Why am I blogging...?

When I should be getting to bed?!

Well...you don't just go to work Stitches West, come home and go to sleep, that's why! It's just not like that! Especially when I got to see and spend seven hours with Cockeyed, Etta Mae and IrishGirlieKnits!!!

Here's Cockeyed, doing the 'serious' setting up the booth thing!

This is Etta Mae showing me the back of "Michael's" shirt. He's working with
Cat Bordhi on some iPhone knitting application...Sounds cool. I have no iPhone...

I mean, just LOOK at all this Blue Moon Fiber Arts goodness I was surrounded by!

The whole left side? Socks that Rock! That rack in the front
(right side of pic, left side of table...) is all Mill Ends! And if you look carefully in the center back,
you can see a couple of the sample shawls!

Sandi and Nathania dashed over and found stuff to add to their personal stashes! And they have full access to the stuff since they own Purlescence Yarns, the only California retailers!

Can you tell they are happy?!
Purlescence Yarns will be hostessing an After Stitches
"Show off Your Stitches West Purchases" aftershow get-together
at their shop on Saturday evening

Market closed up at 8pm and we were out fairly shortly thereafter. Cockeyed decided this was a picture she could not miss...

Yeah, as snail on a RAIL! Hmm...I think she was getting tired and needed to get back to her room for a little winding down! Yes, Cockeyed, we DO have snails in California!

So back to the Convention Center tomorrow, bright and early for another day!

Just in Time for Stitches West?

Do any of you remember this post, when I received my merino roving from Scout dyed in the "Pomegranate" colorway?

Well, I happened to pull a bag out with what I had spun of it and realized I only had a few feet left to spin! So the other night, I focused my efforts on spindling up the rest of the roving. I cheated a bit in that Lil' Emp decided he wanted to spin, so he actually spun up some of it. So here are his efforts:



And here, all my Pomegranate roving, ALL SPUN UP!!! I sure hope it will be enough for a pair of socks!

So now that I've spun up a whole braid of roving, does this mean I get to buy more at Stitches West?! OK, for the record, Nartian and IrishGirlieKnits--NO Addi Clicks, NO Signature DPNs, NO patterns, NO MORE ROVING (I already got the Pigeon Roof Studios bonus last time at Article Pract and supported our local artist!) SOCK CAMP! SOCK CAMP! SOCK CAMP!!!

The good thing is that, though I willl be at SW this whole weekend, at least I will be kept busy working and hopefully won't have time to do too much damage. It is not realistic to think I will not purchase a thing, but I think it is reasonable to try and be much more controlled this time around! We'll see...

TWO MORE DAYS!!!! I'm sooooo excited!

ETA: ok, we often say we shouldn't present all 'nos' to little kids. So on the positive side: YES, I may purchase a reasonable amount of STR (a couple for gifts, maybe one or two for me...), YES, I may purchase a spindle (it's my Carolina Homespun/Stitches/TKGA tradition!), and perhaps one or two other special somethings...I will have fun! I will see great friends!

Home Again, Home Again!

Ahhhh...to sleep in a warm, soft, comfy bed and have my feet up! To have the time to start my Queen of Beads!

These are finally started and I have reached the gusset!
I'm only beading the cuff...

We are back from a 3-day outdoor education that we helped chaperon. Lil' Emp's class went with the the other 3rd grade class to Point Reyes for a 3-day outdoor education. The facilities there are very nice, but let's face it-it was cabin camping!

As if I even had a desire to take a lukewarm shower in the freezing cold, I never really would have had the time to do it anyway! I was assigned to the Kitchen Crew and was kept pretty busy if not prepping, cooking or serving, then trying to be a participative parent in spending family time with Lil' Emp and SassyMan during the 'family' activities or looking after 'my girls' who were assigned to me since they were without parents. Love the girls, but waiting around for them to get ready meant I had little in between time.

I'm happy to report that I survived and am back home! I had very little knitting time at "camp", but managed to finish both hats for the teachers-one of them I had to rip back several times to get the right shaping of the top (it was too "coned" at first and after consulting with Nartian, decided it would be prudent to rip back and decrease every row vs. every-other...) WELL...I kinda had forgotten how many stitches I had and having finished a nearly-identical one for the other teacher, went into autopilot and went with the same stitch count. Bad idea, as one hat was fine decreasing every 6 stitches, while this other had needed to be decreased every 8! But I enjoyed showing one of the girls how to purl and decrease at the same time, so it was a worthwhile task.

No pics, as they are given away!

Before leaving on the trip, I stayed up late stringing my beads. I had wound the balls the night prior to discover 3 'sneaky' knots. I call them 'sneaky', as they consist of one ply, knotted, then spun with the second ply so that only one side is knotted. I cut where each knot was; hopefully the larger of the three balls of yarn will be enough for the one sock. And if I'm REALLY lucky, the second ball will also be enough for the other sock!

I've been lazy and recovering, but I will admit that Point Reyes is gorgeous...even in the Winter cold!

Clem Miller was our home for 3 days and 2 nights

And a very positive? It is now POURING down rain! We had a bit while on the trip, but luckily we missed the heavier rains.

On the first day, there was a small bit of rain; the kids had to hike down to the
Education Center since the bus was not allowed access all the way down

On Day 2, the kids hiked down to the beach, had lunch, flew kites and
made s'mores; the weather held out nicely for them that day!

And what would these pics be without knitting content?!
Handknit socks abound, as one of the dads on the trip promised
his wife (my bud, Knit One, Bling 2!) he would be wearing his handknit socks
while on the trip! So I photo-documented to keep him out of trouble!

And the same knitter had made socks for the teachers!
So of course, I had to show her that he wore his, too!

And to offer up my last knitting-related item: turns out that the women who direct the program are knitter! So they told me about a store in Petaluma that I will have to put on my list to visit!

Just think...all this--a little over an hours drive from San Francisco!A view Lil' Emp captured while on his hike

An Egret spotted on our way to set up lunch on the beach

Inspired Knitting

I love having knitting buddies! Especially ones who are so close that I get to see all their stuff (usually) first, before it hits their blog!

The very cool thing is that when I see something in person, I can get a better sense of what the pattern is like and if I'd like to knit the same thing, too...AND I get inspired by having knitted FO's before my very eyes!

And so was the case when I saw Nartian's Bella Mittens! They were so cute and I realized that right around the very same time I first saw them, I had just (again) promised to knit my niece a pair! Mind you, this child is patient. She has asked for mittens and been waiting on them for a good two years, I'd say!

I don't know why it was taking me so long to do. Maybe the thought or prospect of having to find the 'right' mitten pattern, sized for a child, not a tot? Maybe the prospect of having to re-size a pattern written for a tot and not quite being in the mood to do it?

Well, when I saw the Bella's Mittens, knit in bulky, I was ecstatic! I could knit this pattern in worsted and be done in a snap! And not have to resize (thinking this as I kept my fingers crossed!)

In the long-run, I started it in Cherry Tree Hill Sockitome "Spanish Moss" colorway, doubled. I finished one, but had to put it aside to work on last minute hats for a school trip. Now that I've finished one hat, I am reconsidering my deadline of (tomorrow) and thinking perhaps they will be an "in a week more" knit, rather than "by tomorrow"...!

So here is one completed mitt; I left off the first two or so repeats of the horseshoe cable to make for shorter mittens, starting at "Row 16", casting on 41 instead of 43 stitches.

A Proud Moment In Time...

...like when I finish a pair of mitts in a week! (For me, a week is GOOD...!) Even better is if I would get around to posting the finished product! So behold, the lovely Envy Flower fingerless mitts designed by Syvia Harding for the "Seven Deadly S(p)ins" club by The Unique Sheep!

Can I tell you all how much I LOVE these mitts? OK, let me tell you-I LOVE these mitts! I initially thought-"Oh, I can be all clever and add the thumb." Of course, someone on the Rav list had mentioned wanting to do that, then Kelly of The Unique Sheep said that you could knit the pattern as is, then seam it down the thumb area.

In the long-run, I decided that if I were to fashion the thumb separately, it would affect the overall look/design of these mitts. And this is where I think Syvia did such a wonderful job on this design: it truly does look like and enviable flower knit as is. I feared ruining that look if I were to make a shaped thumb and I am pretty sure I was right about that! And Kelly is one smart cookie in that she figured that out, as well in that she suggested a simple seam. This idea, I think, would create the desired separate thumb area without compromising the blossoming flower look.

I'm glad I left it alone. I love the lotus-blossom look to these gloves and like the idea of being able to cuff them up when it gets too warm because if I were to remove them, I'd probably lose one or both!

And at long-last, a second pair of Malabrigo Loafers. In this case, not-Malabrigo loafers since I knit this using double-stranded Wool of the Andes for the soles and Mountain Colors Weaver's Wool, doubled for the tops. Finally finished to give to a good friend so he can be a good son and gift them to his mother! (Truly, a continuous gifting of Shisheido moisturizing cream, no matter how pricey, must get old after a while...I took pity. Probably more so on my friend's mom than him, since he seems to have no problem re-running the same gift idea in a continuous loop! Or maybe this was because I couldn't deal with the idea!)

Color Ponderance

Iwas playing a bit with my spinning the morning and realized how spinning serves a constant reminder to me that color is not finite. We think we see one color, but is it really? It can really be so many more colors that combine into one and we don't realize that there are other hues within.

Take for instance, the Pigeon Roof Studios roving I bought (in a moment of weakness) the other week:

I love this roving! I loved the flash of aqua and plum mixed with the gold, brown and dark chocolate against the natural background. But I never imagined that this...


Would end up looking like this...
The aqua/blue blended in with a very subtle showing. The plum probably wasn't heavily present in the small bit I spun, but there is little to no evidence of it ever being part of the beginning colors.


I guess this was kind of a 'blending colors' moment in my week, since I was also knitting a square to contribute for a blanket for Alison Hyde (ETA: Nartian told me about Nathania's post, I thought I'd participate in participating in contributing a block or two, Tina blogged about Alison...and after reading her blog, especially this entry, I confirmed she is exactly as wonderful as all say she is...not that I doubted...) I used the Spunky Ecclectic Route 66 together with the Miss Babs Waterfall to result in this...

Apparently, she likes blues. The Route 66, though yellowish/cream to the eye, blended quite nicely with the Waterfalls resulting in a square that reads pretty 'blue' for the most part.

And speaking of color blending and blues, I will now share with you my first Rockin' Sock Club colorway of 2009...



This is our first shipment that included a Syvia Harding beaded sock pattern, so it came with beads, too.

No, as Tina points out in her Dyer's Notes, this is NOT a semi-solid, nor is it a 'watercolor' colorway. It is MULTICOLORED. Some members in the past had incorrectly referred to past shipments as "semi-solids" and whined at how tired they were of getting all semi-solids from BMFA as club yarn.

Well, I guess I'm just one of her "rabbid fans" because I loved all of them! I didn't see the first four shipments as 'semi-soid' at all; Nartian, being the more cranial of us two (I'm the 'feely', she's the 'thinky' ;) ), was able to break it all down and make the observation and correctly classify them into Watercolors, Multi and Semi-solid on Ravelry, but some people just don't get it...But I think Tina tried her best to explain this particular colorway in this shipment's Dyer's Notes and pointed out there are FIVE different colors in this skein.

And it is so...


...I counted!

The Photoless Edition...a blogging 'quickie'!

HEY! All my links in the side bar (well, just about all...) have disappeared! What's up with that? I need some serious help! Rocky, if you are reading this, are you able to check or fix my margins? I think that's why alot of stuff won't fit in the sidebar and don't show up.

I'm also thinking perhaps some of my other stuff somehow got erased when I was in that stupid "Edit Html" mode! (Thanks for the help on that, guys!)

OK, will post more later. I have the new fingerless Syvia Harding mitts nearly completed. No progress on the Count Clucks, as the progress seems to keep going backwards then forwards. You know, the ebb and flow effect?

Oh, and one other thing: if you are ever in Oakland-do NOT eat at Ozumo! I will fill you in on my horrible experience at that place later! Lucky for you, Dear Readers, that I have calmed down since and probably won't spout off and go on and on nearly as much as I might have a day ago...

Obsessive Knitting...that will make you GREEN with ENVY!!!

OK, so I just spoiled for anyone in the Seven Deadly Spins Club! It was a 50/50 chance we'd be getting Envy and not Lust, but I figured most of you know I'm not the blog to go to if avoiding spoilers. Besides, I think most of us have our kits anyway!

In case I have just spoiled and you don't want to see anymore, do not read further. I will do a little spacing inbetween this portion and the pic...



SPOILER WARNING!!!!



SPOILER WARNING!!!!




SPOILER WARNING!!!!


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I received my 7 Deadly Spins Kit yesterday morning. It is so gorgeous that I HAD to cast-on for this one immediately: fingerless beaded gloves! A Syvia Harding pattern paired with gorgeous "Houseblend" yarn for the Unique Sheep, dyed in a beautiful "Celedon Green" (that's how *I'm* describing it!) color!

This kit came complete with beads and hook. We also got a green pen and hand lotion!

So I have been obsessed with working on these and am having a hard time putting them down-and believe me, I need to since I need to be working on housework! But they are so addictive it's not even funny!


It is a DK weight yarn of alpaca, silk and I think merino. Very soft and very luscious!

And guess who's in town? It's my canine neice, Nico!!!

And a last picture to share of Lil' Emp's picture he took today...

He caught a pic of the squirrel we'd seen in the park today, after it had been scared up the tree. The Emp had fun using the camera at the aquarium today; we stopped by there for a couple of hours to check it out. We got in on our family pass, so it was a quick in and out for a short visit.

Where does the weekend go, I ask?!

The Leyburn Edition...

It's the LEYBURN EDITION!!!

But first, I have to ask you other eBloggers: when you add pics to your post, are you only seeing the coding rather than the pic in your draft post? I have to ask cuz I used to get a view of the pic, and I would cut and paste them around; now I'm getting the coding for the pic and I can't tell which it is (when I load more than one pic) without first previewing. Highly inconvenient for someone like me! So either I accidentally changed a setting, or Blogger has changed how we view our drafts!

And now, on to the post...So I finally finished my first pair of Leyburns, done in lightweight, cuff-down. I will confess to you that these do not match. At all. The cuffs on the second are a good 3/4" shorter than the first!

I think that what happened is when I was at Purlescence, I was so close to working on the heel flap, that I assumed I was up to that point and just forged through without double-checking it to my first sock! Either that, or when I checked the two, I hadn't aligned them properly.

Admittedly, I did notice half-way into the foot and even considered tearing back. But when I tried them on together, I decided they weren't that obviously different in length. So I plugged on. I ended up with a different number of stitches at the end and shaped the toe a tad differently, too. What can I say? I can be that way. Alot.




So I am happy to report that I also started my second pair of Leyburn! This pair is using medium weight (I assume all of you know these are both Socks that Rock, but I suppose I should say so...after all, *someone* may read this who doesn't know these are all about Socks that Rock since they are both being knit as part of our massive Ravelry Socks that Rawk Leyburn KAL...)Socks that Rock in the Count Cluckula colorway that I immediately fell in love with when it was first released!

I brought it to the zoo on Monday so that I could take a picture of it in the sunlight. The colors got a bit too bleached out by the daylight, but what the heck...



And progress-to-date, since I just took this pic this evening! Nartian can attest to the fact that these were further along this morning. I realized that perhaps the "norwegian heel" I was trying out was a bit too short and the gusset a bit too small. So I tore the puppy back. Torn back after a beautifully gorgeous heel turn that I was so proud of! And a lovely heel flap so nicely attached, too-now gone! But it goes to show that I'm not always so bad and lazy in the frogging department. I'm just a selective frogger is all...



ETA: so I just looked at my post and see that the pictures I took of the Count Cluckula look quite similar in color!-lol! Go figure! OK, so they look much like that, I guess. Actually, I would say a tad darker, but maybe Nartian will comment on that, since she sees them in person often! ;)

I feel like this today!

And perhaps later I will have time to show my finished Leyburns!

It's ba-ack!...The Stinkin' Quick Crocheted Neckwarmer

So I previously posted my crocheted neckwarmer in the last post. It's not a big deal, but I'm so impressed with what a quick crochet it was and how lovely the stitch pattern crocheted up that I thought I'd share.

Ravelry doesn't want me putting the instructions in my notes section of the project, so I'm posting it here. Maybe you'd be interested, maybe not. But I thought I'd share anyway.


If it is illegal for me to post a stitch pattern, let me know. And there will be no more free pattern!



Here is my "pattern":

The Stinkin' Quick Crocheted Neckwarmer
I was delighted to find this stitch pattern out of a Crochet Dictionary I had lying around. It is the "pattern stitch 71, "Osier Stitch" found in "The New Crochet Dictionary" by Rhoda Ochser Goldberg, a Crown Trade Paperbacks publication copywrite 1986.





Chain 24 (Foundation chain row)
Row 1: Ch3, (1dc, ch2, 1sc) in first st, *skip 2 sts, (2dc, ch2, 1sc) in next st* rep *to*
Row 2: Ch2, *(2dc, ch2, 1sc) in ch space*, rep *to*
Repeat row 2 for pattern.

I just kept crocheting the pattern until I nearly ran out of yarn (or to desired length around), then used a single crochet to seam the ends together.

This was such a quick project! Only one repeatitive row and easy to memorize-this was completed in one day (2 spurts of very limited crocheting time!)

The Crochet Edition...

I am very pleased with myself. I started, well...an unknown project, supposedly a scarf. I started my project yesterday and I finished it TODAY! Due to lack of yarn, it really ended up being a neckwarmer, but I'm very happy with it!

You see, there is a woman on Ravelry who decided to sell a bunch of purple scarves to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer research. Thread is here. I offered to send her some purple yarn and in addition to snagging up purple yarn from generous souls at Purlescence Yarns Sunday, I thought it would be nice to perhaps make a scarf to contribute, as well. Among the purple castaways was a mohair-ish (yes, the stuff I'm allergic to!) nubby-light yarn, seemingly DK weight that someone threw at me as I stuffed the last of the purple yarn into a bag.

I decided that I would use it to make a scarf to include. It was just the one skein.

Faced with the prospect of starting yet another project, and seeking a 'quick fix', I decided to crochet a scarf with this skein.

Long story longer...the pattern I chose from Rav seemed to be missing a part of one of the rows in the instructions. I had to rip this glue-grip hold mohair back a few inches and dug through this crappy old crochet book I had picked up from some second-hand somesuch place.



Low and behold, a WONDERFUL crocheted stitch! See for yourselves...



Once you crochet the set-up row and knit the second, the rest is all a repeat of the same row 2! Gotta love that!

In the long-run, I didn't have nearly the amount necessary for a scarf. So I seamed it and made a neckwarmer! Ta-DUH!

I'm not so lazy afterall...

Because I not only finished that baby hat to send, but decided that yes, I would make some booties to go with.

The "Ruth's Perfect Baby Booties" was a great pattern to use , thougn it is knit flat and annoying to seam. Well, that is for me who seldom seams so each time seems like a grand adventure. Sure, I've learned seaming and oohed and ahhhhed at how wonderfully nice my seams look every time I have seamed swatches in various workshops and classes. Funny-seems that every TKGA class, no matter what the title, always touched on seaming!

Anyways, I seamed BOTH booties before realizing that-oops!-the cuff folds over and the seam is not showing! I seriously contemplated leaving it, but as if it isn't enough pressure making knit items for other knitters, this is for the baby of a very accomplished, amazing knitter! So I undid. And re-seamed. And it isn't an impressive seaming job, but at least it wasn't the crap that I had originally.

So now the big challenge is to get these sent out before the baby outgrows it!



And now to indulge Purple Rain Knitter...

I went to Article Pract and was so proud of myself since I only purchased some basic yarn to make a hat for my cousin-in-law. But as I was walking out of the store, this roving caught my eye. Those of you familiar with Pigeon Roof Studios would recognize her work straight-off, and I did...! And, of course, despite Nartian chanting, 'Sock camp, sock camp..." at me, I about-faced and brought it straight to the cash register and bought it! The colorway is "Harlequin"...



And Purlescence was having a de-stash event yesterday. I of course had to go so I could spend 'quality time' with Nartian and see IrishGirlie who I'd not seen in a while! Well, ok, I was also on a quest to possibly get rid of some yarn and to snag up a skein of STR in Basan or Scaponia. When I first thought Basan was sold out, I reasoned with IrishGirlie that the Dream in Color semi-solid (this one, in "Cinnamon Girl")Nathania had tempted us with was all I needed and a wiser purchase (the reasoning being-it's worsted weight and would therefore have a better chance of getting knit up; if not for me, then as a quick gift knit...). Wouldn't you know-no sooner have I made the purchase, Irishgirlie says, "Look what I found!" Yeah...seriously. I was being called on the carpet. Afterall, was not a large part of my quest to acquire such fine colorway that is, Basan?...



Seriously, though...as if the colorways are not gorgeous enough in their skein form, once you see some of them knit-up, they become these incredible must-get yarns!

As for the destash yarn I came away with? Well...I will have to save that for another time. But I am being held accountable for the use of it, so I will definitely have to follow up on that!

Another decadent recipe-or so I am told...!

My cousin reported having read my blog and mustering up the nerve to try making the Turtle bars. She had success, so basically, me and my quilting buddies have forgotten to bake! Either that or we all have bad karma. Or maybe we are so into quilting/knitting that we lost the baking edge!

At any rate, she asked if I had any other recipes to pass on. I told her that she needed to send me some of the turtle bars so I could confirm they came out. I am yet to get them!

But alas, JustJen at Rav (and fellow Sock Camper) sent some reportedly decadent brownies to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Tina blogged about it, which caused such a stir that Jen pasted it right into the comments. So here is Jen's recipe, in case you are not in the Rockin' Sock Club and/or do not read the blog...

Caramel-Pecan Brownies aka Eeeeeevil Brownies
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (Yeah, I know. More sugar than flour.)
1 package (14 ounces) caramel squares*
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups pecan pieces, divided (walnuts work, too)
1 12-oz package (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
* You’re not s’posed to eat ‘em while you unwrap them. Really. (I buy ‘em in bulk and use my yarn scale to weigh out 14 oz.)
1. Preheat oven to 350 (325 for glass dish). Line 13×9 baking dish with foil extending over edges to form handles. Do NOT skip this step, because the caramel will try to meld with the side of the pan. You can peel the foil off of the caramel layer. It’s difficult to peel the pan off.
- Coat foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In large microwave-safe bowl, microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter on High for 2 minutes, or until butter is melted.
- Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir sugar into chocolate mixture until well blended.
- Mix in eggs.
- Stir in flour.
- Spread half of batter into pan.
3. Bake 25 minutes, or until firm to touch. (It’s about 20 min., in my oven.)
- Meanwhile, in another microwave-safe bowl, microwave caramels and cream on High for 2 minutes, or until caramels begin to melt.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Stir in 1 cup nuts.
- Gently spread caramel mixture over baked brownie in pan.
- Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Pour remaining batter evenly over caramel mixture, sprinkle with remaining nuts (some caramel may peek through).
4. Bake 30 minutes or until firm to touch. (It’s about 35 min., in my oven)
- Cool in pan.
- Run knife around edge of pan.
- Lift from pan using foil as handles.
- Cut into squares and hide from everyone in the house!


So I promised Purple Rain Knitter a view of my recent purchases, since I was at Article Pract last week and happened to go to Purlescence, too! I need to take the pics and load them, then I shall indulge my dear Purple Rain Knitter!

Knitting in the New Year

Ha! I have started my Moebius of Peace! And when I think of peace lately, the Natalie Merchant version of Peace Train runs through my head. Oh...and the repetitive mass verbiage: "Go in Peace"... "Peace be with You" (and when Disco has said that, my automatic mental response was, "And also with you."!-lol! Sorry, some things just get pounded into memory and are rote responses that are trained into our brains in Catholic school!)

But here you have it...my first ever moebius...

This is a combination of Cotton Twist in an apple green, combined with some hand-painted nubby stuff of which I forget what it is called and what company dyed it. All I know is that I got it about a year and a half ago in Sacramento while up there for PTA convention at Rumplestelskein.

I think I had also mentioned gift knitting still in progress...

Yet another cowl out of a silk tweed aran, using the same lattice lace pattern as the "Green Cowl Gone Wrong" I had earlier made, based on the Cafe Latte mitts. Still a bit early to see the patterning.

And I told you about the Ravelry Cake and the Bring Back the Cake group? Well, there was a thread suggesting a cake KAL/CAL. I was planning on participating, then we got the cake back. I am still knitting up a cake to send to Casey-this time as a thank you, rather than a boo-hoo...

Yes, it is acrylic yarn! Vanna's Choice and as much as many don't like even Vanna's but for knitting, I am finding it pleasant to knit. Not like wool, but definitely not horrible for knitting.

And a little progress on the Leyburn KAL socks:

BMFA Socks that Rock lightweight in Seal Rock!

I finished this before Christmas, but left it at Lil' Emps' school in a cabinet. (Gads, I hate this ADA Upgrade project! The office and faculty lounge are in two separate bungalows and I forget things when they are spread out in two locations!) This is knit with some of the Malabrigo Privada I had gotten and grown to love! I should make matching booties, but I'm afraid they won't get done if I do!

A gift for a special baby that was born before Christmas.
I need to wrap it and send it out with some other goodies. (ETA: this is the Jester Hat found for free on Ravelry, written for Bulky yarn, but I knit in worsted to make it smaller) I lengthened the ribbing
and stockinette in hopes this will make for a more versatile had that can be worn longer.

And this concludes the current 'focus' projects for the time being! Thanks for stopping by to see what's up!

Knit in Peace!

So the wonderful Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts has put out a call to knit peace, and I want to pass on her message...

http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/site/entry/a_call_to_knitpeace/

As we often sang in school..., "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me..."

We all take in the message and wish so hard for things to be better. Different. Acceptance of our diffferences; love and appreciation for all that is different. And an end to all things that are hurtful to others-including social injustices, judgemet, blame. And the wish that we could all strive to take the high road and do no harm.

So let's all work on this together! Or should I say 'knit' on this together? Collectively we can make a difference. Sometimes it is just stepping back and thinking before we 'react'. Often we do or say hurtful things as a reaction to something we found hurtful in some way. If we take a moment to think about how we want to approach things, we can somtimes do the positive- extend kindness-or even the courage to say 'sorry'. I know I have, and I have reaped positive from what would have otherwise been negative.

All I am saying..."is give peace a chance..."
Peace Out.
Peace, Man, Peace.
Knit, Man, Knit!

A New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009 has begun and, as always, I never make resolutions. But in a way, an incidental resolution occurred since I was at a local "beauty" store yesterday, taking advantage of their 25% off coupon that expired yesterday. I ended up with a bag full of face products so I resolved that I would do my best to follow my aestheticians recommendations and USE this stuff DAILY, as prescribed!-lol! I'm really feeling my age cuz I have now moved up to serums for "aging skin", whiteners and other such treatments! Suffice to say I spent waaaay more than I intended-but saved a goodly amount! So what I saved in yarn, I spent in face product! But, as we used to say when I sold Mary Kay, 'good looks begin with good skin' ...or something along those lines!

Though my gift knitting continues, I started on the Leyburn STR KAL because I could no longer resist the gorgeous skein of Seal Rock that was calling out to me! If you want in on this, pop over to the Rav Socks That Rawk! group! The thread is stickied to the top, so you can't miss it! The Socks that Rawk group is a great group and I tend to prefer it over the "Rockin' Sock Club" group someone started over at Rav. It may be just cuz Nartian, Irish Girlie and I are all on the Socks that Rawk group more than the other. Or maybe cuz TurtleGirl is such an awesome Mod that we love! Anyways, there is no deadline to join the KAL and what is fun is we are all knitting the pattern using different colorways of STR! (YAY, STR!!!)



OH...and the cowl I started for my bro's gf is done! I named it "Southwestern Flair". I picked this CP yarn called "Kaya" because it looked like a yarn she'd like (she likes red); since it stripes, I thought the texture looked kinda southwestern (and she is from Albequerque), so I went with it! Her style is kinda mod and the reds she tends to go for are more true tomatoe red, so I hope she likes this anyway!-lol!

If anyone cares, I will write up this pattern and post later. Easy peasy but I would have probably made it a bit smaller than it ended up.

I hope that 2009 has started off well for all of you! I think that with the completion of one project yesterday and only starting the Leyburns, I am doing pretty well. And I'll be working on the dark age spots!-lol! ;)

I'm ready...

to be through with gift knitting, that is!

Unfortunately, that is not the case! Instead of ticking items off my list, it seems I have continually added on: the failed cowl that prompted a second, mitts that I should have added on earlier, mitts promised and not completed, socks so badly begged for and I know I can get away without doing for a while...but I have lingering guilt over...

But the do-over cowl is complete:Caera Cowl knit with Claudia Handpainted Worsted Merino
(look familiar IrishGirlie?
This is from one of the first destash skeins I ever purchased from you!)

Then this conversation:

Mom: "so...do you have that hat dad gave to LE to use for Halloween?"
Me: "Yeah, it's around here. I'll find it and give it back."
Mom: "...or you can maybe just knit him one!"
Me: "ok...lemme see what yarn he might like a hat from..."

later that same day after dad has looked through the yarn and made his hat yarn choice...

Mom: "And you can use THIS one for a scarf for ME."
Me: "No, I'm not making you a scarf with that yarn. That's one of my 'men's' colors and I don't have many 'men's colros'."
Mom: "...just a short scarf to go around my neck-but not like the ones that are a loop that you pull over your head..."
Me: "I'll show you what other yarns I have that will be better colors for you..."

And so, my mom who very well knows how to knit got me to commit to making her a neck muffler, too! The hat? Only about 1.5" into it. And another cowl I started for my bro's GF is almost completed. ACK! What am I thinking? Will I ever start on my Leyburn socks for the KAL?

And lookie at some of my Christmas goodies (knitting related ones!):

Shibui alpaca/merino and...my first STR spirit! Thanks Nartian! love (1000)!

And from Little Shit Disturber (LSD), my bud at work, I got this!


And thought I'd treat myself to this for the BMFA sale! I FINALLY have sock blockers!
And STR Jabberwocky lightweight!

And since I had most of my BMFA stash out, I decided to take a What Color is Your STR Stash palette:alot of the kit yarns were not included in this pic and I have a few other stray skeins around that didn't make it in, but it was interesting to see most of it. It would be more interesting to take individual pics and mosaic them for an overall look, but I just didn't have that kind of time tonight! I also left out the 2 Silkie STR and the two Merino/Tencel skeins...

BTW...cake is back! And my Completely Pointless and Arbitarary Group CAKE shirt is on its way!