Wicked...Tattoo

So I started Wicked on Friday and just seperated the arms from the body. I am making it in Karabella Aurora 8 in a cream and kahki green color. So far it is coming out rather nicely. I am doing the 36-39" size and was a little worried the fit might be to big, but it seems to be right on. I am also hoping that I will have enough of the green color for the long sleeve version, but with the trim in the cream it should work out. Ther pattern calls for 900 yards for the long sleeve, and i have exactly that in the green. It is so nice to use up some stash yarn, especially if that stash yarn is Aurora 8. I love this yarn and it has just been lingering in my stash for over a year waiting for the right pattern. Thanks to the Zephyr Girls, I found it!

I ahve also been working on the other Natucket Jacket for the yarn store, although I seem to have little motivation to work on it lately, even though I have a deadline for it. Now that I have seperated the sleeves though, it is back to the Nantucket for a few days. If I can finish all the pieces this week (yeah for elbow length sleeves!), then I will have all of the Superbowl to work on Wicked.

Otherwise, there has been little in the prgress of knitting lately. I have been getting a lot of writing done lately, which is much more important. Also, last weekend, quite a few family members and I went to get tattos to honor our Gramere.

My two sisters and one of my cousins got their tats on a foot, more like a rosary. My brother got his on his forearm and My cousin Candice and I opted for wrist ones instead, with a more elaborate Celtic design. The symbol on the top of the wrist is Brigid's cross (Brigid was a goddess of the Celts whom the Christians appropriated and turned into a saint. Keeping her cross in a more traditional Pagan way was any easy way to transition the pagans to Christianity. The cross was a powerful symbol to pagans as well, although the pagans saw it as a representative of the seasons and not a symbol of death). Brigid was my Gramere's confirmation name and it embodied who she was as both a Christian and pagan (Although many family members denounce her pagan side and see it as conflicting to the christian ideals, there are those of us who understood the balance in her between these two ideas). Around the wrist is a Celtic design with Oak leaves in various places. I have six leaves on mine, each one filled in with the color of a birthstone. There is red(garnet) and green (emerald) for my Gramere and my grandpa, There is a multi-coroed one(black opal) and purple (amythest) for my husband and I, and then there a two different blue ones (lapiz lazuli and aquamarine) for each of my children. It holds so much meaning to me and justt represents the love that we all had for our Gramere.

Finally I was able to upload the photos of the Nantucket Jacket. These are all from New Year's Eve.






















Then I had to throw these ones in just cuz they are cute. First me and the hubby, the next is me and my little sister.

This one I threw in because it does show off the jacket well although I think I look a bit freakish in it.















I brought it in to my LYS to show her the finished product and walked out of there with the yarn to make another one in dark blue Malabrigo for her shop. I love to knit for yarn! It has saved me a lot of money and I have produced many lovely things from that yarn.
The next pic is the first of the Wine and Roses Mitts from the Winter 06 Interweave. The second one is almost finished. I just have to do the thumb. I made them out of Elann's Peruvian baby Cashmere. Very soft and pretty. I really like them, although I think I would have preferred them in a different color, but I was going with what I had in my stash.
Hopefully in my next post I will have quite a few FO's to show. I have a few things left over from xmas to finish, as well as a few little projects I want to make before I start the Nantucket for my LYS.

New Year's Resolutions? Why set myself up for Disapointment...

Wow. It been a long time since I posted. That's what happens during the holidays! I love the holidays and family time, but I am so thankful that they are over. THe kids got a whole new playroom worth of toys from everyone. Unfortunately, we do not have an extra playroom, so I am still trying to figure out where to put them all. For now, the dining room has turned into a playroom, which gives them ample space. I just ignore the lack of space for me. It's not like we are formal dinner kind of people and clutter never really bothers me. I love chaos.
My daughter recieved 2 new pets for christams from my brother Jonah. He got her 2 lizards, a green anole and a long-tail. She named them "My Little Sunshine" and "Comet". At first they were named Titus and Lavinia, which she liked, but then I told her to pick her own names instead of the ill-fated Shakespearean names her mommy picked.
As far as knitting goes, I finished a pair of socks for my grandpa and a pair for my aunt, the mittens for the hubby's gram and a scarf for my step-dad. My hubby and my mom both got to see what I am making them...at some point I will finish them! Unfortunately, I only have pictures of the socks for my grandpa.
These are the Log Cabin socks from Handknit Holidays. Isn't he just adorable modeling them?! He also recieved some pictures my daughter drew for him, which he got a kick out of, but I think he loved the bag we gave him the most. Morrigan picked out a squeaky nosed Santa gift bag, which he just kept pushing and cracking up about. The socks were a very special and emotional gift for the both of us though. My Grandma (Gramere) passed away right before xmas, and these socks matched the ones I gave her for mother's day last year. Gramere was also a knitter, so when he opened them, he told me how he still has pieces of sweaters and things that she had made for him with the labels she made attached. So even after the garment itself has long since fallen apart, he still carries around the memory of the time and love she put into the making of the garment. They were married over 60 years and I am so thankful for the big family we have that offers support and love to one another and especially to my grandpa who just lost the love of his life.
Ok, I have to stop talking about that because it just makes me extremely emotional.
On to happier things and another FO! I (basically) finished the Nantucket Jacket in time for New Year's! All I have left is the edging and button band, which I went back and forth about whether I really wanted to do it or not, but then I found some very pretty buttons that match it perfectly, so later today I will add the edging and buttons and finally block it!
And of course, in true blogger fashion, I can't post all the cute pics my sister took of it on New Year's eve. Grrrr. Maybe later.
I also started the Cardigan for Arwen. I loved the way one of the women from the Yahoo Arwen Group is putting a tree on the bag, so I "stole" her idea, and am doing the same thing with mine! Which helps me work on it. I hadn't started it yet because I wasn't in the mood for miles of endless stockinette for the back. This way, I get to watch a pattern emerge as I knit which keeps me interested in it. I am also trying to decide what yarn to make Wicked out of for the SKB. I have some Aurora 8 in my stash or I could splurge and get the Artyarns Supermerino and make it kind of variegated. Decisions, Decisions. Well, for now I am back to my duties and hopefully some knitting. Let's hope Blogger cooperates next time!