Starsky Update

I finished the left front panel this morning, and I've cast on for the right front panel. In this pic, the panels look a little mis-proportioned, but they're not. They just look that way because they're laying on the couch over where the cushions are uneven heights. The one in the middle rarely is sat on and the cushions on the ends are sat on all the time.

Not Knitting realted, but a great cause post instead

As I've mentioned several times before, I am a member of Sybermoms.com. Sybermoms is a parenting message board, which offers laughs, advice and a reality check when needed. It's full of women (and a few dad's too) who have some of the biggest hearts I've seen anywhere. Each year, Sybermoms holds an auction to raise funds for a great cause. This year, the Auction will benefit The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, Inc. The auction will begin with a 24-hour auction on Thursday, April 6th at 7:00pm. The 24-hour auction will run until friday, April 7th at 7:00pm. The Live Auction will open at 8:00pm and run until all items have been up for bid. You can go to Sybermoms.com for more information about the auction. You do not need to be a paid member at sybermoms to participate in the auction. So, go to Sybermoms, register and happy bidding!

iPod Case

On Friday, DH gave me his iPod. So, naturally being the knitter I am, I immediately pulled some cotton out of my stash bin and knit up an iPod case (sorry for the crappy pic). I didn't use an existing pattern, I just took measurements of the iPod and did test swatching until I found what guage would work (fit accross width + 1/2 of iPod Sides). I used Lion Brand Cotton and size US5 needles. It was very simple to make. Here's the pattern, it's my first attempt at writing my own so post any questions in the comments and I'll reply as soon as I can.


Jackie's iPod Case Pattern:

Matierials : 100% cotton worsted weight yarn, size us5 straight needles, darning needle, velcro, sewing needle & thread.

CO 18 sts

Knit in Stockinette Stitch in desired color striping pattern until rectangle measures 8 inches, end with WS row.

The next two rows create a hole for the headphones to go through.
Next row : K7, k2tog, [YO] twice, K2tog, K7.
next row: P9, K1, P8

Continue in Stockinette Stitch and striping pattern for another 2.5 inches.

BO all sts & weave in all ends.

fold piece with right sides facing(inside-out) where CO edge is an inch below the headphone hole. Sew side seams. Turn case right side-out.

Cut velcro to fit under flap.
Sew velcro onto the case body and under the flap where the body and flap overlap when closed.

Voila! you're done. insert your iPod, plug in your headphones and enjoy!

Stash Pics

I've been working hard lately to use up/get rid of a bunch of yarn I had in my stash. The yarns in this pic is all that my stash now consists of. Too bad I don't have a before pic. I got rid of a bunch of crap acrylics and other yarns I just wasn't happy with.

Now my stash is MUCH prettier. In the pic you can see a pile of Knitpicks Sierra in Mist for my Starsky, some pink and purple Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece for some Summer Swing Tops I will be knitting soon (one for DD and one for my niece Laney), some knitpicks sock yarns (palette and memories), a ball of Regia sock yarn, some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, Lorna's Laces, some Patons Classic Merino, Bernat Satin, both Lion Brand and Sugar & Cream cotton yarns, CottonTots, knitpicks elegance, Patons Pooch yarn and a few hanks of Cascade 220. Not in the picture I also have a bunch of 100% wool scraps.

Progress on Starsky

Yesterday I finished up the back panel and last night I started on the left front panel. As you can see in the pic, I am almsot done with my fourth ball of Knitpicks Sierra. On the left front panel I have the ribbing done and once through the Banana Leaf stitch chart.

Starsky Update

I am working on the armhole shaping of the back panel. From the cast on edge, I have 21 inches. I just started on my 4th ball of yarn. Soon I will do the neck shaping and bind off for the back panel.


Also, My book order came in! It arrived nice and early on Saturday morning. I LOVE the books I choose. I got Stitch & Bitch Nation, A gathering of lace, knitting vintage socks, and a non knitting book 'The Handmaids Tale' which I finished reading this morning. I saw the movie that was made from this book when I was a child, and the memories of some scenes have haunted me. So when I saw the book, I had to get it. Reading it as an adult resolved a lot of the confusion that came from seeing it through a childs eyes.

Too much online shopping?!?!?!?! There's NO SUCH THING!!!

I've been busy these past few days, spending some birthday money that my mother gave me. THANK YOU MY VERY GENEROUS MOM!!! First, I ordered some shoes for DD. I choose Jack & Lilly baby shoes, the Mint with pink octopus ones. I know, birthday money should be spent on me, but I saw the shoes and felll in love and couldn't help it...LOL Then, I ordered some books from Amazon. I ordered Knitting Vintage Socks, A gathering of Lace, SnB Nation, and a non knitting book 'The Handmaids Tale'. Then my happy little butt made it's way to Kaleidoscope Yarns. I ordered some Addi Turbo's, 3 hanks of Cascade 220, and a Chibi. I then found my way to JoAnn's. I ordered some new size 1 circs, and some yarn to knit preemie hats for a local NICU with.

I've also been very busy with Starsky. Sorry no progress pic in this post, but Dh has the camera cable on his computer right now and I don't feel like moving it..LOL I am approx. 11.5 inches into the back panel. 5 more and I get to start the armhole shaping.

Another FO!

I finished Odessa this morning! I love it! It was a really simple, pretty pattern, and I am in love with the yarn. I used Knitpicks Elegance which is a baby alpaca and silk blend, in the color Lilac. It took only one ball of yarn, and used 110 beads.

I also made more progress on Starsky yesterday. I am now ready to start my 3rd chart pattern repeat on the back panel. I also had to start my second hank of knitpicks sierra yesterday.

2 Wip's & 1 FO

Saturday morning, I cast on both Odessa and Starsky. This pic is what I have of Odessa so far. It is MUCH more simple to knit than it looks. It was a PITA stringing the beads onto the yarn, but I got them on fairly quickly. I am just about 3.5 inches from the cast on edge. The yarn is knitpicks elegance in Lilac.
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Here's the FO! DD's Pinwheel baby blanket is finished!!! I made it a 40 inch diameter. When I got it almost as large as I wanted it, I put in a stripe of pink solid color yarn, then a small stripe of the varigated yarn, and for the edge I held both yarns togather and crocheted a ruffle around. The crocheted ruffle is extremely simple. It's just a DC, CH3 in each stitch around.
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And here's what I have so far of Starsky! I am ready to start row 3 of the pattern chart for my second pattern repeat. I was right when I said I would love working with Knitpicks Sierra yarn. It is very soft and just yummy.

Yarn for Starsky!

This morning my yarn to knit Starsky with arrived!!! It's KnitPicks Sierra in Mist. I've already wound 2 hanks into balls, 12 left to go. This yarn is very soft and I can already tell that I am going to LOVE knitting with it.

I've figured out that I will have to wait until I am finished with the pinwheel baby blanket before I can start on Starsky. I'm using my Denise Interchangables and all of my longer cables are in that blanket and I need the longest one I have to knit starsky. It shouldn't take too long to finish the blanket, a few days at the most.

Felted Bag

I followed the pattern for a lopi tote, and I used some Knitpicks Wool of the Andes (double stranded) to knit this bag. I felted it by hand in the bathtub yesterday. Man, beating the hell out of it was very theraputic...LOL. This bag was also an experiment. I wanted to see just how important it was to leave it out to dry. I put this fucker in the dryer. MUCH quicker and the same results as if I would have blocked it the 'right' way. I made this one a little larger than my other lopi tote. My other one is great, but it didn't really accomodate carrying around a small knitting peoject. This brings my total for knitted/felted bags that I've made to 6 bags, and 3 are ALL MINE...LOL

I found something that I MUST HAVE. I have fallen in love with the Jordana Paige 'The Knitters Satchel'. The next time I get a bunch of 'fun' money, I will buy it. I LOVE it. I NEED it.

misc.

See that little ball of purple yarn over on the left of the pic? that's my yarn for Odessa (Knitpicks elegance - Lilac). I changed my mind about the beads, though. I picked up a vial of clear glass beads earlier today, and I just got finished stringing them onto the yarn. I am waiting for my Webs order to get here so I can actually start knitting Odessa.

The big bag in the pic is a Lopi Tote, using up misc balls of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes that were in my stash. Mulled Wine and Fern. I will felt it, i'm just not making any promisses to WHEN I will felt it..LOL It will happen sooner or later.

I also made up my mind on the color I want to use to knit Knitty.com's Starsky. I ordered the Knitpicks Sierra this morning. The color I finally decided on is Mist. I asked for help deciding on the color on a few of the message boards that I post on, and the votes between cinnamon and mist were about equal. So, I asked my best friend who liked both colors...LOL Finally, I just did an eenie-meenie-miney-mo thing and Mist won.

I'm excited!!

Yarn, yarn, yarn!..LOL

I'm going to knit Odessa, but I'm not going to use any beads. I going to use Knitpicks Elegance in Lilac, it's a baby alpaca and silk blend. I also have plans on knitting 2 more Summer Swing Tops. One for my Hannah and one for my niece Laney. For the Summer Swing Tops, I placed my very first order with Webs! I ordered some Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Victorian Pink and Lilac Haze. I also ordered the needles that I need to knit Odessa. The other project I'm going to do is Starsky from knitty. I am going to use Knitpicks Sierra, but I am debating between mist and cinnamon for the colors. What do you think about those colors?

My knitting pace has slowed considerably lately. I've been a little down in the dumps, and when I get that way, it becomes really difficult to pick up my needles. Dh and I have made our way through hard times before, and I am confident we will make it through this as well. I have to believe we will. I think Dh and I are making very slow progress, but at any pace progress is progress and progress is good. I'm not much of one to type about my feelings and problems, so I cant type more than this on here. It's too hard to put it all into words, and I'm afraid if I let it all start flowing through my fingertips, then I will just say a lot of hurtful things to/about some people that I love. Besides, MIL reads here sometimes so I don't want to get too bitchy...LOL

The Best Blonde Joke EVER!

I love this! I know, I know, this has nothing to do with knitting, but I just had to share! Here it is: The Best Blonde Joke Ever!