The Chronicles of Yarnia

one down

2006-06-26T21:38:00.000-06:00

It's true! Happy, happy dancing! I have officially finished one sock!!! LOL! That means there's only three socks to go so that hubbins will have two pairs. The red pair and the striped pair. I'm sure that you are just as tired of looking at this pictures as I am. Sorry bout that. If you don't look really close, the sock doesn't look half bad. : ) Huge gobs of thanks to Jan for teaching me to knit a toe up sock. I'm looking forward to cuff down. A couple of folks had asked me about this yarn. It is from Mountain Colors and the colourway is Ruby River. It's 45% mohair and 55% virgin wool. These won't be the first socks that my hubbins breaks out when we get home I'm guessing. :) I really need to find some cotton yarn to use. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, I've already cast on for the second sock for this pair. You know, I've heard so much about second sock syndrome. I just thought I'd end any "bad" juju before it started. Know what I mean?? Know I need to finish up the sock I started in the orange and black stripes, When I had sock class, I would work on the red one in class and the other at home so that hopefully something would stick in my brain cells. I want to use what I just learned before I forget it. LOL!

When I need a break from the size 13 socks, I work on my daughter's clogs. Her clogs aren't so bad as they are the same size as mine. Nice and normal...if there is such a thing.

Happy Knitting!!

weekend update

2006-06-25T21:38:00.000-06:00

My sock class on Saturday was so much fun! Fortunately, I have an instructor with the patience of a Saint. Lucky me! Any way, the red sock that I had knitted had way, way too much knitting on it so she had me pick up half stitches all around the sock with a size one needle. That took me about...hmmm...maybe a little over an hour. Horrible. It was torture seeing all that knitting being ripped out. FROG! Major FROG! I assure you, it was indeed a learning experience, as I will never knit a sock that long before the heel. I swear upon all the yarn I have! Then, I had to learn what everyone else learned while I was picking up stitches. My class was really over at 12:30 and I left at 15:30. Jan, thank you so much for staying and helping me with my mess...ummm... I mean sock. : )

Then a little birdie told me about this great knitting back that was over at Craft Warehouse. This is the coolest bag. It has two "pages" of different sized zippered pockets. And the pages each have velcro down the center of them so you can add or take away "pages" as you need them. It is awesome and I love it. Like I said, I'm going to use it for knitting but I can see where many crafters could find uses for it. I do wish it was a little bit larger so that I could put a pattern in it without folding it up. Yes, I'm a little OCD. LOL! Really, most people never notice. Sorry about all the different colours in the picture. The bag is a beautiful purple paisley. And are you ready for this? Only 15 bucks. Yep, that's right. You can't beat that with a stick. hee hee.

My darling hubbins has been outprocessing. Such a freaking ordeal! It takes over a month to do it all. My god, I could have had this all wrapped up in about three days. However, that would require a woman running things. And your United States Air Force prefers to have the male warriors in charge of such things. Anyway, the point of this little rant is that, we have a date for the movers and a day to sign out then I guess we'll be on our way home. And I just have to keep believing that everything really does happen for a reason.

Hopefully, tomorrow I will have at least one finished sock to show ya'll. Cross your fingers and your knitting needles!!

Happy Knitting!!

gusset stitches

2006-06-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

Here are both socks with fully increased gusset stitches! I'm so happy to have both of them at the same place. I also tightened up my figure 8 cast on for the striped sock. My hubbins did much of the loop pulling! He's sooo much better at it than I am. He is also ever so much better at the vacuum than me!! (My parents didn't raise a fool.) You know what I mean. LOL!

Tomorrow morning I have a sock class that I am really looking forward to. I think we are going to work on the heels. I attached the second 50 gram yarn ball to my hubbins striped sock. That's a lot of yarn for not even turning the heel. I tease him and tell him that he's gonna be wearing one red sock and one striped sock before he knows it. LOL! Since he's colour blind he might not ever know. Oh that's horrible, I'd never do that. Ever. I'll give ya'll an update tomorrow after sock class. I'm just about to cast on some clogs for my beautiful daughter. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Happy Knitting!

exchange

2006-06-20T22:29:00.000-06:00

This is what one of my exchange partners sent me! Thank you so much Sharon!! In addition to a very nice dishcloth, I received a note pad, a package of note cards AND a pair of needles! I just love doing exchanges. I always receive a dishcloth that someone put their time and energy into, you just couldn't ask for a better "gift."

I spent most of the day in bed feeling way down under the weather. I did do just a little bit of knitting while watching the NBA finals. Dallas lost and the Miami Heat won the championship. Just not the year for Dallas. I'm sure they'll be back next year tho. : )

I'm still knitting on hubbin's socks. It feels like I've been knitting them forever. The next pair I make will be for a "normal" foot. A nice, normal foot like mine! LOL! I'll post pictures of my progress on socks tomorrow. For now, I believe that you've heard me rattle on long enough. :)

Happy Knitting!!

socks and more socks

2006-06-19T22:32:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of my progress on the socks. The sock I'm doing in a reddish colourway is coming along very nicely. I'm working on increasing the gusset stitches right now. If my hubbins had smaller feet, this would go much faster. :)

The sock with the stripes has not been as lucky has the other sock. I'm still working on the foot part of the sock and probably won't start with gusset stitches for a few days.

I also received an exchange dishcloth! I just love getting packages in the mail. Sharon was my exchange partner and she sent lovely "extras." I'll post pictures of those tomorrow.

I have to cut this short as I can hear my knitting calling my name. : )

Happy Knitting!!

slacker

2006-06-18T21:58:00.000-06:00

Yes, I totally agree with you. I've been slacking; I haven't updated my blog since last Tuesday. So, I'll take 30 lashes with wet yarn and then we can move on. ;)

I've been busily knitting, I cast on a baby blanket for my soon to arrive niece. I've got a few dishcloths cast on for exchanges. And of course, I have two separate pairs of socks cast on for my hubbins.

My sock classes are going really, really well. Since there are only three of us learning, it's almost like PRIVATE sock classes. And who wouldn't LURVE private lessons? Anyway, I'm working on increasing my gusset stitches. I'll post pictures of my progress tomorrow. I'm being incredibly lazy right now. I should probably go to bed...but!!! Knitting is higher up on the scale than sleeping. LOL! I promise to post more frequently...that wet yarn kinda stings! : )

Happy Knitting!!

sock progress

2006-06-13T23:38:00.000-06:00

Here are pictures of the progress I'm making on Hubbins socks. My instructor told me to stop when I reached the place on his foot where it starts to bend for the ankle. No problem there. I'm looking at the pattern that was handed out on Saturday and the next step is to do gusset increases, and I'm not totally sure how to do that. I figured it would be safer to just wait until this Saturday when she explains it. :)

Then I thought well...maybe I'll go ahead and cast on the other sock. You know, so I could be ahead of the game. I looked around and didn't have another circular in the size that I needed. :(

While I was digging around in my stash looking for needles, I found some sock yarn that I bought around the first of the year. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try to cast on with it. This is a heavier weight yarn so I could use bigger needles. Anyway, I learned to do a figure 8 cast on for this sock pattern and can you believe I got it right on the first try? Neither could I...but I'm not complaining. LOL! I was very happy! Maybe that Starbucks before class paid off. :) The yarn is some that my Hubbins chose and really got stashed in the stash. I was glad to find it tho.

I didn't get the clogs for my daughter cast on. But I've already worked all the increases in the second sock, it's just plain knitting until I get to the ankle bone, so there should be no reason I can't cast them on tomorrow. I almost forgot to tell you that the toes haven't been tightened up at the cast on. I'm not sure of the best way to do that. Anyone have suggestions?

Happy Knitting!!!

weekend wrap up

2006-06-11T22:38:00.000-06:00

My sock class on Saturday was so much fun. I really did enjoy it. I've wanted to knit socks for a long time and now I'm doing it. Yeah for me!! The sock I'm learning right now is a toe-up on one circular. A huge thank you to Jan for being such a patient instructor! I like the way the sock is working up so far. I don't think I did my increases correctly tho. It seems like the toe is just a little bit more pointy than it should be. But for a first attempt at socks, it's not so bad.

Hubbins was able to try his clogs on today for the first time. They fit very nicely. He has deemed them comfortable to wear so I'm calling them a success! I'll cast on for my daughter's clogs tomorrow probably. The colours she chose are bright blue and bright green. I think they'll look great. It is a strange feeling to go from using a size 13 needle for the clogs to a size 3 needle for the socks. Usually takes me a little bit of time to get used to the change.

I only read a little bit this weekend. I knit the majority of the time...I really need to get books on CDs or just download them to my iPod. That way I can knit while I listen to the book. How's that for multi-tasking? :)

Happy Knitting!!

felted finish

2006-06-10T00:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of Hubbins clogs before felting. It's hard to see how HUGE they were. Trust me, huge doesn't even begin to cover it. :)

Add hot water and agitation and TADA!

It's like magic. I am really pleased with how well these turned out. I made a slight change when I knit this pair. Instead of a low heel in the back, I knit a few extra rows of stockinette. That gave me just a little bit more of a back at the heel. I think it looks better and will probably "wear" better too.

Tomorrow morning is my sock class. I am so looking forward to it. I can see myself knitting socks during the summer. I'll give you an update tomorrow after the sock class. Wish me and my needles good luck! :)

Happy Knitting

hubbins' clogs

2006-06-08T23:33:00.000-06:00

I got another pair of clogs finished today. This pair is going to my wonderful hubbins. I think they turned out pretty good, even if I do say so myself. :) It's hard to tell from the picture but they did knit up evenly. I'll do the felting on them tomorrow. When I felted my pair it took three days for them to dry completely. Since my hubbins is eager to wear them it will probably take longer for this pair to dry.

I'll post pictures of the finished product tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!!

splish splash

2006-06-07T23:22:00.000-06:00

Here's what I knitted up while I was on break from my hubbins clogs. The colour is called "Summer Splash" from Sugar N Creme. I like the way the colours show in this pattern. And as an extra added bonus it works up really quickly.

I did cast on tonite for my hubbins second clog. Hopefully the red yarn won't burn my retinas out. :) Since it's the second one maybe it won't be so bad; the end is in sight. Plus, I know he will be so appreciative.

My dear, darling hubbins came home from work today bearing gifts! No special reason and those are the best kind of gifts. The roses are a wonderful ivory peachy colour. And they actually have a scent. Just beautiful and a great surprise.

I'm off to the oral surgeon tomorrow then over to Barnes and Noble's for our weekly "fix." It's so nice to just hang out in a book store and have Starbucks. I've grown quite accustomed to it. Like I said before, I lead a very blessed life. I'll post progress pictures of the clogs tomorrow. I want to have them finished before my sock class on Saturday.

Happy Knitting!

ronald mcdonald?

2006-06-05T21:11:00.000-06:00

First let me say that I'm not married to Ronald McDonald. However, if that clowns shoes are larger than my hubbins' shoes, I'll eat em! My darling hubbins wears a size 13. Did I take that into consideration when I cast on for his clogs? No! Should I have? You betcha! The colour he chose is a really pretty colour but after knitting with it for what seems like miles, it's wearing pretty thin. And I've got another whole clog to knit. Maybe I'll wear my sunglasses while I do it. :)

My hubbins and I have entirely too much free time. We choose to dress our dog for comedic relief. We are THOSE people. LOL! You should have seen the outfits I put my daughter in when she was a baby. :) She's really pleased I picked up knitting. On that note, I'm off to rest my knitting hand in preparation for tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!!

sunday update

2006-06-04T20:10:00.000-06:00

The trip to the LYS was very productive! This is the sock yarn I chose for my classes. It was really hard to photograph. The colour isn't true on the monitor. In the picture I think it looks more orange than it actually is. The colourway is called Ruby River, and it is oh so gorgeous! My hubbins picked this colour out so the first pair of socks will go to him. I can't wait to get started.

I spent the weekend knitting and reading. What a blessed life I lead. :) I knit up two dishcloths for exchanges and cast on for my hubbins clogs. I'll post progress pictures tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

yarn puppy

2006-06-01T22:39:00.000-06:00

Doesn't Bella appear overjoyed to have yarn draped over her ear? Clearly she wasn't pleased. :)

Hubbins and I are off to the LYS tomorrow. I need to register for a sock class this month. I'm really excited about it. I can't wait to learn to knit socks. I have seen the most gorgeous sock yarns. I've already been bitten by the sock bug and I haven't even knit a single sock. :)

Happy Knitting!!

before and after

2006-05-30T22:44:00.000-06:00

I finished knitting the clogs today. Yeah!!

before and after

I put plastic grocery sacks in them to hold the shape while they air dry. You'd think with as many bags as I have, I could have found all one colour. :) Anyway, I think they are pretty close to the same size so they shouldn't need to much altering when they are dry. This was a quick and fun project that I'll do again. My family is going to make sure I do it again! LOL!

Happy Knitting!

lazy monday

2006-05-30T00:44:00.000-06:00

I didn't get the pair of clogs finished. I'm almost finished, I lack a few rounds on the second one. I spent the day reading and hanging out with my hubbins. He is going back to work tomorrow, so I should have lots of alone time to finish up my knitting.

It rained off and on the entire holiday weekend. The poor campers. I'd hate to plan a hiking/camping trip and then have it rain. Yuck. Prolly why I wasn't in a tent over the weekend. I'm not sure how well my knitting would hold up to the rain. :)

Happy Knitting!!

one finished

2006-05-29T01:38:00.000-06:00

One down, one to go! The pattern works up super easy and I'm having fun knitting them. Both my hubbins and daughter told me they wanted a pair. It isn't a complicated pattern so I'll try to get them a pair knitted soon.

Happy Knitting!

2006-05-28T12:34:00.000-06:00

felted clogs

2006-05-27T23:50:00.000-06:00

I started working on the Fiber Trend pattern for felted clogs this evening. This is what I have so far. The pattern knits up really quick. I might have a finished pair before the weekend is over. :) Of course, it is a long weekend tho!

Happy Knitting!!

noro bunny

2006-05-26T21:15:00.000-06:00

Here's the newest bunny made with Noro yarn. I love the colours! It turned out okay but I think the ears need to be moved back just a bit. I also just noticed that some of the stuffing is showing in the bunny tummy! LOL! This bunny may need a diet.

Happy Knitting

today's contribution

2006-05-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

This is my contribution for the day. I used a different kind of yarn to knit this. I found Lion Brand Cotton over the weekend and wanted to see how it would work up. I like the brand well enough, it does seem like it has a little more "slip" in it than other yarns tho. I'm not real sure about the way this one is sewn together either. Hmm... Oh well, not like it's a shirt or something.

Hubbins is working late a few days this week, I should have plenty of extra time for knitting!

Happy Knitting

yarn swap

2006-05-21T22:34:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

When I came home Saturday afternoon, I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me in the mailbox. I received some beautiful yarn from Suzanne, a member of the yahoo group Yarn Yoga. A really awesome group of people! Anyway the group did a colour swap and here's a picture of what I received. Thank you again Suzanne!! My daughter really loves this yarn...she is thinking it is meant for her. :)

My hubbins and I saw "The DaVinci Code" Saturday. And, well... after all the hype and everything, I was disappointed. Bear in mind tho, that I did read the book a long time before they started talking about making it into a movie. I thought the movie stayed true to the book for the most part, only veering mildly once or twice. But the book was such an exciting read, a real page turner! The movie seemed long to me and at times I thought it dragged. Just my opinion tho, everyone's got one. My hubbins enjoyed the movie and he read the book as well. LOL! This is why I never read the movie reviews.

I've been knitting some circular dishcloths. I thought the last one I knitted worked up so pretty, I wanted to work up another one. I'm trying to decide what project to cast on next. The bamboo tank top, or the felted clogs, or a baby blanket for the upcoming arrival of a new niece.... Choices..choices...

Happy Knitting!

show and tell

2006-05-15T16:14:00.000-06:00

Oh! It's been so long. I suppose I lost track of time. I've been doing lots of knitting. I think I'm gonna post lots of pictures today, that's a start on getting caught up.

On one of the knitting groups I'm on, we had a tea exchange. There were alot of people who participated and it turned out great! My hubbins took a picture of all the different kinds of tea I received. The tea exchange was really alot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. A huge thanks to Rhonda for hosting and organizing this exchange!

I also did some knitting for my mom's birthday, I sent here a kitchen set here's those pictures:

I used a Sugar N Cream to do the dishcloths and I used Peaches N Cream to do the dishtowel. I think it's easier to work with the Peaches N Cream. The yarn doesn't seem as "twisty." Just in case you aren't able to make it out, thats a ladybug button on the dishtowel.

For mother's day I knitted a purse for my mom and then felted it. The felting process worked much better this time. The last time I felted a project I was a little disappointed because I could still see some of the stitches. Here's the pictures of mother's purse, before and after felting:

I didn't take a picture of the inside of the bag after felting it but my hubbins lined it and even put in the zipper! Yeah hubbins!

My hubbins asked me to knit his mom a "hot pad" here's what I came up with, a slip stitch in fiesta ombre.
This is one of my favourite cloths, I love the way the colours work with the pattern. So, that's the knitting I did for mother's day. My mom really liked her felted clutch. It was a very basic pattern. The pattern included instructions for knitting a flower and felting that to attach to the front. I wasn't really sure my mom would go for that so I just got a pretty pin and used that and she's got lots of pins of her own so she can change them out to match her outfit. So that worked for everyone involved. My MIL said "thanks" for hers. :)

I was also gifted on mother's day, my hubbins always spoils me. Here's what I got:

I love to play pinball, so I got a game for the PS. I'll have to fight him to be able to play it. :) Also received a nite shirt. My hubbins and I have a little joke about me being tired all the time, since I stay home all day "doing nothing." You know what I mean. LOL! With all that "doing nothing" I'm exhausted! I also got a pair of glass namaste knitting needles in a size 10. They are very, very beautiful and I can't wait to use them. I'm going to have to find a pattern that calls for that particular size....of course, I'll also need more yarn... hee hee

In two of the knitting groups that I participate in, we are doing spring exchanges. It's so much fun getting packages in the mail. I also have just as much fun knitting my exchange cloth and doing the shopping for the little gifts that go with the cloths. Here's what I received from one of my exchanges.

A huge thank you to Susan. You are too kind. Lots of wonderful goodies. There was even a knitted sachet amoungst everything.

Also, a huge thank you to Steph, she knitted me an absolutely gorgeous blue dishcloth. The computer just doesn't do the cloth justice. The blue is very vibrant and Steph's work is flawless.

This is a few cloths that I've knitted for exchanges.

This is the first round cloth that I've knitted. I really like the way it worked up. I plan on doing lots more of these in the future!

In Yarn Yoga, we are doing a colour swap. I mailed off my package today. It will be exciting to see/hear about everyone's trade.

My hubbins has expressed some interest in learning to knit. He wasn't really interested until I knitted the bunny. I'm not sure what's really going on there...it'll be interesting to see how far this goes...

I think that's probably enough for show and tell today. I missed being able to blog..it's good to be back.

Happy Knitting!

thanks

2006-05-03T00:02:00.000-06:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Many, many wonderful people have asked me about the pattern for my knit bunny. I am so glad you all love the bunny as much as I do. I intend to stand by what I said about posting my pattern. I'm just having a little bit of trouble understanding how to go about copyrighting my pattern. If anyone is willing to pass on any advice, it would be very much appreciated. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult of a process, lots of knitters copyright their patterns.... hmmm.

Coming up in the real near future I'm doing two exchanges and one colour swap. So today I did some knitting and shopping for goodies to put in packages. I'm pooped! I don't like to shop, I'd much rather stay home and knit. LOL! Again, I want to thank every single person who left comments or emailed me with compliments.

Happy Knitting!

lys trip

2006-05-01T23:33:00.000-06:00

Hi ya'll!!

My hubbins and I ran a few errands today. I spent about fifteen minutes with my oral surgeon this morning. I have another procedure scheduled for the 15th of this month. At that time he is going to remove the metal bar that I have in right now. On the 19th of this month I get to have two root canals done on my two front teeth. At that time the dentist will repair the chip in one of my front teeth. Then we'll decide what to do about the one that was pretty much knocked out. Yeah!! I'm so glad that the healing process is working as it should.

We also met with a representative at the VA. The meeting was long but incredibly informative. I'm glad we went and spent the time there. A lot of my questions were answered. Then we headed over to Barnes and Nobles. I was able to find a few things I wanted. I got the Vouge Knitting magazine, The booklet "Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles by Cat Bordhi, "Simple Knits For Cherished Babies" by Erika Knight and "Greetings from Knit Cafe" by Suzan Mischer. The "Knit Cafe" book is awesome! There are 30 or so patterns in the book and they are so eclectic. Just wonderful!

Then the most important stop of all! My local LYS!! I was able to find four balls of Trio in celery green on sale with 30 percent off! I need these balls to work up the "Trio Knit Tote Bag" you can find the free pattern at straw.com. I picked up two different colour skeins of King Cole Candy these are pastel variegated colours. I'll use these to work up some baby patterns. I got two skeins of purple Cascade 220 and one skein of pink to knit a pair of felted clogs. I got one skein of Lambs's Pride in a Blue Ink shade. This is going in my stash. I'm always finding patterns that need a bulky weight yarn for felting. Now I have one! :) I also got a total fo five skeins of Noro Kureyon, three of the skeins are colour 153. I'll use those to knit a Booga Bag for myself. The other two are in colour 92. I'll use those to knit my hubbins a skull hat. He's been asking for one a long time. I'm not sure of the brand name on the next yarn, so if I make a mistake it's not intentional. I bought two skeins of....well...the ball band has three L's on it then, I'm guess the colour is called Almeria. The website listed on the ball band is www. ggh-garn.de. I'm not sure of the brand or colour name but the yarn is wonderful! It's a really pretty variegated blend of cream, pinks, purples with just a little bit of a sparkle/shine in it. I'll use those for my baby knitting. Also got four balls of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in colour 207, I'll use these for knitting my daughter a tank top. She's already excited! Also included are the two white balls and one pink ball of Plymouth Yarn Suri Merino. It is just a wonderful yarn as far as softness goes. I'm going to use those balls to make more bunnies! I just loooove bunnies. The yarn that I'm most excited about is four mini skeins of South West Trading Company bamboo yarn! I can not wait to start knitting with this yarn. There isn't a colour name or number on the ball band but maybe you can see it in the picture. It's right next to the single skein of Lamb's Pride. I'm planning to use the bamboo yarn to knit a shirt. The LYS had the shirt displayed next to the bamboo yarn so I could really look at the finished product. It is surprisingly very soft and light. Now that I've talked your ear off..I'm off to bed. Sorry about the long post. I really appreciate all the readers that visit my blog!

Happy Knitting!!

a little bunny

2006-04-30T22:26:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent almost all of my weekend knitting. I'm still working on my felted bag but honestly not with real dedication. After I knit a few rows, I'm generally tired of it and ready to move on to something else. Maybe I should call this knitting attention disorder, you know KAD. LOL!

I did manage to knit up this adorable little bunny on Saturday!
I think it's so incredibly cute and I can't believe that I haven't already knitted one! It's a wonderfully simple pattern that I plan on knitting up again and again. If anyone wants the little pattern just let me know and I'll post it later.

My hubbins and I are going to the "big city" tomorrow. I have an appointment so the oral surgeon can look at my new pretty metal and see if everything is going okay. Then hubbins and I meet with somebody from the VA for a briefing on our benefits. Now, doesn't this sound like fun so far? (yawn! no fun!!) Then we are going for our weekly date, this is usually made to Barnes and Nobles so I can sit in the cafe and drink a cafe mocha and peruse the knitting books and magazines that I might like to buy. That usually takes the better part of an afternoon. After all the cafe mochas that we can stand, we'll head over to the LYS and peruse the yarns! The LYS is generally my favourite stop. And, this time I'm going in with a list!!! I'll post a picture tomorrow of all the wonderful yarn I bring home!!

Happy Knitting!

a surprise project

2006-04-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

What do you get when you have two skeins of Cascade 220 Quatro and a size 9 circular needle? I have no idea either. LOL! But this evening I was going thru my stash and found two skeins in the colour 9432. I cast on about 130 stitches and I suppose we'll see what it works up into together. :) I'm thinking it will probably be a purse or tote bag of some kind. If anyone comes up with an actually pattern or any ideas about where to go with this, let me know. Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!

The weather here is finally feeling Spring-like! I'm so glad. My hubbins and I have taken the sweet lil puppy dog for a walk the last three days. She loves her walks and hated it during the colder weather when she wasn't able to get out. Poor mistreated thing! ;)

Barnes and Noble is offering reading groups online. There is a group beginning on May 1st that will discuss The Da Vinci Code. I think I'll give it a try and see what comes of it. I know with the movie coming out the discussion should be lively. Even last week, the cover of Time was about the Opus Dei. I've read the book more than a couple of times; needless to say I enjoyed it. I hope the movie stays true to the book. Although, it does seem the book is always better!

Happy Knitting! (and reading!!)

wrapping UFOs up

2006-04-25T23:24:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

Today I finished some projects that were laying around. These were the ones that need very minor things just to be finished. I weaved in ends, sewed on buttons, washed some things, steamed some things, and finally I blocked some other things. Actually I finished up over ten things that had been just taking up space. I really do feel more accomplished after those were finished!

My hubbins promised to take me yarn shopping in a coupla weeks, so I really needed to have things finished and my yarn re-organized. That way my stash can grow and grow. :) It is Spring after all. So growing things seems to be the order of things right now.

I'm thinking of doing this cloth next, it's very, very similar to the cloth I posted a picture of yesterday. It just looks like a springy/summer kind of stitch.

I apologize for not updating my little reading corner. That's on my list for tomorrow. :)

Happy Knitting!

a "new" discovery and bar increase

2006-04-24T23:40:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I spent mine reading, knitting, and making time for my "new" discovery! It's really not a "new" discover but it is for me. I've found the joy of watching home and garden television, otherwise known as HGTV. You can visit their website at hgtv.com. They have a variety of programming. Mostly different ways to decorate your home, rooms in your home, or even how to landscape your yard!! I'm having so much fun with my little discovery. It's awesome to knit and watch this show. Trust me, you can become awfully creative!

I've trying to master a new stitch today. One that I've not been able to do quite right. I think this is called "knitting the bar" the way I read it was that you knit the bar before the next stitch that you're going to make. Does this sound right to everyone? This is what I've got so far, please
don't look at the pattern, I know it's off, but is the bar increase correct?

Sorry it's such a bad picture but my photographer went to bed earlier. :) I hope I'm making that stitch correctly, I so don't want to have knitted this thing wrong. Although, I suppose I'll look at it as part of learning. Gotta take the bad with the good. :) I'm still contemplating what to put on my needles. It will have to be a project that knits up pretty quickly; as I will have to start soon sorting thru things and packing. Yuck! At least we'll have movers tho, so it could be MUCH worse. I'm off to scour the internet in search of patterns!

Happy Knitting!

busy day

2006-04-22T00:30:00.000-06:00

I think I was channeling my inner Rachel Ray today. LOL! I spent the day hanging out and doing nothing but knitting. It was great. Nice and quiet so I could really follow a pattern. So, then my hubbins comes home from work and is of course starving.

Into the kitchen I go and I managed to concoct a chicken spaghetti. I was also able to make a cake! Hubbins was glad. He's been eating left overs all week. So I think he was happy to have something that was hot out of the oven.

I am almost finished with my purse that will be felted. I'm crossing my fingers that this felting process goes easier than the last ones. LOL! I'm off to bed.... If I stop knitting now, maybe I won't lay in the bed thinking about it. Usually I lie there for a few minutes then get back up to knit. Truly addicted to knitting. :)

Happy Knitting!

progress

2006-04-20T22:33:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

This is going to be just a quick update, I'm tired and ready to hit the bed.My mouth and face seem to be doing better! I'm hoping the bone will heal really quickly. Spring seems to be making it's way to my part of the world! My hubbins and I were able to take our sweet lil puppy dog for a walk yesterday. Nice temperatures. And some flowers are actually blooming.

I have been knitting and have finished some things for gifts. I'll post pictures of those things later. And I cast on for a felted purse this evening. I've got about 15 or 20 rows completed. It's a super easy pattern. I'll be sure and post pics after I get some more length on it. And...that's about all I can think of!

Happy Knitting!

not much

2006-04-18T22:45:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I spent the day knitting and it was oh so nice. I love to sit down with my knitting and just zone out to everything else. If I'm really into my knitting, I'm thinking of making those stitches...not myself. Wonderful therapy!

I don't have much to chit chat about or any pictures to post. It's been just an ordinary day, and I'm thankful for that.

Happy Knitting!

fiesta ombre

2006-04-17T23:45:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Can you believe we woke up on Sunday morning with snow falling? I sat on the couch and watched it snow for several hours in disbelief. I just couldn't seem to wrap my head around the thought of snow in mid April. It didn't stick so there were not any kind of problem associated with it. My hubbins and I had never seen any kind of cold weather in April. When I spoke to my mother she told me that is was near 90 degrees at home. Wow! Quite a difference. I'll probably be complaining about the heat when I get home. LOL!

I've been working this slip stitch pattern cloth for my "Big Mama" on Mother's Day. I know the pattern is correct and experienced what I like to call "operator error" on this cloth. I was knitting it as I was waiting on my hubbins to get home, not really paying attention so I do have place where the "real" pattern mixes up. I thought I'd keep this one for me and make her one with no mistakes. I'm using a Peaches N Cream yarn called Fiesta Ombre and I really like the way it looks when worked in this pattern. LOTS of colours. The colours showing here are really not true. I'll have to find a link to post so you can see the true colour. Okay, I'm off to knit some more.

Happy Knitting!

here we go day four...done!

2006-04-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

My hubbins is on a flight home right now. He went before the board today. And here's the deal. The Air Force admitted liability. And offered him a severance package. My hubbins thought the severance package was gonna be the best deal we could get. So.....we are going home!

Now this does not hurt my feelings one little bit. I think most of you know myself and my hubbins are from Texas. All of our family is there. I lived in Lindale most of my life. My Daddy lived there for his entire life. When he passed in 2003, he left me his house. So we do have somewhere to go. And it's on a private lake, so trust me, it could be oh so much worse. And I'm so hard wired for Texas weather, the last three years have been miserable. I found out that I'm a warmer weather type of girl. :) I never did acclimate to the cold here.

The only thing is that the Air Force is not going to allow my hubbins to have surgery. We will have to go thru the VA. The VA in Dallas is only about 80 miles away. And I've driven that route so many times taking my Daddy to Baylor. I could probably do it in my sleep. Not a big deal at all. So ya'll that's the deal. We didn't get exactly what we wanted. But maybe we got what we needed. That's the way I choose to look at it. Karma has a way of working everything out.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Think Spring!! They are predicting snow here this weekend. Now you have to be honest, isn't that just a little much? I'm very ready for much warmer temperatures.

Happy Spring!!

here we go day 3

2006-04-13T22:06:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

I really want to thank everyone that has sent prayers and good wishes this way. I believe that this positive energy will help tremendously. Thanks very much!

My hubbins did call today and he received a phone call late this afternoon. He has meeting with his attorney at 1100 am and is going in front of the board at 1300. We are really very hopeful. We still haven't given up, we aren't quitters.

As far as my knitting, I've been knitting with this awesome colourway, called ombre fiesta. I love it. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow. And here is something totally suprising, I bought what I thought was a pretty big storage container to store my yarn in. I think that was in the middle of March. Now it's totally full. I had no idea I would need a HUGE storage container. Because nowdays my hubbins will look over at it and tell me "you don't need any more yarn, look at all the yarn you have." I think only knitters understand my plight! LOL!

Happy Knitting!

here we go day 2

2006-04-12T22:50:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

My hubbins met with his attorney today and felt very positive after he talked with him. Which is wonderful! He is on stand-by waiting for the phone call that will tell him exactly what time to report for his formal board evaluation. So there it is in a nutshell. Whish us luck. We really want my hubbins to have his surgery.

I think I'm improving each day, I still get tired sometimes tho. But mostly I think I'm thru the worst part. YEAH!!

I've been looking and looking for a pattern that I'll fall in love with, it hasn't happened yet. I have faith that it will. I may try another go 'round with socks. Every once in a while my hubbins will remind me that I haven't gotten him his socks yet. OOOPPS! : ) He's kinda decided he wants a guitar strap and I found one over a knitty.com that seems doable. So there you have it, day 2! :)

Happy Knitting!

here we go

2006-04-11T23:36:00.000-06:00

Hi ya'll!

Well, my hubbins made his way to Lackland AFB today. He'll be able to meet with his attorney tomorrow. And I'm hoping that he'll be home by Friday. However, I'm really not into trusting the Air Force as of late. He'll probably be home next Tuesday. With the way the Air Force works, that is consider "good time." Gimme a break. Anyway, it is the US Government. What did I really expect. Okay enough venting. :)

I've been doing some knitting, mostly just the little wash/dishcloths. Those aren't difficult, and I'm not sure what project I want to start. I look at the cloths as a stop gap kind of thing. I'm thinking of doing the "Yoda Sweater" for my future niece/nephew. I'm not sure which my SIL is having so I hate to start a blanket now. If that makes any sense. Okay...I'm off.

Happy Knitting!

granny's favourite

2006-04-10T23:30:00.000-06:00

A few folks have asked me about the pattern I'm using for my little washcloth/dishcloth. The pattern I'm using for the cloths is called "Grandma's Favourite." I've kinda changed the name to "Granny's Favourite" because that's what I called my grandmother. It's probably my favourite pattern for this type of knitting. It's so simple and works up so quick. I also have a pattern that will match the cloth, in a hand towel. Let me know if ya'll want that one as well. Okay, on to the pattern...

" Granny's Favourite"

Choose a 100% cotton yarn for this project.
Size 6 or 7 needles. (I used a size 7.)

Cast on 4 stitches
Row 1: knit 4
Row 2: knit 2, yarn over, knit across the row
Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.
Row 3: knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to the end of the row.
Repeat Row 3 until you have 4 stitches on the needle, knit across the 4 stitches and bind off.
Weave in loose ends and you're finished!

Okay ya'll, thats all ya have to do. It's a very simple pattern and it turns out really nice. I've been using a Sugar and Cream yarn for these because Joanns.com had them on sale. You could also use some of the "better quality" 100% cotton yarns, which I plan on using for some x-mas knitting.

Okay ya'll I'm off to bed...been up awhile today and am tired.

Happy Knitting!

the medical crisis

2006-04-09T22:28:00.000-06:00

I'm really sorry that this site has not been updated. I worried and worried about it. However, I just was unable to update it. Make sure you are comfortable and I'll tell my tale. :)

On March 31 my hubbins and I experienced a medical crisis. Ya know, he is suppose to be the one who needs surgery, not me. Anyway, here's the Reader's Digest version. My hubbins took me to the ER on base. They chipped one of my two front teeth. Then they proceeded to basically knock the other front tooth out. They also broke a bone in my face when they did this. The bone they broke is the one that sits directly under you nose and above your teeth. After being hospitalized for three days, I was able to come home. When I got home my hubbins contacted the on call dentist for the base. Their recommendation to me: go to the dentist and see if the root is intact, take tylenol for pain, let them know if I have any questions. Please!

I was able to go to a general dentist the following Tuesday, April 6, I believe. Anyway, the dentist says, "oh! You really need to be in the hands of an ORAL SURGEON!" That's when I learned a bone was actually broken. So off to the oral surgeon I went. Of course, he did another x-ray, and low and behold that bone is broke. So I'm scheduled last Friday to have oral surgery. What he did was to put some kind of bar across the gumline in the front. It looks kinda like I have braces. Every tooth is wired. Oh so attractive. He told me and my hubbins after the procedure that basically my face was just kinda floating. My entire mouth feels more stable now. It still hurts, like a throbbing, pounding kind of hurt. It sucks. The oral surgeon doesn't even know if the tooth that was basically knocked out is even viable. First we have to wait for the bone to heal before any dental work gets done. Which I hate because I have a huge chip outta the other front tooth. You know what I mean.

These are the flowers my Hubbins work (USAF) sent me, very pretty! Oh wait, aren't you the ones who broke my face?

I'm not upset by it in the least! ; )

I've done some knitting, not a whole lot. I just didn't have the energy. I'm hoping to find a pattern I really like so that I can just get really involved in my knitting and forget everything else. Sounds like a dream, yes?

Thank you all for being patient while waiting for an update. Several people have asked me for the pattern I'm using to make the little dishcloths. So I'll post it tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

sigh

2006-03-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Ya'll I'm officially discouraged. This picture is of the VA Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Which is where we'll be sent if my husband is found to be truly unfit for service. We did receive a date for the formal board and it's April 12th. The decision the committee reaches that day will be it. Oh wait.... we can appeal to the Attornery General of the US Air Force. Gimme a freakin break! Anyway, that's the news, sorry it's so incredibly depressing. It just amazes me that such idiots run this country. Amazes me!

I'm off to try to do mindless knitting. I'm hoping that will put me to sleep eventually. Again, sorry for such a yucky post but I'm feeling pretty yucky right now.

Going Knitting

and I couldn't sleep until it was finished

2006-03-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

Good thing my hubbins leaves for work really early, and I'm able to catch cat naps thru out the day. So, here it is finished in three hours. I just couldn't put it down with so little left to do. Like I said, it's the OCD. LOL!!

Happy Knitting!

seems like I've always gotta have something going...

2006-03-29T22:37:00.000-07:00

Does it mean that you are addicted to knitting if you are unable to stand it if there is not something on your needles. I just finished my daughter's tote, and already have a dishcloth on the needles. Now dishchloths are quick and not so time consuming but I was NOT able to go to bed tonite without something cast on at least one set of needles. Is there a 12 step program for knitters? LOL!

This is just a dishchloth that is called Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth. I thought the colours looked kinda springy. And I'm already searching the internet for something like a tank top or sleeveless shell for my daughter. Like I said, I need that 12 step program. And I know I'm not the only one. We are EVERYWHERE! :)

Happy Knitting!

before and after

2006-03-28T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is what the tote looked like before I felted it. And....drum roll please!!

The picture on the right is the one taken after it was felted.

Is it just me or are they pretty much the same? I washed the bag three times. I just don't get it. I mean, my daughter will love it, so that's all that matters. I'm not sure if I'm all that crazy about the felting thing. Maybe if I took a class and really, really learned how to do it. Instead of picking up tips here and there. You know what I mean.

And Christine, thank you for saving my life with the tennis balls! : )

Oh yeah, and it's not blocked yet, I may like it better after I block it. Who knows?

Happy Knitting!

a labour of love

2006-03-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll. Sorry it's been so long since I updated. I have been living in some sort of intarsia hell. But, hey, I finished the hard part. The hard part being the intarsia. The I-cords are already attached and I need to finish a few more rows to make the bag even. The question I have is this, I "floated" the pink. So you can only imagine what the bag looks like inside. Should I felt it before cutting the floats or what? Also, I've been reading about a vinegar rinse when felting. Does anyone know anything about this? When I felted my floppy bowl I didn't use vinegar. Maybe that's why it turned out the way it did. : ) I will tell you what I'm not gonna do. I'm not frogging one more row of that skull pattern. However, I did learn that Lamb's Pride really stands up to LOTS of frogging. I'm off the knit. Only something like 400 rows left. :) Oh, and the next time I get an idea to do intarsia knitting please remind me of this project.

Happy Knitting!

Intarsia

2006-03-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm really loving doing the intarsia method. I really thought it would be a nightmare. All it really is over the old colour and you kinda make a x. Granted I am not a teacher. :) I can't wait to show off my work! I haven't really done anything to do just knit. Such a peaceful zen. Except when the dog is barking.

This is the dog totally worn out! I can knit now!

anniversary

2006-03-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my third wedding anninversary. Not much knitting. But lots of celebrating.

wip

2006-03-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! what a mess. It really does look tragic with all the floats showing like that. I can't show any more than that tho. I really don't want my daughter to find out what her gift is going to be.

I'm having so much fun with this project. It's almost like it just knits itself. A very relaxing project to be sure. I do plan on felting this. And I've heard about different ways to do this. Does anyone actually add the vinegar? From what I understand this is suppose to "seal" the scales on the fiber? When I felted it my floppy bowl, I just put it in a pillow case and threw in an old towel and started the washer. It seems to have felted okay, but maybe I missed something.

Also, I think I should do all my finishing before felting, like weaving in the ends and such. This is the correct way, yes? And will it leave me with a lumpy finished project? As you can tell, any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Knitting

happy spring!

2006-03-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Ostra! Happy Spring! Today was the Equinox. I hope that everyone was able to experience some sort of balance in their day.

I've been doing some birthday knitting for my daughter. I did have to frog it back to the beginning twice but I'm moving along really nicely now. I'm using the Lamb's Pride bulky, and I am loving it. This is the first time for me to try this particular brand. I normally use the Cascade 220. I was using the Lopi to make the pet bed, and after numerous froggins, it just shredded. I wonder if Cascade makes a bulky weight for felting. Hmmm...something to look into.

The picture is of my stash after it was ziplocked and put in a tote. I was worried about insects and moths in my wool yarn. I was even able to find some lavender scented mothballs. They aren't as repulsive as the original scent.

I'm off to knit and and enjoy the rest of the evening. It's nice and quiet here now. By the way, does anyone have any intarsia tips??

Happy Knitting!

packing the stash

2006-03-19T22:39:00.000-07:00

I organized all my yarns and patterns. All the skeins, rolls, hanks and such are nestled in their own little ziploc bag and then those are tucked away in a LARGE storage container. I took pics but blogger won't let me add them tonite. Maybe tomorrow.

I've done a fair amount of knitting this week. I made my first attempt at I-cords. Not so bad, mostly just my wrists were incredibly tired. I'm doing special birthday knitting. After my beautiful daughter opens her gift, I'll post pics here.

Off to start a new week...and discover what the world has in store for me.

Happy Knitting!

paw print pattern

2006-03-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll! Several people asked for the paw print pattern, so here it is.

Materials used: 100% cotton yarn, size 7 needles, and yarn needle for weaving in ends

Cast on 36 stitches

1-4: Knit across

5: k3, p30, k3

6: (and all remaining even numbered rows) knit across

7-8: repeat 5 & 6

9: k3, p13, k4, p13, k3

11: k3, p11, k8, p11, k3

13: k3, p9, k12, p9, k3

15: k3, p9, k12, p9, k3

17, 19, 21 & 23: k3, p8, k14, p8, k3

25: k3, p9, k12, p9, k3

27: k3, p10, k10, p10, k3

29: k3, p5, k3, p3, k8, p3, k3, p5, k3

31: k3, p4, k5, p3, k6, p3, k5, p4, k3

33: k3, p3, k6, p4, k4, p4, k6, p3, k3

35: k3, p3, k5, p14, k5, p3, k3

37: k3, p3, k4, p3, k3, p4, k3, p3, k4, p3, k3

39: k3, p4, k2, p3, k5, p2, k5, p3, k2, p4, k3

41 & 43: k3, p9, k5, p2, k5, p9, k3

45: k3, p9, k4, p4, k4, p9, k3

47: k3, p10, k2, p6, k2, p10, k3

49-54: repeat rows 5 & 6

55-57: Knit across Bind off

What I did was to write all the row numbers down and mark them off as each row was finished. It really helped me to not mix the rows up.

Happy Knitting!

stash

2006-03-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

There is no better way to forget about all your troubles that going yarn shopping!

Hubbins and I went to WalMart and of course I had to see the yarn. I know it's cheap and it's not what I have become accustomed to using. The very first skein of yarn I ever bought was like 12 dollars. But I have started knitting little dish/washcloths. They knit up really quickly and you actually feel like you've accomplished something that day. And the patterns are so very cute. In one of the knitting yahoo groups, someone is going to use the dishcloth to make an afghan. Something worth thinking about in the future.

Of course, I will LOTS of time to knit on the way to Texas. : ) Hubbins decided to appeal his medical board finding. So in one month we will have to go to the "formal" board that is in San Antonio, Texas. So, we shall see what we shall see. :) Thanks to everyone who is sending good thoughts. Now, if there was some way we could direct all those thoughts toward San Antonio...

Several people have said that they want the paw print pattern. I'm exhausted tonite as I was only able to sleep for about an hour last nite. I gladly post the pattern tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

Paying those karmic dues

2006-03-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

It is official, the apocalypse occurred today at my home at approximately 11:30 am.

My darling hubbins is employed by the WONDERFUL United States Air Force. I'm trying to control the impulse here to wave my American flag. Anyway, my hubbins has had to go for an informal board because of a condition that existed prior to service. Today our government decided that he was unfit for service, and basically told us to go home. No compensation or any kind of rating for permanent disability that almost everyone qualifies for. Especially in wartime. Anyway, we were incredibly surprised. Sort of like have the rug pulled out from under you.

Now this could be worse. I do own my home in Texas, so we DO have somewhere to live. It's just that we had different plans. The move home wasn't really supposed to happen quite yet. I like to have all my ducks in a row and today my ducks started swimming in the middle of the pond and ducking under the water. Basically just raising hell. At this point, I'm just glad that no one has actually shot my ducks.

Really, I have done things that I'm really not so proud of but I thought the dues were paid. Is there interest on karmic dues? Maybe I forgot about that...

No knitting today; had appointments with attorneys and plenty of phone calls to make. Damn...what a mess. I HATE litigation!

I wish you happy knitting!

Gorgeous yarn!!

my "laundry" list

2006-03-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

I'd rather be knitting. Do you know what happens when you neglect everything else and just knit? Your laundry becomes a HUGE pile. It's not a pretty sight and I am ashamed at myself. So Sunday I did two loads, Monday I did three loads, today I did four loads. And I have laundry left for tomorrow! Wow, when you actually type it down, it sounds even worse.

I've gotten a pretty small amount of knitting done. I was able to work about 4 or 5 inches on the afghan, and I got a paw print pattern cast one with just a few rows on it. Here's the picture, if anyone wants the pattern let me know and I'll post it.

Alrighty then, I'm off to bed. I'm so exhausted I could just drop.

Happy Knitting!

Frogging Again!

2006-03-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

I've decided that today is Frogging Day.

I totally agree with the "Monday is a pain" theory.

I've been working each day on the felted pet bed. The first time I attempted to work the pattern everything went very well. All the increases were done correctly and when I started the increase for 72 stitches, something evil had crept in to those dog gone needles. I swear! I could NOT knit a row correctly. Not sure what happened. I frogged that yarn so many times that it actually just shredded. Incredible.

Anyway..I'm now knitting on my afghan. Simple garter stitch.. : )

Happy Knitting!

update on bunny and a felted bowl link

2006-03-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to email and comment about the bunny pattern. As more than one person suggested here's what I'm gonna do, I'm going to start over. This time I'm not using a row counter. I took a piece of paper and wrote down all the row numbers, and I'll just mark them off after I finish a row. Sounds way easy and hopefully will keep me on track!

My mom had already told me that it wasn't so bad to have a felted bowl, they are works of art. Oh yeah! Like I said before, everyone needs a felted bowl. So, she sent me a link to a felted bowl pattern. Here's a picture of a felted bowl with polymer clay. There are lots of patterns on hgtv for knitting. I never would have thought to surf over there, I just figured they would only have home and garden stuff. Anyway..I'm off to do some knitting. I love it when my hubbins goes to sleep and the puppy dog goes with him. I appreciate my quiet time!

Happy Knitting!

SOS

2006-03-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need help figuring out this pattern. Please, help!

I found a pattern for a Bunny Dishcloth. Here's the link for the pattern. Okay, I followed the pattern exactly, used my row counter even! Now, this is what my "bunny" wound up looking like. I know some of ya'll are able to write your own patterns. I've not been gifted with that particular ability. Would someone please look at the pattern and my "bunny" and tell me how to fix it? I would appreciate it sooo much. I've collected bunnies for years and so wanted to be able to work this pattern.

I'm incredibly disappointed. Seems like the last few thing I've tried, I've messed up somehow. Is it just me or does everyone go thru "spells" like this?

(wish me) Happy Knitting!

Break

2006-03-09T23:31:00.000-07:00

Hi ya'll! Well I had to frog some on my hubbins socks. Grrr! Evidently, I'm an overzealous frogger. I wound up frogging lots more rows than I needed to. So, I put them to the side for now. I am determined to finish them tho. I'm not really one to let things just hang. I think that's called OCD. : ) If I put it aside now, I'll prolly pick it back up in a few days.

I did start on some "secret" knitting. I'm using the Debbie
Bliss Cashmerino and my palmwood needles. The knitting just
flows. It's incredible what a difference it makes when you
are using high dollar needles. I love the combo.

So, I'll just pass along a picture of my sweet little baby girl.
I made her a scarf. Awww... isn't she cute? You can tell at the bottom of the scarf where she pulled at the hem trying to free herself. She provides hours upon hours of entertainment. Sorry about the flash effect on her eyes. They really aren't blue/green. Her eyes are really dark.

Happy Knitting!

Freakin Snow!!!

2006-03-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Can ya believe it's snowing here? Gimme a break. I'm so hard wired to expect "Texas" weather, I truly expect to look outside and see everything blooming. And the temps running in the mid 80s. Not here. I've still got a very desolate landscape. Incredibly depressing. Oh well...

I don't have any pics tonite. Sorry! I plan on posting some pics tomorrow of my hubbins socks. They are still going very well. At least I haven't managed to screw them up just yet. :) I have several rows of ribbing done so far and am getting ready to knit stockinette stitch now.

I suppose I'm off to knit socks and lament about the weather. Poor me...( not really, I've actually got it oh so good!)

Happy Knitting!

Comedic Break

2006-03-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

I was able to cast on for my hubbins tube socks. I've knit about two or so inches of the ribbing. I'm using circulars and am using the magic loop method, if this go well I'm going to break out the size 2 dpns. Wish me lots of luck!!

Now for something that I hope you will find as hilarous as my hubbins and I do. Remember now, I gave up on the pet bed cause of the stitch increase nitemare. So here's a couple of pictures of my new "felted bowl." Go ahead, it's okay to laugh, my hubbins and I sure did!

An upside down bowl? or pumkin?

A floppy felted bowl?

Like I said it's more than okay to laugh. As I venture forth into this new world of knitting, I hope not to have too many felted bowls. I'm glad the socks are working out so far. :)

Happy Knitting

Smelly Yarn

2006-03-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick entry for today.

I'm on a few different yahoo knitting groups. Somehow the discussion veered onto scented yarn. I have no idea if the yarn retains it scent after washing or what. I'm not sure if they use essential oils or what to scent the yarn. This is the link for Scentsational Strands. Apparently, you choose the kind of yarn you want and then you choose a scent. They have lots of different scents to choose from. And if you really get curious and click the "gift" link they show all kinds of yarns that look and smell like ice cream. I don't know if the world is actually ready for scented yarns but they are definitely available! I'm sure there are more websites for scented yarn but I'm being lazy and don't feel like googling it.

My felted pet bed is no more. Such a disaster! It has now been appropriated as a felted bowl. Because everyone needs a felted bowl. What happened is when I wrote the pattern down, I just wrote knit 9 increase each loop. So when I started knitting I did a yarn forward. After I had switched over to circulars and had done a fair amount of knitting I looked at the pattern online. Mine didn't look anything like the picture. I then realized a needed to knit into the front and back of a stitch to make the increase. Trust me it does make a difference when it comes to the way you increase your stitches. Trust me.

Happy Knitting! (and stitch increasing!)

Correction

2006-03-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

My mom told me that the link I posted to the pet bed pattern was a bad link. So I'm gonna try again. You can find the "recipe" here. Hopefully it'll work this time.

I tried my hand at using double point needles this weekend. It actually went very well. I didn't frog any rows! This picture was taken after I had knit three rows. ( I wanted to take the picture before I totally screwed up.) The only thing that kept throwing me off was getting all the needles kind of twisted up. After I decided I'd just ignore them, the knitting went much smoother.

After I had about 140 stitches I switched over to my circulars and this is what I've got so far. I really wanted to finish this skein before I went to bed tonite but it doesn't look like that is gonna happen. The yarn I'm using for the pet bed is a wonderful deep red colour with mulitcolour speckles in it. The computer doesn't do it justice. Of course, I don't have the best lighting either. Sorry about that!

My hubbins birthday was Saturday. This year he wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Now normally I would have gone to the bakery and ordered his cake. He threw a kink in my plans by requesting a homemade cake. I consider myself to be a good cook, I mean my hubbins has never complained about my cooking and he hasn't lost any weight so... with that said, I am no cake decorator! I frosted his cake and decided I'd use a store bought bottle of icing. The kind that comes in a canister that you hold upside down and squirt. It's a can like cheese wiz comes in. Anyway I've never ever written on a cake before and it's not as easy as you might think it is. This was what I came up with.

Just in case you can't read it, it says Happy BDay Rob.
I know, it's horrible!

And if that wasn't ghetto enough for you...check this out,
freakin toothpicks holding the candles up!!!

I was so glad when he blew those candles out. I took the candles (and toothpicks) off the cake and cut it. He said it tasted great. You don't have to worry tho, I won't be decorating any more cakes. I'm going to stick to something a little easier...like knitting. And to think, my mom decorated my cousins entire wedding cake. Can ya believe it??

I started reading Night by Elie Wiesel last nite. You can read an excerpt from the book here. Yes, Oprah did choose it as her book club selection. I would have read it with out Oprah endorsing it tho. I am an avid reader and will read just about anything you put in front of me. I really am enjoying this book. I told my hubbins that in between the enormous amount of time I spend reading and the enormous amount of time I spend knitting, there is no time left for housecleaning and laundry. hee hee! Stay tuned to see how that works out. :)

Happy Knitting!

TGIF

2006-03-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

My hubbins and I went to the LYS today. (Note: Husbands do not like to spend an extended periond of time in yarn stores.) I got lots of yarn to work with. See...

The four skeins on the bottom is for an afgan my hubbins wanted me to knit. The red coloured skeins are for a felted pet bed for my sweet little puppy dog. The blueish green yarn is for my hubbins tube socks. And the other three skeins are also sock yarn.

I'm going to knit the two matching sock yarns with the magic loop method. The one lone sock skein I'm going to try a really basic sock using dpns! I'll probably wait until after the weekend to attempt that. My dear, darling hubbins will go back to work on Monday and it should be a little bit quieter. I'm pretty sure it's best not to have any distractions while using five douple point needles. Anyone have any suggestions or advice on sock knitting?

Happy Knitting!

Round and Round We Go!

2006-03-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about making one of those cute felted pet beds as my next project. The pattern itself doesn't seem that difficult. I know the pattern says "kitty" but I think my sweet lil baby girl would fit in there just fine. Anyway, after looking at the pattern I realized I've never even tried to knit in the round. No time like the present to learn! So....

I found the video for magic loop knitting here. I decided to practice the magic loop method since I don't have any double point needles. (I'm hoping to remedy that situation on Friday with a trip to my LYS. I have a huge list of "I wants" dancing in my head. I'd probably have to file for bankruptcy if I lived any closer.) It doesn't seem like knitting in the round or the magic loop knitting is difficult at all. Just feels a little bit akward at first. After the second round or so I caught on and it went pretty quickly. I hope to have some pictures for ya'll tomorrow.

Happy Knitting!

Showing Off

2006-03-01T02:13:00.000-07:00

I hate to brag but isn't the gold medal lovely? :)

Happy Knitting!

The Perfect Pattern

2006-02-28T23:18:00.000-07:00

Since I'm not working on a specific project, I'm scouring the internet for patterns. I've got lots of stuff to choose from. I've started keeping a shopping list so I won't forget something when I get to the yarn store. I've decided I'm not working on one project at a time. Way too many patterns, way too little time.

Here's a picture of the lace pattern I've been working on to pass the time. It doesn't really show up well on the blue background.

I am really loving the palmwood needles I got! After working with a size 13 aluminum needle, working with an 8 is like working with toothpicks! They really are wonderful tho, I worked the lace pattern with them and the Debbie Bliss cashmerino I got. It's like buttah! Yes, I am a yarn snob and I am spoiled!

Happy Knitting

the void

2006-02-27T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do feel like I'm in a knitting void. I still haven't decided on a project. My daughter and hubbins both want socks. That in and of itself oughta keep me busy until something next year. I did a little bit of research and came up with a coupla easy sock patterns to choose from. We'll see how that turns out.

I played around some today with a slip stitch pattern. The picture is a CLOSE up of what I was working on. Sorry it's such a close shot. But hey, you are able to see my stitches. The yarn is some of the Cascade I got a week ago or so. I like the way the pattern looks when it's worked up. And it knits up really, really quick since you are skipping every two stitches.

I'm working on some lace right now...I'm hoping to have pictures of that tomorrow.

Happy Knitting

Withdrawl

2006-02-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I do believe I'm suffering from knitting withdrawl. It's strange being finished with a project and not having something else started. When I finally sat down this afternoon, I reached for my knitting and was surprised it wasn't there!

I'm not sure what project I'll tackle next. I have a few things in mind. I want to learn to knit socks. I am a little intimidated tho. I've seen pics on other people's blog and the sock had so many needles in it, it looked like it was in operating room! Just seems like working with that many needles would have to be confusing. My LYS has sock classes teaching the "magic loop" method. I may have to wait awhile before I try my hand at socks.

I did knit a very small swatch from the book knitting on the edge.
The pattern is called leaf vein insertion. I didn't really knit enough of it for you to get a very good idea of the way it looks. Sorry bout that. My domestic duties drug me away from my swatch. The book is excellent tho. If you don't already have it, I highly recommend it.

I'm off to browse my patterns and try to decide which project to start tomorrow. Congratulations to everyone that participated in the Knitting Olympics. It definitely brought me a feeling of accomplishment!

Happy Knitting

Stick a fork in me

2006-02-24T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm done!

After suffering thru three skeins of Homespun yarn, I crossed the Olympic finish line earlier this afternoon! My prayer shawl is finished, has been washed, and is awaiting the dryer. I'm happy it's over.

I learned several things with this project.
a) I do NOT like homespun yarn
b) I don't particularly like working with aluminum needles
c) I don't like working on one project at a time
d) I should have used circulars on this project

It actually turned into more of a throw than a shawl. I decided that since I wasn't going to add fringe I should knit a few extra rows just for length. Then I decided I should work enough extra rows so that it would also wrap around my husband in case he got cold. Whatever you want to call it, it is finished. And you know what that means... I can finally break into that Vogue Stitchionary that I've been saving as my reward.

Happy Knitting!

Olympics and the home stetch

2006-02-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Okay fellow Olympians, we are entering the home stretch. To those that haven't finished, do you believe you'll finish in time? To those that have finished, congratulations! I've got just a few rows left on my shawl. So I should be finished tomorrow at some time. I'm not adding a fringe. Just not much of a fringe girl. I'll post pictures of the finished project tomorrow. Cross your fingers and wish me luck!

I feel so bad for Sasha Cohen. I know she is just heartbroken. I am glad that she did medal, just sorry it wasn't the gold. Is it just me or did it seem like there were lots of falls on the ice this Olympic go round? I think I remeber the ice dancers blaming the Torino ice. What does that mean? Do they have a different kind of ice in Italy? Maybe the new way of scoring has something to do with it, I'm not sure. I just wondered if anyone else noticed it.

I'm really looking forward to the closing ceremonies of these Olympics. I miss my Conan O'Brien!

Happy Knitting!

Lace Horseshoe

2006-02-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Several people have asked me for this pattern, so here goes.

This pattern is worked over eight rows, and is worked in multiples of 27 stitches.

1st row: p5, k5, p7, k5, p5

2nd row: p to end

3rd row: p3, p2tog, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p2, p3tog,
p2, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, p2tog, p3

4th row: p to end

5th row: p2, p2tog, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2,p1, p3tog,
p1, k2, yo, k3, yo, k2, p2tog, p2

6th row: p to end

7th row: p1, p2tog, k2, yo, k5, yo, k2, p3tog, k2,
yo, k5, yo, k2, p3tog, k2, yo, k5, yo,
k2, p2tog, p1

8th row: p to end

Repeat these 8 rows to form the pattern

This pattern is not as hard as you might think. As long as you pay attention to where you are in the row, it shouldn't give you problems. Heck, even I was able to work it!

Happy Knitting!

Last Skein

2006-02-21T22:42:00.000-07:00

I started my final skein of homespun today! I'm so excited. My pattern calls for only a little more than half this skein, and then I'm finished. I will be so glad...knitting three and purling three can become quite tedious. Today was a good day to knit...very cold and cloudy, it is suppose to be tomorrow as well. With that said, I should be able to get lots and lots of knitting done.

The puppy dog got a manicure and a pedicure tonite. It was incredibly funny. I'll post pictures tomorrow. I stayed up late so I could watch the Olympic ice skating. Go Sasha go!

Happy Knitting

A Shout Out and An Excuse

2006-02-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

Firts things first. A huge knitting shout out to my husband! Thank you hubbins! He spent his Sunday afternoon working on my blog. When I asked him to look at it, I thought it would be a few minutes at best. Shows what I know about html. Now on to the excuse...

This is why I'm not further along on my prayer shawl. The puppy dog does NOT like to see anything in my lap. She considers my lap her own personal area. This greatly reduces my knitting speed. After I knit a certain number I have to rearrange the dog...knit a few more...rearrange the dog. You get the picture.

My husband says the project is coming along tho. And I have no doubt I'll be crossing the Olympic finish line. I'll be so glad when I do..no more Homespun for me!

Happy Knitting!

knit on

2006-02-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

It's so cold! I'll be so glad when Spring is sprung. I was able to do a lot of knitting today. Which is a good thing because there is only a few days left to finish my Olympic project. I'll be crossing the finish line tho!

I was being a domestic goddess today! I did lots of laundry and even managed to cook dinner. Hubbins was very, very happy. As was the puppy dog. :)

I will have pictures tomorrow of the prayer shawl. It's so late, I don't feel like uploading them at this point. I know, I know...I'm being lazy. But the dog still has to be bathed before I can go to bed. So, with that being said..I'm off to bathe the puppy dog. And just maybe knit a few more rows before bed. hee hee

Happy Knitting

LYS trip

2006-02-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone that is participating in the Knitting Olympics is having as much fun as I am! ;) No, seriously...it could be lots worse. I mean I could be so far behind that there would be no chance at finishing. As it is, I've just got really crappy yarn.

My darling Hubbins accompanied me (this means he paid!) to Barnes & Noble's and my LYS. I was able to find two books that had been suggested to me. And I found some goodies at the yarn store.

Both the books are just awesome. These are books that I will use for lots of years to come. Using both books, I should be able to knit a different pattern every day for a whole year! I should see a marked improvment in my skills.

The two smaller skeins of yarn are Debbie Bliss cashmerino. So very, very soft. I love it. It's wonderful just "petting" this yarn.

The other three skeins are all Cascade Quatro. This is the yarn I learned to knit on so I'm partial to it. It really does knit up really nice.

I also got a new pair of needles. They are made from palmwood. I've never read anything about palmwood needles. Has anybody out there ever worked with these? They are very beautiful and super slick. I'm not going to "open" any of my presents until I finish my prayer shawl. In some kind of roundabout way this gives me incentive...I think... sounds good anyway.

Happy Knitting!

Homesnap!

2006-02-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

I bought four skeins of Homespun brand yarn to work my prayer shawl in, it's a chunky kind of yarn. I've heard both good and not so good things about this yarn. So I decided I'd go ahead and try it. I was knitting along, and getting somewhat frustrated...with this yarn it sort of "kinks" up and you have to run it between your fingers as you knit to keep it straight. I'm in the middle of a row and I ran my fingers down the working yarn and SNAP! Just like that. I wasn't pulling hard or anything. As soon as the yarn snapped it began to unravel. What a mess! I just frogged that row and cut the offending piece out and started that row over. I will never work with this brand of yarn again. Does that make me a yarn snob?

I found out tonite that my Hubbins is off both tomorrow and Monday. Ya gotta love the military! Yes, this is what your tax dollars pay for. ;) Tomorrow we are heading over to my LYS. I can't wait! I just love going in there. I feel just like a kid in a candy store! It's great. We are also planning on heading over to Barnes & Noble's. I'm looking for a stitch reference book. I also want to check out the knitting magazines. Which magazines are your favourites and why? I'm not sure what else I should be looking for. Does anyone have any ideas for a really good "starting out" book? I'd like to have one that I'll be able to use for years.

It's late and I want to finish this skein of yarn so...knitting I will go!

knit and purl

2006-02-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today I've been knitting and purling until I'm almost blind. The prayer shawl I'm knitting for the Olympics is just alternating between the two. It gets very tiresome. I'd say I'm just a little less than half way finished. I could probably already be finished if I didn't stop to work on other projects. :) At least I didn't spend another whole day surfing the web! I'm so freakin glad I found that emoticon.

Thanks to everyone that sent me such nice email and that left comments. I promise I'll post the pattern for the lace horseshoe soon. Maybe this weekend. Right now I'm in my knitting grove so I guess I should get back to it.

Happy Knitting!

Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have the most wonderful husband!! I've got to be the luckiest girl ever. Here's what I got for Valentine's Day. All those Godiva chocolates.....

Anyway, I'm trying to decide what pattern I want to use for a baby blanket.... the pink swatch is called Lace Horseshoe, the blue one is Feather and Fan. So, any suggestions?

The feather and fan pattern is probably the easiest to do but that's really secondary. If anyone has any other patterns for a baby blanket they would be most appreciated!

I'm having lots of fun reading knitting blogs. There are so many I doubt I'll ever make my way thru all of them. Anyway, I'm off to knit. The Olympics are calling me.....

searching

2006-02-14T00:25:00.000-07:00

I've spent the majority of my day scouring the web for a knitting emoticon. And I still haven't found it. At this point, I'm ready to crawl into bed and forget about the whole thing.

I did manage to get in a small amount of knitting. I'm working on my bunny right now.

Tomorrow will be better! Right? Has to be... I'm out.

the allure of the internet

2006-02-12T22:29:00.000-07:00

I found a pattern for a beautiful shawl. Looks a pretty simple stitch that repeats over and over and over. Sounds like something I could handle. I didn't get as much knitting done today as I would have liked. The internet kept pulling me back in. I will be glad when I get my blog page set up the way I want it. It just looks so half finished or just kinda thrown together. My hubbins will go back to work tomorrow and it will be quiet here so I think I'll dedicate the morning to blog design.

What's up with Dick Cheney? Accidentally shooting folks? Good thing he hasn't got a very good aim. I wonder what would happen if Joe Q. Public "accidentally" shot someone? I'm guessing the two incidents would be handled entirely differently. Well, I think I'm off to tuck my hubbins in and then it's time for some serious knitting, with the dog on my lap of course.

Lazy Sunday

2006-02-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

I spent the largest part of the day surfing the web and reading knitting blogs. You can truly get lost for days reading blogs and you still haven't scratched the surface. It is enjoyable tho and really, what else did I really need to do today? I did all the laundry (including ironing my hubbin's BDUs) last nite. I did have every intention of completing the stuffed bunny, and I might be able to anyway. It all depends on the insomnia thingy! :)

Hubbins and I took Bella (puppy dog) for a walk. The weather had moderated enough so that she wasn't shivering. Now she's curled up in a ball asleep. She's so cute when she's sleeping.

I'm going to try to get some knitting finished. Stay tuned.

SKPO, YF

2006-02-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

Grrrr! Why can't I get this stitch combo to work? I started out with 28 stitches and wound up with 36! Makes no sense and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I think what I'll do is just walk away from it for awhile. That approach has worked for me in the past. hee hee Of course, it wouldn't hurt if my dog wasn't in my lap and smelling the yarn and generally just adding to the chaos. Anyway...

I found a pattern for a bunny. This is a really, really simple pattern. I think I could probably get this one to work even with a puppy dog sitting on my lap.

Also, there really wil be pictures here in the future. All my html is going to come back. I hope. I hope. Such a boring kinda page without something to look at.

Alrighty then, I'm off to knit.. not sure what..but I'm gonna knit!

Knitting Olympics and hubbins

2006-02-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've decided to enter the Knitting Olympics. I'm going to be knitting a prayer shawl. I know that the project is suppose to be a challenge and considering that I learned the purl stitch only last week...the prayer shawl is definatley a challenge! It'll be my first "project" we'll see how it turns out. I'm also planning on knitting my sister in law a baby blanket. Anyway...

Thanks to my wonderful hubbins for helping me to set my blog up. I'm sure he'll be a huge help to me until I get the hang of it. I haven't done html since 1998. It can't be that hard tho, right?

Off to knit

February 09, 2006

2006-02-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

The beginning!