
Started: 22Nov06
Finished: 24Nov06 (Thanksgiving knit!)
Pattern: Knit Simple, Holiday 2006, basic hat pattern
Needles: Sz 7 Addi Turbos
Yarn: Plymouth Encore (red) and leftover Galway (white)

The rest are random baby hats. You've seen the likes of them here before, so I won't give all the details.

25Nov06-28Nov06
Mission Falls 1824 Cotton

04Dec06-11Dec06
Misson Falls 1824 Cotton

10Oct06-14Nov06
Bernat Cotton Tots

How do yarn birds taste?

2007-01-25T18:19:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Bird Mobile, Knit Simple, Holiday 2006
Needles: Sz 6 bamboo
Yarn: Leftover Cascade 220, Wool Ease, and Cotton Tots
Started: 15Nov2006
Finished: 16Dec2006
Recipient: My aunt, the bird collector
Cat: Buster

Mittens-First 2007 FO!

2007-01-16T20:37:00.000-06:00

Started: 23Dec06
Finished: 07Jan07
Pattern: Family Circle Easy Knitting, Fall 2005
Needles: Sz 6 Clover bamboo
Yarn: Sunshine Yarns, Neapolitan. Won in a blog contest from Laura around a year ago!

I had been itching to make some mittens and realized that some stash yarn would coordinate well with my Wavy. I loved making these! Quick and fun. However they are better suited for 30° days than 10° days plus windchill. Brrr!

In other news, here's my biggest project of 2007:

We are the proud owners of a hole in the ground! Now if we can just sell our condo before the house is done, I'll be a happy woman. Wahoo!!

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T17:46:00.000-06:00

Whew, it's been awhile. As usual, I'm behind on my posting! And blog reading. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!

I went back to work today after a blissful week off. So nice. I rather enjoy sleeping 10 hours a night, relaxing, reading, knitting, and cross stitching without thinking about going to work!

Part of our journey to my inlaws for Christmas involved driving in a pretty bad snowstorm. I thought I was going to die (my husband drives like a maniac, but he's a maniac in control), so to calm myself, I started knitting a mitten in the dark. When we arrived at the house, the power was out. It stayed off for almost 36 hours. By the time the electricity came back on at 9AM on Christmas Eve, the house was a frigid 49.9°! Luckily my husband had his new slippers with him, which he wore over his socks to keep warm.

Pattern: Warm Slippers
Started: 23Oct2006
Finished: 04Nov2006
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool-Ease, one skein oxford gray and one skein denim

The mitten I started had to get frogged. Starting something like that in the dark isn't a good idea. I restarted the mitten while knitting with my husband's grandma before it got too cold for us to knit!

What else is going on? Beading

2006-12-11T19:01:00.000-06:00

I took a wire wrapping class through community ed last month. During the class we made these:

Created 13Nov2006

Of course I went to the bead store soon thereafter and picked out some beads I liked better and came up with this bracelet:

Created 19Nov2006

I have good intentions of making some simple earrings as Christmas gifts, but I don't know if I'll get around to it! I have to be in a certain mood and have a good chunk of time in order to bead.

Luckily I can knit in just about any mood, anywhere!

Oh, and here's a tip: At work, be sure that you don't type your username and password too quickly and miss the tab key in between. Otherwise your username followed by your password may be visible to the system administrator because he gets an error message that an unknown user is trying to get into the system. Ask me how I know. Ask me if I was slightly embarrassed that I have a knitting related password. :)

Finished Trekking Socks

2006-12-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

Toe Up Crazy Trekking Socks
Started: 06Jul2006
Finished: 12Oct2006 (again, better late than never!)
Needles: Sz 0 Susan Bates Aluminum, bound off with Sz 2 1/2 bamboo
Cast on using Magic Cast On
62 stitches for foot, increased to 66 for cuff

This is my second pair of toe up socks. The magic cast on is definitely better than the regular old figure eight cast on I used before, but I still like cuff down socks better.

Time to comment on your comments:

Yes, I'd recommend the Knitpicks Options. I really like using them on Ene. That's the only project I've used them on so far, though. I've been working on a lot of hats lately and need Addi's shorter cords for those.

Cross stitch stores will stretch your piece when they frame it. If you're using Aida cloth, it's not necessary on smaller projects, since that is a stiff fabric. I've been using a lot of linen lately, and that looks better when it's stretched in the frame.

I tried looking for an online framing tutorial once, but couldn't find a good one. The evil cross stitch store had a good selection of premade frames and they also sell pre-cut foam core, but I'm not sure exactly how to stretch my fabric over that and attach it. Maybe it's time to find out!

I tried to take a small piece to the Michael's in Madison once, but their custom frames are more suitable for photos or really large items. They wanted $50 or something outrageous to frame my teeny cross stitch, WITH the coupon. I have never checked out the framing department at Joann's. Maybe they have a better selection.

Enjoy your weekend!

Halloween Crafts...Better Late Than Never

2006-11-29T20:40:00.000-06:00

I really like black cats at Halloween. I was walking through JoAnn's and spotted a Sculpey clay ornament kit with a cat in a pumpkin. I figured I would give it a try. It was fun, but not something I'd want to do all the time. The bigger ghost and the spider were also part of the kit, and I made the smaller ghost and pumpkin with the leftovers.

Little Black Kitty
Started: 22Oct2006
Finished: 29Oct2006

[Well, not really "finished." I think I'll make a tiny pillow out of it someday and put it in a bowl with Halloween candy. Maybe next year.]

Tricky Treats
Started: 16Aug2006
Finshed: 22Oct2006
I brought this one in to get framed before I was able to get an actual photo, so you'll have to look at the pattern picture.

Bringing this in to get framed was an experience. It was my first trip to the cross stitch store in my area. I walked in, and my jaw dropped. The place was HUGE. Samples EVERYWHERE. They must have had 300-500 hanging all around the store. It was GORGEOUS. But then I got ignored for at least 30 minutes by the two workers, despite my efforts to get help, and by the time I left I was FUMING. And the cost of framing is three times as much as what I'm used to. I don't know if the woman at my previous cross stitch "home" was incredibly inexpensive or if this new place really rips people off. I'll give the place another shot when I pick up my framed piece in January. I'm hoping I just got stuck with the rude workers that day.

A Little Bigger Ene and a Sock

2006-11-19T13:44:00.000-06:00

I finally have the camera back in my possession and there is actually some sun today. I just uploaded a dozen pictures to Flickr, so I should be back to more regular posting.

I've been really busy lately. We decided to build a house, which involves lots of appointments, decisions, and difficult discussions. My husband is a big dreamer, and I am the more practical one. It's rather stressful. Anyway, I'm really excited to be on the way to our first "real" house with a yard. We have to finalize everything before Christmas, and then it will take somewhere from 4-6 months to build.

Here's the latest progress shot of Ene. Something got mixed up on the previous row...I've been a bit stalled by trying to figure out what's going on without completely wrecking the whole thing.

Notice the broken Options cable in the shot. I already have my replacement from Knitpicks. Kudos to them for standing behind their product.

And here's a finished Aran Braid sock, completed during Socktoberfest. Notice the tiny ball of leftover yarn. Thankfully I didn't run out!

I've gotten behind on my blog reading...hopefully I'll be able to visit everyone soon!

Injured

2006-11-02T19:37:00.000-06:00

On Monday I was screwing the cap on a glass sample vial at work. I wanted to make sure that I didn't lose any of my solution so I tightened it a bit more. SNAP! The top of the vial broke off and I got a 12 mm gash (yes, the nurse measured it) on the top knuckle of my right index finger. Someone had to take me to the clinic to get it checked out. It wasn't serious enough to get stitches, but I have some Steri-strips on it to make sure it doesn't split open.

I tried to knit a couple of rows on my husband's slippers, but it's just not working because I can't bend my finger. UGH! I'm still able to cross stitch though, so I'm working a little bit on that.

I have lots to show you, but I won't have the camera for at least a week. :(

GASP

2006-10-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Last night I was crusing along on Ene, thinking it was possible for me to get through Chart 2, not just Chart 1 over the weekend. I was enjoying the mental break that is Chart 2. Then terror struck as I pushed my bunched up stitches down onto the cable and the cable popped out of its join.

GASP.

I froze.

I very gently put Ene down and walked away. Took a few deep breaths. Found some sock yarn and prayed that I was going to be able to catch the 30+ live stitches that were now hanging in midair. If not, I was going to have a meltdown.

Thankfully I was able to rescue the stitches. Whew! I shudder to think what would have happened a few rows earlier when I was doing YOs.

I emailed Knitpicks, hoping that they will replace it. I found a couple of other blog posts out there about the same thing happening to other people.

[I wanted to take a picture, but my husband has the camera and he is 250 miles away.]

Speaking of my husband, he let me know last night that his feet are cold and where are the new slippers I promised? Whoops. Better get on that.

A little bit of Ene

2006-10-21T16:12:00.000-05:00

I started Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style a little over a month ago. Geez, it's taking a long time. It would have helped if I didn't have to start it three times. Thinking you know how to read a lace chart and actually having the ability to do it are two different things! Ene is now about twice the size shown in the picture. My goal is to finish Chart 1 by the end of the weekend, should be no problem.

I bought the pattern for Ariann and am trying to resist buying some yarn for it until I make some significant progress on Ene, otherwise I will NEVER finish it!

This weekend I'm relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, aka knitting, reading, cooking. Starting with the Chicago trip, I spent the next 14 days sleeping in 6 different places and I'm ready to just sit on my butt and go nowhere!

Fun with friends, aka Bookburning

2006-10-18T18:14:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I gathered with some friends to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the start of graduate school. The four of us hit it off immediately (easy to do when you are forced to spend HOURS together studying, drinking, teaching, studying...). Two hit it off so well they eventually got married.

Graduate school in chemistry is no picnic, especially when you are "required" to purchase $105 books that you will never use. We were young and naive. Selling the book back to the bookstore at the end of the quarter would have gotten me about $7, if I remember correctly. All four of us kept this particular book. Last Saturday, one copy went up in flames.

The title? Theromodynamics. Appropriate, don't you think?

Socktoberfest: The History

2006-10-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

Here's my personal sock history.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
I started knitting in Nov. 2004. Sometime in the next couple of months I was reading my MIL's Martha Stewart Living and there was an article about handknit socks. I thought the self-striping ones (Regia) looked really cool. I went out and bought my own copy of the magazine and got to work. I went to a toe-up sock class for my second pair of socks and it was not worth my time or money. I learn better on my own.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

Here's one of the pair of Martha Stewart Socks. They have held up wonderfully. The yarn is Regia. I almost hyperventilated at the store spending TWELVE WHOLE DOLLARS to buy yarn for socks. I thought I was crazy.

What would you have done differently?
Nothing, really. Looking back, I'm surprised that these socks were such a success. I didn't have any problems at all and they fit me well.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I like Bearfoot, but find it a little itchy to wear. I liked knitting with Cherry Tree Hill, but haven't worn the socks yet. I have some Lorna's Laces in my stash that I'll probably have to use next and from what I've heard, I'm going to loooooove it. As you can see, I no longer have a problem spending money on sock yarn. I got over that pretty quickly! I've yet to find a sock yarn I don't like.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
Susan Bates aluminum DPNs. Love them.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
I think I'm more of a flapper.

How many pairs have you made?
Just five. I wish I had more! #6 may be finished this weekend.

Chicago

2006-10-05T19:37:00.000-05:00

Sunday we went on a walk downtown Chicago.
"The Bean" was my favorite. I could have stayed there for hours taking pictures. But we had to hurry along so we could see the Sears Tower.

From below:

From the 103rd floor:

I know you're really here for the knitting content. I present the Aran Braid Sock. I really like it, but I think I'm going to run out of yarn!

Socktoberfest: The Sanity-Saving Sock

2006-10-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I went with my in-laws to see "Wicked" in Chicago. It was fabulous! If you get a chance to see it, GO! I always liked the Wizard of Oz; as a kid, the yearly showing of the Wizard of Oz on TV was a Big Event.

I had to drive by myself from the cities to Madison, which is a long, long drive. Luckily I got to ride from Madison to Chicago and my Trekking sock was along for the ride. We were stuck in traffic for a LOOOOONG time and my five traveling companions all were on the verge of a meltdown, but I just kept knitting away, unaware that anything unpleasant was going on. Happy Socktoberfest!

When I got back, this was in my mailbox! I won a comment contest over at Bulldog Knits on my birthday. I've been reading Amanda's blog since I joined the Cover Your Head Knitalong last fall. You can see the M&M package did not stay intact long enough for the photo-M&Ms are my favorite, and I've never tried the dark chocolate ones before. YUMMY! And look at those adorable stitch markers and bulldog card! Thanks, Amanda, and happy birthday to you!

Coming soon: Chicago photos and progress pics

Another Dishcloth

2006-09-22T17:30:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Garterlac Dishcloth
Yarn: Peaches & Creme, Color 201, sea mist
Needles: Sz 8 Addi Turbos
Started: 02 Sep 2006
Finished: 06 Sep 2006

I first spotted this pattern on Laura's blog. I just happened to find some P&C yarn. Previously I had only used Sugar & Cream. What makes cotton yarn "creamy", anyway?

This weekend should be relaxing. I plan to do some serious knitting, including my third attempt at Ene's Scarf! Wish me luck!

Sweater Weather

2006-09-18T18:55:00.000-05:00

Fall is upon us. It was hard for me to get out of bed this morning and drag myself to work. All I wanted to do today was sit on the couch (er, actually the camping chair, since I have no real furniture in the apartment), drink tea, watch movies, and K-N-I-T. I really love fall: apple orchards, pumpkins, apple crisp, eating oatmeal again, wearing clothes I haven't seen for months, fall colors, crunchy leaves, etc. Time for a new sweater!

Pattern: Unisex Knock-Around Cashmere Pullover, known here as the Not Cashmere Sweater, by Teva Durham in Weekend Knitting
Yarn: Cascade 128 Tweed, color 7625, 5 1/2 skeins, I think
Needles: sz 10.5 Addi Turbos
Started: 12 Dec 2005
Finished: 28 Aug 2006
Mods: None
Would I knit this again? Sure, if you gave me free cashmere and forced me to stay in an extended stay hotel with no other projects to work on until I finished it. Oh, and rewriting the pattern more clearly so my poor brain could comprehend it better wouldn't hurt.

The arms grew quite a bit upon blocking (my blocking skills aren't the greatest), but it's still a very wearable sweater. I just have some mental barriers to overcome before I can look at it without being annoyed. This was a very frustrating project for me-I was this close to frogging it. It was stuffed in a bag in the closet for months because I just couldn't bear to look at it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! We spent most of the weekend looking at the Parade of Homes. It's just a little overwhelming to realize that what we want (3 BR single family home, a yard greater than 6 square inches, a basement, etc.) does not equate with what can afford without selling our souls. (Seriously, we looked at a house on a SLAB in tornado country-come ON people). Not to mention that our condo hasn't gotten any offers yet, my husband doesn't have a job here yet, blah blah blah.

OK, must go read blogs or knit before I work myself into a stress ball over the state of real estate in this country.

Birthday Cake 2006

2006-09-15T20:41:00.000-05:00

It's my birthday tomorrow (and my husband's, too!). This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe: Chocolate Amaretto Layer Cake. YUM! It turned out a bit lopsided, but it's going to be soooooooo yummy! I can't wait!

My birthday present to myself arrived today: Knitpicks Options. I'm going to start Ene's scarf on them tonight. 375 stitches, here I come!

Happy weekend, everybody!

FO: Cabled Footies

2006-09-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Cabled Footies from One Skein by Leigh Radford
Started: ? Not in my notes!
Finished: 02 Sep 2006
Needles: Sz 8 bamboo
Mods: Eliminated the elf toe by only doing half of the toe decreases
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade 220 left over from my Ribby Cardi, which I can't seem to find in my archives, so here's a photo of that. It was my very first sweater.

It's been rather cold here lately. Last Thursday it was a high of 85 degrees. The next day, it was 60. THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO ADJUST! I went to a birthday party on Saturday-outside for 3 hours. I wasn't properly dressed because I didn't REALIZE that it was 55 degrees. Oh well. It got me in the mood for fall.

I broke my "one sock at a time" rule and cast on for two socks the same night. One is the mate to the Trekking sock, so it should go quickly, and the other sock is more complex.

I have a new project in mind...as soon as some very special items come in the mail.

On Another Planet

2006-09-05T18:31:00.000-05:00

HELLO!!! It's been hard for me to be away from blogging for so long...I have a lot of catching up to do. I've missed keeping up with the World of Knitting. I moved into our apartment on Friday after 3 weeks in the extended stay. THANK GOD. I can start making a home again. Most of my stuff in still at the condo, but I have enough to get by. However, I think sleeping on the air bed is going to get old really fast. At least I have a phone, internet and Tivo again. Woo hoo!

Things are great here. Although I have a few issues, like getting the husband here for longer than a weekend, selling the condo, and finding a "real" place to live, overall, I've had a great month. I'm feeling really positive about my job. I'm not doing much yet, but that's OK. It's like being on a different planet from my old job. There are people who have been working here for over five years and they are still happy! What a concept! Five years at my old job was pure torture and many people were eaten alive. Nothing against my old company, that's just the nature of the business. Here we have free food practically every time you turn around. Consequently, I have taken up running again (I'm a great walker but very bad runner), with the goal of running the company race at the end of next month. There are many trails here and I'm looking forward to exploring them.

So...my knitting. Here's a shot of my finished "ugly Trekking" sock. It's starting to grow on me.

I worked on this sock while at the LYS which was DANGEROUSLY close to the hotel where I was staying. But it's even closer to my apartment!!!! AAAAAH! I can be there in less than 5 minutes, on foot. And that's not even running! This could be dangerous. However, they also have food and drinks there so I can go there to knit and not have to buy yarn. I've gone twice so far and want to try to go once a week or so. I'm hoping to find a group of people to knit with because I miss my old knitting friends!

Coming soon, two FOs and more regular posting!

Last post for awhile

2006-08-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving town tomorrow to start the next chapter of my life. It's a really weird feeling, but I'n not feeling as sad as I thought I would. I think most of the emotional turmoil is over. Time to look forward.

About the only really fun items on my To Do List were getting free stuff at my LYS and LQS (local quilt store? Is that what they're called?). I had $25 in free yarn coming to me and $20 in free fabric for filling up my punch cards. Wahoo! The yarn is already packed away, but here's the fabric:

I plan to make a wall hanging to coordinate with our comforter. Our realtor was rather displeased at our lack of decorating skills, so I figured a wall hanging for the bedroom would be a good idea. It might be finished before the NEXT time we have to sell a house! It will give me a good excuse to check out the quilt stores in my new city because I still need several more fabrics. I'm not sure when I'll be able to sew again, but at least I can stare at my lovely fabric.

Here's the baby hat I finished a few weeks ago and never posted. My knitting note pad is tucked away, so I'll spare you the details.

The only thing I've been working on lately are these cabled footies from One Skein using leftover Cascade 220 from my Ribby Cardi. I don't really like the pointy toe on the first footie, so I think I'm going to have to redo it.

I'm staying at an extended stay hotel for a couple of weeks, then I'll probably get an apartment. I haven't packed any clothes yet, but you can rest easy knowing that I have PLENTY of crafts all ready to go. I filled up a plastic tote with yarn, books, magazines and needles and a box with my next (gulp) FIVE cross stitch projects. I had to sew borders on my cross stitch fabrics in order to make them fit in my Q-snap frame, so I figured I might as well be REALLY prepared, since I don't know when I'll see my sewing machine again.

I don't know when I'll have internet access again, so this will probably be the last you hear from me for awhile. Hopefully I will have LOTS of progress photos to show you when I return!

Overwhelmed

2006-07-27T16:04:00.000-05:00

Thanks for your nice comments after my last post. This is certainly an exciting time for me, but also MASSIVELY STRESSFUL. It's good to know there are people pulling for me!

I finished another baby hat a couple of weeks ago. It's the same as the purple one, except that it's green. I just found out the other day that a friend of mine is expecting twins (!!) so I think that they will be the recipients of the hats.

I don't expect to have any exciting crafty content around here for quite awhile. After the move I don't even know when I'll have internet access. Probably not a good idea to be blogging at my new job! Time to get a laptop with wireless!

We have to sell our condo before we buy a new house, so I'm supposed to be decluttering right now. We hope to get it on the market for a couple of weeks. I'll stay in an extended stay hotel for a week or two, see if the condo looks like it's going to sell, and if not, I'll get an apartment. We are trying to avoid moving twice so hopefully everything will fall into place. My husband has not even thought about looking for a job yet. I'm not sure when he'll be joining me. While I'm in the hotel, I hope to start a nice fall sweater and do a bunch of cross stitch since there won't be any distractions other than exploring my new location.

OK, I must get going. I have WAAAAAAY too much to do.

I Have BIG News

2006-07-20T16:43:00.000-05:00

I gave notice at my job yesterday.

I accepted a new job yesterday.

I'm done with my current job August 9th.

I start my new job August 14th.

The new job is over 250 miles away.

WAHOO! YIKES! WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Last December I was sitting on the couch, whining to my husband about how our lives were at a standstill and we needed to do something. A major change. I dubbed 2006 "The Year of Action." I didn't want to be sitting on the couch in December 2006 wondering why we haven't gotten more fulfilling jobs, started a family, and/or gotten a "real" house. I've been looking for jobs here and there for a few months and finally came across a good match. I interviewed June 30th and got the offer late last week. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for weeks. Last weekend I was scared, elated, weepy, nervous, and just an all around basketcase. I accepted yesterday. Life is going to change in a big way.

This explains why I haven't been able to knit anything challenging lately. It's why my Trekking sock looks exactly the same as the last time you saw it. It's time to do the heel and I just can't get it. Under normal circumstances I would probably be able to figure it out. I've also spent two nights working on the Cable Footies from One Skein. The first time I twisted a cable the wrong way on row 3 and ripped it out. I started over the next day and didn't bother to check the pattern, so I cast on 42 stitches instead of 48. Duh. All that time wasted-I should have just done some organization or purging or whatever. Knitting isn't really relaxing for me if it doesn't work. I think I should probably start a new cross stitch piece and leave the knitting alone for awhile.

I launched into planning mode on Tuesday and my To Do List already has at least 30 items. It's a good thing I have already done a lot of the important stuff, like determining that there are two LYS in the suburb where I'm going to be working. One of my new coworkers wives does cross stitch. Wonder if she's a knitter, too?

I am really excited about the new job. My boss seems really nice. Everyone I interviewed with was friendly and non-threatening. I even ran into a good friend from college while I was there! We lost touch 4 years ago when she had a baby. I am looking forward to catching up with her.

I'm going to be a mess for at least the next month. I have no idea where I'll be living in 4 weeks, if my husband will be there with me yet, what he's going to do for a job, if our condo is going to sell in a reasonable amount of time, etc. etc. etc. AAAH!

TBD's Baby Hat and Knitting Progress

2006-07-13T17:47:00.000-05:00

Children's Cotton Hat (Toddler Size)
from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Started: 02 July 2006
Finished: 03 July 2006
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Cotton
Needles: Sz 7
This may replace the Umbilical Cord Hat as my quick baby hat pattern. It's just a little more interesting. It uses 2 stitch I-cord for the tie, which wasn't as annoying to make as 3 or more stitch I-cord. I've had this yarn for several months with this pattern in mind. I'm currently trying to knit up some of my stash. I don't know who this will be for, but it never hurts to have baby hats ready to go!

Oooh, what's this? A half finished sock? This is the "ugly" Trekking I've referred to before. I bought this yarn 30 seconds before taking a pretty much worthless sock class last summer. When I signed up for the class I asked if I should buy my supplies beforehand, and the clerk said no. I went to the class and had to pick out something with the teacher breathing down my neck. And she sold me some expensive US 2.5 needles to go with it. Hello? Does anybody use 2.5 for any kind of socks especially thin thin thin Trekking? I'm so much wiser now! Anyway, now that I have recovered from wasting money on the class, yarn I didn't love, and needles I'm not likely to ever use, I decided it was time to do something with the yarn. Simple stockinette so I can minimize the time spent with it. So far it's going well and I'm actually liking it. However, like my Jaywalkers, I'll have to be in a certain mood in order to wear these socks.

Yet another project with unloved yarn. I tried knitting a Midwest Moonlight scarf with this Crystal Palace Miracle (?) yarn last winter, and it just didn't work. I'm not sure I like this pattern with the yarn either. I have 3 skeins and I really don't what to do with it. Any suggestions?

Outdoors

2006-07-09T21:44:00.000-05:00

I really should have joined "Trek Along With Me" this summer because I've gone hiking three times already and am currently working on a Trekking sock. However, I have no cool photos of my sock being worked on outside.

This is from a hike over Memorial Day weekend in a state park about a half hour from where I live:

This is a deer (can you see it?!) we saw while hiking on our camping trip a couple of weeks ago.

We went hiking last weekend, too, but I haven't uploaded the pics yet.

I got an email from my mom today. This is completely shocking to me since she has never owned a computer until today. She got a really old one from some friends and they helped her get it set up. I hope that they are willing to provide her with unlimited tech support. She does not yet know the meaning of CTRL-ALT-DEL.

In craft news:
1. I finished up a cross stitch piece today.
2. Which is good because I saw a needlework store on our way to the state park last weekend and I went there yesterday to check it out. Now I have 2 more projects on my plate in addition to the three I showed you recently from the 50% off sale.
3. I knitted a baby hat. No recipient yet. I just felt the need to do something quick with stash yarn.
4. I started a new pair of socks.

Nothing too challenging right now since it's summer and life is busy.

Sew? I Knit! Shirt

2006-07-03T09:41:00.000-05:00

Pattern: McCall's 3662, view C
Fabric: 100% cotton from Hancock Fabrics
Started: 16 June 2006
Finished: 18 June 2006

This was a quick and easy pattern. My only problem was that the sizing was too big. There was way too much ease for my taste so I took in each side roughly an inch. Note to self: don't just look at the bust size, also look at the finished size!

For anyone keeping track, this is the less wild of the two fabrics (I tend to wear only solid colors) I picked for shirts for the sewalong. I have until the 15th to get the other one done if I want to meet the deadline. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it. I'm not really motivated to sew at the moment. Or maybe the fabric is scaring me. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I bought it.

Spey Valley Socks-Finished at Last!

2006-07-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

Spey Valley Socks from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush
Started: 22 May 2006
Finished: 01 July 2006
(This does not include time for frogging almost an entire sock when I decided it was too small!)
Needles: Sz 1 Susan Bates Aluminum
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Java, superwash wool

I really liked this pattern. Some of it required 100% attention, and some of it required 10% attention. A good variety. I shorted the cuff to 7 inches since I don't like super long socks. I loved the yarn. I'll definitely be using it again. Yum.

My head is going to explode...or grow...or something

2006-06-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

This "grow a head" was in my Easter basket this year. (Yes, I'm slightly over 30 and I still get an Easter basket from my mommy. My husband gets one from his mommy, too.) I uploaded this photo awhile back so I'd have something exciting ready for a time when I was too lazy to take pictures.

The past few days have been CRAZY. We had 5 people spend last Tuesday and Wednesday at our 2 bedroom condo. We did some touristy things while they were here. Then The Husband and I drove 4 1/2 hours to go camping with my grad school friends over the weekend. That was interesting because two babies, ages 4 months and 9 months, joined us this time. It went better than I expected. I suppose it will get harder next time when they are both more mobile.

I expected to get a fair amount of knitting done in the car, but I was either driving or passed out from complete exhaustion for the 9 hours, except for a mere 30 minutes when I was able to finish the heel of Spey Valley Sock #2. I hope to finish them this weekend.

I finished my Sew? I Knit! shirt before the craziness started. I still need to take a picture, but I have a couple of weeks before the deadline to do so.

I've been prepping for a very important event coming up this Friday. It's a secret for now. ;)

Michelle's Branching Out and R + V's Baby Bolero

2006-06-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

Started: 23 April 2006
Finished: 15 June 2006
Needles: Sz 8
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool

My friend's Branching Out is finished! Since it was my second time making this pattern and I only did it for a few minutes a day with no distractions, I threw caution to the wind and didn't use a lifeline. I think my gauge was looser this time and I only got 25 repeats instead of 27. I really love this pattern and would use it again if the opportunity arises.

Baby Bolero
from One Skein
Started: 26 May 2006
Finished: 10 June 2006
Yarn: Bernat Cotton Tots, my baby yarn of choice
Needles: Addi Turbos, Sz 7 and 8

This little sweater is for a friend's baby, due in December. Yes, I'm done So Very Early! Yeah! I've had this book for a few weeks and was excited to get started on something so I pulled the yarn out of my stash and got to work. I was one of the first people who knew about the pregnancy, so I feel an extra special connection to this baby!

I won't have much time for blogging next week. I have family coming into town on Tuesday for a couple of days and then I'm going up north for camping over the weekend. I really need to figure out what I'm going to bring to work on in the car!

Amy Butler Bag

2006-06-15T19:00:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Amy Butler In-Town Handbag
Started: 27 May 2006
Finished: 08 June 2006
Mods: Installed a zipper pocket and magnetic clasp (what good is a purse if your stuff is going to fall out?) and doubled the width of the handles. I also omitted the outside buttons and ribbon, but might add them later.

This bag went much more quickly than my first. Sewing really does get easier with practice. I flew through the zipper installation this time, and I didn't even have to look at the tutorial!

When I chose the pattern I liked the trapezoid shape. My finished product, however, looks more like a plain old rectangle. I used decorator fabric for the outside and 100% cotton lined with interfacing for the lining. Maybe if I use a lighter weight fabric for the outside the shape would be more of what I was going for.

Would I make it again? Definitely. It was a quick project, but most of all, I think I need to make it again to make the $12 pattern worth it! My materials for the bag cost far less than the pattern. I think my SIL might like one in some funky fabric that I am not bold enough to use for myself.

My next project is a shirt for Sew? I knit! I bought the fabric for two shirts today. One of them is rather wild...I'm trying to inject more color into my wardrobe. It's hard, but a good kind of challenge. Hopefully I'll get to working on at least one of them this weekend.

A Shocking Discovery

2006-06-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

I was trying to do a little cleaning in my sewing area and came across a poor neglected quilt project. I had started it in 2000, before I got my sewing machine. I had planned on finishing the applique by hand, then finishing the quilt once I got the machine. Of course I was easily dazzled by new projects and moved on. I was half done with the last applique block and all the pieces were cut, yet I just never got around to working on it. When I came across it the other day, I was overcome with the desire to finish the top, even though I don't like it as much as when I started it!

Of course it will probably take me another 6 years to actually do the quilting, but at least I made some progress. My husband used to call me a "quilt topper" rather than a quilter.

The problem I have with quilting is that by the time I finish the quilt, or see it languishing in a pile, I really don't like it anymore. My taste in colors or patterns changes more quickly than I can finish most projects. Oh well!

Weekend Update

2006-06-10T13:41:00.000-05:00

Whoops. It appears that I was lacking focus last weekend. I went to First Saturday Knitting. Conveniently, it’s held in a LYS, and they happened to have the needle I NEEDED to get so that I can work on Rose again. Well, I’ve been eyeing the Trekking sock yarn (I have some ugly Trekking in my stash, but that’s another story) that stripes with the gradual color changes and that ended up in my bag as well. Must. Stop. Buying. Sock. Yarn. Although I realize that having yarn for 5 pairs of socks is not really a problem for most knitters, it’s stressing me out. That’s a LOT of sock knitting for me, especially when I a tempted to buy sock yarn whenever I go into a LYS.

Then I grabbed a sandwich to give me strength to browse at the needlework store. It was my second trip there, and I knew I needed food or else I was going to be completely overwhelmed. They have soooo many patterns there. You can easily lose an afternoon without realizing it. I got the rest of the floss I needed for my next cross-stitch project.
Oh? What’s this? A basket full of kits for 50% off? Before I knew it, three kits JUMPED into my hot little hands.
I had planned on being a focused shopper, buying only the floss and perhaps one pattern. So much for that plan! After I got home I realized that one of the “kits” doesn’t come with the 20 colors (i.e. ~$40 if purchased in skeins) of overdyed floss you’re supposed to use. Yes, it clearly says that on the package, but I didn’t look that closely. Luckily not much is required of any of the colors, and I have a lot of them from previous projects or can use a similar color from my stash.

I finished Spey Valley Sock #1. It's much better after starting over with sz 1 needles.

I have 5 repeats left on Branching Out and I'm almost done with a Baby Bolero from One Skein. Hopefully I'll have 2 FO's in the next week!

The Knitted Snowsuit

2006-06-01T17:09:00.000-05:00

"Let the wintry breezes blow -- inside this cozy one-piece suit your youngster will be snug and warm!"

Of all my grandma's knitting stuff I've looked through so far, this is by far my favorite thing. The knitted snowsuit. Head to toe Red Heart to keep the snow away? Is that really practical??? Thankfully I don't think she ever made one!

The pattern is from the pattern book Children's Knits, dated 1962.

I'm glad to see that people knitted dog sweaters 40 years ago. I wonder when the first dog sweater was made?

My grandma made several of these hats over the years:

I did take a few other pattern leaflets, but this one is by far the most interesting.

Try to contain your excitement

2006-05-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

Allow me to dazzle you with yet another time-consuming, challenging and complex FO!

"Chains" Dishcloth
From Knit Dishcloth Sampler by Sandy Scoville
Started: 19 May 2006
Finished: 21 May 2006
Lily Sugar 'n Cream
US 8 needles

Progress Photos-Again nothing too exciting, you've seen similar ones before...

I started over my Spey Valley sock on size 1's. This was really my first major frogging. Pulling the needles out was like pulling off a Band-Aid. You know it's going to hurt, but it needs to be done. I'm much happier with it now, so I'm glad I did it. Things are going much faster now. I think I knit about 4 inches during a couple hours at Last Saturday Knitting this morning. That's record speed for me and socks!

My friend's Branching Out is coming along, considering I only work a few rows a day. I've completed 15 of the 27 repeats.

Sausage

2006-05-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

Spey Valley Sock #1 is almost done. I really like how it looks off of my foot. The yarn is a lovely, rich blend of browns, with a touch of a bluish gray here and there. (Although it probably looks really bad in the photo.) The ribbing is nice and squooshy-looking. However, when I put the sock on, my leg looks and feels like a sausage. The two “Vikkel Braid” rows, while really impressive and cool (looks like the knitting is sideways), may cut off my circulation because they do not stretch. The ribbing itself is stretched to the max. I’m not sure I like it. What to do, what to do?

At first I thought I would finish up the sock and wear it around for awhile to see if it’s comfortable. I can’t get a good feel with the needles still in it. Although the thought of frogging almost an entire sock makes me ill, I think that's the direction I'm headed. In case you're wondering, yes, my gauge is off. Of course I didn't check it until it was too late. If I redo these, I'll use a bigger needle.

Q&A

[Thanks for all your comments on my rainbow scarf post. I’ve never gotten 6 comments before!]

Is the scarf a brioche stitch? No, it’s a mistake rib pattern. K2, P2 over an odd number of stitches.

How did you get it done so fast? This pattern is listed in the 2 to 4 hour project section of LMKG. I lost count after four hour-long TV shows. I estimate that it took me 6-8 hours, and it was my major project of the week. I was slowed by the fact that Noro sticks to itself and the yarn is quite “twisty” and I got tangled up numerous times. Thanks for the tip on washing the Noro, this scarf could use some softness. Overall, the Noro was a fun yarn. I just wanted to keep on going to see how the colors would blend together.

Happy weekend, everybody!

I've been away

2006-05-18T18:24:00.000-05:00

Hmm. Where to start? I've been away from home and the internet for over a week. Yesterday was my first day back at work and I'm slowly catching up on things around the house.

My grandma died early last week. Although I have been expecting this since February, it’s still hard. She really is in a better place now. The past several weeks were not good to her.

Due to my somewhat unusual family situation, my mom and I lived with my grandparents while I was growing up, so my grandma was really a second mother to me. She was a huge influence on my life. She taught me basic sewing skills, how to make chocolate chip cookies, and was always my biggest supporter.

My grandma was a knitter, and the pastor even mentioned during the service that knitting was one of her hobbies. She was not an obsessed knitter like many of us knitbloggers, it was more of a “healthy” habit. She may have tried to teach me to knit when I was younger, but I wasn’t really interested. I started knitting in November 2004, just a few months before she stopped. Her cancer treatments made her lose interest in knitting and cross stitch. (Can you imagine? Just sitting at home for months doing nothing but watching bad daytime TV?)

I showed you a pillow a few weeks ago that she had almost finished. All that was left was the final seam. I finished it four days before she died.

We started going through some of her things and I, of course, snatched up some knitting stuff. I’m thankful that I took up knitting when I did, or who knows what would have happened to these things that were so much a part of her life. No one else in the family knits. Two of my aunts do embroidery and cross stitch though, so hopefully they will take some of that. There’s still a lot to go through. In another post, I’ll show you some of the things I took, including the FUNNIEST PATTERN EVER.

I didn’t knit a single stitch for a week. However, I finished up this cross stitch that I started over Easter. I hope to get it framed before next year!

Started: 14 April 2006
Finished: 15 May 2006

So once again, I have a 2 FO post. Hopefully some knitting photos next time!

Not one, but TWO FO's

2006-05-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

I've been in a bit of a knitting slump lately. I can't seem to do anything too challenging (i.e. something that needs to fit) these days, so I've been working on quick, confidence-building projects.

Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
2 balls Noro Kureyon, Color 170,
US 9 needles
Started: 27 April 2006
Finished: 03 May 2006

I am thinking about giving this scarf to my cousin for Christmas. She's 12. Do you think she will like it? I'm not sure if a 12-year-old would think this scarf is ugly and/or would never wear something handmade. What do you think?

I found a partial ball of kitchen cotton in my stash and wondered if I could get another dishcloth out of it. And would my hands feel the pain of 100% cotton like last time, or have I learned how to knit without "cotton pain"? I worked on this over two nights and am happy to report that I am pain free! Bring on the dishcloths!

Stripes from Knit Dishcloth Sampler
Lily Sugar 'n Cream, partial ball, color: shaded denim
US sz 8 Addi Turbos
Started: 04 May 2006
Finished: 05 May 2006

And, just because, a tulip for spring:

Edited to correct the date, because it was irritating me. I uploaded the tulip photo several days before completing the post. :)

Finally some photos

2006-04-27T18:01:00.000-05:00

This is my friend's Branching Out. She picked out the pattern and color. I've been working on this during my "after breakfast knitting while listening to the news" period every morning. It's working out quite well since I only have time for about 6 rows so there is less chance for me to zone out and mess up. Note the absence of a lifeline. I hear that little voice in my head telling me I better get one soon...

Speaking of scarves, I plan on staring the Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts soon. I think I'll give it to my cousin for Christmas. I picked up the yarn during my Easter travels at Yellow Dog Knitting. What a great store! They had a wide variety of yarn, but what really stood out was their friendliness. Seriously, I have never felt so at home in a store within five minutes of walking in the door. I hope to stop there again some time.

Here's the giant Rose I mentioned in my last post. Looks pretty good and close to be finished, except that there is about 12 inches of ease around the chest! (No, I will not model it, it's really awful.) I haven't been able to frog it yet. I'm just not emotionally ready.

And here's my sock I've been ignoring for over a week so I can take it to knitting group on Saturday, assuming I am able to go. I should be able to get close to the toe decreases then.

Disgruntled

2006-04-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Again I am too lazy to take and upload pictures. The past several days have been a blur. I've worked late the past five days, including an annoying 10 hour day today. I'm spent. My weekend was only somewhat relaxing.

Not much knitting has been happening lately. I finished the body of Rose (Soleil with sleeves) and what do you know? It's WAY TOO BIG. I knew in the back of my knitterly brain that I should have ripped long ago, before I wasted hours and hours knitting for nothing. Note to self: Do not ignore the nagging or the bad feeling. It's probably right. My gauge expanded in the middle, and I think I may have made entirely the wrong size. I'll be able to save the lace bottom, but need to omit pretty much all the increases in the body, as I am NOT well endowed. I've never done a major frogging before, I suppose there's no time like the present. I'm not sure if I can tackle dealing with knitting this any time soon. I've got some bad vibes going on with wearable items other than socks and scarves.

I started my friend's Branching Out last night. I know I can do that succesfully. Of course I did manage to lose a stitch while watching TV and had to tink back a couple of rows.

One thing I like about my job is interviewing. (This is knitting related, keep reading.) We've expanded quite a bit over the years and I've been able to go to many interviews, especially for new grads. A couple of weeks ago I was in an interview and asked the woman if she had anything to add. She said when she went to college she had to choose between art and science.

Interviewee: "My mom has an online yarn store and my dad..."
Me: "What? Your mom is a spinner?"
Other interviewer: "What? An online YARD store?"

The discussion point was lost after the yarn vs. yard clarification. Well, seconds after I returned to my desk I located the online yarn store, as if I needed anything else to tempt me... I didn't buy anything, but the info is filed away in my brain in case I need it later.

Loved to Death

2006-04-20T18:02:00.000-05:00

I made some slippers for my husband in November or December 2004 from the book Knitting Pretty. I think they were my first non-scarf project.

A few weeks ago, they started disintegrating, however, he continues to wear them, and they now look like this:

Clearly, he needs a replacement pair. I don’t know if I should whip out some new ones with the same pattern or if I should hunt for something different. I also don’t know what kind of yarn to use that might last longer. These were made of Lion Brand Wool-Ease (chunky, I think).

I've been working late all week and don't feel like taking any new pictures to show all of the things I've been working on lately, so you'll just have to read about them.

- The Not Cashmere Sweater is unloved and untouched.
- Rose is coming along, but slowly. I hope to finish in a couple of weeks.
- I finished the heel on Spey Valley Sock #1 and am trying not to work on the sock since it will be a good project for the next time I go to knitting group.
- I am halfway done with an Easter cross stitch pattern I started last Friday. I was hoping to finish over the long Easter weekend but got distracted by my sock.

The new Interweave preview is up. I am really looking forward to seeing the magazine. I could see myself wearing a few of the shirts, and they look like interesting knits.

Happy Easter

2006-04-13T21:48:00.000-05:00

I put together this little basket for my mom. She collects rabbit stuff, so she loves getting bunnies at Easter time. Observant blog readers will notice that the "grass" is actually the Boa scarf I made for her.

I leave you with one of the bunny heads I made a few years ago...

Falling behind on my stories

2006-04-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

Two Sundays ago we went out for a late lunch. The woman in the next booth was knitting! I think this was the first time I had ever seen anyone KIPing other than as part of a knitting group or at a yarn store, where it is expected. I couldn’t tell what she was working on. Her husband was wearing a very nice sweater, and I wondered if she made it.

First Saturday Knitting this month was a festival of sugar-I brought cookies, someone brought banana bread, and someone else brought cupcakes with inch-thick frosting. Perhaps it was the sugar that destroyed my willpower. Despite a warning from one of my loyal blog readers that the yarn was "squeaky" or "slippery" or some other "s" word, I had to bring home a skein of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. It had been calling out to me since January. I just love the rich brown colors and I’ll be able to wear the socks with almost anything. I started (three times, don't ask!) the Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road, as seen in my previous post. My first socks on size 0 needles! Yipes! They are actually coming along pretty well. I'm about 2 inches away from starting the heel.

Rose is moving along again, after doing some serious thinking.

I’ve been having thoughts about frogging the Not Cashmere Sweater. However, I’m going to wait for awhile and make sure that’s what I really want to do. I don’t want to do anything I’ll regret later. Other times I feel like I should just suck it up and work on it and get it done. Maybe I should just ignore it until fall.

The new knitty is up, but nothing is really speaking to me. That's good, since I have plenty of other things to keep me busy!

A Day in Photos

2006-04-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

Breakfast: puffed apple pancake.

The mess I tried to clean up today.

Right sides together really means right sides together.

Voila, the bag is finished!

Tonight: Quality time with Spey Valley Sock #1

FO Frenzy!

2006-04-03T17:10:00.000-05:00

I was looking for an easy project to take to First Saturday Knitting. Enter the handwarmers. I had been meaning to make a pair for some time, since my hands are almost always cold. Unfortunately, I don’t forsee myself taking them to work, where I need them the most. They will be great for reading or using the computer at home. These were a fun, quick knit.

Women’s Hand/Wristwarmers
Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Started: 30Mar2006
Finished: 01Apr2006
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha, Color 80 (Thanks, Kathy!), 1 skein
Needles: The pattern requires two circulars, “necessary because of the curve of the handwarmer.” Whatever. A set of 5 Clover DPNs, US sz 6 worked fine.

A truly remarkable thing has happened. I used some fabric stash! I achieved one of my goals for 2006. I bought this flannel and pattern at least three years ago. This was supposed to be my first sewed garment, since flannel pants don’t go out of the house. But after initially buying the wrong size pattern (how was I supposed to know my “normal” size is way off of sewing pattern size?), and then actually taking the pattern out of the envelope and panicking over the wrinkly, giant pieces of tissue paper, the project lived in my fabric stash, untouched and unloved.

The flannel pants were not free of problems. My head almost exploded while trying to figure out the pockets-right side, wrong side, put these together, facing this way, blah blah blah, but the pocket installation was successful on the first try. The side seam, however, was not:

Know anyone who would fit into these? I don’t. Riiiiiiip. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to check the first seam before I sewed both sides of the mutant pants.

Flannel Pants
Pattern: Butterick 6354
Started: 20-March-2006
Finished: 01-April-2006

Laura asked about the pattern for the green sweater I'm working on. It's Rose, the sleeved version of Soleil.

Quilt Show

2006-04-01T14:52:00.000-06:00

I was in need of a three day weekend, so I took last Monday off. I was really excited when I realized that there was a quilt show happening the same day. I had attended the show a couple of times in the past, and I even entered a wallhanging one year (I certainly did not win a ribbon, in case you’re wondering), so I knew it was going to be a good way to spend some of my day off. This time I was armed with my digital camera, so I was able to add a new dimension to my quilt show experience. Unfortunately most of the quilts were in very poor lighting, and I am not a human tripod.

This cat robber cracked me up. It was part of “Cats Incognito.”

Next time, a couple of FO's.

There is knitting going on around here

2006-03-28T16:52:00.000-06:00

There is knitting going on, but it is not terribly exciting. Want to hear the latest on my Not Cashmere Sweater? I was ready to seam the arms. I started by just sewing them up, but didn’t like how bulky the seam was after about 2 inches. So then I decided I would kitchener them as the pattern suggests. This involves picking up ~120 stitches and kitchenering them together. For. Each. Sleeve. I was concentrating so hard on actually performing the grafting that I completely missed the fact that they are completely different! (I must have picked up the stitches on different sides.) Argh! Seriously, what else can go wrong with this sweater? I’m so ready to just throw the *&^% thing into a deep corner of my closet and never see it again. The husband even told me not to work on it anymore, but I really want to finish the stupid thing. I’ve put too much time into it, and I think that I will actually wear it once it’s done. If it EVER gets done.

Awhile back my grandma was on a Bernat Boa scarf kick and made at least 20 of them. My mom picked out this yarn, but my grandma didn’t get around to making the scarf before her health got too bad to knit. So I decided that I needed to make the scarf for her, despite the fact that I knew I was not going to be happy with the yarn.

Mom's Scarf
Started: 18March2006
Finished: 24March2006
Bernat Boa, 2 balls
US 9 needles

I've been working on Rose, and brought her to Last Saturday Knitting. I'm almost to the point of dividing for the front and back. I'm planning on raising the V-neck, so I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I know it can be done.

Yesterday I went to a quilt show. I'll post a few pictures later this week.

Sew? I knit! Bag - The Beginning

2006-03-27T14:13:00.000-06:00

I bought this pattern (McCall's 3136, I'm making the blue bag) ~3 years ago, but like many of my other projects, it was stuck in the pile of things to do someday. Now I have the motivation to get going on it! I bought some fabric today, so I'm ready to roll. The floral print will be the outside, the green is the lining. This bag is going to be used to store my cross stitch projects. I'd like to make a knitting tote, too, but I'm waiting to find the perfect pattern.

Ready for Takeoff-Dawn's Scarf

2006-03-19T19:13:00.000-06:00

I was sitting with my husband on the couch one night. He was completely engrossed in the TV. I started working on my friend’s bulky scarf. After about three rows he looked at what I was doing, nearly dropped the remote while pausing the TiVo, and practically screamed, “What are you DOING? It looks like you’re knitting with MODEL ROCKETS! Are those really knitting needles? Are they giant needles for kids so they don’t shove them up their nose? If those were a bra, they’d be a triple E!” He was really disturbed by those needles.

Indeed, I was somewhat disturbed as well. I had to knit this scarf English style because it’s impossible to knit Continental with these giants. However, the yarn is sooooo soft, I’m about ready to knit myself a cocoon out of it.

I liked this scarf better pre-blocking (of course I didn't take a picture), but it's still OK. I hope my friend likes it!

Dawn's Scarf
Started: 13-Mar-2006
Finished: 14-Mar-2006
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpaca Bulky, black
6 stitches across on US 25 needles

Finished Skirt!

2006-03-18T12:42:00.000-06:00

I chose a rather ambitious skirt (Simplicity 5914) with 6 panels and a zipper for the first Sew? I knit! project. My fabric, a chocolate brown micro-suede-like polyester or something, started falling apart after handling the pieces a lot. In order to prevent extreme unraveling, I had to finish the seams with a zig-zag stitch. I'm sure I spent lots more time on this than others would, but it was my first garment and there was a lot of learning involved!

The zipper installation was time consuming, but successful! I’m so proud of this zipper! It’s called a “lapped” installation, where one side of the fabric overlaps the zipper. (This is one of the many things I learned while working on this project).

I have a finished scarf to show you, but I don't want to share all the FO's in one day! I've also been fighting with the Not Cashmere Sweater, and even had to go out and buy another skein of yarn last weekend. Luckily the LYS still had the same dye lot. Whew! I'm also about halfway through the body of Rose, but I'm trying not to work on that right now and save it for Last Saturday Knitting instead.

In other news, I got my hair cut today. Since I usually get my hair cut every 6 months or so, this is a major event.

Happy Weekend!

Return to Sender

2006-03-08T17:43:00.000-06:00

I sent out a couple of little surprises on Monday morning. One of them came back to me today...

I either exceeded the 1/4" thickness requirement, or my letter was "uneven." Give me a break. Who knew there were so many restrictions? I know you can't mail anything square or overly large without paying extra postage, but too thick or uneven? Sheesh. My only hope is that the other letter went through without postage due for the recipient.

But I also got a package from knit2purl2.com. That made up for my postage due.

Around Christmastime, my high school friends and I had lots of discussion regarding receiving candles, body lotion, knick knacks, etc. as gifts and all agreed that we have too many. (One of my resolutions this year was not to set foot in Bath and Body Works unless someone specifically asked for something.) So when I met up with them a couple of weeks ago, I showed up empty handed, but promised to make scarves for two of them, and give the third a subscription to Cooking Light, my most favorite cooking magazine. I had grand plans of having the scarves completed in time to deliver them in person, but that didn’t happen. Instead I provided them with seven photos of scarves (stolen from blogs, of course) I would be willing to make and let them choose a color. It turns out that each of them chose the scarf I would have selected for them anyway! However, they both chose black!

Michelle, the one who once showed up wearing fake pearls for girls weekend at a lake cabin chose Branching Out. Dawn, who is totally no nonsense, chose a chunky garter stitch scarf. Assuming that I haven’t lost my touch with Branching Out, it should be a 7 or 8 hour project, and the chunky scarf will take less than 2 hours. No LYS in my area carries the Blue Sky Alpaca I needed, so I had to go online. Um, this yarn is YUMMY!!! Fortunately they also had Silky Wool on sale ($5.25!). While I was shopping I also had to throw a couple of skeins of Lorna’s Laces (my first!) into my cart. Whoops. I don’t need any more sock yarn right now, but I’m sure I will love it even if I can’t get to knitting it anytime soon. The color is Baltic Sea.

It's cloudy and I got home late today, so the photos are not the best. I wanted to show you Rose, but didn't get a good pic today. Here's the one from last weekend.

I'm almost done with the third repeat and should be on to the stockinette this evening.

Not really my stuff

2006-03-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

This is not my FO:At my girlfriend gathering two weekends ago, one of my friends gave us all belated Christmas bags that her mom made. It's a great bag with a matching accessories pouch (wasn't I just talking about great handmade bags?), but I WISH IT DIDN'T SAY MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL OVER IT! Oh well. I'll just have to use it for carrying my knitting around inside the house or in December.

This is not my UFO/WIP:This is a pillow my grandma almost finished. All that's left is the final seam. I've been entrusted to finish it since she will not be able to. She has numerous projects going on and hasn't touched them for several months. I have a couple of aunts who are kind of crafty. I hope that we can finish everything she started.

These are not my cats:
This is Buster, one of my mom's cats. He weighs in at around 20 lbs. He likes to sleep a lot.
This is Gabby. She weighs in at about 7 lbs. and due to her agility, she often beats up on Buster, even though he is three times her size and a few years younger. Check out those fangs!
This one is better. Isn't she cute?I currently have no cats of my own, but I would love to someday. I just need to convince the husband that pets are necessary. I always get jealous when I see cute kitties on blogs.

Busy

2006-03-04T12:47:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately I have not been very busy on the knitting front. I was out of town the past two weekends. I saw my grandma for awhile each weekend. She's in the hospital, but doing a little bit better. She'll be moving to a nursing home as soon as space is available. I was able to see a couple of my friends for a few hours last weekend-it wasn't the full Girl's Weekend we had been planning, but it was still fun. I've also been working on a secret non-craft project for awhile this week. Today I had planned on going to First Saturday Knitting, but I developed a severe tickle in my left nostril and have been bonding with a box of Kleenex all morning. It doesn't feel like I have a cold, but there is something wrong and I'm really annoyed by it.

Kathy left me a couple of comments to address. I did knit the regular size Jaywalkers. I started with the larger size, but decided it was Way Too Big after an inch or so. I have size 9 1/2 feet, normal width. The socks are a slight challenge to get over the heel, but they fit.

She also requested a non-undulating picture of my UFO quilt. Here you go!

My sewing machine is still in the shop. I'm running out of time for my Sew? I Knit! skirt. I might cut the fabric tomorrow so that I'm ready when my machine returns.

I started the Whitby sock last weekend. In a totally boneheaded move, I knit with sock yarn rather than the heavier weight yarn the pattern called for. Although I thought it didn't look quite right, and I didn't bother to actually read the yarn requirement carefully, I continued to knit on for about 5 inches. It's painful to discuss.

I started on Rose (the sleeved version of Knitty's Soleil, which I am too lazy to link right now) a couple of days ago. It's moving along great. The lace pattern has not caused me any stress so far. However, my computer has caused me stress today and crashed in the middle of uploading the photo. So I present the finished Christmas Rose Bag instead.

Christmas Rose Bag from Handknit Holidays

Started: 12Feb2006

Finished: 23Feb2006

Yarn: Plymouth Galway 100% wool

Needles: 16" Addi Turbo, sz US 8 for bag, Clover bamboo DPNs, sz 7 for miles of I-cord

The To Do List Grows

2006-02-22T17:45:00.000-06:00

Somebody please stop me. Can I put some kind of parental controls on my computer so I can stop getting sucked into other people’s cool projects? As a result of Sew? I Knit! I’ve been looking at some blogs with sewing content lately and I really think I need to make some of these Pointy Kitties. There’s a bunny pattern coming out soon, too. Seems like a good way to use some of my fabric stash and make some quick little gifts. And don't even get me started on the great bags that people make. Must. Not. Look. (I DO need a lovely knitting bag though...)

Then there’s this sweater. I saw it on someone’s blog a couple of weeks ago and rushed out to Michael’s to get the VK issue. This may be the “complicated” sweater I’ve been searching for.
Kathy asked a couple of questions about my UFO quilt. It’s made of 2 inch squares (not 1 inch!), but it’s strip pieced (sew long 2 inch strips together and then cut those into strips and sew into blocks) so I did not do any sewing of individual squares. I agree with you on the ironing…it’s a big pain, especially when the pieces get big. The quilt is a wall hanging or smaller throw. I do not have the courage or strength to try to quilt a bed size quilt on my machine…as evidenced by the fact that I have completed twin and full size quilt tops languishing away in the corner of our sewing room/office/spare bedroom/junk room. Finding someone to quilt them for me is on my To Do List for this year.

I'm still working on my miles of I-cord, still pretending my Not Cashmere Sweater doesn't exist, and I'm fighting the urge to cast on for some socks...I think they will be Whitby from Knitting on the Road.

Uggs and Ughs

2006-02-20T17:16:00.000-06:00

Mara’s Baby Uggs
I probably should have made the smaller size, since these are probably more likely to be Toddler Uggs.
Pattern: Knitty Gritty
Yarn: Berocco Suede and Berocco Plush
Needles: Sz 5 Aluminums for soles, Sz 6 Addis for the rest
Started: 31Jan2006
Finished: 11Feb2006
Mara's Arrival: 16Feb2006
Mailed to baby and parents: Uh, not yet

Now presenting the Christmas Rose Bag (Almost finished)

I finished the base of the bag in the car this weekend and started on the miles of I-cord. This bag could use a good blocking before I assess my stranded knitting skills. I think my floats are a little short and I’m getting some puckering, but hey, it’s a first attempt. This has been a fun project, except for the I-cord, which I find extremely tedious. Next time I'll use ribbon instead.

Not Cashmere Sweater-Here is the UGH:

Even the photo is blurry. Ugh! I've ripped out the above "travelling seam" at least 4 times so far. It's supposed to look something like this:

My next attempt will have to wait until I'm back with it mentally.

Laura, I got the yarn a couple of days ago. Thanks!

Falling of the face of the earth

2006-02-15T17:09:00.000-06:00

Thanks for the nice comments on my quilt. I am really hoping to finish it sometime this year! I do have several other quilting UFO's, but the one I posted about it my favorite.

It is likely that I will be out of commission for a week or longer. My grandma's health is failing and I anticipate having to go out of town very soon. It's a very difficult thing to have to deal with, since she is really my second mother, however, she's been suffering for awhile so it will be a relief to all. I was a bit of a basketcase last night, and was only able to relax for a bit while knitting. I'm really glad that I have something to take my mind off of things when I need to shut down for awhile.

It's a little strange how I feel like I need to make an entry on this on my blog, but I know that I get a little worried when people who usually post a few times a week drop off the face of the planet. I also won't be able to make it to Last Saturday knitting this month. Originally I was going out of town for "Girls' Weekend" to meet up with three of my high school friends, but now it looks like I might be gone for other reasons.

I do have some knitting news to report:
The Baby Uggs are finished. They have not been mailed though, because I hate going to the post office.
The Not Cashmere Sweater is causing me major frustration. I ripped out a particular section at least four or five times over the weekend while watching the Olympics and need to rip again. I threw it down in frustration. Apparently I can't read or count or something.
I started the Christmas Rose Bag, my first fair isle project. I must say, it's looking pretty good for a first attempt!

Until next time...

Alien Abduction

2006-02-13T17:00:00.000-06:00

Here's the UFO:

I think this was started in 2001 or 2002.

My sewing machine has been abducted by aliens, but it should be back in a couple of weeks.

I’ve been inspired by sew? i knit! Perfect for knitters like me who have been neglecting their sewing machines. Since I started knitting I have touched my machine long enough to sew some borders on cross stitch fabric so it will fit into my stitching frame as well as a couple of frustrating Saturdays working on this UFO. I'm about a third done with the free motion quilting. My thread kept breaking so I got ticked off and abandoned my project again. Sew? I knit! has inspired me to get back at the machine.

I bought a pattern and fabric for some flannel lounge pants a zillion years ago and never got around to making them. I've never sewed a garment before, so the sew along will be a great way to learn some new skills.

I called the sewing machine place and got myself set up for a tune up. The woman I talked to recommended a tune up every couple of years…whoops, it’s been 5 for my poor, neglected machine. I think it’s angry at me for not touching it for over a year. I’m hoping it’s going to work like a charm once it gets back in 2 weeks and I will be able to finish my quilt and sew one of these skirts for the sew-along.

I am hoping to make a skirt to wear with this:

Crazy Wild Jaywalkers

2006-02-11T13:30:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel, Color 5080
Needles: Susan Bates aluminum, US 1, 2.25 mm
Started: 07Jan2006
Finished: 09Feb2006

When I first saw these in Magknits I thought, "Hmm, nice pattern" but didn't get serious about jaywalking until I saw striped ones on someone's blog. I had received some self-striping yarn from my SP...perfect.

Count your socks

2006-02-07T22:08:00.000-06:00

Regular readers (all three or four of you!) may have noticed that I put up a Count Your Socks button recently. The idea is to keep track of the number of socks you make in 2006. Click on the button to be included in the group with fellow sock counters. Here's my starting count of 3 pairs, completed in 2005:
Regia, KnitPicks, and Mountain Colors Bearfoot. The Regia socks are holding up very well. KnitPicks, eh, I'm not so happy with the yarn. Really nice to knit with and wear, but fuzzes up instantly. I am completely in love with my Rib and Cable socks. Yum. Although they do make my legs itch a bit after wearing them all day.

I cannot tell you how much I love knitting socks. I love wearing handknit socks. I feel special when wearing handmade socks. I love looking at sock yarn. I can wear wild socks in colors I would not normally wear elsewhere on my body. I can splurge on $20 of sock yarn, but not $100 for sweater yarn (at least I haven't done that yet, just give me some time, I'm sure). Socks do not require finishing other than weaving in the ends. Mild imperfections are no big deal; they are just socks. They can be simple or complex. WIPs can be easily transported.

Next time I go to First Saturday Knitting, I think some Cherry Tree Hill yarn is going to come home with me. 10% off when you're with a group... (enablers!).

Just the toe left on my second Jaywalker! They should be done tomorrow!

Thanks, Laura!

2006-02-04T13:38:00.000-06:00

I went to First Saturday Knitting this morning. When I left my house, the roads were wet and it was snowing ever so slightly. Halfway to the yarn store, it started blizzarding and I was questioning my sanity going out in that kind of weather. Linda arrived about 10 minutes later than I did and she had seen two accidents on her way there on the same route that I had driven.

I brought my Jaywalker, against my better judgement. I knitted away for over an hour then messed up. I decided to stop and shop for yarn instead. I picked up some wool for my first fair isle project, the Christmas Rose bag from Handknit Holidays. Or if I decide to do the tree bag instead, this yarn will work for that, too.

When I got home, I fixed the problem spot, but then realized that I just couldn't live with the hole created when I picked up stitches on one side. So I ripped it out and now I'm back to where I was last night.

I was feeling pretty bummed about wasting all that time. So I decided to console myself with some blog reading. I squealed with delight when I found out I won a skein of worsted yarn in a blog contest from Laura. Laura is a cohost of the Cover Your Head KAL, and I've been reading her blog for awhile now. The yarn is from Sunshine Yarns, which is so great because I've been reading Dani's blog, Knitting Sunshine, for months! I've always admired Dani's hand dyed yarns. Thanks, Laura! I don't even feel bad about my Jaywalker anymore!

Ni hao

2006-02-02T19:08:00.000-06:00

In honor of tonight’s season premiere of Survivor (which I am eagerly anticipating despite thoughts last season of ending my relationship with this show…the new season looks interesting) I participated in my own special food challenge today. See this, people? It’s a candy wrapper.

With A Shrimp On It.

I work with an extremely diverse group of people and normally I am delighted when I get to sample an authentic dish. We’ve had a couple of fantastic potlucks at work, let me tell you. Anyway, one of my Chinese coworkers has been bringing candy in the last couple of days because she claims to have too much in her house. Amid the Tootsie Rolls and Dots, there were two of these shrimpy things. A coworker tried one and was pretty disgusted. I cut up the other one into thirds and ate a piece and forced the other two pieces on my coworkers. It was not good, but not exactly horrible. Two of my Chinese friends could not say for sure whether the candy contained actual shrimp, if it was shrimp flavored, or if it was merely some kind of decoration. It didn’t really taste like anything specific to me. Does anyone know exactly what this is?

When I logged into Flickr to post my pictures it said, "Ni Hao!" That's Chinese for "Hi." Very fitting.

I much prefer candy of the chocolate type. Here, at long last is a poorly lit photo of my Holiday SP gifts.

Thanks again, Kathy, I love it all! The yarn is absolutely gorgeous (my first Noro!) I’m resisting the urge to start another project right now. It’s very difficult. But I currently have four things on the needles and that is just too many for me.

Baby Ugg progress:

This is my second project with suede yarn. I really don't like it. When the yarn twists, the stitches look uneven. I am not particularly impressed with this whole thing. The booties are enormous (yes, I am knitting the 9-12 month size, so this is to be expected), and it just doesn't feel "right" to me. Oh well. I'm sure the parents won't be as critical of them as I am.

Not Cashmere Sweater Progress

2006-01-30T17:05:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of progress photos of my “Not Cashmere” Sweater from Weekend Knitting. As I’ve said before, the construction is a little bizarre compared to most sweaters. This photo shows the collar in progress. You knit to the middle, then knit the collar on a smaller circ, then resume knitting the sleeves and back. I had to bind off the collar LOOSELY with sz 17 needles! The first photo is a decent representation of the color.

I worked on this sweater at Last Saturday Knitting last weekend. [There were five of us there, which is a good number to maintain conversation as well as a reasonable amount of concentration. Rebecca was even making a fair isle hat, which was quite impressive.] I’m at the point where I need to start decreasing then casting off the sleeves. Once that’s done it should go pretty quickly since I already have the rectangle done for the mid-back, and once that’s attached, there are just a few inches of easy stockinette to go. I should be done this month.

I realized last night that I had no FO’s for January. I also didn’t get anywhere on making the Baby Uggs for my friends’ baby due February 17th. In a fit of panic, I cast on for the first one last night and got about half way through it. I hope to get them done this weekend.

Jaywalker One

2006-01-30T17:02:00.000-06:00

One down, 0.9 to go.

These socks are going to make me happy. The colors are so bright, how can you not have a good day while wearing them?

Lazy

2006-01-27T18:03:00.000-06:00

You know, I had good intentions of actually posting a few pictures for once, but then the picture of my finished Jaywalker was corrupted, so I gave up completely. Maybe tomorrow.

I joined the Jaywalker knitalong today. The idea of having a chance to win free yarn if I complete my pair by the deadline was just too appealing. Hopefully I can finish Sock #2 in time. Good incentive to avoid Second Sock Syndrome.

I had 9 hours of training at work this week. I really wished I could have knitted through it, but it's not appropriate to do that where I work. It was a webcast, not even a real live trainer in the room, so you can bet that was incredibly exciting. I nearly fell asleep on Day 1; if I had been knitting, at least I would have been more alert.

Happy Weekend! Hopefully I'll post something a little more thrilling tomorrow.

My first meme

2006-01-26T18:44:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged! Vicki tagged me...it's nice to know that people are finding their way to my blog. I only know of 3 people who read my blog on a regular basis. It's exciting to get comments from people I don't know.

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.
Purls Beyond Price
KimberliNY
Unraveling
Knitorious
Too Many Projects

Select 5 people to tag. Uh...if you are reading this, I guess you're tagged. Play along if you wish. No pressure.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

1996: I was finishing up my senior year of college. I was approaching the one year anniversary (Feb. 10th) of dating the man who is now my husband.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

I was pretty much in the same place I am right now, lifewise. I think I was knitting my first pair of socks!

What were you doing 1 hour ago?

Shredding. I've been on a cleaning streak lately. A couple of weeks ago I broke down and organized DH's file drawer because I just couldn't take it anymore. Tonight I shredded a VERY tall stack of papers.

List five creative things you want to achieve this year:
1. Learn fair isle.
2. Complete a fairly complicated cabled sweater.
3. Write in my neglected diary more than once this year.
4. Take more photos and dust off my photography skills.
5. Sew a garment from a pattern.

List five snacks you enjoy:
1. Popcorn.
2. Popcorn.
3. Popcorn.
4. Homemade cookies, especially chocolate chip.
5. Most kinds of fruit.

List five things you would do if money were no object:
1. Buy a house for my mom.
2. Quit my job and do whatever I wanted all day long.
3. Buy a house for DH and me.
4. Have a pliates studio in my house, complete with a personal trainer to stop by twice a week.
5. Travel.

List five bad habits:
1. I never make the bed.
2. I've started to drink coffee every day. (I quit drinking pop, though.)
3. I'm often TOO scheduled and regimented.
4. I throw my clothes on the floor. Luckily we have a walk in closet now.
5. Slouching.

List five things you like doing:
1. Knitting. Duh.
2. Yarn shopping. Duh.
3. Camping.
4. Cooking/baking.
5. Reading.

List five favorite gadgets:
1. Various cameras (although I don't use them nearly enough)
2. Cookie dough scoop.
3. TiVo.
4. Paper cutter for cardmaking.
5. Knitting row counter.

Name one thing you like about yourself:
I like to think that I am generally a good person.

PDA at the LYS

2006-01-23T21:17:00.000-06:00

Question: What would make a couple want to make out at a LYS?
A: "Sure, honey, I'll buy that $100 bag of cashmere for you, it's on sale!
B: "See these books over here? I'll buy you one of each title!"
C: "I can't wait for you to finish your knitted _________ (insert name of your choice of undergarment here)."
D: It was an entry into the Extreme Knitter contest, although there wasn't any knitting going on.

Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe it's because I'm married that I find yarn store PDA a little bizarre. This was not a little peck on the cheek, it was a prolonged, passionate kiss.

Saturday was a Knitty meetup. Elizabeth already covered many of the details here. We met at a LYS/coffeeshop, which was buzzing with activity. I spotted a Wavy, (here's mine)

so the owner and I chatted a bit-I figured she was there for the meetup, but she was meeting someone else. She spotted my sock and exclaimed, "Is that a Jaywalker?" Sure was. She pulled her very own Jaywalker out of her bag. I guess we have similar taste in patterns!

I managed to work a quarter round of my Jaywalker before I lost a stitch. Back in the bag it went. Instead, I worked on a scarf with some "problem yarn" Terby destashed to me the last time I saw her. I messed around with it a bit in the morning and decided that it looked pretty good combined with some leftover Lamb's Pride. I managed to screw up the scarf a few times, too. Of course I am going to run out of the Lamb's Pride and have no idea if I can get any more of that color. That was not very smart of me.... I'm tempted to rip it out and start over with a full skein. So the knitting wasn't so great on Saturday. Too many distractions.

My very awesome Holiday SP, Kathy, drove an hour and a half to the meetup. It was great to meet her! She brought me my final package full of wonderful goodies: a skein of Cash Iroha for armwarmers (right now my fingers are freezing, gotta get working on those), 3 skeins of Silk Garden (leftover from the GORGEOUS sweater she was wearing), 2 more balls of the extremely thin mohair she sent in my first package, chocolate, and a nice card! I'll post a picture sometime later this week. Not everyone is so lucky to get a SP package hand delivered!

My Not Cashmere Sweater is coming along...pics to come.

Moving on...

2006-01-19T17:36:00.000-06:00

No more stuff on work right now. I just want it to go away. Is it the weekend yet?

Here are my somewhat belated craft resolutions for 2006:

Learn how to knit fair isle. I want to make one of the bags from Handknit Holidays. If my knitting looks weird, I can just felt it and make it look good! When I saw that someone on the knitalong did this, I knew I had to do a bag as my first project. I made a felted Sophie bag when I switched from English to Continental, which made all mistakes disappear!
Knit a cabled sweater. I really want to do something with sort of complex cables, but haven’t decided on the pattern yet.
Use my sock yarn stash. I have enough to make 3 pairs of socks (I know, that is hardly a “stash”). I’m not super excited about any of the yarn, so the patterns need to be good. Since sock yarn is so easy to accumulate, I need to be careful that I don’t hoard it. It stresses me out to have too much yarn around.
Knit with Lorna’s Laces sock yarn. After hearing so much about it in the blogging world, I must have some for myself. This is my easiest goal this year.
Find someone to professionally quilt my twin size and full size quilt tops that have been sitting around for 3 or 4 years. I still need to seam the back piece for one of them. It’s a huge pain. This was a failed resolution from 2005, although I did seam the back for one, so I did make some progress last year.
Finish the smaller quilt I have been working on for a couple of years. I’m doing free motion quilting. I got about halfway done, then life got in the way and I didn’t touch my sewing machine for over a year. When I tried to get back into it, the thread kept breaking. I don’t know if my machine got smacked around when we moved, if it needs a good cleaning, if the metallic thread I’m using is starting to disintegrate (is that possible?), or if my technique is horrible from being out of practice.
[Side note: I have no illusions that I will use any of my fabric stash or work on any other quilting UFO’s.]
Finish some Xmas cross stitch projects that have been sitting around for (yipes!) 6 years or so. The stitching is done. I don’t want to frame them, so I need to figure out an alternative finishing method. Mini pillows?
Complete at least 2 scrapbook pages. I have all this scrapbooking stuff and have made a total of 4 pages in my life. This is probably my most unrealistic resolution.

My boss boss was saying today how we need to constantly be improving ourselves and how tomorrow I should be a better Jenny than I am today. I immediately thought of my knitting, rather than applying this to anything work related. (If she only knew...)

May we all be better knitters tomorrow.

It got worse

2006-01-18T17:30:00.000-06:00

You know, after the day I had last week, I thought I had hit rock bottom, work-wise. Not so. I shed tears in my boss boss's office yesterday. It was ugly, oh, so ugly.The unfortunate incident from last week manifested into a Huge Deal. I was not directly responsible, but I am shouldering most of the blame because I am a supervisor. Yes, I am partially (yet indirectly) responsible, but I don't think that they needed to make me cry about it. Although I cry very easily (I bawled during March of the Penguins a couple weeks ago), I have never done it in front of anyone at work, especially not my boss boss. Things were better today, I just wonder if the worst is over. Stay tuned to see if I am still employed in a few days! HA! (If I lose my job, how will I pay for my knitting?)

My previous lowest point in my career occurred during and after my prelimary oral exam my second year of grad school. It was made clear to me that day that I had no desire, skills, or will to get my PhD. I don't have the brain for it. I don't want to be creative. I want someone to tell me what to do and then I'll do it. And I'll do it well.

I think that's why I like knitting. Call me strange, but I LOVE to follow directions. I have little desire at this point to create my own patterns or even stray far from someone else's pattern. Just let me knit according to the directions and I'll be happy.

My Jaywalker is progressing nicely, although I had wanted to be on to the second sock by now. Oh well. I had a moment of panic last weekend when I tried this baby on. Everyone has been talking about how tight they are and I wanted to make sure I was OK before completing the heel. I got it on without too much trouble, but then I realized I had nothing really to grab onto to pull it off. PANIC! Deep breath. Deep breath. Gently wiggle out. It came off and the needles stayed in. Whew.

I can only hope that I get through this tight spot at work without losing my mind. Breathe. Knit. Breathe. Knit.

This, my friends, is the kind of day I had...

2006-01-12T17:35:00.000-06:00

Today was a particularly ugly day at work.

DH and I don't have much alcohol in the house. We have a bottle of vodka and a bottle of amaretto, which are used only for penne alla vodka and chocolate amaretto layer cake, respectively. I do have a bottle of margaritas in the fridge, but it doesn't get much use. I usually only break it out on Friday afternoons in the summer. Nothing like a margarita on the porch after a week of work. However, since it's January, you can infer that the margarita is not a result of the completion of a week of work and a celebration of summer. It's the marker of the survival of a tough day.

As part of my ugly day at work, I had to sit through a 3 1/2 hour meeting. Too bad I couldn't have worked on this...

I was making decent progress on my Jaywalker until last night when I had to watch 2 hours of LOST. I simply cannot knit during that show.

Laura asked what yarn I was using. It's Lana Grossa Meilenweit Multiringel, color 5080. She's also working on some Jaywalkers right now. Isn't everyone? :)

Must. Knit. Faster.

2006-01-09T16:52:00.000-06:00

I restarted my Jaywalkers and worked on them for awhile on Sunday. This was my first time knitting socks with a set of 5 needles instead of 4. It was a bit trickier working on the first few rows, but it got easier once I had enough rows to stabilize the needles. I feel like I worked on this for hours and hours, but this is all I have to show for it:

The yarn is from my Holiday SP, who is no longer nameless: Kathy!

I think I need to do some research on knitting socks on 2 circs. I don’t think I want to do two at a time, since I forsee myself getting tangled, tangled, tangled. One at a time just might be faster than using dpns, and I am all about getting faster with sock knitting. I did Magic Loop for a few rows on a sweater sleeve once and it drove me crazy pulling the stitches back on the needles and it broke my rhythm. Using 2 circs could be better, because I think you just keep knitting around, you just have to be careful to select the correct needle. I need to look into this more…

Moving from Size 1 to Size 10.5, here’s the Not Cashmere Sweater progress:

A few people at work know I knit, although no one really knows how MUCH I knit or what an OBSESSION it is and certainly no one at work knows I have a blog. A coworker asked me recently if it was difficult to make a hat and did I have a good pattern. I brought in my latest umbilical cord hat and my copy of SnB for her to look through because that was my first circular project and it went very well. It turns out that she’s made a sweater before (in a class), but for some reason she has a fear of knitting in the round. I hope I gave her enough of a pep talk so she will give it a try-if you can make a sweater you can definitely make a hat! She had never seen SnB before, and I think I convinced her that she needed to have it because of the great instructions.

Saturday Knitting Group

2006-01-07T14:43:00.000-06:00

Today was my first time attending the First Saturday knitting group. I'm pretty much a shy person and sometimes I freak out when there are lots of people around, especially ones I don't know. (I don't go to the mall or the grocery store on weekends because it drives me nuts.) Luckily, knitters are usually very nice and welcoming people. There were nine of us there and I had a good time. I didn't talk much, but once I get to know people better, I'll open up. I'll definitely go back next month. We met at a newer LYS. They have a nice selection of yarn and I picked up various sock yarns, but managed to put them back. Maybe next time.

The first time I attended the Last Saturday knitting group, I walked in with a sock in my purse. The meeting was at a coffeeshop, and I figured I could walk in, scope out the place while ordering my coffee, and then bolt if I was too scared and no one would have to know. Well, I stayed and had a great time. I just have to suck it up sometimes and overcome my introversion.

I worked on my Not Cashmere Sweater today. I'm almost ready to start the collar. Once again, I am too lazy to upload any pictures.

I started the popular Jaywalker socks last night using the self-striping yarn from my Still Secret Pal. I decided to make the larger size because lots of people were saying that they come out really small. Well, after some evaluation this morning, I think I'm going to frog and do the smaller size. This sock is MUCH bigger than all of my other handknit socks, and I can easily fit it over my ankle, even with the needles in place. Sigh. I hate starting over.

A Trip to the LNS and FO

2006-01-04T17:51:00.000-06:00

See? THE FIRST ROBIN OF SPRING!!!

I can pretend that the weather is nice and wonderful here instead of dark and gray.

I cross stitched this little robin over Christmas. My mom and aunt had a pet robin, Buddy, while they were growing up, so they are both very fond of robin things. I think I’ll end up giving this to my aunt. She has a bathroom dedicated to bird stuff. I really don’t want to spend the money to frame something so little, so I think I will try to do something with it myself, perhaps a little pillow. However, my sewing machine and I aren’t on the greatest of terms right now. Maybe it needs a cleaning? I have no idea.

I’ve been looking for info on ways to finish cross stitch pieces other than framing, but haven’t come up with much. With knitting you can find pretty much any tutorial imaginable on the web, but it’s not so with cross stitch.

I had a bit of Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket and I panicked when I realized that Little Robin was my last cross stitch project in the queue. I had a couple of charts, but no fabric or floss. Off to the LNS I went. I had never been to this particular store before. All of the workers were very nice and offered to help me several times. I wasn’t overly impressed with the layout, however. Most of their charts (more than I have seen in one place before) were in bins, so it wasn’t easy to browse. Luckily I wasn’t really looking for any charts. The floss was all in little drawers. Very organized, but I prefer being able to see at the colors without having to pull out individual drawers.

For the past couple of years I’ve been a Floss Snob. I used to use only the 5 for a dollar (on sale) DMC floss, until I picked up a kit that used overdyed floss. The color variations make stitching much more interesting and give the finished piece much more depth. Plus shopping is more fun when you are looking for “Honeysuckle” rather than “Color 841”. I bought everything to make Little Robin in my pre-Floss Snob days and I was sad to work with boring floss again. HOWEVER, each skein of overdyed floss costs about $2 and I feel really guilty each time I buy it. Most of my previous projects have been done in earth tones, so I blew my $20 in Christmas money in no time by buying every color of floss needed for this springy piece:

I also needed to buy fabric. In the past I have bought precut pieces from the other LNS (I graduated from Aida long ago when I saw how much better linen fabric looks). At the other LNS I inquired about the big pieces of fabric and they said it was $50+ a yard (gasp) and that it was sold by the inch. Whatever that means. Clearly I didn't know what I was doing and they weren't offering to explain, despite the confused look on my face. I couldn't find what I was looking for on my recent trip to the different store, so I asked one of the workers to help. She took the $55 a yard fabric and cut me a $3 piece which will be enough for 2 small projects. I will definitely be going back to this store because their customer service was so much better and I was much more comfortable asking questions.

Happy 2006

2006-01-04T17:50:00.000-06:00

I whipped out this little baby hat on the last day of 2005 while knitting with the Last Saturday Knitting Group. There were four of us there this time and once again, the time just flew. Elizabeth even took some pictures this time. I realized that my baby hat stash was getting dangerously low, plus I needed to do a bit of ripping on my Not Cashmere sweater and that couldn't be done in public. This hat completes my first "Hat Trick" for the Cover Your Head Knitalong.
At long last, here is the finished photo of my Flower Petal Washcloth from Weekend Knitting along with the bath fizzers I got for my cousin. I hope she likes it. Even with natural light, it still isn't the greatest picture. Have I mentioned that I only have north facing windows and it's the middle of winter?

I've been back to work for two days now and it's SO HARD. Yesterday my head felt like it was full of cotton, I just couldn't think at all. I guess that's the mark of a good vacation, when you get back to work and can't remember what you were doing a week and a half ago!

I was out of town for a few days and didn't do any knitting during that time, but I did do a small cross stitch project, which I will save for another post.

Happy 2006!

FO: Rib and Cable Socks

2005-12-20T17:10:00.000-06:00

Here they are in all their glory.

Rib and Cable Socks, Interweave Knits, Fall 2005.
Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot
Needles: Sz 2 DPNs

This was my first attempt at cables. Partway through the second sock I tried cabling without a cable needle. It was a little tricky trying to pick up the teeny weeny loops from this somewhat splitty yarn, but I think it was a little faster than using a needle. I can see it being a huge time advantage when using thicker yarn.

Now I'm working on my Not Cashmere Sweater from Weekend Knitting. I've completed the two center panels and am starting to add the arms for the front. To do that, you pick up stitches from the center panel, then cast on stitches at the beginning of the next several rows. A little weird, but definitely interesting.

Progress Report and Giving Blood

2005-12-14T16:59:00.000-06:00

I find it hard to believe that I have JUST ONE project on the needles right now!

I finished up the Rib and Cable socks on Monday (pictures to come when I am feeling motivated) and had nothing on the needles for a few hours. I felt really uneasy. I remedied my anxiety by casting on for my Not Really Cashmere Sweater from Weekend Knitting. I'm using Cascade 128 in a brownish color with blue flecks. The construction of this sweater is unusual, so I better take pics along the way.

Next in line: Baby Uggs for a February baby girl currently known as “Project Little B,” the daughter of two PhD scientists. I originally was going to make another suede hat, but thought these little booties would be cuter for a girl.

I frogged my little Midwest Moonlight scarf again. It just wasn’t working for me in that yarn. I might try Branching Out with this yarn instead.

I gave blood last Thursday. I always get a little uneasy going to donate because it seems that everyone who works there is one extreme or the other: really friendly or really crabby. I always hope it's not a Really Cranky Person taking my blood. Well, it turned out to be the best donation ever. All of the workers were completely friendly. The woman who was taking my blood was chatting about Christmas shopping and making gifts. "When I was your age I would go home every night after work and knit." I nearly jumped out of my chair, needle in arm, and jumped for joy. We talked knitting the rest of the time.

The Secret is Out

2005-12-07T16:53:00.000-06:00

My downstream Holiday SP, Erica, now knows who I am. I revealed myself by sending her one of my Christmas cards. Hi Erica! It was hard for me to keep a secret for a whole month. I wonder if I'm even capable of doing a regular 3 month SP round. Anyway, check out her cool site: knitplayground!

Meanwhile, I still have no clue who my upstream pal is. When am I going to find out who you are???

I got together with some coworkers one Sunday afternoon and made 45 of these cards. I don't usually stamp my Christmas cards, but I figured if there was spiked hot chocolate and other people involved, I could handle it. Now I just need to get going on sending them out. Who wants to make or send cards when there's knitting to be done?

This is the Reverse Bloom Flowerpetal Washcloth from Weekend Knitting. There were TOO MANY ends to weave in, but all in all, it was a fun project. (It's done now, but I'm too lazy to take a new picture.) I even enjoyed knitting with the cotton chenille. I'll be giving this to my cousin along with some butterfly bath fizzers.

Ben's Baby Hat

2005-12-06T17:23:00.000-06:00

This is yet another Umbilical Cord Hat. I finished this earlier this year, but only delivered it to the expectant mom in November at her shower. It's good to keep these on hand.
Ben was born on November 30th. It will probably be awhile before his little head will fit into this hat!

The yellow yarn is Bernat Cotton Tots and the variegated yarn is Plymouth (?) something or other that cost about 4 times as much per yard. I'll be sticking to the Cotton Tots from now on because I noticed no difference in the two yarns.

The baby shower was quite crowded. I was seated in the dining room with my back to the living room. At one point I turned around and saw something quite fantastic. Someone was knitting! I kept turning around to see if I could figure out what she was working on without looking like I was completely staring. She knitted furiously throughout lunch, pausing only to take a bite of food now and then, and I think it took her the entire gift opening time to weave in the ends. She presented the mom-to-be with the most adorable hat with ducks on it. Talk about last minute gift!

Finally at the end of the shower people had cleared out enough so that I was able to make my way over to her and we talked knitting for awhile. She's been knitting for three years. Unfortunately she was from out of town, so I will likely never see her again. I'd love to make that same hat some day. It was SO CUTE! But way above my skills for right now.

This is the little snowman cross stitch I worked on over Thanksgiving weekend while I was away from my knitting. I'll take it in to get framed after the holiday rush is over.

Camis? Shrugs.

2005-12-03T11:11:00.000-06:00

I’m going to a holiday party tonight and have another one in two weeks. Thursday after work I went shopping to find a sweater to wear with one of my two black skirts. I went to nearly every store in the mall followed by Kohl’s. Two hours of excessively frustrating shopping for NOTHING. I saw about a zillion camisoles and two zillion shrugs. It’s cold where I live, plus I don’t have the bod to be able to fill out a cami properly, so I refused to try any on. And please don’t suggest I cover up a cami with a shrug to keep warm, because I have never seen anyone over the age of 20 wear one of those things in real life. Note to self: Knit a nice sweater for next year’s festivities. I found a nice sweater last night, but ended up spending too much on it. I don't like shopping for anything but yarn!

Here’s something to keep me warm:
Basic Cable from SnB Nation

Lamb’s Pride Worsted in almond blossom

I lengthened the hat in order to fit my rather large head.

I really enjoyed knitting this. It was almost magical how the decreasing in pattern worked. I’m loving cables.

I cast on for Rib and Cable Sock #2 on Thursday, which will hopefully join its partner RCS #1, shown here, by the end of the month.

Happy Weekend!