FO, Kool Aid and Blue Fingers.......

First, the FO. The Garterlac Baby Blanket. I ended up making it 8 base triangles wide and 7 side triangles long. I couldn't find my size 8 Dpn's or my 7's, So, I got out my size J crochet hook and crocheted 3 rows of double crochet boarder around the blanket. I used Bernat CottonTots yarn, with the body in color 'Wonder Dreams' and the border in 'Pretty in Pink'. This blanket was an idea stolen from Twinsanity, based on the Garterlac Dishcloth by Criminy Jickets.

The past few days, I've been playing with using Kool-Aid to dye yarn. This pic was dyed with Strawberry Kool Aid, and the one below was dyed with Berry Blue. I used a yarn from my stash that I just didn't like the way it looked. It's Patons Classic Merino Wool (which I love) in the Natural Marl colorway (which I don't love). It took the dye beautifully.

The Berry Blue yarn is still outside drying, as I just dyed it about an hour ago...LOL If you look down at the last pic, you can see where I was a dumbass and forgot to put my gloves on.....my fingers take the dye beautifully as well...LOL My right hand has more blue on it, but I'm right handed and couldn't get a pic of my right hand using my left hand, so I said fuck it and just took a pic of my left hand.

WIP's and Yarn Porn

This first pic is a spinning project I've been working on for the past few days. It's the same Olive Green and Grape Corriedale roving from Hello Yarn that I've been playing with, plyed with some Gold colored sewing thread that I had laying around. My tension was much more even while spinning this yarn, it's mostly a fingering weight and a little thicker when I wasn't paying attention...lol It's only approx. 65 yards long...so I don't know what I'll be doing with it. I'd like to spin enough yarn for a whole project...but I don't have the patience to do that on a drop spindle. I'm becoming more and more obsessed with needing a spinning wheel. I know it'll be a really long time until I can get one.....but that fact doesn't stop the drooling over the pretty wheels I keep seeing.

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This is Monica from Knitty. I am knitting this for my Niece's birthday coming up this summer. I am done with the front, just need to make the back. I'm using Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece yarn in Prosperous Plum and Blush. My Niece is turning 3 years old and she wears a size 2 now. I'm getting a gauge of 5.5 sts/in when the pattern calls for 5 sts/in, so I'm just following the directions for a size 4 in the pattern, Hoping for an outcome close to a size 3. So far, it's working. So let's cross our fingers that it fits my niece properly.
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...and here's more yarn porn! From L to R: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight sock yarns in Socktopus and Little Bunny Foo Foo, then South West trading Company's Tofutsies sock yarn in the Tenderfoot colorway. The Little Bunny Foo Foo I've posted before, but it was a crappy pic, and Socks that Rock are pretty soft wonderful beautiful yarns so it deserves another pic. :)
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I am also still working on the Twisted flower socks, and the Garterlac baby blanket. Both are coming along very nicely, but not as quickly as I wish they would..lol.


I also have a wonderful announcement! I'M GETTING A NEW NIECE!!! My Sister, Dawn, announced her pregnancy at Christmas, and last week she found out it's another GIRL!!!! I get to put a pink border around the garterlac baby blanket I'm making for her, and I can get some more gender specific colors to do more baby knitting with!!! I LOVE baby knitting!

my first yarns

This first pic is actually my first 2 lengths of handspun yarn. The green is twice as long as the purple, so when playing with plying them together, when I got to the end of the purple, I folded the green in half and started plying it back up the purple. It's about a yard long and very thick & thin, but I think it's pretty :)



This is what's on my spindle now. I'm alternating lengths of the green and purple roving, and it varies between lace and sport weight (just an estimate..TOTALLY eyeballing it here). When I park & draft, I get a fairly consistent thickness, but when I try to draft while the spindle is spinning, it gets thicker. but still, I think I'm doing pretty great for a newbie spinner :)

Now I just need to convince DH or someone to buy me a spinning wheel....hey, my 8th wedding anniversary is coming up (May 14th) so maybe it'll be pretty easy to talk DH into buying one for me..hehehehehe

look what I got in the mail today.....

Beautiful, isn't it?

This is corriedale roving (olive green and grape) from Hello Yarn, with a Louet drop spindle. I can't wait to sit down and start playing with them!!!! Hopefully my first attempt at spinning yarn wont be a disaster. Wish me luck!

Projects......

These are the two main WIP's I have right now. The others are slowly making their way to the UFO pile.
First, to the left you can see what I have done so far on the Garterlac baby blanket I've been working on. I'm planning on doing two more tiers, so that it will be 8 base triangles wide and 8 base triangles long. Then, I will do either a pink, blue or white attached i-cord border. My sister has a U/S this Friday (4-20), and hopefully baby will cooperate and show the world if I'm getting a new niece or a new nephew.

And here we have a progress pic of the Twisted Flower sock I'm making. I decided to change the heel flap of the sock. Instead of the pretty leaf design, I went with a more durable slip stitch heel flap. I am about 10(ish) rows into the gusset now, and I'm in love with this sock. I know I say that about every sock I knit, but I love knitting socks so it's bound to happen....LOL I just LOVE watching the pattern come together, and even though I've knit A LOT of socks, turning a heel is still magic to me :) And, dude, Kitchener stitch, It's freaking amazing!!

I am also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Favorite Socks. I placed my order Monday (i think) and this morning I got the shipment notification email!!! I've wanted this book since before it was released, and I, finally, was able to get it. Now, If I could justify getting all the other books on my amazon wish list...lol

wip- Twisted Flower Socks

So, after I finished up my Entrelac socks, I started knitting Cookie A's Twisted Flower Sock pattern. I am about 10 rows away from finishing the leg of the sock. At first, I really did almost want to jab my eyes out with my DPN's, but then I remembered what kept me sane back when I knit my Starsky sweater. Color Coded Charts. I grabbed the kids' colored pencils and went through and color coded most of the symbols in the charts. It really has been a HUGE help, and the knitting has been going MUCH smoother and quicker.

I am using Knitpicks Essential sock yarn in the color Pine (bad pic, I know, I had to mess with the lighting to see the cables better). I have a few solid color sock yarns in my stash, and I couldn't decide which one to use. So, I held up a few of my favorites and let the kids pick which one they liked.

I really need to get on a 'finish up my WIP's' kick...lol On the needles, I still have the Garterlac baby blanket, st st regia socks, Shetland Tea Shawl, and a throw I'm knitting using the Kerry Blue Shawl pattern. These have all been OTN for how many months now?...LOL

ENTRELAC SOCKS FINISHED!!!!!!

YEAH!!!! This pattern has caused me some trouble, I had to add an extra tier in the foot, and then I had difficulties getting the sock over my heel. So to solve that I started my leg increases early. Then, I didn't feel like doing extra leg increases for the sock to fit over my large calves, so I decided to end the sock at a regular crew length. I am SOOOOO glad to finally have finished this pair of socks. In the first pic, one sock looks bigger than the other. This is because one sock had just come off my foot (and had been stretched) and the other had just come off the needles. So, now I guess I can say that my entrelac socks were based on the Entrelac socks from the Spring 2007 Interweave issue. Since I barely followed the pattern.

okay, so now the details. Entrelac socks based on the Entrelac socks pattern by Eunny Jang in the Spring 2007 Interweave Knits I used Knitpicks Gloss yarn in Burgundy and Serengeti, using only one hank of each. I did enjoy knitting these, and I think I might make another pair to pattern specs when I've lost some more weight.

My Little Pretties.....

Pretty #1: One entrelac sock finished. But not to the pattern specs. I didn't feel like adding in extra increases to accommodate for my large calves, so I stopped at 4 CC tiers after the heel for a regular length sock. I CO for sock #2 this morning. I had a much easier time with the Middle East Wrap CO this time.

Pretty #2: my very first hank of Socks that Rock sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I got the Little Bunny Foo Foo colorway in the lightweight yarn. Now I just need to decide on a pattern for it. In this pic, you can also see some of my WIP's. The Garterlac Baby Blanket, what I have so far for the toe of Entrelac sock #2, and the beginnings of a Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering Of Lace.

My Pretty #3 will be coming in either today or tomorrow's mail....It's a skein of South West Trading Company's Tofutsies sock yarn in the Tender foot colorway (#727)

I apparently have no life

I've seen this on several blogs lately, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do it too.

It’s been alleged that if you’ve seen over 85 movies you have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by the ones that you have seen. Add them up, figure out whether you’ve got a life or not, and post it."

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
(X) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
(X) The Princess Bride
(X) AnchorMan
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
(X) Saw
(X) Saw II (i've seen saw 3 also)
(X) White Noise
(X) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
(X) Scary Movie 3
(X) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
(X) American Pie Band Camp
(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
(X) Resident Evil 1
(X) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
(X) Little Black Book
(X) The Village
(X) Lilo & Stitch
(X ) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
( X) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
()13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( X) Along Came Polly
(X ) Deep Impact
( X) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( X) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong
(X) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(X) Dumb & Dumber
(X) Dumber & Dumberer
(X) Final Destination
(X) Final Destination 2
(X) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
(X)The Ring
(X)The Ring 2
( )Surviving Christmas
(X) Flubber
(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
(X) Ghost Ship
(X) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
(X ) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
(X) The Whole Ten Yards
(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X) Child’s Play
(X) Seed of Chucky
(X) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
(X) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
(X) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
(X) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
(X) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number SlevIn
(X) Ocean’s Eleven
(X) Ocean’s Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(X) Curious George
(X) Independence Day
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
(X) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(X) E.T
(X) Children of the Corn
(X) My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(X) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X)The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
(X) Reign of Fire
() The Skulls
(X) Cruel Intentions
(X) Cruel Intentions 2
(X) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
() The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
(X) Krippendorf’s Tribe
(X) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(X) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
(X) House of 1000 Corpses
(X) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History X
( ) Three
() The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
(X) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc.
(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
(X) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
(X) Dawn Of the Dead
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
(X) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1
(X) Kill Bill Vol. 2
() Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix: Reloaded
(X) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal

178........Apparently, I have no life. However in there I somehow manage 3 kids, DH, a home and a part time job. Oh well, watching movies at night with Dh gives me a lot of knitting time :D

My WIP's

Entrelac Socks. Well...... I'm having mixed feelings about this sock. I'm not happy with some things, but these are all things I can fix after finishing the sock. (see the holes by the heel? THOSE) and please ignore how funky my foot looks in the pic, it's squished at a funny angle trying to show off the sock and get a decent pic. I am starting my first leg increase tier. I am starting it early for a few reasons. The main ones being I'm short and have fat legs. Another is that it's a bit difficult getting my heel into the sock as it doesn't stretch much, and I'm afraid if I wait longer to start my increases, it'll become imposable to get my heel in there. It makes sense to me.
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Garterlac Baby blanket. I am 5 side triangles into it. I am thinking of stopping after 6, but seeing as I have time and an employee discount both on my side, I might just go get more yarn and do 8 (8 is how many base triangles I have). I don't know yet, I'm going to play it by ear and see how long it takes me to get sick of this blanket. It hasn't happened yet. This blanket idea was copied from Twinsanity, who got her inspiration from Criminy Jickets Garterlac Dishcloth.
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This is going to be a birthday gift for my almost 2 yr old Niece, Morgan. It's a basic top down raglan. I am not using a pattern, I've done so many of these I could knit them in my sleep. I am using Patons Grace yarn on size 6 needles so It will be nice and light & airy for spring. I'm using black for all the ribbing the the Azure color for the body. I still need to buy buttons for it. I cast on for this sweater a week ago yesterday, and I have until Sunday to finish it. Wish me luck :)

MUCH better

(please ignore my pajama pants and pasty pale ankle)

WOOHOO!!! I am almost back to where I was before the frogging (I was done with the next CC tier). Adding in the extra CC tier was exactly what my Entrelac sock needed. Last night I sat down during Lost and I knit my heel. Maybe now that I've re-knit that I'll feel like I'm making progress on this again.

An Epic Battle Lost

The very first pair of socks that I knit for myself (the 3rd pair I knitted), was overcome by the dangerous washing machine monster, and lost the battle. Click HERE to see the blog post I made when I finished these socks. I got only one year of enjoyment with them...R.I.P my River Rapids Socks.

btw- They're superwash wool and I washed them in the gentle cycle. I guess I wore them out to the point where that area was too thin to handle the machine.

I've made a decision

about my entrelac socks (poor thing has been neglected this past week). I know if I'm not happy now, I'm going to hate it when it's finished. So, I am going to frog. Not the whole sock, no, I'm not that frog happy, I am just going to frog to just before I started my heel. Then I am going to add another set of tiers, and re-do my heel. However, my entrelac sock is being put on hold for now. I have a raglan cardigan OTN for my niece's 2nd birthday gift, and her birthday is March 25th, so I don't have a lot of time to knit the sweater. I'm using size 6 needles and the Patons Grace I was using for Reid (which has been completely frogged). It will be nice and airy for Spring. My niece wears the same size as dd (they're only 5 weeks apart in age) so I have a good model to use for judging the size of the sweater.

absolutely wonderful!!!

Cookie A. has opened her sock pattern site!!!!!!!!!!! I love them all, which one should I do first?

Progress

I haven't been able to work on my Entrelac Sock nearly as much as I have hoped I would. Plus, I am considering frogging it and starting over. I got gauge on my swatch, however following the pattern exactly, it's turning out a bit small. The pattern is written for a woman's size 8-9, and I wear a size 7. I can get what I have done on my foot just fine, but I think it might be a bit too snug. I think i *might* just put this sock on hold until I'm done knitting something for my niece's birthday gift. I've started Reid from Knitty for her, but so far, I'm just not feeling any love for the pattern, and if I don't enjoy a pattern, it never gets finished. Anybody have any suggestions for a (really) quick knit for a 2 yr old?

Entrelac Sock Started

Yesterday, I started knitting Eunny Jang's Entrelac Socks from the Spring 2007 Interweave Knits. This pic shows the progress I made yesterday and last night. I fucked up the cast on, but this was my 3rd attempt at it so I said fuck it and kept the misshapen toe. I LOVE knitting entrelac, and I LOVE knitting socks, and this pattern is BOTH. I'm in love :D

I am using Knitpicks Gloss sock yarn in the colors Burgundy and Serengeti. This is my first time using Gloss, and it's wonderful. It's soft, the colors are radiant, and the silk content gives it a slight sheen. This really is a beautiful sock yarn.


Ever since I saw the Pomotamus pattern on Knitty, I have been a fan of it's designer, Cookie A (Cookie also designed the Hedera, Baudelaire & Monkey socks). She is a brilliant designer, her patterns are drop dead GORGEOUS. I have recently fallen head over heels in love with some of her patterns, and I must share. Here are just a few of her socks that I love: Flicker, Millicent, Gothic Spire, Thelonious, Twisted Flower, Rhiannon, and German Stocking. If anyone sees these patterns for sale online, let me know. I MUST buy these.

FO- Monkey Socks

I *just* finished my Monkey Socks!!!!! I love them. I used Knitpicks Memories sock yarn in the Yukon Colorway on two size US2 circulars. This is the quickest I've ever finished a pair of socks. They only took me a week and a half, and I even took a few days off from knitting in there...not bad....LOL.

Tomorrow I get to start a pair of Entrelac Socks :)

It came......

my knitpicks order. The one I posted about below. The Serengeti Gloss is a little darker than I anticipated, but I still like it. In the pic, L to R, we have Burgundy Gloss, Serengeti Gloss, Vineyard Heather Shadow, and Dusk Essential. In the back you can see my size 1, 2 &3 24" circs, and size 1 dpn's.

now chant with me "must finish monkey socks...MUST finish monkey socks" over and over again in hope that I can resist winding up the hanks of Gloss and starting the Entrelac socks.

SLACKER!!!

yes, me, I'm a slacker. When I finished sock #1 in my pair of Monkey Socks (this past Wednesday), I had every intention of having sock #2 in the pair done by Monday night. Well, I *gasp* haven't felt like knitting for the past few days, and haven't done any knitting at all until last night. I sat down and forced myself to work on sock#2. I have to force myself to finish these socks. I will not allow myself to start my next sock project until my Monkey Socks are finished. The yarn for my next project will arrive either today or tomorrow, so the pressure is on. Speaking of my next sock project, I am going to be knitting Eunny Jang's Entrelac Socks from the spring 2007 Interweave Knits. I am going to use Knitpicks Gloss yarn in the colors Burgundy and Serengeti.

One Monkey Down....One to go

I have sock #1 in my pair of Monkey socks FINISHED!!!!! I LOVE this pattern. It's very quick and pretty. I kitchenered the toe and wove in my ends last night while watching Lost. This morning I cast on for Monkey sock #2. I am having serious Second sock syndrome with my Regia sock #2, so I figure that I'll force myself to work on it after I finish my monkey socks.

Monkey Sock

Yesterday, I decided to start knitting a pair of Monkey Socks. I read on some forums and heard on a podcast that it was a really quick and fun knit (It is!!!!). I cast on for these socks yesterday (Friday, 2pm-ish), and as of now (Saturday night, 8pm) I am almost done with the heel (picture taken after starting 4th leg pattern repeat), and I haven't even really spent much time working on it. Now that's a fucking fast sock! Patterns as quick to knit up as this pattern is, are the cure to second sock syndrome. I am using Knitpicks Memories sock yarn for my monkey socks, in the Yukon colorway. This yarn has been sitting in my stash for almost a year now. I am also knitting these socks on 2 circs instead of DPN's like the pattern calls for. I love this pattern. I've wanted to knit it since the winter 2006 knitty was published, but I've put it off. (I don't know why.....I'm nuts so there's no telling why)

Finished sock!

As you can see in the pic, I have sock #1 finished, and have sock#2 started. I'm not using a pattern, it's just a basic St st sock with 2x2 ribbing and a short row heel, and on size US1 circs. The yarn is discontinued, Regia Strato. I no longer have the ball band so I cant give you a color #, but some online stores called it "Troll".

I frogged the mitten I posted about before. I made a nice, warm winter hat with my leftover Malabrigo instead (and *might* have enough leftover for a pair of fetchings) I'm still working on the dream swatch head scarf, it's lost some momentum and become to project to work on during my breaks at work. On the Garterlac baby blanket, i have 3 side triangles completed, and am about to start the row of the 4th side triangles. I Kind of hope my sister is pregnant with a boy (it'll be a while until we find out) so i can use up some of the blue yarns in my stash for baby sweaters and hats. I'm itching to start a cabled raglan cardigan for this tyke.

Playing around

With all the knitting I've done, and all the things I've made, when it comes to changing colors, I've never done anything more complicated than stripes. And striping is extremely simple. So I found a few Fair Isle charts and decided to play around with them using some scrap red and blue yarns that I had in my stash. I started out having some problems with my tension, but it's evening out as I get used to the technique. In the Pic, you can see the chart I choose (found it free online, but I forgot to write down the site I got it off of) and what I have so far of my practice piece. I added a few stitches to the sides of the chart so I could have a bit of a red border on all sides. I'm beginning to think I might make some hats with a Fair Isle motif for a few Christmas presents this year.

It's been a while since I've .....

...made a WIP update post. I've Currently got 5 projects OTN, but I'm only posting 3 pics. The 2 that I'm not posting are a Mitten that needs to be partially frogged and re-knit because I didn't make it quite long enough, and the other is a blanket I'm making using worsted weight yarn and the Kerry Blue shawl pattern. The mitten just isn't worth posting a pic of right now, and the blanket.....well, I just didn't feel like hauling it out and photographing it. Even though it's not all that big yet.....LOL
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This is a sock I started a few days ago. I used this yarn for a sock last year, and wasn't happy with how I closed the toe (top down st st sock), so I frogged the whole thing, and the yarn has just been sitting in my stash bin ever since. When I finished my Clapotis, I got two very strong urges. One was to knit a sock, and the other was to start a fine gauge lace project. Well, I had the sock yarn and needles so I started this sock. I don't have any Lace yarn in my stash other than the leftovers from my peacock feathers shawl, so I couldn't really start anything with that.

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This is the beginnings of the Garterlac Baby blanket I posted about before. I love knitting garterlac/entrelac so it goes really quickly. I'm very happy with how it's turning out. I think I'm going to have to make one for DD as well. She keeps asking "mine?" Whenever she sees me working on it.
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And, this is Knit & Tonic's Dream Swatch Head Wrap using fingering weight yarn and size 3 needles. I didn't want mine to be as wide as the pattern specifies (approx 4 inches) so I downsized a little bit.

Now, the Clapotis really is a FO

I just un-pinned her and she is beautiful!. The first pic to the left I had her draped over part of the banister...pretty shot but you cant really see the beauty of the Clapotis. Plus, I forgot to get my house shoes out of the pic before snapping it.....lol. The pic below, I just tossed it over the back of my couch. I soaked and pinned her out on Wednesday...and she was finally completely dry this morning. 2 days to dry isn't that bad. It would have been quicker though if I would have been able to pin her out in a more open area with better air circulation. But I was anxious to get her blocked so I pinned her out in my bedroom. So, for 2 nights in order to climb into bed I had to either climb over DH or the foot of the bed....LMAO.

After I finish a few of my WIP's, I'm going to start another lace project. I love knitting lace. I've decided on knitting the Shetland Tea Shawl in A Gathering of Lace. I am going to use knitpicks Shadow yarn, but I can't decide on a color. I like the Vineyard Heather, Lost Lake Heather, and Oregon Coast Heather. What do you think?

Can you call it a FO if it still needs to be blocked?

I am completely finished with the knitting of Clapotis. I've had it wrapped around me all morning. I am (still) absolutely in love with the yarn I choose (malabrigo). My Clap still needs to be blocked, but I think I'll call it a FO anyway.

Now that my size 8 Denise tips are free, I'm planning on starting a baby blanket sometime this week. This baby blanket is intended for the new bundle my sister announced on Christmas day (EDD. mid August). I am going to make the blanket based on the Garterlac dishcloth pattern, I got the idea from the garterlac baby blanket that Twinsanity made. I am going to be using Bernat CottonTots in the 'Wonder Dreams' Colorway for the main body, and 'Little Boy Blue' for the border. No, we don't know the gender, but it's such a soft, pretty shade of blue I consider it gender neutral.

Update on Clapotis

I'm overdue for an update. I've been struggling with an awful cold the past week. I'm still not over it, but at least all that remains is a sore throat and some funky congestion.

I've made a lot of progress since the last pic I showed you of my Clap. I am now working my eleventh repeat of the straight section in the pattern. It's going quickly, It's an easy pattern and the yarn is heaven.

Clapotis Progress

Here's a pic of what I've done so far on my Clapotis. I will drop the first column of stitches when I start the next row.

I love this yarn. I have been tempted to call up random people that I know, yell "I LOVE MY YARN", and hang up. I haven't done it though. If I did acutally do it, that would make me crazy, and I'm not crazy....well, at least I don't think so....lol Malabrigo is just beautiful. It drapes beautifully, and it is SOOOOO soft. Now I need to resist the urge to buy more. The colorway Black Forrest is screaming "buy me......BUY ME......love me too....."

Malabrigo.......yummmmmmmmmmmm

The yarn for my Clapotis came today. I choose Malabrigo Merino in the colorway Velvet Grapes. This pic comes nowhere close to doing justice to the beauty of this yarn. I can't wait until I can get this wound into balls and start knitting with it.

knitting plans

I am finally jumping on the bandwagon and I am going to knit myself a Clapotis. I ordered some Malabrigo from Webs for it. I chose the colorway Velvet Grapes. I placed my order on December 27th (only a week ago), and I'm already anxiously itching for it to get here. I LOVE Malabrigo. I fondled some in my LYS a long while ago, and instantly fell in love. This will be my first time working with the heavenly strands. I will make sure to add a pic of my yarn when it does get here, as well as progress pics of my clapotis.

I also have a baby blanket planned. I'm going to steal an idea from Twinsanity and knit a Garterlac Baby Blanket (based on the garterlac dishcloth by Criminy Jickets). Right now, though, I can't decide what yarn I want to knit this with. This blanket is for the baby that my sister is currently pregnant with. My main problem is that I want to get started on this before the sex of the baby is discovered, so it needs to be gender neutral. I would also like to use a variegated yarn. Cotton Tots has a few options open for me, but I don't know what it is, but something in the back of my head is telling me to look around a little more before deciding.

Christmas aftermath

The kids all had a blast yesterday. They received toys upon toys upon toys. They played with cousins, and there was even a fight. I was ecstatic over the fight. Not because there was one, but because my boys had nothing to do with it....LMAO My knitted and baked gifts were really loved and appreciated. I love giving handmade gifts and seeing people honestly "ooh" and "aah" over them. It's good to know that people out there in this mass-merchandised world still appreciate handmade things. I received a lot of really great gifts...some caramel brownie mix, a beautiful new coat, some clothes, & towels. My sons drew and wrapped pictures for me. That was really sweet. But I must say, one of the best gifts given yesterday, was from my sister. She announced to the family that she is pregnant again! I absolutely love knitting baby things. I can't wait until I can get to the LYS and buy some gender neutral yarn and knit a baby sweater.

It really was a nice day with the family.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! The kids are happily busy with some new toys, and DH and I are getting things ready to head out to my mom's house to spend the day. The boys absolutely LOVE the Leapsters that Santa brought, and DD is in heaven playing mommy to her new babies. Santa brought her a baby Care Bear, a Puffalump, and a Cabbage Patch baby.

I didn't take any pics of things before I wrapped them, but as far as crafty gifts go, I knit a devil Hat for my 10 year old niece, a lace cap for my 2 yr old niece, and for my other 2 year old niece, a pompom hat with ear flaps. I knit some socks for my mom, and a scarf for my Aunt. Those whom I didn't knit for, I made goodies for. Each of the goodie bags have a full sized homemade loaf of either fresh baked bread, or Banana Nut Bread. Every bag also contains a mini loaf of pumpkin bread, some chocolate covered pretzels and some chocolates that I made yesterday.

Christmas present FO

I finished the scarf I was knitting for my Aunt's Christmas present. Well.....the knitting is finished, it could use a good blocking. I used the Jute Rope pattern and Knitpicks Decadence yarn in the color Spring Leaf, on size 9 needles. I started this scarf on Thanksgiving morning, so it's a pretty quick pattern to knit, especially considering I have 3 kids to chase and I work part-time.

More Fresh Baked Goodness..........

This is what I spent this morning doing. I baked 2 Loaves of Pumpkin Bread and a loaf of white bread. Yummmmmmmm......

Look what I baked this morning.....

I've been baking things like Banana Nut Bread & Pumpkin Bread for years now....but this morning was my first attempt at regular old bread. I even baked it the 'traditional way', no bread machine here. And, I am SOOOO glad I finally did it. The pic is the current state of my first loaf. As soon as it had cooled off enough, it was attacked by my 5 yr old and 2 yr old......and me. And it is GOOOOOOD. While still warm, I cut a slice for myself and drizzled some honey on it.....pure heaven. My second loaf is in the oven now. I'm going to send it into work with Dh tomorrow morning. The women in the office love it when I send in treats.

FO & WIP

The Feather & Fan baby blanket is FINISHED!!!! And just under a month left until the intended recipient is expected to be born.

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And this is the scarf I am knitting for my Aunt's Christmas present. I am using the Jute Rope Pattern with Knitpicks Decadence yarn (color: Spring Leaf) on size US 9 needles. I am now about 2/3 of the way done right now.

busy, busy, busy....

I know, I'm overdue for an update. I'm sorry about that. I've been busy lately with work, sick kids, more sick kids and getting ready for Christmas. Even with all that's been going on, I have managed to get some knitting done. I don't have any pictures to show today, but I'll add them when I get a chance. I am almost done with the feather & fan baby blanket, I've started a scarf for my Aunt's Christmas gift, and I started a pair of cabled fingerless gloves for me. I'm still not done with the socks I'm knitting for my mom, though. It shouldn't be a problem getting the gifts finished in time for Christmas, and if I start feeling a but of a time crunch, I'll get Dh to help with the knitting.

Look what I got yesterday.....

My latest order from Knitpicks. The yarn is Decadence, 100% superfine Alpaca. It is the softest, yummiest yarn I have ever caressed. Every time I touch it, i can't believe how soft it is. I got colors Spring Leaf and Chocolate. I am planning on making scarves for Christmas presents. I also bought the Vogue knitting Stitchionary volume 2: Cables. As you can see in the pic, I've already marked a few of the cables with post-its. This book is wonderful. There are so many absolutely beautiful cable patterns in it.

1 FO & 2 WIP's

Here is the bag I posted about below. I felted it on Friday and I had it blocking/drying all Friday night and Saturday. I threaded the handles through the bag Saturday night, and had the bag ready to use on Sunday, just like I wanted.
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Here, I have started another garterlac dishcloth. I must have a black hole somewhere in my house, because the last one I made has disappeared, probably along with that tape measure that I can't find.
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Here's what I have so far on the pair of socks I'm knitting for my Mothers Christmas present. I'm almost to the middle point of the foot of sock #2. I am using the Cascading Leaves pattern by Jeanie Townsend, and Knitpicks Essential yarn in Ash, on size US2 needles.

Here is a bag I started for myself on Monday. I only have a few more rows to knit and then an i-cord for the handle, then I can felt it. I am hoping I can finish this with a few hours of mindless tv time tonight, so I can felt it tomorrow. With any luck, it will be dry by Sunday morning. I want to be able to use it on Sunday while I'm out with family. I am using an altered version of the Booga Bag pattern, and Patons Classic Merino (black) and Cascade 220 (can't remember the color # but it is one of the heathered colors).
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Here is what I am up to on the baby blanket I've been working on. I never did find my damn tape measure so I went out and bought one. The blanket is now 24 inches long. I am aiming for about 35-40 inches for the finished length.
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And here is my big disappointment of this morning. This is the second shortest cable in my Denise Interchangeable set. See on the left side there? the connector part snapped off. This cable was the one I was using for my bag. I am going to contact the Denise people tomorrow morning and see if we can replace this.

meh.....

Today is just one of those dreary, sleepy days where all you want to do is cuddle under a warm blanket, or better yet, cuddle under a WIP crochet blanket to work on it. I've been having the itch lately to crochet a big, soft, cuddly blanket. One major problem though.....I can't afford to buy the yarn needed right now. Crochet blankets are like the perfect wintertime project. Oh well.....maybe I can start one in a few months.

I've been looking for a new job lately. I'm not having much luck though. However, I have high hopes for the craft stores I applied at. Last night I went and applied at Michaels, and before that, I went and applied at Hobby Lobby. I think next, that I might go see if they're hiring at my LYS. I really hope I can get a job in a craft or yarn store, I just feel like I would be happier there than I was at Babies r Us.

the past week, I've been playing around, creating my own basic pattern for thumbless mittens for DD. Just trying out different methods for closing the top, seeing which one I liked the look of better. I finally decided to close it like I would for a round toe in a knitted sock. I am knitting the first pair from my pattern now, I'll show off the mittens on here when they're finished. My other wip's? well, they've been neglected the past few days. I'm still making progress on the baby blanket (still can't find my damn tape measure, though), I've saved my mom's socks from the UFO pile again, I started a hat for my niece's Christmas present. It's been several days since I've even touched the sock I've started for me, and yet, I've been itching to start a new pair of socks for Dh. I think I will start those soon for dh's Christmas present. I just need to make up my mind on the pattern. There are a few I think he'd like in the Knitting Vintage Socks book that I have.

FO- DD's slippers

Yesterday, I finished the slippers for DD. Good news! She LOVES them! She is refusing to take them off. This is the best pic I could get of her wearing them. I used THIS pattern, but altered it to fit a toddler, Bernat Satin Yarn and size US 5 needles.