Day: March 13, 2008

I am lucky enough to have a husband that supports my ‘habits’; yarn and shoes. Amazon had some Naughty Monkey and Sugar shoes on clearance, rock bottom prices that I just couldn’t pass up.

These green and persimmon ones are by Sugar and oh how I love the detailing on them. I had to put inserts in because they were just a tad too deep for my narrow feet.
The top black pony hair retro heels are Naughty Monkey shoes……aaaaaaahhhhhhhh…..I love…..
The details on them are what sold me on both pairs & boy do I love overnight shipping for prime members on Amazon!
Next post, yarn pictures!!!

Saturday Tracy took a bunch of pictures for my ravelry projects page. We also had a little fun taking pictures of eachother. If you know us at all you know how animated we are in our talking. Stories can be so exciting!

 

Sadie took this one of the 2 of us, I like it. I like all pics of the 2 of us.

(I am not really that much taller than Tracy, I am standing on the kids playset, just thought I would throw that out there ;o))

I had just made a ridiculously stupid face & boy am I glad she didn’t catch that on ‘film’.

Kind of like this picture, I think it’s what the kids see when I get upset at them.

Hands flapping & everything. Maybe not quite that smile though. The neck is right on…how lovely.

Here are some pics of finished sweaters I have done in the last few months.

And some oldie’s I pulled out to have pics of.

Tracy got a few good shots of Sadie, I love showing off how beautiful she is!

And one of Trevor with his cool patch on his forehead trying to keep his fever down.

Look at the glazed eyes, nice. He has a cold with fever that is a killer. It came on on Saturday and he’s still home from school today. I did take hi m this morning and by 11am they called & told me to come and get him. His cough was too much I guess.

I finished the Gedifra sweater yesterday but haven’t had a chance to get a good picture of it. That will come soon, we have plenty more sweaters to take pictures of!

Instead of starting another sweater I decided I would work on perfecting a runner’s sock pattern I am writing and get back to the Venezia.

Oh & I finished a blanket that Tracy & I have taken turns knitting on since 2004. Yes
, you read that right, 2004.

That will also have a picture coming soon.

I hope all of you are out there battling all these crappy colds going around, take care!

I made my mom some socks for her birthday in June. Monkeys using Lorna’s Laces in Watercolor from The Loopy Ewe.

She loved them so much she entered them in their county fair.

They took the blue ribbon.

It’s on it’s way here & now maybe she’ll wear the socks. That is what they are supposed to be for, after all.
Thanks to my Pop for sending me the pictures.

I really do think this whole thing is so funny! They are just a pair of Monkey socks, everyone & their mother has knit them. Mine weren’t even without mistakes, they were a quick knit gift for my mom. Well she says I shouldn’t be so modest, I just chuckle.

 

And what perfect timing! I have the yarn for two, count ’em, two projects!

First are the Unmentionables.

I just received some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in kelp green in the correct amount (plus a little extra) and it is perfect for my skin tone. I am actually pretty excited about these & I am thinkin’ they might get a bump up on the list. I will finish the flutterby socks tonight & cast on for these. I love fun pants/skirts/bottoms. As a teenager I lived in tights (preferably black with runs in them) under my mom’s square dancing pettipants (my favorite were the white but I wore the black & red pretty often too) with a white t-shirt, black bra & Doc’s. So punk rock. I was all about wearing things that noone else had, hence sewing most of my own clothes or altering what I could get at a thrift store.

And, the second pattern from Knitty which I think is so simple it’s brilliant & perfect for all summertime wardrobes & for in the winter under a blazer/jacket (at least in SoCal it’s perfect), the Coachella. I have Cotton Ease in Charcoal for that pattern. My plan is to make it more tunic length, by adding more hip shaping, to use all 3 balls I have on hand. I think it’s a classic top.

Now for some discussion on the Mystery Stole 3. I purchased my yarn, Zephyr Silk Wool in pewter, from theknitter.com last week after signing up for the knitalong. Well, I haven’t been charged & there is no expected ship date for my yarn as of yet. This is normal for theknitter.com. They aren’t known for their timely service. But instead of cancelling my order I decided to go for another color, Steel, and get it from Sarah’s Yarns. Everyone on the ms3 group is raving about her service, selection & price. So I went for it this morning. Yeah, she already shipped it!!! Now that is called service, people! Then Colourmart had to go and add more 100% silk lace cones to their site for $16, free shipping & Richard ships F.A.S.T. I get my orders from him in the UK faster than I get most yarns here in the US. Needless to say, I bought one cone of the silk camomile. The stole recommended colors are either black, white or something close. So I am opting for the dark gray/vanilla range. Just a tad off. I did last years stole in black. Didn’t want to do that two years in a row and white is too stark for me.

As I was typing the above, Judy from theknitter emailed me to let me know that with the mad rush from MS3 participants the pewter color is on backorder but may be in by next Tuesday. I will get one of the first shipments out. That is fine by me. I don’t mind waiting to have all 3 yarns on hand, picking beads and then getting started. I try not to let competition get to me but if you know me at all, you know  I am going to start with whatever yarn gets here first & whatever beads I have on hand!

I have been working on a pair of socks, rewriting a pattern really, for my 2 socks magic loop class. I am using the Flutterby sock yarn on size 4 needles (knitpicks 42″).

I am also working on a pair of Tiger socks for Tyler. I was informed that if I knit him Tiger socks then I have to knit him bear and elephant socks as well. I may just do that.

The yarn is Skacel Trampoline in Tiger. It’s not knitting up exactly like they have it pictured but it’s still pretty tiger-y.

I did get some more done on the Cocoon shawl ( I am on whopping Row 44). Not a whole hell of a lot though. I got moving on socks on Sunday and that is where I may stay for a bit.  After finishing 3 sweaters in one week I am ready for small & simple.

This sucker is going to take some extreme blocking once it’s done!

I also spent 4 hours in Sadie’s room yesterday, rearranging furniture, scrubbing walls (she had used elmers glue to glue pictures to her walls, which are a flat paint, so it’s been nearly impossible to get the damn glue & paper off), hanging decorations. Just getting ready for the summer of bedroom time that is coming up. She hasn’t ever been one to hole up in her room but a mom can have dreams, right?
Using some antique metal embroidery hoops & cotton fat squares, I made her some cute wall decorations.

It’s Mother’s Day & I am a mom. I woke to a bouquet of flowers and a pile of gifts, store bought & handmade. What’s better than that?
Oh, and chocolate. mmm….cho-co-late…
Sadie made me a card & here is her anagram of my name:

I suppose at times I am a bit unruly

And Tyler also made me a card with my likeness on the front

And a lovely picture with adage about me inside

Just in case you can’t read that adage on the right, here it is up close

It’s nice to know that he knows me so well & still likes me ;o)

Trevor made me a lovely Picasso

We are picking flowers together, love it

And George got me a watch I have wanted for a while

Skagen from Denmark, copper with mother of pearl face & diamond markers. Gorgeous!! I love having watches for all occasions and this is just perfect for our more formal occasions.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mom’s out there!

Okay so after my binge spending last week I have decided it’s time to get my crap together and finish some things. So Friday I finished the Great Absorba Bathmat for my tiny bath.

I could list all I have coming but then I would possibly die of a heartattack. Lots of it (ok all of it) was either on clearance or just such a good deal that I had to have it. For now my goal is to finish the cream cabled sweater from Rebecca 32. Here are my 2 pieces, front & back, that are finished. I have the sleeves cast on & a couple of rows done. Knitting them at the same time will take about as long as the front took me but I am not going to work on anything else. 2, maybe 3 days I am hoping. Then assembly and the cowl collar, 218 sts in 2×2 rib for 18cm. That’ll be a fun way to top it off

I love woolease. It has all the feel of wool and the flexibility of acrylic while still being soft and lovely (and don’t forget inexpensive).

But Julie from Knit & Pearl is letting me use the computer before the start of teaching my class tonight. ;o) Thanks Julie!

I have done more knitting in the last month not having the internet at my house. I must say, beside the ridiculous inconvenience of not having everything in the world at my fingertips, I have rather enjoyed the solitude. Must be my mood.

Last week Tyler & I shared a horrendous cold, I had to reschedule my class and miss knitting. But I am alive & well this week so it’s all good. I will be there Thursday with bells & whistles on.

Just as a teaser, I have finished 3 sweaters, 2 bags, 2 pair of socks. On the needles, a curtain, socks, and a jumble of sweaters.

I got my new Interweave knits yesterday and HO BOY! Eunny got my number again. I have cast on her entrelac socks and LOVE them.

Gotta go, class starts in a few minutes and I have over 1000 emails to delete ;o)

Seeing as how George was out of town for the weekend and I get very lonely, I decided to have Tracy & Summers over for a casual dinner/knitting/spinning/talking/yarn buying afternoon & evening on Saturday. It was so nice to “entertain”. Even the kids did alright. No major incidents. Poor Summers isn’t used to the loudness of children so it was funny to all of a sudden “hear” the noise in my house that I have become deaf to.

Summers brought over all of her Lizard Ridge squares & we had fun laying them all out in different color patterns so that she had a plan to sew them together. Our plan was to work on sewing them together but that just didn’t happen this week. Maybe another day planned? Tracy’s hostessing next time around! wink wink

Summers brought over a bunch of yarn from her stash that she decided she did not need to have anymore. Tracy & I purchased some of it from her (and I know she has more at home that I MUST HAVE, hint hint). Much lovely HPY yarn, Noro, Rowan, Lorna’s Laces (which Tracy took). Just fantastic yarn! Here is what I took:

Notice how most of it is HPY? Yeah, no surprise there. There are 8 balls of Noro Cash Iroha. I cast on promptly for the Lacy Top out of VK.

The gauge is nowhere close so I just cast on less (makes it a faster knit anyways) and will adjust the pattern shaping throughout so that I get the fit that I want. This is one that I can’t wait to have & will wear all the time. Fantastic isn’t it??

I spent most of Saturday spinning more of the Maple Sugar roving for Tracy. In total there are 450 yards now done. I think that is what I will work on today when I get the chance.  

And I got one hank (with 9 more on the way) of Rowanspun Chunky in a gorgeous green colorway.

I am really hoping it will be enough for another Starsky. I need to do a gauge swatch to see if I can get it to match. If it doesn’t it will become a sweater for George. Nice huh? Maybe this one will actually fit him.

doubtful

What is it that I can’t make a sweater to fit this man? I take measurements, I design a pattern, it does not fit. He is not abnormally shaped, just very muscular with a long torso. I can do the same thing for just about anyone else and have it fit, but oh no. Not him. This cycle has to stop! He has 5 sweaters that don’t fit him. 1 that does. That is sad. just plain sad. Half from patterns, half my design (usually in the round). I must have success soon with him or I may just give up completely.

Knitting goals for this week:

-Finish back of the Rebecca cabled sweater

-Finish back of the VK Lacy Top

Spinning goals:

-Spin the rest of the Maple Sugar roving

Tada! Look how short my lists are! Gotta love easy goals!

 

 

I posted a new photo to WorksinProgressPhotos.