The Raven & The Rowan Tree

The Toy Curse has Ended

2007-04-05T12:44:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really knit toys. My first foray into knitted toys resulted in a Henry Rollins that was...well...misshapen at best with hair that looked more like a beanie than hair. Since then I have stayed away from knitting toys. So many parts, so much stuffing, and the outcome less than predictable (or so I thought). So when my cousing got pregnant, and knitty had two of the cutest knitted toys I had seen in one issue, I decided to attempt the toy making again. The result, while not perfect, and has a lack of a tail for some reason, is Norberta the Dragon. She is knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Astrakhan instead of the cotton called for. I love the cashmerino and the Astrakhan makes lovely kids gifts. Here she is posing with the gift of sock yarn included in her baby shower gift. (A fellow knitter, she needed some nice yarn for herself). Not too bad eh? (Although using that yarn for sewing was nothing short of a pain in my arse).

While I am at it, here are the other little knitted goodies for the soon-to-be Brigid. The socks are from Interweave and are the Better- Than- Booties Socks knit with Lorna's Laces.

The hat and booties are made with Lorna's Laces Angel yarn (100% angora). The booties pattern is the one from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and the hat pattern I found online for free from Jimmy Bean's wool (I think...). The final pic is of it all together with the classic Goodnight Moon added in per my daughter's request.
So after the ok turn out of Norberta, I ventured into knitting another toy, this time for my daughter. She picked the Sheldon the Turtle pattern from the same issue of knitty and she picked the yarn. I came home with some Malabrigo for a sweater and she claimed it as her favorite yarn and snuggled up with it for quite a while (hey..the girl has good taste!). I had a single skein of Sapphire green in my stash, so off the the LYS we headed to pick out a corresponding color for Sheldon. (I had to change the needles sizes up to size 6's DPN's and 7's straight instead of the called for 3's and 4's.) She picked the more muted green as opposed to the minty green ...and, well... here's Sheldon!
Ok, the curse is over. This is just about the cutest knitted toy I have seen (apart from the ones Becki makes with the little outfits...too cute to compare!) And the daisy button eyes? How do you say no to that?! The pattern was relatively easy with very little seeming, which is probably why I finished it so quickly. The best part? I have enough yarn left to make one in contrasting colors for my son! (That's not to say that I will soon be pumping out the toys in volume, but hey at least I know I can make em...and quickly...when need be!).

Finally....The Pattern!

2007-03-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so I know I said it would only be a couple of days before I put the pattern up, but I just got busy and life interfered, so FINALLY I am posting the pattern!

Some notes on the pattern: These were of course made for my measurements and are quite snug, so if you like them to be a little looser or need to make them wider around, I would suggest just going up a needle size.

Gauge: 8 sts and 11 rows to the inch on size 0 needles (I think but since they happen to be MIA at the moment due to one of my monsters, I can't double check)

Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Watercolor- 2 skeins

Measurements: Just below elbow-10 inches; wrist-61/2 inches (these are my measurements used, not the actual finished measurements of the armwarmers as I made them with a bit of negative ease). Length from elbow to beginning of thumb gusset: 9 inches

Pattern:

CO 70 stitches, divide evenly over 3 needles and join

K1, P1, to end of round

Continue in K1, P1 rib for 12 more rows (about 1 inch)

switch to St st and work 22 rounds even (2 inches)

Begin decreases:

k1, k2tog, knit to last 3 stitches, SSK, K1

Knit 5 rounds even

Work the previous 6 rounds until 48 stitches remain.

Knit 22 rounds even (2 inches)

Begin Thumb Gusset:

k1, pm, m1, k1, m1, pm, k to end of round

k one round even

Repeat last 2 rounds, increasing after 1st marker and before last marker, until you have 19 stitches between the markers

knit 4 rounds even

next round: k1, remove marker, place 19 stitches from gusset on scrap yarn , remove marker, CO1 stitch and continue working in the round (48 stitches remain).

K 16 rounds (about 1 1/2 inches)

Switch to K1 P1 rib for 6 rounds and BO in rib.

Thumb:

place 19 stitches back on the needles, dividing over 3 needles. PU and Knit 3 stitches in the gap.

K 1 round even

next round: K18, k2tog, k1 SSk (1 stitch will be from the beginning of the next round) 20 stitches remain

K 2 rounds, work k1, P1 rib for 6 more rounds

BO in rib.

Weave in ends.

Make the 2nd warmer the same as the first, no need to reverse shapings.

Abbreviations in case you need em:

K- knit

P- purl

CO- cast on

k2tog- Knit 2 stitches together

SSK- Slip slip knit

PM- place marker

St St- stockinette stitch

BO- Bind off

I think that's it! if you have any questions or notice any errors in my pattern, please leave me a comment. Also, if anyone does end up making them, I would love to see em!

Lovin Em!

2007-03-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

I finished the armwarmers and boy are they cute!

First,One skein of Lorna's Laces will do this much on a pair of armwarmers: One skein did one whole one and finished the thumb gussett on the second. I was amazed. A little shorter and these could have been made with one skein! (Not that I wanted them shorter mind you, I love that they are elbow length)

So here they are, shining in the morning light (Pictures courtesy of Morrigan Daniel, professional photographer at only 4)

I love how the light is only shining on the warmers in this pic: This next pic is the revised color choice of Morrigan. She was hard and fast sticking to her plan for "plain purple" ones until she saw this yarn. And then it was all "oh I want that! Because yellow and orange are my favorite colors!"

Otherwise, I won't bore you with another grey picture of grey yarn trying to finish up a grey sleeve for a grey sweater that I cast on for last night during Grey's Anatomy (Anyone else getting fed up with the change to all drama? What happened to the comedy?!). I am drowning in GREY. But hey, I have just about the most colorful armwarmers now to wear while I am knitting the grey, holding me back from the brink.

Dyeing Party!

2007-03-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Ok so it wasn't really a party. It was just my sister and I, but we did have fun! We started with this...

Added our dyes (red for me, green for her)...And ended up with this...She is happy with the color of hers. I am going to dye mine again in hopes of a deeper red. It looks deeper in this picture than it actually is. We used gel dyes for cakes and frosting and I really liked using them. I bought a whole bunch of colors as I have some other yarns I would like to dye or overdye.

In actual knitting news, I have finished one of the sleeves for Serge for the hubby and of course, have been procrastinating casting on the other. Also the beautiful weather the past few days has kept me out of the house as much as possible before the true cold March weather rolls back in (starting tomorrow I hear). We went to the South Side Irish parade where, and here i digress, I encountered some of that good crowd mentality that you don't really hear about too much. While trying to wade through the wall of people in front of one of the bars in search of my daughter and cousin up a few blocks, we got stuck. Not a person was willing to move out of the way of the stroller carrying Rowan until one fairly drunk youngin started yelling at everyone to get out of the way for the baby. This then carried along through the crowd which parted like the red sea. There was only one incident of a bad person in the crowd trying to start a fight with another, but the crowd quenched it quicky with many outcries of "hey there's a baby here!". Wow. I tell ya, never again will I leave the safety of the end of the parade route in order to traverse through the drunken masses (next year I will also keep both children with me at all times in order to avoid this as well). But anyway, in the little knitting I have been doing, I did finish one of these:

These are the armwarmers of my own design using Lorna's Laces in color Watercolor that has been lounging in my stash. (You should know that over the years I have aquired a fair bit of sock yarn, primarily in Lorna's Laces that I am now trying to pare down a bit but I am not in the mood to make socks. Hence the armwarmers and possibly a few more sets to come in varying designs). My daughter wants a pair too now, but in purple. Whenver she sees mine, she says "I wish I had some mitts to wear like yours. But I want purple." So I will make some for her next as those will probably take me all of 2 days to start and finish. As per usual, I will leave you with some fun pics of the kids. Most from the museum, one not. (Excuse the mess that is my desk in the background...I have a lot of books and a lot of papers that seem to end up strewn across the desk. )

Mornings at my House

2007-03-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

Within a few moments of my children waking up and my niece getting dropped off, this is the sight that greets me. Don't they look so nice playing together? The funny thing is, that overall, this is how they are together all day long. Every so often one gets cranky with another and they fight over a toy or attention or cups, but overall, they love to play together. (That's not to say they are perfect angels. Oh no. They get into tons of trouble, they just do it together, or they take turns, so that some days my hair needs a good pulling out). I may think they are good kids because of my extremely high levels of patience (I have been told by many that I have this patience and that they are amazed at my ability to discipline without getting irritated and upset, but hey, they are just kids and getting mad never helps anything, especially in the world of discipline, not that I never get mad or upset, I am just lucky enough to understand kids most of the time and that transfers into patience for their outrageous behaviors at times), but I really do believe that they are good kids.

Anyway, I do have some knitting content for you today too! I have another pic of my daughter in her sweater. This is before school, complete with her hand-painted ceramics from the Pottery Bayou that she insisted be in the picture with her.

That's a pig and a dragon in case you are wondering. I also recieved a beautiful hand painted mug for my birthday with a fairy on it. It was completely her idea, the mug. She knows I like my mugs and fairies, so she said she wanted to get me a cup with fairies on it, so I said talk to Mafaire (A.K.A. Grandma) and see if she will take you to the Pottery Bayou (I love that place), and so they went. I didn't think I should go since it was a gift for my birthday.

This sweater is torturing me, I swear. And I realized that my husband has VERY long arms. They are much too long I tell ya.

This is Serge from the Rowan 40 Magazine. Love the pattern, love the yarn, hate the sleeves. I am still on the first sleeve, which I had hoped to finish on Monday. They just never seem to get any longer, no matter how long I knit them. Argh!
This next picture is fun at least, and is dreams of things to come. Here we have the beginnings of the tank for the yarn store (it's the Surplice Lace Top from the Nashua N.A. Designer Collection 4). IT is kind of pain since it is knit in so many different pieces, but the yarn is lovely for cotton. It glides so nicely, I didn't believe it was pure cotton! Also, there are some very fun armwarmers in the making uses Lorna's laces color Watercolor of my own design. Those are truly fun when I need some color! The green yarn is some Noro Cash Iroha that I scored for cheap and I am still searching for a pattern for it. The two variegated are Artyarns Supermerino. I am trying to decide between the 2 which one will become Wicked (since GASP! I frogged the one I made. It just wasn't working for me and that yarn needs to work for me). Any suggestions on which I should use? I just bought one of each to swatch with and see how the colors turn out knitted up.

I love the way it looks on our painted radiator cover. So pretty! The kids painted it with sponges in red, purple and blue and I love the way it and it was fun to do too! ok off to have my coffee. I somehow did this whole post without my morning cup, so I hope it makes sense. I can't vouch for my state of mind in the mornings!

My Adorable Girlfriend

2007-03-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

I started the Girlfriend Swing Coat a while ago for my daughter and I just picked it back up and finished it last night. I caught her in a modeling mood, so without further ado, my Girlfriend! (Just ignore the mess in the background. Rowan likes to tear all the movies off the shelves in search for elmopalooza).

I did it in the Blue Sky cotton that the pattern calls for. Over a year ago, I bought it on sale thinking that I would for some reason make something for me out of it. Well, since it isn't brown or green or red or earthy at all, and since the yarn is a bit thick for a worsted, it really wasn't going to work for me. The pattern is from Knit and Tonic. I made the size 6 so that she would be able to wear it at least through the coming spring and into next fall at least. I think it turned out really cute I must say!

Now if only I could escape from sleeve island.... I am still working on the sleeves for my husband's xmas sweater! There is just something about knitting 20 inch sleeves on size 6 needles that makes me avoid them at all costs. And of course, the next sweater he wants is a traditional gansey...small needles and all. HA! (I laugh to keep from weeping). I'm hoping to have it finished for our 25th anniversary. That gives me about 20 years to finish it....

Other than that, I have the tank for the yarn store to start, the sleeves for my Belle Epoque and this weekend I will be dyeing the laceweight with my sister for the Heere be Dragone shawl. We have made a pact to knit it together so that we can have them finished for the Renaissance Faire this summer. I am really hoping we will hold to our pact. This will be our first REAL lace project with laceweight yarn and all, but how could we pass it up?! The fantasy element in our family runs deep, deep enough for us to go a little bit insane over the prospect of a dragon shawl. I can't wait to start!

Let the insanity begin....

(Correction...let the insanity continue...there is no way I can pretend that I was sane to begin with...)

Sickness and Knitting

2007-02-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Well all last week there was a nasty cold spreading its way around the house. First the kids, then me, then the hubby got it. Amongst snuggles and tea, I was able to do a tremendous amount of knitting...as long as it was plain stockinette without thought.

The first FO are these mittens done in Knit Picks yarn (the bulky alpaca stuff...can't remember the name). It's the pattern from Weekend Knitting. I basically knitted these mittens while watching the new King Kong movie. Talk about a quick knit! (and a depressing movie!). Almost the whole time I also had one of my monsters snuggled up with me.

After that, I figured I would work on Wicked. Talk about a brainless knit. I hate this picture, but until I can get my hubby to take one of me in it, this is the angle I get when my 4 year old takes the pic for me. I am also unsure about the sweater. I LOVE the yarn and it is incredibly cozy, but I am still going back and forth on the fit. I didn't do any shaping on the sleeves as I did the pattern as it was written, and so the sleeves are a bit bulky and awkward. They don't look as wierd as they feel though. As I thought, I just about ran out of the green yarn. If I had had more of it, I would have added about an inch to the body. As it is, I had 900 yards of the green which is what the pattern called for in the size I made for the entire sweater. It is a good thing I thought ahead and made the edgings in the cream or I would never have had enough yarn. So right now this sweater gets a "meh" a bit until I wear it more and see what I really think of it.Finally, I made Glampyre's minisweater (a.k.a. Boobholder). By far my favorite knit over my weeklong st st spree! I made mine in some Malabrigo (color: Pagoda) that I had in the stash. It took about 1 1/2 skeins to make the whole thing and it is a bit bigger than the original. I made it longer so that it would cross in the front as well as eliminating the poufy sleeves but making thesleeves longer. I absolutely love it and want to make more in other colors. I wore it out the other night to dinner and a concert in honor of my Gramere so there are some very cute pics of it that others took, but I don't have them, so I had to settle for the bathroom pic.Moving on from that, I have a question for you. What happens when there are 2 LYS sales on the same day, and one of those sales is 40% off for a limited time? 8 skeins of Cascade Indulgence, 10 skeins of Rowan Wool Cotton, 12 skeins of Extra Australian Merino Wool and 1 gorgeous skein of Tilli Thomas Disco Lights in Olive (which as you can see, I could not keep my hands off of it and had to start knitting with it right away. It is quickly becoming a long, flowy head scarf). My only regret is thatI didn't buy another skein of the TIlli. At that price, wow.

Now I really must get back to knitting the sleeves on the Nantucket for my LYS so I can bring it in this week. I copped out last week and used the sick excuse, so I really have to finish it now. I'll leave you with a couple adorable pics of the kids at the Museum of Science and Industry from yesterday. (as you can see, we are all feeling better and everyone but the hubby is over the cold!).

Wicked...Tattoo

2007-01-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-01-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

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...

2007-01-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

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!

No Pictures just life

2006-11-29T09:40:00.000-08:00

So I am not putting any pictures up today, mainly because I am just to tired. IT has been hectic around here lately. Both my kids have that nasty stomach virus going around this year, and Morrigan got hit with it REALLY bad. We had to take her to the emergency room last night to get her rehydrated. She just stopped eating and drinking and was throwing up yesterday. It was scary. They put her on an IV and we were able to take her home finally at about midnight last night. She is doing much better today, I just have to push the fluids and try to get her to eat.
In knitting news, I finished and gifted the last of the Central Park Hoodies to my mother-in-law. It turned out gorgeous in the berrocco ultra alpaca. Unfortuantely, I forgot to get a pic before I gave it to her. If I can, I will get her to take one so I can post it. Another forgotten photo opportunity is the Kushu Kushu scarf in Habu that I was making for the LYS. Wow, was that a pain to knit! I am so happy that it is finished and out of the house. And in return I am getting 7 skeins of Malabrigo. So it wasn't all bad! I am back onto the holiday knitting track now, although my list is exceptionally shorter than initially intended! I'll be lucky to get 4 gifts completed for xmas. Ah well. I'll just have to try to get an early start for next year. (Stop laughing! I mean it!) I am making the most adorable hat, scarf and mitten combo for Morrigan. I'll post pics next time when it is all completed. I made it all up in my head and it is really pretty. I am using Malabrigo in 2 different purple colorways (I think I am addicted to this yarn. Softness and gorgeous colors...what more can you ask for in a wool yarn?).
oh yeah, Thanksgiving was really nice this year. I stayed home and made turkey with all the fixins. My brother, his wife and baby came over and one of my other brothers came over as well. Nice and small. Delicious food and a chance to play the new Nintendo Wii system that my little bro brought over, good company and not leaving the house to run around made it one of the best Thanksgivings so far! I may even do it again next year!
Ok, that's it for me. I'll try to post soon with actual pictures, but I'm not promising anything!

Halloween and Progress in Knitting

2006-11-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

I just have to post some pics of the kids from Halloween. My daughter was an autumn fairy and so my son's costume was made around that. I just called him a woodland elf. Halloween was a blast, although the day was VERY long and the kids were wiped out by the end of trick-or-treating.
As far as knitting goes, I have finished the CPH for my LYS and picked up some Malabrigo in return to make the Cardigan for Arwen sweater from the new Interweave. Yeah!

One more of these to finish and then I can burn the pattern! I am almost finished with the one for my mother-in-law. I have to finish the other sleeve, do the hood and edging and sewing. I am hoping to finish it up this week. Her bday is right after thanksgiving so I am going to give it to her then instead of for xmas.

I also started the sweater for my hubby. I am making him Serge from the Rowan 40 magazine. That is going to take me a while though cuz I can only work on it during the day while he is at work and most of my knitting time is in the evening after the kids are in bed. I should be able to finish it in time for xmas though.

I also had quite a mishap with felting recently. I felted 3 items. A Purse, a pair of slippers and a princess hat. The purse turned out to small (it looks like a clutch when it should have been a nice sized bag), the slippers are too big (hopefully another cycle will shrink them down more) and the hat was Just Right! (the goldilocks reference was intentional!)

Here is my daughter sporting her new hat, which despite the pouty face, she loves. The pouty face was actually just a pose for the camera. She kept peeking over to make sure I was going to take the picture. It is super cute. The pattern was from the New Knits on the Block book by Vickie Howell, but it's also on theDIY website for free since it was featured on Knitty Gritty.

That is basically what I have been up to in knitting news. I am absolutely loving and hating the new Interweave Knits mag. Loving it for all the beautiful patterns that I want to knit and hating it for the same reason. The free pattern on their website of the old world booties are awesome too and every kid I know will be getting a pair of those...especially since most of the people I know go to the Renaissance Faire and if I add a sole and alter the pattern for older kids,t hey would be great for walking around in all day.

That's it for today, I'll try to post some progress picks some time this week as long as Blogger cooperates!

Cutest Picture Ever

2006-10-18T05:53:00.000-07:00

I just had to catch this moment. This is my son Rowan and my niece Ryleigh. They love to share everything, and I just love how he is giving her a bite of his apple while he holds it. Sooooo cute! They are only a month apart so it is great to see them grow up together. I babysit her all week so we have nicknamed them "the twins"

The Bears & Socks

2006-10-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

So last night was the Bears game. I invited a bunch of family over to watch the game and eat homeade stew and fresh baked bread and watch the bears game. Now those who know me know that while I will watch football and may even enjoy it, I am not a big football person. I more enjoy the comraderie of friends watching a game. BUT I was out of my seat at that last touchdown. Yes. me. I was up cheering for the bears...and wow what a game. That ending was something else. The funny thing was is that I was telling the hubby sometime in the 3rd that if the bears were to pull it out and win, I may just have to convert. I'd say the out of the seat response was a converts response wouldn't you? So let's just hope they keep it up!
In knitting news, I finished my Baudelaire socks and I love em! They are sooo soft. I did them in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, but I am not sure which colorway.
This pic makes them look darker than they are, but still very pretty! I set aside the CPH for my LYS. I needed a break from that pattern, so I made these socks and almost finished the purse from the Rowan 40 magazine.

All that is left is the sewing and the felting. Let's see how long it takes me to finish that part....

I also finished the back and the two front pieces for the CPH for my mother-in-law. I love how it is knitting up in the berrocco Ultra Alpaca. It is so different from the donegal tweed and I can't wait to see how it finishes.

I also bought this yarn.

This is Lorna's Laces in color Gold Hill. It is gorgeous. Which is why I couldn't help but cast on for a pair of socks. When this yarn arrived, I realized I needed to find the perfect pattern for it. The socks needed to be tall and needed to be leafy, or close to it anyway. I went on a search for the perfect pattern for some fall socks. I found it in the winter 04 Interweave Magazine. Blogger won't let me put the pic up so you will just have to wait to see my finished version!

Well the babes are up from their nap and Morrigan is home from school so it is time to go back to my duties.....and knitting....

Musings on my Favorite Sweater

2006-09-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

I have knitted sweaters out of merino, donegal, silky wool, silky tweed, noro cash iroha, angora, alpaca, bamboo and cotton. Yet my favorite sweater is this one.

This is the first sweater I ever knitted. It is the hourglass pattern from last minute knitted gifts made out of cascade 220. Yep. That cascade 220. The workhorse of wool. I wear this sweater for everything. From going to the pumpkin patch, to hiking in the woods, to a family portrait. It is comfortable and softened after so many washings and even a little bit pilly. But it is my comfort sweater. I love all my sweaters I have made in their own way and for different reasons. Whether luxurious or basic, they all have their purpose. But this sweater makes me feel like me. It's a little bit big and roomy, but it fits me perfectly, or my style anyway. And it is my favorite color. One of those greens that draws me in and brings out my eyes when I wear it. I love this sweater. Sure, some day another may replace it on my favorites list and it may go to the back of the closet eventually, bt it will always have special memories for me. From picking out the yarn, to the knitting, to the accomplishment of my first sweater, to all of the memories I have while wearing this sweater. Even this picture is a memory to be filed away with this sweater. My daughter took this picture of me while I was knitting the Belle Epoque from knitty. The memory of her saying "one, two, smile!" is just another moment in time preserved with the camera and my favorite sweater. It is amazing how much a piece of clothing can hold our hearts.

Now a quick look at current WIP's: I have picked up the Belle Epoque again after many months away and have jsut divided for the front and back. I am making it out of cascade Indulgence and I am hoping I will love wearing it as much as I love the feel of the yarn as I knit it. I also picked up anotehr sweater I am working on in variegated alpaca (I'll post pictures next time) and then realized why I put it down. I have all the pieces completed, but not enough yarn to finish the neck. grrr. Hopefully my LYS will have more. Luckily, I don't have to worry about dye lots with this yarn. Also, I am working on the slippers for my hubby for his bday and one of the scarves for a gift. Next time, I will posdt progress picks, but today was mostly about my sweater.

Wow..Is it Really Finished?!

2006-09-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well I just finished my Central Park Hoodie from knitscene magazine and I love this sweater. I can't believe how quickly I finished it! I was able to get a lot of the knitting completed on Sunday though. We took the kids to Woodstock to one of the apple orchards there for apple picking and it is about a 2 hour drive from our house so that was all knitting time for me! Unfortunately, even thoughI reminded myself many times to grab the camera, I forgot to bring it with to the orchard. Just take my word for it...the kids had a blast and it was so cute to see them both running around with apples. My son's new favorite word is now apple. Elmo has been pushed aside for apples. We now have about 25 pounds of apples in the kitchen that I have to figure out what to do with!
Anyway...back to the knitting news. I did the CPH in the recommemded donegal tweed color #863. I did it in the 40" size. Now I am not positive, but I am pretty sure that I only bought enough yarn for the 36" size (7 skeins) and had enough to do the bigger size even though the pattern calls for an extra skein for that size.
This first picture is of the back...

And then a close up of the pretty dragon buttons I found at my LYS today....
And a few bad shots of my modeling it. It is really hard to get a good picture of yourself through a mirror isn't it?

Anyway, I love this sweater and even though the weather today was not cool enough to wear this sweater, it will be soon...by the time I block it! This is definitely a sweater that will look better after blocking. Now I really am going back to holiday knitting, starting with the slippers I am going to make for my hubby for his birthday. I think I am going to make the felted ones from the tracy ullman pattern book knit 2 together, although I will have to tweak the pattern a bit. I just love my cph and I am happy that I took a little time to finish this up all for me before I go back to knitting for everyone else. Ok back to work!

Holiday Stash, Procrastination Knitting, and Kids and Countertops

2006-09-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

What you see here is my holiday stash as of now. This is almost everything for my xmas knitting. The only yarn left to get is whatever I decide to knit for the rest of my nieces and nephews. What is all this yarn going to be? Well, this is enough yarn for 3 pairs of socks, 2 scarves, 1 lace shawl, 1 cabled stole, 1 pair of gloves, 1 pair of mittens, 2 adult sweaters, 1 pair of felted slippers, 1 guitar pillow and 1 baby coat. Hmmmmmm. Typing all of that made me realize how insane I am. There will be a lot of sleepless nights in the week leading up to Xmas! At least I have a few things finished.

This is one pair of socks, 1 finished sock for another pair, and 1 sock almost finished. Then there is 1 mitten and 2 viking hats that just need to be assembled.
The next picture is the back and the right front of the cardigan for my mother-in-law. Damn, do I have my work cut out for me!

Which then leads me to the knitting that I have been doing. You might assume that I am dilligently working on this HUGE list of gifts that have to be completed in a few measly months, but you would be wrong. Oh no. Instead, I have been hard at work on the Central Park Hoodie that I am making for myself. ( Yes, I know, I am a selfish knitter). I have the back and the 2 front pieces completed and am on to the 1st sleeve. I am using the Tahki Donnegal Tweed (Gasp! The recommended yarn! Can it be?!) in red-color 863.

I am absolutely loving it, which helps me to not feel so bad about the huge pile of gift knitting staring at me. In me defense, there is so much to choose from, I really just don't know what to start next. I think I will start the cabled scarf. I love doing cables, and a I can whip out a scarf pretty quick which should give me the motivation to whip out a few more projects after that. After I finish the hoodie anyway..... So I should resume gift knitting some time next week and that should keep me going for a couple weeks before I again get the urge to knit for myself!

So over the weekend we put in a new countertop and sink. My daughter of course had to help her daddy do it all. So she put on her work overalls and got to work. Here she is sweeping up the sawdust.

My son did his own helping out. He had to make sure the sink was big enough. I am assuming he was checking to make sure it would hold all of our dishes, but maybe he though it would make a good bathtub since he absolutely HATES bathtime in the big bath. Besides helping around the house, he also has a new found obsession with Elmo. He walks around with an Elmo doll, wants to watch countless hours of Elmopalooza and when not watching it, he wanders around says "Elmo Elmo Elmo" over and over again. (He is doing it right now in fact as I type). Sooo cute. Let me tell ya, sometimes beinga a mom is just so much fun. My kids may be nuts, but I can't imagine a better way to spend my day than hanging out with the little monsters!

Back to knitting.....the hoodie calls.....

And so it begins

2006-09-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

Isn't this adorable?

She loves to help me wind up my yarn. I think it's about time to teach her to knit!

In other news, I finished the sweater for my LYS. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture in my excitement to get it off to her. But it is finished!

With part of my credit, I got this yarn. It is the stuff my daughter is winding in the pic.

It is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I have already cast on for the Sienna Cardigan in the Fall 06 issue of Interweave. It is for my mother-in-law for xmas. Back to the xmas knitting already! I have a huge list of knitting to do for xmas, it is ridiculous. I am hoping to finish up this cardigan and a few of the smaller projects this month. I have to go through all of the yarn, so next post I may have to flash my holiday stash!

And lastly, here it is. The SKB!

Excuse the bad pic. It was a cloudy day out so I couldn't get it in the right light. Also, in this pic, the purl ridges do seem to add a bit of bulk around the middle so I think if I were to make it again, i would eliminate them like others are doing. Otherwise, I really do love this sweater. It hasn't been blocked yet and even though it is lightweight, it kept me warm all evening yesterday outside (at a bbq for the Bears/Packers game). As I said before, I made it in Silky Tweed color # 17. I used sz 6 and sz 3 needles with perfect gauge. Now, I am in no way close to the small size (this is the medium), yet I could have made the small and it would have fit fine. I am hoping that blocking will lengthen it and pull it in some, otherwise I may toss it into the dryer for a few minutes and see if it will shrink up a bit. It is so comfortable though, and if it doesn't block out right, I will still wear it often, I will just have to adjust as the day goes on! Love it, love it love it.

WIP Progress

2006-09-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have been hard at work on a few projects, hence the lack of posting. I did warn you after all!

First, there is the LYS sweater. This sweater was made with 8, yes 8 different colors of Trekking XXL. I will be so happy to finish up the seeming on this, but it will have to wait until after the kids are in bed tonight. My 15-month-old likes to grab at my sweaters as I seem them (which I do sitting on my couch with the coffee table pulled up to it...much more comfortable than the dining room table!).
Now I just have to decide what kind of yarn I should pick as my free stuff. Enough for a sweater? A varying blend of yarn? Some of those luxury skeins that I fondle and admire whistfully but can't afford to buy? Oh, the choices!

Next up is my SKB sweater. I LOVE the way this sweater is working up. I am doing mine in Silky Tweed color #17. I can't seem to get a good picture of the color, but it is a pretty green with yellow and orange slubs in it. The first picture is before I started the second sleeve and the next one is the beginning of the second sleeve. If all goes well, I should finish this up this week! I can't wait to wear it. I have one with me wearing it, but seeing as my 3 year old took the picture, it didn't turn out very well, so that will have to wait until I finish it.

Lastly, my mystery sock! I am doing some Elizabethan stockings. This picture is of the back where the moss stitch "seam runs. These are in Knit Picks Gloss. Love the yarn and the color (dusk). I am just about finished with the calf increases so I still have a LONG way to go on these.

Once I finish the other 2 sweaters, then I will spend more time on these as well as going back to my huge list of Yuletide knitting (A.K.A. Xmas knitting) and the Central Park Hoodie that was pushed aside.

One more pic before I go. My daughter started preschool yesterday and as the dorky mother that I am, I brought my camera with. For those who know my daughter, you know this is a standard goofy face of hers in pictures. Shedoesn't smile in pictures, she makes funny faces. I love it. She is also incredibly independent and was so excited to go to school to stay there "by herself" (i.e. without mom). She also picks out her own outfits and hates to have her hair brushed (it is still wet in the picture). As a feminist I am trying my damndest to raise a smart, independent, free thinking, strong daughter and I am (mostly) happy with my decision to do so!(anyone with a 3 year old knows what I mean by mostly!

Till next time....enjoy....

Warning!

2006-08-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

OK, I set up this blog and am just now posting to it. Not only am I bad at posting, but I am also bad at doing any of the upkeep to the blog itself. Links on the sidebar? give me a few months. Any of the fancy stuff all these people have on their blogs that I want? Who knows if I will ever get around to it. I realized that I am more ignorant to this computer stuff than I originally thought. With two of my own kids running around plus my niece most days and trying to get in as much knitting time as possible, the blog falls to the side. I would rather knit than read up on how to do all that cool stuff, ya know? That said, I will at least try to post fairly frequently and maybe, just maybe I can figure out how to put the buttons on the side from the KAL's I am in!
On to the knitting.
I am working on a few projects right now. I am going to start my socks for the Mystery Sock KAL. I am making some Elizabethan stockings and hoping that I don't waste a lot of time on a pair of stockings I won't like! But that's the point of the mystery sock huh?
I am also in the Simple Knitted Bodice KAL and am on to the sleeve. I have set that aside though for the big project I have to finish. The all imoportant knit-for-yarn sweater for my LYS. The sooner I get that done, the sooner I get to pick my yarn to add to my ever growing stash.
That said, I will try to be a good blogger and post some pics soon!