ZillahKnits

What a Heel I Have Been

2012-01-21T12:19:00.001-06:00

Up until now I have used a short row heel for all of my toe up socks and overall I have been happy with the results. With my latest pair of socks I decided to pick a pattern and stick to it to broaden my knitting horizons. I picked the Van Dyke Socks from Wendy Knits Socks from the Toe Up book and in this pattern she uses a Gusset style heel. Well, have my eyes been opened! By using a series of increases and decreases you get a heel with no holes, like sometimes happens with a short row style, and the end effect is a triangle wedge at the back of the sock. As you'll see from the pics below, this made for a cool look with the yarn I an using. I am really happy with the results.

Somebody is Swatching Me

2012-01-16T15:49:00.001-06:00

I've decided to use the Cascade Eco Wool I got at the Knitorious After Christmas Sale to make myself a Central Park Hoodie. I was originally going to do this in a darker and more subdued color and then my partner reminded me how much I prefer bright colors if not black. When I saw three of the same color skein in a blue I simply adore wearing, I knew this was the right yarn. I'm being good and I've knit my swatch. It's showing 9 sts/2" so I'm slightly off gauge but I haven't washed the swatch yet and since I'm doing this right I will remeasure then.

Italian Sausage Soup

2012-01-15T14:25:00.001-06:00

I used a modified version of the "Italian Sausage Soup" posted on Allrecipes.com to make a big yummy pot for dinner today. The recipe is simple to follow and I just added some extra onions, celery, and a small potato. I also added some red pepper flakes and a pinch of a few other spices like oregano and parsley and it turned out quite good. The bonus is it's good for us too with all the different veggies!

In the Beginning

2012-01-14T14:59:00.001-06:00

I've finally started a Clapotis scarf using some beautiful hand dyed yarn I picked up in New Mexico. I wanted a pattern that would just let the beauty of this yarn shine though and I would be able to use it all. So far I'm up to about 80 stitches per row and I'm thinking to go up to around 110 total. I'll weigh the scarf when I've finished the increases so I'll be able to knit until I have the same amount left and then decrease. I should be able to pretty much use it all that way. I love, love the colors so far.

The View

2012-01-13T17:54:00.001-06:00

I am sitting watching "Moneyball" and knitting the swatch for my next sweater, the Central Park Hoodie and this is my view. Ah, family!

Yummy!

2012-01-12T15:13:00.001-06:00

Digging into my yummy carrot cupcake from Jilly's Cupcake Bar. I love beautiful food and this certainly takes the cake so to speak!

What a beautiful morning!

2012-01-08T09:37:00.001-06:00

It was a beautiful morning in the park this morning as the puppies and I made our circuit. I can tell New Year's Resolutions are still going for a number of people since it was more crowded than usual as well. It's wonderful to see the sun on these cold days!

All in the Family Socks

2012-01-07T17:47:00.001-06:00

I'm loving the socks in progress using the yarn my brother bought for me for my birthday. I love the colors but I was afraid of what they would look like knit up. Fortunately I find the striping pattern to be awesome. Spot likes them too as he sits in my lap and helps.

Hats Belong on Heads

2010-10-13T19:05:00.003-05:00

One of the best things in the world is getting a picture of someone wearing the item you knit for them. My beautiful great-neice Leila models her hat perfectly. They look SO much better on the baby's head. So cute!!

It's Not Easy Being Green

2010-10-11T20:48:00.003-05:00

So we've come to the end of summer and I realize my much neglected garden has been picked clean of any semblance of red tomatoes by my puppy Spanky but it is flat out filled with green ones of all shapes and sizes. I planted (2) Cherry Tomatoes, (2) Sungold Tomatoes, and (2) Better Boy plants. While I haven't touched these plants in at least a month, the dog has thoroughly enjoyed their bounty but managed to leave enough I needed to figure out what to do with them. I searched through the recipes on AllRecipes and found an intriguing one for Green Tomato Relish. Since most of my tomatoes are not big enough to slice and fry, this seemed like a good option.

Therefore, Saturday I picked the remainder of the various tomatoes left in the small garden and filled about 1/3 of a typical reuse grocery bag. Then I sorted through them all and picked off stems and removed any icky tomatoes from the piles. I ended up with a large mixing bowl and a medium size split relish bowl filled with worthy bounty.

I love the shapes and colors in these! I decided I had about half the amount of tomatoes the recipe called for so I halved most of the ingredients in the recipe except for green peppers which I completely eliminated. I really don't like Green Peppers. I also made two jars worth with no Mustard seeds just for Mom to avoid her allergy issues. See Mom, I take care of ya!

The results are 12 jars of Relish and me trying to figure out who's going to eat all this stuff. It was pretty yummy when it went in the jar so I think I'll find some folks willing to give it a go. Good Christmas presents I think. :)

Starry Citron

2010-09-26T16:19:00.002-05:00

While touring Ravelry for a way to use my beautiful Dream in Color Starry, I came across this other knitters Citron with a beaded edge and I knew immediately I must use the beautiful, sparkly yarn I had in just this way. I also thought the sparkle in this yarn was perfect to put more sparkly on the edge and I really just love sparkly. Can you tell? Citron is one of the hot new patterns and adding these beads just seems to kick it up a notch. Love it! When I went to my local bead store in search of the perfect complementary bead, I just about lost it. They had a rainbow worth of colors but none seemed just right with the colors in the yarn. And then I moved a little further down the line to the stone beads and saw the hematite. I love hematite. I love the magnetic power in the stone and how you can't really say just what color it is. Is it black, grey, silver, I just don't know. But upclose next to this yarn, it's color is perfect!

I decided on a garter stitch ruffle and did 6 ridges. I might have been able to get a few more ridges out of the single skein I had but since I never beaded anything before, I wasn't sure what I would need and didn't want to risk it. I love the way this turned out!

I so loved my Starry Citron that I started thinking about the next one. I was shopping at the local Tuesday Morning and discovered some beautiful green beads and knew I had the beads for my next shawl. Then, what yarn to use? Well I have the most beautiful yarn from Dyeabolical and thought maybe it would work. Well, after winding it into a ball, I realized I can't get my crochet hook through my beads and I'm no longer certain this is the right yarn for a Citron; too much color variation I think. Tonight I hope to find the perfect pattern for the gorgeous yarn shown below.

Lastly, a quick little baby hat for the Great-Niece of my partner. Simple 48 stitches cast on, 2x2 rib for a while, stockinette for a while, decrease. Pretty cute.

Now I'm trying to decide what to take with me on a trip I am leaving for in the morning. Will it be a pair of socks? Another shawlette? A hat? Hmm..time to decide.

Falling for Fall

2010-09-22T19:16:00.006-05:00

Don't be fooled, the photos below are not what I'm seeing out the window around herejust yet; they are what I am waiting for. I, like many others, really like this time of year. I like the cool weather. I like being able to use the oven again. But most of all, I like the colors and what they make me dream about.

Beautiful!

End of Summer

2010-08-19T18:30:00.005-05:00

So traffic on the way to work keeps getting heavier as schools start the new year and I feel a need to just get away. I decided to take a couple of days off and enjoy the end of the summer season. I often walk the dogs through this "naturalized" area of a local park and I have really enjoyed watching it change over the course of the seasons. Today as I rounded the corner to the walking path mown through the area, I encountered thousands of beautiful sunflowers.

My companions intrigued by local wildlife as we take a break in the shade.

My tomato plants had a rough time this year. I was worried about the signs of early blight I saw on the plants when an early morning sight clarified where the real threat lay. Spanky, the puppy in the red harness above has developed a huge craving for tomatoes. 2 days ago I checked the plants and found about 2 dozen cherry tomatoes just starting to blush with red. Yesterday I walked outside and realized the slight ring of green I had seen around Spanky's neck earlier in the day could be directly attributed to the fact that I no longer had a single tomato on my plants. Thankfully one of my coworkers brought it some homegrown tomatoes and I was able to enjoy the beautiful dinner pictured below. The basil from my garden was amazing with the yummy home grown tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. I added a dash of balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil and broke up a piece of nan I had left over from my Indian Food Extravaganza last Sunday. Anyway, it makes a beautiful plate and a yummy dinner.

Don't know if I showed these before but what pretty socks! I really like this Mini Mochi sock yarn and while I had to be careful with the splitty nature at times; the color change is fabulous and the end result is really soft and cozy.

Lastly, some pretty pictures of what I'm calling My Poison. It's the pattern for "My So Called Scarf" and a yarn from 100 Pure Wool, color named "Poison." See, aren't I clever. :) Here's a close up of the stitch pattern. Really pretty.

Here it is soaking in the sink. Just kinda cool

I also spent some time making a big patch of Pesto with my basil plant that needed to be used, and I mean now. And lastly, Hummus and fresh chicken stock from scratch. I am feeling very domestic and honestly enjoying every minute!

A Gift From Down Under

2010-07-10T17:43:00.003-05:00

I have a wonderful friend who recently returned from Australia and while she was there she actually took time to think about me (and trust me, much more exciting things were taking place) and she brought me back the following fabulousness:

I am a lucky girl.

Walking on Sunshine

2010-07-04T16:28:00.003-05:00

"Meret" modeled at Design Expo 2010
St. Louis Design Expo 2010

Traveling Woman Shawlette w/ Malabrigo Sock

Multnomah w/ Hand Spun Sheep Day 2010 yarn for Mom

Upstairs Lace Shawl w/ Dyeabolical Hand Dyed Lace Weight

First sock of Laguna Beach Hand Dyed from Yarn Lady in Bandwagon Pattern

Lily Pads at Forest Park

Walking path

Punkin Snatchin' 09

2009-10-25T13:33:00.010-05:00

We walked along the field on a brisk Autumnal day surveying the fallen. As far as the eyes could see, a testament to the battle so recently waged. In the distance, the warrior returns, triumphant, with the trophy held high....

But seriously, this weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch and got ourselves some punkins. We made our way over to Eckerts, in Belleville, IL to find the perfect pumpkins for Halloween. Eckerts is really pretty fun since you get to ride on a trailer pulled by a tractor out to the patch and then walk among thousands of pumpkins and find the one that is just right for you. We had a really great time walking around a looking at all the options. Here's Franny with just a few to choose from.

And as you will see, everyone was victorious in the end in finding the right one.

The colors of the peach trees in the background were an amazing backdrop to a field of pumpkins. We spent some time in the Country Store after the ride back and I bought some Apple Butter, Pumpkin Butter, and an Apple Stollen we had for breakfast this morning. All-in-all it was a really great day.

So, what have I been knitting? Well, a variety of little things have been on my sticks lately. I've managed to end up with so many things in process that I'm now madly trying to work through several of them before I let myself start anything new. First is my current pair of socks. I only let myself knit one pair of socks at a time because I don't trust myself to finish the pair otherwise (the dreaded "second sock syndrome"). This pair is a plain jane toe up sock without much going on. I started it on the plane ride to see my mom and I didn't want to have to think while I was working on it. It's great travel knitting and I'm planning on taking it with me on the day trip I have tomorrow too. The really nice thing is I haven't had airport security even blink since the needles are so small. Kinda hard to be threatened by a glorified toothpick.

I have decided I really like toe up socks. I think I'm going to have to get Wendy Knits "Socks from the Toe Up" book and try out some of her patterns next.

I've also finally gotten back to my second full size sweater. I started this simple Raglan style cardigan but when I went to work on it a few weeks ago, I realized I had made a mistake about 12 rows back on one of the raglan increases. Well, it took me about a month to get up the nerve to pick it up and drop down 12 rows of raglan increase stitches and then figure out how to reconstruct them back up to the row I was on. This was less daunting to me than the idea of ripping out 12 full rows of stitches since each row is well over a hundred stitches. Once I actually got around to dropping those stitches it only took about an hour to get them all picked back up and get on my merry way. How cool?

I'm really enjoying the Cascade 200 yarn too. I haven't really used it a lot but I can see why it is a "workhorse" yarn for so many people. This particular color is Mallard and it is a really pretty heathered yarn. When you get up close you can see the pretty flecks of purple and it just has a nice depth. I can't wait to wear this sweater!

It's getting close to the holidays so I've been doing a bit of work for those too. I've decided I'm not really going to knit much for holiday gifts this year but there are a few special projects being planned. The first, and probably the most special, the a stocking for my niece. I don't know about you guys but when I was little, my grandma made me a Christmas Stocking that I still use to this day and it means more to me than most other things I own. Well, since Grandma is no longer with us and my mom is not really the "crafty" type, I decided I needed to make a stocking for Eva and carry on the tradition. I bought the yarn, Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick, before I knew what pattern I might end up making with it. I figured at worst I would just to a random stripe pattern with it. However, while cruising the Webb's catalog, I came across the pattern for the Spotted Christmas Stocking and I decided to do that instead. It's been a good pattern so far because not only is it looking cute, but I'm learning new techniques. This is my first experience with an afterthought heel which is all I have left (it's going where you see the weird half stripe of green). I also learned how to do a knitted hem along the top of the stocking so that's pretty cool; two new techniques and a great present that I hope will be loved for a lot of years to come.

The last thing I have this week is a neat knitting heirloom I was gifted. My mother-in-law brought over a knitting bag that was her grandmother's and gifted it to me. It's in amazing condition and I am truly appreciative and honored. I hope great grandma Eva (funnily the same name as my niece) would be happy to know this bag made it to me. I can promise it will be used with love and hopefully for many a project. I think the cardigan shown above will have the honor of being the first project to be housed in the new bag. I'm excited to start using this piece of knitting history.

Well, time to get back to knitting. I hope you are doing the same. :)

Stormy Weather

2009-10-11T09:24:00.002-05:00

The mood has been a bit sad around our house this week because we lost our beloved puppy "Weather" last Saturday, 10/3. Weather had been with us since 1998 when she did an impressive job dodging the dog catcher and jumping a friends fence to try and blend in with her dogs in the back yard and avoid capture. She was a beautiful spirit and impressive in her abilities to get what she wanted. She could climb a fence, hop boulders at the bottom of a waterfall, and when we went backpacking, she carried her own pack with her food and led the way on the trail. Weather lived a very full life until just these last few weeks and she definitely made our lives more full than we ever could have expected.

This is how I will always remember "The Best Trail Dog EVER!!"

War Wounds & Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2009-09-20T10:39:00.007-05:00

What have I been up to, you ask? Well, less than usual I guess. First off, I will warn you this is an animal intensive post. So, why have I been up to less lately? Well, last Saturday morning as I was in the glow of just waking up when one of my dogs got spooked and started freaking out. Of course, this just got the other one started and next thing I know, I've got two dogs snarling at each other on the bed with me. I reached out blindly with sleep glazed eyes and managed to stick my hand directly into a mouth. Ouch! Those little teeth are sharp. Anyway, it all resulted in me with a giant finger for a few days, which makes knitting less than ideal. It didn't stop me though as you can see above. I was determined to get some wristers finished for my new step-daughter (that still sounds weird) and a little thing like a giant finger was not going to stop me. The good thing is I realized I really only use that finger for tensioning so it wasn't too bad.

On to the results. I based my wristers on the Leftover Mitts I found through Ravelry but I used the leftover Urchin yarn in combination with a solid corresponding black I had. Since I had the two colors, I just didn't start the cable until row 15 in the pattern and then I worked one extra twist in the cable pattern up the arm. I'm pleased with the results and so is Jess. (Try to hear Madonna's Vogue as you scroll through these photos)

I've also been working on some dishtowels I am trading for necklaces and earrings sets. I love bartering.

Other than those two things, I've made some progress on a pair of socks but I don't have any photos.

So what else has been going on? Well, my cat has been slightly traumatized. You see, he is very furry...

Or should I say "he was very furry..."

Or he could just be an alien...

Whatever he is, the other cats aren't sure what to think. Thank goodness this only temporary. He'll be back to normal before we know it. For now, he'll just have to deal with the furmiliation.

Who Woulda Thunk?

2009-09-08T18:55:00.004-05:00

So, have you ever had a weekend where you know you're going to learn some amazing new things, but you really don't expect it to be about knitwear and yet when part of it is, it is so cool. OK, I know that was the run-on sentence from hell, but I've had one hell of a weekend. This weekend was spent meeting my step-daughter for the first time and she's 16 years old. Wow! Now I'm not going to get into my personal business on here so let's just say there were some circumstances that kept her out of the lives of my partner and me for the last 13 years but things have changed and she spent the entire Labor Day weekend with us.

Now, I can safely say I have a lot to learn about being a "mom" to a 16 year old. I did learn a few things this weekend though. I learned:

I really prefer music where someone plays instruments, not a computer
I didn't really like the fashion of the 80's in the 80's
Blue eyeshadow can actually look pretty cute on some kids
High school Algebra is a lot harder when you're 40

Well, I think you get the picture. But there was one thing that I was really surprised to learn and thus the reason I write this post. So let me take you back in time a bit...are you hearing Scooby Doo flashback noises? Good, we're almost there.

Seriously though, a number of months ago I decided to make the Urchin Hat by Ysolda. I love the look of it on the Ravelry project page and the construction looked interesting since short rows were pretty new to me so I decided to give it a go. I bought some Debbie Bliss yarn from my LYS and cast on. The hat went super quick and I loved it until I realized why it was going so quick; it was way too small.OK, time to try again. This time I want found some Rowan yarn called Spray from Webs and that was my next mistake. I loved knitting the hat but the yarn was way too bulky and the whole thing ended up much to stiff to be very wearable. Bummer.But alas, I am not one to be so easily deterred. As I said, I really enjoyed the knitting of the hat and I knew if I just found the right yarn, the hat would be great. So, back to Web's sale yarn to find some Rowan Chunky Print. I really like this yarn. The colors are pinks and charcoal greys and I just loved it. I got started right away on the hat and I think it was finished in maybe two nights. As I finished sewing in the last end, I placed it on my head and really...nope.

It sorta sucked. I loved the color and the look of it but it was just not working for me. I put it in a bag and really didn't think much more about it until this weekend.

This weekend Jessi asked me to see some of my knitting, and who am I to say no. I pulled out the bag of finished stuff I have in the corner and I came across the third knitted Urchin. I held it up to Jessi, she put it on her head and viola...something I never expected...it just looked darn cute on her. (ignore the 16 year old expression of near tolerance)
It really did look great on her and I really did learn something; sometimes you just have to find the right head for the hat.

The Error of My Ways

2009-08-23T14:33:00.003-05:00

So, as you may have noticed, I've slowed down a bit on the blog. Have I been knitting less? Not really. However, I have been doing a number of other things and I guess documenting my knitting hasn't really been one of them. I have been keeping up on Ravelry so I guess we know where my priorities are.

So you ask how my knitting has been going. Well, so-so I guess. You see, I have three projects I am actually actively working on right now. I have the simple Garter Rib socks out of Mini-Mochi for Steph: My version of the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern out of the hand dyed yarn with a color called Poison I bought from 100PureWool on Etsy.
And lastly my Cropped Raglan Sweater from a pattern on the Lion Brand website and in Knit n' Style April 2008. I don't even have a picture of this one yet but it's being worked with some pretty Cascade 220 Heathers.

So what's the problem you ask...I have made a mistake on each of these projects that has caused me to stop. What are my mistakes?

Steph's sock - time to turn the short row heel on the second sock and I'm getting big holes where I'm adding a stitch for the short row turn. I know that makes no sense to people who haven't knit a short row heel, and maybe even people who have. Sorry
My So-Called Scarf - I've managed to loss a stitch. I think I simply forgot one of the increases on the purl row before but I have to rip back and figure it out.
My Cardigan - I forgot one of the raglan increases...12 rows ago. I need to drop the 3 stitches of the raglan increase down the numerous rounds and try to add the YO I missed and then knit my way back up the stitches to where I am. I'm hoping to do this instead of ripping out the 250+ stitches in 12 rows of knitting and doing a "do-over."

So what is a girl to do when she has three projects being actively worked on and all of them have mistakes that must be fixed before she can continue? Well, start something else of course! In order to make sure I don't have to worry too much about mistake, I decided to get started on some dishtowels that I owe as part of a trade I've worked for some new jewelry. I went to Michael's last night a bought a bunch of kitchen cotton (and some other stuff for a Christmas gift but no need to talk about that just yet) and got started last night. I got the first towel done and now I just need to pick the next color to knit.

My next goal, to get the right mindset to sit down and fix my three errors and get on my way!!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

2009-07-26T10:48:00.006-05:00

These are a few of my favorite things...

Sunday mornings..Getting ready for a ride..

Best Buddies..

Darla laughing..

Real world color..

The view from one of my favorite spots on earth..

Something I've grown..

Something I just want to knit with right now..

(check out this Etsy shop to find more beautiful yarn from our local Dyeabolical)

And last but not least, something I've made worn by someone I love...

Feed Me!!

2009-05-12T22:42:00.004-05:00

Check out what I found in the Lilac bush outside my window this evening.I found the nest about 3 weeks ago but I thought it had been abandoned. But then tonight I noticed the Papa Cardinal we've had as a regular visitor through the winter was sitting out on the branch, chirping, with a bit of food in his mouth. Then, being the detective that I am, I noticed him flying towards the "abandoned" nest and thought, duh, no so abandoned. As he flew in there I quickly spied a little head pop up to grab some grub. I grabbed my camera, snooped outside and shot a few pictures. How cute are these little guys?!

The Little Things

2009-05-03T11:03:00.008-05:00

On of the things I am spending more time thinking about in my life is the need to spend more time appreciating the little things. This sounds really cliche but if you really think about it, nothing could be more true. If we don't take the time to appreciate the little things in life that make us happy then how happy can we really be? The way I figure it, the more individual minutes you take to appreciate something that makes you happy, the more individual minutes you are actually happy in your life.

So here's the first "Little Thing" that made me happy these last couple of weeks. I got pictures of my niece in the Fiona Sundress I made for her. How could this sight not make an auntie happy?
I made this dress with some Peaches and Cream 100% Cotton yarn from my stash and I am just thrilled with how it turned out. I made the 18 month size and Eva is about 16 months right now so the sizing seems pretty good. She might even get two seasons out of it if she wears it as a top with little jeans or something next summer. She's got a little growing room but I think it looks great!

Then again, what wouldn't look cute on that little girl?

I also took some time to appreciate some beautiful handspun yarn one of my aunts gifted to me a while ago. I found this great pattern for the "Spring Cap" by Woolly Wormhead and I figured it would be a great fit for the yarn. Well, what do you think?

I am really happy with it. If I do the hat pattern again, I will make it a bit taller than the 4" recommended to give it a little more slouch next time. The colors of the handspun really look great and make a subtle sort of striping pattern. Really cute!

Enjoying a little sunlight this past weekend I pulled out the pair of socks I finished a little while ago and gave them a photog session. Like most things, they look even better in the sun! (not to mention with feet in them).

I took a little time this week to appreciate the chaotic yet slightly hypnotic colors of the recycled sari silk yarn from my stash. I'm working on something making me think of a lot of little things but those will have to be shared in another post once the finished product is gifted.
I took a little time to learn a new technique. I have this great Mini Mochi yarn to make a pair of socks. I have one skein per sock and the skeins together are only 390 yds. The recipient of the socks has larger feet so I wanted to make sure I was making these socks as tall as possible without running out of yarn. Well, that means only one thing, start from the toe and knit your way up the leg until you run out of yarn. Cool, time to figure out how to do that. I found the "Lifestyle Toe Up Socks" recipe, so to speak, on Ravelry and I got started. I started by learning Judy's Magic Cast-On (surprisingly easy), increased for the toe and started my way up the foot using a garter rib pattern on the top of the sock.

It is pretty neat to be able to slip this on the foot and check it's progress as you move along. I was worried it was too big but when it was tried on, it seems to fit just right. Neat. The striping of the yarn is fantastic but it's a bit splitty and I might look for some needles with sharper points to use to finish these up.

I went to the zoo and saw this not-so-little Little Thing.

I love baby elephants! I could have watched this little guy play for hours.

How about a little pink to take your breath away?

I took a walk and came around the corner of one of the alleys and found this.
A much more pleasant smell than the usual found in the alleys and definitely beautiful.

And I took some time to remember those who've moved on and all the little things they took with them. I am dedicating time each day to appreciate these Little Things in life and I hope you do too.

Sheep Day 2009

2009-04-19T08:09:00.005-05:00

Warning, many pictures to follow in this post. :)

Well, I am no longer a Fiber Festival virgin. I had one of my co-workers come in the other day with a small ad from his local town paper for the "Southern Illinois Sheep and Fiber Festival." It took place in Waterloo, IL which is just over the river and about 35 miles from my house. I had planned to go by myself to the event, surprisingly I couldn't find too many people interested when I said "Hey, you wanna go to a Sheep Festival with me this weekend." However, I was going, even if I had to go by myself. And then brilliance hit! A friend of ours was over and started looking at my knitting magazines and the new little dress I just finished and asked if knitting "was hard." Well, as you all know, this just opened the door and before she left an hour later she knew how to knit and was sent home with some basic cotton yarn to practice. So the next day when she came back and said how much she liked it I saw my chance. And that is how Frannie ended up going with me to the Sheep Festival. Ha!

For my first Festival like this, I thought it was great. I don't recall having seen sheep up close and in person before and I was so excited. As you saw above, the festival took place in the local Fairgrounds and it seemed really well organized. They had one building with food where they were serving all sorts of lamb products for a flat fee of $7 a plate. Frannie and I had never really had lamb stuff before so we were a bit leery. Plus, we felt kind of bad about eating there and then going to look at the critters and thinking, "yeah, we just ate your cousin Harry." Oh well. However, Frannie and I did have a bit of a change of heart when we walked by the meat booth with samples and we tried the Hot Links. Yummy!! Let's just say a pack of Cousin Harry Hotlinks and Bratwurst did end up coming home with us for dinner that night. We just kept them hidden while we were walking among the critters. :)

So what all did we see. Well, you just wait. The second building on the Fairgrounds contained about 10-12 vendors up front peddling fleece, roving, yarn, handmade soaps, goat cheese, and lots of other neat things. I had also never seen fleece right off the sheep or even fleece that hasn't been prepared for spinning so this was all really new to me. Check out these gorgeous locks of hair.

It's a good thing I don't spin at this point (I just can't do another obsession) because I would have likely spent every penny I had. I mean after all, how could you not be inspired by this...

Great display too! I kept petting the fiber and watching the people demonstrate the spinning and telling myself, "the cats would have more fun with that than you would," "you don't have room in your house," "do you really need another hobby," "but really, this is just an off shoot of knitting and it's ok," and lastly, "nope, can't do it, you're broke, but keep looking!" So I kept looking.

I saw this...

This is a beautiful sweater one of the women there made. She told me she spun the yarn, created the pattern, and knit the sweater. It was just adorable!

There wasn't a lot of yarn to be found, mostly fiber in various stages. There was one booth with all natural dyed yarns that were pretty though. There was another booth with a woman doing weaving and she had a small basket of handspun yarn that a friend of hers sent for her to sell. I wish I had the friends name so I could give her some props but I did fall in love with one skein of yarn.

I bought this beautiful 100% Merino handspun, 169 yards, for $10! Holy schmeezals, that is cheap and it is gorgeous!! And soft too.

So now, on to the critters. I have to admit, since I am a full city girl and this is all new to me, I was simply taking pictures because the critter was cute, not because I knew what it was. However, I did see one of our local yarn dyers there, Dyeabolical Yarn, and when I checked her blog, she actually knows what kind of sheep they are. So, if you want to know names, go here to find them. For me, it all about the pictures.

So, here are some cute dark faced sheeps. They have numbers spray painted on their backs for the auction at the end of the day, I think. Cute little faces.

This one was really friendly and didn't seem skittish like a lot of them. She just looked right at us as if to say "what's up?"

The ram in the same pen with her was not as friendly, but he was handsome.

And then we saw the Mammoth Sheep. I swear, this was the biggest sheep I have ever seen, which doesn't really say much since this was my first day. But seriously folks, this thing was the size of a cow. It was HUGE!! Look to the left, that's a normal sized sheep and this one was about twice as big! I would have loved for it to have stood up but I'm not sure it could. :)

Here's a picture of Frannie admiring the sheep. We decided for this day only that the ADIDAS on her shirt would stand for "All Day I Dream About Sheep" instead of "sex" like it did in High School.

They also had these cute little miniature horses pulling a miniature stage coach and giving rides to the kids. Apparently, according to the woman driving the coach, the horses were originally breed this size to haul stuff in and out of the mines. Cool.

Lastly, we spent some time watching the Sheep Dog demonstration. The dogs had to take the group of sheep all the way out to the fence and then run them around the field in a particular pattern per their handler. Here are a few "action photos" that sort of show the process. These dogs were amazing.

The handler look amazingly like my aunt so that was kind of funny too. So that was my Sheep Day 2009! It was a really good time and I feel like I learned quite a bit too. Hmm, where's the next one I can go to?

Finally, a pretty picture of the lilac from outside my window at home. I cut this bunch and have them in the room with me right now and I can smell the flowers. Amazingly beautiful!

The Green of Spring

2009-03-29T09:59:00.011-05:00

It is officially spring this week so imagine my horror when I woke up to this.

This is a sight you just should not have to see. We have been taunted with beautiful days in the 60's and 70's for the last week and I have to admit I had already converted to my Spring way of thinking. Meaning I simply did not want to see this when I awoke this morning. It's cold, grey and icky outside and I can't open the windows to hear the birds sing and I just don't like it at all. I wanted to spend today sitting outside by the fire pretending I am in the woods in my own little world. Instead, I'm going to sit inside and try to sink myself into some brainless TV and catch up on some knitting.

To supplement the green outside, I did a little "green" shopping yesterday. I decided to got o one of our local thrift stores and see what might be available for some direct recycling. I've heard of other people having some pretty good luck finding sweaters with nice yarn that can be unraveled and repurposed. I love this idea! Any time I can come up with a new use for something that might otherwise be disregarded I just get a warm fuzzy. (see these little examples) Also, who can complain about finding an entire sweaters worth of yarn for under $10. Well, here's what I got:

This sweater is a White Stag 55% Acrylic/ 45% Cotton sweater that I got for $3.99. While I was hoping to avoid any acrylic fibers, this one is pretty darn nice. I like the color of the yarn and the overall softness. I also like that it's big enough that I can see myself using this yarn again. I think this might make a nice spring/summer t-shirt or tank top style. Not bad.

Next I found a Faded Glory lace sweater. This is 100% Cotton and looks to be about a DK weight. I paid $3.99 for this one as well. I like the natural color and softness of this cotton and I could see it making a really nice summer weight top. I've actually been eyeing several patterns on Ravelry for summer t-shirt using yarn very similar to this so it seems to be just right.

The funny thing is I didn't even really look at the lace work before buying the sweater. This morning when I was taking the pictures, I was surprised by how pretty the lace work really is up close. See, pretty.

I might need to take some more detailed photos before I unravel anything. The actual sweater is a little shapeless but the details are sure nice. It almost seems a shame to rip it out. Maybe it will fit S. I'll have to check before I start.

Next sweater, an argyle. Now, I don't know about you, but argyle has never really done much for me. On second thought, I should say it never really did much for me, until I started knitting. Like many things in my life, once I figure out how they are made, I find them infinitely more interesting. (Can I just tell you how much I love the TV show "How It's Made?") Anyway, back to argyle. So, argyle, to me, always represented "preppy." Now, again if you are me, preppy is bad so therefore argyle is bad. However, now that I knit and I understand the skill involved in making the argyle pattern, it is much more interesting. It's still not my favorite look though. OK, get back on track. The next sweater I found is a dark brown argyle in 70% Acrylic and 30% Wool. Again, I didn't want a bunch of acrylic yarn but this sweater is a great color and the yarn is really yummy soft.

The yarn is probably a fingering weight and I was actually thinking it might make a nice lace wrap type thingy. Who knows. Of course, I decided to try all of these sweaters on this morning and I actually kind of like the way this one looks. I never thought I would wear argyle but the colors are nice and like I said, the yarn in yummy soft. Hmm. Oh, what did I pay? Well this one was marked $3.99 but it was also on of the 50% off tags so I ended up paying $1.99. Now that is a bargain!

As for actually knitting something, I continue to knit swatches. I am doing my best to find the perfect pattern for things like this..

and this...
And this...
Now that's "green." :)

Somebody's Swatching You

2009-03-22T18:42:00.005-05:00

Do you swatch? For those who may not know, swatching is when you knit a small square of fabric and you learn things about the yarn from it. Once knitted you can determine the number of stiches per inch, what the colors might looks like knitted, and once you wash and block this piece of fabric you know if it will shrink or expand. Pretty nifty little things really. So why don't more of us swatch? Or if we swatch, maybe we don't take it all the way. I don't know about you guys, but I rarely make it through the washing and drying stage. I've gotten pretty good about actually taking the time to knit the swatch and measure it to get my gauge but the idea of waiting another day while the little swatch dries just about kills me. I want to get started on my project.

So one of the things I'm trying to be better about is swatching. And better yet, keeping track of the swatches and the infomation to be learned from them. To this end, I went to Office Depot and purchase some nifty little tags and as I knit my swatches I am attaching a tag with the vital information of the yarn.

I'm pretty pleased with this system and I think it will be fun to look back on these little pieces of fabric and remember the excitement of starting a project, like a fabric scrapbook.

Meanwhile, I've been knitting swatches for socks too. I've realized the number of stitches per inch is really vital in socks and I absolutely have to take the time to at least knit a small swatch. One day while I was cruising the internet, I saw someone who knit their sock yarn swatch as a continuous tube. What an ingenious I idea! So the last few yarns I've gotten for socks I've knit in a continuous tube for my swatch.

I like this for several reasons. Again, the scrapbook affect is really cool but I also like that I can knit these swatches without having to deal with the headache of the first 1/2 inch of sock knitting. I don't like the first half inch of a sock with all the fussing to try to get enough fabric knit that you can actually grab it when you're knitting. Also the curling up of the knitted fabric meant measuring the gauge could be a challenge at best. By knitting one continuous swatch, I only had to cast on once and now I just knit, knit, knit. Even changing needle sizes is no big deal . And once I get a couple inches of swatch for my current yarn I just knit the next row of stitches onto the needles I have dedicated to this swatch and then snip the yarn. When the next yarn is ready to be swatched, I just join it in and knit along. The last step is to make sure I write down the yarn and needle size on the tag I've attached and I'm good to go. Neato!

So why all this talk about swatching? Well, I've gotten some new yarns lately and swatching has been a primary knitting activity. And this week, I think it's all paid off. Not because I'm done and I won't need to swatch again but because I learned something profound enough that I think it will keep me inspired when swatching is losing some of its glow. See what happened is this. I've been wanting to try out some Tofutsies yarn with the Chitin in it. It's supposed to be naturally anti-bacterial and sounded like a good fit for a pair of boot socks for S. I looked at the colors online and then looked at my LYS but I just wasn't thrilled with the way it looked. The colors were pretty enough on their own but they seemed all jumbled in the ball. Well this week one of our local yarn stores started a "Going Out of Business" sale and had yarn 30% off. I figured this was the time to buy some Tofutsies and check it out. Below is the first color I got.

Surprise, blues and greens. Like I said, the colors are pretty enough but they just seem kind of jumbled or something. Also, the yarn seems really thin and I was afraid it would make a really thin fabric. So I started knitting on my sock swatch. And as I knit, I realized that I was amazed with this yarn. The fabric was turning out to be really nice and firm on US 2s and even feels pretty soft. But it's not that which made me catch my breath. It's not the view of the yarn as you hold it feet or yards away. This isn't the view that wins you over...It's this one...This yarn, up close is so cool! It is composed of 50% Superwash Wool, 25% Soysilk Fibers, 22.5% Cotton, and 2.5% Chitin. Chitin is a fiber from crab and shrimp shells and gives the yarn its anti-bacterial qualities. But what I love is the colors moving through the knitted fabric when you get really close. Each fiber takes the dye just a bit differently and the way it all does together is just cool. Its got a pretty sheen you can't see in the picture too. So I learned a lot from swatching this week and I think I'm going to get some more Tofutsies. :)

Step Number One

2009-03-01T11:18:00.005-06:00

For those of you who might be reading this blog entry and you don't actually knit, what I'm about to say may not make a lot of sense to you. Why? Because it reflects a severe obsession with yarn and if you are not a knitter, you just might think I'm a bit off somehow. For you knitters out there, I think you'll understand just what I'm saying. So here it goes...

For Christmas, I was lucky enough to get to pick any skein of yarn I wanted from Dyeabolical Yarns as part of an exchange my lovely partner worked up. So, with no effort or money required of me (wow), I got to go to http://www.dyeabolicalyarns.etsy.com/ and pick out any skein I wanted for my Christmas gift. Well, Rachel dyes some beautiful yarn and it was really hard to decide which one I wanted. I love her sock yarn, which I used to make my first pair of Jaywalkers, but I was thinking it was time for something different. I wanted to try a real lace pattern so lace yarn it was. I picked a beautiful blue kettle dyed yarn and now it was time to find the right pattern to show it off. You see, the yarn is amazing.

It's soft. The colors move back and forth and when it's all pooled together it feels and looks like ripples in water. So looking for the right pattern was more difficult than it sounds. It needed to have enough stitch pattern to keep me interested but not so much as to interfere with the color variation in the yarn. I wanted something to show off these beautiful colors and after a LOT of searching, I decided on a lace stole called "Upstairs." I'm linking to the Ravelry page since it's from a German (I think) on-line knitting mag and I don't speak German. I found it through Ravelry. :)

So last weekend, I printed the pattern and got started on the stole. Now, this pattern is not difficult but it is little tiny yarn. I worked for a couple of hours during a movie and I got half of the first repeat finished. From what I can see so far, I think the pattern is going to be just right for this yarn. It is so pretty and I already can't help rubbing it against my arm and such to enjoy the feel of the soft yarn.

I've also been working on my most recent pair of socks. I've decided to just try to always have a pair of socks on the needles so there is always a small, quick to grab project available when I'm running out the door. The pair I am working on now is another pattern from the Little Box of Socks called Waves and Piers. I bought some KnitPicks Essential Sock Yarn with a self striping pattern and I thought this pattern would really show it off. Also, since I can't seem to knit things without tinkering with the pattern a bit, I am using the Strong Heel from the Roman Rib sock pattern in the same collection. Well, I got the first sock all finished and started the second from the second ball of yarn. Now, I tried to make sure I started the cast on in about the same place of the yarn repeats but either I REALLY screwed up or the yarn did.

You see, I love the striping in the first and yet the second doesn't look anything like it. I checked and the dye lots are the same so I don't know if it's me or the yarn. I like the way both of them look, I just wish they looked a bit more like each other. I also bought the yarn for my next pair of socks but I'll save that for another post.
I'm continuing to work on various stitch patterns while using up my cotton yarn by making dishtowels. So cool. The one above is Mosaic pattern #20 from Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting book. Fun to do, pretty to look at, and oh so useful. I love dishtowels.

Lastly, I just wanted to touch on some "outside the box" thinking I've done since I'm a little impressed with myself. :) I've been looking for a little container to put in each of my project bags that could hold stitch markers, safety pins, a little bit of yarn, a darning needle, and when I can afford it, a pair of those cute little fold up scissors. I was looking for a container small enough to fit in my project bags but I also wanted something rigid and maybe see through. So one day I'm sitting in the bathroom, I look up and lo and behold...the perfect little container.

Works pretty nice and it will even fit the little scissors when I get them. And best yet, I've got a continual supply of them for free...well, sort of, considering the cost of what comes in them the first time. I'm pretty darned pleased and I have made several little on-the-go kits like the one below.
And to end...gratuitous cute kitty picture.

Baby Elefante Walk

2009-02-21T15:17:00.003-06:00

Growing up my favorite stuffed animal was a hot pink elephant with bright yellow inside the ears. I loved this little critter so much that only one ear survives but it is stilled treasured to this day. Given that history, how could I not fall in love with this little Elefante pattern by Susan Anderson. This is just the cutest little thing and so simple to make. It went so quickly and was so easy and I expect a few more to be coming. I made this little guy with some left over KnitPicks Wool of the Andes. I didn't use any polyfill pellets like the pattern calls for but he has no trouble standing on his own so I don't think it was any lose. I also knit the ears in garter stitch instead of the crochet in the pattern. As I mentioned, I really liked how quick and cute this little project was and it is inspiring me to make many more toys. A bunny for Easter...who knows what's next. Maybe another Elefante....in Hot Pink. :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2009-01-28T10:38:00.004-06:00

Aren't you glad you're not in St. Louis today! We got about 7" of snow over the last two days and Tiki doesn't like it. He said the new hat doesn't match his outfit and he would like to return to the tropics. Meanwhile, I got a snow day so I'm not too sad. My car is sitting on the city streets buried so I can't even tell it has tires and I just wasn't into the idea of digging it out. So, vacation day spent and snow day achieved!

So, on to the blog. And Mom, if you are checking my blog today, you might want to wait a couple of days since I'm not sure the package I shipped has made it to you yet. If you keep going, you'll spoil the surprise. :)So, what to give your Mother who can buy herself what ever she needs. Well, hand made Dishtowels of course! There are several great things about dishtowels:

They look awesome

They work great

Everyone needs them

They use up yarn in your stash

You can practice stitch patterns and have something useful when you're finished

And did I mention, they look great?!?!?

So these are Mom's new dishtowels on their way, if not already there. As you may have guessed from my list of reasons I love Dishtowels and I was looking to try out some new stitch patterns with this set to kind of "kick the tires" on some different patterns.

First up is the Ball Band Dishtowel. This can be found on the ball band for Peaches and Cream yarn or you can find it in the first Mason Dixon book. I absolutely LOVE this color combo! I bought a number of cones of Peaches and Cream cotton and I've been slowly working my way through them. And I decided it was time to finish up the cone of Fiesta so you will see a considerable "theme" in next several projects. The next one is a sample of the Diagonal Slip Stitch Rib from Barbara Walker's A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns I got as a gift for Christmas. This was a fun stitch pattern to try and I like the way the yarn colors highlight the diagonal. I think this would be a fun pattern to try with some hand painted yarn and make some socks. I might give it a try. The other two towels were just a classic dishtowel knit on the diagonal and a Bastketweave pattern I made up. Both were simple and make nice little additions to the set. To finish up the last of the Fiesta, an eco-friendly Market Bag. I modified the handle to be a single one going from one side of the bag to the other. I really like this version and I think I will use it going forward. The handle is wide enough to distribute the weight of what ever is in the bag and big enough to slide easily on my shoulder. I'm pleased.

Oh, and that cone of Fiesta....
Lookin' good!

A Dash of Poison

2009-01-11T15:12:00.007-06:00

I finally did it. I lost my "V" card in regards to cables. I wanted to try out cable knitting and I wanted to find a project for this beautiful 100% wool hand dyed yarn I bought on Etsy at 100PureWool. I bought this deep purple/pink/nearly black yarn called Poison and it just had to be something special. I was thinking about making a pair of fingerless gloves with it and I ran across the pattern for Dashing by Cheryl Niamath from Knitty, Spring 2007. I liked the simplicity of the cable pattern and I hoped they would be big enough to show up with this multi-color yarn. Well, I think they turned out pretty darn cute. The recipient has larger hands and arms than I do so the cables look even better on her. This was also the first time I've done anything mitten or glove like. Adding the thumb after knitting the hand was interesting and went pretty well. I managed to avoid any too large holes and I hid the little ones when I did the weaving in of the ends.

I also finished up my Knock-Off Noro scarf and Wow! am I happy with it.I love the way the colors move through this scarf and everyone who sees it thinks it is really cool. The simplicity of it appeals to both men and women too so this would be a good future gift idea if the right yarn was available. Maybe next time I'll even use the name brand yarn.

As I mentioned in my last post, this is Debbie Mumm "Traditions" and it is an acrylic/wool blend with a solid black core and a colored wrap around the outside. Well, the challenge is the outside and inside wraps don't always match and the black core occasionally pops out in a hernia like bulge. If you look at the photo below and look right around 1 o'clock, you'll see a dark spot. That's not a fly, it's the black core bulging out of the stitch. This takes place in about 4 spots along the scarf and I just couldn't figure out a way to stop it. I still love the end result though. The scarf has great colors and is soft and warm. What more can I ask for?

Lastly, I've been spending my time scheming my next sweater. "Have I finished the first?" you ask. Well, no. I mean, it's going ok. I've got the entire yoke and one whole sleeve finished and I've kind of stalled. Why? I don't know. I think it's because I'm not really inspired by the yarn. Enter my next sweater....

For Christmas, I received a Gift Certificate to my LYS, Knitorious, I by going to their After Christmas Sale, I was able to get an entire sweater's worth of Malabrigo for only $7 out of my pocket! Malabrigo!! I have heard so much about how amazing this yarn is and I want to find out for myself. Well, I've knit a gauge swatch and I am convinced. Malabrigo is sent from heaven. It is 100% wool but it is the softest wool I have ever felt. It is kettle dyed which means the colors move around in the skein and they are just beautiful in the swatch. After searching for days on Ravelry, I've decided to knit Wicked. I like the simplicity of the pattern, the small cable details, and the variety of looks the pattern allows. Yummy!

Tiki likes my scarf too. :)

Christmas 2009

2008-12-28T09:26:00.005-06:00

Yeah, Christmas knitting is finished!! I finished the last project, the hat for RED that you see below, on Friday morning and off to the post it went. I hoped to put a brim on this hat but wasn't able to work it all out for this one. I do have some more yarn though and I'm determined to figure out the brimmed hat. I've been looking at the Son of a Stitch and Bitch Half Pipe Hat in order to get a better idea about how to add the brim. I think I'm going to try and get a copy from the library and see if I can dig up instructions for this. Meanwhile, RED gets this hat without the brim. This hat is a simple K3,P1 rib with decreases based on the Jacques Cousteau hat I found on Ravelry. I made this with Paton's 100% Wool in a nice heathered gray that I like a lot.

Next I made some gift sets for my aunts. Each sister got a handtowel made with a modified version of the Victoria Dishcloth, a small face towel, and a pretty soap from our local Asian Market. This yarn is some 100% Organic cotton I got from Elann that used no pesticides and such when growing and then they don't even use any dye to get the colors. It is actually grown in the colors they sell. The cool part is when it gets wet,the parts that look sort of gray actually turn a pretty shade of green. It's also super soft.

The next item up didn't end up making it to the gift stage. I decided to steal them for myself. I made these lovely socks with Colinette Jitterbug handpainted sock yarn and by the time I finished, I was so in love with the yarn that I just had to keep these for myself. I adore the colors in these socks and they are just so soft and squishy. I am now thinking I need a pair of socks out of every colorway of this yarn. I am definitely in love.

For my cousin, I decided to send this cute little felted purse. I was practicing some mosaic patterns and decided to make something purposeful out of the swatch. I think it turned out really cute and I hope she liked it.

The other pair of socks I finished were for Mom. She has been the most appreciative of the hand knit socks so I guess I better keep up the good work. These socks are made with Araucania Ranco Multi hand dyed 100% wool. I feel in love with the colors in this yarn since they made me think of Monet's painting Water Lilies. I decided to try out the Basket Check socks from my Little Box of Socks gifted to me from a friend. The pattern was easy to memorize and adds some really nice texture to the socks. The colors of the yarn are simply beautiful but they did play a bit of a trick on me. When you just look at these socks, the blue/purple color seems to be the dominate but when you put them on your feet, the red really comes through and changes how they look.

I really like the heel flap on these. They use an "Eye of Partridge" heel that basically means you slip alternating stitches on every other row. With this hand painted colors of this yarn, it made a really pretty pattern on the heel.

Next up, another hat for Eva. This is the Toasty Topper pattern from Knitty, Winter 2007. This was a fun one to knit and while it looks kind of weird just sitting there, the pictures in Ravelry of this actually on cute little baby heads are adorable! I hope to get a picture of Eva in it to prove how cute it really is. :)

I also knitted a bunch of Coffee Cozies. This was the Eco-friendly stocking stuffer of choice this year, at least in my book. My mom gifted a number of these to her friends and I gave out several to mine. This was a great little project to play with leftover scraps of yarns and different stitch patterns. I think I will continue to make these just to play with these scraps and see what comes out.

And finally, a hat for Brenda. This is made with Bernat Alpaca yarn and it is so very soft and warm. I had actually intended for this hat to be a men's hat but as it grew in length on the needles, it grew in appeal to me. As soon as it was large enough to try on, I knew it was meant to be worn by a girl. I loved the way it looked with my hair and I figured if I added a flower of something, it could be just "girly" enough. I am really pleased with the result and I decided to send this to Brenda for Christmas since she has a similar hair style and I thought the look would suit her well. I hope she likes it.

So, that was my Christmas knitting for this year. Overall, I am pleased with the results and I hope everyone likes their gifts.

So what does one do after the obligatory knitting is finished? Well, copy what the Yarn Harlot is doing of course. I read her November 25th entry about the Noro scarf and could totally see myself in the same situation. I often find myself knitting more just to see the colors changing in the yarn than to finish whatever I am doing and the idea of doing a scarf like this seemed quite appealing. Well, last week my two things happened to make my thoughts turn into reality. First, my everyday scarf disappeared at work one day. One minute it was hanging on my cube wall and the next minute, poof, all gone. So, new scarf required. Now, the Noro scarf is beautiful and all, but with the yarn running somewhere around $15 per skein, it was simply not going to happen. I needed a good knockoff yarn. And thus the second thing that happened. I went to JoAnns and they had their Debbie Mumm line on sale. This line has a pretty yarn called Traditions that has nice long repeats in color and is soft and has a nice sheen. The yarn is a wool/acrylic blend with a black core and a colored outer layer. It's not as nice as Noro, but it's a darn good low cost substitute, especially when it's on sale. :) I cast on this scarf for ME and I am loving watching the colors change. So pretty!

Another One Bites the Dust

2008-11-30T11:55:00.002-06:00

Since I'm pretty sure this particular co-worker doesn't read my blog, I've decided to go ahead and post a picture of her completed present. I just finished my second Elizabeth Zimmermann "Baby Surprise Jacket." This one moved along quickly and was certainly easier to knit since I understood how it all worked up front. I was also smarter and I used stitch markers to indicate the increases and decreases and so they were a lot easier to keep track of. I really like the way EZ gives her patterns with just some basic instructions and then makes you figure out the rest. I find that my brain seems to work in a similar manner in that I can follow her instructions by instinct. I certainly don't have her skill with putting these things together though. Her ability to manipulate the knitted fabric in three dimensions in her mind and come up with something like the BSJ is truly astounding.

I've also decided my niece's mom probably doesn't read my blog either and so I'm posting Eva's holiday present, so far. Momma asked for a hat with earflaps and so that is what she's getting. I have this great Bollicine Revolution yarn that I got on clearance from Web's for my birthday that is 100% wool but it feels like fleece. The knitted fabric is great. It's soft, smooshy and seems like it will be really warm. I just used the Yarn Harlot's basic hat formula and made it sized to fit a one year old (wow, does time fly). Momma also asked for mittens so those are next. I've been doing a lot of research on hats and I have a bunch of others I want to try out so I see Eva getting a pretty fair collection of hats over time. I'm intrigued by EZs Bonnet from the Opinionated Knitter and also the Maltese Fisherman's Hat for The Knitter's Almanac (which I have). These both have earflaps too and EZs fun geometry. Hmmm, what yarn do I have that I could get these started right now?

I've also started working on some Coffee Cozies for stocking stuffers. I've been using a bunch of leftover pieces of wools and novelty yarns and just having fun with different combinations. These knit up quickly and they are pretty darn satisfying. The hard part is finishing the one I'm on because I'm usually staring at the container of yarn and imagining the next yarn/color combination. I expect to get a bunch of these done over the next couple of weeks.
Lastly, a gratuitous photo of the socks I knit for S, modeled with a pair of mocs she made for herself. Very nice pair, if I say so myself. And don't forget, you can get your own pair of mocs in our store at BuckarooLeather.etsy.com.Beyond all of that, just knitting other gifts and dreaming about the next project for myself. I'm thinking about starting a shawl or wrap as my holiday present to myself and I'm looking for the right pattern and yarn. I'm open for suggestions...

I'm Working on...

2008-11-09T08:29:00.003-06:00

Gifts. Pretty much working on all gifts right now. Whatever gifts I give this year, they will be ones I am making because buying gifts is just out of the question. I've gone into my stash for all but one of the gifts and so far they are moving along quite well. I will take pictures of them all and likely post after the holidays.

In the meantime, I can show you the one gift I am working on that I actually purchased yarn to make. That gift is S's Poncho that I talked about briefly in the last post I had with any knitting. :) It's moving along quite splendidly except I'm running out of yarn. This is a pattern from my head and so I completely guessed at how much yarn and considering my lack of experience at doing this, I apparently need more practice. I am also knitting this with two strands held together for extra warmth and that also means extra yarn. I have less than half of one skein of the lighter brown left and I have 4 more rows of it in the body and I have planned to add a border on the sides with this color too. I really need to purchase at least two more skeins of this color. I know the store doesn't have the same dyelot either because I bought every skein she had of that dyelot. But...since it's really just the border left, if the dyelots don't match exactly, it won't be obvious. So here's a picture from early last weekend.I have now made it to the color change on the back side and as I said before, I've got 4 more rows with the light brown color. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough yarn in the other colors.

Oh, a few details about what I'm doing. This poncho is using Plymouth Encore yarn; 25% wool, 75% acrylic. I'm working on 13s with the yarn held double. I have used 3 mosaic patterns from Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting book, which I am currently completely enamored with. As soon as I get the yarn I need, it should wrap up pretty quickly.

I'm also working on some more co-worker baby gifts. These women just keep getting pregnant and so I keep knitting. This is obviously another Baby Surprise Jacket to all those knitters out there. This is being made with some baby yarn from the stash and it's turning out pretty cute. It is really nice and soft too. I only have the button band and two seams left to finish this one so maybe I'll get froggy and get it finished today.One last work in progress below. Knitters and non-knitters might be able to figure this one out but I'm not going into details. It's turning out nicely and the yarn is really pretty, as you can see. Yummy.Lastly, Spot has been sitting on my lap as I try and type this entry, which isn't easy since that's where the laptop is sitting too. It's not like I have a huge lap, I just have a really persistent cat. So, because of his persistence, I figured you all should get to see him too and the expression I usually see, "Hey Mom, don't you want to pet me?!?!"

We BARACKED the Vote!!

2008-11-05T17:44:00.003-06:00

I am so excited by the results of the election yesterday! I am amazed it turned out the way I hoped and it was nice to have finally voted for the winning candidate. Thanks to everyone who got out and voted! Of course, here's my favorite little supporter. :)

I've also spent some time admiring some amazing fall colors this year and so here are a couple of pictures from our street. WOW, who knew the city could have colors like this?

I'll work on a knitting post over the weekend. Hopefully this will suffice for now. :)

Go Obama!! Vote on Nov 4th!

2008-10-20T21:07:00.003-05:00

See that picture below. If you look really, really close on the far, far left and squint really, really hard...you still won't see me. But I was there Dammit! This past Saturday Barack Obama came to our humble city, St. Louis, MO and we showed him there are just a few of us blues in this oh so red state. Wow, boy did we show him. From what I heard, they are saying there were between 80-100K people, more than any previous rally, and I was one of them. From where I was standing, right at the south leg of the arch, just outside the security fencing, I couldn't see the stage directly but I could see the screen. Here's my view.
It wasn't the best view but it was a truly amazing experience! Mr. Obama says so much of what I've always wanted to hear from a leader in our government and for the first time I feel like I will be voting for something better than the "lesser of two evils." The coolest thing about the rally was the diversity of the crowd. On the walk up we saw Jaguars, BMWs, Chevys, big Ford trucks and everything else. Once we got to the Arch grounds, the people were not any different. There was just a little bit of everything in the crowd. For those of you not from St. Louis, this is NOT typical. While I like this city that I have grown up in, it is fairly racially segregated and it was nice to see an event like this cross those boundaries. Thank you Mr Obama for giving us hope and I hope this country gives you a chance to prove your words.
Just as a little blog fodder, I wanted to share this one last photo with you all. We have a flood wall along the Mississippi River and along this one part of it, the city allows graffiti artists to do their best. Well, some of these artists are really amazing and this particular piece really caught my fancy. The colors are really great!

Holiday Kal-Cal 2008

2008-10-13T16:47:00.002-05:00

If you're a knitter and you haven't heard of this one yet, go quick like a bunny to the link above (the picture) and sign up before October 31 for this years Holiday Kal-Cal. It's great motivation for finishing all those holiday gifts, inspiring to see everyone else's amazing creations, and lastly, they give away cool stuff at the end. As a matter of fact, our shop will be donating a prize to some lucky member. So, check them out and sign up and then follow the link to our store and get that special someone something for the holidays!

A Poncho in the Villa

2008-10-13T09:23:00.005-05:00

If you live in the United States, today is Columbus Day where we all revel in the fact that a man got lost, ended up finding some land, and within a few years managed to kill the majority of people on the land through enslavement or disease. This is not a widely celebrated "holiday" in my house and I think it unfortunate how so many people know the cute little Nursery rhyme about 1492 but they tend to forget about the people side of the equation. Well, maybe now a couple more people have thought about it. So, on to our regular programming...

I've been working in earnest on gifts for the upcoming season. First is the one that isn't a secret, the aforementioned Poncho. S requested a poncho with a western flavor that she can curl up in through our cold St. Louis winters. Since I have been obsessed with Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting book, it was only natural to go to it to find some pattern motifs. This is the first thing with any complexity that I am totally design on my own. I searched for a long time to find the right combinations of colors in a washable yarn and I finally settled on Plymouth Encore. I'm using two shades of brown, red, and white and I'm using a couple of different techniques to move through the colors. After knitting a gauge swatch, I got started and below is what I managed to finish over the last couple of days.

I gotta say, I am thrilled with how this is looking. I'm working with two strands of yarn held together and it's making a really nice, thick fabric. S is thrilled so far and at the rate its going, I should even be able to finish it on time. :)

I'm also working on another sweater for Darla. She gets so cold during the winter and I haven't quite gotten a sweater to fit her just right. However, I've learned a lot over the last 9 months and I have a good feeling about this one. I bought some wool from Web's and cast on about a week ago. Of course, now I've been obsessed with the Poncho so I haven't made any more progress than you see in the picture.
Another gift I've been working on is shown below...well, sort of. I made some good progress on this one during a work trip last week and I expect to make some more in carpool this week.
Another gift under way shown below. It's turning out cute and very soft.
Now, garden update. I've still got a bunch of watermelons on the vine. Saturday we finally went out and cut one off to see if it was ready to eat. As you can see below, it was a little under ripe but I still ate a piece just so I could say I have eaten a piece of my own homegrown watermelon. Next year, we must plant the plants earlier in the season.
I've also got a ton of green tomatoes on the vines out there so I decided to pick a bunch. I set them up on the window sill but I'm afraid they just wouldn't be likely to ripen very well.
So, what's a girl to do? Well, naturally...make Fried Green Tomatoes. I've never made them before and I've only ever eaten them once, but I was determined to do something with these darned tomatoes! So, I looked up a recipe on the net, sliced my tomatoes....

And viola, Fried Green Tomatoes. They actually turned out darn good. We had a couple of friends over for dinner (my how domestic of me) and we ate homemade chili, cornbread, and fried green tomatoes. Yummy!

Invasion of the Tampods!

2008-09-27T12:13:00.002-05:00

A long time ago, I posted about a little project I was working on but I didn't want to give any details until I made some progress. Well, progress has been made and I would like to introduce you to the amazing "Tampods."
As a woman, I've always hated that "special time of the month" when I would have to conceal my "feminine hygiene" products as I walked down the long hallway at work to use the restroom. Or, I would have to carry my entire purse down the hall which isn't exactly discreet. Once upon a time, I had a simple little plastic case I would use for the trip but it was lost long ago. So, I decided it was time to see what I could knit for this function. Now I have knit a bunch of what I am fondly naming "Tampods." Each of these little cuties will hold 2-3 tampons and they'll look cute while doing it. The green one at the top of the picture is fully loaded. :) So far the people I've shown these to like them and I think they'll make cute little stocking stuffers for friends.

We've got more babies on the way with a number of women at work pregnant so I've been busy working on baby gifts. Baby projects are really the perfect little projects in my opinion. They are small, quick to knit, colorful, and so darned cute!! I dug into my stash and made this cute little hat with some Vanna's Choice leftovers I had. It's just a simple rolled brim hat that doesn't even have shaping, based on the formula form Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot. I just knit it straight up in the round and then pulled all the stitches together at the top and added the Pom Pom. I had a little trouble with the color changes in a couple of areas but the mom is a new knitter and I think she appreciated it. I did get requests for three more hats from some of the other women so I guess it was well received. : ) Lastly, a quick update on the garden. I have proven I am not a gardener because this thing has just overwhelmed me I think. It just went totally crazy. Grow, brown up and seem to die, perk back up and grow a bunch more, brown up and seem to die...well, you get the picture. I just didn't know what to think. Well, today I went out and I've got 6 watermelon of decent size growing on vines that don't even look alive. And the tomato plants have dozens of green tomatoes. I'm so confused. One of the watermelon came off of the vine so I decided to see what it looked like inside since I have no idea how to tell if it's ripe or not. So, I grabbed the machete (yes, we have a machete, you would too in my neighborhood) and hacked the watermelon right in half. It was really kinda fun. :) Imagine my surprise when I saw the tinge of pink on the inside. It's really giving me hope for the other 6 still attached to the vines. Who knows, I might be eating my own homegrown watermelon sometime this year after all.

Gifts are Growing

2008-09-19T21:02:00.003-05:00

I've been planning ahead this year and I'm getting a real start on my holiday knitting. The tricky part is I know that at least a couple of people, namely family, who I will be knitting for might actually read this blog occasionally. This puts me in a bit of a sticky wicket, as they say. Because really, what do I do? Do I post pictures of the projects and therefore potentially ruin ALL of the surprise. No. OK, then I won't. But then, what will you look at for the next 3 months. I don't know how often I'll update but shouldn't I at least have some knitting to show. Well, I'm just gonna try and be creative when I show things I'm knitting for gifts, but for those of you related to me, you just might get a preview of your holiday presents. For those of you on Ravelry, you can see better pictures and more info on my projects page. :)
So, on with the show. First I knit this. Now, this yarn was bought with a very specific type of project in mind and a very specific recipient for said project. I cast on and within a few rows I noticed my feelings towards this yarn changing. Now when it was purchased, I thought it was pretty, but nothing overly special. As I knit along and the colors started to reveal themselves and the yarn revealed how nice it felt in my hands and what a springy fabric it was making, I couldn't help but feel a little smitten. I started thinking maybe this present didn't need to be gifted. Maybe when it was finished it would remain mine and I would make something else for the intended recipient. I started to feel like I simply couldn't give it up. The "gift that may not be" was taunting me with every stitch. Well, I still haven't decided if it will be gifted and thus only the sneaky photo. I am in love with this gift and so I am now feverishly knitting a replacement so I can keep it and enjoy it guilt free. By the way, the yarn is Colinette Jitterbug and it is AMAZING!!
Next, I've been knitting this.

OK, so this one won't be too hard to figure out if you read the last post but I'm getting creative with some gift ideas. I like the pattern and the yarn and I'm having fun kicking it up a notch.

I'm also knitting this. For you avid knitters out there, you are likely to recognize this, even though it is just started. This is my second of these and it will probably go to a co-worker.

Lastly, I knit this.

Now wait, I know you can see the whole thing, but that doesn't necessarily tell you what the finished object looks like. This is actually my second test of Mosaic Knitting because I finally got my copy of Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting. I really love this technique and I am working on a Poncho pattern for S. It will have several different uses of Mosaic knitting pieces and I wanted to play with it a bit. I knit this in wool scraps from my stash and then I felted it just slightly to firm it up some. This might be a good way to use up some of my wool stash and make cute little stocking stuffers.

So, that's the update I've got. I hope you liked the previews.

Waiting to Exhale

2008-08-23T13:06:00.005-05:00

And together now, breath in...hold...exhale. I have embarked on a new journey over the past couple of weeks and it entails adventures beyond my imagining. I have started something amazing in two very different ways. First, I have started my first full size human sweater. This is the real deal. It is made for a human who has lived on this planet for many many years and has reached her full growing potential. Secondly, I am making this sweater for myself! For those of you out there who might actually know me, you probably just took a big breath of your own in surprise. You see, I just don't spend too much time doing things for myself for a number of deep rooted psychological reasons which we won't get into and this is a fairly monumental event. You see, although I haven't been updating my blog lately, I have been spending a fair amount of time knitting. I have also spent quite a bit of time thinking about knitting and one thing I'm starting to figure out is; I want to knit because I want to knit, not because I feel like I have to make something for someone else or to make money or the like. I am working on knitting more just because I want to knit. So, my first project to catch you up on is...the Deep Breath Sweater.
I've been wanting to make a sweater for a while and I've been trolling for patterns and just not finding something that inspired me enough to spend the money on the yarn, but didn't scare me with its complexity. Well, I got my new Webs catalog and while flipping through the pages, I found the Deep Breath Sweater pattern. I was drawn to the ease of the pattern, the pretty feminine look, and I could knit it with some yarn I had in my stash. Sounds perfect! I bought the pattern and got started. So, I did my gauge swatch and of course I'm not getting gauge, but I really like the fabric, so I've rewritten the whole pattern for the 5 sts/in that I'm knitting. I think I'm a glutton for punishment. It's a Raglan style knit from the top down in one piece and I'm about 6" away from being finished with the first sleeve. I really like it so far!

I've finished a few things too. I finished the Roundabout Socks for S. They fit perfectly and they were quite nice to knit. I knit them with Plymouth Happy Feet and it's got a nice feel to it. My only real complaint is the two socks are two different colors. One looks faded compared to the other and yet they haven't been treated differently and they are the same dye lot. I don't know what's going on there but I'm hoping it becomes less apparent as they are worn and washed.

I've also been working on some dishtowels and such using the Organic Cotton I bought from Elann. I really like the way this yarn feels but it does split quite a bit. The colors are supposed to get more intense as it gets washed and I'm interested to see how it behaves. I love the overall feel of the cloth and I plan on using the rest of the yarn I have to just make a series of these. They may become Christmas gifts. The really cool part is I'm using the buttons from my garage sale button stash which I just love.
It was also my birthday last month and I was given some money and I bought myself some stuff. Again, I went to Webs and I just got myself a bunch of cool stuff. I finally got a swift and ball winder, which I used to wind the cotton in the dishtowel above. And I got a bunch of other stuff to make I-don't-know-what stuff. I see lots of potential.
I already made another Urchin hat, see below. It turned out pretty cute even if this one is actually a bit big. I have to get some pictures taken with it on my head to show how it fits. I think it looks cute and it won't mess up my hair too much. :)
Lastly, the garden. Well, the garden has been a little disappointing. It's gone absolutely insane with growth and the bugs just went after it. The aphids went in and overnight half the plants were dried up and dying. The watermelon got a fungus and died and I found three other ones dead off the vine. There's one more out there that may or may not make it. I can't really tell. The tomatoes are mostly dead but I've been pulling off the tomatoes I can. Here's the motley group. They ain't pretty but the actually taste pretty good. Next year, I'm kickin' this garden's butt!

Holy Amazing Watermelon, Batman!

2008-07-27T21:39:00.003-05:00

I don't want to spend too much time on this tonight because I'm tired and I haven't taken pictures of the knitting I've been up to. I've been working on a few different things but I'll save those for another post. For now I just want to show you all my first WATERMELON!!!

Isn't it beautiful! This picture was taken last Sunday, July 20th. I really wasn't sure we were going to get an actual WATERMELON from this plant so that's pretty darned exciting. It's about the size of a small egg in this picture and it seemed to appear overnight. Now, I figure watermelon probably grow pretty fast because they get kinda big. However, I had NO idea they would grow this fast. Check it out!

This is the watermelon this evening. Of course the vine decided to grow up the fence instead of along the ground. And of course when it finally decides to make a watermelon, it does so in the highest point of the vine. So, of course we had to figure out something to hold up this monstrosity since the little bunny guard fencing just wasn't going to do. A what better to come to the rescue than an old Cat Litter bucket. Hey, don't laugh, it's called recycling!

I'll work on a knitting update for the next post. Sorry! :)

Oh, Darn It!

2008-07-17T22:13:00.004-05:00

There was a near tragedy in my house last night. A crisis I did not feel prepared to handle, but I was determined to muddle through. I finished the Sunflower Hat for my niece about a week ago and decided to add some little ties to it to help keep it on her head. So, I knit little ties that ended up being about 6" long and it wasn't until I really look at them finished that I realized they just would not do. They needed to be longer. Well, I figured I had enough yarn so I would just cut these off and knit new ones. I grabbed my little scissors and snipped twice and...yep...you guessed it. I snipped right through the yarn of the HAT instead of the straps. If you look below, you'll see the hole on the right hand side and the straps I cut off.

This just about broke my heart. I simply couldn't bear the idea of ripping this out and reknitting it. But I wasn't really sure what to do to infill such a large hole. Because, I don't do things part way, I cut TWICE and created a hole over about 6 sts over two rows. I've never fixed a hole before, but I was going to figure something out, dammit!So, I have a copy of Vickie Howell's new book, Knit Aid given to me by a friend and I decided to check and see if it had anything on fixing a hole. Nope. Darn it. While it's a cute little book, it didn't have what I needed. What I needed was something to tell me how to Darn. Wow. I've been listening to KnitMoreGirls Podcast and they've been talking about the merits of darning and I just wasn't sure it was something I would ever do. I mean, I know I want my knit socks to last as long as possible, but I haven't had any get holes yet and so the idea of darning anything was still rather daunting. However, I guess it's true what they say about having the proper motivation. I did not want to reknit this hat. I did want to have something to give my niece when I meet her for the first time. She arrives in about 4 days. Yep, I was gonna learn to darn.
Well, I ended up remembering on of the podcasts I listen to talked about darning and said basically you thread a needle and hand sew in the knit stitches. So, I thread the needle, duplicate stitched about two rows above the hole for the size of the hole plus one additional stitch on each side. Then I worked down the column of knit stitches making new stitches as I went. Then I stitched up the next row and so on and so on....I don't know if I did it "right," but I'd say it looks darn good (pun intended).Even the inside of the hat doesn't look horrible. There are a couple of tiny pieces sort of sticking out but I just couldn't figure out how to do it any better. The good part is, this is against her head so no one will see it.I'm pleased with my first darn attempt at darning. And I just might do it again, darn it.

Groucho would not move so he is a bonus feature for your viewing pleasure.

Oh, right. The Garden. Well, the watermelon continues to brown along the tendrils and has lots of new green growth in the center. I have no idea if we'll get anything from it but I'm hanging in to see what happens. However, things are looking good with the tomatoes. I am so ready for these to get nice and ripe so I can go to The Hill and get some good Mozzarella and fresh Basil, pull out the Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette and have me a yummy salad. I can NOT wait.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

2008-07-08T20:04:00.004-05:00

I've decided to do something crazy. Something previously, nearly unheard of by mere mortal me. (I'm sure I dangled a participle or something on that silly sentence.) Anyway, back to something different. Are you ready? Are you sure...OK Here it is...I'm knitting a sweater. My first sweater. Now, that's not the big news. After all, I've spent a lot of time thinking about a sweater to make and what I would want to knit and such. The something different is beyond knitting a sweater. Because, really, I would venture millions of sweaters have been hand knit over the course of history. And each one of those sweaters was knit by a person like me, who at one time said "I think I'll knit a sweater." But the sweater isn't really the "new and different" thing. See, it's like this. I am like many other knitter's out there and I spend most of my time thinking about the next thing I going to knit for.....my partner, my mom, my brother, my niece, my friends and other family....well you get the picture. Or do you? Do you notice the missing person. ME! ME, dammit! Well, missing no more...

And now for something completely different...I'm knitting myself a sweater. And I can't think of a more deserving person. (I hope you are hearing the humor in my voice as you read this.) So, here's the story in highly shortened form. I want to knit a sweater. I'm too cheap to buy enough yarn for a sweater due to the fear of spending money I don't have to make a sweater that I might just completely screw up because I've never done this before. To the rescue, Big Lots and Webs. I was looking through the new Webs catalog and saw a pattern for the Deep Breath Sweater knit with a lace yarn. I had 6 skeins of Patons Lacette in my stash that I got cheap. Voila'. My first sweater is underway. Of course, I couldn't get gauge (I'm at 5 sts/in) so I've basically had to recalculate the entire pattern. However, I knit about 22 rows in the last two days and it's going swimmingly. And after all that build up I don't even have a picture. Well, trust me, it's gonna be awesome so check this space.

OK, time for some pictures and satisfaction. I finished the Alien Waves scarf. I love the way it turned out. It's about 6' long from the single skein of KnitPick's Gossamer. The pooling of the colors could not look any better!

It's really soft and squishy right now. I haven't blocked it yet and I'm a little nervous about it because I don't want to lose the squishyness. I do think it's pretty.So, the garden you ask. Well, I'm a little sad about the garden. First, I am a total novice at the vegetable garden thing, which probably shows. Well, I've got Aphids, which I've seen before and I can pretty well handle. The sad part is my watermelon plant. It has grown like a weed but now something is killing it. It's dying from the base out towards the extending tendrils. It looks like it might be some kind a virus spread by the Aphids, according to one website I found, but I couldn't find anything about how to make it better. So, it appears to be killing the whole plant and I don't hold much hope for watermelon this year. If anyone out there knows anything about growing these things, I'd take any advice.On the bright side, the tomatoes are coming along well. :)

My How My Garden Grows...

2008-06-22T10:25:00.005-05:00

I can't help but name this post after the garden and I hope when you see the pictures, you'll understand why. This is going to be a photo intensive post so I hope you don't mind.
First, knitting. I've been continuing to work on what I am affectionately calling the "Alien Waves" scarf. It's a simple drop stitch scarf pattern that I'm using some KnitPicks "Gossamer" yarn I got on clearance. I really like how the colors are pooling and forming a second pattern. The scarf is really squishy and soft and light as a feather. Really cool! I've probably got about another 2 feet worth of yarn left since I just plan to knit to the end of the strand. It should end up being a nice length.
I also decided Eva needed a little sun hat to match her halter top for summer. I went to Ravelry looking for a cute hat pattern and I came across this cute pattern called "Sun Hat" from Adorabubble Knits. I've called my version "Sunflower Hat" for obvious reasons. I am thrilled with the results and can't wait to give it to her when I meet her for the first time next month. So if Momma or Daddy checks out the blog before then, oh well, Eva will still be surprised. I'm thinking about adding little chin straps to help keep it on her.
Lastly, I'm still working on the Roundabout Socks. Still enjoying the yarn, pattern, colors, and everything. I guess you can't complain about that. I just need to sit down and finish them. I will hopefully make some progress over the next couple of weeks during my turn to ride in the carpool.
OK, now to the garden. First, if anyone has actually been reading these posts and tracking the progress of the garden, I'm sorry I let you down by not posting last week. I just got behind. I did take pictures though, so all is not lost. So, here's the overall garden pic from last week. Things are growing like crazy!
And, my favorite plant to track the progress of, the Watermelon. This thing is amazing! It grows so fast and I think we're going to struggle with it wanting to take over the entire garden.
And now for this morning's picture. Wow! Every time I look out the back window and see this garden growing, I am just amazed. We seem to have some aphids on the tomatoes so I've been spraying them with Ivory solution to try and get rid of the little buggers. Even with this little issue, things are still just trucking along.

Check out the watermelon plant. This thing is a monster! It just keeps expanding and expanding. We have three little yellow blooms and I can't wait to see something happen to those.Also, you know how I talked about having a couple of blooms on the tomatoes that wouldn't amount to anything, well I guess I don't know what I'm talking about. I went out this morning to take pictures and weed and I came across two good size tomatoes on the plant. Now, the problem is, I thought this was the Cherry Tomato plant and these two tomatoes are a little bigger then a golf ball. They are not Cherry Tomatoes. I don't know what they are but they look awesome!!So, time to get a walk in this afternoon and then maybe some knitting later today. I hope so because afterall, that's what Sunday's are for!

She Knits Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round...

2008-06-08T10:27:00.004-05:00

...like a sock, baby. For those of you who can't follow my obscure song reference in the title, you probably didn't live the formative years of your life (your teens) in the 80's. Oh well, obscure or not, the tune is running through my head as I write so I decided it made a good title.

Alright now, on to knitting. I didn't do a whole lot of it this week but what I did do was on the Roundabout Sock for S. I had hoped to get these finished for her birthday, but I have severly slacked and they are making slow progress. However, they look great and they fit her so far so, YEAH! Also, the highlight of my knitting week was the time I spent in the basement of my office building waiting out the Tornado warning on Friday afternoon. It was only about 20 minutes, but hey, I officially got paid to knit. You just can't beat that!

So, since I don't have a lot of knitting this week, you get a bit more garden. The garden is looking great. I spent about 45 seconds yesterday and weeded it. He, he. I love that. This black weed mat stuff may not look the greatest, but it is AWESOME!! We have evil weeds and some crazy grass from the neighbors yard that tends to over run everything in sight. However, so far, this weed mat is holding it back. Rock on!!
As you will see below, the tomatoes are growing like crazy. This one's got some little early blooms but nothing that will produce fruit just yet. The plants are filling out and growing like crazy.
The last picture here is of the watermelon plant. I have no idea if we will be able to get a watermelon, but I cannot wait. The plant is growing like crazy so hopefully that's a good sign. Well, that's all for now, have a nice week.

Mosaic Knitting ROCKS!

2008-06-01T12:01:00.003-05:00

As the title implies (I'm not known for subtlety), I am somewhat enamored with the idea of Mosaic knitting. But let me back up and tell you what led me here. I've been feeling the need for some new knitting reads and I am out of money so I decided to turn to my local library. I LOVE the library. Did you know that when you go there, you can get as many things as you can carry and you don't even have to give them money when you leave. And you can keep these things (books, CDs, books on CD) for 3 weeks. Holy cow! I love it. Anyway, I decided to check out the library one day and I looked through all 138 title that came up in the subject search for knitting. I found Anticraft, Fitted Knits, EZs Knitting Glossary Video, and my new favorite, Mosaic Knitting by Barbara G Walker. Now let me tell you, I knew nothing of this book but I have heard of Barbara Walker, of course, so I decided to just check it out. Wow, this stuff is cool!
So the picture is of my first attempt. Simply put, Mosaic knitting is using two colors with slip stitches to make patterns. It is so easy because you only carry one color at a time and by slipping you stitches in a particular order, you make the two color pattern. My first attempt you see above taught me it would look better with two yarns with more contrast but I am hooked on the technique, I can already tell. I've marked a number of different patterns to try and I can see this a great little addition to some upcoming projects. :) Now the funny thing is, I went to look up the book to link it here and it is shown as "unavailable" since it was published in 1976. Well, here's the funny part, I just got the new KnitPicks catalog, and guess what's in there...right! the new version of this book. It looks like the Knitting Gods are looking down on me because I think I will need to buy this one. It's in my cart now so I just need to come up with the funds. Did I mention I have Moccasins for sale on Etsy. ;)

I also spent some time this week working on my Alien Waves scarf. I'm about half way through as near as I can figure. I still love the look of the scarf and it is so light and airy. S is pretty excited about it too. The colors continue to pool just right so I have high hopes for the whole thing.

Lastly, I've made some progress on S's socks. I not as fast as a lot of folks out there but these seem to be moving along pretty well. I really like this yarn (Plymouth, Happy Feet) and the way the colors are moving around the leg. The pattern is super easy and makes a neat effect. We're gong to a picnic today and I think I'm going to take this sock along and see if I can make some progress there.
Lastly, the garden pic for this week. Things are growing nicely and seem to be fully rooted in. We've had so much rain this spring that the peppers seem a bit wilted and I think its because they just can't get dry. Hopefully we'll get a break here soon. It has been nice to not have to lug water out there each day, I guess. Anyway, I am really looking forward to watching this grow and documenting the process over the summer. I think it will be really neat to go back in the Fall and see all the pics. I hope you like it too.

My How Your Garden Grows

2008-05-26T18:05:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I started this scarf, which I'm calling Alien Waves due to the color and I am just loving how it's knitting up. The yarn is KnitPicks "Gossamer" which they don't sell anymore and the color changes are perfectly matched to the width and pattern of this scarf. At least I think so, I mean look at it. I could not be happier with how it's moving along and S is excited for it to be finished. The nice thing is it's worked on 7s and the multiple wraps makes the pattern knit up really quickly so I don't think it will take too long to finish.

S and I have also decided to do our own little Knit-A-Long. She's decided she wants to join the world of sock knitters and I only need an excuse to start another pair of socks. We both got some Plymouth "Happy Feet" from Knitorious and we're working on the Roundabout Socks I found on Ravelry. The pattern is really simple but it makes the neatest effect. I'm really starting to get drawn into the sock thing. I just had a super generous friend bring me a copy of A Little Box of Socks and as I was flipping through the 40 possible patterns, I set aside about 10 I wanted to start right away. Oh boy. I'm really trying to restrict myself to one pair at a time in order to avoid the dreaded "Second Sock Syndrome." So far, so good but I've got a skein of some Araucania sock yarn calling my name. It's for the first pair of socks I plan to knit for me. Wow, crazy concept.

I don't know what it's been like in your neck of the woods, but we are having trouble moving into summer. Our weather this spring has just been dreary and rain. Yuck! Well, last weekend we got a minor break and S and I decided to work our butts off and get our modest little veggie patch finished. In the picture below you will see it just after everything was planted, but it really doesn't show how much work it truly was. First, we had to pull up the pond you see on the left of the photo which we did a couple of weeks ago. Next, we filled the hole in with dirt from the area, placed lots of weed barrier (a must here), set a fence to avoid the "Bunnies of Doom" who like nothing better than a new garden, and plant lots of yummies. So here it is...

We planted the following: 1 Cherry Tomato, 2 regular Tomatoes, 2 types of peppers, fennel, thyme, a watermelon plant, and Jasmine (because I thought it was pretty!). Basically, we planted what we could find at Lowe's and we could afford. :) I've also decided to chronicle the growth of the garden by taking a picture each week. So below is week two. Everything had rooted in and is growing up just swimmingly!
Lastly, S and I are always on the lookout for fire wood. We have a fire pit in the back yard and we spend a lot of time going camping and sitting around a fire. Therefore, the constant search for wood, cheap. Around the house, the nurseries are selling wood for about $1 a stick, which is just plan nuts!! Well, this week, a neighbor was having a tree cut down and so S ran out and convinced the tree guys to give us the logs. For the last two days, S and I dealt with this wood. She split it into large pieces in the front yard (where they had thrown all the huge logs) and I loaded it into the wheelbarrow and moved it to a stack in the back. All I can say is one, it's cheaper than Therapy and two, we are hooked up for fire wood once this stuff is cut up. Or course, I'm already sore and we've just started. Wish me luck!

Can't Make Up My Mind

2008-05-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

I've been working on a bunch of different things with little rhyme or reason. I've just been pulling out yarn that appeals to me and I start knitting. One of the things I am most pleased with at the moment is this really pretty "Easy Drop Stitch Scarf." I found this pattern on Ravelry while looking at what other had knitted with the Gossamer Lace yarn I bought from KnitPicks. I got this on clearance since I think the yarn has been discontinued. I saw a couple of pair of socks and I was thinking to use it for a pair for S as a thank you for the mocs. I decided to give two socks on one circular needle a try and after doing my gauge swatch, cast on per the formula found in Sensational Knitted Socks for a chevron pattern sock.
Simply put, this was just plain nuts. Per my gauge swatch I got 10 sts/inch and therefore had to cast on 110 sts. Nuts! After knitting about an inch of both socks, I realized they were HUGE and I would have to start over. I don't think so. This yarn just wanted to be something else and I think it wants to be this scarf. How cool does this look?!?! I saw a scarf (here) made with this yarn and I liked the way the colors pool. I like it even more in this colorway. So, it looks like S is getting a scarf instead. Well, not entirely true, I bought some Plymouth "Happy Feet" to make her some socks and I've got about 3 inches of the first sock finished. Oh, I also decided to just do the socks on DPNs as I got tired of the juggling act needed with both socks on one needle. Oh well, maybe next time.
Next I found an adorable little baby halter called Katja and off to my stash I went. Well, it turned out I actually had the yarn used in the pattern. That's got to be a first. I don't think I've ever knit anything in the actual yarn. Oh wait, I did knit all those baby bibs from Mason Dixon knits in the actual, but boy it is rare. So, when I saw I had the actual yarn, I knew I had to cast on RIGHT NOW. However, I can't leave well enough alone so I also pulled out some of the Peaches and Cream I have and added some stripes.

I quickly sent this in the mail and it too was well received. It makes me so happy to be able to knit for people and it makes me especially happy when they obviously like what I knit them. Eva's mama wrote me right away that she loved the halter and would send pictures soon. What more could I ask for?

The next picture here is a Market Bag of my own design. I love the market bags I've been making but I was getting frustrated when I would use them because small stuff falls out of the holes in the bottom. I had an idea bouncing around in my head about adding a solid bottom to a mesh bag and this is what I came up with when it was finished. I'm pretty pleased. I simply used Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi shawl pattern formula for the bottom and when it got as big around as I wanted, I did a row of purl to turn it up and started knitting the tube portion.

After I got a couple of inches up, I knit two together all the way around with a size 15 needle and then started the lace pattern on the next row. I wasn't sure if the transition would work but it actually turned out really nice. I knit until I was out of yarn and then got some other solid cotton and added the handles. Next time, I'll adjust the handles, maybe just make one big handle or something. The opening of the bag is a little too tight and I think it's due to the handle configuration. Thankfully I have a couple more skeins of Cascade's Flash yarn to play with and see if I can make this even better.

Lastly, I am feeling the draw of another form of artistic expression. OK, that sounds a bit grave. But I have to admit, I've split some of my crafting time with another non-fiber-related hobby. What?!?! How could it be? I don't know but it is cool. As I mentioned previously, S is making leather goods and we are selling them on Etsy. Well, last weekend we had an order for three pair that were needed the following day. Therefore, I offered to help and I have to say I liked it much more than I would have thought. I went to the leather store with S the other day and discovered the "scrap bin" and I felt the itch. I needed to used these thrown away pieces for something and I just started playing with ideas on the mocs. I am having entirely too much fun coming up with design idea and just playing with suede collage. I hope other people like these too because I could really get used to spending my weekends making moccasins. So, check out the picture of the works in progress and then go to the shop and buy some. :)

Little Things

2008-05-06T20:00:00.003-05:00

So, like the title says, I've been working on little things. I guess I've been feeling the need to have a sense of accomplishment. Knitting tends to teach one patience but I haven't been a very good student lately. I just want everything finished already. And I have a variety of things almost finished. I think in the next week or two I will need to make a pledge to spend a weekend and just finish everything: add handles, sew on buttons, finish some stuff darn it! Well, below is something I finished! Ta Da!
I think this might end up holding some sunglasses or some such thing. I love this little guy. The colors are great and I found a perfect button in my "garage sale button" stash. Very Cool! It's already been gifted and I expect to see it worn around the recipients neck the next time we get together, she was so excited. :) I'm glad you like it! More will be on the way soon! I've also been playing with some yarn I got on clearance that has a little linen in it. I have been doing so reading about the virtues of linen for face towels and the like and so when I found this yarn on clearance, I figured it would give me some time to play and see what I think. I have never heard of the yarn I'm using and since it was on clearance, I probably won't be getting any more. Oh well. The yarn is Linbel by Phildar. It's made in France and is 52% Cotton, 37% Linen and "Viscose(Bambou)" which is also Rayon, I guess. The yarn is made of three plys that I am guessing are the three different fibers. I like knitting with this pretty well and the texture of the end fabric is pretty nice. It might be nice for a light summer tank in a really relaxed style. However, I didn't buy enough for something like that so I'm just making a variety of face towels. Well, the one you see below is the second one I've done and the ball is finished; two more to go. We've been using the first towel in the shower and it's nice since I love being able to use something I've made on a regular basis! This one I got bored in the middle and so I had a little fun and did a pattern in the middle. I'm sure there is a name for this pattern but I just sort of winged it. You can't really tell from the picture but it's got arrow like shapes moving across the middle section. Some nice texture to help with exfoliation. :)
Speaking on using something handmade on a regular basis, look what I got for a present when I came home from work the other night! I was really jealous of some custom purple mocs S made for a co-worker of mine and when I got home two days later, I had my own new pair to match my PJs. How cool are those?!?! I'll bet you all are jealous, as well you should be. They are awesome and will see a lot of wear. By the way, if you're really jealous, go to Buckaroo Leather and get your own pair. We've got lots of colors too!!

Checking In

2008-04-29T19:17:00.003-05:00

So, how goes it? It's been a little bit since I've written and I feel the need to check-in, as the title says. However, I don't have too much to talk about. What am I knitting you ask? Well, I'm not quite ready to tell you. Does that make me coy? I don't mean to be. It's just I've started making this really simple idea I've had for quite a while. I had this idea and started knitting and now I've got about 10 of these made and a cute little name to go with. I'd like to get about 30 of them done and then take them into work and see if women like them as much as I do. Everyone I've shown so far loves the idea so who knows. After I get a good collection completed, I'll post pictures and see what you think.

Meanwhile, I've also started a number of little items: the Tribble you see below (because you can't knit just one...and boy is that true), a simple lace scarf called Wisp, with some yarn I got at Big Lots (my favorite "you never know what you'll find" store), a pair of socks with KnitPicks Gossamer for S based on the Chevron Pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks, a couple of different versions of Market Bags, (one from a pattern and one from my brain) and I still have my Pinwheel Blanket.

So I obviously have lofty goals but I haven't been keeping up with photos and blogging. I've also been doing some Spring work around the house to try and get ready for summer and rid the house of the bad winter mojo. Unfortunately, the rollercoaster weather is not exactly helping things. So,while I don't have a bunch of beautiful knitting photos, I'll leave you with some flowers from my yard. The yard is an overgrown mess, but wow, don't these look great? I just look at them and I feel better. :)

Shoes and Socks

2008-04-18T20:07:00.002-05:00

Well, I finally finished the Ditto socks. I have to say I was highly disappointed in the yarn for these socks. It was really hard to work with since it tended to split quite a bit and both balls had a knot in them. Unfortunately the knot messed up the stripe pattern but I'm probably the only one who will ever really notice. Well, no one else would have but now they'll be looking. Oh well. Overall, the socks look pretty cool and I think the recipient likes them. I've heard they fit well so hopefully they will hold up and be well used.

In the meantime, we've been working at my house to develop a new business. My partner is creating some beautiful leather gear and we have decided to try selling it and starting up our own "Farm Fund." Our goal is to get some land in the country somewhere and we're working really hard to get our finances in order and make it a reality. So, this is one small step.

Steph has been making gorgeous moccasins, sandals, dog collars, leashes, keyfobs and anything else you can think of out of leather. She has a real talent at this and it seems to be a really good fit. She made me a great pair of mocs that I wear every day around the house and they are my new favorite shoe. They're totally comfortable and thick enough that I can wear them outside to take out the trash and such. I could wear them around outside more but I really need some arch support to wear them as actual shoes. They make terrific slippers though.

The pair above are our first internet sale. These were a rush job for a really nice woman, Native Knits. She had an event and couldn't locate her pair of mocs. She convo'd us on Etsy, asked for a pair in dark brown, and had this pair, made to fit her foot, within 5 days. We've mostly sold locally so it's pretty neat to get this first sale through Etsy. We've had a lot of interest and I think this has a real shot. I sure hope so. So, if you get a few minutes, go check out the store. If you mention this blog, you can have 10% off any item in the store. :)

Check out the stunning custom made leather sandals to be found at www.buckarooleather.etsy.com. I hope to see you there!

Hemlock Ring - I'm in Love

2008-04-09T22:03:00.003-05:00

I can't help it. I'm in love with the way this looks. The yarn was amazing and I am thrilled with the results. Best of all, this is for me. I hardly feel deserving except I know I damn well deserve it!! I LOVE it...did I mention that?

A Second Chance?!

2008-03-23T10:50:00.002-05:00

Well, I guess if you fiddle with something long enough, and with enough desperation, you just might get lucky. My camera is working sometimes, and I have taken advantage of those times. So, below is the Baby Kimono jacket I talked about last time. It's a really adorable little sweater and I made it with Peaches and Cream yarn I ordered online. I love the way the colors pooled in the yarn but it did turn out really small. I got it in the mail right away and hopefully Eva will get a couple of weeks of wear out of it before she gets too big.
Next are the Ditto socks. I made a lot of progress on these during my commute this week. It was my week to just ride and I got a little over an inch done each day. That moves along a pair of socks. These are a well overdue present that I hope to get in the mail before the month is over.

The yarn in these socks has been fighting me for every stitch. It's hard to get the needle just right when knitting an not snag on of the plys of yarn. I do like the look of the final product though and I hope the recipient will as well.

I also finally got Spanky's Sweater finished. I used the same basic formula as Darla's but I did add about an inch to the distance between the beginning and the armholes. It seems to have helped with the fit but it still isn't perfect. Oh well. Spanky said he would be happy to wear this one until I get the next one finished. He would not, however, stand up to model for everyone so you just get to see him as I usually do...lounged out and taking up too much of the bed. :)
Lastly is my Hemlock Ring Blanket. I think I am in love with this one. It finished and the picture below shows it before blocking. It is currently at a dear friends house, pinned to some foam mats and drying in her extra bedroom. Thank you so much for that one. My house is what we call a "shotgun" and the only real door is into the bathroom. Hence, there is no room to pin out a 4' round blanket. Thank goodness for friends with bigger houses and the generosity to lend some space to me. :) The blanket looks amazing all pinned out on the pads and I can't wait until it's dry and I get to use it. I've already tested it (he, he) and it works great!!

If a Picture is Worth 1000 words...

2008-03-08T10:44:00.002-06:00

...then I've got a lot of typing to do. See the picture below. That's it. That's the only picture I can share today. Why, do you ask? Because one of my lovely cats is neurotic and afraid to use the litter boxes inside the house for fear of being ambushed by one of the other cats. So, he has his own box and such out on the front screened in porch and we have to let him in and out like a dog. Well, one day I missed the potty cues and so he decided to pee on top of my camera sitting on my dresser. He's lucky I'm mostly a pacifist! And he did spend a few cold days outside while I tried to get over the feeling of betrayal that he would pee on MY stuff when I'm the one who care for him. Little Bastard.Sorry for all the vulgarity but a new camera is just not in my immediate budget so I'm still a little bitter. We got the camera to work for a little bit after the incident but now it seems to have given up the ghost. Sadness.

So, enough about the little pisser. The bib you see above is another one of the Mason Dixon bibs. I love these little guys. They knit up fast, they're cute, and they're practical. I love all the colors in this yarn but I have already received comments that the kid might spit up just because of the colors. Oh well, I like it.

Other than the bib, I just finished my first Baby Kimono from the same Mason Dixon book. It had some other Peaches and Cream called Raspberry Swirl that is chocolate brown and two shades of raspberry. Really cool stuff. So, I knitted up the Kimono per the pattern instructions and it is adorable. I plan to spend this afternoon seaming it and then I'll be off to Joann's to find some buttons or ribbons to tie it off. Cuteness.

I've also been working on my Hemlock Ring. I'm on row 91 and it is really beautiful. I'm just about finished with the second ball of yarn and have one more I can use. Right now, I'm trying to determine if I have enough left in the 2nd ball to do two more rows (enough to get through the pattern row and one row of plain knitting) before I have to add the next ball. I really don't want to add yarn on either of those rows so I'm looking for our postage scale so I can do some calculations regarding the number of stitches I can get out of the amount of yarn I have left. I hope to do this today as well but if you had ever seen my house, you would know finding something in it is a tall order. Oh well.

Lastly, I finally was able to order some new KnitPicks Options in size 8 so I can transfer my Pinwheel blanket onto the 40" cable and actually get it going again. Yeah! So, that's what's been going on and hopefully I will be able to post some pictures on it all soon.

Snow Day!!!

2008-02-21T10:15:00.005-06:00

More appropriately, Ice Day! We're getting hit by a sleeting rain / ice storm here in the Midwest and my street is an ice skating rink right now. I went out to start the car and decided skating to work did not sound like fun so I am staying home where it's safe and semi-warm. I'll still have to do some work things throughout the day, but I'm sure I will have time for some knitting and I just can't decide what to work on. I started another little bib the other day and I could get it all finished. I'm making it with Peaches and Cream cotton in color way Fiesta. I love the colors in this yarn and it makes one crazy patterned bib. What fun! I just finished a little bag with this yarn for a friend's daughter. It is a kind of "payment" for the yarn itself since the friend was so nice as to gift the yarn but mentioned her daughter would really love something made with this one. Hint, hint!! So, I took the bait and made her this little bag. It's based on Candy's Bag that I found (let's say it all together now) on Ravelry. I think the bag will be well received.I've also been thinking about a pair of Saartje's Booties. These little things are so cute and would be a nice quick and rewarding project. I saw them made in some yarn I have in my stash and am thinking they might be a fun way to spend my snow day.

Then again, I also need to finish Spanky's Sweater. Now that Darla is sporting hers all over the house, Spanky is terribly jealous and keeps pressuring me to get his finished. Spanky's is going to be the same pattern but I am using Vanna's Choice yarn from Lion Brand. I decided he needed something I can throw in the washer the way he loves to dig in the mud and such. I picked a deep eggplant purple and a sort of avacado green for the accent stripes. I've got the collar ribbing completed and am ready to start knitting in the holes for the sleeves. If I really put my mind to it, this could be nearly ready to wear tonight. Hmm...

One thing I can't work on is my Pinwheel blanket. It makes me sad but I still haven't been able to get new needles with a longer cable so it will have to wait. However, I could work on my Hemlock Ring blanket. As I think I mentioned previously, I worked this blanket for the first 63 rows when I finally realized I actually made a mistake somewhere around row 35 that threw off the pattern. It took me about a month to get up the nerve to pull out all those rows of stitches and when I finally got back to the area of the mistake, I realized there was another one back around row 17. Wow, tears were very close. After another week I pulled back to row 17 and started again. I did fine until that darn row 35 again (it's a toughy) but thanks to Pixie and the Ready, Set, Knit Podcast I was able to find some pictures and charts that cleared it up for me and I made it through. I am back up to row 65 (YEAH!) and I am in love with this blanket. The yarn is AMAZING! It's Dream in Color Classy and I love it. I must say, it is calling my name to knit...knit like the wind..

I also want to start a Baby Kimono from Mason Dixon Knits. I have a ton of cotton yarn and I love the idea of doing another sweater type thing with a faster reward. Lastly, I've been doing some research on adult sweaters because I am feeling very close to my first "full size" garment. I just need to decide what. Any suggestions?
So what will I knit today? I don't know, but I think it's time to get started!

The Sweater of the Tongue

2008-02-12T19:47:00.000-06:00

There is a very good reason for the name of this post but you have to read this part before getting to the good stuff. So, this is about Darla's Sweater which is based on Casey's Coat from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation (thank you local library). When we got Darla a few weeks ago, I realized that if I didn't make this dog a sweater quick, we would never get to see her. Her favorite spot during these cold winter days and colder winter nights, is under the covers on our bed. She simply will not come out! Well, I also felt the need to actually order something from KnitPicks after drooling over the site for so long and therefore, a sweater begins. I picked Wool of the Andes for a couple of reasons: it was cheap, there were lots of colors, and I knew I could felt with the leftovers. I decided I was going to make Darla and Spanky matching sweaters but with the colors reversed. I picked Pink Cheeks for the main color of Darla's sweater with Onyz Heather for the stripes. I bought twice what I thought I needed so I could do both sweaters. Hers: Pink with Grey stripes and His: Grey with Pink stripes (I think he is secure enough in his maleness to pull this off). I did however make a knitters mistake and read the number of skeins on the pattern and not the yards and therefore I had ordered only half of what I planned. Luckily I have some other yarn for Spanky's Sweater but that's a future post. :)

Some notes about my puppy and the pattern: Darla is about 20 pounds and she's 18" from neck to tail, 13 1/2" neck, 21" around her chest, and lastly, 16" around her waist. I did very few modifications on this sweater because I have never knit anything like this before and I just did not know what to expect. I CO 70, did the 3" of ribbing, per pattern and added the 18 sts at the back as she calls for. I did the armholes per pattern but when I got to the other side of them I tried it on her and it looked a little loose so I decreased by 6 sts about 4 rows after the arms. The rest I knit per pattern. It seems to fit her pretty well and it also fits my other Boston who is about 23" around his chest and 21" around his belly. It actually probably fits him better so his will be the same size and I'll knit her with about an 1 1/2 removed from the overall dim. I will also knit more inches of ribbing and therefore lengthen the distance from the top to the armholes. I think because their chests are so big it would fit better and be less likely to ride down their necks like it does a bit now. I will also taper the arm hole ribbing a bit just because it tends to stick out a bit on the sides.

I did get clever however. I started thinking about how I could make this smaller for her without having to rip it all out. I was thinking about sewing the seam tighter or something and then I remembered this is 100% wool. Yeah! I can felt it. I filled my sink with hot water, put the sweater in with some Eucalan and agitated it by hand until the body shrunk by 1" and the neck by 1 1/2". As I sit here typing, Darla is wearing her sweater next to me and it fits much better now.

And now, the real reason behind the title....I present....The Tongue!!!

Variety is the Spice of Life...

2008-02-10T10:18:00.000-06:00

Babies, babies, babies, they're coming out of the woodwork. Or so it seems around my workplace. I have 5 just born or upcoming babies from my coworkers and I kind of like knitting them a little something. This bib is knit for one of the other designers I work with who has a little guy on the way. I love these two yarns together and I think this is such a nice bib and it's not Baby Blue! I also modified the pattern a bit by making the one long strap instead of two little ones. The thought being you can stand in front of your kid and button the bib. A mom in my office thought this sounded like a good idea and some other women on Ravelry have recommended it so I'm trying it out. It's cute, I think! This is still pretty much the Mason Dixon Bib pattern with rounded corners and the strap modification.
The next project completed is the hat and scarf bound for my friend in Hungary. If you ever check out this page, here's a preview of what's on the way.

This is just a basic beanie hat and a short scarf or neck wrap. I put a hole at one end of the scarf and you thread the other end through and it wraps nice and tight to your neck. Pretty nice really and I hope it is enjoyed (even if it is late).
Next is a pair of men's socks for an overdue gift. When I bought the yarn, I didn't realize it was going to stripe (you can see it here) but it is really pretty neat. The stripes are actually more subtle in person.

I'm doing a basic ribbed sock pattern I found through Ravelry of course (OMG, how did people find anything on knitting before????) and it's moving along really well. It's easy to knit, it has just enough pattern to stay interesting, and the yarn feels pretty good to work with. I'm making these on US 2s for two reason, to get them finished a bit quicker and also make them a bit thinner because the recipient is in CA.
Lastly are a couple of lap throws I'm working on. The first is a Pinwheel blanket using the yarn I bought for another baby blanket. The other blanket was one of those where you knit a butt load of little triangles and then sew them all together. I started looking at that ever growing pile of little triangles I would have to sew together and thought there might be a better use for my time. Therefore, I 've found this pattern to knit all in one piece (YEAH!) and still use all the yarn I already purchase.I adore this blanket. I keep setting it down in front of me and looking at it. It's so simple and yet, just really cool somehow. It's great TV knitting and I'm just changing colors whenever I feel like it. I can't wait to get it finished so I can have it on my lap when knitting the next one! There is one other thing I have to talk about, just a bit, with this one. It's 100% acrylic yarn. Why is that a big deal? Well, a couple of reasons: it's washable, which is a great thing in a house like mine, but it's a bit scratchy. I guess I've finally knit with enough semi-"good" yarn and now I can understand why there are so many "yarn snobs" out there. You really can feel a difference when knitting and no matter how soft the acrylic feels in the skein, it is not the same as knitting with "real" fibers. Wow!
The next throw is the Hemlock Ring by Brooklyntweed. This is one of the wildfire like patterns in the knitting community right now and I wanted to join in. I started this on New Year's weekend and got to row 63 when I realized I had screwed up back on row 35. I was heartbroken. It was looking so beautiful and I love the yarn which is Classy by Dream in Color. It's 100% wool but is superwash so it can be washed, again, very important! I took me until this weekend to be able to get up the nerve to pull out all of those stitches and when I got to row 35 I realized I had actually made another mistake around row 20. :( Well, I have ripped back to row 17 and started again. I'm back up to row 33 and I remember 35 being the real bear before so I'm going to take my time this afternoon and get through the icky stuff. I still love the yarn and the pattern and now that I'm back in the groove, I think I'll get over the trauma of ripping out all those hours of stitches.
I leave you with a picture of the great stash of buttons given to me by a very sweet friend. I plan on getting some good use out of these little jewels. THANKS!

Jaywalkin' in the Jungle

2008-02-10T09:37:00.000-06:00

So, check those babies out. These are my first pair of Jaywalkers after being inspired by the many, many, many projects on Ravelry. I wanted to try another pair of socks with a little more knitting and visual interest and this pattern fit the bill perfectly. I have a definite thing for the zigzag pattern and I just enjoy knitting it for some reason. The yarn I used is some hand dyed Merino Superwash from Dyeabolical yarns on Etsy and it is beautiful!!
See the way the colors move around and enhance the pattern. Wow! I followed the pattern exactly, a first for me, and they turned out really well. They are a bit tight and don't stretch a whole lot but once you get them over the heel and on to the foot, they feel incredible.
I have to say these needles were crazy to knit with. They are size 1 US needle and they are SMALL. Smaller even then the little bamboo skewers we keep around the house for kabobs. I had some general challenges working with them but I made it through and I could not be happier with the results!

Hats all Folks!

2008-01-26T11:34:00.000-06:00

Well, I still love the pattern and I still don't have a hat that I love. Very sad really. I bought this yarn on line from Web's without having ever seen it before. I loved the colors and it looked like it would work well for this pattern, which is Urchin by the way. Oh, and the yarn is Rowan Spray. Anyway, the colors ended up being just what I expected but the yarn was a lot, I don't know, thicker? I can't describe it, maybe firmer is the word. Anyway, when knitted it is really sturdy. It holds the form knitted and therefore it doesn't really sit on my head the way I would want the hat too. I think it will look cute on someone else but my face is too round for this one. (trust me, I do have a face and it is round) After it all, my love of short rows is still going strong so I won't be surprised if I give this pattern another chance when I find the right yarn. Aren't the swirls pretty?!
I've been on a bit of a Hat kick lately. I think it's a search for instant gratification since they usually only take one or two nights of movie watching to complete. My co-workers are popping out kids faster than I can knit and I was two projects behind in baby knitting last weekend and thus, the hat below. I got this Lion Brand Velvetspun yarn at a swap and it is the softest and most wonderful feeling yarn. However, it SUCKS to knit with. No offense to the Lion Brand folks because generally I like their product, but I understand why this one has been discontinued. It grabs the needles like a drowning victim going down for the third time and has absolutely no stretch. I felt like the darn hat fought me on every stitch. The resulting hat, you ask? Adorable! #*%&$# It would almost be easier if it were ugly because I could just get rid of it and not think about it again. But no, it's adorable and soft and hopefully going to make a new little baby girl happy.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...we added to the family last week. A situation came up where an adorable Boston needed a home and thus, being the sucker that I am, ours is the home. Could you resist that little face? Darla is the one on the left and Spanky, on the right, has a new buddy. She's fitting in great and we're all happy. (that's it Mom. really. no really!)

My First Baby Surprise Jacket

2008-01-13T09:57:00.001-06:00

Knitting the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket has really been a pleasure. As I look over the pictures and the notes about the project I just want to pull it all together here for my own reference. For those who aren't familiar with this pattern, the entire jacket is knitted in a single piece with some clever increasing and decreasing and when folded just right, it makes a beautiful little sweater. When I got the pattern, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how it worked. How did this one piece of fabric turn into a jacket? I looked all over the web at blogs of others who were working on this project to try and figure it all out in my head. While there were a couple of posts with pictures through the process, not enough for me. Therefore, here are a bunch of pictures of my process through this terrific pattern. Quick, go knit!
In the beginning... Well, it's time to start thinking about stripes. I bought two complimentary yarns with the intention of adding a cute stripe pattern. One of the things that both confused me and helped me figure this pattern out, was seeing others who had used stripes. By following the pattern of the stripes, I could finally see how this all worked. As far as placement, I just changed yarns when I felt like it on this one but the next one I might actually be able to plan it out in advance. This is about 33 rows in.
Now, if I manipulate my needles just right, I have sleeves. How cool is that?!?! Too cool! And see those stripes, you can start to see how this is all going to work, but how the heck is the bottom done?
Now you can see where the pattern is turning again at the top and forming the front of the jacket. You can also see that I am running perilously close to running out of yarn. When I bought the yarn, I was told 2 skeins would complete the jacket. I bought three and I was down to just a few more rows worth. Panic rolled in.
I talked to a wonderfully nice person on Ravelry who suggested going to my local yarn store and finding a complimentary yarn for the last few rows. She swore it would look like a border and not a mistake. Below you can see the last 6 rows done with a complimentary purple picked with assistance from Sandy at Knitorious.
The photo above is one I wished more people would post so I could figure this pattern out. Hopefully this will help someone else. The bottom edge is the cast on edge and the top purple is the last 6 rows where I ran out of the yarn. Another thing I wanted to see more of were the backs of the jackets. Therefore...
And finally, this baby is done. I added a little single crochet edge along the collar and cuffs to tie it all together with the add-on purple and I don't think it looks like an oops at all. We'll be the only ones who know. So, OMG, I LOVE IT!! It went in the mail yesterday to my new niece and I hope she gets a lot of wear and love from it. :)

I LOVE Short Rows!

2007-12-30T12:02:00.000-06:00

How cool is this Dishcloth? OMG, I love it! I found the pattern for this on Ravelry (here it is if you're interested) and it is just great. I had some various scraps of Peaches and Cream left from baby bibs, etc. and I decided to try this out and see what it looks like. It was so much easier than I expected and I could not be happier with the results. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm thinking about making a couple of these smaller and giving them with some pretty soaps for a Wedding Shower gift. I looked up her towel colors on her Registry and I have a perfect complimentary yarn already in my stash. :)
So, the Baby Surprise Jacket continues. I'm actually further than this picture shows and I even have more current pictures but I'm not posting them since I just sent the link to this site to the Mom-to-be and I don't want to ruin all the surprise. I will tell you what happened though. I got all the way to the last 6 rows and ran out of yarn. I could not believe it. When I bought the yarn, the lady at the store (not my usual LYS but one we went to while camping) said she made this jacket in the same yarn and used 2 balls. I bought three to be safe and still ran out. Damnit! Well, the yarn isn't carried by anyone around here and I didn't really want to spend more than double the cost of the yarn in order to have is shipped from somewhere. So I got a great suggestion from a fellow Raveler who said to try and find a complimentary yarn and use it for the last few rows as an accent. I went to my LYS, Knitorious, and worked with Sandy the owner, to select a yarn. I came home and did the last 6 rows with this new yarn and it looks AWESOME! I think so anyway. I'm going to seam the sleeves and crochet an edge around the collar and cuffs to tie it all together and it's ready for the mail. The baby isn't even due until the 29th so I am very proud of myself. I do think it's too big but babies grow so it shouldn't be an issue. :)
So, what do you think of that beautiful yarn? I got it to do a Hemlock Ring Blanket for me. I came across this pattern (again thanks to Ravelry!) and I just love it. It's a lace pattern but it uses worsted weight yarn so it should go faster and be a bit easier to do. I used some of my Christmas yarn money to buy this beautiful hand-painted yarn "Classy" by Dreams in Color. Oh, it is so lovely. I knew I would need some color variation in the yarn (solids tend to bore me) and I also wanted something washable since I have too many animals and voila, Sandy showed this to me and I was in love. I'm getting started on this one after I finish this post. So pretty!!!
I also got this nice, masculine yarn for a pair of socks I have to make for Fred. Well, not "have to" but "want to." Fred got boned at Christmas (just not enough time to go around) so he's getting a little something special for his February birthday. I really like this yarn and it doesn't look too fussy so hopefully he will too. He wears really cool Italian shoes with neat colors and patterns so I don't think he'll be afraid of a little color and pattern here. I found a nice simple pattern to use and I just need to get them going.
Lastly, I finally found a use for that old pitcher filled with marbles I've had on my dresser for years just collecting dust. Damn, what took me so long to figure out that one? Love it!!

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

2007-12-30T11:53:00.000-06:00

I started thinking this morning about what I wanted to knit and I came to the realization that although the "Holidays" are over, my knitting list has only grown. I have a number of projects I need to get completed over the next two months and I figured I would make a list here so I can keep track and get them completed. So here they are:
1. Wedding shower gift for co-worker - due Jan 11 - I'm thinking some round small facetowels like the dishtowel I did with a couple of pretty soaps.
2. 2 Co-Worker Baby gifts - end of Jan - Probably bibs or hats - these are quick and fun and whatever I'm in the mood for at the time
3. Mom's B-day gift - due Jan 28 (the 20th to get it in the mail on time) - I already know what this is going to be and I have the yarn, I just need to get my gauge swatch completed and get it done. I can't say what because my mom is my only loyal reader here that I know of. :)
4. Fred's B-day gift - Due Feb 22 (again need to be completed early to send by mail) - got the yarn yesterday and I've found the pattern on Ravelry so I just need to swatch and go.
You know, it sounded like so much when I was listing it in my head but it doesn't look too bad written down. I guess I better get knitting though.

Organization is GOOD!

2007-12-23T11:45:00.000-06:00

I spent some time this morning organizing my little knitting storage space. I have an old toychest from my childhood in the other room that has gift bags filled with yarn in it. It's a mish-mash of novelty and various acrylic yarns I've bought over the last year or two. The space below is in my knitting room and it's where I keep my "in progess" stuff, books, tools, etc. My partner and I share the closet and although I am much shorter I have the top since it was easier to clean out. Since I only have one shelf and a rod, which does me no good, I've had to improvise some and it seems to have worked out pretty well. It's hard to see but my books are too the left perpendicular to the door because the shelf doesn't actually go all the way to the back wall. There's about a 4" gap between the shelf and the wall and the books can't sit back there without going all catywhompus (how does one spell that anyway?). Behind them are the few cones of Peaches and Cream I have been working my way through. On the rod are 4 bags; one with completed stuff, one with various Peaches and Cream or Sugar and Cream cotton, one with all my feltable wool, and the last with my blanket in progress.
On the right are my bins with DPN and circular needles and tools, journaling tools, and swatches. Below those is a container with some stitchmarkers I made and lastly, the box with the embroidery floss from my Grandma. I'm very pleased with the final result.

Achin for an Urchin...

2007-12-22T18:58:00.000-06:00

...for me anyway. This isn't it unfortunately. I cast on 22 sts for what I thought was going to be a medium size Urchin hat that I would wear with true abandon. Alas, it was not to be. When you don't do a gauge swatch (bad Zillah) you don't always get the size you want. This project demonstrates the need for a gauge swatch all too well. Anyway, it's totally adorable and, while I can get it on my head, it would look better on a smaller little girls head. I used exactly one of the skeins so I'm thinking to do a little matching scarf and give it to a little girl I know. In the meantime, I will be looking for another suitable yarn in order to make another of these for myself. Once I figured out how to do the first wedge, the pattern just zipped along at about 15-20 minutes per wedge. Time to do some shopping for a nice thick and thin yarn.
Now that the holiday knitting is all finshed and at the post office, I am working diligently on finishing the Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket for my upcoming niece. It's moving along really well and if I focus on it over this extended weekend, I might even be able to get it finished. I'm using Laine du Nord's "Papiro" yarn and I just love the colors and the fabric it is making. I am also using the Boye circular needles from my little interchangable needle kit, and I gotta tell you, they're driving me nuts. I'm seriously thinking about starting to buy new circular needles as I do projects and investing in the good ones. I like the one pair of bamboo circulars I have so I'm thinking maybe more of them. I'm also considering buying some Knitpicks Harmony needles for an upcoming project. I'll see how I like them since they sure are pretty! So, last night I was surfing the web and I was over reading Crazy Aunt Purl and she had documented the confrontation between her two kitties for the new scratching pad she brought into the home. Apparently this scratching pad is very popular in the house. After looking at several comments and getting turned on to these adorable scratchers, I decided my guys needed one. Well, this afternoon I went to Big Lots and lo and behold they had the great Cat Scratch Fever Dance Floor for the kitties to get their groove on. (I think I combined decades with that comment) I brought it home, dosed it with the cat nip, and joy insued. They seem very happy and, I hope, they will figure out this is a much better choice for scratching than the speakers in the music room.

Happy Birthday Brother

2007-12-16T10:54:00.000-06:00

First, Happy Birthday to my brother if you read this today. Your present will be in the mail tomorrow (sorry it's late) and I hope you have a great day and stay nice and warm where you are which should be a problem as close to the equator as you are at the moment. :)

Meanwhile, last night while it did this...

I did this...

Very fun pattern. This is the Calorimetry for one of my aunts who has nice long hair and spends a good deal of time outside. I hope she will like it. I'm going to do one more for the other aunt too and then all my gifts are finished. That's my project for today and then I get to start on my hat. I've purchased some beautiful Debbie Bliss chunky yarn and am thinking to do the Urchin hat from knitty. Too cute for words! :)

I've Been a Busy Girl

2007-12-15T18:00:00.000-06:00

The second knitted Watchcap is done. This pattern is just so simple but looks really cool when it's on. This one is for my stepdad who asked for his own when he saw me knitting the one for my brother. I did want to make them look a little different so I added the green stripes which I really like. For some reason though, this one drove me nuts when I started decreasing for the top. I had to frog back several rows the first time when I realized I had gotten off by one stitch. Then, I did it again. Finally I realized if I would just quit thinking so much and just knit what I see, I would do a lot better. And guess what, third time is a charm sometimes.

Next are the dishtowels for my aunt. I think this turned out to be a really nice set. I love the colors and I think the variety of pattern and color is really fun. I hope to get them in the mail Monday and hopefully she'll enjoy them for years to come.

Following the dishtowels is the Shrug/Hood/Scarf thing for my brother's girlfriend. She's 8 months pregnant and I wanted to send her something she can enjoy now and later. I've never met her either so I have no idea if something like this is her style but I really like the way it turned out. I basically just knit a really wide scarf, twisted it once and then stitched the ends. I think I'm going to send copies of these photos with it so she can see the different ways she can wear it. I hope she likes it.

Lastly I needed a gift for my 14 year old cousin and when she was looking though my knitting journal earlier this fall, she mentioned that she really liked the purple fun fur in the picture of my stash. So, I took it and added some Lambs Pride worsted wool for warmth. I grabbed nice big needles (17) and knit up a quicky scarf for her. Although you can't tell from the picture, it's got a drop stitch repeat every 4th row. I think she'll enjoy it.

Two more gifts to go. I going to either do another couple of quick scarves, a couple of coin purses, or I might get froggy and try one of these. The pattern intrigues me and it looks like a pretty quick knit. I've got some yarn in my stash that I think will work so I might just give it a go for the rest of the weekend's project knitting. Stay warm where you are (if that's an issue) and I'll probably be sitting here knitting. :)

Hat's Off to Me!

2007-12-02T17:58:00.000-06:00

Yeah! REDs hat is finished and I think it looks great. If you're reading this RED, then you just spoiled your surprise but I don't think you check this out too often. Now I'm just waiting on an address to send it to since he's out of the country for a while. This hat is the Marsan Watchcap listed below and it was a good knit. The pattern is very simple but fun to knit with just enough challenge to keep it interesting. I liked that I could take this with me anywhere to knit since it's just a K1,P1 repeat where you knit is the back of the stitch to get a cool little twist to the ribbing. REDs dad saw me making it and wants one too so I'm getting ready to start another but I'm going to make it bigger because this one was pretty tight on me. It stretches a lot but MD has a big head, literally.

So last weekend, I went out for a walk with the dogs and I was thinking I needed a hat and how I would have to get one when I got paid. I don't know where my brain was because it took a minute for me to think "Wait, I make hats!" Duh!! I went on Ravelry (I LOVE Ravelry) and started looking at peoples hats. I really like the Urchin hat from Knitty but I don't really have the right yarn for it right now and I was broke and impatient. I had some Black Magic yarn by Caron and decided I was going to use it for whatever hat I made. Well, I never found a pattern I liked so I just knit a basic hat on circulars and decreases at the crown. I then put a little flower on it and viola, my hat. I wasn't able to get a picture of it on me before the batteries died in my camera so you just get to see it flat. I have to say I really disliked working with this yarn. The color ply was split in numerous locations and it was just a pain in the butt. It sure looks pretty though.

I also started working on the wrap/shrug/hood thing for somebody. Right now, I'm not totally sure what it will be or who it will go to but I have ideas. I'm thinking a twisted scarf type thing sewn together at the end that can be wore a variety of ways. I've seen them on the web but now that I'm looking for one to link to, there is nothing to be found. Maybe later. The yarn is making a neat pattern as it repeats. I'm almost half way through after working on it this afternoon. Since I didn't get a knitting done Friday or Saturday due to cleaning for the party last night, it was nice to make some progress tonight. I'll either work on this some more or maybe do another dishtowel or two tonight as we watch Serenity for the upteenth time. (Joss Whedon rules!)

The last items of progress to note are the dishtowels I'm making for my Aunt. They are a terrifically practical gift for the person who has everything. I figured anyone would find a use for dishtowels. These are just a couple of basic ballband patterns and the one that looks like brick can also be found in the Mason and Dixon book. I think they'll make a nice set.

Socks Ahoy!

2007-11-23T17:28:00.000-06:00

Well, just in time for our anniversary, I finished the socks I was working on for S. They are well loved already because I couldn't keep them hidden while I was working on them and all I got was "are they done yet? My feet are cold." No kidding, it's 33 degrees. Anyway, I completed these in light speed as far as I am concerned and I could not be happier. I have a little gapping along the decrease edge of the heel gusset on one side of each sock. I read the suggestion to knit into the back of the loop of the decreasing stitch in order to close some of this gap but it doesn't seem to have made too much difference on the second sock. Oh well. Other than that small little thing, I think they look great!! This is my first completed PAIR of socks and I am very pleased. I have to admit I really liked the size 7 needles and how quick that made these go. However, I did run out of yarn about 5 rows from the end of the second sock and ended up having to use some of my guage swatch yarn to finish them. I have the next pair in the queue but they are on size 2 (I assume but I haven't done the gauge swatch yet) and I think they'll take a little longer. I've got a bit of time before they need to be completed.

Tonight I am finishing the Marsan Hat for RED which I only need to finish the decreases. Next, I'm thinking some of the other dishclothes I need completed for the holidays. I want to do another just plain one to match the one already complete below and then do a couple of the Ballband dishclothes that are in the Mason Dixon book using this same yarn and using chocolate brown for the mortar. This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for yarn! :)

Still making gifts!

2007-11-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

The last two posts haven't had much knitting in them so I thought I would update what I have been knitting. I've continued working on presents for the holiday season. I broke down and showed my brother his present in progress when he was here last weekend. He's about to go out of the country for the next year and I kinda wanted to see if he liked the yarn and such in person. When I pulled out the beginning of the Marsan Watchcap I'm knitting for him, he just sort of looked at it like "I hope that actually turns into a hat." I reassured him that it is a very simple pattern but it does have some nice detail along the top. I really like this pattern. It's a K1,P2 ribbing where you knit in the back of the stitch. For some reason, just adding the twist by knitting into the back of the loop makes this more interesting than plain ribbing. That makes no sense but it is true for me. I'm at the point where it is time to start the decreases. I'm a bit limited on where I can knit this because I'm trying to be conscious of my brother's allergy to cats and only knit this away from my house. Not as easy as it seems since it requires planning ahead.

I'm also working on some house socks for S. I have some 100% Alpaca worsted weight yarn she bought about a year ago and I've been looking for something to do with it. I've only got 100g so there weren't many patterns that were appealing to me. Well, I finally decided to just do a simple pair of short socks for wearing around the house. I'm just using the Basic Sock Formula from Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules book. So far, a strict pattern just sort of scares me and I like just winging it with the Harlots easy instruction. I am being careful to keep really good notes on the first sock with stitch and row counts so I will hopefully be able to reproduce it for the second sock. Doing this second sock is really making me want to learn how to do two socks on one giant needle per Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Everyone has been raving about this technique and I find it very appealing to finish both socks at the same time and know they will be the same. Right now, I just can't justify spending the money on the needles I want to try this with. They are very reasonably priced but I have to get every penny sent to the bill collectors right now. Of well. I'll be getting these pretty Harmony needles soon! In the meantime, maybe I'm get the single circular to try out the technique. I've got some sock yarn I'm dying to get going with.

Lastly, I had started a shawl for another gift and I don't like the way it is going. I have some Sensations yarn from Jo-Ann's and I think I'll be spending a bit of time on Ravelry to see what others are doing with this yarn because I really want to use it for the gift. I did see a scarf/shrug thing where you knit a rectangle and then fold it in half and sew opposite corners together to form a twisted loop. Then you can wear it like a scarf/shrug/hood item. It looks pretty good and I think it will wear neat with this yarn. What do you think?

Oh, I almost forgot, I'm making progress on the Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm really liking the colors of the yarn together and it's been pretty fun to knit so far.

Well, I have just a couple more items from my stash to get uploaded to Ravelry and then I'm going to do some pattern searching before working on the socks in front of the TV tonight. I hope you have a good night too. -Z

Gift from Grandma

2007-11-17T18:07:00.000-06:00

So, the last time I saw my Grandpa I showed him my knitting journal which I have dedicated to my Grandma. My Grandma was the crafty influence in my life as she was always doing something new. Whether it was quilting, sewing, or making sleighs out of popsicle sticks, I loved to see the new things she made. However, I never really appreciated it all the way I should have when she was around and I didn't even know enough to get her to teach me to knit. Damnit!We always regret things when people are gone, don't we. Anyway, after showing him the journal, he mentioned that he had gotten rid of most of her crafting stuff after she died, but there was still some stuff in the basement and the next time my mom saw him, he gave her a shirt box, taped shut, and said it was for me. When I got home, I opened it up and this is what I found...
Wow, so now I need to work on my embroidery skills to make use of some of this beautiful floss. There are a ton of different colors and even some motif patterns by Simplicity. I cried when I opened the box and saw my grandma's handwriting inside. It amazing how special this little box of thread really is. Thanks Grandpa.

I got my Ravelry invite!!!

2007-11-14T18:28:00.000-06:00

My day finally came on Monday. I got my invitation to join Ravelry. I don't know why it took me so long to put my name on the list, but once I did I could barely stand waiting for my invite. I've spent the last 2 nights combing all the features and I'm going to make a good push to get my stuff uploaded and join the knitting online community. In case you're interested, my ID over there is Zillahknits too.

Still Working on Gifts...

2007-11-09T22:16:00.001-06:00

I have been a knitting fool lately. I've given myself an ambitious goal when it comes to holiday knitting and I'm making my way through the list. First, I've knitted a number of little coin purses for gifts. I bought a variety of colors of Patons Merino Wool to combine with the Lambs Pride I got earlier in the month and set to knitting. I got kind of clever when it comes to knitting on the road with these. I have a backpack I got from work last year some time and it was just the right size to fit the 5 skeins of yarn standing up in the bottom with the center pull yarn setting on top. Then I just sat the backpack next to my chair and pulled the color I wanted next. I ended up being a really good system and allowed me to change colors whenever I felt like it (pun intended).

I also finished my mom's gift. I got Lion Brand "Incredible" ribbon yarn and wanted to make something special. I had thought to use it for something for my aunt but when my mom saw the yarn, she claimed whatever I was making for herself. So, I went searching for ideas and came across a couple of purse patterns on the Bernat's site using a similar ribbon yarn. Well, I started with their general idea and created this purse for Mom. I love the way it turned out!

I even went to JoAnn's and found some beautiful brocade fabric and lined it too. Who knew I could sew?!?! Really though, the lining was much easier than I thought and I think it really adds something. Mom's already gotten this gift since we won't be together over the holidays and I think she's happy. I made her a matching shrug type thing too but I never got a picture. Maybe she'll send me one after reading this. :)
I've also been working on more baby things. RED is about to become a daddy and his expected little girl needs lots of knitted wear. I did a little Popover Hat and matching booties and sent them up for the Baby Shower last weekend. I used some of the Peaches and Cream yarn I bought in a color named "Pink Lemonade". They turned out cute but I mailed them before I managed to get a picture. Next, I think there is something in the water at work because every time I turn around, someone else is pregnant. Well, this past week I was invited to a Baby Shower for one of the guys in the office and so I whipped up a cute little bib in the same yarn. I love this stuff. I've already got at least 3 more bibs needed in order to keep up with the girls I know are pregnant. It's a good thing they don't take too long!

Lastly, I've started my first Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern and I'm working on a Baby Surprise Jacket for RED's little one. I'm using the yarn I bought when we went camping last month and so far, so good.
Oh, one more thing, I just bought my very first skein on Hand Dyed sock yarn. I'm no longer a virgin to the "good" yarns. I found out that the shop I had been stalking on Etsy is actually run by a woman here in the same city with me. So, go right now and buy from her shop at Dyeabolical Yarns on Etsy. Not only is she a very nice person, but the yarn is absolutely beautiful!!

This color is called "Hidden Tiger" and I already know what I want to do with it but I can't talk about it here right now. :)

And finally, I just wanted to post a picture that explains why I like to go camping. (I can't wait til Spring)

Working on gifts

2007-10-04T19:58:00.000-05:00

This is a Mason Dixon Dishcloth I recently finished. I got the book from the library and I've been working through some of the patterns as I've been working on gifts for the upcoming holidays. Anything I can find that will go fairly quick but be something people would actually want. I'm not one of those people who can knit sweaters for everyone on their holiday list. I do have a couple of special projects for special people and then I have a ton of smaller, "Hey, your my friend and I can't afford to buy you a gift so I made you this cool thing. :)" I've been making dishclothes, bibs, coasters, and now I'm doing a bunch of these really cut felted coin purses I found on the Lion Brand Yarn site. Since I came to knitting from the flashy Fun Fur yarn side and I am a born cheapskate, I am NOT a yarn snob. I believe if you like what the yarn looks like, feels like and knits like, then for gods sake, KNIT IT. Anyway, I just finished the first knitted portion of the coin purse and I went and bought 4 skeins of various colored Patons Classic Wool Merino for $4 each on sale at Michaels. I see lots of colorful little gifts in my future.

Well, I've got to get back to knitting. You know how time flies this time of year. And just because I think everyone should know the adorableness of Spanky and because I don't have any other knitting photos ready, here he is...

Over the River and Through the Woods..

2007-10-02T18:10:00.000-05:00

What a great weekend! S and I decided it was time to get out of the big (sort of) city and head to the country for the weekend. Of course, we couldn't go without me finding some way to fit in knitting. Fortunately, S has decided to pursue spinning (oh darn, more yarn for me :) ) and so we were able to indulge both of our desires. We started by going to Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio just outside of Columbia, MO. We could not have asked for a nicer visit. Carol was extremely sweet and was more than happy to answer all the questions S could come up with in the hour or so we were there. And anyone who has ever met S, knows it was a LOT of questions. Carol showed us all of her weaving looms and the most beautiful yarns I've seen. Most of her stuff is focused on spinning and weaving and if you have any interest in these items, go to her website quick. She ships all over. We ended up getting about a pound of roving for S to spin. Some beautiful brown New Zealand Silver and some off white Churo which is the authentic material used when weaving Navajo rugs.

Our next stop was at Carol's daughter's store The Hillcreek Yarn Shoppe. According to her, her mom got tired of her "knitting obsessed friends taking over her weaving store" and therefore she was required to open her own store to support the knitters. Again, oh darn! It a very cute store just off the highway in Columbia and is really a pretty good size. They have a really nice table in a library type area for in-store knitting, a weaving corner, and a ton of yarn. Since "Vacation Yarn" doesn't count (just ask Lime and Violet) I knew it was time for SEX (Stash Enhancing Expedition, and no, I didn't make that up. Lime and Voilet again). I found the 3 skeins of Brown Sheep 85% wool/15% Mohair in purple on the sale table and it will work perfectly for some of the Holiday knitting I am doing. I also found this beautiful yarn...

to use to make my first Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket for a special little girl. The yarn is Papiro from Laines Du Nord, 100% Cotone (cotton) and made in Italy. This stuff is gorgeous!! Although the blue of my chair washes out the color some, the picture above is pretty accurate. I picked 2 balls of the blue, purple, and green for the main color in the jacket and the multi-hued green for some stripes. I got a good deal on it too. Bonus! I also actually bought the pattern. I did find this great website with instructions on how to knit it. So, if you want to know what I'm knitting, check it out.

Last stop on the trip was Arrow Rock State Park outside of Boonville. We had reserved a site on-line (follow this link and you can actually see it. How Cool?!) for Saturday night only since we needed 48 hours notice and didn't book until Thursda.When we got there, it was free so we pitched our tent. The park was really nice and the facilities were great. We bought fire wood from the volunteers at the park and I wasn't even afraid to use the toilets. The were cleaner than the toilets in most public schools. :)
This picture, by the way, is not of the toilets. This is actually the inside of the historic jail in the REALLY tiny town. The visitors center of the State Park is really nice and has lots of neat history type stuff that S really dug. We did enjoy the coffee shop in the town on Saturday morning and got a hot breakfast. We walked around the park a couple of times during the day and walked up to the lake (which is maybe a little generous description) at night. We also saw turtles and raccoons and heard a pack of wolves. I got a bunch of knitting done by the fire and the entire weekend was just really great!

My Etsy Store has Opened

2007-09-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

I told you I was inspired by my new stitch markers. When I realized people would make such beautiful stitch markers for their knitting I knew it was right up my alley. I've made jewelry of all types for years and the stitch markers are an easy add to my repertoire. I went to the local bead supply store, bought some beautiful sterling silver posts and split rings, and used beads from my jewelry collection to make several sets. I decided to go ahead and put them up on Etsy and see what folks think. Even if they don't sell, I think they're great and at worst, I've got several new sets for my own enjoyment. Check out the shop!

Where has the time gone?

2007-09-18T22:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, it has been a while. We've been changing internet service providers and it has been an ordeal. Well, we finally got the internet back up and now it's time to catch up on my knitting stuff. So, what have I been working on? A bunch of stuff. I've made some progress on Spanky's sweater. I find myself getting bored with plain garter stitch pretty quickly so this piece can really only hold my interest for about 30 minutes or if I'm sitting around talking to others and not paying attention to the knitting so much. It makes a nice feeling fabric and I know Spanky will like it if I ever get it done.

I've also made some progress on my sock. It's slow going, again I'm just not motivated by the plain knit stitch around and around and around and again. I get dizzy just thinking about it. I think I'm doing better with the tension now and I decreased down to 60 stitches around the foot area. I've actually tried it on and it fits great in the foot area. As of Sunday it is about 1/2 inch from my toes which is when I start decreasing for the toe area and the end of the sock. Oh my, how exciting!

I've been knitting purely from my yarn stash lately and I decided to dig a little deeper this past week to some stuff I've had for quite a while. I found this orangey/yellow sort of bulky and shiny yarn and combined it with some Boa I bought a long time ago and viola. The scarf is pretty simple with garter for 3 ridges and then stockinette until I got tired, then back to garter and That's All Folks. The hat was fun. I cast on some circular needles and knit about 1 1/2" of ribbing then switched to just knitting so I would get a stockinette cap. Well, then I got to thinking and end up dividing the 60 stitches into 6 groups and I did a purl stitch at each start of the group. So basically I knit 10, purl 1, knit 10 ..., then, on the next row, I knit the purl stitch and then purled the next stitch instead. So what I ended up with is a really cool swirl pattern around the hat. The hat's a little loose on me, but I love em.

I also treated myself to a couple of knitting related items these past couple of weeks. I had some gift cards and Ebay money and decided I needed a treat. I got a super cheap copy of Knit Two Together with Tracy Ullman and a LYS (Local Yarn Store) owner from her neck of the woods. The book is a lot of fun and a couple of the patterns are intriguing. We'll see how adventurous I feel. I also got a copy of The Twisted Sisters Sock Workshop.

The most exciting thing I got is my new set of stitch markers.

Aren't they adorable. I'm sorry, but these just totally appeal to a very irreverant side of me. I love 'em. They look especially adorable when knitting assorted baby gear. :) Sometimes, I am just so wrong. Anyway, I got these on Etsy at SeeJayneKnit's shop. She's got some great stitch markers and some beautiful looking yarn. She was great to deal with and I am thrilled with the markers. And also inspired....

P.S. Yes, the hat is too big, but the colors are wonderful! Who would have thought I would need a bigger head?

September Already?

2007-09-02T09:42:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's September already. I really need to start thinking about Christmas presents and get knitting! I've been purusing some web sites and I have some ideas for presents but I can't really write about them because most of the people who will be getting them, have this blog address. Oh well, it will just have to be a surprise.
I gave RED his camera case the other day so I get to post the photo now so Mom can see too. It really is this small. I looked up the dimensions of his camera prior to knitting and I couldn't believe how small it was. Needless to say, it didn't use much yarn and hence the reason Spanky is getting his first sweater. I am modifying the color pattern and frankly, I'm just winging it with what I feel like knitting next. We'll see how it goes. :)

I also started working a a new shawl. I got this yarn at Big Lots (no yarn snobbery here) and I just wasn't sure what I would use it for but I really like the colors and shininess. I've decided to name this the "Candy Shawl" because thats what it makes me think of when I see it. I'm just doing a simple dishtowel pattern with a yarn over 2 stiches in on each row to create the triangle. I don't have enough yarn for a full size woman's shawl but I have a cute little young lady in mind for this one.

I also worked some more on my sock. I have now officially "turned the heel" of the sock. I was pretty cool. I did a short row heel turn right out of the Yarn Harlot's book and I think I finally understand how this works. It's cool. She also has a pattern to create a shawl in the shape of a circle by knitting pie like pieces using short rows. I really like the idea now that I understand the concept of the short row heel so I'm going to have to look into some yarn for this.

Lastly, I created a Flickr site where I've uploaded a good number of my knitting photos for viewing. So Mom, if your reading this, I'll send you an invite to the site and you can see all the pictures you like. Anyone else out there who wants to see them, let me know and I'll send you an invite too, unless you're creepy. :)

Socks to be Me

2007-08-26T08:19:00.000-05:00

Well, I haven't gotten a lot of new knitting done this week. I did give the baby bib from my previous post to the new mama-to-be at her shower this week and it seemed to go over well. Other than that, I've been working some on Spanky's sweater. I'm using the yarn left over from Red's camera case and I've got it all sketched up in my journal but I don't think it's going to quite work out the way I planned. Does it ever? I was going to have the sweater mostly blue with red and yellow accents but I don't think I have enough of yarn. Therefore, it looks like the sweater will need to be a bit more striped than I planned.

Other than that, I've been working on my first sock. I got a wild hair one day and went to our local yarn store and bought some sock yarn after listening to Lime and Violet profess how much they love socks. I picked up a skein of self striping yarn which isn't supposed to split much (though it does). I also got my first set of size 2 needle which are the size of bamboo skewers though they cost a lot more. :) I'm using the Yarn Harlot book and the Sock 101 web page I found and just knitting a sock. No pattern for me. I can't decide if I'm brave or crazy? So far, I've finished the cuff and leg of the sock and honestly, they seem too big (and I even did a gauge swatch). I plan to go ahead and finish at least one sock and then decide if I want to find a specific pattern to try next. I've knitted the heel flap of this sock twice already. The first time I forgot to slip the first stitch on each row and it sounds like it would be really hard to pick up stitches later without the extra large stitches on the edges, so I frogged the entire heel and started over. It's looking better now and I'm ready to start my first "short rows" to turn the heel. I keep reading how to do this over and over again trying to get it straight in my head before actually starting. I also need some quiet time to concentrate and take the next steps.

The most difficult thing I've encountered so far if holding the yarn with consistent tension as I knit and it really shows with these socks. If I don't hold it with consistency, then the stitches get bigger, then smaller, then bigger. It's not really obvious but enough to bother me. So, while I was knitting the other night, I noticed I was finally holding the yarn and it was pulling with really nice, even tension. Well, I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures to put in my journal showing how I was holding the yarn so I can use them as reference going forward. This way, I'll be able to visually check if I'm holding the yarn right. Yeah!! Well, it's off to turn the heel...

Little Things

2007-08-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

I've been working on several small projects during the past week and I've managed to get a bunch of little stuff done. First, I was working on a camera case for my brother which I am not posting yet in case he looks at the blog. (You just have to wait Red) It turned out really cute though and I'll put a picture up later.

I've also been working on Baby Shower gifts for all the girls at work who are pregnant. I think this is the single most cost effective reason to knit. I love doing the baby gifts because they're fast, they don't take much yarn, and the baby will actually use them. I try to make sure I use only machine washable yarns and I tie knots in my end instead of just weaving them in to make sure the bibs, booties, hats etc. hold up to multiple washings. So far, the mom's have liked them. :)
I've been playing with some modifications to the basic bib design. You'll see in the picture that I've been rounding the corners and on this latest one I tried to round the neck straps some to make the fit more comfortable for the baby. I'm afraid I got a bit too long on this one but it will shrink up some in washing.

I also worked on this cute little baby hat I found on Stitch Marker's blog. I can't figure out how to link directly to the page it's on but this takes you to the blog and the hat is called the Lilly Hat. I think it's just pretty darn cute. I've found a cute bootie pattern here that I think I might try soon for the next round of babies.

Next, I've been inspired by all the Chevron scarves I've seen in several different blogs. I used the Chevron pattern on the purse I made for S and I like the way it looks and I like how it feels to knit. So, I had these two "novelty" yarns in my stash that I just really like. They are wonderfully soft and the texture is really interesting. I decided to see what they would knit up like together in a Chevron stripe pattern. I'm working this on size 10 needles per the ball wrapper recommendation. The yarn is a bitch to get started but it slowly starting to get easier. It also took a little bit to start seeing the pattern but I can see it now and I think I dig it. I think the final scarf will be amazingly soft and pretty cool looking.

Another awesome thing I just finished is my Soulard Market bag. I found the pattern for this bag and then I found another site where the woman made some modifications to the pattern that I really like. I had a couple of balls on Sugar and Cream yarn from when I went crazy at Walmart and bought a ton of it to make dishtowels, etc. I had this great lime, yellow, and white yarn and I got to knitting. I love this bag and I have to say it worked great yesterday when I used it for the first time. I expands to amazing proportions and I was able to carry a ton of stuff in it. Too much really because my shoulder couldn't handle as much as the bag. :)

For the rest of the weekend, I'm working on a little sweater for Spanky based on a pattern I found in the Stitch 'n Bitch book. I'm using the Microspun yarn I have left over from the Camera case and making a nice striped sweater. I got all of Spanky's measurements yesterday (I tried to get Weather's too but she was not having it) and I knitted my gauge swatch to check how many stitches I will need. I cast on last night and the sweater is under way. So, off to knitting...

Spanky's Bed - Post Felt

2007-08-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

Yep, Spanky loves the new bed. Well...he will if I can get the cats off of it long enough for him to check it out.

The bed is all dry now and I've learned a couple of things. If I decide to do another of these, I'm going to double up the yarn so it's thicker. This bed will be nice to at least keep Spanky off the ground but I'm not sure how long it will last. It just feels thinner than I really like. I also think I would try and make the sides taller and more bowl like so I could put a pillow in the bottom of it. Lastly, I think I want to try some spirals of color like some of the others in the gallery. If I worked it from the top down I could even spiral the decreases but it's probably not worth all that effort when it's going to be felted and you lose all the stitch definition anyway. Oh well, we'll see if I get froggy.

Spanky's Bed - Pre-felting

2007-08-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

Although the bed is being made for Spanky while he’s hanging out in the shop, Oscar decides to call first dibs. I was looking at various blogs when I came across one with this pattern for the Kitty Pi Bed (© 2003-2006 Wendy D. Johnson ) After viewing the gallery here (http://wendyknits.net:80/knit/kittybedgallery.htm), I convinced S to let me use the wool yarn from Uruguay we bought off Ebay and got started on the bed. The bed’s pre-felted dimension is about 24” across and I’m hoping it will be about 18” across when felted.

During the course of knitting it, I changed up the stitches to vary the pattern a bit and I really like the way it turned out. The next task is to figure out the best way to block it after it’s felted and I think I got pretty creative. The bed looks like it’s going to be just the right size and I can’t wait for it to dry completely so Spanky can try it out.

ZillahKnits joins the Blogsphere

2007-08-10T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been inspired by all the great Podcasts I've been listening to on Itunes and I have decided to join the world of blogging. I expect this to become a place I can track my knitting projects and let my friends and family view a little slice of my life since they are located all over this great big world. At least this way, they can see how I'm spending entirely too much of my time and maybe they'll be inspired to buy me more yarn. (more yarn means future presents!!)

I'm new to the Internet Knitting Community and I don't know how involved I will end up being but it already seems friendly and I'm ready to kick back with a good cup of coffee and figure all this stuff out.

For now, pick up some needles and knit; it's good for the soul.