DYING for this weekend to arrive!

Cuz I got into Scout's dying class! YAY! I'll be going over to Knit One One for a dying workshop on Saturday and Sunday-I hadn't heard about it until just last week and somehow was able to get in! I'm so thrilled and can hardly wait!

And look what I completed...
The Malabrigo Loafers, acorn tassels and all!!!

And I decided what to make with the Silky Malabrigo...

The 'quick' adverb got to me, despite IrishGirlie voting for the Cowl of Kindness! But as you may or not notice from the photo, this is merely 1/2 a cowl and just about a completly knit skein. I only purchased one. Doh! Hopefully Article Pract will have a second one for me so I can finish it!

And Lil' Emp decided he liked those loafers, so I am going to endeavor to create his-sized slippers. My first thought was to use my lightweight STR, doubled and on smaller needles, but he seems to really like the Malabrigo and this color. Being that I actually had over 3.5 oz left of the Malabrigo (3.5 oz per skein, folks! so these were actually a 1-skein project for this small size!), I should have enough to do a second pair for LE. Hopefully the re-sizing won't be too much of a PITA! Wish me luck!

And so I'm a thief!

Anything to be able to post my new WoolGirl sock club kit! I got this last week and Nartian and IrishGirlie have pics posted to their blog-I stole this one from Nartian...


And I am so anxious to show off my RibbyPulli scoop, that I took this crappy-A pic of me in it! Yeah, uck! And this, folks, is why I am a Weight Watcher! And no, I am not pregnant, thank you very much! And yes, a better pic will be forthcoming...hmmm...like maybe I need to have Nartian take a pic for me tomorrow...But-it is DONE! Fine! Ends woven in this very evening after work as I discussed certain LYS STR arrivals with Nartian!

I think I can disguise this one!

Look at the detailing on this lovely Malabrigo loafer! Cool, huh? The color is Vaa and man, am I in love with this Coco Knits loafer pattern! Quick knit with sophisticated detailing. Once you finish knitting the sole, you pick up around it and end up knitting, oh, maybe 15 or so more rows and you are DONE! Of course, I do plan on knitting the suggested trims for it-acorn tassels, to be exact! And yes, they look way-cooler on a foot!
And a side view to better show the sophisticated shaping!

And I've started the second loafer-no 'Second Loafer Syndrome' for me! Plus, I'm trying to finish this pair for a dear friend's birthday!

So I guess it is time for confessions? Yeah-the yellow stuffing in the loafer is Silkie Alpaca-there is one other skein I bought...And the Lorna's Laces sportweight (the blue on the right) is one of three I purchased. But (as always...) I can 'splain! One of my cousin's daughters just graduated and will be attending UC Berkeley, so I decided to make her some Brioche socks that she can wear around the dorms! Uh-huh! Justified purchase! Oh-yeah!

So I suppose I should point out the wound ball behind the Alpaca Silk label...it is some Malabrigo Silky Merino which (so long as it gets completed!) will be another justified purchase; it's for my dear friend's daughter who is graduating. I plan on making her a cowl or neckwarmer. If I can only decide on a pattern! Right now I'm thinking of either the Cowl of Kindness that Nartian just knit or maybe Tudora or maybe a Mistake Rib neckwarmer...

So that was a a showing of some of my most recent purchases...

Yeah, if I only show ONE skein of each color, cleverly hide one in a finished object, and show one wound, it really won't look like I got all that much yarn, right?

And as for the Ribby Pulli Scoop? Let's just say it is going much slower than it looked in the last picture! Fingers crossed it is done in the next couple of weeks, but with the Loafers now ahead and the Cowl needing to happen...well, you know...maybe I'll have it done in a month!

Can this be the same blog?!

More knitting! Less purchases! What's going on here?

Not to worry, I'm sure I will have some stash enhancements or other such knitterly purchases to share with you soon. But remember, I just can't knit fast enough to keep up with my stash-and I need to go back to camp next year! So what is a gal to do...?

Well, I actually haven't knit much, but at least this is starting to look like a top, don't you think?

I was so busy working on it, that I blew past a row of increases! By two rows! So I was a bit delayed in having to frog back a few rows, but I will perservere. All I want to know is-where the heck did the focus come from all of a sudden? But not to worry...2 projects are soooo close to being cast on! Hint: Malabrigo worsted and Malabrigo Silky Merino...

BTW, blogging is slower these days-lots of computer problems! Sucks, really...

Deep in the forest...

...is a canopy--but not of leaves! No, this one is knit of the finest of Ravens wings...the most rockin' wings that could ever be because this, my friends is the Rockin' Tlingit Canopy Shawl!

Here it is, blocking...not the best job, but I tried!

A close-up of the detailing...as always, it is difficult to capture the loveliness that are the Ravens...

And this, prior to blocking...

I'm sure it is no surprise to Nartian to see this posted! Only hours ago did I share with her how I was so close to being finished I could taste it! It was hard to put it down while I did my work, but alas, the work day ended!

Knitting and a bit o' retro!

Well, I'm going to have to call this finished!

I finished the little Shakti baby hat to match the Shakti baby sweater. I loved that neckline finish so much that I wanted to use it for the hat. I used the same lace leaf motif, only I added a half repeat of the lace to add a bit of symetry to it. I thought it would be fun to do more of a 'beret-style' and for the top, ended with an I-cord, shaping it into what I thought was a bit of an enlongated leaf, which I tacked down.




After consulting with Nartian as to whether I should pull it out and wrap the I-cord end inward to make the leaf center a bit 'chubbier' (and perhaps more leaf-shaped), I proceeded to attempt this. Unfortunately, I did such a good job sewing and shaping the leaf, that I couldn't undo it! DRAT! So instead, I tried to pull it tighter, forming a pudgier middle, and left it sticking out (sort of...)


And the latest Rockin' Sock Club kit came today!

The pattern, Cleopatra, by Yarnissima, a designer I learned of through (who else?) Nartian and whose patterns I admire...

The color is Incredible Shrinking Violet! When I think of "Shrinking Violet", it brings back memories of an old 70's doll with a pull string talking device. "I'm called Shrinking Violet..."

Ok, my memories are from the 70's, but apparently Shrinking Violet was a 60's doll by Mattel:
"RARE 1963 MATTEL WORKING
SHRINKIN VIOLETTE TALKING DOLL
She is one sought after by many RARE TO FIND MATTEL DOLL FROM THE 60'S
She is adorable and in working condition. Shrinkin Violette does talk ! She says things like "I have butterflies in my tummy", "I wish people wouldn't look at me", "I'm called Shrinking Violet", "I'm just afraid of everything", "People are all so big". Her mouth and right eye do move when she talks. She does have stitching around her neck, and at the crotch area. She is in played with loved condition . Shrinkin Violet is one tough doll to find in working condition or at all, only made for one year by Mattel in 1963."

The only pic I could find of her on the internet is at the same site where I got the above:
http://www.a2zdolls.com/mattel.html

You have to scroll past the cluster of witches and past the ballerina babies-two past Tippee Toes (which, btw, I happen to have had one of those-horse and all!)

I found this background on the doll to be interesting, too...What I never knew about this strange, pull string doll we had for ages. I'm sure my mom must have gotten her second-hand at a White Elephant sale, but as I see the picture of Shrinking Violet again and read over all her phrases, I realize that I had forgotten the many phrases she would repeat-and that I had memorized back then! I can recall her purple cotton dress with the lace on the sleeves...memories! Am I really that old?! (And, BTW, the Shrinking Violette doll is older than me, just for the record!)

I was unaware of DC comic's superhero that Tina refers to in her Dyer's notes, but upon Googling Shrinking Violet, I was interested to learn: "She decided to put aside her plans to become a psychotherapist or a detective to become a member of the Legion." Interesting...was our Depraved Dyer aware of Shrinking Violets prior plans of becoming a psychotherapist? Could this be the draw to the superhero by our former-therapist Depraved Dyer?...?