knittyknitknit

Brea from Berroco

2007-01-30T04:52:00.000-08:00

Here it is... Its a little on the wide side, but seems to be okay when I used it yesterday. I was afraid everything in my purse will fall out (I didn't add a zipper to the liner). The purse is only held by the button you see in the picture.

A lot of FO...

2007-01-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

First off, the EZ yokeless sweater from Knitting Workshop. I love this sweater.... The yarn is Patons classic wool on size 6 circs. I'm totally in love with Zimmerman's patterns. I knitted the body and sleeves on the USM (plate 3) and then switched to hand knitting. I finished the sweater in 1 week!! Also in picture is knitty's calorimetry. My second one. This one is silk garden (forgot which colorway), but you can't really see it anyways.

On to EZ's heart hat. Same yarn + cascade 220 I have in stash. Size 6 needles (can go to size 7 next time around). I just followed the pattern, but you can adjust the pattern CO multiples of 10 + 1. Here's a picture on a wiggly girl:
Next time I think I'll add some short rows in the front. Totally fun knit.

I also feel in love with Mason Dixon' s dishcloths. I'm on my third one, sugar and cream:
Oh, and a recent thrift find - Mikasa cup. I didn't quite understand the craze over the dishcloths but I love them. I plan on making a lot of them. I just have to smile when I see the
vibrant colors.

I'm also finishing up Berroco's Brea. The bag is all lined, handle attached. Just need to add a button and the button closure.

Wow, a lot done here. I'm eyeing knitpicks' phoebe sweater.

Progress...

2007-01-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

I finally got back to the swing of things (in terms of knitting). First off, an almost finished object:

Its Berroco's brea. A really quick knit. I'm using Jo Sharp wool I have in my stash from oh, 2 years ago. I'm almost done with the gusset. But still looking for a leather handle for the bag. The place listed on the pattern doesn't seem to sell the handles anymore.

Then some major frogging, good bye Paton's must-have cardigan (I don't really really need it...). Who am I kidding? With 2 young kids and homeschooling this year...

You get the picture. I'm realling digging Zimmermann's Knitting workshop. I'm doing the first yoke sweater. Using the USM to do the bulk of the knitting and then seaming it to create the round (sounds kind of backwards but it works). I also handknitted the moss stitch band. I did the front and back and 1 sleeve in about 2 days (3-4 hours). 1 more sleeve tonight and then I'll start knitting the top and adding a pattern to it. More pictures on that soon.

Another finished project but no pix yet, the kitty pi. Its all done, and felted. I washed it twice but it was still too floppy. Just ran it through the washer with the diapers and its good to go.

Knitty's Brioche Malagaiter - kind of

2006-12-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Here it is. I whipped this up with some Kureyon I have in my stash and size 2 plates on the USM. I think this works better for me as a neck-warmer though. This is just plan stockinette
not ribbing like the pattern has suggested. I like the colors of this... and on the look out for more silk garden.

Magknits is up

2006-12-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

Somehow I'm usually drawn to the patterns on magknits, but this month I found two patterns that I like. K-chan and Brioche Malagaiter. I have yarn for both of these as well. I'll use my USM to do the brioche in flat stockinette and add the little tie on top to see how it turns out. K-chan will have to wait till after the holidays. Still trying to figure out here what I'm going to make for the girls. I'm thinking about cotton flannel nightgowns for them (somehow you cannot find cotton flannel nightgowns anywhere. They use something called poly flannel and of course fire retardant. Yuck!)

2006-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here's the little hat I whipped up for dd#1. I think I'll make one for myself today and maybe one for dd#1. Quick and easy. One thing about the USM is that it needs to sit on top of a flat table without an apron. Its about 40" long so if you're thinking about getting one figure out a place for it first.

Next up, I'm going to order some soft soft merino yarn (kids are sensitive) , knit scarves, felt it and then have the children put wool pictures on top and then I'll needle felt it. I'll be knitting some snow bunnies and lambs for the winter scene I'm thinking of creating for the children as their christmas present. Gotta do some online shopping now.

I'm back...

2006-11-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

After a long hiatus...
I purchased the Ultimate Sweater Machine by Bond over the Thanksgiving weekend. The USM has very mixed reviews and I was a bit skeptical. But no more... Here's what I whipped up in 3-4 hours (including setup time which took about an hour).
Noro Silk Garden #224, 3 skeins on plate #3.
I've always loved the looks of shibori and came across a wonderful tutorial here. The silk garden is ultra yummy especially after a warm bath or in this case felting in the washing machine.

I (the USM) just finished knitting a little wool hat for dd#2. I just have to seam it and voila. I had no problems with the machine using worsted yarn. The hat on the other hand is more of a sock weight/sport weight yarn and the machine had a few hiccups (dropped stitches).
This is no replacement for handknitting, just a quick way to make large amounts of stockinette especially for felting. I can see quite a few more silk garden scarfs for myself in the near future, a few felted scarves for the kids in merino,... A nice way to use up my yarn stash.

My sister's baby...

2006-06-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

I went and picked up a wheel for my little sis on Sunday. Its of course the Ashford traditional. Here's your baby, little sis. She claims she "misses" the wheel more than her nieces... I guess there is still Uncle Raymond! Anyways, just another 2 weeks. Hang in there.

I was asked what I'll do with the lovely yarn from Sarah, I'm thinking about the flower basket shawl. The light blue can be the final edge.
Here's a progress shot of the green gables inspired top:

Thank you so much Tea swap pal...

2006-06-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

It was a really long day and I came home to a package from my knitters tea swap pal, Sarah, from France!!
The tea is "Evening mix" and is perfect after a busy day. Very relaxing. And the organic chocolate is oh so yummy. I haven't had chocolate for over a year now, but I just cannot resist dark organic chocolate with mint from france! The madelines are perfect with the tea. I used to bake these many many moons ago (before I started eating the nourishing tradtions way), but hey this is a very special occasion. The sock yarn is from curious yarns. I'm thinking I might knit a shawl with it instead of socks. The wool is so very soft. Sarah also included some of her favorite tea bags I'm so looking forward to try. Thank you so much for such a thoughtful package. I love it!

2006-06-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Secret tea pal: I used this pattern for the summer top. Really quick knit. I'll post when the package arrives. :) I'm really looking forward to trying out what you picked out for me.

I've decided on my next knit, it will be a green gables inspired top. I'm using grumperina's picovoli as the basic pattern and then adding on the lace pattern in the front. I've heard the green gables pattern is not very well written so I thought I'll try and wing it. I've ripped it out twice already, will post pictures if I have something to show.
The garden is coming along. The girls picked strawberries and cherries yesterday.
Think fresh yogurt over strawberries... Yum!

Finished the summer top

2006-06-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

Really comfy top. I think I'll actually wear it. Addi Size 9 circs, araucania nature cotton turquoise. 3 skeins. A quick knit, great for knitting in the car. I haven't had much luck with cotton knits before, both tank tops I did last year got stretched way too big. This one is on the snug side so I should be okay.

I'm thinking about green gables,
but heard its not very well written. Hmm, what to do? I have 2 skeins of cotton fleece (berry) from last year. Yes, still trying to use stash.

Little summer top

2006-05-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a progress shot of my summer top from craftster. I'm using araucania nature cotton in turquoise. I love using up stash yarn instead of buying more (who doesn't?), even though my stash is relatively small compared to others.

I did a mini swatch with the yarn my dye-o-rama pal dyed for me, unfortunately I'm not getting gauge for pomatomus. I'm getting about 7sts/in vs 8sts/in. Alas... I think the yarn would make a nice shawl for the fall though. I might dye up some yarn for pomatomus. Here's a yucky picture of the swatch (my camera died after taking this picture)

My dye-o-rama pal rocks!

2006-05-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

The yarn(kona superwash) is so wonderfully soft and the colors!!! I love love love the colors. I've never tried this color combo before and I'm so very excited. Thank you so much. I know exactly what I'm going to knit with it. Knitty's pomatomus.
I'll try and do a swatch tonight (kids willing). Krista from http://nakedsheep.blogspot.com/ is my dye-o-rama pal. Wonderful job!! And the little sheep and maiden mirror is perfect for my purse (I'm keeping this away from my girls). Thank you again pal. (I have still to figure out how to post on the dye-o-rama site).

I'm back...

2006-05-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

I actually got some dyeing done this weekend for my dye-o-rama pal.
She requested self-striping yarn and I'm of course here to oblige. Here's my setup:

I have to say self-striping yarn is a bit of a pain to do. Walking back and forth around the chairs and then to wind it back into a regular skein. I hope she likes the colors. I used this tutorial for the self-striping setup.
On to other knitting news, I started on a new top with some araucania cotton I had. The pattern is from craftster but somehow I cannot find the link anymore. I'll post some progress shots.

The garden is coming along. We have a little herb garden now, a bean pole tent for the kids, tomato, squash and a little strawberries patch. Everything is still little.

The fifth clover leaf is going to a little sunflower house (inspired Sharon Lovejoy's book). I tried one from seed a few years ago and the birds had a field trip. This year I'll just get some seedlings, its also a lot smaller scale. Then I'll get some morning glory to climb up the sunflowers, train them across to the other side to form the ceiling. Thats the plan anyways. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can get some more work done.

Here's a picture of Nancy (red island red), Hillary (white leghorn), and Eleanor (araucana). Yes, and their eggs.

We also started work on the front yard (our 150 year old eucalyptus fell the end of last year and took 5 of our redwoods with it). So we're replanting that area.

Acid dye samples...

2006-05-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Spring/Summer is finally here... Perfect weather, highs in the mid-upper 70s. Ahh... But it makes indoor crafts a lot less appealing. I'm not a gardening type, but just cannot resist doing some planting. I spent some time preparing the beds this morning. The strawberry plants we planted last year are all over the place so I'm going to move them all to one bed. Then our play group is planting an herb garden for us. I have a tomato (sun gold) and a summer squash plant in already. Started some sunflower seeds in egg cartons (the hens will get them if I sow directly). We planted this little pot yesterday:

I got the Jacquard acid dye from dharmatrading last week and dyed up some samples this morning. Yellow Sun, Fushia, Turquoise as the primaries. Then I just squirted adjacent primaries together to get the secondary colors. I love the intensity and the brightness of the colors.

Here's another set: Golden Orche, Scarlet and Navy Blue. I'm not too sure about the navy, its really more like an ink blue. But I love the golden orche, the orange (golden orche and scarlet) and the scarlet.

Here's a picture of the brown and jet black. I added a little more scarlet and more fushia to parts of the brown to see how it would look.
l'm not sure I've found the brown I'm looking for yet.

So DH bought his little white prius last friday. I posted on craigslist to sell his car and it sold yesterday. Nice and sweet. I was just thinking the other day while dh was still deciding on colors that there is really a lack of real colored cars on the road. I also have a white car, but its due to the lack of nice color choices offered by the manufacturer. Why are there so few real (not the metallic dulled down versions) of yellows, red, blues, purples, greens? I mean you see a few of them here and there but definitely not a lot. Wouldn't it be something to have bright strong colors? Colors of the rainbow? I think it would be make winter time a lot less dreary and the springs and summers even brighter. Imagine going out to the parking lot and seeing colors. I was listening to NPR and heard a little segment discussing this very issue. Somehow the cars in NY are mostly black and the ones in Los Angeles (and greater CA) mostly whites, beiges, silver, (non colors that just blend into the environment). Anyhow, enough huffing and puffing.

dye-o-rama meme

2006-05-09T05:21:00.000-07:00

Specific to this swap:

Your favorite colors? orangy red, burgundy, turquoise, amethyst. I also love yellow on walls but not on me.

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? Fingering or sport.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? multicolored.

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? I like variegated, but haven't tried self patterning. I'm not really into self-striping.

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? I'd prefer high percentage wool, so as long as its at least 60% wool and something else thats good.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? I'm not that great with naming things. Hmm... something to do with nature?

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? The surprise element. Not knowing what I'll get and surprising someone else.

General yarn/fiber questions:

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? Yes

If so, what’s your favorite dye and method? Dyeing in the crock pot, immersion dyeing. I'm going to try painting on roving today or tomorrow.

Do you spin? Yes

Have you knit socks before? Yes

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? Shawls as well.

What are some of your favorite yarns? Koigu, lorna's laces, noro

What yarn do you totally covet? I go through stages... I don't have one right now

Favorite patterns? Something with cables, lace

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Addi turbos circs (only kind I use)

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Noro silk garden?

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Hmm... I have food sensitivity issues so I don't really eat candies. I like nuts, and I'm really into tea (herbal) right now.

What’s your favorite animal? I don't have a favorite animal. I love animals

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? I have 3 chickens (Nancy, Hillary, Eleanor -1 yr) , a cat (meow-tzi, 7-8 yrs), fishes(2-1/2yrs) and thinking about getting some french angora bunnies.

If you were a color what color would you be? I guess thats different from your favorite color. I'm thinking milk chocolate brown, bluish green.

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. 'Demonstrate the power of love, not the love of power.'

2006-05-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a lot of time cleaning up the backyard. I restained all the patio furniture. And thus not a lot of time left for spinning or knitting. Here's a picture of the green and pink singles. Too much twist in the yarn. But I set the twist to see if that might help. It helped a little, but just too much twist in the yarn. I wonder if I can still ply it now? I really need more practice spinning worsted weight singles without too much twist.

And here's more progress on must have. I screwed up the cabling on the right hand upper corner. I was about to say its not that obvious, but it is. To frog or not to frog...

My acid dye arrived. So hopefully I'll have time this weekend to try it out. Some color combos I'm thinking about: pink/white/brown; turquoise/white/brown.
On the spinning wheel right now are some fingering weight singles of the orange and turquoise BFL.

I also posted my tea stash here. And hi to my knitters tea swap pal :) and my dye-o-rama pal!

2006-04-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is the pound of organic merino x rambouillet raw wool I got on Saturday morning. Its dirtier than it looks in the picture. The sheep did not wear a coat, they did skirt it though.Inside the laundry room sink. This was when I first put the wool in. When I came back 15 minutes later the water was brown brown brown.
After two washes and 3 rinses: billowy soft white wool! I carded some last night and
spun some. No pictures yet. I think I'll dye it first... somehow spinning white wool is kind of
boring for me.

And this is what I found this morning inside a plastic cat toy thingy. Aww!

Which one will you pick?

2006-04-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

So the question is, which one would you work on? The drab, beige "must have"? Or the spring color, soft BFL roving? I actually picked up "must have" last night, fixed the boo boo and finished another inch or two. Its really a fun knit, but now that the sun is out again I long for something more colorful. I'm really not a green/pink kind a gal, but the color combination really appeals to me.
I dyed up some more bfl in turquoise and orange last night. Somehow the turquoise is not as bright as I'd like. We'll see... I'm down to only 4 oz of corriedale and 4oz of finn left in my fiber stash. My order from coppermoose is on its way and I just ordered 1 lb a raw organic merino x wool from our csa(local farm). So my wool will be there tomorrow morning with my veggies. :) I've knitted with their organic wool yarn before but was a little disturbed by the amount of VM in the yarn. I have a feeling there will be a lot of vm in the wool, hopefully not, but worth a try. DD#1 will be enlisted to pick out the vm.
I'm not sure how much time I'll have dedicated to crafts this weekend. We're having our now annual May Day celebration at our house next weekend, so we have a lot of yard work to do. DH wants to test drive one of these, so we'll do for a little bit of that on Sunday.
Have a good weekend! I'll post if I get to the raw merino x this weekend.

More spinning goodness...

2006-04-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

I made a boo boo on the must have (knitting while entertaining guests), and not looking forward to frogging it. So here I am dyeing and spinning more..
BFL, 2 ply, about 63yds, dk to worsted weight. about 2.5 oz
I actually dyed about 4 oz of fiber but end up pulling off a lot of the orange. I did the hot pour method and got a lot of bright orange. I'm going to dye up some torquise and blend it with the orange. Hmm... I love orange yarn. So maybe I'll do that today. These are all done with the fiber reactive dyes.
Hey sis, I'm thinking about getting the lanaset dye set instead of ordering the jacquard acid dyes from dharma. I have 2 dye books (Color in Spinning and Twisted Sister's Sock book) that I love and they both use lanaset/sabreset dyes. So I thought I'd give that a try before ordering the acid dyes from dharma. I'll be ordering from sheep hollow btw.

2006-04-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Results of my second fiber reactive dyeing... I'm pretty happy with it. :) My 5 year old is crazy about this yarn. There is about 63 yards of bulky weight here. And I love the BFL (I think I've said that before). Soft and it has a nice sheen to it. So what about my first fiber reactive dyeing results? Well.. think red, blood red roving. The whole thing - red, red and more red! Argh! I didn't bother to mix up new dye, I just poured in the dye I mixed up from last summer's tie dyeing party. Oops! I'll use the roving for blending later on.

I also need to order more fiber. I'm thinking about getting more BFL, some merino, merino-silk and maybe some merino-kid mohair. I'll be ordering from copper moose again. I'm also thinking about ordering some mill end from the sheep shed studio (great reviews on craftster). Cheap fiber.. great for experimenting with color blending and such.

2006-04-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

About 100 yds of DK to worsted weight. I definitely like the BFL better than the corridale blend I've been spinning with. Softer and easier to draft. I love yellow, especially beginning of spring. Whats up next? I might dye up some Finn top tonight with the Procion Fiber Reactive dye I got last year for tie dyeing. The dye is made for cellulose fibers, but would work okay with protein fibers. I have tons of this stuff and I figure its not going to hurt to experiment a little.

2006-04-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yummy goodness from the other day. Twist set... I just love the colors of this one.

This is what I spinned/spun yesterday. Thick thin, about 76 yds of corridale, plied with green thread.

Dyed up some BFL in violet and yellow last night. Yummy. I predrafted the fiber and started spinning with it but the colors seem a bit intense. I'm going to card it a bit to see if that softens up the colors a little. I space dyed the roving.

I started reading Color in Spinning by Deb Menz. Wonderful book. I'm still reading the first chapter but learning quite about hues, saturations and values.

2006-04-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Some wool roving chicks and felted eggs we made for Easter. I spent 3 hours on Easter Sunday entering all the expenses for the biz into quickbooks. Only for dh to tell me later by doing so we owe more taxes! Huh? Less profit, more taxes? Should have spent the 3 hours spinning or knitting instead.

Progress shot of must have. The front is done, will start on the back. This is such a fun knit. Not a knitting in the car kind of knit, but fun!

Spinning wise (also Project Spectrum update), I'm done with my first skein. I still have to set the twist, but I love it. Its sport weight to dk weight with a couple of worsted spots. :) So thick-thin. About 240yds. Need to dye some fiber tonight. I hope dd#2 will cooperate (i.e. go to bed early)

Got my Lendrum...

2006-04-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

I got my Lendrum yesterday, put it together (the instructions were pretty terse, but its pretty straight forward), and got spinning.
May I present... Sally!

And here's a little bit of spinning

Treadling was a bit difficult, and I figured out why this afternoon. Somehow(ahem) my bobbin was not snapped on all the way last night while I was spinning. :P Things are a lot smoother now. DD#1 is really interested in the spinning wheel. She treadled yesterday afternoon while I drafted/spun. It was really nice.

Duh..

2006-04-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

Take a look. The yarn on the back/right I spun yesterday, the one on the front/left just half hour ago.
The thicker yarn is more uneven and more of an aran or maybe bulky weight. My index finger is also developing a callus. The secret or duh moment? I didn't predraft well enough. I mean I was pull the fibers sideways and then length wise before. But tonight, I was looking at the hand cards
I got last weekend and thought why not card the roving? And what a difference! The books I've read thus far said you don't need to card roving, but man it is so much easier carded.

More dyeing for me tonight. Hopefully dh can get that light up in my "dyeing room". I already selected a corner in the dining room for the wheel. Yes, I just slowly take over the house. First the spare room (small 8x10 room) became my craft room. Then half the laundry room. Then add another corner...

What I did last night...

2006-04-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here it is all spun up. Not too even, I guess practice makes perfect. I can hardly wait till I get my hands on the wheel.

More spinning...

2006-04-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Some yummy goodness to start out with. Kool-Aid dyed roving from the other night. I am getting ready to move on and try some "real" dye. I have some procion dye left from tie dyeing last summer. I'll give that a try. Great tutorial here.

I've decided on this little beauty. Yes, my logical/sensible side won. I'm also beginning to like how it looks better. I have been discussing my wheel options with dh and he likes the lendrum. Usually that would mean I'll be ordering the Louet. But looking at the ratios, and the fact that its foldable. DH also said its like buying a car. Do I tend to buy the car with good consumer ratings or the yugo? Not that the louet is a yugo or anything close.

2006-04-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I should be in bed. But take a look see:

It doesn't look as bad as I'd thought. I did the yellow and turquoise for fun. But isn't the orange fun? Huh? i just wish they make the s51dt unfinished!! Okay, so I said that already.

Alas...

2006-04-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this wheel and almost died. It is beautiful. Its from pumpkinknits
I want want want a S51DT in orange. Alas, they don't sell the S51DT unfinished.
Or the S10DT unfinished. The have the S75DT unfinished, but I don't like the style as much.

Its too traditional looking to be orange. I told dh I wanted an orange wheel and he rolled his eyes and said: "Orange??!! Why?" "Why not? I love orange." I might play around with photoshop elements tomorrow to see what the s75dt looks like in orange. The only thing is... I don't think I'll be able to resell it if I outgrown it. :)

Today I cleaned out my laundry room to create a dyeing corner. We don't have basements or attics here in CA (and in our case, no garage either, just a carport). So the laundry is as good as it gets. Its looking pretty good now, just need dh to put up a couple of shelves for me. I tried out hot pour dyeing with kool aid. The lighting in the laundry sucks, I think I need to get some natural light bulbs in there. So I was half blind dyeing tonight. We'll see how it turns out in the morning. I checked out The Twisted Sisters sock workbook the other day. Love the book. Funny I really didn't like the book when I looked at it last year. But I guess not that I'm spinning, its a great book.

More spinning...

2006-04-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

I went to my spinning class last Friday. It was so-so. I didn't really learn that much. She just said yes, you're doing the right thing but need more practice. Umm, yes I know that already. I did try out her wheel which was fun and carded some wool.
Then on Sunday I went up to Carolina Homespun and learned a lot from Morgaine. I was there for 2 hours! I spun on the
Lendrum DT, Louet S51DT and the Louet S10DT

The three wheels feel about the same to me. I can treadle them all with ease. They don't seem to be fighting me. I prefer the looks of the Lendrum and the S51DT. Now that I have the pictures side by side, the two wheels look very similar. Intellectually, I prefer the Lendrum. It is a more versatile wheel, it folds up for travel and a lot of people really like the wheel. You know whats coming. My heart is pulling me toward the Louet. I don't know why. Maybe because I tend to like things that are less main stream (if you can call spinnning main stream. Although it is becoming very popular). I also like how it looks a little better than the Lendrum. Should I base my purchase on looks? Some say I should because I'll be looking at it for hours and hours. At this instant, I think I'll order the S51DT.

I also got a pair of Schadcht Handcarders, half a pound of corriedale blend and some dyed fleece (might not be able to use this for spinning). Then my box of roving arrived from Coopermoose
yesterday (1 lb of BFL and 1 lb of corriedale). Superfast shipping. I ordered on Thursday and it arrived Monday. So I'm swimming in fiber. I would like to dye it first before spinning.

On the knitting front, I finished the left front side of the must have. And started on the ribbing for the right side. Its progressing slowly because I'm spending a lot of time searching for spinning wheels on the internet.

The spinning bug

2006-03-30T14:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I caught the spinning bug. I've been inspired by all the "knit spinners" (like Marnie's beautiful shawl and sweet georgia's gorgeous colorways) out there and finally took out my bosworth midi I got at Stitches West 2005, some pretty purple roving I got at the same time from carolina homespun, and voila:

I know, so its not that most even yarn. This is actually from day 2. Day 1's singles are even more uneven. Online I also found a new mag spindicity, videos from icanspin.
I'm taking a spinning class tomorrow night (one on one), hopefully all will go well. I have plans to drive up to carolina homespun on Sunday to check out some wheels (i.e. the Ashford Joy and the Lendrum double tread). Mind you, I've never been on a wheel yet! (not spinning wheels anyways, potter's wheels yes!) Oh, and I'm ordering some BFL and corriedale roving from coopermoose.

Chicken and Shitaki mushroom clay pot rice

2006-03-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Back from our vacation in San Diego and totally inspired by my sister and bil's cooking. Yum yum good! They are great cooks and really enjoy cooking. So I purchased a clay pot yesterday and cooked this up tonight:

See recipe here.
I used brown rice instead of white (Soak rice for 7+hrs. 1-1/4 c of rice and 2-1/2 c of water. simmer in lowest heat possible for about 45 minutes). I also added basmatic vinegar to the final sauce... Hmm, hmm good. Now, I'm inspired to find more clay pot recipes.

On the knitting front, I'm almost done with the left front of the must have. I ran out of yarn on the charlotte's web, but got a contrasting color yesterday (not a perfect match, but it will do). Not too much knitting the last 2 days, sick family.

Ribbit...

2006-03-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

Yep, frog time. Somehow I cannot get gauge with the Patons Classic merino. The pattern says size 7 needles 20 sts for 4". I'm using size 5 needles, and 18 sts for 4". I thought it might tighten up with all the cables. Not... So, you see it now and off to the frog pond it goes. Ribbit...

A little peekapoo view of the flower basket shawl for dd#1. I have 6 more days to finish it. Need to focus.

I also just checked out Loop 'd Loop from the library.

Charlotte's Web.. and the magic of blocking

2006-03-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

I've been made a believer. I've always fudged it and steamed block (ie iron the pieces). But look at this... The before:

and after:

I'm totally in love with this thing. I can hardly wait for it to dry, weave in ends and wear it. I'm so going to wear it to San Diego in less than 2 weeks. Yipee!
There is also going to be a lot more lace around here...
Specs:
Size 4.0mm needles
Koigu P426, P608, P107B, P807, P 816

I'm not going to add the fringe to charlotte's web. But I did do a picot edge:

*Cast on 2 sts using cable cast on, BO 4 sts using the traditional bind off, place remaining stitch on right needle back on left needle as if to purl* Repeat * to *

It took forever to do the picot bindoff, but so worth it. I think it took 1-1/2 hours just for the bindoff.

This is my first time knitting with Koigu KPPPM and I love the color variations. The vibrancy of the color, woo ah ah. I was never a shawl kinda gal, but hey I can be!
Still waiting on the "must have cardigan" pattern to arrive (haven't check the mailbox yet). But I already have the Noro Lily wound, pattern printed and ready to go.

Noro Lily

2006-03-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

There was a sale at our LYS and I scooped up 2 skeins of Noro Lily. I'm thinking about making a Flower Basket Shawl for dd#1. Aren't the colors pretty? Just perfect for an almost 5-1/2 year old.

20 more rows on charlotte's web and I'll be done. I actually prefer the shawl growing than the other way around. I casted on for Ene's shawl from scarfstyle last year and casting on 300+ stitches is really no fun and then messing up because I'm not familiar with the pattern. Yikes. With charlotte's web, I casted on 7 stitches, learned the pattern and at 275 sts a row I can spot a boo boo right away.

Progress and whats coming...

2006-03-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

Still chugging along with the Charlotte's Web, on row 96. So I guess I have 60 more rows to go. But the rows are getting longer and longer. I'm up to almost 200 stitches a row now.
I know its very colorful, but I love it.

I have the pattern coming for Paton's must have cardigan. So all I have to do is to order the yarn. I'm also eyeing Loop d Loop's fair isle short row pullover. Not sure about this one yet. I'm still trying to find a nice fair isle sweater pattern. I also just found out that the flower basket pattern is now free on IK's website. Yipee!

FO- bulky cabled sweater

2006-02-26T16:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, the sweater is all done. It was a quick and fun knit but I'm not that happy with the end result. The sweater is well, really bulky. It makes me look like a big muscle woman. I actually feel like the michelin man. DH says maybe the incredible hulk?! I don't think I'll knit anything else in super bulky yarn. I still need to fiddle around with the buttons some more. I did get some pretty cool wooden buttons for it.
I made the smallest size but used 5 skeins of yarn.

Here's a prorgess shot of Charlotte's web. I absolutely love this thing. The colors are not entirely accurate (grey skies). The pattern is written quite poorly, but I found a charlotte's web knitalong group on yahoo and a kind soul uploaded a chart which makes it quite easy to follow. I'm on row 53, almost 100 stitches across. Fun fun fun, I can hardly wait to work on it some more (if only the kiddos will cooperate). Its definitely not something I can knit and entertain them at the same time. You should see me with my counter, and 2 charts, post-its,... Quite a project.

I can't shake this tune out of my head. They played Barry Manilow's Copacabana in my aerobics class yesterday. Darn it... I can't get it out of my head! Its driving me nuts...
"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl
With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there..."

Charlotte's Web...

2006-02-25T14:19:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start on charlotte's web this weekend. The color in the picture is a bit more yellowish.

I'm all done with the Bulky Cabled Cardigan. Just need to pick up some buttons and will post a finished picture probably tomorrow (the last day of the winter olympics).

Miss Dashwood...

2006-02-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

Presenting Miss Dashwood from Knitty.com. Woo Hoo, a hat that actually fits dd#2! All the hats I knitted for her so far were all too big and the hats all fit to my 5 year old. That is until Miss Dashwood. I used Debbie Bliss Merino aran and size 6 needles. I purchased the yarn over a year ago for this hat. Somehow I thought thats what the pattern specified, only to find out that its cashmerino not merino aran. Needless to say, I didn't get gauge. I fudged it and knitted a size smaller. Used 2 skeins. A very fast and fun knit. I love the picot edge.

So what is going on with the bulky cabled cardigan? Well... I have everything (all my knitting) packed up for our little trip up to Marin, only to find out that I did not bring the yarn for the cardigan. Lucky for me, I packed Miss Dashwood as well. So back to the bulky cabled cardigan tonight.

Knitting Olympics - progress (kind of)

2006-02-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, so progress shot is a few days old. I'm already done with the body and one sleeve. I love this sweater so far. I tried it on a couple of times. The sleeves feel a little on the snug side, but we'll see. I was hoping to get it done this weekend, but no siree. I guess technically I have Monday as well since we have a long weekend.

Believe it or not, I'm ditching Stitches West and staying home to clean out my closet and crafts room. DH was going to watch the kids for a few hours while I shop for yarn, but I want the time to clean!!!
Next up on my queue: Koigu Charlotte's web
I have the yarn already, but no pattern!! I just hate to pay $5-6 for shipping for just a pattern.
Or, the must have cardigan.
I have always wanted a cabled sweater like this one for oh, 15-20 years. My mom knitted one for herself when I was in my teens, and I'd always wanted one. I thought I'd like a pullover, but the must have well is a must have. I'm thinking about knitting it in Patons Classic Merino in Dark Natural Mix
I'm also thinking about knitting something less intense, soemthing that requires less of my concentration or kids friendly knitting. You know, something with stockinette... But I don't know what yet.

How about this flourless brownie?
I'm back on the band wagon of trying to limit our wheat intake. Recipe can be found here - peanut butter brownies. I'll probably try some of their other recipes as well.

Counterpane Accessories Bag

2006-02-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

Counterpane Accessories Bag
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

Finished knitting the couterpane accessories bag from Handknit Holidays.
Jo Sharp Soho Summer, and size 6 needles. Trying to decide whether to use the plain blue liner or the vintage flowery one.

On the cabled sweater front, I'm not getting gauge with the yarn I purchased! I'm getting 12 sts, 19 rows to 4x4" where as the pattern calls for 10sts, 12 rows. What is a girl to do? Run over to the yarn store to get yarn. Well, I just went over to Joann's and got the yarn glampyre used. Will post pics and hopefully I'll get gauge and get started.

Counterpane accessories bag

2006-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

I'm working on this now from Handknit holidays using stash (Jo Sharp Soho summer in eggplant?).

Baby Bonnet

2006-02-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

IMG_2271
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

Finished the bonnet for dd#2 from Last Minute Knits. Yarn is from Mystical creations (frogged from knitting Clapotis). The bonnet is a bit big, but we'll see. DD#1 is eyeing it, so she might end up wearing it. What is it with hats anyways? They always end up too big for dd#2 and dd#1 has gazillion wool hats already. Here's a picture of bonnet on doll.

Knitting Olympics

2006-02-05T15:22:00.000-08:00

knittingolympics-1
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

I joined yarn harlot's knitting olympics. I'll be doing Glampyre's bulky cabled sweater with the dark forest green bulky aurora 8 I got for this very purpose. I signed up on Friday and later that afternoon heard about the knitting olympics on NPR (the yarn harlot was interviewed too).

Lady Eleanor

2006-02-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

Lady Eleanor
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

I finished her last night and I love it. I wore it out today and it was nice and warm. I used Karoke (50% wool, 50% soy silk). The knitting took almost 9 skeins. The fringe used up almost half a skein. I already started on a little hat for dd#2. More than half way done, hopefully I'll get it done in a day or 2.

Fairy House

2006-01-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

Fairy House
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

Not knitting related, but crafty. We gave dd#1 a "fairy house" kit for Christmas, inspired by wise craft. DD#1 got the frame (built by DH), 2 fairies and a basket with a few branches and moss. We then collected more branches. The yellowish green moss we collected while hiking at our hotel in Yosemite (2 years ago!). I tried to collect branches with lichen or moss on it already. This was great fun! For more pictures, click here.

Bubby from knitty

2005-12-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

Bubby from knitty
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

These 2 guys/gals will be nice and cozy inside dd#1 and dd#2's stockings in a few days. A fun and quick knit. DH says they look a bit long. I too am used to fat and chubby teddies, but these are definitely growing on me.

Lady Eleanor

2005-12-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Lady Eleanor
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

I was going to wait for my sister to start Lady Eleanor (we're having a mini-knitalong). But I just can't wait! I found the yarn, thanks to Lu. Its Karaoke 286 from Southwest Trading yarn. The yarn is nice and soft. There were 2 knots at the beginning of the first skein within 3-4 yards from each other. I was a bit worried. But no other knots in that skein. The color changes are subtle which I love. Entrelac is a bit addicting though. Not the best knit for this time of the year when I should be making gifts for the kiddos.

Crayon scarf from last minute knitted gifts

2005-12-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

Crayon scarf from last minute knitted gifts
Originally uploaded by knittyknitknit.

I'm actually done with this scarf. This is the in progress picture. Noro Kureyon 40 and 102. Really fun knit. A christmas present for dd#1. Its been cold around here!

New knitting bag

2005-11-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

My "new" knitting bag. I actually made this bag a couple of months ago. More pictures here. Just sitting there in the craft room. I was looking for a knitting bag and it called out: Me Me!! Okay then. I got the pattern from a japanese pattern book: ISBN483472235X.

I'm back!

2005-11-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Well, its knitting season again! Yay! I just finished Fletcher from Simply Noro. I love this sweater. Very warm and cozy and the colors are amazing. The only thing is, I ran out of yarn! I purchased the yarn the beginning of the year. I made the XS (yes, its still huge) and the pattern says 9 skeins. The size S is also 9 skeins, so I thought I'm alright and should have some leftover. No! The sleeves are 2-3" shorter than specified (which fits fine on me) but the hood is also 2-3" short. I probably won't have the hood on much anyways. So if you're planning on making fletcher get another skein. I read on someone else's blog that she needed 2 more skeins ( I guess she must be making the S).

I'm also working on the turtleneck shrug from scarfstyle using some Jo Sharp DK wool I got last year. I'm on the lookout for the right yarn for Lady Eleanor (also from scarfstyle). No luck so far. The specified yarn is beautiful, muted woodsy look, but $300! I was hoping (still hoping) to find the "right" Noro, but no luck yet. And the 4 (yes, I have 4) LYS are of no help. They either do not carry Noro anymore, or has a pitiful selection.

Sleeveless top from VK S/S2004

2005-08-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Finished the top in Vancouver BC.
I didn't do a gauge check and it turned out a little on the big side. I'm going to wash it in warm and machine dry it to see if it would shrink a little. I used Lions Brand Cotton-ease.
I'm also finishing up a pair of booties for a baby blessing way tomorrow. More pictures then.
Here's a view of the sunset from our hotel room close to Stanley Park. (I can't quite get the pictures to go where I want it to! Argh!)

2005-08-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

Inside, showing all the compartments. I'm all for getting organized. I just hate fishing around the purse for stuff.

2005-08-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I can't figure out how to do multiple pictures! Argh! I'm thinking about moving over to typepad.

2005-08-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been busy with my new venture. Not knitting related, but crafty nonetheless. Here are tow of the bags I made this week.. The butterfly is for dd#1 for our upcoming trip. The second one is for me. The ones for the new shop will be hmm... secret until the store opens.

Non-knitting content

2005-08-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

Warning: non-knitting content. DH and I finished reading HP - the half-blood prince this week. I thought it was lame... (sorry!) I even liked book V better than this one. DH had some insights about Snape being the good guy, how Dumbledore pleaded him to kill him. How Snape is the "good" guy. Okay, maybe the plot thickens...

Knitting wise, I'll hopefully be done with my current project in the next few days. I "delayed" the bolero (Just not too interested). Also thinking about starting another venture. More later on that...

Squib
You scored 28% Slytherin, 40% Ravenclaw, 36% Gryffindor, and 28% Hufflepuff!

Are you sure that you belong at Hogwarts? You show no defined personal characteristics and therefore no house preference. Perhaps you should seriously consider a lucrative career in dentistry or tax preparation -- or allow the Sorting Hat to redetermine your place at a later date.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 71% on Slytherin

You scored higher than 70% on Ravenclaw

You scored higher than 22% on Gryffindor

You scored higher than 30% on Hufflepuff

Link: The Sorting Hat Test written by leeannslytherin on Ok Cupid

2005-07-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

So, this is really boring. The raglan edge for my lace trim bolero. The back is done, but I got distracted with sewing. My new serger is a lot of fun. I made a couple of summer skirts (perfect for the hot weather) and a dress for dd#1. I'll try and get some pictures up. And now I'm really tempted to start one skein wonder. I mean its everywhere. I also ordered some Araucania
Nature cotton in turquoise. Yum!

2005-07-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

Overall, Your Observation Skills Get: B-

http://www.quizdiva.net/howobservant/observant-b.jpg"> %20color="#000000">Your senses are pretty sharp (okay, most of the time)And it takes something big to distract you!

Observant Are You?

2005-07-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Just a mental note for myself...
I love this little tank top. And this one.

Oh oh oh.. did you see the new sock yarn from knitpicks? I love the pumpkin color!

2005-07-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here's Lelah... I still need to crochet around the neckline. But I love it otherwise. I guess its been a while since I blogged. Knitting wise, I started on the the lace trim bolero from VK S/S 2005. So far so good. I'm using Jo Sharp Soho Summer light blue on size 4 needles.

My serger arrived and I finished a very simple summer skirt. I'll post a picture soon. I've been looking for simple summer skirts for a while now and boy is it a pain to go shopping for cloths. Shopping for fabric on the other hand is fun!

2005-07-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

I finished the little purse this morning. Yipee! Its a tad bit smaller than I want, but I love it nonetheless. I might make one slightly bigger for myself and give this one for dd#1. It has a snap closure. I'm still not sure what I'm going to knit next, but I might make one of these cute wallets!

2005-07-03T14:03:00.000-07:00

Lelah is done and on the blocking board. I love it. I got a green ribbon for the tie. I'm still deciding what to do next. Either tivoli or the isis wrap from Interweave Summer 05.

I'm really into making bags this week too. I made a tote bag for dd#2's stuff for eating out (picture later). I got some fabric yesterday and planning on making a little purse for myself (and probably a matching one for dd#1). I found wonderful instructions here. I'm putting metal snaps on the bag and was lucky enough to find the last pair at Joann's (they were put on clearance and I actually found the very last pair in one of the bins). Hopefully I can get started on the purse this weekend. I've been looking forever for the right purse, now maybe I can make one!

Today's conversation with dh:
Me: I'm going to the yarn store this afternoon, they have a sale.
DH: You just went to Joann's yesterday.
Me: Joann's is a fabric store. Yarn store sells yarn.
DH: I bet there must be a needle store, thread store,... (snicker)
Me: I wish! :)

Happy 4th!

2005-06-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Not knitting related, but crafts related nonetheless. We had a tie-dye party in our backyard yesterday, and I went a little overboard. It was my first tie-dye experience, so... The 2 shirts to the left are for moi. The 4 dresses, 2 pairs of leggings, and purple/yellow shirt are for dd#1, the pink/purple dress and romper for dd#2. Oh and we dyed 3 pairs of socks too. It took me almost all morning rinsing out all the dye. It was fun. I'm already planning our next tie-dye party. Somehow I dyed both pairs of dd#1's leggings blue. Should have dyed a pair of pink/red. I also am not too crazy about the purples. But I love my orange and purple shirt.

2005-06-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

The minisweater is done. And I love it! I'm thinking about making another one for the winter time, long sleeves with the fan and feather on the cuffs. Big thank yous for the wonderful pattern and Tami's addition.
2 balls of Lions Brand Cotton-Ease
Size 9 needles
Fan and feather pattern: multiple of 18 sts + 2
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K1, ** (3 (K2tog), 6 (YF, K), 3(K2tog)) repeat **, K1
Row 4: Knit

I've started swatching for my next project - Lelah. I'm using Jo Sharp Soho Summer again, the dark auberine. I'm also eyeing this pattern - the tivoli top. Oh, and have you seen these? I am so making one in cotton.

2005-06-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a copy cat! I feel guilty but when I saw this, I just have to have one. Yes, the same color even. I went down to Joann's and thats the best color they have. So I hope Blue Rose Knits don't mind. Remember imitation is the best form of flattery (or something like that).

2005-06-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

Wooo Ahhh.. yes, the flame stitch cardigan is all finished. And I love how it turned out. Please ignore the old t-shirt underneath, just wanted dh to take a quick pic before I run off. The pattern itself is chalk full of errors. OMG!! Thank goodness for knitflix modifications!
Yarn Used: Jo Sharp Soho Summer
Needles: Addi Turbos size 6 and size 8
I only used 8-1/2 skeins for the size Medium (the pattern said 12 skeins!!)

Have you seen these socks? Oh so cute! But I probably don't have anywhere to wear it to. I might still give it a go though...

Casted on my next project - the minisweater (longer version). I picked up some yarn from Joann's - Cottonease in a light purple. Its 50% cotton 50% acrylic. I'm really a bit weary about the acrylic content, but can't really find a good cotton sub.

Something else I'm eyeing - Lelah. I'll probably add straps to it. Thinking about getting the Pakucho Organic Cotton yarn from Elann.

2005-05-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I finished the front and back of flame stitch cardi. I really like how its coming along. I'm knitting the sleeves now. Hopefully I'll get one done today (or tomorrow). I already have my next project lined up - the minisweater by glampyre. I'm doing a longer version of the mini(like this one), so I guess it will be the not-so-mini sweater. I have some green cotton yarn from the poncho I started (never finished) last summer. I'll swatch it after the flame stitch cardi is done.

2005-05-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Got stuck on the flame stitch cardigan (the pattern is so full of errors its not even funny!), luckily knitflix came to the rescue. I finished the front right side this morning, and starting on the front left. Not too much to show. I hope I'll get the front and back done this weekend. We'll see. Good news is... I started and finished a pair of soaker shorts for dd#2. DH was complaining how her other soakers aren't fitting right and that I should knit another pair. I lanolized it yesterday, and its now blocking dry. The ties are done too. The yarn is from Mystical Yarn Creations. I frogged the clapotis. But this yarn is perfect for soakers. I might knit a little sweater for dd when it gets a bit warmer with this yarn. Size 7 needles. Soaker shorts pattern from http://www.littleturtleknits.com.

2005-05-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

This was taken a couple days ago. The color is quite a bit darker. I just finished the front/back divide and working on the neck and armhole decreases. A bit stuck right now. The pattern decreases and increases are affected when I do the neck/armhole decrease (i.e. the net number of stitches is off). Still trying to figure out how to handle this.

2005-05-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I changed my mind. I'm going to make the flame stitch cardigan in VK S/S 2005 instead of the lace short sleeve sweater. This is Jo Sharp Soho Summer in plum. The yarn is a little lighter in color IRL.

2005-05-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, a completed pair of socks. Knit picks yarn, size 1 addi turbos and Elann's chevron sock pattern. I really like this toe up pattern. It took a long time (I got distracted with some gardening). But I'm glad they're done and I can move onto the lace short sleeves sweater in Vintage Knits.

2005-04-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Managed to knit a couple more rows on Eme's Scarf. Its slow going since each row is still 290-300 stitches/row. And working with lace weight yarn has proven to be a PITA when it comes to frogging. Almost an impossible task for me. So I kept the stitch markers and count and recount everytime, which really slows down my knitting. In the sock knitting front, one done and one more to go.

2005-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pic of the sock in progress. I'm really digging this toe up pattern.

2005-04-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Zillah is done! I still have to block it. The fit is kind of strange, so I hope I can block it to fit better.

2005-04-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

What have we here? New pair of socks for moi. Knitpicks sock yarn and Elann sock it to me toe-up chevron pattern. My first pair of toe up socks. Size 1 needles.

All my yarn purchases arrived. Yipee! I was really looking forward to starting the short sleeved lace sweater in Vintage Knits, but just itching too much to do another pair of socks. I'm still working on Eme's Shawl, but progress is slooooow.

2005-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's what I have so far for Zillah. This picture is pretty true to color. The orange is bright! Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. I'll see if I like the finished product. DH likes the orange but he's not a color person. He can't tell the difference between peach and pink. This is the back piece and I'm done with the ribbing for the front and just started on the kureyon. The mindless stockinette is nice especially compared to the lace knitting - which I enjoy as well. So here's my strategy moving forward, 1 lace project and 1 non-lace going at the same time.

Yarn, yarn and more yarn....

2005-04-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

First off, I misplaced the charger to my digital camera. So no pictures. I took it with us to Marin last weekend, and I remember putting it in the suitcase. But no charger in sight. With a 1 year old in the house, it could be anywhere.

When I read about other people's stash, I always wondered how they can accumulate so much yarn. Someone says their stash of 200+ skeins is small. Thats huge for me. I have maybe 15 skeins and I get nervous when I have more than that. But this week, my fingers went shopping. There is a big sale at Webs, I got 3 bags of Jo Sharp Soho Summer (1 bag of Cloudless and 2 bags of Currant). I'm planning on knitting a couple of sweaters from Vintage Knits. I also got a bag of Jo Sharp DK Wool in wine and couple skeins of Cascade 220. I'm probably going to make the french market bag with the Cascade and a pair of soaker shorts for dd. Then I went to Little Knits and she has Noro Iro on sale for $12.99 a skein!! I've been wanting to knit Fletcher from Simply Noro for a while, but the yarn was selling for $20+ a skein. So I take this as a sign... :P The service at Little Knits is excellent. I got a personal email from her the same day saying the yarn was packed and will go out on Monday. Yay!

I picked up the VK Summer 05 on Friday and is it full of yummy patterns. I really like this shawl and this little sweater and this other sweater and this simple tank. Its going to be a busy knitting season!

2005-04-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

What do I have here you ask? Why its Zillah from Simply Noro. I'm still chugging along with the Ene's Shawl, but the lace work just does not go well DDs around. So I started the Zillah. The "red" is actually more orange red.

2005-04-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting the hang of this scarf. I knitted 5-6 rows in my last attempt (last post) and end up ripping it. I actually cut the yarn and threw it away in disgust. I decided at that point to give it one last try and here I am at row 25. The stitch markers helped tremendously. But the pattern decreases shifts the center repeats by 1 for the first 10 rows - which makes for very slow knitting. I'm having fun with it now however. I'd say once you're past the inital setup rows, you'd be fine. I'm knitting this using size 5 needles since the Knitpicks yarn is thinner than the yarn listed in the pattern.

What a pain! A whiny post.

2005-03-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, the shawl scarf was a major pain to get started. First casting on 375 sts was small task(for me). I counted, counted and recounted gazillion times. Then I frogged the first row about 5-6 times -> which translates to counting and recounting those 375 sts to make sure I start with the correct number of sts. That was yesterday, all day. Today I finally got past the first, second, third and now I'm on the fourth row. Not much to show for, but hopefully I get some momentum over the weekend. Yes, we're talking weekend (even though I'm a SAHM). We're taking a mini trip up to Marin. DD had the last 2 weeks off from preschool (I know, who cares if she misses a week). On our way home, I'm hoping we can stop by HMB Fuel and Feed store to pick up some baby chicks.

2005-03-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Lookie what I got in the mail today? 2 packages - 2 pairs of addis and yarn from Knitpicks. Sock yarn and "shimmer" (purple and turquoise) for Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style. The yarn is so so soft (70% alpaca and 30% silk). I'm getting ready to cast on.

I worked on the hot water cozy a bit this morning, but I'm afraid its probably going into UFO pile. I have till the end of May to finish it (school ends then, and I want to give it to dd#1's teacher then).

2005-03-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

I knitted a mouse for our kitty. I filled it with catnip, but somehow she doesn't like it. Hopefully she'll change her mind soon.

2005-03-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

I know its a bit boring, but here's what I've got for the hot water bottle cozy. This is a gift for the dd#1's preschool and the teacher prefers organic unprocessed yarn. The yarn does not show off the cabling that well. However, it is soft and sturdy. See that little strand of brownish yarn on the side? I put the yarn in the easter egg dye pot(red onion skin + water + vinegar) and I kind of like the color. Not sure if its right for the hot water bottle cozy though. The eggs turned out a beautiful brick red. I can hear the preschoolers already, complaining about the color looking like... you know..

I ordered some yarn from knitpicks, some sock yarn and "shimmer". Also ordered more Jo Sharp DK from Herrschner for a sweater in Vintage Knits, some Debbie Bliss Merino Aran for Knitty's Miss Dashwood. I really like color so I'm really not too motivated with the current project.

On the chicken coop front, dh is at home depot right now getting material for the coop. Yipee!

2005-03-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

My sockapalooza socks arrived today, all the way from Australia. I love the color and weight of the socks. Aren't they pretty? I like the different heel colors too, thank you so much Monique! I was actually wearing a burgundy top which matches the burgundy in the socks perfectly. I wore them for 1-1/2 hrs but then noticed my feet were cramping up. There is a seam down the middle of the socks and I thought I can ignore it but my feet don't like it too much. Any ideas on what I can do so I can wear these lovely socks? I'm going to lanolize to see if that would relax the seam some. Thank you again so much Monique, beautiful socks. Great color combination!

2005-03-21T11:02:00.000-08:00

I know, its not knitting related. I've seen lots of knitting blogs with cats and dogs pictures so I thought I'll follow suit. Yes, we're talking about chickens here. I don't have any yet, but looking and reading up on it. I'm thinking about getting 3 chickens and have dh build the poultry ark aka "chicken tractor". I'm going to start out with 1-2 day old chicks. I'm still deciding on the breed, probably medium size "layers". This chicken tractor design is really neat because you can move the tractor around your yard and let the chickens do their thing - fertilize and weed your yard. Eggs are a bonus too of course. Hubby thinks I'm a bit nuts at first but is warming up to the idea. :) If the chickens go well (I don't see why not) I'm planning on getting some rabbits next year. I have a calico cat already (indoor) and 3 little fishies for dd#1.

On the knitting front, I'm half way done with the 2 sock for my sister. No pictures yet... I ordered some addi turbos this weekend and getting ready to order some yarn form knitpicks for another pair of socks and maybe a shawl. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of what I'll be doing.

2005-03-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

Sent out the sockapalooza socks this morning. I know its a day late, but the kids nap time was all over the place yesterday . I got the postcard last night and walked over to the PO this morning. My sock pal lives in the same town so she'll probably get it tomorrow.

I'm on my second sock now. I'll post a picture of the FO after my sister receives them. I'm also working on a hot water cozy. I'm using the organic tweed yarn from Full Belly Farm. Not much to show yet, just casted on. The yarn is minimally processed, still loaded with lanolin and vegetative material.

2005-03-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

Yes, Rogue is done. Well, almost. Still a few more loose threads to weave. You won't believe what happened with seaming the shoulders. I had to rip out the first seam and redo it. Here I was with my scissors.. and I cut the shoulder seam off and part of the sleeve. I mean just cutting into the fabric cut. Yikes! I fixed it but was pretty pissed at myself. Anyways, here is rogue. I steam blocked it and will wet block it now. The sleeves are a little short but I should be able to get some length. Unfortunately, its a beautiful 75 degrees outside and I won't be able to wear the rogue during the day.

Seaming..

2005-03-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

Looks like I have enough yarnfor Rogue.. Yay!! I made the sleeves an inch shorter and I have barely enough yarn left to put everything together. Its that close!! Thank you yarn goddess! I'm seaming the sleeves right now. But boy, do I hate doing this!! I'm reading tips on joining and its coming out great. Have I mentioned I hate doing this? I'm almost done with the second sleeve, but still have to attach the sleeves to the armholes.
I also picked up yarn for a pair of birthday socks for my sis. The cotton/wool yarn doesn't seem to have much give at all. What gives? The yarn is specifically made for making socks, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Still no pictures today.. I'll try and finish up Rogue and post a pic of the FO tomorrow. Hopefully.

2005-03-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

I'm on the second sleeve now. I still can't tell if I'm going to run out of yarn or not. Its going to be very close. The 1st sleeve seems a bit long, so I might shorten it an inch or so if that will tie me over yarnwise. Wish me luck!
I'm having second thoughts about the mariah. I'm not sure I like the hood or the collar. I also cannot settle on a color. So maybe some time away from obsessing about it would help.
A couple of things I'm thinking about making. First the booga bag, I have 3 skeins of kureyon so that would be perfect. The hot water bottle cozy, I want to make one for us and one for DD's preschool as a farewell present (she's moving onto kindergarten). Whatelse? Maybe butterfly, or Gloria or Caraway (yes, all from Noro Knits by Jane Ellison). I glanced at Simply Noro at the LYS, bought it and realize I really like Noro Knits. The LYS has a no return policy on patterns! So, if anyone wants to trade with me, let me know! The book is in grand spanking new condition. I'm also looking for a sock pattern and sock yarn (a surprise present, so I won't be talking about it much here).
Hopefully I'll have enough yarn and I can finish up Rogue this weekend. More pics then.

2005-03-01T16:06:00.000-08:00

Almost done with the hood. I'm pretty happy with the grafting. You can still see the graft line, but steaming can pretty take care of it. I still have to graft the back of the hood and then onto the sleeves. Yipee! I only have 3 skeins of yarn left. May the yarn fairy be with me!

2005-02-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

The rogue is truly addictive. I woke up at 4am to knit. Then discovered at around 5:30am that I made a boo boo in one of the cables. Yes, the front one. I went back to bed. Thought about it, got up 1/2 hour later and frogged it back. It wasn't that bad really. I'm working on the left houlder right now. Not the greatest picture, but gives you an idea. I'm a little worried I might not have enough yarn to finish. Sigh! I got the yarn from webs at Stitches, and they still have the yarn online. Just don't know if its the same dye lot. I should know by Monday if I need to order more.
I can't get the mariah(in a moss green) off my mind. I would like to try the knitpick's wool of the andes, but a little hesitant about the quality. I read a review, and it seems okay. I really like Jo Sharp's DK yarn, so I might stick with it... or not.

2005-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, this pattern is truly addictive. Here's what I have so far. I was a reluctant to start. Remember the clapotis? Everyone seems to be in love with that pattern and I somehow don't share the love. I think its a great pattern, and dropping stitches is fun and all. But its just the same, row after row after row. I heard rave reviews about the rogue and so was a little hesitant. But I love this pattern! I can hardly put this thing down.
I don't know what I'm going to do with the bottom edge yet (I'll probably sew it down). I did provisional cast on and then twisted stockinette. I love the color of the yarn (its more rust than the picture shows) and the cabling is so much fun to do.

2005-02-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Finished my newsboy hat from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I love it. I've been having problems with sizing hats for the longest time. All the hats I knitted for my soon-to-be 1 year old fit my 4 year old.

I changed my mind so many times this weekend on what to knit next. I finally decided on the rogue using the Jo Sharp DK wool in Nasturtium. I was trying to find a pattern that would work with the Jo Sharp wool. I think most knitters work the reverse. Fall in love with a pattern and then find the yarn. I'm just always afraid that if I don't use up the yarn I'll end up with boxes and boxes full of yarn. (why that is a bad thing? I don't know!)
I'm still on the ribbing (twisted stockinette). Hopefully I'll get to the cables tonight and I'll snap a picture then. DD has the week off from school, so I might not get too much time to knit.

2005-02-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Finished the socks today. Now I just have to wash them and they'll be ready to go.

I'm going to swatch for the cabled newsboy cap from Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. I'm using Peruvian Collection Highland Wool in Aubergine. Its really cloudy today and the pics of the yarn are coming out blue instead of purple.

Yipee, and not so yipee

2005-02-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

Yipee! Finished one of my sockapalooza socks, started on the second one. I was going to switch back to the clapotis, but I'm actually quite enjoying the socks right now. So I thought I'll go with the grove.

And now the not so yipee part. DH's car got vandelised yesterday. He went to the mall at lunch (to pick up flowers and cards for me and dd#1, what a sweetie!) and on his way back to work, noticed a car following him. He didn't think much of it at the time, figuring its someone who works in his building. Leaving work last night, he noticed a deep scratch all around his car. The "guy" scratched every single panel of his car! Not just a light scratch, but deep where you see metal! So its not done by car keys. DH only drove 2 exits and didn't cut anyone off. So who knows what the deal is. Now he has to file a police report, deal with insurance and take the car into the shop... Anyways, some sick people out there.

2005-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines! I spun the yarn with my new spindle this weekend for dd#1. I put together a little sewing basket for her (included also is the red with pink heart needle book, a big metal needle and some burlap). The yarn is thick/thin but works great for her "sewing". She's only 4. The red heart on the right with the yellow patch, we felted in our playgroup this morning.

2005-02-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Stitches West was overwhelming. Tons of people and lots and lots of yummy yarn. Here's what I got. The Jo Sharp DK wool is for Blaze. The Brown Sheep cotton fleece for Brisa. The Noro is for a turtleneck top in Simply Noro. I also got a Bosworth Midi spindle and a CD spindle and some yummy coridale and merino roving. Now all I have to do is finish up the socks and the clapotis. Oh, and I found the yarn for my sister's socks (they don't have the color in stock, but they're local so I'll swing by the store next week).

Thinking about new projects...

2005-02-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

I'm not done with either the clapotis or thesocks. I'm aboutto do the 7th drop on my clap and start working on my socks again. Its so warm (65F) today I'm worried I won't get a chance to wear my clap before next winter. I guess Feb is a warm month, but it might get coolish in March-April.

I'm thinking about my next projects. I was originally thinking about doing the mariah or a cardigan in Vogue magazine, but don't really want to start something I won't get to wear until next winter. So I'm looking at blaze or brisa or a cute ruffled top in Vogue knitting magazine. I'd prefer a v-neck, but we'll see. I'll also be knitting something for my sister who reads this blog. I won't be posting pictures for obvious reasons. I just need to find out what color she prefers and I'll go look for a pattern. So sis, what color? solid or variegated?

I'll be going to Stitches West this weekend leaving the kiddos with daddy. I'm going to have about 2 hours. Any strategies on how to cover 200+ booths in that time frame?

2005-02-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

About to drop the 3rd stitch, 10 more to go and then the decrease. Somehow I'm not really feeling the clapotis love yet. I plan on switching back to the socks after I finish the 6th drop. Finish one sock and then back to the clap.

Oh, and take a look at this knitted tree house! DH thinks I'm nuts.