Bloggity Blog

Time for another update, huh?

OK, so my secret projects were a TON of dishcloths!! I had two showers to go to & I made each bride a set of knit dish cloths and a set of coasters & trivets with pictures of their favorite flowers, sunflowers and calla lillies, which are also the flowers they're using in their weddings :-) You may recognize one of the sunflower pix from a post last year :-) The Calla Lillies were purchased special for the *Coaster photo shoot*, but the sunflower pix I had already taken. The coasters are just two pieces of glass with a picture between them sealed with copper tape.

Also completed are my Hubba Hubba Sox, AKA, George's socks. He's been wearing and washing them, but I just stuck them on my feet & took a pic just now. I think they're looking good :-) Behold the matchity match-ness of the stripes!!! That took Mad Skillz!!! OK, ok, so all I did was make a note of where in the color repeat I cast on the first stitch for the first sock & cast on my second sock in the same spot.... At leat give me credit for having the forethought to do that much!! LOL! They clearly don't fit my feet, but fit G's perfectly. He's already asking for another pair. Yeah!! I'm so glad he likes them!

And remember that yarn I dyed that looked suspiciously like vomit? Well, it turns out that I really like how it knits up! Even the speckles that I was so upset about add interest and depth to the knitted fabric :-) Hey, that's my story & I'm sticking to it! These are River Rapids Socks for a co-worked that helped me catch up on my work when I was having a complete and total breakdown. I'm almost through the leg on the 2nd sock. I'll definitely have enough yarn left over for another pair of socks.... It's a good thing I like the yarn now!

And last but not least.... Spinning!!!! I finished a skein of Alpaca (the stuff Juli got me for Christmas): 300 yard of lace weight that I'm pretty sure will be a Branching Out, but I can't say for sure. I am quite proud of this! Way more than I should be I'm sure! I'll be taking my first spinning class on Saturday, so hopfully I'll just get better from here :-)

Finally did something

I made a set of stich markers:
And a set of wine charms:

Knit the pieces for the Brea Bag, but ran out of yarn so I'm not sure how to finish it: Knit a kitty, and several more have already been requested:

And started a sock:

Now I don't feel like such a slacker :-)

Spinning vs. Knitting

I can't decide if I should spin or knit tonight. I've made good progress on the bag I started, so I would like to get moving on that.... But I haven't spun in a while, so I would like to get back to that.... Decisions, Decisions...

So, I've been informed of a Long Island Spinning Guild that I'm gunna look into :-) They meet the 3rd Weds of the month (I think) so I missed it for September, but hope to make it to the meeting in October.

Done: Perdita & Scarf

These are the projects I finished up in New Hampshire. The cuff is Perdita from Knitty in the Lilac motif. I used glass beads from Michaels. The buttons belonged to my grandmother. The yarn is embroidery floss.

The scarf is adapted from a Knit Scene pattern. Only I made it too short, so I added a ruffle at the ends & I'm calling it a neck warmer! This is knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes and Merino Style. It's a set with the Cinchy Hat and Fingerless Mitts that I've already posted about. I blocked the scarf yesterday, but I haven't taken pix of it blocked yet.

This picture of Georgie is a bonus because I thought it was freaking hilarious. We got him a bandana b/c I thought it would look cute on him. He tied it on his head so that his ears stick out all silly. Then he got a little pencil from his Grandma that is clipped onto his collar. That thing around his neck is a headband of Devin's. It has those long pieces of fabric that are supposed to be tied under her hair so it looks like she has a scarf tied around her head. I think Georgie wore the headband more than Devin did!

Fiber stuff

So, before I get into the actual vacation stuff I'll do the vacation purchases, since I can't put that many pictures in one post! :-) Gloria and I stopped at WEBS on the way up to New Hampshire, and I got a few things for my Secret Pal, but I'm not gunna post pix of those, just in case she wanders across my blog. I really like all the Valley Yarn brand yarns, I made it a point to check them all out since you never really know what you're going to get when you order on-line.

Then we went to Patternworks and Keepsake Quilting where I got these:

That's a little gauger checker thing, a sweater stone to remove fuzzies, wool wash, an apron pattern book (gunna give sewing an other try- I really like the middle apron!) and two skeins of Berocco Ultra Alpaca in Prune. The Ultra Alpaca was slotted to become a Brea Bag, but I think I have since changed my mind. It's so soft and squishy.... I just can't see using it for something that wont be cuddled. I also got the Jo Sharp Knit book- Issue 1, which I forgot to throw in the picture.

Then Mom & Dad went to the Harrisville Yarn & Loom store and came back with these goodies:

The green is 100% wool and the gold is 25% mohair, 70% wool, 5% cashmere. Both are Harrisville's line of yarn & are a BIT scratchy, but not bad at all. I think the green may turn into the Brea Bag. I initially didn't want another green knit bag, but this green is so different from the green I used for my felted bag that I think it's OK. The gold kinda matches the gold I'm using for Juli's DNA shawl, but the fiber is so different that it may not work for a matching accessory. We shall see.

And speaking of Juli's shawl, there has been a bit of progress made on it. Yeah!!!!! I've been making an effort to finish up the zillion projects I have laying around. I would really like this to be complete by Rhinebeck. It's measuring 26 inches just laying on the couch. I don't think it will grow in length very much with blocking, but I also don't think it should be super-super long. Maybe 50-something inches with a nice pin to keep it closed? I dunno.... gotta think on this one.... Anyway, here's the progress pic: You can't see the bars within the cables very well in this picture, but the picture without the flash was so blurry that it wasn't even worth posting.

And one final picture for this post. Not fiber related. These are some tomatoes that I picked from our mini-garden this morning :-) There were three more tiny ones, but they were put into our breakfast (eggs). These will be either mixed with pasta or made into mozzerella and tomato salad tonight. Either way they will be in my belly!

Cropped Cardi: DONE

Another DONE stamp can be placed on the Cropped Cardi:

More on our trip later. Have to get the kids showered & in bed- school starts tomorrow!!

Hat: DONE

I wish I had a big *DONE* stamp like they had on Monster House. Too bad that show isn't on any more :-(

Anyway, the cinchy hat is done :-)

My model was somewhat reluctant and was horseing around with her Dad when I was trying to snap pix. The Mama of the girley girl getting the hat promises to take lots of pix :-) This isn't the ribon that will stay on the hat. Mom has some burgundy ribbon in her stash that I think I'll steal a yard of. I want to make a bow instead of just a knot.

Knitting ADD

Ya, so you know those shawls & stuff that I said I was working on last time? And the leg warmers/socks that Devin wanted? Ya, well I've moved on to the Cinchy Hat from the most recent Knit Scene. I'm also planning on making a pair of matching mittens & leg warmers :-) I hope I have the right gauge for a kids hat, since it's for a friend'd daughter. If not, I'll keep this for myself & knit another one. HeeHee! No, it should be just fine.

I did a different increase than in the pattern, so I think it looks a little wonky, but it should be fine when all is said & done.

I left work early to pack to go to New Hampshire tonight, and so far all I've managed to do is eat some left over sesame tofu and watch part of Dirty Dancing. Guess I should go get the laundry from the basement and start packing before I get the kids from camp & hit the road....

Nothing much new

So, not much knitting or spinning has been going on around here lately. I finally finished the new HP book, but I still haven't been getting much done. It's too freaking hot and humid to want to do much of anything around here. I don't have air conditioning, so during the times that I would usually be knitting I find I just want to lay on the couch with the lights out! I did get a few rows knit on my *something warmers*- which Devin has requested that I make into knee high socks for her, and I did a few rows on the Morehouse Farms Contessa Shawl. Oh, and George found the reversable cable scarf that I made him! Yeah! I'll have to force him or one of the kids to model it for a picture, as I only have *in-progress* pix. Georgie's rattle snake scarf continues to be missing :-(


Onto the pix.


Devin modeling what I thought was going to be leg warmers, but now may not be. No soap was used in the production of these pictures, so please excuse the messy house & dirty kids!




The beginnings of the Contessa Shawl. I'm only on row 20.



And my main man in his football gear.

Catching up

I haven't been doing much new knitting... I'm trying to finish up all the random little things I have laying around over the summer, so in the fall I can work on the big things that I don't want to think about while it's so hot- like Juli's shawl & Gloria's shrug. I have about a billion dishcloths that I made recently, most of which will be gifted, and I have what WAS the beginning of a pair of socks that I'm turning into leg warmers for Devin. George asked that I make the kids Harry Potter scarves. Ummm.... let me think about that one... OF COURSE!!!! I want to place an order @ Webs for some superwash wool for the project. Knit Picks doesn't seem to have the Gryfandor colors in Swish superwash. Although they did put the new Fall line out & I haven't had a chance to look it over yet. Maybe I'll make Georgie a Gryfandor and Devin a Ravenclaw... Have to think about it before ordering. Bottom line though is that I don't want to start anything new until I have a few projects off the needles. And speaking of needles, I'm eyeing the DPN set on Knit Picks which I see that my sister just ordered. Let me know how you like them Juli! I'm a big fan of Clover Bamboos, but I do really like my Knit Picks options, so maybe I would like to Knit Picks DPNs too.

Georgie starts summer school tomorrow. I can't believe my 5-year-old has to go to summer school. He'll have the boy aross the street with him though, and he doesn't seem to mind the idea of going to school tomorrow, so I'm not gunna make a huge deal out of it.

I entered a contest through the Stash and Burn podcast, and I didn't win, but got an e-mail that they're sending everyone who got the correct answer a little gift :-) Juli got hers already, so I hope mine comes tomorrow! I love getting stuff (other than bills) in the mail!!! Juli has been on a kick that we're gunna do our own podcast, along with Gloria. She's got segments worked out, I named us, now we need to work out the logistics of podcasting from different states! I bet we would be able to do a decent pod cast!

And speaking of Gloria, there was a fire in her apartment building last week. Several fire fighters went to the hossy for smoke inhalation, but other than that there were no injuries. She's out of the apartment for a few months while they do repairs, and she needs some new furnature and whatnot... all her clothing needs to be dry cleaned... and she LOST HER STASH!!!! GASP!!!! Now, it's wasn't the world's most impressive stash, but it was a stash none the less... and what do you want to do most when you're stessed out and have to stay at your parents house?? Knit, of course. So, she came over and took a ton of yarn from the craptastic garbage bag of doom, needles and a back issue Knit Simple magazine with a log cabin blanket pattern in it. I just told her to be careful with the blanket when she's done with it, b/c since it's acrylic it may melt to her if it's ever in a fire :-X I think the deal worked out well for everyone. I unloaded a boatload of craptacular yarn, Gloria got a project to work on, and I brought most of what was left in the bag to a drop box, so George is thrilled that we no longer have a ginormous bag of yarn in our living room. The way I see it, being that I destashed like 80 skeins of yarn right there that I should totally be able to buy whatever I want at Reinbeck :-D Juli will be coming with us this year, so I'm pretty sure spending will be completely out of control, but I'm OK with it!

G & I spent the day on the boat today- he worked (installed the radio) while I started re-reading HP: The Order of the Phoenix. We got HP7 yesterday, but G is reading it first since I can't keep a secret, so I'm re-reading the last two in the mean time. I can't wait to read the new one! All the buzz I hear has been that it's great. I found HP inspired sock patterns (Bellatrix, Fawkes, and Nagini a few minutes ago, with the help of Ravelry. I love that site!! Maybe once I get a few projects off the needles I'll cast on for some socks.

OK, I feel like I'm still on the boat, and I'm getting dizzy, so that's it from me for now. Bad Blogger, I have no pix today.

Ravelry

I'm WAY too addicted to Ravelry. It's so freaking fun!! There are a lot of projects that I didn't take pix of before I gifted them, so I'm SOL for that, but I'm going through my old pix to see what I can find. For the most part I wont be putting up projects that I have no chance of finding pix for.

So, my New Hampshire Stash Additions..... First off, on the way to NH we went to WEBS. Yeah!!!! It's a good thing I don't live too close, otherwise I would be broker than I already am!! I was being relatively good while I was there: I picked out two different sets of purse handles and some Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky to make felted purses with and a pattern book from Filatura Di Crosa (I'm itching to make the sideways knit cardi). I was on my way up to the register when I ran into a staff member who asked if I was finding everything, we chatted for a bit, she asked me if I was in the warehouse. I said *The what?* and that's when it was all over!! I wound up with what I hope is a sweater's worth of cotton to make the cardi and a whole bunch of other cotton to make washcloths. I'm really into the Ball Band dishcloth. It's such a cute pattern. Next yarn store was an accident. We went to New England Fabrics so Mom could get some fabric to make pillows and I discovered a ton of Lopi. Georgie picked out some Cammo yarn to make him a vest with and Orange yarn to trim it with. Then we went to the Fiber Studio, where I got two big hanks of superwash merino that I plan on dyeing for Juli to make socks with (after I place another order from Dharma), and Georgie picked out some roving for me to spin to make him a new Rattle Snake scarf (his is lost- *SOB*). And that's it. I was pretty proud of myself that I didn't get more! I REALLY have to start using my stash though, b/c it's totally getting out of hand. I have to admit that I can't resist it when Georgie requests that I make him things. I think it's SO cute.

We're having some issues with Camp scaring the sh*t out of the kids with their dooms day preaching (what should I have expected from a church camp?? It was what we could afford though) so G talked to them this morning. We'll see what happens. Georgie is literaly having nightmares that a ball of fire is gunna crash into the Earth & we're all gunna die :-X Just what I wanted out of summer vacation :-(

K, time to get a move on.

Crafties

A few pix :-) Cause really, that's all you're here for anyway :-P



Here's the Baby Belaro jacket from the One Skein book. This thing took me TWO DAYS to knit!!!! WooHoo!!!! I CAN make sweaters, I really CAN!!!

And the back. Not quite sure what's up with those two little holes at the edging. They're from the neckline shaping, which quite honestly I don't think was all that necessary on the back.

I tried this on one of Devin's Cabage Patch Kids & it was a little big, so if this is an average sized baby it should fit nice :-) Mom thinks it's silly to make a sweater for a baby due in August, but August & September evenings can get chilly, and it's made of cotton, not wool!!

And what will eventually be a quilt top:







I had such a hard time picking out fabrics for this. There were so many cool fabrics I liked & so many ideas I had, but I finally went with this b/c I would like all the stuff I give Daniella at the shower to coordinate & kinda look like they belong together. I hope she likes her basket of home made goodies that she'll be getting!

And I was shown a positive pregnancy test today that another friend took, so I'll have more baby knitting in my future :-) I'll probably make her pick out exactly what she wants so I know that she'll love it!!

Random Bitches....

Last night G starts sniffing around the house going *what's that smell? It smells nasty*. I tell him I burnt some rice in veggie broth, which smelled pretty bad, so that was probably what he was smelling. We didn't think much more of it.... all the windows were open, then he went out & got some pretty strong smelling Chinese food, then it started to smell REALLY bad. Turns out a pipe in the basement rusted through & water from the cesspool was running into the basement. Now, we JUST had the freakin thing pumped a few weeks ago & the only way that it could be backing up into the house from this pipe is if that pool is FULL again. Obviosly when when we had it pumped they didn't really pump it all the way. We've gone nearly ten years w/o having it pumped, you can't tell me it filled back up in a matter of weeks! George patched up the leak with some duct tape (that stuff really IS good for everything! LOL!) and someone is coming to pump the tank for real today. Then G will have to figure out how to fix the pipe. Yuck. Everything in the basement has to be trashed too :-( All sorts of kids toys & stuff that I've been holding onto that he's been wanting to throw out for the past few years....

Onto the knitting.... School is over in two weeks, so that means teacher knitting is upon us! I was planning on making Georgie's teacher a shawl since she's retireing this year, but after contributing to the class gift & making her a scrapbook page & everything, I decided to go with something smaller. She used Butterflies as a theme that she carried through the year, so I decided to give her several butterfly knit washcloths along with some bath stuff. Usually I order soap from Apple Pie Baby, but this year I waited too long & I don't think I would get them in time, so I'll probably go to Bath & Body Works. I'm making washcloths for all the teachers, but Georgie's is getting more than the others. I have the two teachers, two speech therapist & the day care teachers to give gifts for. I just discovered the Ball Band cloth & I LOVE it!!! They go super quick & I really like to look of the textures and colors :-) I'm thinking about just getting a basket for Day Care full of goodies for them to share since there are so many people involved....

I spun a little skein of yarn out of the roving I got a few weeks ago. The colors look great in the yarn & I can't wait to knit it into something :-) I want to get the rest of it spun up though before I decide what to make so I know exactly what my yardage is. I think I'm keeping it as a single instead of plying it, so hopefully I'll have enough for a lacey scarf. Juli's shawl is kinda at a stand still til I get the teacher stuff finished, and so is Gloria's sweater. I'll have pictures of everything to post later.

A friend of mine is pregnant, so I would like to make her a blanket. I'm thinking Shine from Knit Picks & a simple lace pattern with a ruffle edgeing, then I want to back it with fabric. She's due in August, so hopefully I can get the yarn ordered soon. I did already get some yarn to make baby washcloths and a sweater from the one-skein book. I would love to dye and stamp some onesies for her too... there are so many projects I want to make & so little time!! I really have to prioritize everything, then focus on one or two things at a time. I know I wont get to everything, but there are so many things I WANT to do!!!!

Long Weekend

I took a long weekend to go see Juli graduate. Yeah! The best part was when I was in the bathroom at the graduation with the kids & I told them to hurry up b/c I didn't want to miss Aunt Juli get called up to get her fake diploma, and some woman said all snotty *They don't do that at this school* and I got to say *For the PhD graduates they do* Hahahaha!!! This is the best picture I have of the actual ceremony, taken by Devin:

Apparently this was taken when Juli was up on the stage, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

The kids got pretty restless, so we went outside to play while we were waiting for the cermony to end. Georgie found the PERFECT climbing tree. Can you find him in it?

My parents were less than thrilled that I let him climg so high up. There were tons of branches to slow him down if he fell, so he would have survived a fall!! Anyway, trees like that were made for climbing!

This is a picture of me, Juli & Gloria with Devin & Georgie:

And Juli with her hubby Josh, who got home from Iraq about a week before the graduation. Yeah! He sent me home with some yummy mead that G & I had last night. I must get more. It was good.

This is what I was planning on giving Juli for a graduation gift (yes, Juli, it's a mustard yellow, not green!!) but it didn't get finished on time. So I gave it to her then took it back to finish. It will be a shawl when it grows up & she can wear it to geeky Dr. Scientist things. I made two pretty bis mistakes, but I'm not sure how to go back & fix them. Oops. There's a missing Yarn Over in one spot in the lace pattern & one of the bars in the double helix is knit when it should have ben purled, so the bar part is only one row thick in that spot instead of two. I did get a mini skein of yarn spun that I forgot to take a picture of that I gave her for her B-day, which was the day before graduation, so I felt like I got something accomplished.

The yarn is a Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk & it's SUPER soft.

Now I'm on a kick that I MUST get a spinning wheel b/c the drop spindle just isn't fast enough. And it doesn't hold very much yarn before it starts spinning all lopsided. I think I'll get a bottom whirl spindle & see if it's any better- one of those navajo spindles I think it's called, when you wrap it into a center pull ball as you spin- to hold me over til I can afford a wheel. George will be SO pissed if I get a wheel, so I need one I can fit in the closet when I'm not using it. I had to miss the NH fiber festival b/c I was taking an exam that weekend, so I think I'll have to wait til Reinbeck to check out wheels. At least I can research on the internet in the mean time.

Onto kid news. Georgie got the *official* ADHD diagnosis yesterday from the Neurologist. He started Adderall today, which was a REALLY difficult decision for me to make. I really don't want to medicate him, but I encourage my clients to take their meds b/c they have chemical imbalances in their brains that they need their meds to counter act. Of course with my clients they hear voices and talk to themselves when they don't take meds, Georgie only acts like a maniac. Bottom line is that I don't want to send him into first grade next year getting frustrated b/c he can't pay attention to the teacher when he sees a leaf blowing on a tree outside, or hears someone walking down the hall or whatever, so we're trying the meds for a bit & seeing how it works. He came home & said he did better in school today & was able to pay attention better. then he asked to take some more. Uhoh.... It IS a controlled substance....

Good kid news: I spoke with both of the speech teachers today & both kids are screened out of speech therapy for next year! Yeah!! Lil G still has a lot of articulation errors, but they're age appropriate, so he'll be re-screened mid way through 1st grade, when the sounds should be emerging, to make sure he's still on track. Devin's therapist said she has made great progress & has all the appropriate sounds emerging, even with a gaping hole in the front of her mouth. She'll get re-screened after her teeth grow back in.

And I think that's all the news I have for now :-)

Knitting update

I'm such a bad Blogger!!! I'll update with a few pictures.

Not knitting related, but cute none the less... The kids with my Dad on Easter:

The beginings of the Branching Out scarf I made for my Mom for her Birthday. I KNOW I have a pic of it finished somewhere..... Anyway, it's made in Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Iris on size 6 Clover bamboo needles. It was a great first lace project:

Some Chickies for Devin & Georgie. I love making little stuffed animals!!

And finally Cola guarding a scarf from the OddBall Knitting book. I had some extra yarn & thought it woulod look cool with this pattern, so I HAD to make it! LOL! Not sure who it will be going to yet.... it's been living in my dining room.... all folded up on the table....