Cook-N-Knit

I've moved!

2007-01-15T18:24:00.000-05:00

cooknknit.com is up and running! Please change your bookmarks and all that jazz!

Sorry for the disruption

2007-01-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

Hey, this is Karen's husband. Just wanted to leave a note that we're working on moving the site. The look has changed a bit here to facilitate some code juggling. In that process, we've lost all the awesome buttons from the site bar. So I'm manually inserting them into this post for anyone who needs them. Sorry for the disruption, but everything should be up and running (and hopefully better than ever) over the next couple of days. Thanks for your patience and without further ado, I give you the buttons:

<<join>>

Unfortunately, I can't seem to get the webring links in here. Again, apologies for the inconvenience.

RSS link for the first 100 Posts
RSS link for the next 100 Posts
RSS link for the remaining posts

For anyone having trouble importing from blogger to wordpress, apparently the script on this page can help with that. -Al

Just a quick post

2007-01-06T18:49:00.000-05:00

With the new job starting, I haven't had much knitting or spinning time. Instead of taking the train and getting an hour of knitting time in, I'm now driving to work, about 45 minutes in each direction. The offices will be moving sometime soon, and then I'll be able to take public transportation again, so my knitting will pick up. Right now, I have one sock done and the toe started of a pair of st st socks in Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in Mars Quake, about 8 inches of a sweater I started (all black so far, not very interesting for photos), and the shhhh tea shawl started again in the soy yarn that I originally chose for it (I've just started the second of three charts). You've all seen photos of that in different stages, so I won't bore you with more photos.

The big news today is, hubby bought me my own domain name. As soon as I figure out how to get the blog to transfer over to it, you'll all be seeing my blog on cooknknit.com. Woo! Any information or help would be welcome....just email me (link there on the side somewhere toward the bottom).

Pics next time, and thank you all for the comments on the tea shawl!

The shawl!!

2006-12-31T14:58:00.000-05:00

I finally did it! The tea shawl is complete and blocking. It wasn't finished without a few mishaps though. I cut out one of the repeats in the second chart (horseshoes). I also skipped a few plain rounds after the last chart. I was rockin' on the edging when I realized that I wasn't going to have enough yarn.

That's 14 points from the end of the edging. I nearly cried. After all I've gone thru with the shawl. I went to the Point to see if maybe they had another hank hidden away in some hidey hole and nothing. While there a group of people suggested finding another yarn, a solid to match one of the colors in the rest of the shawl and just have that one small section different. Tamara and I were headed to the Yarn Tree, where I found a ball of Frog Tree Alpaca in the perfect weight and colorway.

Prior to blocking, measuring approx. 38" across:

The completed shawl, blocking (52" across):

A close up of the different colored section:

And a close up of the chart that gave me such hell.

A wonderful way to finish up my year. How will I be spending my New Year's eve? On the couch, with a whole lot of Knit Picks Merino Style, using a basic raglan sweater pattern from the Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater patterns. I have a hankering for a black sweater with brown/cream/black stripes sleeves.

2006 wrap up

2006-12-28T20:49:00.000-05:00

Everyone else in blogland is doing a recap of FO's from the past year. I actually went thru my archives and listed them. I'm almost embarrassed at the amount of knitting I did.

Mittens

Northern Lights

Hermione Mittens

Broad Street Mittens

Fetching

Hats

Handspun hat (2)

Madge

Baby hats (3)

Bags/Whimsies

Roxy Bag (2)

Dinosaur

Nautie (2)

Chakalaka

PSP socks (3)

Wine cozy

Scarves/Shawls

Multidirectional scarf

Trellis

Icarus

Convertible

Entrelac scarf

Socks

Spey Valley (4)

Fuzzy Feet (2)

Jaywalkers (2)

Pomatomus

Over the Knee Socks

Baudelaire

RPM

Karen's Red Socks

Anastasia

Mystery socks

Baby/kid clothing

Baby dress (2)

Baby sweater

Aran sweater (3)

Adult size tops/sweaters

Sizzle

Go With The Flow

Rogue

Picovoli

VK Cardigan

I'm still hoping to add the #$%^#$^ tea shawl to the list of 2006 FO's. I'm a little more than halfway done with the edging.

Mom made me stitch markers out of monkey head buttons she found.....aren't they cute?

I will leave you with the other things I've been doing on my week off.....

If I don't get back to post the shawl before the end of the year, I wish you all a very happy New Year!

Happy humbug

2006-12-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

Last week, I cleaned out my desk at work. I got a new job and I start on the 2nd. While going thru 9 1/2 years worth of crap, I found a bag containing a pillow. I must have brought it in to show someone and never brought it back home. See, before I fell into knitting, I was big into cross stitch. This is probably my favorite thing that I made from that hobby.

My current obsession is the #!$#%@ tea shawl. I just couldn't get past that last chart. Well, I perservered, and I made it past it. I'm now on the edging, see?

Proof that I am truly insane? As soon as this one is done, I'm going to cast on again for another one, using that soy yarn that I originally started with. Yes, truly insane.

And lastly, while I don't have much Xmas spirit this year, and my decorations are next to none, there is one small decoration up in my house. Valerie got this for me last year and it's currently hanging from my living room ceiling fan with, what else? Some handspun red yarn.

Happy holidays folks.

Xmas Knitting Part 2

2006-12-18T19:20:00.000-05:00

Last week, I joined Tamara and Valerie at Tania's (no blog) house for some spinning. Great fun was had, and there was lots of wine consumed. My secret knitting project was revealed: a wine cozy for the hostess.

Finished brother socks. I tried to make them match. But they didn't turn out that way, and I'm ok with that.

Finished Broad Street mittens for a friend, minus the buttons to secure them.

Last week I decided that I NEEDED to make a coworker a pair of Fuzzy Feet. But as I needed to felt them this past weekend, I needed to get a jump on things. Luckily, they are a quick knit, and into the washer they went with mom's boyfriend's Fuzzy Feet. Here they are drying.

I decided that I would leave mom's handspun hat as is, and spin up the alpaca for mom. Here is is resting on the niddy noddy. First yardage estimate is just shy of 300 yards. After a good washing, I will remeasure the yardage.

And, with that, my holiday knitting/spinning is done. Next up? Finishing that @#$%#$^! tea shawl if it kills me. I'm currently on row 8 of the last chart, but you'll forgive me if I don't talk about it....I'm hoping that if I keep my mouth shut, the knitting will go smoothly.

Knitting and spinning and dyeing, oh my!

2006-12-12T20:15:00.000-05:00

The knitting:

Socks that are taking FOREVER, but should be done soon.

The first of the Broad Street mittens, minus the mitten top. Hopefully I can get it done plus the second one by Xmas.

The spinning:

I'm spinning up some red/brown alpaca top, in hopes to have a fingering/sport weight with enough yardage to give to my mom with the handspun hat. This is about 2 1/2 ounces of singles.

Also spun and navajo plied (I'm liking this method more and more), some merino to make mittens for the little guy. There's one more color to add to the mix (a brick red)....the kid has a strange sense of color.

The dyeing:

I've done a bit of dyeing with Kool Aid on yarn. I wanted to venture into dyeing my own fiber. I bought a bunch of colors of Wilton's (I figured I could use the Wilton's for baking if I wasn't thrilled with dyeing) and used 2 ounces of BFL that I got when I bought Lulu. Some pink and brown Wilton's, some time in the oven at 250 and some drying time and this is what I got:

I'm not sure how I feel about it. I was hoping for a deeper brown, but for the first time dyeing, it'll do. I think it is what I'm taking with me for a mini spining get together on Thursday. I can't wait....it'll be fun.

Oh, and for Jo....a pick of the entire sweater. This is the 4T size.

Sweaters

2006-12-09T15:24:00.000-05:00

Yay! The sweaters are done. They were actually done on Tuesday, but I'm a lazy girl and didn't get around to posting til today. Pic is a little dark, but I think it's a nice shot. Props to hubby for taking the pic to represent the true color.

Last night, Tamara and I went to the Point for the re-release launch party for Knit 1. There were door prizes. Look what she won:

Guess who won the second copy of the book? Me. I didn't win things before I became a knitblogger.

We hit a the Caliente Cab Co. afterwards for some dinner and some drinks. Yum. No, the similar sweaters were not planned.

Trekking socks for the brother are moving slowly...I'm not quite done with the first one yet. But then again, I picked up another project...it's secret though. I will share that it's being made out of stash yarn! :)

She's got the big guns

2006-12-04T13:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I love Skid Row. Unlike my coworker who the day after Thanksgiving turned her radio to 24/7 Xmas music on it's highest volume and is trying to make me jump out the window.

Anyways, a finished handspun superfine alpaca hat for mom. It's plain, and I'd like to jazz it up a little bit. Any suggestions? I'd like to use regular stash yarn or handspun stash if possible. If I can't jazz it up, I'm hoping to finish spinning up a good amount of some lovely brown alpaca I have to give to her. Heck, I may do that even if I jazz up the hat.

Also done are Fuzzy Feet. Not felted (obviously). Mom's boyfriend has size 8 1/2 feet, and they look fairly large....I hope that they fit properly once felted. Yarn is Wool of the Andes (2 and a smidge of a third ball), leftovers from my Rogue. Gotta love stash busting.

Progress on the brother's sock...Trekking from stash.

Also started....Broad Street Mittens for a friend...Knit Picks Sock Memories from...where else? Stash!

Any guesses on when the next "finished Xmas object post" will go up? :)

Xmas knitting - part one

2006-11-30T15:07:00.000-05:00

The knitting portion of the aran sweaters all done. Seaming remains.

A closer look at the sweater bodies...

And one more item knocked off my Christmas knitting list: socks for the sister. Woo!

For some reason, the entire sock matches stripes, except at the toes. Hmmm...

Next up, a handspun superfine alpaca hat for mom, and the same socks as above, but in a different colorway for the brother. Fuzzy Feet may make an appearance for mom's boyfriend, depending on if I can find something suitable in stash. Poor Lulu is being neglected as I work on all the Xmas projects. Can you hear her crying?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

Merino/tencel. It started life like this, became these singles, and now it is a 2 ply yarn:

Approximately 410 yards, 19 WPI and balanced!

Yesterday I met up with Rosi G. I won her blog contest and she gave me my prize, a hank of Lisa Souza Sock! Merino, in Mars Quake. Isn't it yummy? Thanks Rosi!

What do I plan to do this Thanksgiving? I hope to finish a pair of socks for my sister for Christmas. I'm taking a break from the aran sweaters....seaming on two need to be done and the knitting of the last one. I deserve a break, and socks are a good way to go. Here's the start of Spey Valley socks in Trekking for my sis.

Happy Thanksgiving folks! Eat lots of turkey and do lots of knitting.

Spinning

2006-11-19T18:09:00.000-05:00

I'm making progress on the aran sweaters. The largest one (size 6) is done, minus seaming the sleeves and sides. The back and front are done of the middle sized one, and the sleeves have been cast on. Since it's the same exact photo as before, and I have nothing else to show, I thought I'd show you a video of "how I spin". Tamara has seen it and asked what technique it was, and I have no clue. It works for me, that's all I can say. In it, I'm spinning up the Sno Cone roving.

Video is here.

Hello and how are you?

2006-11-14T22:30:00.000-05:00

Front to the first aran sweater finished. Sleeves, both at once started.

I'm on the last increase row on the tea shawl. 6 more plain rows and I start the last evil pattern chart. Lacevember is for 2 months, yes? I may need both months to get thru that chart.

Valerie presented me with 4 oz of hand dyed (by her!) superwash merino this morning. Yum. I can't wait to spin it up.

Speaking of spinning, there is a merino/tencel blend on Lulu at the moment. I'm quite proud that the singles are 36 wpi. It's the Autumn colorway from The Sheepshed.

Also done is the Sno Cone roving, all plied up (navajo ply). I have approximately 140 yards of it. Now, what to do with it?

Bonus points to whomever can tell me what tv show song the title of this post comes from.....

A whole bevy of things

2006-11-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

Pink Merino/Silk all spun up. I have a little over 350 yards of it. It's so purty that I don't want to use it, just look at it and pet it.

Christmas knitting. Yes, I've already started. I told my oldest friend that I would make her kids matching aran sweaters. She's got three. I don't know what I was thinking. But, I found a pretty easy pattern (Julia's Aran Pullover from the premier issue of Knit It!) and got some Knit Picks Swish and with my new KP options needles, the knitting is going pretty quickly. In fact, I already have the back of the largest size sweater done. I like this view the best, but you can see a wider shot here.

Socks. I love socks. I pulled out all my IK issues and looked for socks that I might not have done. Apparently I haven't done most of the socks. So I started. I started the Simply Lovely Lace socks from Spring '06, in Gems Pearl. I'm using 0's, and they hurt my hands if I do more than a dozen rows at a time, so they're going slowly. But they're really pretty. And I like the picot edging.

Lacevember. I'm a joiner, what can I say? My project? The tea shawl. I will finish it. I'm determined as heck to get thru it.

The lacevember questionniare:

How long have you been knitting? A little over 5 years
How did you learn to knit? Books and the web.
Favorite thing about knitting? The creation of garments/objects.
How long have you been knitting lace? Less than 5 years, more than a year.
Favorite thing about knitting lace. The tiny needles, the delicate stitches

The yarn questions, or flash your stash

Favorite lace yarn? I don't have one yet.
variegated or solids for shawls? I don't have a preference.
Favorite lace color? I like all colors, but lean towards pink.

Technique, or show us your skillz

Circs or straights? Circs.
Favorite lace knitting trick? I don't think I have any tricks.
Lifelines? If so with what? I have never used a lifeline. But I have unwaxed, unflavored dental floss for in case....
Fancy blocking wires, or just sewing pins stuck in your carpet? I normally use pins, but I used blocking wires for the first time a month or so ago and I loved them. I must get me some of my own.

Pattern, or can you follow directions

shawls or lacey items? Both
triangle, rectangle, or circular shawls? I've only done triangle, but my lacevember project is circular.
Charts or printed instructions? Charts please!
Favorite lace you've knit? Icarus, hands down.
Favorite lace you want to knit? I want to finish the damn tea shawl!

Just Fun, yup that's right, just for fun

Favorite jelly belly flavor? Pear!
Tell me everything you know about Eric the Red..... And he would be....?
Coke, classic or with lime? Classic, but lime is good.
Holiday carols, sing along, or wish they would be banned from all public airwaves? Sing along, but I can't do it 24/7.
What is the definition of irony? "It's like rain on your wedding day, it's a free ride when you've already paid, it's the good advice that you didn't take....."
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop? I'm not allowed to have tootsie roll pops with my braces....
Why is my cat always puking in front of my son's bedroom door? Boys rooms are funny smelling...
What is your superhero power? I can knit a sweater in 10 days.
If the laundry is 9 foot by 11 foot (just dreaming, that's a big laundry room), and the walls are 8 feet tall, and you are going to tile the entire room in tiles that are 3 inches by 5 inches, what color should those tiles be? Rainbow.
What's for dinner tonight? Leftovers
What is clogging my children's bathtub drain? You really don't want to know.

A whole lot o' nothin'

2006-11-07T00:30:00.000-05:00

We have a winner! Penny Karma, email me or pm me with your address. PK's entry made hubby laugh out loud.

What should I blog about today? Should I blog about the stuff I'm spinning?

Or should I blog about the very bright yellow merino that I spun and combined with this to make this:

Or do I blog about the yummy yarn that I got with the Point gift certificate that I won?

Or....do I go play with my new Knit Picks options needles? Eh...I've got 3 kid sweaters to knit for Xmas...I'm going to go play and enjoy my birthday.

I have nothing.

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

I haven't knit anything. I've spun up all the pink merino/silk and the twist is being set now, as well as some yellow merino. But I don't have pics. So, you get 48 Things You Could Care Less About. (Also, don't forget to put in your caption for the contest!!)

1. First name? Karen.
2. Were you named after anyone? Nope.
3. When did you last cry? Yesterday, the day before, the day before that. It's not a complete day if I don't cry.
4. Do you like your handwriting? It's ok.
5. What is your favorite lunchmeat? Boar's Head Bologna
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? I guess.
7. Do you have a journal? Yes
8. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.
9. Would you bungee jump? Yes. As well as jumping out of a plane.
10. What is your favorite cereal? Captain Crunch is the first that comes to mind.
11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Not usually.
12. Do you think you’re strong? Physically, no. Mentally/emotionally....depends.
13. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Mint chocolate chip or Rocky Road.
14. Shoe size? US Women’s 8 1/2 - 9 (pregnancy does strange things to your feet....)
15. Red or pink? Pink!!
16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I’m too trusting.
17. Who do you miss the most? My father.
18. What color pants, shirt and shoes are you wearing? Is it bad I'm still in pjs at 5pm? It's a pink nightgown.
19. Do you want everyone to send this back to you?
20. Last thing you ate? A garlic knot dipped in marinara sauce.
21. What are you listening to right now? The chirps of Trillian and knitty chat.
22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I always liked the color periwinkle.
23. Favorite smell? Fresh baked brownies, fresh cut grass, Drakar cologne (I know...soooo very 80's, sue me).
24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Hubby...he called to make sure he got my subway sandwich order correct.
25. The first thing you notice about people you are attracted to? Eyes.
26. Do you like the person you stole this from? Of course.
27. Favorite drink? Woodpecker Cider.
28. Favorite sport? Tonsil hockey.
29. Eye color? Boring brown.
30. Hat size? Don't know
31. Do you wear contacts? Not since I had lasik surgery in Dec. '05.
32. Favorite food? I'm most happy with Chinese or Japanese.
33. Scary movies or happy endings? Both.
34.
35. Summer or winter? Fall and spring
36. Hugs or kisses? Both
37. Favorite dessert? Cheesecake
38. Who is most likely to respond?
39. Least likely to respond?
40. What books are you reading? I just finished Life on Planet Rock by Lonn Friend.
41. What’s on your mouse pad? Don't got one.
42. What did you watch last night on TV? Uhm, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, Veronica Mars from last night, and something dvr'd off HBO that would get me too many hits if I put it on here.
43. Favorite sounds? My son's laugh
44. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles
45. The furthest you’ve been from home? Las Vegas
46. What is your special talent? Wouldn't you like to know. :)
47. Where were you born? Technically? Brooklyn. But I lived most of my unmarried life in Queens.
48. Who sent this to you? I stole it from Maryann

Yarn! A contest!

2006-10-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the comments on Madge & Anastasia! I finally got around to setting the twist on some hanks of handspun. For your viewing pleasure:

100% Merino Wool, 2 ply (spun on Val's Joy), approximately 142 yards

100% Finn, navajo plied (spun on my precious Lulu), approximately 32 yards

50% Alpaca, 30% Merino, 20% Silk, singles, approximately 140 yards

Onto the contest! My birthday is next week, so I thought I'd have a fun game. Because I did the driving to/from Rhinebeck, and we left so early, I brought some energy drinks with me just in case I needed them. Below is the pic of me and the energy drinks.

What you need to do is come up with a caption for the pic (Thanks Amy for taking a good pic of me!). The best one will win 3 skeins of this:

That's Alchemy Yarns Synchronicity in Texas Bluebonnet. It's 50/50 silk and merino, 110 yards per skein. So, put on your thinking caps, come up with a great caption, leave me a comment or send me an email (link in the sidebar). I'm really looking forward to the captions. Contest ends 11/6, winner to be announce on 11/7, my birthday.

Madge and Anastasia

2006-10-29T15:10:00.000-05:00

As promised, pics of Madge:

Stats:
Pattern: Madge, from Knittyspin
Yarn: Handspun (by me!) New Zealand Wool in Lusty Lady (bought off Etsy)
Needles: size 5 Crystal Palace circular
Modifications: My yarn was a lot thinner than the pattern intends, so I cast on 10 extra stitches, and did chart A twice. I'm very happy with the results.

More spinning:
Merino/silk blend that Kristen sent me for the spinning sp. I love the way it's spinning up, love the pink color. I've just started on the second bobbin and should be ready to ply soon.

What do a rainy day, some movies, a cup of tea, needles and a new ball of yarn add up to? See for yourself.

Stats:
Pattern: Anastasia socks
Yarn: Intertwinement.com's Portrait of a Girl
Needles: size 1 Clover dpn's
Started 10/26, finished 10/28 (ok, so the second sock was the only one done on the rainy day....)

Next time, more handspun, and a blog contest!

No pics today

2006-10-26T13:04:00.000-04:00

Been spinning. I've spun up a small amount of the Finn that came free with my wheel (who's name is Lulu, btw), and navajo plied it. I also spun up all of the alpaca/merino/silk blend that I bought at the Yarn Tree awhile back. It's going to remain singles, because there's really not that much of it to be plied. I have a lot of plied stuff that needs to have the twist set. I will definitely do that this weekend, as the hubby goes back to work this weekend and I will have more alone time than I really care to have.

Knitting has not been abandoned because I now have Lulu. I have finished one of two Tulip Toes for an ex-coworker's new addition. I'm finally using the one lonely skein of Sock Candy that I bought last year at Rhinebeck. I've also knit up Madge, copying my downstream Spinning SP Cathy, using some of my very own handspun. I, like Cathy, had a smaller gauge yarn, so I had to adapt the pattern. Pics to come.

Also to come, a contest for my birthday. Put on your thinking caps folks....I'm going to give you a photo, and you'll have to come up with a caption. The best caption wins a prize.

And yes, the background of the blog is now brown....It almost matches one of the cookies in the header, right? Right!? :)

Rhinebeck Recap

2006-10-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

The day started at 4:15am, when I awoke to start getting ready to pick up three lovely ladies, Tamara, Amy and Val, for the ride up to Rhinebeck. We arrived before they were "officially" open, making The Fold our first stop. I did not purchase as much as I had anticipated purchasing, but was very happy to have been in the booth first to have a grand array of yarn for selection.

After wandering about for a bit, Val, who had wandered away to do her own thing, found us telling us she had found a Majacraft wheel 50% off. We all booked it back to the building and I tried the Suzie. It wasn't for me. They also had a Lendrum DT for a very reasonable price and I asked to try that one as well. The second I started spinning, I knew. It was instant. This was my wheel. So, by 10am, not even 2 hours into the festival day, I was the proud owner of a Lendrum. I'm still thinking of a name....any suggestions?

The rest of the day was just as fun, fondling the many, many different types of roving and oohing and aahing over the different colors. I sort of missed everyone who showed up for the Knittyhead meetup (sorry folks), but got the chance to catch up with one of my favorite bloggers, former downstream SP, and recipient of the mystery socks (hopefully she'll post them soon, as I forgot to take a pic), Sarah. Sarah, as I have said before, has an Etsy shop, and I bought the coolest roving from her. It looks EXACTLY like a sno cone, and makes me wish Mr. Softee were still out and about so I could get a sno cone.

The trunk filled up quite quickly, what with my wheel purchase and Val's warping board....this is what it looked like sometime in the middle of the day.

I got everyone home at a reasonable time, and I was home taking my haul pics and itching to play with my new wheel by 9pm (yay for parking spots directly across the street from the house!).

My haul, minus the lovely wheel:

Gypsy Girl Creations in Angela

My only Socks that Rock purchase, medium weight in Beryl

The Sheep Shed's Merino/Tencel in Sunrise

The Sheep Shed's Merino/Tencel in Autumn

Cloverleaf Farms Wool/Silk in Dragon

Now, I have to figure out a way to not work so I can spin, spin, spin!!

Rogue

2006-10-18T20:36:00.000-04:00

Rogue is finished. It's a smidge short, but I like it. It fits well and I have no complaints. Bad photos of me:

I am most proud of the set in sleeve seams....I always seem to mess them up, but this time, they are near perfect. See?

All the stats:
Started: 10/7/06
Finished: 10/17/06
Pattern: Rogue, 39" size
Yarn/needles: 11 1/2 balls of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Addis size 7

Still working on the mystery socks...but here's a peek...

I got my last Spinning SP box the other day. Kristen sent me a great package, take a look.

I have to remember to bring the cookies and the tea to work with me tomorrow. Mmmm.

And for all you fiber pr0n fans....merino/silk fluffy goodness....

Socks, socks, and an almost sweater

2006-10-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

I completely forgot to take pics last post of the wonderful socks that Tamara made for the little guy for his birthday. He loves them immensely.

I signed up for Sock Wars a while back. I got to kill two targets and when I received my next target's socks, I got killed. I love the 2 toned colors.

My mystery sweater? Laura guessed correctly. It's Rogue. I finished the body of the sweater in 3 days. The sleeves took some time, as I did them both at the same time. And the hood. I started the hood this morning. And I got cranking on it this evening.....and then I realized I forgot to do increases. I only have to rip back about 15 rows, but it's enough to make me want to cry.

Some time ago, I went to the Yarn Tree and bought some merino in colors that the little one picked out to make him a scarf. Now that it's getting colder, I thought it was time to start spinning it up. I took some time out of knitting Rogue to spin up 3 oz. of the red merino. It's all spun up and plied and waiting for the twist to be set.

I should still have Rogue done by next Sat., as well as some mystery socks. More on that later

"If you love me and you know it...

2006-10-10T18:32:00.000-04:00

clap your hands!" Ok, you don't have to clap your hands, but do go vote for me. I joined the Knitflix swap, and my package to my pal is a finalist for a prize. Go here and vote for me....I'm package #2.

Pics of Sock Wars socks, cute little boy socks and the new sweater to come. Go vote! Please? :)

Six

2006-10-08T19:13:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for the wonderful compliments on the shawl. It's one of the few things I've made that I'm head over heels in love with.

Shortly after the shawl's completion, I put the needles away and started to clean house. Clean house for the annual birthday party for the little guy. He turned 6 last week, and it's been difficult for me. His two requested birthday gifts were not baby gifts, or even little kid gifts. They were truly big boy gifts and I've had to come to terms with him getting older. The two gifts? A guitar and Lego Star Wars. He got the guitar from us, and he will get the video game next weekend from his aunt.

The party on Saturday was fun. I've got pics, but as they have other kids whose parents may not want their faces plastered all over the net, you get only a couple. But they say oh so many words:

That's Tamara's littlest one, by the way. Right after everyone but Tamara and her kids left, I broke out the needles, swatched and cast on for a new project. I'm hoping to have it done by Rhinebeck, which is in two weeks. Any guesses on what it is?

Off to keep knitting.

Icarus

2006-10-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

I present to you a finished Icarus! Valerie lent me blocking wires, and I must say I love them. Icarus measures 67" across and 37" down the center.
Preblocking:

After blocking and close ups:

Now, what lacey goodness shall I do next?

A thank you

2006-09-30T23:36:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago, I joined the Knitflix swap. My partner on this swap, Erin, sent me this terrific package:

Roman Holiday, gummi worms, Pop Rocks (oh how I LOVE these!), popcorn, Jelly Bellys, Daisy needles (size 13, they're PINK!), a skein of Filatura Di Crosa Love yarn, and a skein of Knit Picks shimmer. The best part of the package? The pink bag. I can't wait to use it! Erin rocks. If you ever get her in a swap/SP round, you're a lucky person.

Next...Wanna guess what I finished tonight? I'm borrowing blocking wires tomorrow and will show you a finished photo soon.

Shawl progress

2006-09-24T07:49:00.000-04:00

Last week, I started the Icarus shawl. It's surprisingly easy, and the yarn is just so lovely, the rows are going by quicker and quicker. The initial chart is done once, with a portion of the rows repeated 5 times. I'm currently on the 4th repeat, and the pic was taken at the end of the 3rd.

I did take a few hours out of knitting Icarus yesterday to work on Sock Wars socks. They are done and await meeting time instructions from my target; she lives here in the city and I thought it would be fun to hand deliver them.

New projects!

2006-09-19T20:00:00.000-04:00

First, the tea shawl looked like this:

Now, it looks like this:

Rip, rip, rip, and R.I.P. It has started to make me cry. It doesn't make me happy. Yes, it's beautiful, but the knitting makes me want to cry. And it shouldn't do that. So it sits now with the rest of the stash, in a permanent time out, til I decide that I must have the tea shawl again. Or some other lovely lacy thing.

I purchased a hank of Silk Rhapsody Glitter this weekend. It is turning into the Misty Garden scarf in Scarf Style. It's SO soft, and makes me happy. I thank Amy for that purchase.

I also purchased a hank of laceweight yarn this weekend, dyed by the lovely Artsygal. It is to become Icarus, from the Summer issue of Interweave. I'm a glutton for punishment doing another lace shawl, but lace makes me happy.

My fun filled knitting weekend

2006-09-16T23:12:00.000-04:00

Friday night I went to the Point, and I saw this lovely lady again:

Saturday night, I went to the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope and I met this wonderful lady who agreed to pose with my latest finished object (off the needles literally 5 minutes beforehand):

A close up of the stitch pattern:

This morning, I headed back to the Point for their Gold Club champagne breakfast. I'm not telling you how much I had to spend to be in their gold club, just know it was a lot. From there I headed to Union Square to the Knit Out, where I got to snap this picture:

I also got to meet a bunch of other coffeeshop folk, which is always a pleasure.

And yarn pr0n Friday, even though it's not Friday:
Kid mohair/merino singles, roughly 270 yards of singles

New Zealand wool, roughly 190 yards plied

Blah

2006-09-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

I haven't felt like blogging lately. I've been knitting, and spinning, but not in the mood for blogging it all. Maybe it's the big production I have to do to put in pictures. I think I need a better, less complicated way. I think I'll look into Flickr.

In spinning news: I've finished spinning up (on the spindle) some New Zealand wool that I bought off Etsy. My friends own the store and the service is great, so go buy from them. The big news on the New Zealand wool is that once it was plyed, it was a balanced yarn. I was very excited. Hubby saw me plying some other yarn the other day (some Finn) and he said, that's not going to be balanced is it? He saw that I was putting too much twist into the ply. I was slightly afraid that he was paying that close attention, but excited that he actually listens to me when I talk.

In knitting news, I have finished up a secret pal project. I have gotten to the calf shaping of the second knee high sock. And I finally ripped out the rows that I screwed up on the tea shawl and worked it correctly. I have about 10 rows left of the diamond madeira and then it's on to the edging. If I'm able to go to see the Harlot on Sat. night, I may bring that with me to work on. I'll have the knee highs with me in case I can't listen and do the shawl at the same time.

In reading news: At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read 100 books. I wanted them to be 100 new to me books. Nothing I'd read before. I'm not into the deep books; I like the fluff and a good murder mystery. I am currently on book #62, and I forsee being on #63 tomorrow. I'm still hoping I can make my goal, but I think I'll be cutting it close. My booklist, from myspace, is linked on the side for you to laugh at my reading selections. :)

Blogstalking: I apologize to you blogstalkers out there....I'll post pics this weekend.

Four days off

2006-09-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you have 4 days off and a bunch of unfinished objects? Why, finished objects of course!

This weekend I did my housecleaning and grocery shopping early so I could sit and knit/spin. The weather cooperated with me and forced me to stay indoors and out of the rain. So, what did I do? Well, I wove in the ends on Pico, even though the knitting has been done for awhile. I finally got to wash and skein up some camel that I spun and some merino. The merino is the pink color.

I also finished up a handspun hat for the little guy. He picked out the colors; I can not be held accountable for that. He loved it so much, he wore it in the house all day and then wondered when we could go shopping for more fiber to make him a scarf.

I finished up the second of the Northern Lights Mittens.

I finished up Go With The Flow. The photo is not the most flattering of me. I blame my brother.

I dyed up some silk hankies using some Kool Aid. I got a headache from the sweet smell in my kitchen. They are more red than the picture makes them out to be.

I started spinning up some merino/kid mohair blend that I got from the Yarn Tree.

I finished up a secret project for my spinning sp, but I can't show you that. And speaking of SPs, my very belated photos of a package from my spinning SP.

The brown fiber is a pound of alpaca (YUM!) and the white is bombyx silk top.

Blog stalking photos next time.

GWTF never ends

2006-08-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

I feel like I've been knitting the GWTF tank for ages. When technically it's only been 2 weeks. I finally got to the armholes, and I know that the end is near. Or so I hope. I'm a bit concerned that I will not have enough yarn to finish, but at this point I'm trying to remain optimistic. My progress photos are blurry and not the greatest. I had hoped to take it to the park for some outdoor knitting/photographing, but it is rainy and yucky outside.




My weekly blog stalking assignment: feet. While mine are ok,

Danny's footprints from when he was born are much more interesting. They measure just under 2 1/2 inches.


And again, blurry because I can't take outdoor shots....Sizzle!


Now, I'm going to get back to the tank that never ends.

Just another Sunday

2006-08-20T16:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting the macro pics...the little guy has been sick and mommy duties came first. He's still feverish, but we're taking chidren's tylenol every 4 hours.

#1 was Operation, the Shrek edition:

#2 was the edge of my bathroom mirror:

#3 was a fun buddha type glass that we got at our fav. Japanese place. The hole is where the straw goes.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have gotten a few packages. First from Ana, who tried to help me out with a mail problem I've been having. Most of my squishy packages come opened. So Ana sent me a package, in a plain envelope, and inside was this envelope (click to see what she sent):

Next, I got some Vegemite and some gummy koalas (already eaten, yum!) from Kate. And a box appeared on my doorstep yesterday from Lesley, who sent a sweet "thank you for hosting" package. Not pictured from her package is the very yummy chocolate.

Pics of Sizzle were awful, so you'll have to wait for those. But here are pics of some superfine alpaca that I spun up. I had singles left over on one bobbin, so I just put those into a small hank.

And here is my craptastic picture of my progress on the Go with the Flow tank.

And lastly, this weekend's blogstalking activity...Will it float? Click to find out the answer!
A golf ball:

A toy from a Kinder Egg:

One of the little guy's many, many superhero action figures:

More spinning and a FO

2006-08-13T20:18:00.000-04:00

The wonderful Valerie loaned me her Ashford Joy on Saturday. I brought it home, and immediately went to work on 2 oz. of Corriedale Cross Wool that I had. It spun up nicely, got plied (SOOOOO much easier to ply on a wheel than on a spindle!), got washed up and skeined. My finished product (click for close up):

My next adventure in wheel spinning was some 2 oz. of merino wool. This is 1 oz. of it:

It's already been plied and is awaiting a washing. The red is something that the little guy picked out. I told him to pick two colors and I would make a hat for him from it. Oh yes. I made another trip to the Yarn Tree today. I bought 4 oz of merino (2 oz of red, 2 of blue), 4 oz of baby camel, 4 oz of alpaca, and 2 oz. of some handpainted kid mohair/wool.

I'm not the only one who likes the wheel...the little guy got to pedal on it, minus the fiber.

I finished Sizzle on Friday. The pic is awful, and I apologize. Hubby has either been at work or sleeping and I can't take pics of myself.

I started the Go With The Flow tank on Friday, shortly after finishing Sizzle. It's a bit slow going, but I think once I get past the lace pattern, it'll go a bit faster.

And last, this week's blogstalking assignment. We were to take close ups of things in our house. You'll get the full pics later this week.

Cooking, knitting, spinning, oh my!

2006-08-05T19:58:00.000-04:00

Cooking:
For this week's blogstalking activity, there was cooking. Chicken cutlets. You start with thin boneless chicken breasts...

Dip in egg...

Dredge thru Italian seasoned bread crumbs with extra Italian seasoning and some garlic powder...

Fry in frying pan with some vegetable oil...

And voila! Chicken cutlets.

Knitting:
Rpm socks finished shortly after the last blog entry...

A finished knee high in the infamous orange sock yarn that Laura sent me. Pattern is Karen's Red Socks:

Spinning:
This is the Ashland Bay that Tamara gave me...click for closer up view.

Stash Enhancement:
I went to the Point's 40% off sale today. I bought a hank of Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8 (click for close up):

And 10 balls of GGH Mystik, to do the Go with the flow tank that Laura finished and Valerie is currently working on.

Other fun stuff:
Tamara and I went to the beach for some knitting and some rays yesterday. I cast on for Sizzle. No pics, because it's just a few rows of seed stitch at the moment. Pics when there's more to look at. I did take a pic of Tamara testing the water....

And because someone asked in the last entry to see the tattoo created by my friend...note the little one's initials, and the heart for a wing. Sorry for the blurriness of the pic....tis difficult to take a pic of your own ankle....

Oh yeah, I fell.

2006-07-27T21:51:00.000-04:00

I fell hard. For my spindle that is. I love it. I find myself wondering how much time and attention I can pay it when I get home from work. I starting spinning up the stuff that Tamara brought me (Ashland Bay you said?). This is how far I've gotten:

I also took some time today and put the natural yarn I spun up into a pot and kool aid dyed it. It's 2 packets of Strawberry lemonade. I love the way it turned out.

I haven't given up the knitting totally. I finished the second Baudelaire sock last night, and cast on for the other rpm sock this morning. My finished Baudelaire socks:

On to the blog stalking assignment for this week. I believe this week is art. Well, we're not big on the art in this house. We've got Starry Night hanging in the living room, and some crayon scribblings on random pieces of paper on the fridge. The most original art that we have in the house, however, happens to be 2 framed pen drawings. They were all done by hand with black pen and the occasional bit of red. They were done by a friend of ours (who also designed my last tattoo for me), who has since passed away. We've got to find the right place for them, and we will when we have a house, but until then, they are put away. I took them out just for photos.

A little of this, a little of that

2006-07-23T19:23:00.000-04:00

First up, the blog stalking photos for the week. Inside your freezer. Despite the COOK part of cooknknit, I haven't done much cooking. Thus, there's not much in the freezer.

Because there's not much to eat in my fridge, and I did feel bad about the lack of cooking going on in my house, I made dinner last night. Dumplings from scratch. Not one left over. :)

Onto the knitting. Last Sunday, I went to visit with an old friend. We met at the park so the kids could run thru the sprinklers. Of course, knitting had to come too. The sock is rpm, and it was finished shortly after the trip to the park. Click for the finished sock.

Unfortunately, I was afraid that the security at Giants Stadium wouldn't allow me in with metal needles, so I left the second sock at home on Wed., in favor for bamboo dpns and started Baudelaire. The first sock was finished yesterday, during a McDonald's play date with Bean. Click for the finished sock.

Who did I see at Giants Stadium? Why, Bon Jovi of course! I'm a big fan. Pics of Bon Jovi himself on the big screen and of my man Richie Sambora.

Stuff in the mail. I did a trade with Trek and received a wonderful sock bag in return. Ever since I got it, I've used it every day.

I also did another trade on the Knittyboard, and I received a spindle and some roving.

You may remember, that I had purchased a spindle before. I didn't do so well with it, so I traded it away. Since then, I have made friends with Valerie and tried her wheels, and Bean has taken up spinning on a spindle and I felt the need to try again. My first attempt at spinning the roving that came with the spindle....I spun the singles and then plied, and then washed it to set the twist. I'm quite proud of my first attempt (click for a closer view).

Bean knew I got the spindle, so she brought me some stuff to spin, and shared some of her silk hankies.

And because I was so thrilled with my new spindle, I decided to get another one, top whorl and try that out, and some more fiber. Aren't the colors fantastic?

Now I'm off to go play with my new spindles.

Under the bed

2006-07-14T21:22:00.000-04:00

First, the knitting. The tea shawl and I have not parted ways for about 2 weeks. Til today. It seems that the diamond madeira pattern and I do not get along. I got past the spot where I kept screwing up. I kept chugging along and I got past the halfway mark. I celebrated and kept going. I should have shut my trap. I have to rip back about 8 rows. No life line. 574 stitches and 8 rows equals a huge headache. So it's banished for the next few days....or weeks.

Because I not able to be committed to any of my current projects, I started a new one. I started .rpm in the Apple Laine that I received fairly recently. The pattern is written for 2 circs, and I don't usually like to do 2 circs, but I thought I'd give it a go this time. I'm not that far into it, but I'm loving the easyness of the pattern, and the yarn is wonderful to work with.

Now, to the pics of under the bed. I'm embarrassed to say that I am not the best housekeeper. I honestly have not looked under my bed since I don't know when. Therefore, you get just a peek at what has been shoved under there.

The bed, unmade, as hubby left it when he left for work (oh who am I kidding...it's not made unless company is coming by...)...click to see the peek of under the bed:

I pulled just a few things out. As you can see by the layer of dust on the dayplanner from the late 90's (shhhh), I don't go under there often. I found a cookie tin with Betty Crocker points (if you need any, let me know and I'll send them all to you for free), some preemie size onesies that were too big for Danny when he was born, the backscratcher that I can never find and some things for show and tell.

First, a hatbox that used to contain all the letters that an ex wrote me. It now contains a mish mosh of needlepoint/cross stitch stuff (click for a different view).

Next, a fairly dusty, yet empty, blue velvet box that came to me from India.

The blue box used to hold a gorgeous paper mache box, that had been lacquered. It now holds some of my jewelry (clicky click click)

Last, I found a shoebox of pictures. It also contains a diary that I wrote in sporadically from 1989-1991. You don't get excerpts from the diary, but you get 2 pictures:

I was adorable, wasn't I? Now, the next one, focus not on how skinny I was, nor the fact that I look filthy (it was summer camp dammit!). Focus on how DAMN big my glasses were!! Who in their right mind decided that was a good look?!? That's Aug. 1988, by the way. I was 13 and headed to high school the next month.

You may begin the laughing now.

Shoes, the letter L and oh yeah, knitting

2006-07-08T21:37:00.000-04:00

So, Zib asked us to shoot shoes. My shoe collection is quite boring. I own lots of black shoes. So I took photos of some of my favs.

Mary Janes that have seen better days, but are quite comfy.

These are the highest heeled shoes I own. Surprisingly, they are quite comfy...when I actually wear them.

The only color in my shoe collection. I used to have a pair similar to these in a great blue color.

My "ass kickin'" boots. I love these boots to death, as you can probably see. I think this winter they may have to go to boot heaven.

These days, all I put on my feet are the sandals and the sneakers. I almost hate to start another job because I'll be forced to wear "real" shoes again.

The letter L. L is for lipstick. I don't usually wear makeup, and I only own a few lipsticks. Surprisingly, for someone who doesn't wear makeup, I have expensive taste.

Oh yes. This is a knitting blog. I've been working on the tea shawl, pretty much nonstop. I'm getting good at counting to 14. It looks like all the other pics I've posted, so today you get a photo of the Dream Swatch and a tease of the SP project.

Commitment issues

2006-07-05T09:19:00.000-04:00

Startitis has struck me big time, and I'm having problems with finishing. Though I did finish the Over the Knee stockings on Monday. Let's take a look at the list:

Tea Shawl: I am almost up to the Diamon Madeira pattern, where I was the last time around before frogging the entire shawl.

Secret Pal knitting: I have just a few inches left to go on this project.

Mittens: One down, and only 20 rows into the corrugated ribbing of the second. Seriously, what made me think that knitting wool on size 1's in the summer was a good idea?

Spiral Rib Socks: They are sitting patiently on my bookshelf waiting for me to cast on for the second sock.

Cozy: I still need to frog back to the second ball join. This lays in the basket taunting me.

Dream Swatch: And because I didn't have enough projects to work on, I wound up some of the silk that Wendy sent me and started the Dream Swatch by the other Wendy. I am only a few inches into it.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. I'm now going to see what else I can cast on for to add to my list.

An SP package!

2006-06-29T22:36:00.000-04:00

I found a box on my doorstep on Monday. It was from my Cheap Ass Secret Pal 2. I had her figured out already, so Ali didn't bother trying to keep it secret. Ali outdid herself, and I wonder if Ali understood the Cheap Ass part of Cheap Ass Secret Pal.

Alright, what you see there is: Banzai Spicy Mix Crackers, Flower Kiss Candy, a Crash video game (for the little one), Stretchy frogs/lizards/snakes (also for the little one), tropical tattoos, a fortune cookie book, 3 pens/markers, Hello Kitty Biscuits, postits, a heart shape box, fruit roll ups, 2 photo clip frames, 3 packages of tissue paper with hearts, macadamia nuts, a flower candle, a soap dish (candle holder?), raspberry jam, a crunchie bar and 2 flake bars. Whew. I'm a spoiled girl.

No knitting pics today. I'm working steadily on the tea shawl, and am 1/2 way thru the horseshoe lace pattern. Which means that I should be approaching the section where I stopped and frogged sometime in the next few days. And the frogging? I had made mistakes and though I was content to live with them, once I started frogging, I couldn't really stop and thought it was just easier to rip out the entire thing and start fresh. Amazingly, it didn't hurt as much as you would think.

The family went to a wedding last weekend. Both hubby and the little one were in the wedding party. I can't help but share pics of my little guy. He's such a ham, and the pics make me happy.

Socks! And other things.

2006-06-22T21:40:00.000-04:00

First, I had a bad day yesterday. I was snappy but the second I saw the mail, my bad mood disappeared. My sockapaloooza socks had arrived! Sandy in Sweden sent me two great pairs of socks. See?

Thanks Sandy!!!

Next, another mail delivery for me. When I got into work earlier this week, there was a package waiting for me on my desk. Royal Mail. I couldn't remember what I ordered, and eagerly opened it up. This is what I found:

Twas a thank you giftie from the wonderful Wendy. I <3 Wendy.

WIP's? Cozy, in Blue Sky Cotton.

This needs to be tinked back to where I joined the second ball. I layed it out last night to look at it, and hubby said, oh, it doesn't look right here, and here, and here. Yeah, when hubby can see the mistakes, it ain't good.

Knitting portion of this is done, I just need to do the lining: another Roxy bag, this one for the little guy's kindergarten teacher. It's upside down, as it's blocking.

And lastly, I was discussing with Valerie this morning what I should take with me for this weekends wedding festivities. She suggested working on the tea shawl again. I pulled it out tonight, and it looked like this:

I decided to frog it, but took this pic just after I pulled the needles out:

It's a bit blurry, but it gave me the motivation I needed to work on it again. It measured 29 inches across (unblocked obviously), and I was 1/4 of the way thru the diamond pattern. This is what it looks like now:

Now, lets see how far into the shawl I get before I banish it to the bottom of the basket again....

Watch this space

2006-06-22T09:48:00.000-04:00

Watch this space for pics of Sockapaloooza Savior socks! They came yesterday (from SWEDEN!!) and tonight will get to do a post with pics.

New family member, knitting, and the letter K

2006-06-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

I'd like to introduce everyone to the newest family member, Crush:

I think Crush was a dog in a former life. He sits on that rock all the time, and the way he lays there reminds me of a dog. He's cute. :)

Knitting. I had a bit of startitis on Wednesday morning. So I grabbed some Knit Picks Palette, and started the Knit Picks Northern Lights Mittens. I finished the first one today during a lovely few hours at the playground with the little guy. Click to see the palmside:

A close up of the star:

Now, for the letter K. I couldn't figure out something with K. It would have been cute to show you a picture of me as a kid, wearing K overalls, but that would have meant digging thru pictures, and I'm lazy. And then it hit me this morning. King. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I have read almost everything by him, except the Dark Tower series, which I just can't seem to get thru. So, I go to take a pic of the bookshelf, and sitting next to King is Koontz! Another favorite author, and another K! It's only a small selection of the books, but a K nonetheless.

And just because, K is also for me. :)

Who's productive?

2006-06-10T20:09:00.000-04:00

This knitter! I got a finishing bug over the last few days and I finished up some WIPs. First, the tentacles on Nautie went on, only due to the little guy begging for it to be finished so he could take it to show and tell.

Next up is the Trellis Scarf from Interweave. I've only captured a portion of the scarf, but imagine this portion repeated for a little over 6 feet. I like my scarves long.

Next, I started and finished the knitting portion of another Roxy bag. This one is for the little guy's kindergarten teacher. I did only 3 repeats of the pattern instead of 4.

Today, the little guy and I headed out to Central Park for World Wide Knitting in Public Day. We met up with Bean and her kids and Amy. We claimed a spot on the grass across from the playground and all the kids had fun while the adults knit. There was a larger group of knitters a little further down, but we wanted to stay close to the playground for the kids, and the larger group sort of intimidated all of us adults. We had a good time just by ourselves and hope to do it again soon, but this time a little closer to home: Prospect Park. Pics from today:
Bean was a little cold...
Amy!
Silliness!
First sock finished today!

And nothing to do with knitting, just being a proud mama....

Next up, the Flower Basket Shawl in the Glitter Alpaca I posted about in the last entry.

Some goodies and almost a sock

2006-06-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

I went to get the mail yesterday and found a package on my doorstep. Oh, I knew it was coming, but I forgot. I sent one of the gals on the Knittyboard something and as a thank you, she sent me this:

Left to right: A bit of Axelle De Sauveterre cashmere to uhm, fondle; Apple Laine fingering weight yarn in Arizona, 2 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Glitter Alpaca in Foxy Lady, and a skein of CTH Suri Lace in Spanish moss. You want close ups, don't you?
(This is truer to the real color....)

I'm beginning to think that I either knit really fast, or that I really do neglect other things in my life/have too much time on my hands. The over the knee sock? You remember where that was last post only a few days ago? This is where it's at now:

How long is that, you ask?

I love knitting this sock. I'm almost hoping that it doesn't fit my friend so I can have them. :)

And because so many of you were intrigued on bachelorette party cupcakes...they're here because they not be appropriate for those of you viewing this at work. I also made these, especially for hubby, as I didn't think he'd eat the other ones.

Convertible

2006-06-01T23:31:00.000-04:00

Almost two weeks without a post. I'm a bad blogger. But I have an excuse. I have been using every spare moment to knit. Knitting is better than blogging, right? I started the Convertible shawl/shrug last Tuesday. I swatched before getting on the train at 6am to go to the gym. And it hasn't left my hands since. It was finished Wed. afternoon. Well, finished minus the buttons. I have to go buy them and then make them. That will take me til the wedding at the end of the month. Wanna see it? It's a fuzzy picture, but you get the idea.

And this is the close up of the pattern:

Next up, the Over the Knee socks from Holiday Handknits. I'm using Rowan Cashsoft DK. They're for my best friend. I've already gotten 2 of the lace pattern repeats done, and there are 15 in total before doing the heel.

A closer look at the ribbing:

I'm also going to do another Roxy bag, for the little one's teacher. I'll have more pics later this week. Maybe I'll post the cupcakes I made for a batchelorette party....

Letter J

2006-05-21T19:31:00.000-04:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter

J is for Joy. I feel that I'm cheating by using such a common thing, but yesterday was truly a joyful day. My husband, who usually works nights on the weekends, was off Sat. night, allowing us a rare Sat. day/afternoon together as a family (he's usually sleeping). So what does the family do on a sunny Saturday? Why, head to Coney Island to ride the Cyclone!

Hubby and I try to ride at least once a year, and I am very happy to have enjoyed the first ride of the year so early in the year. Roller coasters are one of our passions and we're lucky to have such a great coaster 5 minutes from us. After the coaster, we hit some kiddie rides, where the little one experienced some joy of his own:

He rode a kiddie coaster alone for the first time. He's a coaster enthusiast in training.

We then hit the boardwalk and strolled until we hit a playground. Hubby and my brother in law went to hit some golf balls while I sat on the sand and enjoyed the view

and while the little one had fun playing in the beachy playground and on the sand

We stopped to get ice cream (or spumoni) at our favorite ice cream place and headed home. Once home, I found a box on my doorstep. My vacation swap package! I tore into it and found a bunch of stuff wrapped in pink tissue paper. Wanna see the goodies?

There's pink smelly stuff, there's pink playing cards, there's a book I almost picked up the other day, there's a pink handknit case for the cards and the book (in alpaca!!!) and a handknit bookmark with teeny little socks! There's a handknit washcloth, shotglasses, and hand dyed pink sock yarn! And, oh my god, a gift certificate for a spa. Oh. My. God. Wendy has been incredibly generous and wonderful. I hope her vacation swap pal is as wonderful to her as she has been to me. Thank you Wendy!

It truly was a joyful day yesterday, and even though it's a cheesy J, it's a perfect J.

Knitting stuff? Well, I'm almost done with a Nautie for the little one, and am a few pattern repeats from finishing the Trellis scarf while I wait for the SWTC Bamboo yarn to come for the Convertible.

I made a decision

2006-05-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

I finished the first of the the Spiral Rib socks (called "After Bertha" in the book).

They're short, but I'm ok with that. I kind of got tired of doing the spiral rib, not to mention that the cast on is a little tight. You can't see the pattern well with this dark yarn, but I like them, and that's all that matters.

Next, albeit late, my "I" for the Knitty ABC along. I is for ISBN.

The ISBN you see is for my favorite book, Falling Leaves, The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter. As some of you may know, I am half Chinese. I went thru a period of time where I wanted to read books written by Chinese authors. Sort of searching for something with my heritage. I picked books at random, and this was one of them. I fell in love with this book. I have read it over and over again, and when anyone asks me for a book recommendation, I give this one. And every single person that I've recomended it to has loved it as well.

And last but not least, the decision I made. I have decided to put the shawl away. I am leaving it as it is, marking carefully where I left off, and putting it away. It is no longer fun for me to knit. And I don't want my knitting to be a chore. So, look for it again at a later time, but not anytime soon. Instead of this shawl for the wedding, I'm going to make Convertible. I need yarn (of course I do, don't look at me like that...), but I will purchase it this week. Look for pics soon.

Happy Mom's day!

2006-05-08T15:06:00.000-04:00

Let's play catch up while banana bread is baking in the oven.

First, Bean tagged me for a meme:

1)What's your favorite LYS?: The Point.
2)What about it do you like most?: I like the atmosphere, the friendly staff, the ability to sit there for hours and knit in peace, AND that they don't mind the little one in the store.
3)What is your 2nd favorite?: I haven't really been there often, but I think my second fav would be Seaport.
4)What would you improve about it to make it a tie with your first?: A place to sit and knit and kinda veg out. The fact that The Point has food and beverages is a big plus.
5)What's the last thing your bought at your #1 LYS? Takhi Cotton Classic for a Nautie for the little one, some Manos Cotton Stria and size 4 dpns.
6)Who's Next?: Ali, Karma, Helen, Bezzie, and Terby.

Next up, finished Spey Valley socks. It's Trekking color 100.

I have been working on a bunch of small projects, some secret plots, some for the Vacation swap, some new socks, and one not knitting related.
Vacation swap knitting...there are 2 of these, one purple and one blue, and I'm not showing what it is, just a tease here:

New socks. They are the Spiral Rib socks from Socks, Socks, Socks, in the Trekking colorway that most of you admired. (And by the way, my favorite of the Trekking? The cream/brown pink colorway!)

Also making an appearance at the park yesterday with the new sock, the shawl....I messed it up again while at the park, so back into the back it went, but am planning on working on it all day today.

The not knitting related item. I picked up a Klutz Quilting book awhile ago. It's meant for kids, but since I am a kid at heart, I knew it would be perfect for me. I am interested in learning, and I finally pulled it out last night and started to work on a sachet. It's stuffed with fiber fill sprayed with Victoria's Secret Love Spell body spray. Click the pic to see the back of the sachet.

Last, we have my purchase from the Lion and Lamb sale with Bean last week. Go visit Bean's blog to see pics of me and how much I love this Malabrigo.

Happy Mother's Day to all my net friends!

I have been Nautie

2006-05-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

Instead of working on the second one of these:

Or working on this shawl, I picked up a new project:

She's off to her new home tomorrow. I hope her new owner likes her as much as I do.

I got a few things in the mail over the last week. First let me show you the rest of the Trekking that I got. Anyone care to guess which of the four is my favorite colorway?

I also received what I won from the Fug Off. I think it's an adorable tote:

And, from my KnittySP6 co-hostess, Maryann, merino and possum wool:

I plan on being busy this week, with field trips with the little one, but in between such fun, I will be working on the shawl. The wedding is coming up fast, and I really do want to wear it.

And, a just because photo....hubby and I stole a few minutes together on Friday and hit Brighton Beach to walk along the boardwalk for a minute or two. He told me to go frolic in the sand, so I did.

Zoo day

2006-04-29T19:26:00.000-04:00

The little one and I headed out to the zoo this morning. I had planned on going this weekend anyway, but finding out that there was a fleece festival sealed the deal.

Danny took a pic in an egg...I have a picture of him in the same egg when he was less than a year old.

He pretended to be a turtle, a must for every zoo visit.

We fed some alpaca (I wonder how many OTHER people want to correct people telling their kids to pet/feed the llama when the sign clearly says alpaca...).

There were a lot of fibery fun for kids to do, including kool aid dyeing, making felt balls, finger knitting and crocheting, spinning and weaving. (click the felt and drop spindle pics to see Danny's results)

Danny tried the weaving. He loved it. He told me we should have "one of those things so we could do that at home." (click to see what he was working on closer up)

I told hubby that Danny thinks we should have a loom, and the need for a wheel to provide yarn for the loom. I don't think he bought it though...

And what was the mama doing other than taking photos for the blog? Why, working on a sock of course! These are Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road, in Trekking, what else?

I've done these before, Trekking as well, but the cuff was a bit too tight. So I did the cuff ribbing/pattern in size 2s, and switched to size 1's for the leg. We'll see how that works out.

Oh, and a big thanks to Susann for sending me the Trekking. Over the next couple of posts, I should have pics of the other balls of Trekking for you to drool over.

Eh.

2006-04-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

I started the entrelac socks. I don't mind doing the entrelac. I actually quite like it. But, on size 1 dpns? Eh. Not liking it so much. This is what I have so far.

I put the socks down in favor of the Trellis Scarf in the most recent Interweave Knits. I'm using Handmaiden Silk Floss that my WONDERFUL SP sent me in the Knitty SP5. It's coming along wonderfully. 'Cept, the last several rows, I can't seem to keep the correct number of stitches on the needles. Makes me want to throw it across the room.

Today was Administrative Professionals Day (say it with me folks, Secretary's Day). The boss came back from lunch carrying a vase of flowers. What's noteworthy about these particular flowers? Well, he picked the vase to match the color of my fingernails (a baby blue). But the vase has a mint green stripe, and he was quite upset that it didn't match. It's funny. Ok, maybe just to me. In any case, I got to play with the zoom feature of my camera...

H is for:

2006-04-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, my brother met me at work. He was picking something up from me. On the walk to the train, he told me he was going to grab dinner, and I should join him. Why? "Because it's the best hamburher I've ever eaten." So, I joined him at Lucky Burger.

H is for hamburger, though when I started taking pics of the food, my brother said that the burger shouldn't be used for H, as it was a cheeseburger. Smartass.

The burger was just ok, though the fries dipped in their "lucky" sauce....mmmm. No pics of them...they got eaten too fast. :)

2 years

2006-04-18T22:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Blogiversary to me! It's been 2 good years. I've shared lots of projects, made lots of friends. I was wary about starting a blog, but I've had nothing but a good experience, and I look forward to more years of blogging.

The moment you've all been waiting for...who wins the Brooks Farm? Well, the total number of jelly beans is.....375. The only one close to that was Laura. I have your address...it'll be in the mail this week. Congrats to Laura! Commenters like Terby, Trek, Karen, and Wendy (oh Wendy, tell your kids I'm sorry they didn't guess correctly) and all the other lurkers...keep on commenting...Thanks for coming by, but don't stop because I have given away the yarn. It's good to know that there are people out there that read.

Now, finished objects:

A finished cardi:

This was knit with 7 skeins of blue, 1/2 skein of green Misti Cotton, and size 7 needles. The sleeves are a bit poofy at the cap, and a smidge too long, but it's nothing that I can't live with. I haven't put the buttons on yet, but here are the buttons I'm going to use:

Hey, what's that under the cardi? A finished Picovoli!

Yes, it needs a bit of a block, especially those picot edges, and the ends need to be woven in. Stats on Picovoli: 6 skeins of Knit Picks Shine in coral, size 3 circs, and finished (minus the weaving in of ends and blocking) in 8 days. I loved this one...I may have to do a couple more in different colors.

A dinosaur from xtreme-knitting( click pic for another view).

Bronty was knit with some random cotton I found in the stash. I know that the fabric is too loose and the stuffing shows thru, but the little boy getting Bronty? He won't care a bit. Stegs is indisposed at the moment, and doesn't want to be photographed just yet.

Well, since the big knitting has been finished, I started looking for something new to challenge me. Instead of picking up the shawl again to work on, I bought a new book and cast on immediately for something in it. I bought Socks, Socks, Socks. I have mentally dog-eared a bunch of patterns, but have started on this one:

Yep, entrelac socks. Toe up. I have problems. But I can admit it. My progress so far (I'm using Trekking, surprise, surprise):

I can't wait to see how these progress.

A quickie

2006-04-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

Weekend knitting accomplishments:

- 1 of 2 dinos knit and stuffed. The other is half stuffed.
- VK Cardi blocked/seamed. Needs buttons, which I will get tonight.
- Picovoli. Significant progress made, since it was the project I took to the park to sit in the sun with while the little one ran around like a crazy boy. If I purchase a needle tonight (left mine home), it will be finished tonight.

Pics tomorrow, along with the how many jelly beans in the glass...and the winner of the Brooks Farm yarn. Unless someone else guesses between now and midnight EST tonight, there is only one of you closest to the correct number!

If I write it, I will do it

2006-04-14T14:44:00.000-04:00

My list of to do's for the long weekend:

- finish knitting dinosaurs, seam and stuff
- block and seam VK cardi
- make significant progress on Picovoli

I had a drs appt. this morning, and I did about 2 inches on Picovoli. Only to realize that I screwed up the number of cast on stitches at the arm, and had to rip back all of the work I did. And of course, as I'm putting 168 live stitches back on the needles, they call me in. I almost asked for a few more minutes to continue to put them back on, but I didn't. And I didn't lose any stitches. Go me!

Keep those guesses coming for the Brooks Farm yarn!! And to all you lurkers, keep on commenting...I don't bite....hard. :) See you on Monday with an update on my weekend knitting.

G is for..., and other things.

2006-04-11T21:07:00.001-04:00

G is for garden. I live on the 3rd floor of a house. My landlord lives on the first 2 floors. The garden is nothing like I would think would exist in Brooklyn, NY.

The tree that you see is a pomegranate tree. In the back there, is this:

Click to see the fishies closer up.

Not pictured in the garden photo is a cherry tree, with edible cherries in the spring. The landlord also grows grapes and tomatoes and god knows what else in the back yard. Amazing things grow in Brooklyn.

Yesterday, I met up with Bean at the Point. We saw Pauly Shore buying coffee. No pics...he's not as hot as Keanu Reeves. But we saw John:

Bean and I started the same project, Picovoli. Bean's:

Mine:

My Misti cotton cardi is almost done. I'm on the last few rows of the cap shaping on sleeve island and then its onto blocking and seaming. I forsee a seaming party for one this weekend.

Lastly, my 2 year blogiversary is next week, and since it's close to Easter, I thought I'd play a game with candy: Guess how many Jelly Belly jelly beans there are! Click the pic to see the jelly beans close up.

The person that gets closest to the exact number of beans will win one hank of Brooks Farm Harmony, a mohair/wool/silk blend, 500 yards.

In the event that more than one person guesses correctly, I will pick the winner at random. So, guess away. Use the comments, or email me (link in the sidebar). Contest ends Tuesday, April 18th.

A new project

2006-04-08T23:57:00.000-04:00

I mentioned a couple of posts ago, that I had gotten some new yarn and started a project with it already. This is the project:

I bought Misti Cotton to use wih the cardi (Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2004), and started it immediately. The cotton is SO nice to work with, and since it's on size 7's, knits up quickly. So quickly that I have already knit the back and the 2 front pieces and am on the sleeves. The back:

I'm trying something new and working both sleeves at once:

Do you like the colors? I love the green and blue together...

A little birdie named Helen sent a package to me. I helped her find video hosting, and she sent me a little something as a thank you. Totally uneccesary, but look at how lovely this yarn is!! Thanks Helen!!

Valerie is a wicked enabler

2006-04-02T17:47:00.000-04:00

Valerie and I went to a yarn sale today. I didn't bring a bag with me to carry yarn; I didn't realize the amount and didn't think there'd be that much I'd want. Little did I know.

6 skeins of French Tweed by Unger (100% wool)

6 skeins of French Tweed by Unger, another colorway

3 skeins of Alpaca, and 6 skeins of Filatura di Crosa Valentino (wool/cotton blend)

11 balls of Filatura di Crosa Sympathie, a mohair wool blend

5 balls of Filatura di Crosa Kinair, a goat hair/nylon blend which is OH so soft.

13 balls of Anny Blatt 100% angora

And this was my biggest score.

That's 30 balls of 100% angora for $20. Twenty dollars. Oh my.

And because I keep forgetting to post them, my Pomatomus socks, and my Sockapaloooza Jaywalker socks in Schaefer Anne. Pomatomus socks are in Trekking.

Flash the Stash!

2006-04-01T00:47:00.000-05:00

Happy Flash the Stash Day!

Click on each pic to see whats inside the drawer/basket.

From my new hiding spot, behind my tv:

Now, when I was cleaning up and getting together the baskets/boxes to photograph, I found this stuff:

That's some REALLY bad acrylic yarn that I bought for I don't even know what, yarn that I got at Rhinebeck in 2004 that was so incredibly difficult to work with, and the beginnings of a French Market bag from when the pattern was really "hot". I'm not sure what to do with it all. Any suggestions?

And that my dear knitty friends, is my stash. There are a lot of oddballs and leftovers, and not a lot of "sweater's worth" of stash, but I'm happy with it.

There is one more bag of yarn, something I bought this week, and have already started knitting with, but haven't taken pics of. And considering I'm posting this with uhm, just a bit of alcohol in my system, I'm in no position to take pics. You'll get them next post. :)

No photos today

2006-03-30T09:26:00.000-05:00

So, I asked Bean last week or the week before for help on a new sock pattern. She came up with this. I'm awful at short row heels, and can't ever seem to get a provisional cast on straight, so I took this pattern as a challenge, not to mention they're KAREN's socks. I cast on using some of that orange yarn that Laura sent me awhile ago. The cast on went smoothly, but the short rows sucked. Frogged. Started again (I'm now a pro at a provisional cast on), and this time one side of the toe was great, while the other was, well, poofy. Frogged again, and I did what any good sock addict would do....cast on for a new sock, with new yarn, and a new pattern. This time around, I cast on for Alison's ankle socks. I've done these before, but with a dark yarn so you can't see the mess of the short rows. I hoped to get it right this time around, and I did. I finished one complete sock while getting my taxes done at H&R Block Monday night. I'm awful proud of the short rows. And I think I've finally gotten the hang of them.

The Karen's socks and the second ankle sock have been put on hold for awhile. I started a new project on Tuesday, a cardi from an old VK issue (spring/summer '04), in Misti cotton. I've got almost 10 inches on the back so far, but this might be put on hold as well. Missy has just started working on the Shetland Tea Shawl that I've been working on. Mine was banished, but she thinks she'll finish hers before I finish mine, and I can't let that happen. I have to frog one row on it, make sure my stitch count is correct and I'm back to knitting it. I started frogging it last night (no life line, I know, I'm dumb), and hope to be working on it again this weekend. You can't threaten me Missy! :)

Stay tuned for Stash photos on Sat....there's over a dozen photos!

Boom Chakalaka!

2006-03-26T13:21:00.000-05:00

Wendy knows that I can't resist her patterns....so when Chakalaka came out, I rummaged around for some cotton in my stash, and started to work on it. Let me tell ya something. I don't like cotton. The small size needle (a 5) plus 3 strands of cotton equals sore hands. But, I persevered. And here is the finished product:

Inside, bite size versions of some of my favorite candies. Mmmm....

Also, while we're discussing finished objects, I finished my entrelac scarf. I love the colors of the Silk Garden Lite, love the entrelac pattern. I'm going to have to hunt down more patterns with entrelac, I like it so much.
The obligatory mirror shot...like my pjs?

Little Blue Riding Hood:

Close up of the entrelac:

Bad blogger

2006-03-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

I have been a bad blogger. But I have been busy. Life has just been crazy and I've had no interest in blogging. :( But I'm out of my not-blogging funk. I finished my Pomatomus socks, though I don't have a pic, and they're in the wash. I joined the Knittyhead Fug Off. I also joined Jennifer's Vacation Swap, and the annual Flash Your Stash. I plan on taking the rest of my photos for that this weekend, and even though I've only photographed the bins that the yarn is in, I'm horrified at the amount of "stash" I have.

I don't have much to show today. My letter F, though it's a bit of a cheat. And some of the PSP "socks" I've made for friends of hubby's.

F is for Flower, and first signs of spring:

The other side of the "Wicked" one:

Space Invaders on both sides:

All about Bean

2006-03-13T19:45:00.000-05:00

I finished the first Pomatomus sock last night, and I'd show pics, but hubby took MY camera to the V for Vendetta premiere tonight. Soooooo, I decided to take a page out of Ariel's book and do a "10 reasons I like" meme. This, my friends is all about Bean.

10 Reasons I Like Bean:

1. She's one of the most confident women that I've met; it's one of the many qualities I admire about her.
2. Another quality is that she speaks her mind and is always honest.
3. I like to think that even if there weren't knitting involved, we would still be friends.
4. She makes time once a week to hang out with me.
5. She still hangs out with me even though I'm a freak.
6. She has adorable children that want to hang out with me and the little man.
7. She's got a great sense of humor.
8. She's got a big heart.
9. She's an enabler, and that's ok.
10. She's a fellow sock knitter.

Bean, thank you for being my friend. :)

E is for....

2006-03-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

In my 28th week of pregnancy, back in 2000, I was hospitalized due to preeclampsia. A week later, I gave birth to my little man. He was 3lbs 2ozs, 16 1/2 inches long. I thought I'd share a picture of him from when he was 3 weeks old, in by arms. E is for "early":

E is also for one of my favorite parts of my little man:

How much do you envy the five year old's eyelashes?!??

And because it's a knitting blog, my latest project, started last night, Pomatomus socks in Trekking:

The sock goes on an adventure

2006-03-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at spinning using Valerie's wheel:

I still have to wash the kinks out of it, and I'm thinking of dying it. It screams "green" to me.

The progress on my entrelac scarf:

Aren't the color changes amazing? Here's my poor attempt at an artsy/not typical angle of the scarf:

My Lorna's Laces Jaywalkers are done. They've seen different parts of the city, not just the subway and my living room. Last Saturday, they visited the inside of Madison Square Garden. I went to see Billy Joel.

That's prior to the show. This is when he came on stage, singing "Angry Young Man"

Yes, I know you can't see anything, can barely make out the stage. I know it looks like I was really drunk and not able to focus on anything. And that's why I like the photo. :) I was stone cold sober for the show, unless you count a contact high from the morons smoking pot during the concert. Say thank you to my friend Jodi (hi Jodi!) for snapping a photo of me knitting before the concert.

A few days later, the sock went here:

Hubby and I got premiere passes to see Bruce Willis's new flick. He snapped a photo of me knitting before the movie.

Movie was great. Go see it!

I suppose you want to see the finished socks, huh?

Next up? I have no clue. We'll just have to see where my needles take me.

The end of the to-do list

2006-02-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

February is for Finishing....or forsaking. Yes, I abandoned projects. I abandoned hubby's gloves. I ripped, and started over, knitting on 2 circs which I hate because I didn't want to think about numbers etc. to use dpns. I got 3/4 way done with the first glove, and it's still too small. I hate this project. Hubby said he doesn't need them, and I kissed the ground he walked on and threw it in a basket. I'm done with them. The other project I abandoned is the little one's sweater. I abandoned it until the fall. Winter will be over (hopefully) shortly, and then he'll have outgrown it before he can really wear it. Sigh. The boy grows way too fast.

My shawl is another one put on hold, not completely abandoned. I ripped, very carefully, back to the beginning of the last lace pattern. I counted and recounted to make sure I had the correct number of stitches. I started row one again, being very careful of my stitch count. I get to the end of the round, and I'm off. I'm so frustrated with it. It doesn't have to be done til the end of June, so I will work on it again in a few weeks. That leaves only one thing left on my to do list. The knitted toy. The gift won't go out til May anyway, so one more thing put on hold.

Because my to do list has been checked off, I had a bit of "startitis" yesterday. At The Point, I purchased 4 balls of this lovely Silk Garden Lite colorway.

I was looking to try my hand at entrelac, and got a free pattern for a neck warmer, which I am modifying only slightly to be just a plain scarf. It took a few to understand how it works, but I think I've got it. And I love the way the colors are striping in the scarf.

And, before I forget, my "D" photos. D is for dental work. I got the top part of my braces yesterday. Not the greatest photo, since I'm taking it myself, but here they are. I get the bottom half on Tuesday.

And just because, and I'm COOKnknit, some brownies:

Next time, the spinning adventure and the results from Valerie's house this past weekend.

Lots of photos

2006-02-17T19:23:00.000-05:00

I'm going to photoblog today.

Baby sweater in need of blocking and buttons:

One of two Jaywalkers done for SockapalOOOza (in Schaefer Anne)

Progress on frogged and reknit Cigar glove for hubby:

Magic Plant that hubby got me for Valentine's Day. It REALLY does say I <3 You!!

My mitten swap mittens came today!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!! They came with candy, one bar already eaten!

And just for Roxy....

Another FO down!

2006-02-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

After tonight's seaming party for one, my to do list will consist of:

- buy/sew on buttons for baby sweater
- frog last few rows of shawl, redo and finish
- knit a stuffed toy
- finish sweater for the little guy
- finish gloves for the hubby
- SockapalOOOza socks

How's that for creating a list and sticking to it? 12 items on my original to do list, and in 10 days I've knocked it down to half. I ALMOST want to start a new project for myself, but I won't. I have a list and I'm sticking to it. I have a pattern picked out for the sockapaloooza socks, and will use yarn from my stash. Just haven't decided on which one yet. I'm planning on using the Jaywalker pattern, only after seeing Bean's at the Point on Wednesday. Hers looks wonderful. So wonderful in fact that I may leave the sockapalooza socks for last, and make 2 pairs, one for my pal and one for me. Woo!

I finished Mariah. The first attempt on the zipper was awful. I didn't take a
pic of it, but I did take a pic of the zipper once I ripped it out.

Yeah, see, it's awful. But the second time was much better. Pics once the recipient gets a hold of a camera and sends me photos.

FO's

2006-02-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

Last week, Bean and I went on a bit of a yarn crawl. We hit a bunch of stores in Bklyn, only remembering to take photos of Brooklyn General.

After shopping, we went to the Point and sat for a few hours knitting and chatting. It was a wonderful, relaxing day with a great knitting bud. I hope Bean and I can get together more often; I really enjoy her company.

Since my post last week, I have been busy, busy, busy working on my list of WIPs. I managed to finish 2 off the list, plus the socks that I started because I needed something to work on.

This is the ZigZag scarf from Modular Knits, using Four Play from Brooks Farm that I got while at Rhinebeck. It's very soft and it being finished this week is great, since it's supposed to be very cold.

These socks are the Spey Valley socks from Knitting on the Road, using Trekking yarn and size 1 needles. They were a very quick knit, and I love the way they came out. There looks like there's enough yarn left over to make matching socks for the little guy.

My favorite finished object. The Roxy bag from The Garter Belt. I used 1 skein of black Cascade 220, and 1 skein of a pale pink Cascade 220. It was a quick knit, and as usual, a great pattern written by the wonderful Wendy. It was also the first time I lined a bag, or anything for that matter. The fabric was bought at Brooklyn General, and it took a few minutes to understand how to use the interfacing. The sewing was all done by hand, using Wendy's walkthru, and I absolutely love the way it turned out. By far, one of my most favorite knits. I can't wait to use the bag tomorrow.

Next time, I hope to show you a baby sweater, and some progress on the hubby's gloves.

February is for finishing

2006-01-31T20:21:00.000-05:00

As we enter a new month, I have made a list of things that I need to do before
doing anything new....and by that I mean adding to my to do list. A few of
these will be "new" projects, but they were already on my to do list.

- I need to buy/install a zipper on Mariah since I botched the first
installation of the zipper.
- block mittens for mitten swap (done since writing the post)
- block and sew on button to white Debbie Bliss baby dress (done since writing the post)
- finish last armband/seam/block and sew on button to beige Debbie Bliss baby dress (done since writing the post)
- finish handles on the Roxy bag, felt and line
- Start a baby sweater (yarn bought already)
- Frog last 6 or 7 rows of shawl, redo and finish
- Knit a stuffed toy for the older sibling of the baby getting the beige baby
dress
- finish the sweater I started for the little guy
- finish the gloves I started for hubby
- Sockapaloooza socks
- finish multidirectional scarf

While I could have worked on any number of the above items this morning on the
train, and I've had this list made up for a few days, I grabbed some size 1
dpn's, a ball of Trekking, and my Knitting on the Road book and started a sock
this morning. I've got serious startitis. I don't know what's wrong with me.
I will finish these socks along with a good portion of the above list in
February. I will. I swear.

Ok, so here's my problem with my shawl. I was being SO careful when working this last pattern on the shawl, and still somehow I messed it up. The edges of the diamond don't meet in the middle. See?

I have to frog it, although this thread, the last time I checked, said to send it to Monkee to be fixed. I bet she'd have it fixed and finished the day she got it! :)

C is for...

2006-01-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

I believe that I am a quick knitter. I knock out projects fairly quickly. I didn't have the pressure during the holidays, because I started early, and the projects were simple and quick. But today, I have more projects on my plate than I think I can handle. And I'm stressed. Soooo....I picked up and started a new project. Wendy doesn't make things easy for me by creating a new, cool bag, Roxy. I'm 1/2 way thru it and it was started last night.

So, this week's letter is C. C is for cross stitch. Before I learned the joys of knitting, my hobby of choice was cross stitch. I did a bunch of baby samplers, and a great alphabet sampler using musical instruments. Almost everything had been given away. One of my coworkers learned that I did cross stitch and came in one day with a partially started project. One of her relatives had started it and it was too hard, would I like to have it? Sure, I love a challenge. This proved to be the most difficult one I have ever done, and it ended up being the last. I worked on it with the goal of finishing it before I gave birth, and if you look at it carefully, the bottom left hand corner has a small smudge, where I learned the lesson of NOT eating chocolate ice cream and working on hobbies at the same time.

Pegasus had about 45 colors, 40 of them shades of brown and green. It was done about a month before I had the little guy, and 6 months later, I learned how to knit, and cross stitch has been put on the back burner. But I still get the catalogs, and I yearn to do this one: butterfly fairy

Next time, I will need your advice on what to do with the mess that I call the shawl.

Show and tell

2006-01-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

Twice a week the little guy has show and tell, and twice a week we have a hard time choosing what he should bring in. The last show and tell day, he brought in D is for Dragon Dance, and it was his most successful show and tell to date.

Speaking of show and tell, I have a show and tell of my own. First, I'm still working on the shawl. It's gotten bigger, and I'm on the last pattern before doing the edging. And we're up to almost 600 stitches. Oh my.

The shawl so far:

The horseshoe pattern close up:

Next, the first of 3 baby gifts I am making, this is using a pattern from Debbie Bliss Baby Knits for Beginners that I borrowed from Valerie. I still need to do a light blocking, and add a button, but it's too damn adorable not to show off. I used 4 balls of DB Baby Cashmerino.

Last, I joined a mitten swap, and while the recipient will remain secret as well as all the yarn info, I liked the mitts too much not to show. They also need a slight blocking.

And to my anonymous commenter, I'm waiting impatiently for February to get the mittens you're making. I'm looking forward to receiving them!

B is for...

2006-01-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

I know I promised pics of WIPs but today you get 2 pics for letter B and a meme that Laura tagged anyone who hasn't done it.

B is for bunny:

This bunny was given to me by my grandfather when I was very little. I was his favorite grandchild, and this bunny is one of my prized possessions.

B is also for Bored:

I was bored this past weekend and instead of knitting on WIPs, or starting something new, I bought a puzzle. I started it Friday afternoon, and it was done on Sunday night. The picture on the box is mixed up so you have to work fairly hard to figure out where the pieces go, and there are 1026 pieces.

And here is the meme:

4 jobs that you have had in your lifetime (in order, not omitting anything...)
* I put the price tags with the plastic thingy on clothes. (age 15)
* Cashier (ages 15-16)
* gopher at doctor's office (front desk/operator/appointment clerk/medical
records clerk) (ages 17-23)
* Executive Assistant (fancy title for paper pusher/secretary) (age 22-present)

4 movies that you could watch over and over
* Grease
* Dirty Dancing
* Joy Luck Club
* Beauty and the Beast/Aladdin/Little Mermaid (It's hard to choose)

4 places that you have lived
* Forest Hills, NY
* Little Neck, NY
* Maspeth, NY
* Brooklyn, NY

4 TV shows that you love to watch
* 24
* Anything on F/X
* Real World/Road Rules/RW-RR challenges
* E! True Hollywood stories

4 places that you have been on vacation
* Vegas
* Washington DC
* Cleveland
* Florida

4 websites that you visit daily
* Knittyboard
* Myspace.com
* Bloglines
* Google news

4 of your favorite foods
* Shrimp
* Dark Chocolate
* homemade Chinese dumplings
* peanut butter/grape jelly sandwiches

4 places that you would rather be right now
* home with my boys
* someplace warm and sunny
* anywhere that I didn't have to pay for
*

4 bloggers who you are tagging
Anyone who would like to be tagged.

Next time, pics of WIPs I swear, and maybe a photo of the mittens I have finished for my mitten swap!

A is for....

2006-01-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

I joined the Knittyboard ABC along and here is my pic for letter A:

A is for amusing. My family is going thru some hard times right now, and thru it all, one shining smiling face keeps us all amused and keeps us from being continuously down.

I look forward to doing the rest of the alphabet! I've got some more pics to show: a belated Xmas gift (mom made me a scarf out of baby alpaca!!), an update on my lace shawl, the first of several baby projects....and I've signed up for a mitten swap...my hands will be busy, busy, busy. Pics next post.

Back from vacation

2006-01-07T17:18:00.000-05:00

Going back 3 weeks, there was a transit strike. It was fairly painless to get in and out of the city, since the hubby was very kind to drive me in and out. The day before we left for vacation, I ended up walking from work to the Bklyn Bridge, where hubby picked me up. It was not a bad walk, but not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

The first day of vacation was spent packing up our suitcases, and wrapping presents to take with us. We headed out for our drive to FL around 5pm. There isn't much to see along I-95, especially at night. I took over driving for a few hours when we hit South of the Border. Note to self, never, ever, ever stop there again. We reach my MIL's house shortly before 6pm on Friday, gassing up our wonderful little hybrid car only 3 times from NYC. The trip itself was very relaxing. The best part was being able to wake up and sit on the terrace that overlooks a lake with a cup of tea (and some knitting). We did venture away from Boca Raton for a few days. We headed west to Tampa to visit a friend of mine and to hit Busch Gardens with the little guy. While at Busch Gardens the hubby and I rode Sheikra, a dive coaster, which I screamed my pretty little head off at the first drop. I normally don't scream on coasters. The little guy had a blast in the dragon area, that is complete with 3 treehouses with bridges that connect them. He also rode his first "big boy" coaster. It's hard to believe that at 5, he's almost tall enough to ride the big coasters.

We also hit Bradenton and Sarasota, where hubby's aunt and uncle live. They've got a gorgeous house, with a screened in porch that overlooks some water that I fell in love with. We walked by a marina, taking in fresh air and sunshine, and drove along a strip of road between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. I wanted to stop and dip my toes in the Gulf, but hubby didn't want to stop the car. It was the first time I had ever seen the Gulf. The rest of the vacation was spent back in Boca, soaking up the sun by the pool, or just relaxing in the house. Hubby and I managed to get out by ourselves for a couple of nights. One night we hit the movies, seeing The Ringer. One night we went to dinner at Mark's at the Park in Mizner Park. We spent New Year's eve at Mizner Park, outside the gated area of the amphitheater, looking at stars and listening to the B-52's count down to midnight. The drive home started New Year's day around 11am, and we made it home just after 9am on Monday.

Knitting you ask? Well, Tubey had been my FL knitting, and since that was done before the trip, I wasn't sure what to pack. I brought with me some Brooks Farm yarn that I bought at Rhinebeck and some Koigu. I started a multidirectional scarf with the Brooks Farm, that has stalled, since you know, working with wool/silk in the heat of FL is just not fun.

I also started a sock with the Koigu and only got half way thru before I lost interest. I didn't actively search out LYS, because I really don't need more yarn, but I happened to spot a Michael's near the salon where I got a manicure and pedicure and scored some tape yarn for $2.50, originally $9. I quickly made a bath puff for the MIL with one ball, started a second and lost interest. I became addicted to the little guy's Nintendo DS, playing Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, and have not put it down since before we left FL.

I got frustrated at a point in the game on Weds. night and decided to start a new kniting project. I picked up some soy yarn that I got at a yarn swap over the summer and the book A Gathering of Lace and started a shawl from it. I tried to channel Monkee and her lace talents for starting the shawl, and I think I succeeded. I've been addicted to the shawl ever since. I did screw up the first couple of increase rounds, but I'm looking at it as a design element, not a screw up. What do you think so far?

This is a picture of the size of the yarn (thread?) compared to Koigu KPPPM:

More later on the shawl...

Tubey!

2005-12-22T00:29:00.000-05:00

One more post before I leave...A finished Tubey. 11 days folks. 11 days. I HAD to have this sweater, and I'm extremely happy with it.

Photos Part Two

2005-12-19T23:54:00.000-05:00

Photos of Xmas knitting:

A bag for a coworker's daughter

A bag for a coworker, stuffed with 3 scarves for her kids

Eyemasks from Holiday Handknits, filled with flax seed and dried lavender for coworkers

Body puff from Knitty for a coworker

It just occurred to me that all my knitting that I've showed you so far have been for coworkers. I'm quite generous, huh? Anyways, I have been working on something for me, and while I'm very happy with the way it's turning out, it was meant to be Florida knitting. Now I'm out of ideas for knitting projects while in Florida. I'm open to suggestions. Right now, I'm thinking socks. Small, portable and quick. Oh yes, my project for me. Tubey. I'm so in love with this that I've been up WAY past my bedtime knitting it. It's not great photos, but this should suffice til I can model the finished object:

I may not be back to the blog til January. If I don't get back til then, have a look at my favorite thing about the holiday season. My landlord puts this star on the house every year. This year I almost thought it wasn't going up. But I came home this weekend to see it in all it's glory. It's big and obnoxious, and you can probably see it from the moon...but it makes me smile. Happy holidays folks!

Pictures, part one

2005-12-14T00:07:00.000-05:00

I'm a bad SP receiver. I haven't blogged about my last package, even though it was spectacular. Lynne, if you're reading this, forgive me. Here is a pic of my last box:

There you have some Lush goodies, some luscious yarn (Hand Maiden that was petted and threatened to be stolen at my get together), some wonderful tea, a grover book, a cute little star box and Knitticisms. Lynne, aka etcgirl, wrapped each individual gifty, putting a little Grover pic on each wrapped thing. I put all the Grovers together for a picture:

Thank you Lynne for everything!! You were a wonderful SP!

Next, a package that came in the mail for me. Nothing spectacular about the contents of the package, it was more sock yarn to add to my already large collection of sock yarn. What's interesting about this package is the way it was shipped. Here, take a look:

Yes, the yarn came to me in a ziplock bag, taped very well. It was the single most interesting package I've ever received. And when I learned that it was from Monkee, I laughed like a lunatic at the mailbox. I was thankful my landlord was not home to hear me cackling like a crazy woman. Thank you Monkee for my yarn and for the laughs. :)

Next, while I forgot to take pics of the knitting get together at my house, I did take pics of my craftiness. I made goody boxes for all the guests.

Inside a large chinese take out box (bought at my local restaurant, they're authentic!), I put a hand knit washcloth, a sample of Lush soap, a few limited edition cherry creme cordial Hershey kisses and a homemade fortune cookie. What can I say, I really have nothing better to do with my time/life.

The day after the get together, I left the couch for only bathroom breaks and food breaks. Why? Because I wanted a new hat to wear to work on Monday. So I whipped this up....a pattern from KnitPicks, using KnitPicks Merino Style.

Again, nothing better to do with my life. Next time, pics of my finished Xmas knitting, and the progress on Tubey, but until then, the obligatory cute kid photo. I'll explain it next time (and ignore the basket of overflowing yarn behind him next to the couch...).

Santa came early

2005-12-12T19:45:00.000-05:00

Santa came to my house while I was at work today. He left me a brand new laptop computer. Hubby has to load all of my stuff/photos from the other computer on to this lovely laptop. When he does, you guys will get pictures. Oh there will be picture overload!

I had my Lasik surgery done on Thursday. When I went for my follow-up on Friday, they determined I was seeing at 20/25. Freakin' sweet!! I haven't seen like that without use of contacts/glasses since I was 9. I'm thrilled to see without all that stuff, but it's going to take some getting used to. I reached for my glasses this morning...it's an automatic thing. It was funny.

This evening on the way home, I finished the last of the knitting for Christmas presents. I already started blocking some of the gifts, and most ends have been weaved in. Now to just put some tags on them, and package them up. I'm thrilled to be almost done. Not just because I want the Christmas knitting over with, but because I was forcing myself not to start on a project for ME until it was all done. I did, however start something, but in an effort to finish the Christmas knitting, I only allowed myself to knit til one ball was done. I now have about a foot done to Tubey. Mmmm...and I splurged on the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It's SO yummy to work with.

Off to play with my laptop some more...

Changes

2005-12-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

I have pictures to share from my last Knitty SP 5 box from etcgirl, but alas, the hubby has hidden the pics from me and has taken the camera with him. I don't have any pics to share from my knitting get together on Sat., because I'm a dolt and forgot to take photos. I hope everyone had a good time; I know I did.

You may have noticed that the blog looks a bit different. I'm in the process of beautifying the blog and I needed a blank slate. Hubby made me a banner, which is wherever my pics are hidden, and will make a new button for the blog for you all to take. Now, if I could only figure out WHERE to put the banner in all that code....

Til next time, with pics, a banner, and without glasses/contacts.

My next post will not be 2 weeks from now

2005-12-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Some of you might remember my promise to blog more often. It's not like I haven't been online. Or that I haven't had things to say. It's just, I guess, I really didn't have a desire to blog. That and the fact that I've been knitting my little head off. My list of 15 knitted Christmas gifts has been whittled down to one. One lonely little scarf is left to knit. Well, I still have many ends to weave in on all the other projects, and blocking to do, but all the actual knitting is done. And that one lonely little scarf will be my project tomorrow at my little knitting party. Hopefully I will get lots of great pics of the shindig to post.

I look forward to getting all the Xmas gifts out of the way and focus on something for me again. I've got a lace shawl that I want to make and a hat and mittens from Knit Picks. Though, I can't seem to find my size 5 dpn's....guess I'll have to get another set. Poor me having to go shopping at The Point again. :) Is it sad that I'm already mentally packing my knitting projects for my trip to FL at the end of the month? Oh yes, FL. The hubby and little guy and I are driving down to FL to see the MIL for Xmas. And while I'm not making any promises, there may be a laptop in my near future, that would give me access to the net/blogs while I am away.

I am having Lasik surgery next Thursday.....wonder if I'll be able to knit that weekend...

Come out of hiding!

2005-11-18T19:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, show me where you are! Even you lurkers!

Thanks Amy for the button! Real content later. :)

Guest blogger!

2005-11-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

HI! My name is Daniel. Mommy likes to call me her little guy, but I'm not little. I'm a big boy! Mommy said I could do a post for her because she's trying to make Christmas gifts for everyone. I wonder what she's making me?

Mommy says she's sorry that she hasn't been here since last week. She's been busy knitting away on those gifts. We also camped out in the living room last Friday night. Wanna see? Here's our tent and us having fun. Mommy says don't focus on how funny she looks, just look at my cuteness.

Oh, you're here for knitting, not my cuteness, right? Mommy said I should show you these pictures and tell you about them.

Mommy made this for her friend Nicole for her birthday:

She said that it's a Sparticle, and that you can find the pattern at The Garter Belt. What's a garter belt?

This is a scarf that Mommy started at the beginning of the year and has neglected for a long time. It's made from a Blue Heron yarn that she bought when we were in New Orleans last year.

These are gauntlets for my Uncle Ray for Christmas.

This is a scarf for my friend Janine for Christmas. Mommy says the yarn is Gedifra Fashion Stripe, something that came in her goody bag when she went on the Knitty Cruise (I went to the Brooklyn kids museum with Grandma that day!)

And this is knit from a pattern in Mommy's new knitting book, Handknit Holidays (she got it for her birthday this week!). She said she was able to make two eye masks from the one hank of Fiesta La Luz.

And last, Mommy went shopping again at The Point. She said that all of this is to make more gifts.

She says that from left to right there's Art Fibers Ultramerino 4, 2 colors of Cascade 220 and a Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport.

Thanks for stopping by! Mommy says if I'm a good boy that I can come back and play on her blog again soon. For now, I'm going to go pretend I'm Chicken Little!

Christmas is coming

2005-10-31T20:18:00.000-05:00

The goose is getting fat. Please to put a penny (or a dollar) in Karen's hat. I just made out my "to knit" list for Christmas and oh my gosh is it long. And sadly, only one item is complete, save for weaving in ends. I'm afraid that there won't be many pictures over the next month or so, as I'm not sure if my family and real life friends read this. But, we'll see what we can do.

Today's show and tell is a pair of gauntlets. My extremely sweet SP sent me a pattern for gauntlets and some great pink Koigu to make them with. Interestingly enough, the day I got the package, I was thinking to myself that I should make some gauntlets out of some pink Knit Picks yarn I have. I think my pal must know me better than I know myself! I started them Sat. morning, and finished them last night. They're so girly and pink and I love them.

My brother saw them and wants a pair. He's an iron worker and usually layers gloves but finds it difficult to move his fingers with several layers of "fingers". Gauntlets will keep his hands warm, but allow his fingers to move. And the fact that it only took me two days to finish them...an added bonus! I've already started his pair, out of a skein of Socks that Rock from Rhinebeck in the "Lucy in the Sky" colorway.

Did you dress up today? I didn't, but did my part by baking some pumpkin bread for the office (and brownies with mini peanut butter cups hidden inside for hubby's office and chocolate chip cookies for the little one's harvest party today). The little guy can't use the bathroom in his costume, so we opted for a quick costume for school, a pirate outfit that hubby wore for last year's speak like a pirate day. It's big, but it was easily fixed by a belt and some safety pins. The real costume is Mr. Incredible, which we wore trick or treating tonight.

Give Me Candy!!

Tap, tap, tap

2005-10-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

Hello? Is anyone out there? If so, shield your eyes. *Blows the dust off the blog* I hope that didn't get in your eyes and/or cause you to sneeze. I have been a bad blogger and I deserve many skeins of 100% acrylic for being so bad. But I hope this post is entertaining enough that you will forgive me and not send me hate yarn.

So, what have I been doing while the blog has been getting dusty? I spent a week preparing for an Annual meeting at work, and then 2 days actually working at the meeting. Sure, sure, I ate like a pig with my coworkers at a few restaurants (Remi and City Lobster) and stayed in a hotel for a night even though I live in the city, but it was tiring and I had very little time for blogging and stuff.

I did go to Rhinebeck the weekend before, and while I'm SURE you've seen plenty of Rhinebeck pics already, you haven't seen MINE! Ok, I didn't take many, and they're all animals (I completely forgot to snap a photo of the mini Coffeeshop meetup!). How could you resist such cuteness?

I wanted to buy this angora bunny, but my mom stopped me.

Can you imagine your next haircut being like this?

My loot from Rhinebeck:

I managed to finish up the Adrienne Vittadini sweater before Rhinebeck and I wore it up. It was lovely, til the sun came out. Alpaca and Silk and the warm sun just do not mix. I had to buy a t-shirt and change after lunch. Ya'll want to see the t-shirt? It's pink and has a lamb on it. No, you want the sweater? Aw, you're no fun. But, you are the reader and the reader will always get what he/she wants on this blog.

It's not as body skimming as the one in the pattern book, but I don't need body skimming, and it fits perfectly for me. My only problem for me, is that it sheds. A. Lot. Oh well, I'll deal with it. I'm very happy with it nevertheless.

What else do I have for you lovely people? Oh, I made a scarf for one of the tech people at Vermont Web Host, the guys that maintain the Coffeeshop. I used Rachael's Good Ole Cabled Scarf pattern and 1 1/4 skeins of Cascade 220. Nice and easy and quick. I went thru a little over 3/4 of one skein in one day.

I got a great SP package yesterday. Can't wait to start coloring in my very own Hello Kitty coloring book! Finally, something I don't have to share with the kid!

I also started, and am almost finished with Sparticle, pattern written by the lovely Wendy. I have one more icord to do and weaving in of ends, seaming and felting. It works up great in Cascade 220, and it's an incredibly FUN knit.

And last but not least, my proud Mom moment. My little guy got his high white belt a few weeks ago in karate.

If I promise to come back more often, will ya'll come back again soon?

Where do YOU Blog?

2005-10-09T14:59:00.000-04:00

I got home Friday night from a seaming party at The Point and found a box waiting for me. I was quite excited because I had no clue what it was. Then I opened it and remembered that Laura was sending me sock yarn. But when I opened it up, I found not only 6 balls of lovely orange Regia sock yarn, but 18 balls of Dukaten Soft-Effekt yarn in a great gold color. It screamed to me "sweater for the little guy". So that's what it's to be...and I probably have enough for a matching hat and mittens. So, thanks again Laura!!

So, last night while in Knitty Chat, I mentioned being in the closet. Not that kind of "in the closet", but actually being in the closet. My computer is in a large closet and that (this?) is where I blog, chat, and surf the web. I figured I should share my closet with you (ignore the mess...it's primarily hubby's living space).

So, where do YOU blog?

Next post: pics of my Adrienne Vittadini sweater...I should have it done by mid week...

A birthday and a new project

2005-10-05T19:02:00.000-04:00

Last week, I spent the week cleaning, in preparation of my little guy's birthday party on Sat. The party was wonderful. Everyone had a good time. There were 4 pounds of chicken cutlets, a huge tin of baked ziti, and brownies...all made by yours truly. All the kids went home with Halloween tins of treats as goody bags:

The birthday boy (he's FIVE now!!) eating cake with a fake smile:

And the second the guests left on Sat., guess who cast on for a new project? Yes, that would be me. I am making the Eyelet Cable Raglan from Adrienne Vittadini's Fall 2004 book, and I'm using Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in shade 9. It's going quite quickly...I'm hoping it's just because I'm using a larger size needle than I normally use (a US 7) and not that I'm that speedy. I finished the back last night:

If the rest goes this quickly, I may wear it to Rhinebeck next Sat.

Next up: The Scarf Cowl from Knit Picks. I have one hank of Shimmer that I am hoping will make gauge. I can't see why not though...both Shimmer and Shadow, the yarn used, are laceweight.

Knitty cruise!!

2005-09-25T19:09:00.000-04:00

I did a little cleaning this morning, packed up a bag, got the child ready and headed out to the city. I left the child with my mother and met up with Tamara. We waited patiently on line with a growing number of knitters while watching the boat rock back and forth at the dock. Shortly afterward, Marymac (Maryann) and alerievay (Valerie) from the Coffeeshop joined us.

We grabbed a table on the upper floor of the boat and proceeded to knit. We had some yummy salmon, salad and quiche, along with some great fizzy lemonade. Some of the girls opted for alcohol with their lemonade, I didn't. I brought Maryann a small gift as a thank you for hosting SP5; note the Barbie bag that the gift came in.

Some pics from the boat (though missing is Heather and Gina, whom I forgot to get pics of):

So many knitters!

That's Jane, Jen and Tamara.

Maryann and Valerie

John from the Point and of Pinky fame.

Tamara being silly.

Me and the famous Amy

SP package!

2005-09-24T12:04:00.000-04:00

My first secret pal package came a few days ago! I stopped everything at work to open the box. This is what it looked like:

Inside was a card with a butterfly that "flew" out when it opened. So incredibly funny! Also a bar of YUMMY chocolate, Freakin' Sweet! mints, a shot glass from Canada, Snapple lip balm. The yarn is Koigu KPM and a hank of Fleece Artist. Mmmmm.

Non-knitting content:
I went yesterday morning to see Bon Jovi play for the Today show, since I work in the building across the street. Jon Bon Jovi had an interview with Katie Couric and Al Roker on the side of the street I was on and walked right past me. Not only did he walk right past me, as he got closer to where I was standing, he made eye contact with me and smiled. Swoon! Here are some pics from yesterday morning.

What a week!

2005-09-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

What a week. I was on vacation last week, so that I could prepare for my son's first day of school. This week saw me go back to work, a 4 day work week instead of a 5 so that I could be home for my son once a week. It's an important thing for me.

My son's first day of school:

Isn't he a cutie?

During the last few days of vacation, I knit up this:

It's a shrug from the Holiday 2004 Vogue Knitting, using Filatura Di Crosa's Zara. I had just enough left over from Mariah to make the shrug.

A couple of ladies from the Knitty coffeeshop who live in Bklyn got together last Sunday to knit in the park. The shrug made it's debut there. The little guy got to run around in the playground while his mama knit with some cool girls. I know I'm looking forward to this Sunday's get together.

I enjoyed my first "day off" of my 4 day work week on Wed., where I started another I do. This one is for me, using the same yarn as last time, but in a greyish bluey color. I have the first side almost done. 2 more repeats and I can cast on for the other side. You can see the fish stitch markers that Annie made for me in the other picture. Aren't they adorable?

Today, the only thing in my mailbox was a package for me. My Sockapaltwoza socks arrived!! Aren't they awesome? My pal Becci says they're Toasty Toes Superwash and they're so dreamily soft, I have yet to take them off. I love them! Thanks a bunch Becci!!

I'm off to see if I can finish the other half of I Do before next Sunday's Knitty Cruise. If I can't, then you can spot me on the ship wearing the VK shrug. Come say hi!

Insert witty title here

2005-09-06T18:13:00.000-04:00

I have not been in the mood to blog. I have been knitting, but just not in the mood to photograph, resize, and blog the photos. And I've been unmotivated in my projects. I think it's the heat. And the stress I've been under because my baby is going into kindergarten. I'm not dealing with his getting bigger well. Anyway, on to the knitting.

I went to a De-Stash party in CT. I got to meet some great gals, Sarah, Christine, Annie (check out the little fishy stitchmarkers that she made for me!), Christine, Mary. Here's some pics from the party:

That pig is made of a big skein of yarn, and the cake? No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you...it's a ball of yarn. I believe both were made by Mary.

My finished objects for this week are a pair of footie socks using Alison's pattern, made of one ball of Rowan Cashsoft in gray and a smidge of a pale pink for the edging, and a mini sweater. The pattern is taken from Knit Christmas Stockings, and made in left over Nature Spun Sport from my mittens.

Yes, those are tabs from soda cans for size comparison. I'm saving them for a friend who donates them to Ronald McDonald house (I believe), who uses them as money for things like groceries.

I'm working now on another pair of socks for a cousin for Xmas. I'm waiting for more yarn for the previous pair of socks for a cousin (see here), and waiting for yarn from elann for an I do for myself. I'm hoping to get it soon so I can have it done and wearing it for the Knitty cruise on the 25th.

Pictures

2005-08-25T21:38:00.000-04:00

Have you missed me? Did I Do do a good job on it's post while I was busy? Yes, I was busy. And I have pictures to prove it.
First we have the Zig Zag scarf from Modular Knits. It's for my mom for Xmas. So mom, if you happen to stumble upon this, don't look at the pics.

My little guy did a full row somewhere around the middle of this at the laundromat the other night. :)

Next we have two bags that I made for my son's preschool teachers. Inside the bags are M&M's in the same colors as the bags.

And so all of you can see what a TRUE geek I am, I made a case for my PSP. Hubby has a PSP and I made him 2 cases, but wanted one of my own. It's out of half a ball of Fixation.

And before you think that's it, the finished I Do, with a close up of the sleeve:

Isn't she pretty? I am really going to have to make one for myself. This one is on it's way to FL to her new owner.

And I've also been busy adding to my stash. I bought from one of the girls at work who was destashing,

That's Vesper Sock Yarn in Verde. It's lovely.

And I will leave you with this: a bunch of the Coffeeshop girls got together and got me a gift certificate for Purl, as a thank you for hosting the Secret Pal round 4. So I went shopping today.

That's 2 balls of Rowan Cashsoft, 4 skeins of Blue Sky Cotton, 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces "pink blossom stripe" sock yarn, 3 skeins of Alchemy Synchronicity in Texas Bluebonnet, and Kniting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves. Yum, yum, yum.

Guest poster

2005-08-14T17:44:00.000-04:00

My name is I Do. Glad to meet you. I wanted to get in on this whole blogging thing and see what the whole hoopla was about. Let's see, what can I tell you about myself? My pattern comes from Knitty. I'm made up of Austermann Mayfair that Karen, my knitter, bought from Elann.

Karen thinks that my pattern is wonderful and that there will be enough of the yarn left over to make one for herself, since I will be heading to FL to make my big debut at a wedding in November. Karen isn't sure that the color white is what she wants, and isn't sure if she can dye this particular yarn. I'm sure you lovely folks out there can help her out.

I am a bit upset with my knitter at the moment though. She's become bored with working on the second half of me, so she picked up another project. Hmmph! The nerve! What? You want to see what she's working on?!? You've got nerve too! Well, here it is. It's not as beautiful as me. I don't see what she sees in it.

Karen says that the sock is for her cousin Mike, who has size 14 feet and since he's got such big feet, she's got to work on them now. She says that the feel of the yarn is wonderful and thinks that she will have to buy more because she's not sure she's going to get a full second sock out of the rest of the ball. She's praying that Interlacements will have another skein in the same dye lot. I say ha! on her if they don't. Serves her right for abandoning me for something else.

I like this blogging thing. Maybe I'll sneak back here again when my knitter finishes me to show you myself in my full beauty.

A long post

2005-08-07T11:36:00.000-04:00

First, I've been tagged! Sarah tagged me with:

5 things i miss from childhood.

If you want to participate the chain-letter part works like this: remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump every one up one place; add your blog’s name in the #5 spot; just check to make sure the links are still attached if you copy n’ paste.

1. Nepenthe's Misadventures
2. dynamiteknits
3. Sassy Stitchess
4. Stitch
5. Cooknknit

1. Summer Camp. From the summer after 5th grade to the summer after 9th, I went to summer camp. A few of those summers were day camp, but the latter summers were sleep away. The summers at sleep away camp were my favorite summers. The outdoors, the smells of the woods, swimming in Lake Tiorati in Bear Mountain, the hikes to Lake Welch for the "beach". The friendships I forged, the smells I will never forget. I treasure each memory and would love to do summer camp again.

2. The innocence. I was a naive child. To some extent, I'm a naive adult. I grew up sheltered. Sometimes I feel like it was a bad thing, but sometimes, I know it was a good thing. I miss those days of innocence.

3. Time. When you're a kid, time goes by too slowly. But you always seemed to make the best of it and find a million things to do. A long, rainy day of coloring. A few hours of riding your bike up and down the alley. Hunting for those strange bugs on the leaves by the garage took up quite a chunk of time. Now? There's no time at all, and it seems to fly by and you've gotten nothing done.

4. Roller skating. Rollerblades are great, but roller skates... My fondest, albeit strangest "fondest" memory of roller skates: I believe it was shortly after my father died, my family went upstate to visit my grandparents. My mom, my aunt and I went to a roller rink. I got my skates on before they did and I was told I could go ahead without them. I was on the rink no more than a minute, when a man came barrelling towards me and knocked me down. There was blood everywhere. I was brought into the rink's office where the manager tried to hold back the blood with a bandaid. Next thing I know I'm in the ER with a blue sheet over my face, with a hole cut out for my chin and holding my mom's hand. The cut went down to the bone and I needed stitches. And all I cared about? Was that I didn't get to skate.

5. My dad. My dad died the summer before I entered 3rd grade. My parents never took a honeymoon so that summer they dropped me, my brother and sister off at my grandparents and headed up to Canada for a real honeymoon. They went out on a lake and the motor on the boat stopped. My dad went under the boat to see if he could fix it, and something pulled him under. I vividly remember the call from my mother, I had just gotten back from the library with a new Babar book. I've had many chances to go to Canada since then, but I've never gone. No offense to any of my Canadian friends, but I can never go. And this is the reason why.

If you'd like to do this one, please feel free to tag yourself. :)

Now, onto happier topics: Knitting!

I've been busy. And I have a lot to show. I've been working on another letter have it bag. This one is for the little guy's teacher. He heads off to Kindergarten next month, and will be leaving day care for good at the end of August. I have the back and the front done, and am working on the middle piece.

The next thing I've been working on is the green striped baby sweater. I've gotten all the pieces knit, and started sewing it up.

Can you see my poor attempt at seaming? The stripes don't match up. Sigh. I'm going to have to take it out and reseam. Ugh.

Next comes, another booga bag. I'm working on the i-cord now, but the body is done.

I took a workshop on Thursday at The Point. It was a workshop using Iris Schreier's new book. Modular Knits. We all learned how to do the Zig Zag scarf from the book, and here's my practice piece:

And while I haven't given up on Mariah just yet (I've finished both sleeves and started on the back), I've started the next "big" project: I do. It's for a friend who's getting married in November. The yarn is Austermann Mayfair and it was cheap, cheap, cheap from Elann. I can't wait to do more on it.

10 weeks til Rhinebeck!!

Tag, I'm it!

2005-07-24T09:28:00.000-04:00

I've been tagged! Jennifer tagged me for this cool meme. Now you'll learn what a loon I am.

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy
Pronunciation Key
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncracies. Then, if you wish, tag five people from your live gerbil or friendslist to do the same.

1. When I take out several books from the library, I never know which one to read first. So I put them in alphabetical order, by author's last name, and read them that way.

2. I also like to have my music and movies in alphabetical order, but hubby insists on keeping them in genre order. Maybe one day when he sleeps, I'll put them the way I like them.

3. My house could look like a tornado hit it, but my bathroom would be spotless. I love a clean a bathroom, and it's the one room on the house I like to clean.

4. Pink is my favorite color. This may not sound strange to you, but if you knew me 2 years ago, you'd be surprised. I'm a tomboy at heart, and wore very little color until the last few years. I own more skirts than pants now, and more color than black. I've turned into a girly girl. Now that I think of it, it's not really an idiosyncrasy, is it? Oh well.

5. I'm a magazine whore. I subscribe to Parenting magazines, & knitting magazines. I also pick up on the newstand gossip mags (US Weekly is my fav), girly mags (Marie Claire is my fav), & home/cooking stuff like Martha's mag. Not to mention I read the stuff that hubby gets, Stuff, Maxim, Blender. I also get from work ToyFare and Wizard World. I am a magazine whore. Whomever gets my house on recycling day must hate me.

Whom shall I tag? Let's try: Sarah, Karma, and PurlPower.

Onto the knitting content. I started on Mariah # 2 last week. I got thru 7 or so inches of the first sleeve when I noticed I did one of the cables backwards, and I was tempted to leave it. But the perfectionist in me said RIP! So I ripped it out. And started anew. Here is the finished sleeve:

Ain't it purty? I started the second sleeve last night and hope to finish it by the end of this week. I'm planning on altering the pattern slightly, and adding pockets...something I've never done (altering or pockets!). I've got time to play with it...it's for a friend for Xmas.

2005-07-20T13:59:00.000-04:00

I think I will need to join Sock Knitters Anonymous soon. I have sock yarn coming out of my ears, and I just purchased some more. Granted, the new yarn is destined for Xmas presents, but still! Wanna see the colors I got? I bought Toasty Toes by Interlacements in:

Aren't they just yummy?

In other knitting news, I started my second Mariah, in Knit PicksMerino Style in Hollyberry. I got 7 inches into a sleeve and notice 2 big mistakes. No lifelines here, so it got frogged this morning. On the train into work, I did about 3 inches, so I didn't lose too much. And tonight is knitting night...I'll have the rest of those 7 inches back in no time.

Insert creative title here

2005-07-14T19:33:00.000-04:00

I think I'm in a knitting funk. I don't have a major project at the moment, just doing small things that get done quickly. I have a major project on the list, but don't have the oomph to get the yarn out and do it. I need the oomph. Someone push me in the right direction. Wish it was something I could order or pick up in a store.

So, onto the finished projects:

That's the Ribbon X-back, and the butterfly socks that my sockapalooza pal is getting. Someone last post asked what pattern it was. It's a Fibertrends pattern, called Butterflies and Blossoms, or Blossoms and Butterflies. Something like that.

WIPs:

The baby bootie is from 50 Baby Booties to Knit, made in Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. And the stripey goodness is a baby cardigan for my hubby's cousin's son (2nd cousin?) for Xmas. Pattern is from Family Circle Easy Knitting Spring/Summer 05 and is in Manos Cotton Stria (in olive, black and mint). And that thing that the baby bootie is resting on? Don'tcha know? It's a bongo to play Donkey Konga!

I would like to learn how to do entrelac. Any one have a fairly simple pattern, maybe for a scarf, that they can point me to? Maybe that will give me the push I need to get out of the funk.

Non knitting content:
I got out of the shower this morning and found my son in his room playing his game boy. It was just after 6 am, and this is how I found him...