Knitting Today and Everyday

Pulling Up Anchor

2008-03-26T09:55:00.003-05:00

I have pulled up anchor and sailed my blog off to a new port.

New blog home: http://knittedgems.com

I hope you will visit me at my new home.

Thank you.

Easter Dinner

2008-03-24T10:11:00.003-05:00

I hope you had a Happy Easter!

We had family and friends over yesterday. Both my SIL and BIL came over. My dear friends also brought their son Finn, our godson. We had a simple dinner followed by egg dyeing.

Have I mentioned how much I love my oven lately? It's the best oven in the world! While my ham was cooking in the big oven, I had my lemon poppy cake baking away in the mini oven at a different temperature. It saved me so much time.

I truly had a wonderful time cooking the dinner up. I was in my element, singing (poorly) along to my CD's. Dan checked in on me and shook his head in bewilderment.

Of course, the mess all my cooking made didn't leave me quite as joyful. All I could think of after everybody left was a quote from an unknown woman. "If a woman was to see all the dishes that she had to wash before she died piled up before her in one pile, she'd lie down and die right then and there."

I should mention that I had already washed and put away the preparation dishes. Plus, the dishwasher had been loaded and ran once.

Rather than face it right away, I hid in my sewing room. Certain I couldn't handle any large and detailed projects, I opted to hem Dan's work pants.

It did the trick. It pepped me up enough that I was able to face the mountain of dishes. Dan had thought I would tackle them Monday morning, but there is one thing I hate more than a dirty kitchen and that is being faced with a dirty kitchen first thing in the morning. I'd rather have a root canal.

Evie's Tag Blanket

2008-03-21T12:16:00.006-05:00

I have named the tag blanket pattern after my friend's daughter Evie. It was her fascination with taggies (she has two tag blankets and one tag toy) that inspired me to alter my XandO cloth into a tag blanket.

After working for a whole week on the pattern, it is finally complete. The pattern contains two full pages of charts. The written directions take up another 8 pages.

Please don't let the length of the pattern scare you. The pattern itself is not difficult. It was my desire to present the pattern in the most user-friendly manner that caused it to grow out of proportions.

The pattern can be instantly downloaded through The Knitting Vault.

If you are on Ravelry, this link will escort you to my pattern store where you can read the full description and/or purchase the pattern. Upon purchase and payment, the pattern will automatically be added to your Ravelry library.

A word of caution: It is assumed that double knitting takes twice as long as plain knitting. I would assert that it takes three times as long. Double knitting requires a great deal of manipulation with the two strands of yarn being used. Typically, before and after each stitch, one of the strands of yarn must be maneuvered into place. Thus, this project should not be started the night before the day it is needed. Of course, if you do manage to complete it in one day, I'd love to know about it!

Katie's Doll Quilt and (of course) More Cards

2008-03-21T11:18:00.004-05:00

I finished Katie's doll quilt last night!

Well, there are a few white lies in that announcement. The quilt isn't completely finished; I still have to tack down the corners. It's not a "real" quilt either; it's a "cheater" quilt.

The top of the quilt is just one piece of fabric. The batting is just a piece of flannel fabric. I'm still calling it a quilt, because I did quilt the layers together. They are loosely quilted, but quilted all the same. I just followed any straight lines I could find in the fabric top that went from side to side without meandering. (I don't trust my machine to meander. Often when I turn a corner on it, the needle gets jammed). Then, I stitched around the hearts that all the My Little Ponies were framed in.

The whole quilt was machine quilted, including the binding. I topstitched it down rather than hand tack it to the back. I imagine with the white fabric on the back side, this quilt is going to require a lot of machine washing.

I tried taking pictures last night, but without any sunlight to speak of, they came out a bit dark. I'll try again this weekend.

And for cards - I have 3 new ones to show you!

First, a personalized card inspired by my new Carol Duvall book.

Carol had included instructions on how to stamp directly over paper colored in chalk. I don't have chalk. Nor was I about to color a whole piece of paper in chalk anyway. I want instanst gratification!

But, if you look closely, you'll notice that the color underneath the bike is yellow. I colored a small section of the red cardstock with a yellow colored pencil to make the stamp pop out a bit more.

In case you're wondering who I personalized the card for, it's me. I ride a red bike to run errands and my last name starts with h.

Next up is an Easter card.

I just piled some cardstock up and slapped a bunny button on top. (The back of the button was cut off with an Xacto knife).

Lastly, I give you a Greenland card. Now, I've never been to Greenland. And for the record, I have no desire to go. I hear it's really cold there. I can barely suffer through the Pennsylvania winters without whining once a week.

This picture is from a 1956 encyclopedia that came with the purchase of this house. The son, for whom the collection was purchased for many years ago, thought he could live without the knowledge.

Tag Vote

2008-03-19T09:51:00.004-05:00

My XandO design started out in life as a not-a-blanket. It then morphed into a dishcloth, but was found to be too heavy. Then, it tried to be a washcloth, but it was too big. Now, it is auditioning for a tag blanket title.

I asked Dan what he thought of its new purpose, but he didn't quite understand why one would put tags on the outside of a blanket. It didn't make any sense. Tags are supposed to be sewn on the inside of clothing. So, clearly, he isn't any help.

So, I need your help.

With tags?

Or without tags?

The idea for turning my XandO into a knitted tag blanket came from my friend's daughter. We attended her christening on Sunday.

For her gift, I had purchased a tag blanket from BabyLoveBlankies, since I didn't have time to make her anything. She started playing with the tags on it right away. Her mother told me that she has a taggie toy that she plays with when she's laying down in her crib. And here I had just bought it because I liked the fabrics.

The christening card in the pic above is made from my button stash. I just used Zots dots to glue them in place.

To perhaps encourage my card fetish, my MIL sent me down a present with Dan's early b-day present. (Thanks, Mom!)

It's full of great ideas! I can't wait to try the weaving and frame techniques. Since I have enough birthday cards made for everyone's birthday this year and a few even for next year, I think I'll start on mini holiday cards, like Halloween and Thanksgiving.

XandO question mark

2008-03-17T12:27:00.005-05:00

Thank you to everyone who wished me good health! I managed to escape the worst of it. It took me a few days to get rid of the sore throat and the weak feeling, but I am grateful that it wasn't any worse.

During my time away from Blogland, I got a bunch accomplished. The XandO thingamabob is finished. I have almost completed a doll quilt, cheater style. And I cooked ... a lot. I am a firm believer that good, hearty food always cures what ails ya. So, I made a beef stew, pork with sauerkraut, danish rolls for breakfast, and butter cookies for snacking. Sorry, but I have no pictures of the quilt (since it's not finished) or the food. I never remember to take pictures of the food. By the time I am ready to serve it up, I've spent hours in the kitchen and all I want to do is go sit down and enjoy my hard work.

So, I'll just show off my XandO thingy.

I'm not sure what to call it anymore. It's too big to be a dishcloth or a washcloth. It's too small to be a blanket. It might be perfect as a burp cloth or a baby stroller lovey. Despite my naming problems, I am still working to type up the pattern. By the end of it, I had gotten into a rhythm. I actually enjoyed knitting the last 8 rows, so long as I didn't have to knit another one until the next blue moon came around.

50 Cent Placemat

2008-03-12T09:30:00.003-05:00

I found this placemat being sold "As Is" for 50 cents. You can't see it real well, but there are black smear marks on the back side.

I brought it home and cut the top corner two cupcakes out using a box cutter. I then smoothed out the edges with an X-acto knife.

I raided my card drawer for two blank cards and Zots dots (adhesive dots).

Voila, I present you with two birthday cards!

I'm clam-happy (happy as a clam) with how they came out!

On a personal note, Dan has been battling the flu for the past week. He came down with the flu on Wednesday. He stayed home from work on Thursday and Friday. By Saturday, he was starting to feel better. On Sunday, we met up with friends for brunch and Lost Abbey beer (It's Beer Week in Philadelphia. Normally, we don't start drinking before Noon. Honest.). Monday he went to work, but stayed drugged on Sudafed. Yesterday, he came home early with a high fever again. Today, he is back at work. But, today I woke up with a sore throat. So, if I'm MIA from Blogland for the next few days, you'll know why. More importantly, you'll know that it's All Dan's Fault.

A X and O Washcloth

2008-03-10T09:39:00.003-05:00

I was rooting through my WIP basket last week and found a half-finished washcloth. It was more than a quarter of the way completed. I had enough yarn to finish it. I could think of no reason to leave it sulking in UFO land.

Then, I started to knit on it and remembered quite clearly why it had ended up in the UFO basket in the first place.

Remind me to never double knit anything ever again. Ever.

Well, maybe not ever.

I might double knit again as long as the following rules were enacted: one yarn only (no switching between colors) and one side knit at a time (slip stitch technique rather than knit two sides at once technique).

I do love the way double knitting looks.

This is the back side of the washcloth. It has been knit in all reverse stocking stitch and plain stocking stitch. As you can see, there is no curling. It lays perfectly flat.

So, the dirty secret behind this washcloth is that is wasn't supposed to be a washcloth at all. It was simply going to be my swatch for a X and O baby blanket. Unless the blanket knits itself, it will never be. I'm exhausted just trying to complete the "washcloth".

Here's a pic of the front side and the reason it's titled X and O.

Showing off my Completed Sewing Projects

2008-03-06T12:16:00.010-05:00

I've taken a mini break from my knitting time to sew.

Part of the blame for this diversion rests on my sister's shoulders. She called me last month to say she found this fun Transformer fabric at Walmart. Why she was in the fabric section of the store is not clear. She doesn't sew and she has no desire to learn.

It was decided that we (and by we, I mean I) would make each of the children pillowcases for Easter. The kids would love it; Transformers is their new favorite movie.

Well, I have one done.

As mentioned in a previous post, I decided to make the pillowcase reversible. This isn't the first pillowcase request I've received. Every year it's a different character. This year, I decided I would be tricksy. To make sure this pillowcase can be used until the children are grown and out of the house (and to hopefully reduce the number of pillowcases requested), I lined it with plain red fabric. When they no longer like the Transformers, it can be turned inside out.

Not happy with just blaming my sister (she's too easy of a target), I'll blame Jo too. Her recent projects of embroidery, dressmaking, and button rings have inspired me to keep the sewing machine on top of the desk rather than on the floor underneath it.

My latest project - just hung up this morning - is ... well, can you guess?

How about now?

It's a fan cover. The old fan cover (a white plastic dome with magnets to adhere it to the metal fan) was thrown out by somebody who didn't understand what the point of a fan cover was. That person has since learned the chief role behind a fan cover: to keep the *%$#! cold air outside where it ought to be. Yeah, so it was me. Who knew?

To make yourself a fan cover like mine: First, go to Panama and purchase a traditional appliqued piece of fabric. Or do what I do. Have your dear friend bring you back an appliqued fabric from Panama during her trip to visit family. Trim the edges to remove any fraying. Cut out a piece of flannel fabric the exact same size as your appliqued fabric. Put right sides together. Stitch a 1/4 inch seam all the way around, leaving an opening large enough for your hand to fit through. Turn the fabrics right side out. Press. Hand stitch opening closed using a slip stitch. Set aside.

Root through your fabric stash until you find a complementary fabric to your appliqued fabric block. Measure your fan. Cut out a square from your complementary fabric, adding on one inch for seams (my square measured 14 inches). Then cut out another piece of flannel the exact same size as your complementary fabric. Put right sides together. Stitch a 1/2 inch seam all the way around, leaving an opening large enough for your hand to fit through. Turn the fabrics right side out. Press. Hand stitch opening closed using a slip stitch.

Lay the appliqued block on top of the complementary fabric block. (The wrong side of the appliqued block should lay against the right side of the complementary block). Move the appliqued block around until it is centered. Baste the two blocks together. Use a slip stitch to secure the two blocks together. Remove the basting stitch.

Cut four one-inch sections from both the sewing tape and the adhesive tape of Velcro Brand Fasteners. Machine stitch the sewing tape sections to the the wrong side of the complementary block in each of the four corners. Mount the adhesive sections on the wall next to each of the corners of the fan. Hang your fan cover with the Velcro strips.

Four layers of fabric should be enough to keep the cold out outside. Gosh, I hope.

A Contest and 2 Tags

2008-03-04T11:10:00.006-05:00

I love contests, especially when they involve yarn!

Anne is giving away Malabrigo yarn. Have you heard of this yarn? (Please tell me I'm not the only one who didn't know about it until last week!) It's 100% wool from Uruguay. Up until a week ago (when I started hearing the Malabrigo drum), the country name Uruguay immediately made me think of Manos del Uruguay. Manos is lovely wool. I was super excited to receive it for a bday present last year from my MIL.

According to Karyn at Knotty Stuff, Malabrigo is better than Manos. Much better. "It knits like butter".

What better way to get your hands on some than to win it - free! All you have to do is leave a comment on Ann's Contest post naming an unpublished designer. Easy. You do know an unpublished designer, don't you? Of course, you do. Well, to remind you, there's me (though I hope to change that later this year), Tracie (though she will be published later this year), Sharon (who just got word that she will be published in Interweave Knits - yay!), and Katinka. So, now you have no excuse.

Onto the tagging.

Vicki of Knitting Dragonflies tagged me with a meme on Feb 7th. (Boy, am I a slacker!) Thank you!

I'm to share 7 random/weird facts.

My bicycle is my main form of transportation during the work week, since we are now a 1-car family. Dan takes the car to work. I run any errands with my trusty red bike. Yesterday, I piled two big boxes on the bike rack and pedaled down to the post office.
My favorite gardening task is pruning. Jake's favorite gardening task is breaking up the pruned sticks into kindling for our fireplace. He's extremely quick and efficient.
There are only 3 candles in our entire house and they are kept behind glass doors. Since I quit smoking 6 years ago, candles, perfume, smoke, and other strong smells give me an instant headache. I avoid them like the plague. Around the holidays, I carry Ibuprofen with me and drink a lot.
My favorite fruit is apples. I wait all year for the fall harvest. Then, I go batty. Apples are cooked into everything for a solid 2 months. By the end of it, I am sick of apples and won't touch them again until next year's harvest.
I fell in love with cooking when I was 9 years old. I would wake up early in the morning and cook my sister breakfast. Breakfast is still my favorite meal of the day. I eat two breakfasts; one before I take Jake on his walk and one after while he is eating his only breakfast.
There is lotion and chapstick in almost every room of our house. Dan doesn't touch the stuff. It's all for me.
I am not a big fan of fresh cut flowers. I would prefer them to be planted outside in my garden. It would never occur to Dan to bring home a vase of flowers. Instead, he keeps my chocolate supply well stocked and drives me to the garden center for seeds and starter plants. He's a good husband.

Jo of Blissed Out tagged me with a You Make My Day award. I'm so glad to know that she doesn't view me as a stalker.

Now I am to tag 7 people for the meme and 10 people for the YMMD award. That's 17 blogs and/or websites. I'm not sure I have the stamina. We'll see how far I get.

Amby - Fantastic sewer and knitter. I love seeing her new creations. She's a bit crazy about her cats, but I try not to hold it against her.

Creative Apples - Perhaps my favorite card seller on Etsy. I started out with her cupcake photo cards. Now, when I want a new pack of bday cards, I go straight to her Flickr album and pick out the photos I want her to print.

Letterary Press - My next favorite card seller on Etsy. I gave this card to Dan on our anniversary.

The Dip Lady Knits - The Dip Lady has undergone surgery on both her hands for tendinitis and still she knits. She was actually chomping at the bit the day after her surgery. I'm not sure I would jump back into it quite as fast.

The Knitsy Bitsy Spider - Though it's supposed to be two friends blogging, it's really just Marti. It started out as a knit blog but has morphed into a needle felting, dog loving, and travel bopping blog. Oh, and Marti is hysterical.

Sew Spun - A new blog I just found. She's a spinner and a sewer. If my MIL is reading, this is for you ... Sew Spun posted a tutorial on how to get great corners on your quilts.

Kitty Grrlz - Long have I read her blog. Well, truth be told, I'm not sure how much I read it as I just scroll down and drool over all the beautiful yarn she spins up. I'm an avid fan of her Navajo plied yarns. Exquisite.

Glorious Hats - I love hats. There are no hat shops around me. The last one I went to was 9 years ago. So, it's wonderful to see and read Jane's blog. Not only does she make hats, but she's quite the sewer too. I suppose the two do go hand in hand. I feel like I should stress that Jane's hats are amazing. We're not talking bucket hats. We're talking fancy hats.

OK. I'm sorry. I ran out of steam. I made it halfway. That's good, right?

If you are still looking for blogs to read, check out my Blog I Read list. It's updated (well, it was two weeks ago).

Thanks again to Vicki & Jo. I truly appreciate it even though I'm slow as molasses in January.

Mailing the Afghan Today

2008-03-03T15:17:00.003-05:00

I talked to Dan about just keeping it. And kept it I did for a week, nicely folded, in our guest bedroom. It sat there all week long. It was never used. I never even touched it, except to occasionally pet it.

I thought of all the people I could give it to. It would make a great baby blanket until I realized that it would have to be hand washed and air dried. The chances of either my sister or my SIL hand washing a 36-inch afghan are not good. If I were a betting woman, I'd put a good thousand on it becoming a felted afghan.

I thought about keeping it myself. I wouldn't use it; that's for sure. I would want to display it, but we have no room for such displays.

Since I can't think of a good home for it, I am sticking to my original plan. It will be shipped off to Syracuse, NY where it will join 800 other panels on an abandoned gas station. It can serve a purpose rather than sit in my cedar closet for months.

A final picture of it:

At the last moment, I crocheted a border around the outside. It was my neighbor's idea. She recommended that I single crochet a border on all the edges. I inquired about doing a double crochet, but she was hesitant to agree. Not because she didn't think it would look good, but because she is a one-crochet-stitch-kind-of-a-woman.

It appears I am too. I could only remember how to do a single crochet stitch. So, that's what the afghan got. I should know better. I was taught how to crochet by both my MIL and my Aunt. It's just different from riding your bike. You do forget if you don't use it.

3 Ties Down .... 6 to Go

2008-02-29T12:05:00.003-05:00

I finished my 3rd tie to the Christmas Tree Skirt last night.

I have one more tie to make out of this hand spun yarn and then 5 more white ties. The goal is to finish it by August - well in advance of Christmas. In order to make sure I don't fall off the wagon, I have made myself a strict schedule. One tie must be completed each month; no excuses.

This schedule thing is working well right now. The best laid plans always do start out with a fine flourish. I just hope I can keep this going in the middle of summer when it's hot and the last thing I want to work with is wool.

Well, I'm going to try not to think about that now. It's still winter and hopes are high.

My First Zoe Paper Birthday Card

2008-02-26T12:54:00.005-05:00

I cleared off my sewing table last night, relocating my sewing machine to the floor, so I could roll out my new ice cream wrapping paper. I cut out two small sections from the paper to play with. Coupled with my huge stack of cardstock paper (recently purchased with the gift cards I received for Christmas), I made my first birthday card.

I am pretty pleased with how it came out.

I only made one because the Transformer fabric was calling my name. It informed me that there are only 3 more weeks till Easter. My sister has requested pillow cases for each of the children. I plan to make them reversible, so in a year when they hate the Transformers, I won't get a call for more pillowcases. It's a brilliant plan ... I hope.

A Sunday Stroll in Brooklyn

2008-02-25T10:51:00.005-05:00

Thanks to our first real snow storm on Friday, I spent most of the day relaxing and knitting. Poor Jake didn't even get his morning walk. Surprisingly, he wasn't upset at all. Rolling, sliding and romping in four inches of freshly fallen snow is just as good - maybe better.

The relaxation did me good. Not only did I made good progress on my 3rd tie, but I was finally able to kick the cold I had and enjoy a weekend out on the town. Saturday was spent celebrating my godson's 3rd birthday. I'm sorry to say that Dan and I are lousy godparents. We didn't take one picture while we were there. Hopefully, his mother will share the 5 million pictures she took soon.

Then, on Sunday, Dan and I spent the day in Brooklyn with my SIL. More accurately, we spent over seven hours traveling to and fro Brooklyn and about the same amount of time in Brooklyn, but who's counting?

Once we arrived, we got to check out my SIL's studio apartment. It's small, but the huge bay window overlooking Brooklyn and the large kitchen off the main room more than make up for the lack of space. Afterwards, we had lunch. Well, they had lunch; I had blueberry pancakes made the correct way with the blueberries mixed into the batter and cooked together. Any other way is just plain wrong. Then, we strolled the streets of Brooklyn, making our way towards The Brazen Head. The Brazen Head was hosting their tri-annual real ale festival. (Real ale to a Brit is a cask conditioned ale to an American.) My SIL has learned how to woo us into agreeing to a 7 hour round trip to visit her: good beer. It works almost every time.

I asked before we headed out if we could shop along the way. Dan insisted that we keep the prize (good beer) in mind and not dally too long. I was persuaded by his gentle nudging until we came across a little store named Zoes Papers filled with beautiful papers, cards, stationery, and pens. No way was I passing this store up. My SIL and I both came away with goody bags.

It's supposed to be wrapping paper. The clerk and I decided that it was absurd to use such pretty paper to wrap a present only to have it torn and ripped into shreds in a matter of seconds. Instead, I plan to make birthday cards out of it.

I spent the rest of the night showing off my pretty paper to Dan.

Jake Loves his new Etsy Purchase

2008-02-20T10:32:00.004-05:00

Jake & I went shopping on Etsy last week. Can you tell what's different about him?

He's not helping much, I know. I took these pictures directly after Dan had called for dessert. Jake wasn't breaking his perfect Sit or his attentive monitoring for anything. Chicken strips are tasty.

Here's a better pic.

It's the blue ID tag. His old brass tag was getting tarnished. I suggested that we simply polish it. Jake vetoed that idea. Varnish smells bad. He wasn't about to have some smelly thing dangling from his neck all day. He already has to endure ear drops once a week; that's bad enough. Besides, he needed a tag to match his handsome blue collar.

We received it in the mail yesterday and made the swap immediately. Jake wasn't so sure at first and then he shook his head. It made such a lovely sound against his other two tags!

Oh, boy, oh, boy! He spent the rest of the hour jingling his tags at every opportunity.

When Dan came home from work an hour later, Jake tried to show off his new tag. Dan didn't seem to notice. Jake was undeterred and kept bouncing around him. With a few hints from me, Dan finally figured it out.

By the way, Jake wanted me to inform you that he did get his chicken strip for dessert while we ate our inferior cheesecake. mmmm, chicken strips.

A Long Walk to the Frog Pond

2008-02-19T10:21:00.005-05:00

I feel the time has finally come for me to frog the sweater jacket I made 6 years ago. It never looked right on me. It was never long enough. Rather, it was too long in the front and not long enough in the back. Two of me could have fit in it. The cables were way too big for my frame. I'm only 5 feet tall (let me convert that for the rest of the world - 152 cm). Each cable repeat measured 3 inches (7.6 cm), 5% of my height.

Do you see the size of those sleeves? They measure 18 inches (45.7 cm) wide!

It has taken me 6 years to frog a sweater jacket that did nothing but sit in storage all those years because it is more than just a jacket. It was my crowning achievement to the early knitting years. I was proud as a peacock that I knit something so large and so beautiful. I can also tell you exactly where I was when I was knitting it: in Tennessee attending Dan's grandparent's 50th anniversary. I was sitting in a glider chair in Dan's Uncle Scott's house on picture day, the day we all lined up outside to take pictures of the whole family together. I was younger. Dan and I had only been married for approx 2 years. I was still uneasy around his family - his father's side of the family to be specific. I can't ever remember being uneasy around his mother's side.

There is a big difference between Dan's mother's side and Dan's father's side. His mother's side welcomed me into the family with open arms. I felt loved, totally comfortable, and an integral part of the family within a month. Only now do I feel like I am a part of Dan's father's side of the family. I truly enjoy spending time with his father and fam where before I dreaded going down to TN or over to his father's house. Partly because time has worked its magic, but mostly it is due to the fact that I no longer the anxious, wanting-their-approval, naive girl. OK, I'm still a bit naive, but I'm ten times more confident and have no need for anybody's approval.

My marriage with Dan has blossomed over the years. My sister now loves to tell me that we're old married people. Part of her teasing comes from the fact that her marriage isn't as strong or as happy. It pains me. Long have I wished for her to have the happiness I have known.

So, this sweater is a testament to our marriage. It is a gauge of how much I have grown into a woman. It is still a crowning achievement of my FOs.

My mind is made up though. I am frogging it. I plan to make it into the sweater jacket I have always wanted it to be.

Visit from my MIL and other updates

2008-02-18T10:57:00.006-05:00

No, she didn't pop in unannounced over the weekend. She lives in Maine. It's virtually impossible for her to pop in for a visit to her son's house in Pennsylvania without making some advanced planning. It's a good thing too; I don't think I would have been good company yesterday. I was under the weather and still don't feel 100% today.

Alright, I'm going to get to the point here. .... My MIL has been visiting my blog.

I'm tickled pink that she has been stopping by and sneaking a peak into my knitting WIPs and ramblings. Yet, all of a sudden, I have a desire to run around and clean everything. Except, this is a blog. There are no closets to shove things into. So, instead I have been fretting. I keep thinking that I said something awful about her son lately. I haven't, have I?

OK. I went back and read a few posts and couldn't find anything negative written about Dan. I feel better.

So, let me tell you what I am knitting now that the Ode to Quilting afghan is completed. I have started knitting the 3rd tie in my Christmas Tree Skirt. If you remember, I made myself a schedule to knit one tie each month until all 9 ties were finished and sewn together. Since one project is never enough, I am also knitting on my mystery project. Why is it a mystery? Well, I would like to submit it to a magazine once completed. Rules state that you can't post pictures anywhere prior to the publication.

Other bits of good news, yesterday I received my prize from EtsyGreetings. They were running several contests as a way to celebrate their 1st blog-versary. I won the 7th contest.

I received 8 cards and a stack of business cards of other EtsyGreeting card sellers. My favorite card is the one in front, a Christmas card by BBesigns. The snowman is painted in water colors and then adhered to a stack of homemade papers.

Other contest news: I won't know if I won the Lion Brand Yarn Slideshow Contest until February 27th. Thank you to everyone who stopped by! I truly appreciate it.

Ode to Quilting Afghan

2008-02-15T11:59:00.005-05:00

I finished the last seam this afternoon. I think I let out a hoot. Jake was excited for me until he realized that we weren't going outside to play and I didn't have any treats for him.

Since I finished this afghan before the deadline to enter Lion Brand Yarn Slideshow Contest, I entered it. Vote for me! There are 400+ entries already, so I have no illusions of winning. Yet, this contest provided good motivation to complete the afghan early. Now I can take 6 zillion pictures before I have to mail it off early next month. It's headed to the International Fiber Collaborative.

Although, I had originally planned to add a border around the whole afghan, I hesitate to add one now. I think it would detract from the blocks. What do you think?

On a side note, I can now boldly proclaim that I am a Master of Seaming. This project has taught me much about seaming.

As mentioned to both Knitsy Bitsy Spider and Mr. Puffy, I plan to compile all 9 block patterns into one downloadable PDF pattern. Please don't expect to find it listed on my blog by tomorrow morning. It is going to take me some time to compile everything together. Additionally, I will be adding schematics, charts, and a seaming tutorial. Hopefully, I can pass some of my tips to you before you attempt to seam the blocks together.

One of my tips will be to not wait until the end to seam everything together. Jumping off a bridge will seem like a better idea. Ditto for weaving in your ends; the back side should Not look like a shag carpet.

OK, I'm going to shut up now and let the pictures say the rest.

The Front

The Back

Want more pictures? You can find the whole pictorial story from beginning to end in my Flickr album.

Scarf Applique Block, 9th and Last in Ode to Quilting Series

2008-02-13T13:42:00.004-05:00

Although I said I would post this pattern yesterday, I didn't. I have a good excuse though. Yesterday was my 8th anniversary. Dan and I were supposed to go out for dinner to one of our favorite restaurants, Spinnerstown Hotel. The weather had other plans for us. It insisted that we stay home.

So, we did. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner while watching a baseball documentary. Then, we toasted with a glass of port and played Parcheesi. It was a fun and relaxing evening.

Pattern for Scarf Applique Block

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion's Wool by Lion Brand or substitute any wool yarn from your stash that meets the below gauge specifications.

1. Color A = Ebony, 1 skein

2. Color B = Scarlet, 1 skein

3. Color C = Winter White, 1 skein
4. Color D = Pumpkin, 1 skein
5. Color E = Purple, 1 skein

6. Color F = Goldenrod, 1 skein

Needles: Lion's Wool recommends size 8 (I used size 5)

Materials: Large blunt sewing needle and safety pins

Gauge: 3.75 stitches and 7 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Garter Stitch.

4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Stocking Stitch.

Garter Stitch Pattern: Knit all stitches.

Stocking Stitch Pattern: Knit all the stitches on the right side of the work; Purl all the stitches on the wrong side of the work.

Knitting Instructions:

In Color A, cast on 34 stitches.

Knit in Stocking Stitch until piece measures 8 inches.

Bind off all stitches.

In Color B, cast on 32 stitches.

Knit in Garter Stitch for 14 rows or until piece measures 2 inches.

Bind off.

Repeat these instructions, making two long rectangles.

In Color B, cast on 10 stitches.

Knit in Garter Stitch until piece measures 12 inches.

Bind off.

Repeat these instructions, making two tall rectangles.

Finishing Instructions, Part 1:

Take one Color B Long rectangle and place it directly underneath the bottom edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges. Make sure both pieces are facing up. Secure in place with safety pins. Seam together.

Take the second Color B Long rectangle and place it directly above the top edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges. Secure in place. Seam together.

Take one Color B Tall rectangle and place it directly next to the right sided edge of the Color A square. Line up the edges with the top and bottom of Color B long rectangles. Secure in place. Seam together.

Take the last Color B Tall rectangle and place it on the left sided edge of the Color A square. Repeat the above instructions.

Weave in all seams.

Scarf Instructions:

With Color C, cast on 6 stitches.

Knit in Garter Stitch with Color C for 16 rows.

Then, join in a ball of Color D. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color E. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color F. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color B. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a new ball of Color C. Work 16 rows in Garter Stitch.

Repeat the last 5 rows of instructions once more.

Then, join in a ball of Color B. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color F. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color E. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a ball of Color D. Work 4 rows in Garter Stitch.

Then, join in a new ball of Color C. Work 16 rows in Garter Stitch.

Repeat the last 5 rows of instructions once more.

Bind off all stitches.

Weave in all ends.

If desired, add fringe to the bottom of scarf.

Finishing Instructions, Part 2:

Position the scarf to your liking inside the Color A square. Secure in place with safety pins.

Hand tack the scarf down only in the Color C sections. Using a running stitch, tack down all four sides down of each Color C section.

Pull the ends of the Color C yarn to the back of the block.

Weave in all ends.

What is Wrong with this Picture?

2008-02-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

Can you find my mistake?

Even with the dark light (the weather consisted of cloudy skies, snow squalls and howling winds), I think my mistake is fairly obvious.

You see it, don't you? At first, I thought I could leave it. Surely, nobody would notice. Who looks at a scarf to see if the pattern is the same on both sides? Then it occurred to me. I do that.

I never thought to invert the striped pattern at the halfway point. I was too busy patting my own back, giddy that the block was knitting up so quickly. What did the Yarn Harlot always quote in her first book? Pride goeth before a fall? Yes, that was it. Apparently, someone should sell those t-shirts.

Now that I am officially more humble than a week ago, allow me to present to you my final Ode to Quilting block.

Scarf Applique Block

I won't tell you that I was so darn proud with the way this final block came out, because I am determined to stay humble. I will tell you that the free pattern will be published in tomorrow's post.

After finishing this block, I pulled out the other 8 blocks and laid them on my dining room table. I shuffled and reshuffled the blocks. This was the final resting point for them.

What do you think?

Knitting it Again

2008-02-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

My last Ode to Quilting block:

It looks an awful lot like Jake, doesn't it? Well, I thought I could fool you with his cuteness. It always works on me.

I made a stupid error while knitting the last block and didn't notice it until I was piecing everything together. So, now I have to knit it over again. Since I wanted the block to be a surprise, I'm not even showing you a picture of my mistake. I'll let you see Monday of next week what I did wrong. Dan noticed my error right away. I didn't notice it until I had worked on it for over 2 days. I think I had my "I'm almost Finished" glasses on. They never see any errors.

Since Jake is now my Guest of Honor on the blog today, let me share with you his new trick that he learned. The past two times that Dan and I have poured ourselves a beer after dinner, I gave Jake a treat, thinking we'll all have a treat. Yesterday, when we were pouring beers, Jake sat right in front of my feet, tail wagging, waiting for his treat. I laughed, patted him on the head and promptly went and got him his treat. Does that mean I trained him or he has trained me?

Roman Shades

2008-02-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

The Roman Shades are complete and hanging in my dining room.

I was originally making these shades for my bedroom windows. During the removal of the old curtains, I realized that one window was much larger than the other. The shades weren't going to fit. Well one would and the other would look decidedly too small. Thankfully, I had only sewn the lining and the insulating flannel fabric together. (Yes, I triple layered the curtains to keep the glare down and the elements outside). I hadn't even cut the curtain fabric.

So, then I went in search of another room that was in need of new curtains. There couldn't have been an easier task. The only set of curtains in the entire house that I don't hate is in the kitchen. Let us just say that the woman who lived here before me had a love of flower prints (I hate flower prints), dark colors (not a big fan of dark colors either) and ultra-traditional style. I love traditional decor, but she took it to the extreme. I suppose I should produce before and after pictures.

I found one. It's not a picture of the dining room curtains, but the living room curtains were done in the exact same fabric and style. Ignore the quilt in the middle.

And now for the after picture:

The gold curtains match the fabric in the dining room set that we inherited from Dan's great grandfather. The white matches all the trim and built-in corner hutches. It does seem a bit devoid of color, but I'll make up for it in the accessories.

Can you tell that the fabrics match? Not color-wise, but they match in texture. I'm not sure if you can see that in the pictures. They both have woven lines running the length of them. I couldn't believe my luck in finding the white fabric, since I purchased them after the gold ones were installed. First, I was giddy about the texture, and then I almost jumped at the $1/yard price.

Note: I did not make the gold curtains. I purchased them ready-made. Well, I purchased the two short ties and one long curtain. I then cut the long curtain in half to make two skinny curtains. You can't see, but underneath the windows is a radiator. It was important to keep the curtains off to the sides and not block the heat. My dear friend Arecia, who hates to sew, recommended that I cut the curtains in half and hem them. She's almost as bad as my sister, who also hates to sew. My sister will call me if anything needs to be sewn for the kids or her house. Which is to say, neither would think of sewing anything themselves, but love to call me and tell me what I ought to be sewing for them. Do you have friends or relatives like that?

Log Cabin Block, 8th Block in Ode to Quilting Series

2008-02-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

This block is perhaps the easiest of all the blocks in the Ode to Quilting series. Only Stocking Stitch is used to knit the squares and rectangles.

Pattern for Log Cabin Block:

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion's Wool by Lion Brand or substitute any wool yarn from your stash that meets the below gauge specifications.

1. Color A = Oceans Blue, 1 skein

2. Color B = Winter White, 1 skein

3. Color C = Goldenrod, 1 skein
4. Color D = Cocoa, 1 skein
5. Color E = Ebony, 1 skein

6. Color F = Rose, 1 skein

7. Color G = Pumpkin, 1 skein

8. Color H = Purple, 1 skein

9. Color I = Midnight Blue, 1 skein

10. Color J = Sage, 1 skein

11. Color K = Flower Garden, 1 skein

Gauge: 4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Stocking Stitch.

Needles: Lion's Wool recommends size 8 (I used size 5) in straight needles.

Materials:Large blunt sewing needle and safety pins

Stocking Stitch Pattern: Knit all stitches on the right side of the work; Purl all stitches on the wrong side of the work.

Knitting Instructions:

In Color A, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color B, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color C, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch till piece measures 4 inches. Bind off.

In Color D, cast on 18 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color E, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch till piece measures 6 inches. Bind off.

In Color F, cast on 26 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color G, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch till piece measures 8 inches. Bind off.

In Color H, cast on 34 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color I, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch till piece measures 10 inches. Bind off.

In Color J, cast on 42 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch for 12 rows or 2 inches. Bind off.

In Color K, cast on 10 stitches. Work in Stocking Stitch till piece measures 12 inches. Bind off.

Finishing Instructions:

Note: Weave in any ends as you go.

Using safety pins, secure the top edge of the Color A square to the bottom edge of the Color B square. Seam together. (The AB squares will henceforth be referred to as the Log Cabin block.)

Then, secure the right side edge of the Log Cabin block to the left side edge of the Color C rectangle. Seam together.

Then, secure the top edge of the Log Cabin block to the bottom edge of the Color D rectangle. Seam together.

Then, secure the right side edge of the Log Cabin block to the left side edge of the Color E rectangle. Seam together.

Continue in this fashion, repeating the last two instructions until all rectangles have been seamed to the Log Cabin block.

Remove any remaining safety pins.

Weave in any loose ends.

Block according to measurements (12 inches by 12 inches).

You Make My Day and other blogs

2008-01-31T11:38:00.000-05:00

Mr. Puffy with the help of his owner nominated me for a You Make My Day award.

I'm thrilled to be given such an award (Thank you, Mr. Puffy!), despite my lolly gagging to announce it on my blog. I just didn't know who to pass the award onto. I read so many great blogs these days (59 if they all posted on the same day - thankfully, they don't). Can you tell I am in desperate need of updating my blog roll? So, with this award, I am going to shine a light on some of the new blogs I recently found and now love to read.

1. I don't think it's kosher to nominate the same blog that just nominated you, but I'm not great about following rules. So, I'm listing Mr. Puffy. It's true; I think Jake is the best dog in the world. Mr. Puffy and his love of tea, willingness to try on various knitted items and encouragement to buy the best yarn on the market puts him in at a close 2nd.

2. Nannybird. You are just in time to learn how she was bestowed with such a nickname. Funny stories aside - of which she has many - she is an avid crafter and knitter. I am always fascinated by what she is doing next. I stumbled across her blog when she was hosting a Recycled Craft Contest.

3. Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit. She started me reading again! I had been stuck on a diet of strictly knitting books. It was good to take a break and read some fiction books. Plus, she has two great dogs. You don't notice any trend in my blog reading, do you?

4. Yarn for Brains. Great title, isn't it? Just to prove her point, she lost a pair of knitted socks last week and sent up a cry for help. I'm not sure how much the cry helped, since we can't rightly go rooting through her house looking for the missing socks, but she found them all the same.

OK, that's enough of knitting blogs. Onto other blogs.

5. EtsyGreetings. I have to have at least one blog to help temper my insatiable desire for cards, cards and more cards! This blog features the many greeting card sellers which make up the EtsyGreetings Street Team. Right now, they are running a contest. I love contests!

6. Smitten Kitchen. I know. It's on my blog roll. But, I really love this blog. There are always pictures of yummy food and excellent recipes. I've even tried my hand at a few.

7. The rantings of a Mad Hatter wannabe. Glorious Hats turned me onto her. Now, true, I have no idea what she is making right now ... I'm a bit too shy to ask for fear it might be rude. But, I am enamored all the same. I love me some hats.

8. Sherri Crochets. Sherri crochets and knits. So, I could have put her up above with the strictly knitting blogs, but, well, this is my blog post and I'll put them in the order I want! =) From sock monkeys to knitted trolls to crocheted gnomes, she is always making something fun and cute.

9. Knitting Dragonflies. Sounds like another knitting blog, right? Well, right and wrong. She's a woman after my own heart. She loves to make quilts too.

10. Insert your blog name here. If I commented on your blog, it means I loved reading it. Thank you for making my day!

And speaking of blogs, I volunteered to be the author of a new blog, EtsyKnitters. It is the blog for the EtsyKnitters Street Team and Yahoo Group. I feel so alone in Pottstown some days without a yarn store to stop by at. This is my virtual knitting circle.

Knitting news: I finished my Log Cabin Block. I already have an idea for my final block, but I'm not going to share with you its name. I want it to be a surprise.

No Quilted Blocks Today

2008-01-29T11:38:00.000-05:00

I feel like the last two weeks I have done nothing but talk about my Ode to Quilting blocks on this blog. So, today, I'm not going to mention them outside of this paragraph. Well, I have to tell someone that I am 75% done with my 8th block! It is titled Log Cabin block.

Instead, I'll show off my latest sewing project.

Can you tell what it is?

Don't feel bad if you haven't a clue. Dan wanted to help me spread out the tablecloth. I can give you a hint: it's not a tablecloth.

Rather, it is my roman shade for the dining room windows. One is already hung and mounted to the left window. It has been pulled all the way to the top to train it (allow the creases to form) and to not let onto the neighbors that we only have one window covering up. Goodness knows they already think we are a bit queer.

The shade in the pic is for the right window. I hope to finish it this week and have Dan mount it over the weekend. He is going to be working a lot of long hours this weeks as it is crunch time for the project he is on. So, the chances of him mounting the curtain during the work week are nil.

Spiral Applique Block, 7th in Ode to Quilting Series

2008-01-26T08:25:00.000-05:00

This block was inspired by a bias applique quilter's block.

Pattern for Spiral Applique Block:

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion's Wool by Lion Brand or substitute any wool yarn from your stash that meets the below gauge specifications.
1. Color A = Pearl Grey, 1 skein
2. Color B = Pumpkin, 1 skein
3. Color C = Scarlet, 1 skein

4. Color D = Purple, 1 skein

5. Color E = Midnight Blue, 1 skein

Needles: Lion's Wool recommends size 8 (I used size 5) in both straight needles and double pointed needles.

Materials:
Large blunt sewing needle
Safety pins

Gauge: 4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Stocking Stitch.

Stocking Stitch Pattern: Knit all stitches on the right side of the work; Purl all stitches on the wrong side of the work.

Knitting Instructions:

Make 4 strips, one in each color.

In Color B, cast on 10 stitches.
Work in Stocking Stitch till strip measures 8 inches.
Bind off all stitches.
Repeat instructions with color C, color D, and color E.

In color A, make 4 small corner squares.

With color A, cast on 10 stitches.
Row 1(right side of work): Purl all stitches.
Row 2: K1, P2, K4, P2, K1.
Row 3: P1, K2, P4, K2, P1.
Row 4: Knit all stitches.
Row 5: Purl all stitches.
Row 6: K4, P2, K4.
Row 7: P4, K2, P4.
Row 8: Knit all stitches.
Repeat rows 1-4.
Bind off all stitches.
Repeat instructions 3 more times.

With color A, make 1 large center square.

With color A, cast on 34 stitches.
Row 1(right side of work): Purl all stitches.
Row 2: K1, P2, (K4, P2) 5 times, K1.
Row 3: P1, (K2, P4) 5 times, K2, P1.
Row 4: Knit all stitches.
Row 5: Purl all stitches.
Row 6: K4, (P2, K4) 5 times.
Row 7: (P4, K2) 5 times, P4.
Row 8: Knit all stitches.
Repeat rows 1-8 five more times. (Total rows = 48)
Bind off all stitches.
Block to measurements (8 inches by 8 inches).

Finishing Instructions:

Place one color A corner square on either side of the color B strip.
Using safety pins, secure squares to strip.
Using a mattress stitch, seam the corner squares to either side of the strip.
Repeat instructions with the remaining two corner squares and color C strip.
Place the color E strip on the right side of the color A center square. Secure with safety pins. Seam together with a mattress stitch.
Place the final strip, color D, on the left side of the color A center square. Secure with safety pins. Seam together with a mattress stitch.

Make 1 i-cord.

With color B and two double pointed needles, cast on 2 stitches.
Knit these two stitches on row 1.
Do not turn the work.
Instead slide the work to the beginning of the left-hand needle. Wrap the yarn across the back of the work. Knit the two stitches of row 2.
Continue in this fashion until i-cord measures 10 inches.
Join in a ball of color E. (Note: When cutting the yarn from color B, leave a long string, measuring approximately 20 inches.
Work the i-cord in color E until it measures 10 inches from where color E was joined in.
Join in a ball of color C. (Again, leave a long 20-inch string of color E).
Work the i-cord in color C until it measures 10 inches from where color C was joined in.
Join in a ball of color D. (Again, leave a long 20-inch string of color C).
Work the i-cord in color D until it measures 10 inches from where color D was joined in.
Bind off all stitches.
Leave a long 20-inch string of color D.
Do not weave in the ends yet.

Placement of i-cord

Arrange i-cord in a spiral on top of the color A center square. Be sure to stay within the borders of the center square. Also, lay the i-cord down so that the right side faces up toward you at all times.
Secure the i -cord with safety pins.
Using a blunt sewing needle, thread in the long, unwoven string of color D.
Hand tack down the color D section with the unwoven end using a running stitch.
Once the color D section is fully tacked down, pull the remaining string to the back of the work. Weave in the color D ends.
Repeat the last three instructions for each colored section.

Flashing my Organized Stash

2008-01-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

It is finally done.

Two Sunday ago, I organized my yarn into separate bins labeled "All Wool", "Wool Blends", "Cotton and Cotton Blends" and "Acrylic". I then wrote down all the pertinent information off the labels - on all the yarn that still had labels, that is. Last Sunday, I uploaded the last of the yarn information to Ravelry.

I should mention that I only organized the yarn that lives in the cedar closet. Yarn received as a Christmas present or yarn currently being used remains unorganized. Baby steps, People!

I even boxed some yarn up that I knew deep down I would never use. The yarn will be shipped to Jennifer Marsh for use in the International Fiber Collaborative. Now before you start singing my praises, let me mention that most of the yarn I am gifting is leftover from a previous project, purchased in one of my yard sale finds, or purchased in one skein amounts.

Yep, that's right; I'm not as good as I seem. I still have lots of yarn that in my heart of hearts I know I will never use. However, this is yarn that is too beautiful or too soft or too sentimental to use or gift away.

Hopefully all of this organization will keep Dan from finding me in my pajamas, sitting on the basement floor, surrounded by boxes of yarn, rummaging frantically for the skein of yarn I just know I have!

Reading Again

2008-01-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

I haven't read a book in almost a year. About a week and a half ago, I started reading a blog (I suppose blogs don't count as books; a shame, really, because I read a LOT of blogs) titled Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit. It inspired me to pick up a book.

So, what am I reading? An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. It is about a country girl named Polly who comes to visit a rich family in the city. I am about halfway through the book. Thus far, I've seen Polly grow into a woman, move into the city (but not with the rich family) and start a music teaching career. Louisa May Alcott is a famous and well-written author, yet Jane Austen remains my favorite.

In knitting news, I have started on Block #7 for the International Fiber Collaborative panel. The block will be titled Spiral Applique Block, assuming no major changes are made to the design.

Hourglass Block, 6th in Ode to Quilt series

2008-01-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

The 6th block in the Ode to Quilting panel:

This block is very similar to the "9-Patch Block". The only difference is that two of the blocks are made by sewing two right-angled triangles together. Additionally, as with each of the blocks, I used a different stitch pattern. Diagonal ribbing is featured in the Hourglass Block.

Pattern for Angled Nesting Squares Block:

Recommended Knitting skill level: Easy

Yarn: Lion's Wool by Lion Brand or substitute any wool yarn from your stash that meets the below gauge specifications.

1. Color A = Midnight Blue, 1 skein

2. Color B = Cocoa, 1 skein

3. Color C = Cadet Blue, 1 skein

Needles: Lion's Wool recommends size 8 (I used size 5)

Materials:

Row counter

Large blunt sewing needle

Safety pins

Gauge: 4 stitches and 6 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Stocking Stitch.

4 stitches and 7 rows is 1 inch/2.5 cm in Diagonal ribbing.

Stocking Stitch Pattern: Knit all stitches on the RS; Purl all stitches on the WS.

Diagonal Ribbing Pattern: Work rows 1-6 in instructions to make ribbed squares.

Glossary:

K = Knit

K2og = Knit 2 stitches together

K3tog = Knit 3 stitches together

P = Purl

P2tog = Purl 2 stitches together

P3tog = Purl 3 stitches together

St = stitch

Knitting Instructions:
In Color B, make 4 ribbed squares.

Cast on 18 sts.
Row 1 (Right side of work): K2, (P2, K4) twice, P2, K2.
Row 2: P1, (K2, P4) twice, K2, P3.
Row 3: (K4, P2) thrice.
Row 4: K1, (P4, K2) twice, P4, K1.
Row 5: (P2, K4) thrice.
Row 6: P3, (K2, P4) twice, K2, P1.
Repeat rows 1-6 three more times.
Repeat rows 1-4 once more. Total rows = 28.
Bind off all stitches.
Do NOT block.
Repeat these instruction three more times to make a total of 4 squares.

In Color A, make 1 square.

Cast on 18 stitches.
Work in Stocking stitch for 24 rows.
Bind off all stitches.

In Color A, make 2 right-angled triangles.

Cast on 18 sts.
Row 1 (Right side of work): K all stitches.
Rows 2-3: Work in Stocking stitch.
Row 4 (Wrong side of work): P to last three stitches, P3tog.
Rows 5-6: Work in Stocking stitch.
Row 7: K3tog, K to end.
Repeat Rows 2-7 two more times.
Rows 20-21: Work in Stocking stitch.
Row 22: P to last three stitches, P3tog.
Row 23: K all stitches.
Row 24: P2, P2tog.
Bind off the 3 remaining stitches.
Repeat instructions once more to make 2 triangles.

In Color C, make 2 ribbed squares.

Cast on 18 stitches.
Row 1 (Right side of work): K2, (P2, K4) twice, P2, K2.
Row 2: P3, (K2, P4) twice, K2, P1.
Row 3: (P2, K4), thrice.
Row 4: K1, (P4, K2) twice, P4, K1.
Row 5: (K4, P2) thrice.
Row 6: P1, (K2, P4) twice, K2, P3.
Repeat Rows 1-6 three more times.
Repeat Rows 1-4 once more. Total rows = 28.
Bind off all stitches.
Repeat instructions once more to make 2 squares.

In Color C, make 2 ribbed triangles.

Cast on 18 stitches.
Row 1 (Right side of work): K2, (P2, K4) twice, P2, K2.
Row 2: P3, (K2, P4) twice, K1, K2tog.
Row 3: P1, K4, (P2, K4) twice.
Row 4: K1, (P4, K2) twice, P2, P2tog.
Row 5: K2, (P2, K4) twice, P2.
Row 6: P1, (K2, P4) twice, K1, K2tog.
Row 7: P1, (K4, P2) twice, K2.
Row 8: P3, K2, P4, K2, P2, P2tog.
Row 9: K2, (P2, K4) twice.
Row 10: K1, P4, K2, P4, K1, K2tog.
Row 11: P1, (K4, P2) twice.
Row 12: P1, K2, P4, K2, P2, P2tog.
Row 13: K2, P2, K4, P2, K2.
Row 14: P3, K2, P4, K1, K2tog.
Row 15: P1, K4, P2, K4.
Row 16: K1, P4, K2, P2, P2tog.
Row 17: K2, P2, K4, P2.
Row 18: P1, K2, P4, K1, K2tog.
Row 19: P1, K4, P2, K2.
Row 20: P2, K2, P2, P2tog.
Row 21: K2, P2, K4.
Row 22: K1, P4, K1, K2tog.
Row 23: P1, K4, P2.
Row 24: P1, K2, P2, P2tog.
Row 25: K2, P2, K2.
Row 26: P3, K1, K2tog.
Row 27: P1, K4.
Row 28: P2, P3tog.
Bind off remaining 3 stitches.
Do NOT block.
Repeat instructions once more to make 2 triangles.

Finishing Instructions:

Take one Color A triangle and one Color C triangle. With right sides facing up, line the diagonal edges of the triangles together. The points of the triangles should meet. Secure with several safety pins. Using a mattress stitch, sew the triangles together. Remove pins.

Repeat these instructions.

Lay out all the squares on a table. Move them around until you have obtained the Hourglass design (the Color A square should be in the center with the two Color A triangles meeting at the top right and bottom left of the Color A square).

Using mattress stitch, seam the squares into three columns.

Then, seam the columns into one block, taking care to match the seams up.
Weave in any loose ends.

Better Pictures

2008-01-15T16:25:00.001-05:00

Well, they aren't perfect, but I did the best I could with the cloudy (snow flurry) weather.

Without further ado:

Can I share a little factoid with you? It measures 56 inches at the top (from point to point) and 28 inches in length. Why am I telling you this? Because when I drew out the design, I planned it to be exactly those measurements. And it is. I'm pleased and surprised and a bit giddy.

I've decided to name it Anastasia's Alpaca Shawl. Why? Well, I do go weak in the knees for alliteration. Plus, my niece ADORES Cinderella, but it seems a bit vain to name your shawl after Cinderella. So, I picked her wicked step sister; that seemed OK.

The stats:
Anastasia Alpaca Shawl
Designed by me
Started in July 2007
Shelved in August and September because it was too hot
Shelved again in December because Christmas was coming
Finished in January 2008
Approx 800 yards of lace-weight alpaca wool from Alpacas at White Horse Farm (local PA farm)
570 Beads

DONE!

2008-01-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

The alpaca shawl is downstairs drying on top of my ping pong table right now.

Truth be told, I bound off all the stitches on Saturday. For 24 hours, it sat balled up on the server next to the basement stairs. It was waiting for somebody to take it downstairs and wash it and block it. I knew I didn't have a hope of Dan taking it downstairs. Dan never even sees items sitting on the server waiting to go down. The trick is to block the doorway; then, he'll take it downstairs. So, the shawl sat. I did manage to log into Ravelry and mark my shawl as 100% completed; ah, it is funny how much joy that brought me!

When Nan left me a comment about checking in to see if the shawl was done, it provided the nudge I needed to pick up the shawl and take it downstairs. Thanks, Nan!

I washed it. Then, conditioned it (since, I felt it was a bit scratchy for alpaca. The mill had erred in following the instructions given and mixed the leg fur with the soft body fur. It is the leg fur that is a bit scratchy since it's courser to ward off the elements [per my understanding - by no means am I a farmer]). Then, the hard part started. I pinned it to a sheet folded in half. I pulled and pinned. Then, pulled and pinned some more. By the time I was done, my back was screaming and Jake was whining from having his play time be interrupted (yes, I suppose he is spoiled).

Yet, it was all worth it (unless, of course, you ask Jake. He's not sure yet).

Pictures!

Better pictures coming soon, once it dries and I can bring it upstairs into the sunlight.

So Close

2008-01-11T22:51:00.000-05:00

2 more rows to knit!

This count includes the Bind Off row.

I can almost taste the sweet nectar of victory.

Half of me wants to stay up and knit until it's finished. The other half - the logical half - thinks I should go to sleep. Selves don't let other selves knit while tired. Bad things always happen.

My Whereabouts

2008-01-11T16:21:00.000-05:00

Guess where I went yesterday?

One can't go to center city Philadelphia, home of three fab yarn stores, without going to at least one of them! It's impossible. I told myself that I wouldn't have the time and wouldn't go. When I got out of my dentist's office early, my resolve grabbed a canoe and headed down river. Next thing I knew, I was walking to South Street.

Of course, I had to leave with something for my troubles.

It is organically grown cotton by Blue Sky Alpaca. After swearing off cotton for years, I thought I would give it a try again. Why do I hate cotton, you ask.

My reasons for hating cotton:

If my hands get the least bit warm, it sticks to them like feather to tar.
Cotton lacks the stickiness of wool. Wool wants to lay down with its fellow kind. Cotton has no such feelings. Thus, as the Yarn Harlot would say, "it's not as forgiving as lovely wool". It separates with the flick of a needle and is slippery to boot.
It's not as warm. In Pennsylvania, the cold months outnumber the warm months. It's important to have something warm nearby at all times.
It's not as easy, fun or enjoyable to knit as lovely wool. It takes a steadier hand and more patience.

Knowing how much I hate cotton, I was still wooed by Blue Sky Alpaca's cotton. First, it's organically grown. Second, it's amazingly soft. Third, it was dyed in a lovely brown and Loop only had one skein (I needed 2) of the dyed merino wool that I wanted.

My plan is to knit this cotton into a Chevron & Diamond scarf for myself. I'll be reporting back to you on what I think of the yarn.

Frantically Knitting

2008-01-11T07:35:00.000-05:00

I have only 6 more rows to knit of the Alpaca (AWHF) Shawl!

6 rows = 3 hours = totally doable

I'll be finished by this weekend!

I Love Cards

2008-01-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

I love cards.

I love to send cards. I love to receive cards. Most people would agree with me on this level.

Yet, I think I'm falling into the extreme category. My dear sister bought me cards for Christmas - two sets of 12. I bought 35 more cards for myself this month, but most of these don't count since they are for for Christmas 2008. I made an additional 10 cards by hand. (One doesn't count; it's for Christmas!)

Yesterday, I went searching for the perfect card to send my friend as a "Welcome Back from India" and decided that I didn't have any cards. None. Well, none that I'm willing to give her. Some cards aren't for giving. They are for keeping and framing.

So, I sat down and made another 9 cards.

Some of these don't count. Two are for Christmas and three are for Valentine's Day.

This is my favorite. The pic is from a 1956 encyclopedia. It shows a line of ladies working at Grand Central Station. Isn't that neat?

I don't have a problem. Do I?

International Fiber Collaborative

2008-01-03T10:34:00.000-05:00

Long-time readers may remember my Ode to Quilting blocks. Although I have taken an extended break from them, I have not forgotten them. Over the next 2 months, you'll be seeing a lot of them. I will be using the 5 FOs.

And the current WIP (an Hour Glass Block)

Coupled with the addition of 3 yet to be knitted blocks to create a 3 foot square panel. This panel will be submitted to the International Fiber Collaborative to be sewn together with 800 other panels. The massive 2400 square foot artwork will cover an abandoned gas station in concern over our dependency on oil.

Would you like to join me? Here is more info from Jennifer Marsh, the organizer behind IFC.

The goal of the International Fiber Collaborative is to provide an opportunity for people who enjoy working with crafts, whether professional artists, hobbyists or students to come together from all over the world to express their concerns about their countries extreme dependency on oil for energy. Those who participate will crochet, knit, stitch, patch, or collage 3 foot square fiber panels that will express each participants concern about this topic. By designing and creating a panel and participating in this project you are, in the larger picture, expressing your concern about this important subject to the rest of the world. Once all 800 panels are received, they will be sewn together to completely cover an abandoned gas station in central New York State, USA. Panels are due March 15, 2008

2 Pieces of 9, Sewn and Starred

2007-12-30T19:59:00.000-05:00

More progress on my Christmas Tree Skirt (I hope nobody is sick of Christmas yet?!):

I think I need a bigger star to top my white tree, don't you? I was trying to cut corners. You know - make my life simple. So, I purchased a star button for my tree skirt. I bought the largest star I could find, but they just don't make buttons beyond a certain size.

Maybe I should knit a star. Yet, the thought of constructing a 5-pointed star makes my head swim.

I could sew one. That would be SO much easier.

Yet, to keep in the same medium, maybe a felted star would be better. I'm not talking about knitting a star and then felting it (the swimming would start again). No, I'd buy felted fabric or fabric that felts and cut a star motif out of it. That might work.

The 2nd Tie in the Christmas Tree Skirt

2007-12-27T12:25:00.000-05:00

I finished knitting the 2nd tie a few days ago, but I didn't have a chance to block it and take pictures of it till last night.

It's a little difficult to see, since I took these pictures in our basement. I'll have better pictures by next week when I bring it upstairs after seaming it together with my 1st tie.

In addition to knitting this tie, I have been trying to knit at least 2 rows on my AWHF Beaded Shawl every day. After completing the 2 rows this morning, I decided to count how many beads I had left to weave on. 168. It might seem like a lot, but that means I only have 36 more rows to knit! I'd do a dance around the house, except that every row takes me approximately 30 minutes to knit. 18 more hours till completion. I'm not sure whether to dance or cry.

The Christmas Whirlwind

2007-12-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

A part of me is sad that Christmas is gone. The rest of me is grateful for the rest and relaxation. I can't remember the last time I cooked so much. The final week leading up to Christmas involved waking up at 7am, taking Jake for a walk, and spending the rest of the day in the kitchen. I have no complaints, minus the sore feet. I truly do love to cook.

Not everything on my list got done though despite the marathon cooking episodes. I never did make my molasses cookies or dinner rolls. Goodness knows that we will still have Christmas cookies by Groundhog Day, so perhaps it's a good thing I never made them.

The 3 cookies in front are my family's look-alikes. From the left is me (in my apron), then Jake (with his collar on), and lastly Dan (with his beard).

Since you have to have dinner rolls, I cheated and bought them from the bakery. They were still homemade - just not by me. The rest of the Christmas Eve dinner came out lovely. Dan's sister enjoyed the veggie dishes I made up and Dan's SIL isn't nearly as picky as my own sister!

The giving of Christmas presents was so much fun. Aunt Bette loved her Marjorie Mohair Stole. My sister plans to hang her Chili Pepper Quilt in her kitchen. Dan was thrilled to have a copy of Muppet Family Christmas, a movie they grew up watching every Christmas. What did Dan get me?

Isn't it wonderful? It's a rice cooker.

I tried it out last night with some chicken curry over top of it. The rice was delicious. No more Minute Rice for me. No, Sir! I'm converted.

Plus, Dan got me some chocolate, since my supply was running low. He's so well trained now. It only took me 7 years to get him this way.

Starting to Panic

2007-12-18T08:09:00.000-05:00

I have so much left to bake and only 4 days to do it in. No, my math isn't wrong. Yes, there are still 7 more days till Christmas, but since we are busy running around from the 22nd through the 25th, all baking must be finished by the night of the 21st. This, of course, does not include the cooking that must commence on the 24th for the Christmas Eve dinner.

Baking List:
Sugar cookies (old version) - DONE
Sugar cookies (new version) - DONE
Gingerbread cookies - (Dough chilled; waiting to be rolled out)
Shortbread cookies
Springerle cookies
Molasses cookies
Baps
Chocolate cake
Pecan pie * 2

Christmas Eve Dinner:
Potato soup
California salad (stolen from The Melting Pot)
Ratatouille or Penne (still deciding)
Ham
Roasted Chicken
Yams
Mashed potatoes
Corn
Chicken Fingers (from a box!)

Most of the dinner can wait till the morning of Christmas Eve. Yet, I would like to have the soup made in advance. I must admit that for the veggie dish I am leaning towards the Ratatouille because it can also be made in advance and left to steep in the fridge.

So, surely, I must have accomplished something yesterday. No, nothing. Nothing happened in the kitchen anyway. But, the house is clean and we now have enough laundry to see us through till Christmas. Plus, I bought the ham. I could have waited another day or two before I picked up the ham, but I had a dream that I went to get it out of the fridge on Christmas Eve and it wasn't there. I had forgotten to buy it. I started to cry and then I woke up. I was sure my dream was an omen. So, the ham couldn't wait another day.

On a side note, never share your dreams with your husband. It just gives them an opportunity to laugh at you ... and think you are crazy. As if nobody else dreams about their Christmas ham?!

This Time, a Knitted Tree

2007-12-13T10:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't decorated any other trees. So, instead, I thought I would show you where I am on the knitted Christmas Tree Skirt. Slowly, but surely, my knitted white tie is starting to feature a cabled tree.

In between cleaning the house and mixing up more cookie dough, I am knitting the Christmas Tree Skirt. OK, my progress is sad and pitiful, but it's Christmas time. All I want to do is bake (I made brownies yesterday) and watch Christmas movies. I just love The Christmas Carol. I think I could watch it a million times and never get bored of it.

Cartman, the Pine Tree

2007-12-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

The reason his name is Cartman is, well, because he is fat around the middle. During our first attempt to decorate him two years ago, we wrapped the C9 strands around his girth. Despite having two strands linked together, we could only circle him 1.5 times. Dan cursed him for being too fat and thus the name was born. We have since learned that when decorating him with lights, they should only be put onto his front side.

Outdoor (shatterproof) ornament balls complete the look.

I noticed when decorating him that he was getting a little scraggly around the top. It is a pet peeve of our neighbors. The family that lived here before us kept all the trees and bushes in nice, neat shapes of cones or round balls. I prefer my trees and bushes to have a more natural look. Plus, I tend to get more flowers and foliage on them if I just prune them once in the Spring and then leave them alone. Still my neighbors have informed me that they wish I would keep to the clean lines. I just smile and nod.

Oh, and here is Jake supervising the picture taking. He's such a big help. I don't know how I would take pictures without him.

Decorating the Real Tree

2007-12-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

We bought a Douglass Fir tree this year. When it was outside at the tree farm, it didn't look as fat around the middle until we got it home. There will be no fires in the fireplace until after January 6th (when the tree is taken down).

The trimming of the real tree is much more involved than the decorating of the artificial tree or the two outside Christmas trees. (Pictures of Cartman coming soon! ... Cartman is the fat pine tree in front of our house). It took us all day to decorate this tree with several breaks included. It took two sets of lights, three strands of red beads and too many decorations to count.

The Before picture.

The After pictures.

Jake wanting to help.

More After pictures

Hope you are enjoying the Christmas season!

New Chart for Christmas Tree Skirt

2007-12-06T11:33:00.000-05:00

While knitting up the sample of the white ties in the Christmas tree skirt, I realized that my original chart was not going to work. I could not stretch the tree branches out as far as I wanted to and still decrease every 4th row as was needed in order to match the other ties knit in the Naturally Spun yarn. Thus, I spent the last two days reconfiguring the layout of the tree.

Behold, the new Christmas tree chart.

The tree branches will be made with K1F's (hold 1 stitch forward on cn, K1, K stitch from cn) and K1B's (hold 1 stitch back on cn, K1, K stitch from cn). The trunk consists of 3 stitches that are knit in stocking stich. All other stitches are knit in reverse stocking stitch. (cn = cable needle)

I hope to post a picture soon of the newly designed, white wool tie.

The First Snow

2007-12-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

Pictures of our 1st real snow:

In the center is outdoor Christmas tree (a Colorado Blue Spruce).

Jake grazing.

Unlike most dogs who just eat grass when they have an upset stomach, Jake LOVES grass. He eats a little every morning. He also eats it when he has the hiccups, when he's nervous, when he's excited, and in Spring when new grass has sprouted.

On this day, I finished my new fleece duvet. It fits perfectly over my goose down comforter. It is so incredibly warm! Dan put the old flannel duvet onto his goose down comforter. Why don't we share our comforters? Because the key to a happy marriage is separate blankets. No need to argue over who had the lion's share of the blankets the night before. No need to steal back the blankets in the middle of the night. Everyone stays warm and happy.

Dan thought I should share this picture with you.

It is a pic of my new tea, a flowering tea from Primula.

22 Days till Christmas

2007-12-04T10:51:00.000-05:00

This year I won't be up till midnight on Christmas Eve either knitting or sewing. All the presents are wrapped save two. The last two will be purchased from Shangy's beer store, the best beer distributor in Pennsylvania.

Please don't hate me. If it makes you feel any better, there is much that is left to be done.

We're missing a tree. Apparently, you can't buy a real tree already lit and decorated with your own ornaments. Sure would be nice, wouldn't it?

There are no lights on our house. Plus, Cartman (our fat pine tree) isn't sporting his outdoor ornaments.

The cookies haven't been baked yet. Heck, the cookie dough hasn't even been mixed up yet. Normally, by now it would be sitting on the attic stairs chilling. I plan to make 5 different kinds of cookies this year:

Sugar cookies (these are the traditional one)
Pumpkin cookies
Scottish shortbread cookies with chopped pecans
Gingerbread cookies
Springerle cookies
Molasses cookies (if time permits)

Two of the Christmas gifts are actually baked goods, which haven't been made either. I am giving Scottish baps to my uncle and a chocolate cake to my sister-in-law. The baps can be made in advance and frozen until the day before Christmas. The cake I can't make until the day before Christmas Eve. (I feel I should mention here that, no, I'm not Scottish. Well, I have a smidgen, but it's hardly a drop in the bucket. I cook Scottish food because I love the simple recipes and the rich [fatty] outcomes).

The Christmas Eve dinner hasn't been planned yet. Which is a nice way of saying, I have no frickin idea what I plan to serve these people! I have one picky eater who only likes to eat chicken Parmesan, a child who is pickier than her mother (hard to believe), a vegetarian who won't even eat vegetable soup if its made from a meat stock, and 2 devoted carnivores who think vegetables are icky. Short of making personal, individualized dishes, I don't know what to do. The idea of just cooking what I want to cook and telling everybody to either eat what is on the table or starve sounds really tempting. Do you have a better idea?

New Beading Project

2007-11-29T12:54:00.000-05:00

I sure hope you aren't sick of hearing me whine about how many beads are on my current project. I have a new beading story to tell you.

I've rooted through my closet and pulled out an old beading project. Approximately 6 years ago, I decided I was going to make my neice a butterfly blanket. I used process of elimination to decide how the butterflies would be made.

Emboidery

I don't own an embroidery machine
Hand-embrodery would take me a long time and I hate it when the thread gets twisted

Cross stitch

I don't own an embroidery machine
Cross stich would take me a long time and I hate it when the thread gets twisted

So, this naturally led me to buying an enormous amount of beads. I made 5 butterflies in the month of December. As Christmas Day approached, I gently folded the blanket back up and stuffed it into the closet.

I pulled it back out yesterday with the intention of finishing it for my youngest neice. After seeing how big the blanket really was, I walked over to my computer and ordered the Pigeon book from Amazon.com.

The new plan is to finish it by June 2008. Wish me luck! I think I might need it.

360 Beads to be Exact

2007-11-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

Yes, I counted them.

And then I took more pictures so that you could see each and every one of them.

How many more beads to go? I don't know and I don't want to know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Update pic on the AWHF Shawl

2007-11-27T14:28:00.000-05:00

I'm stealing Tracie's name. One of her recent crochet projects was called the Dress that Never Ends. My AWHF Shawl will henceforth be known as the Shawl that Never Ends. It's a good name.

I am only 75% done. Wait. Let me rephrase. Hark, I have knitted 75% of the shawl. Gosh, that sounds better, doesn't it?

Every 4th row now requires 16 sead beads to be woven in. Thus, every 10 stitches, I have to stop and move one bead towards the top of the string and slip two stitches. I am grateful every time I finish a beaded row and can then knit 3 rows plain. As a bit of good news, it appears that I have enough beads strung onto the cone to last me till the end of this shawl.

Enough of me yammering, let's have that pic, shall we?

And without the light
Gosh, you can't see all the beads in either one of them. There is sweat and tears on each one!
I'll have to find another way to take a pic of it before I publish the pattern on it.

Christmas Cards

2007-11-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Day!

Ours was small but nice. We ended up just having our close friends stop by. I cooked too much food, since last year I barely cooked enough.

Now that Thanksgiving Day has passed, we are in full Christmas mode. No, the Christmas lights aren't up outside ... mainly because that is Dan's job and he was too busy playing Rock Band this weekend to do anything else. Instead, all the Christmas presents have been purchased save 2, the inside decorations are up, and the Blue Spruce tree outside is sporting large, red bows. Plus, my favorite activity has begun: writing Christmas cards.

I only have 12 more cards to write our of a total 56 cards. Not bad, since I take the time to write a personal note in almost every card. What does Dan do? Why he signs his name on each card and has the audacity to complain about his hand being sore. How he manages to see the ball drop every year is beyond me. I think I'm too soft.

Chili Pepper Quilt Finished!

2007-11-20T14:16:00.001-05:00

This quilt has been finished for over a week. Apologies for waiting till now to post a pic of it. More apologies for not taking a pic of the back before I packaged it up. I don't think I chose the best time to take a pic of the quilt; it was shortly after I cut my finger. I was still a bit shaken.

Today I feel much better. Thank you to everyone who offered sympathy, empathy, and advice. Your advice was much better than Dan's who simply advised me to not hold scissors anywhere near Baby Flick (they've named her Evangeline) when we stop by to visit. Rude!

Tagged

2007-11-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Mrs. H, Dana and Fuzzy Izmit (not her real name, I assure you).

In case you haven't already met these ladies, allow me to introduce you.

Mrs. H is the author of the I Like Yarn blog and podcast. And, yes, she does like yarn. Her stories about her family, neighbors and life events have made me laugh so hard - I cried.

Dana is the author of My Tangled-Up Life blog. She is also the person behind Unwind Yarn Company, an Etsy store that sells beautiful, hand-dyed yarns along with handmade scarves and hats.

Fuzzy Izmit is also an owner of her own Etsy store filled with unique bracelets, stash beads, and chainmaille. (I swoon when confronted by chainmaille. It speaks to be with its simple chain links and labor-intensive craftsmanship; very similar to knitting which starts out with a string of yarn).

Although Dana and Fuzzy tagged me with the 7itis (list 7 unknown facts about yourself and then tag 7 people), I opted to steal Mrs. H's format because it is easier. I am still having difficulty typing. 'S's are my enemy.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night?
Jake, my devoted golden retriever, helped me wrap Christmas presents last night by taking the empty roll of wrapping paper and ripping it to shreds.

2. What were you doing at 0800?
Sitting on the couch, knitting my beaded shawl.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Feeding Jake his breakfast.

4. What happened to you in 2006?
We adopted Jake in July.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
One thus far - a strong cup of tea (Irish breakfast mixed with mint tea leaves)

7. What color is your hairbrush?
I don't have one. I use a wide-toothed comb. It's pink and white.

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Stocking stuffers for my niece from Etsy.

9. Where were you last night?
At home, wrapping presents and hanging the last of the Christmas decorations. Dan made me a fire.

10. What color is your front door?
White.

11. Where do you keep your change?
I use my change. My husband keeps his in an old tin.

12. What’s the weather like today?
Raining.

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor?
Butter pecan

14. What excites you?
Designing - anything (I'm not picky) from knitwear to quilts to my garden

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
No. I've finally found the right length.

16. Are you over the age of 25?
Yes. I'm 31.

17. Do you talk a lot?
No. Instead I hum a lot.

18. Do you watch the O.C.?
Thanks to Mrs. H's answer, I now know that this is a TV series. I didn't know that 2 days ago. And with that tidbit of info, I believe you have your answer.

19. Do you know anyone named Steven?
No. My cousin's name is Stephen. Does that count?

20. Do you make up your own words?
Yes as well as my own sayings.

21. Are you a jealous person?
No. No reason to be. My cup runneth over.

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’.
Arecia. Isn't that a lovely name?

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’.
My niece's name is Katie. Does that count?

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list?
I don't own a caller-ID box. On my cell phone, Arecia called me last.

25. What does the last text message you received say?
"After 3?" You see, Dan is in charge of picking up the pumpkin pie today between the hours of 3 and 7 pm.

26. Do you chew on your straw?
No, but I do chew my nails. A horrible habit that I can't seem to break.

27. Do you have curly hair?
I wish. I always wanted curly hair. My hair is wavy on good days.

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to?
My comfy chair to knit.

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life?
Nobody.

30. What was the last thing you ate?
Homemade apple-egg bread.

31. Will you get married in the future?
No, I love the husband I have.

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks?
This question could be reworded as "Name the movie you've seen in the past 2 weeks - nay, 2 months". My answer is the same: Meet the Robinsons. I wanted to see it because Pixar's chess man was featured in it. It was a cute, but dull movie.

33. Is there anyone you like right now?
My husband, my dog, my friends, my neighbor across the street; generally anybody who smiles.

34. When was the last time you did the dishes?
Yesterday afternoon

35. Are you currently depressed?
No.

36. Did you cry today?
No.

37. Why did you answer and post this?
Because I was tagged and this survey seemed easier than coming up with 7 random things about myself.

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey.
Jo
Not Lucy
Nicole
Nan
Amby

Suffering Pain for the Love of Christmas

2007-11-19T11:41:00.000-05:00

I wanted 2 Christmas trees this year.

This seemed easy enough to accomplish. We own an artificial tree from our days of living in an apartment (real trees are considered a fire hazard and thus were banned by our landlord). It has been sitting up in the attic since we bought our house. I drug it down from the attic and set it up in our guest bedroom. It is the first thing you see when you walk into the room.

Since we didn't have enough lights or ornaments for 2 trees, I stopped by Lowes and picked up some clear lights and red & gold balls. The lights went on easy-peesy. The ornaments were a different story.

I was a tad disappointed when I opened up the box of ornaments to find that they did not have the wire hangers already attached. No problem, I thought. I just went and found my ball of green-coated wire and my kitchen shears. Perhaps you know where this story is going.

The kitchen shears not only cut the wire, but also cut a piece of my finger off.

Still, my 1st Christmas tree is up and decorated.

If I had to do it again, I would have used wire cutters to cut the wire. I can confirm that cutting your finger hurts a lot. I'm a bit uncertain how I am going to cook a full meal on Thanksgiving Day. Cooking normally requires that your hands get dirty and wet.

Did I mention that I love my tree?

Pine Tree design on Christmas Tree Skirt

2007-11-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

I have the laptop back! This guy moves so much faster than Hal! Yet in my excitement of having the laptop back, I forgot to snag the digital camera. And, what's a blog without pictures? So, I made you a picture.

What is it you ask? Why it's a pic of my design for the white ties in the Christmas Tree Skirt.

I've cast on for the 1st of the white ties. I'm pleased that my design/calculations allow for all the ties to start in the same manner. I don't mind doing the extra math, but I think it's easier on the knitter if s/he doesn't have to check the pattern constantly.

More pictures later:

The Chili Pepper quilt is finished!
Progress on my never-ending-beaded-shawl (It's getting bigger - I swear!)

Have a great weekend!

I'll be out on the roads doing some more Christmas shopping. Will I finish? Heck, no, but I'll have more done than undone. And that seems like an accomplishment.

Marjorie Mohair Stole

2007-11-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

The Mohair Stole is finished!

I have named it after my Aunt Bette (Marjorie W.) because she will actually receive the stole as a Christmas present. I know I said it was going to give it to my MIL, but I changed my mind. I don't know why I thought it would be a nice gift for my MIL. She never wears stoles - Never. It would sit in her closet until the moths found a way in.

So, it's going to my #1 fan - my Aunt Bette. She is my pseudo-Mom. She is always telling people about me and my work. She's more proud of my work than I am.

The pattern for the stole is already uploaded to my Etsy store. I have also submitted it to the Knitting Vault. Fingers are crossed that it is approved.

Christmas Tree Skirt, the 1st tie

2007-11-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

The 1st of 9 ties is downstairs being blocked.

I just love the way this tie came out. The colors are gorgeous and so little work was required by me to make the yarn shine. I must tip my hat again to Brenda for hand-dyeing and hand-spinning this fiber for me. My MIL has asked me why I don't try my hand at dyeing. My answer is because I could never have my yarn look like this. My time is better spent listening to the yarn and manipulating it into various shapes.

I will cast on for the white tie next week, which will feature a cabled pine tree in its center.

My plan is to complete the pattern with just 2 of the 9 ties being knitted. If we wait for me to complete knitting all 9 ties, there won't be enough days left for any knitter to purchase the pattern and complete the skirt before Christmas is here. Additionally, I will offer the pattern at a discount, since it will take a small leap of faith from the knitter to believe that the 2 knitted ties make up a 50-inch diameter tree skirt.

Baby Flick's Quilt is Finished

2007-11-11T15:19:00.001-05:00

I had promised that I would finish Baby Flick's quilt before she was born. It was getting down to the wire! She is due to arrive on Tuesday.

I finished the quilt on Thursday night. (I'm so grateful she didn't arrive early. Of course, her mom wishes she would come a month ago.)

Here are the many pictures of it.

The 'F' is for the baby's last name. (The child's sex was unknown when I was picking colors and patterns). After finding the dragon panels, I designed the quilt around them.

The F and the Dragon panels were hand quilted. The rest of the quilt was machine quilted using the stitch-in-the-ditch method. The binding was made from the green fabric used to frame the 'F'. I stitched it to the front and hand-tacked it to the back.

I had a great time making it! I can't wait to start my next one - an Americana quilt for my nephew.

AWOL for a week and look what happens!

2007-11-11T15:09:00.000-05:00

Dan needed the laptop at work last week. Although, I still have Hal at home with me, he is 10 years old now. He can still make a mean excel spreadsheet, but crashes and burns when the latest Google products are opened. So, I have been unable to check my gmail account and update my blog. I've also slipped behind on my blog reading (137 posts behind!).
And I have much to tell you. Apparently, if you take away the computer, I can get a lot done.
Funny how that is.
Here goes - this is the first of 4 posts today.

Chicken Paprika recipe

2007-11-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Since Dan complemented me several times on this dish, I thought I should share it. He's a man willing to eat anything put in front of him, but it is rare that he raves about a dish.

Chicken Paprika recipe

4 cups shredded, cooked chicken, preferably leftovers from a whole chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil, mild

2 tsp. paprika

1 cup sour cream

2 tbsp. white wine or chicken stock or water

salt and pepper to taste

Heat butter and oil in a saute pan. Toss in onion and saute until golden and tender. Add chicken and paprika. Stir occasionally till heated through. Add sour cream and wine (or substitute). Add additional wine if you desire sauce to be thinner. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Serve immediately over hot noodles.

Pumpkin Pie recipe

2007-11-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

After my last attempt to make fresh pumpkin from a neck pumpkin, I wasn't sure if I would be able to muster up the energy to do it again. After staring at the neck pumpkin for approx 3 weeks, I caved. My FIL requested that I bring a dessert to the upcoming mini family reunion. Dan suggested that I make the pumpkin pie again, since it turned out so well last time. It is his favorite pie after all and he only gets it a few times a year. With a host of reasons like that, how could I resist?

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Pumpkin Pie.

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

2 cups mashed pumpkin

1.5 cups heavy cream

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar mixture. Gradually stir in heavy cream.

Pour into an unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional hour or until pie filling is set.

Cool to room temperature and then transfer to refrigerator.

Note: This pie is best if left to chill for 24 hours before eating.

Mohair Stole Blocking

2007-11-02T09:26:00.000-05:00

The mohair stole is downstairs in the basement on top of the ping pong table being blocked. Even though I've poked at it and prodded it and glared down at it, it's still not dry. It's making me wait. I hate waiting.

To make me feel like I've made progress on it, I took pictures. Thanks to the lack of natural sunlight, the pictures are dark and difficult to assess.

Well, I feel better. I won't bother it for at least an hour.

Finished Knitting the Mohair Stole

2007-11-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Weeee! I just finished knitting the Mohair Stole and weaving in the rest of the ends!

As you may recall, this is an xmas present for my MIL. I'm 1.5 months early. I've never been so prepared and organized. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself on Christmas morning. It's been tradition to get up at 3am to finish whatever project I have still on the needles. Maybe I'll get up anyway and make waffles, eggs, and bacon.

Here are 2 pics before blocking. (Post blocking pics will have to come much later. I imagine the mohair is going to take a million years to dry).

If you are eyeing the lovely, golf-green rugs, please understand that they came with the house. The house was decorated back in the 1970's and as far as I can tell - never altered again. Slowly but surely, we are moving the rugs to find gorgeous hardwood floors underneath. In the meantime, we're going for a kitsch decor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T06:49:00.001-05:00

I was trying to give my pumpkin a Fu Manchu. Despite my failed attempt, he's still cute.

Despite having gangsters, superheroes, Minny Mouse, pirates, and train engineers stop by last night, I still have half a bowl of candy leftover. Thankfully, I had ignored Dan's doubts over my candy supply. If it was up to him, I'd have a whole bowl leftover.

What to do with all this leftover candy? I suppose the traditional answer is to eat it, but we're not big candy eaters. I like my chocolate straight and dark. So instead, I plan to try out a new recipe I found in our Pottstown Mercury newspaper: Peppermint Pattie Brownies. The last time I snuck mint into the brownies, it wasn't very good. Yet, hopes are high.

PS. I only have 7 more rows to knit on the Mohair Stole before it is done!

Accomplishing Nothing

2007-10-29T09:29:00.000-05:00

I was hoping by my next post I would have something ... anything! ... to show you, but I come to you empty-handed.

The mohair stole is still not finished. I measured it on Friday and it was at 59 inches. I measured it last night and it was only at 60 inches. I thought for sure I knit more than an inch. I think it hates me. However, I do have wonderful news about the mohair. It seems that if you don't try to fight with it, it self-patterns very nicely. Amazing, isn't it?

The Christmas Tree Skirt has been frogged and recast on. My gauge was only off .25 of an inch from my swatch, but, oh, what a difference it can make.

Progress on my Alpaca Beaded Shawl is at a snail's pace now. Each row keeps getting longer and longer as I near the top of the shawl. Plus, every 4th row requires the weaving in of 14 beads. I used to get excited for the bead rows (every 4th row) back when I only had to weave in 4 beads. Now, I get excited every time I finish a beaded row. And when faced with too many beaded rows, I pick up another project.

Let's not even talk about my Mystery Project and the (lack of) progress on it. I've had two people stop by on Ravelry and let me know they're excited to see what I create. Even my MIL asked me how the project was coming, since I had her running around Maine searching down the missing yarn for it. I am plagued with guilt and still I can't bring myself to pick the needles back up. I HAVE to finish the stole, shawl, and xmas skirt first. Should I mention that I have wicked thoughts about knitting a scarf for my SIL? Somebody talk some sense into me, would ya?!

The Chili Pepper quilt is still missing its binding. The binding tape is laying on top of the quilt right now, but for some reason it won't attach itself. Ungrateful thing that it is.

Baby Flick's quilt still requires more machine quilting before I can stitch the binding on. Of course, I should mention that I haven't even started to cut out the binding strips. Let's not even talk about who is going to hand-stitch the binding to the back of the quilt. I'm on a hunt for that little green elf!

The Dining Room Roman Shades are still sitting in the sidelines waiting patiently for me to finish Baby Flick's quilt.

And to prove it, here is a pic of my sewing room.

What have I accomplished?

I raked all the leaves up.

I stuffed a Pumpkin Man.

I put away our summer clothes and drug out the winter sweaters.

I took Jake to the vet. Poor guy has a double ear infection.

I did knit on the stole, shawl, and tree skirt, but they are mocking me now.

Bound Off last night only to Cast On again this morning

2007-10-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

I thought I was done with my Mohair Stole. I even laid it out on the dining room table and took a "Before Blocking" picture.

While eating waffles this morning (how happy am I to have a waffle maker again!), I thought about how much I love the stole I made for myself several years ago.

So, I pulled it out and laid it next to the Mohair Stole. It was 15 inches longer! Only then did I try on the Mohair Stole ... (I was too excited last night about finishing it to think about such practical issues).

It's too short.

%&*$.

Mutter ...

So, I ripped out the bind-off row this morning over a cup of strong tea and attached the final skein of yarn. I am still trying to find the courage to change the stole from a completed project back to a WIP in Ravelry.

As I'm still mad at it, I don't plan to pick it back up until tonight's World Series game.

Quilt Frame in Basement

2007-10-23T12:19:00.000-05:00

The quilt frame is back in the basement again. No more crawling underneath it to get to the other side of the quilt. No more knocking the closet door into it and having the whole frame collapse on me (the jury rigging is very fragile). Jake is also thrilled to see it go downstairs. He hated getting bonked in the head every time he came in to get pets or to remind me of the time (i.e. playtime).

Why is it downstairs? It surely isn't because of any of the inconveniences listed above. The inconveniences were silly and trivial compared to its practicality and usefulness of holding the quilt in place. I only had to twist a knob and thread my needle before I could sit down to hand quilt. No, the reason the frame is in the basement is because I have finished hand quilting Baby Flick's quilt!

I found hand quilting to be fun and relaxing. I even have a nice callous on my pointer finger to prove it. As this was my first time hand quilting, I kept things simple. My stitches simply followed the outline of the dragon, the clouds, and the framework within the four dragon panels. If you are new to hand quilting, I highly recommend this "technique", if it can be called a technique. It saved me from having to search for an easy quilting design and from learning how to transfer such a design to my quilt front.

Baby Flick's quilt has to go back on the machine to complete the stitch-in-the-ditch quilting, but that should only take me an hour or two. I'm so close to being done. Woo!

Mushroom Soup recipe

2007-10-22T13:12:00.002-05:00

Ingredients:

4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup dry sherry
Dash of cayenne pepper
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat in a stock pot. Add all the mushrooms. Saute till tender. Transfer mushrooms to a dish. Throw 75% of mushrooms into a food processor and pulse till mushrooms are finely chopped.

Heat remaining 2 tbsp of butter in the same stock pot. Add the flour and mix till combined. Then, add the chicken stock slowly. Toss in the mushrooms. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Increase heat to medium. Add cream, sherry, and cayenne pepper. Stir till blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Show and Tell

2007-10-22T13:12:00.001-05:00

Cables & Ribs Scarf
Originally uploaded by craftygirl83.

CraftyGirl83 made a scarf for herself from my Cabled & Ribbed scarf pattern. Isn't it lovely? I just love the yarn that she chose to use. Craftygirl83 informed me that the yarn was a birthday present from her friend.

If only we could all train more of our friends and relatives to buy us yarn .....

Genealogy with Gran

2007-10-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

I spent yesterday with Gran (Dan's maternal grandmother). After having brunch at a local diner, we went back to her house to sit and talk. Spurred on by the genetic testing (for breast cancer) I am getting done, I lassoed her help to fill in some of the missing blanks on Dan's side of our family tree. We only ended up going back three generations, but she told me so many great stories.

After I got home, I spread out all the notes I took on our dining room table.

I quickly decided that the free forms I printed out weren't going to cut it; there is no room to write in all the stories Gran told me. So, I plan to make up my own template on the computer and just print them out later.

Other news: I only have 7 more inches to knit on my Mohair Stole.

Casting on for Christmas

2007-10-16T09:18:00.001-05:00

Christmas has begun in my home!

I have already crossed 9 people off my Christmas list. Only 15 more left to shop/make for. Which doesn't sound like a lot until you start accounting for all the birthdays that occur in November and December. Most of the people on my list have to bought for twice.

I have garnered permission from Dan (my husband) and encouragement from my neighbor to put up two Christmas trees this year. The plan is to trim the artificial Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. We'll get a real one after Thanksgiving Day. Plus, I already won the argument last year about The Wise Men Day (January 6th). The tree has always had to stay up till Jan. 6th because I won't let him take it down beforehand, but last year was the first year we actually swapped one small present on the day. I lobbied that we make it a tradition ... and Dan agreed. So, I get almost a full 2 months of Christmas! I'm soooo giddy. I can't wait for Halloween to come and go.

But enough about my crazy Christmas habits, the main reason I wrote up this post was to show you that I have finally cast on for the Christmas Tree Skirt.

My love of cables has kept the tie point from curling.

And after fighting with my mohair stole over the hand painted yarn getting stuck in a rut, I am relieved to be working with yarn that nicely flows from one color to the other.

Thank you, Brenda!

Updates and Cooking

2007-10-11T12:37:00.000-05:00

OK, I need your honest opinion. Does this Mohair Stole look splotchy to you?

I'm still following my cheater rule: swap skeins every 16 rows, rather than the traditional rule: swap skeins every 2 rows. I get bits of red here and there, but huge blobs of grey right smack dab in the middle of the stole. I think the yarn is doing it just to irritate me. It's working!

Since I'm slightly frustrated with my tree skirt right now (it's the tie point that is giving me trouble), I decided to go hog wild in the kitchen. Yesterday began my quest to find the perfect soup to serve with a Christmas Eve dinner. First up was Cream of Mushroom Soup. It tasted great (I'll post a recipe of it later), but the texture was a bit off (a bit chewy/rubbery when biting into the mushroom chunks). And my reward from all that cooking, an hour of cleaning.

After Cleaning

Thanks to everybody who left me a comment on my Pumpkin adventure. I am reenergized and plan to tackle the other pumpkin this weekend. Although, this time around, I will be using Jane's advice and baking the pumpkin rather than steaming it. I've baked squash before and I must admit my "neck pumpkin" seemed more like a squash than a pumpkin. Although, it smelled like a pumpkin. And this time around I'll be making the pumpkin up into a pie and a soup. I'll let you know how it goes.

A Thank You from My Niece

2007-10-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

I received the sweetest voice mail from my niece Katie yesterday.

What she said:

"Because the quilt you made me is so special, I made you a Tigger card. On the front of the card, it says 'Tigger, Tigger, Tigger'. On the back, it says 'I love you very much, Aunt Re'."

(I should mention why she chose to give me a Tigger card. When we were down in Disney World, I informed Katie on more than one occasion that Tigger was the best. She wasn't swayed from loving Ariel any less, but it did make for interesting discussions).

I was so touched. I called down to my sister as soon as I got the message. My sister informed me that I was also getting a Tigger from Katie's stuffed animal collection (mainly because she's under orders to trim it down). We're pretty sure it's the same Tigger I bought Katie when she was first born, but I'm excited to receive it anyway.

I'm not sure that I ever posted a picture of Katie's quilt, so here are two. It was gifted to her on Christmas 2006.

A close-up
Full view

You may notice that there is a book propped up against the bed. This book was gifted with the quilt. It explained why each of the fabrics were chosen, since the majority of them were leftovers from clothes or bedding that I made Katie when she was younger.

Homemade Pumpkin

2007-10-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

After spending at least an hour in traffic on Saturday driving to and fro the Exton Mall to purchase Christmas presents, I stopped on the way back at a Farmer's Market. Now maybe it was the pent up frustration or the heat or the sheer joy from crossing two more people off my Christmas list, but it occurred to me that I could make my own pumpkin (for pies and muffins and such). After chatting with the farmer's daughter about which pumpkins were best for this sort of thing, I walked away with 2 neck pumpkins.

Still excited over my purchase, I decided I would tackle one of the pumpkins straight away. After cutting up the entire pumpkin into bite-size chunks, I started to realize what an insane idea this was. There was no way all of this pumpkin was going to fit into my little 3-quart steamer.

I was right. It didn't. It took 3 separate batches to steam all the pumpkin chunks. Once they were all steamed, into the fridge they went to cool off so I could touch them without burning myself.

Then, the fun process of cutting the rinds off all the chunks began. The rinds were donated to my compost pile and the pumpkin got thrown into my food processor. And out came a wet, mushy mess. Although none of my old-time cookbooks mentioned straining the pumpkin afterward, I did it anyway. I'm pleased with the results.

Total amount of pumpkin extracted from 1 neck pumpkin: 3 cups. I must admit I was slightly disappointed. After all the work I put into it, I expected to get a wee bit more: something close to a lifetime supply.

I have another neck pumpkin. Will I do it again? I don't know. The pumpkin muffins did taste delicious this morning, but even dirt would taste pretty good after you added sugar, spices, and sour cream to it.

Borrowing my Husband's Tie

2007-10-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

My husband came home from work yesterday and gave me the funniest look. I don't know why. Don't all women wear their husbands ties in the house when they're not home?

No? Well, they ought to. Ties are great for inspiration. The one I wore yesterday helped me design the schematics for the Christmas Tree skirt. Here's the proof.

What else did I do when I was supposed to be watching the Phillies playoff games? I was knitting more of the mohair stole, because watching the Phillies play the way they are is depressing. We can't pitch to save our lives and our hitters are lost in la-la-land. Ung. But enough about that, I was telling you about my mohair stole. It is 40% completed!

Well, I am off to make a pot of chili. It's still hot as heck here in Pennsylvania, but I'm doing my part to encourage the weather to get cooler. Stew = cold weather. Truly, it feels like we have been living in San Francisco these past 3 days. Every morning, we get a foggy, misty drizzle (I wouldn't even call it rain) followed by 80+ degree F day. I guess it is better than no rain at all and if the heat would just go away - I'd be happy as a lark or a Jake. =)

Swatching for the Christmas Tree Skirt

2007-10-03T08:42:00.000-05:00

My white Wool from the Andes arrived on Friday from Knit Picks. It will be paired with the Christmas yarn to create a Christmas Tree Skirt.

I bought 11 skeins because I've learned that one can never have too much yarn. Just in the past year, I've run out of yarn twice. In the hopes that I never face that challenge again, I swung the pendulum to the opposite side and bought 300 more yards that I need. True, it's a bit extreme, but the last yarn shortage is still fresh (and painful) in my mind.

Of course, the first thing I did with the yarn was knit up a swatch of plain stocking stitch. Sitting next to the Christmas yarn, it is perfect. It is plain and ordinary, letting the hand-dyed yarn take the spotlight.

Because I refuse to knit an entire garment in stocking stitch (I simply must sneak in some cables or yarn overs), I have been tinkering over the past few days with a pine tree cable. What do you think?

I took the pics at night, so they're not the best.

Now starts the fun part: drawing the schematics and calculating the stitches. My goal is to cast on later this month.

I Couldn't Knit on Sunday

2007-10-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

Who could knit during such an amazing game as that? I was terrified to pinch myself yesterday, thinking it could all be just a dream. But when I woke up this morning, the Phillies were still the sole National East division winners. WOO!

Rollins was amazing. He stole 2nd base and then 3rd base. Then, he came home on an RBI sac fly to start the game off right: 1-0. Later in the game, he got his 20th triple of the year, making him only 1 of 4 players to get the quad (20 stolen bases, 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homeruns). Surely, he deserves the MVP title.

Of course the game didn't last all day, but I still couldn't find time to knit. I was too busy reorganizing my sewing room.

Before pic:

After pic:

Thanks to my cousin, I have a "real" desk now. My (grey) sewing table can be used strictly for sewing. Which means every time I want to sew, I don't have to clear it off first. Oh, the simply joys of life.

What you don't see is all the fabric and knitting UFOs that I organized. I finally got them all stashed into my 6-drawer storage bin. And a good thing too, they were starting to take over the room! Poor hubby, he gets less and less of our shared office/sewing room each year. Of course, the basement is all his, so I don't feel that bad.

Fighting with my Mohair Stole

2007-09-28T09:55:00.000-05:00

The rule of thumb when knitting (or crocheting) with hand painted yarns is to alternate between skeins every two rows so that the colors are spread out evenly in the garment. The unused skein is simply put the side of the garment for two rows and then gently, pulled into place. When knitting a sweater or a hat, this technique is easily hid on the wrong side. When knitting a reversible object, like a stole, it is best to cut the yarn and rejoin it in. Any loose ends will be woven into the object upon completion.

But, cutting the yarn every 2 rows and weaving in the loose ends is tedious and obnoxious. However, going to the other extreme and not altering the skeins causes splotches of color on the garment.

So, what's a knitter to do? Bite the bullet and compromise.

I have opted to swap skeins at the end of every repeat (16 rows in my pattern). The stole is still a bit splotchy, but I'm going to thumb my nose and swear that I designed it to look like that.

Christmas is here!

2007-09-27T10:44:00.001-05:00

Not the actual day (and a good thing too because I have too much knitting to do between now and then), but the yarn - it's here!

As you may recall this yarn was hand-dyed and hand-spun by Naturally Spun. And when I say hand-spun, I mean hand-spun on a drop spindle, all 730 yards of it. I've only ever managed to get about 10 yards off of a drop spindle. Now you know why I leave the spinning of fiber to other people.

First things first, I wound all 10 skeins into yarn cakes.

Then, I whipped up a swatch of just plain, old stocking stitch.

After lining up all my skeins of wool next to the swatch, I decided that I had to go buy more yarn. I wanted the Christmas yarn to be in the spotlight and not have to fight with other colors for attention. I suppose the natural-white wool would work well enough, but it contrasts with the stark-white roving used to ply the red and greens together. Plus, buying yarn is fun.

I plan to iron out the cable design today. If all goes well, the cable panel will look like a pine tree.

Beginnings of a Mohair Stole

2007-09-25T08:48:00.000-05:00

Here are the beginnings of my Mohair Stole that I am knitting along with the Holiday Kal-Cal. The elves in the HKC are my cheering squad when I start to moan about how much longer it is going to take me to finish the blasted thing.

First, I dug out my ball winder and swift to wind up the huge skein of brushed mohair into yarn cakes. The skein was too big for my swift. I managed to get about half of the mohair wrapped up before it started falling off the swift on every turn. Husband to the rescue! (Gosh, they can be nice to have around sometimes.) He held the remaining yarn so I could wind it up. Voila, pretty mohair cakes.

Onward to the swatching process I went. I was certain that I wanted a lace pattern to allow the mohair to breath. (It's cold in Maine, but most people don't stand outside when it falls below 20 degrees F). Yet, the pattern had to remain simple, since the fuzziness of the mohair would hide any intricate stitches.

Swatch #1 was a pattern from Barbara Walker's 1st Treasury: Dewdrops (p. 149).

Swatch #2 was another pattern from Barbara Walker's 1st Treasury: Herringbone Lace (p. 197). This pattern was altered by me to accommodate the mohair yarn (stitches were added, repeat was lengthened, and the decrease technique was made more pronounced).

Although I had planned to make 3 different swatches, I fell in love with one of the above swatches that I felt there was no reason to continue on.

Can you tell which one I cast on for?

Here I am at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire knitting the stole.

1 Block Done and 1 Binding Ripped Out

2007-09-24T09:13:00.000-05:00

In quilting, I'm sure that equates to 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

As I prefer to keep my glass half full, here are pictures of the completed dragon block.

This was my first attempt to hand quilt. I was worried that the stitches would look awful and that the I wouldn't get the same puffiness as I do with the machine. The stitches do look awful and because they are not as small as the machine ones, I wasn't able to achieve the same level of puffiness. Yet, I LOVE to hand quilt. It is relaxing and instantly gratifying. I am thrilled with my first attempt at it. I have started to establish a rhythm and already my stitches are becoming smaller and more uniform. So, hopefully, the second block will look better.

For my 2 steps back, I ripped out the binding and the hanging sleeve from the chili pepper quilt.

I just couldn't make the store-bought binding work the way I had stitched it on. Next time, I'll know the correct way to attach it. Currently, I am building up the patience it will require to reattach the binding. I just can't bring myself to do it yet.

AWHF Shawl on a plane

2007-09-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

After going back and forth and even asking my husband for his opinion, I decided to take the AWHF shawl with me to Disney World. I was able to knit on the plane rides to and fro Disney. I am SO glad all the airports now allow knitting needles.

Yet, they remain suspicious of large amounts of yarn.

On the flight back to Philadelphia, a lady performing the safety check confiscated my purse to allow a more thorough search. I - thinking that she was concerned about the needles - tried to absolve her fears by informing her that the sharp, pointy things were just knitting needles. Instead, she pulled my huge cone of alpaca wool out of the bag. I gasped and stared at her with shock and horror as I watch all the beads and a good chunk of yarn fall off the cone, which only makes her more suspicious. Taking my bag away from me again, she scans the yarn only to realize that it was a huge vat of - you guessed it - yarn!

My dear husband had the patience of a saint while I spent the next several minutes rewinding all the beads and yarn back onto the cone. Next time, I'm slipping a sock over the cone.

But enough about security check-in, here are pictures of my shawl progress:

It is approximately 13 inches long. The plan is to knit until the shawl is 28 inches long.

It is a joy to knit. The pattern entertains you (by forcing you to count to 3 repeatedly), but remains simple enough that you aren't constantly checking the chart.

Stash Find for Holiday KAL-CAL

2007-09-20T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting several years to get the inspiration to use the Mohair blend I purchased from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm. Like usual, I was wooed by the color. Can you blame me?

I purchased it at the Stitches East market many years ago when the event was still hosted in King of Prussia. My intention at the time was to pair it with Reynold's Candide (100% wool) until I realized how warm mohair was all on its own. So, it sat in my yarn stash and was buried by all my other yarn purchases. Yesterday, searching for something to make for the Holiday KAL-CAL, I found it. It told me straight away that it wanted to be a stole. Who am I to argue? Goodness knows, I haven't thought of anything better these past several years.

So, a stole it will be. But, for who? The best MIL in the world, of course. Truly, she is the only one who would appreciate all the work that would go into it (she being a fellow knitter and crocheter) and the only one who needs a stole so warm (she lives in Maine). Plus, like most knitters/crocheters, I can't remember the last time she made something for herself.

Onward to the swatching process! I have three different lace patterns that I want to demo out on the yarn.

Tagged by Glorious Hats

2007-09-17T11:04:00.000-05:00

Jane of Glorious Hats tagged me. Well, shucks, color me bashful (the color of grey if Eeyore is to be trusted). I'm honored to be tagged by somebody whose hat making skills blow me away.

The rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).

4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

7 Facts About Me

1. I like my tea the way the Irish do: Strong enough for a mouse to scurry over.

2. In order for me to recall an event, I first have to remember where I was when it happened.

3. My favorite Christmas song is "I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas".

4. I eat 2 breakfasts (almost) every day.

5. Every Fall, I go on a Leaf Tour with my husband and 2 dear friends.

6. I am a dedicated thrower (knitting term that means I knit in the English way).

7. When hand quilting, I do not use a thimble, preferring to use the inside of my fingernail to push the needle along.

Tagging 7 People

1. Mrs. H who always makes me laugh when I read her blog

2. Marti and Laurie, sisters who share their funny life stories and their beautiful knitting patterns

3. Loren who roots for the wrong baseball team (the Phillies is the Right team, of course), but makes up for it in her stories of her very large family (1 husband, 2 sons, 1 chocolate lab, 1 cat, 2 goats, and several sheep ... plus I might have missed some others) and her hand spinning

4. Jean LaRue who makes truly unique felted bags

5. Maple & Cassie whose pictures of their many alpacas never cease to make you go "Awwww". Maple then spins and dyes the alpaca fleece into yummy yarns, while Cassie supervises.

6. Tracie, an avid crocheter, has just recently made the move to become a full-time designer & teacher. Congrats to her for having her very first submission to a magazine be approved!

7. Brenda who spins natural fibers into beautiful yarns on just a drop spindle. You may recall that she is spinning my Christmas yarn up.

Home Sweet Home

2007-09-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

It is good to be back home.

I missed my Jake.

I missed my quilt frame.

I missed my comfy knitting chair.

I missed my bed.

And as good as the food was, I missed being able to cook, especially breakfast.

Was it as bad as I thought it was going to be? No, but it was worse than my husband thought it was going to be.

Yesterday was the first day in 7 days that my feet didn't hurt.

Yesterday was also the first day in 7 days that husband's legs weren't sore.

Tuesday was the only day I got overheated.

Wednesday was the only day I cried.

Saturday was the only day I was sick while at Disney. (I'm still sick today, but at least I can curl up in bed).

Yet, all in all, the good outweighed the bad.

Monday Hubby and I ate our favorite meal.

Wednesday night Hubby and I took the kids out to a character dinner (minus the parents). Then, we brought them back to the hotel for scrapbooking (they had a blast! ... and so did I!)

Thursday I met Mulan.

Friday we divided and conquered the kids. Hubby and I got Kail, the youngest.

Friday night Hubby and I escaped to wander around Epcot, still our favorite park, alone. It poured and we came back soaking wet, but it was still fun.

And, of course, it was wonderful to see my sister and her fam.

Plus, I got lots of knitting done on my AWHF shawl. (more pictures later)

My sister is already planning next year's vacation. I plan to hide in the mountain of dog hair that is still blowing around on the floor despite my attempt to clean yesterday. Maybe she won't find me.

If you see her, mums the word.

Sneak Peak and Hand Quilting

2007-09-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I leave for vacation. We are going to Walt Disney World with my sister's family, which consists of a husband, a 7-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old son. You might think that I'm excited. You would be wrong. I have been dreading this vacation for months now. My sister has a different idea of a vacation than I do: she plans to drag the children to the park at 9 am (or before), jam as many rides and walking into the day as possible, and carry the kids back around 10 pm. I imagine by the end of each day, both the children and I will be over-tired and cranky. I also envision the husbands abandoning us for a bench and good beer. I plan to bring a bucket with me. Why? Because Mrs. H says it helps to dunk your head into ice water after a long, hard day.

I haven't started packing yet, unless you count the growing pile of stuff I can't forget sitting on top of my dresser. I have a dilemma. What should I bring as a knitting project for the plane rides? Should I pack my mystery project or my shawl project?

Mystery project OR

Shawl project

I can't decide. I might end up packing both.

This morning, since I knew my entire day would be spent packing, I squeezed in a little time for me and did some more hand quilting on Baby Flick's quilt.

Have a wonderful week without me!

A Gift from the House

2007-09-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

You put so much work into a house: buying it, paying the mortgage, fixing all the little or big problems, and redecorating. It only seems right that the house should pay you back every once in a while. Mine did this weekend.

Look what I found in an old closet.

A brand new, never-been-used quilt frame! I was so excited. My husband even put it together for me. You see my baby quilt stretched out on it. My neighbor across the street told me that the lady who lived here before me never quilted. So, why is there a quilt frame in my basement closet? I have no idea. True, the frame is not the best (my husband had to jury rig the toothed wheel to the rod with nails and mirror wire), but it is free. And free is good.

Can I share a little secret with you? Hand quilting is not that hard. If you have ever done embroidery work or cross-stitching, you'll be fine. This baby quilt is only my 3rd quilt. I've been avoiding hand quilting - certain that hand quilting was best left to the experts, but when I found this frame downstairs in the basement, I knew I had to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that quilting is not that difficult once you get a rhythm going and it's fun. Now mind you, this quilt could never be shown at any country fair or jury show since my stitches are anything but even, but it's good enough for a baby.

PS. I hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

My Own Website

2007-08-31T15:37:00.000-05:00

Have I ever mentioned that I am married to a computer geek? If I hadn't, let me tell you now. I am married to a computer programmer. He's a consultant for Arris Systems in KOP (King of Prussia for those not in the Philly area).

So, when I have told family members in the past that I have a blog and an Etsy store, they automatically assumed that the Husband set it up. I've actually fought with people who wouldn't believe when I said, "No, no I did it all by myself".

So, why am I telling you this? Because, today I set up my own website using Google Pages. No help from the husband, I did this all myself. I'm awfully proud even though it's rudimentary at best. I still have 9 more patterns to upload onto the site, but I couldn't wait to tell someone.

The pic on the front I created in PowerPoint to showcase all my 14 designs. I borrowed (stole!) the idea from Tracie. Thanks!

The "Buy Now" links on my website are from Payloadz. I learned about this company through the Designer's group in Ravelry. Payloadz works in cooperation with Paypal so designers like me can offer downloadable patterns. For the icing on the top, the service is free until you start selling over $100/month. How great is that?

The Best Baseball Game I've ever been to

2007-08-31T09:50:00.000-05:00

WOW! I am so glad I took the day off yesterday to attend the last Phillies game in the 4-game series against the Mets. It was amazing to be there. It was hands down the best baseball game I've ever been to.

Our Seats

It wasn't a playoff game. It wasn't a World Series game. So, why was it so good? Let me set the stage for you.

Coming up to this series, the Phillies knew they had to win. If we lost the series against the Mets, we would be out of the running for the playoffs. At the start of the series, we were sitting 7 games behind the Mets in our league. Thankfully, we won the first 3 games against the Mets. Thus, the Mets were desperate to save at least one game from the series.

The game was moved from a night game to a day game. Start time was 1:05 pm EST. The crows was 42.5K with approx 40:60 ratio of Mets fans to Phillies fans. To my right was my husband. To my left was a very nice, but very boisterous Mets fan.

And so the game started. The Phillies took a quick lead thanks to the homeruns from Howard, Rowand, and Patty (Pat Burrell). By the bottom of the 3rd inning, we were winning 5 to nothing and had retired their pitcher. No way the Mets come back from such a deficite.

Top of the 4th, the Mets score 3 and in so doing retired our pitcher. Top of the 5th rolls around and the Mets score 2 to tie the game. We gave up our entire lead! Ack! Throughout this entire comeback, the Mets fans are chanting Let's Go Mets. We're having a dickens of a time Booing them down.

Bottom of the 5th, the Phillies come back and score 3 runs off of 4 hits. That silenced the Mets fans. We're winning again. Phillies fans are chanting "Sweep ... Sweep ... Sweep!".

No runs are scored in the next 2 innings. Then comes the 8th inning. Pitching started to fall apart for us. Condrey is having trouble throwing a strike. Gotay starts the rally off by walking. Then, Alou walks. We start churning through the bull pen. First comes Alfonseca, but that only made things worse. He got booed off the mound by the Phillie fans after giving up the lead to the Mets. Then, we bring in Mesa. Phillie fans hold their breath; this is the same Mesa we booed out of town a few years ago when he could no longer save a game to save his life. He let one run in that truth be told was a run credited to Alfonseca. Mesa shut it down after that, but the top of the inning closes with the Mets winning 10 to 8.

Bottom of the 8th, Phillies come up. We manage to tack on 1 run thanks to Patty's home run against one of the best closers, Wags (Billy Wagner).

Then comes the 9th, the Mets fans are cheering for their team. They get booed down. Then, Phills fans start up their cheers of Let's Go Phillies and Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!

Flash Gordon trots in while Queen's music plays on the loud speakers. He gives us fans a 1-2-3 inning.

Bottom of the 9th, now it's our turn to bat. Worthy (Jason Werth) gets on base with a single. He steals 2nd. Then, he steals 3rd! Ishmael (Iguchi) hits a single and brings Worthy home, tying the game! It's 10-10. Mets walk Jimmy (!!) to invoke a double play opportunity, but next up is Chutly (Chase Utley), the best 2nd baseman in the entire league this year. In true Chutley fashion, he hits a single and wins the game!

So, do you understand now? Back and forth the game went. I have my boisterous fan on one side rooting for the Mets. Hubby & I are rooting for the Phills ... of course! The crowd was electric. The game was highly fought for. There were some amazing defense plays. You should have seen the ball Worthy caught at the warning track. Then, there were all the home runs plus all the hits. I was exhausted by the end of the game. My hands hurt; my throat hurt; and my head hurt. What a great game! Hats go off to both our Fighting Phills and to the Mets.

So what did I knit on the way to and fro the game? I can't show you. I was working on the Mystery Project again. So, instead I'll show you the center piece for Baby Flick's quilt that I stitched together last night.

Sore Wrist, but Worth It

2007-08-28T09:47:00.000-05:00

My wrist is sore from knitting constantly the past 2 days. I knit on the drive to and fro the baseball game on Sunday.

Then, I knit on the train ride to and fro Center City yesterday. Plus, let's not forget the hour and a half of waiting for the darn train to just show up. So, I knit to keep myself from going spastic. I can only take so much of sitting and waiting. So much = approx 5 minutes. I have the patience of a tasmanian devil when it comes to waiting.

Yet, I am pleased to say all that knitting paid off. My Big Dipper Scarf is completed! As you may recall, this scarf was knit for EtsyFAST's August Celestial Challenge. However, I won't be selling the scarf in my Etsy store. There are 3 mistakes in the pattern. I have no desire to rip out 6 inches of knitting to fix any of these mistakes. Nor am I willing to mark the scarf down in price. So instead, I have decided to keep it for me. It will make a perfect biking scarf in the winter. It is extra thick thanks to the double knitting technique, so it should keep me warm when the 20F winds are whipping against me. Besides, I'm worth it and I don't rightly care about the silly mistakes!

I should have completed more knitting over the weekend though. Saturday was also supposed to spent traveling to and fro a Phillies game. But, the weather was so stifling that we called it off. Instead, I stayed home (inside!) and started on my baby quilt. I finished the middle square. Can you tell what letter it is?

While working on my quilt, Jake waited patiently (his patience is about on par with mine) while I finished cutting all the squares out. Which is a nice way of saying that Jake whined constantly until I got up and took him outside. It spoils him, but I can't help myself. He's so darn cute!

Little to Show For

2007-08-24T15:42:00.000-05:00

I've been knitting several hours every day. Yet, I feel like I am not making any progress on my Big Dipper Scarf. I am convinced that after I knit several rows someone comes behind me and rips out the very same rows. It's downright wicked behavior. If I catch who's doing it, I'm going to draw and quarter them!

So, I need some quilting advice.

I was so proud of myself for attaching the binding fabric.

OK, I'll admit it: I cheated. I went to Wal-mart and bought the pre-made quilting binding strips. It matched my quilt fabric perfectly and it saved me from having to make binding strips. I was sold! I attached it the same way I would have it the strips were home-made. I left the binding folded in half, lined up the open ends with the quilt edge and stitched with a 1/4 seam.

What is the problem you ask? Well, as you can see there is not enough fabric to wrap over the 1/4 seam and attach to the back. I don't know what to do. Do I rip it all out? What is the proper way to attach it?

Onto the good news of the day:

I sold my 1st pattern on The Knitting Vault.

I am now listed as a designer on Ravelry. I have only added information on my Lucky Drawstring Purse and my Vase Cozy. I hope to add more patterns next week.

My entire weekend is going to be spent watching baseball. I am attending the Phillies games on both Saturday and Sunday.

Naturally Spun sent me a picture of the Christmas Yarn. You see it here laid out to dry. The dye has set and it will be ready to spin soon. The amazing part of the spinning process is that she will be doing all of it on a drop spindle! I told her that she had the patience of a saint.

Pretty Yarn Pictures

2007-08-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

Tracie had wished me lots of yarn for my birthday. Her dedication of then calling my MIL to have her send the wished yarn is really touching. How else do you explain the box I yarn I opened yesterday from my MIL?

Can you tell what yarn it is?

I think a closer pic is in order.

5 skeins of Manos del Uruguay! Woo!

Included with the yarn were 2 books from Jil Eaton. After a year of Hubby insisting that I could NOT under any circumstances dress Jake in clothes, he's starting to cave. He saw the pic of the Cabled Sweater design in Jil's Top Dog Knits and thought it would be a fun way to showcase one of my cable designs. I can't wait to complete the 4 projects that are on the needles now so I can start on Jake's 1st sweater. 1st of many, if I get my way! And about that 4th project, I can't wait to tell you about it.

To recap:
Project #1: Mystery Project
Project #2: Big Dipper Scarf
Project #3: AWHF Shawl

So, what is Project #4? ........................................ A Christmas Tree Skirt!

3 types of yarn will be used in the skirt:

100% wool in plain white
SinFlex by London Yarns in Partita (sparkly green)
Hand-dyed & Hand-spun natural fibers from Naturally Spun

Here is a pic of the recently dyed yarn. Isn't it lovely?

For more pictures and an explanation of the dyeing procedure, please visit Naturally Spun's Blog.

I'll post more pictures of Naturally Spun's yarn once she starts spinning it.

Jersey Shore

2007-08-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

On the 2.5 hour drive down to Seaside Heights, I knit on my Mystery Project, the one that is being submitted for publication. There are some people who can't knit and drink alcohol at the same time. There are others who don't recommend knitting while tired. I apparantly can't knit and talk at the same time. Half of what I knit on the drive to Seaside Heights had to be ripped out because I missed 2 rows in the repeat. It wasn't a mistake that only a fellow knitter would notice. It was the kind of mistake a child could pick out. Mutter.

I do have good news to share about my Mystery Project. My MIL found more yarn for it! What a sigh of relief. I can stop biting my nails now and just relax. I'll have more than enough yarn to finish now.

As promised, here are some pictures of the trip.

Me playing Bubble Hockey with Hubby (Hubby took pic)

The view from the Sky Ride

A swarm of seagulls picking up tossed pizza crust

Over the weekend, I made some progress on the Big Dipper Scarf. It is now 15 inches long. I only have 45 more inches to knit.

Did I mention how much more slowly it is to double knit? I feel like the Little Engine That Could. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I also made a sleeve for the Chili Pepper quilt and attached the binding to the front of the quilt. The rest has to be done by hand: the attaching of the binding to the back of the quilt and the attaching of the sleeve to the back of the quilt. As the quilt is "virtually done", I can move onto the baby quilt. Woo!

First Pattern on The Knitting Vault

2007-08-18T06:31:00.000-05:00

My knitting pattern for the Lucky Drawstring Purse can be found at both my Etsy store and at The Knitting Vault.

Have you heard of the Knitting Vault? It is a collection of Knitting and Crochet patterns. All the patterns are searchable by Designer, Category, Yarn Weight, Skill Level, and Keywords. I am pleased as punch to be a part of such a collection.

Regarding my submission for the August Challenge by EtsyFAST, Tracie was right! The beads are supposed to resemble the Big Dipper. When it is all said and done, it will be a Big Dipper Scarf. And it will be a very warm scarf at that, thanks to the double knitting.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Hubby down at the Jersey Shore. We had a lovely time bouncing from arcade to arcade, playing air hockey, bubble hockey and skeeball. I'll post pictures on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

The August Challenge by EtsyFAST

2007-08-16T10:23:00.001-05:00

EtsyFAST challenged all its members this month to create fiber art items with a celestial theme.

I have cast on for my contribution.

Can you tell what it is?

Hubby guessed right, but I told him in advance what it was going to be. So, I don't think that counts.

As you can see from the back-side, it is being knitted with a technique called double knitting. I love this technique because both sides look the same. On the flip side, it takes twice as long to knit an inch than it would if I would just knit it "plain". Well, I suppose that is what I get for trying to be fancy. Hopefully, I'll get it finished before this month is out.

More knitting news: I am steadily working on my Mystery project. Because I am certain to run out of yarn before I finish, I have the Best MIL in the World hunting down more yarn. You see, I purchased the yarn from her favorite store in Maine. And I can't find it down here. I've looked everywhere - even on the web! Ackk! So I called her in a panic (I don't sound panicky, do I?) and she said she wouldn't mind tracking it down. It would give her an excuse to go yarn shopping. I think she's wonderful!

Thank You So Much for the Birthday Wishes

2007-08-13T14:09:00.000-05:00

It was a wonderful birthday. All the dishes I dirtied while making the cupcakes were left in the sink Friday night. On Saturday morning (my b-day), I awoke to find them still there (no green elves in my house apparently). Not wanting to start my birthday off by washing dishes, I decided to take Jake for his morning walk instead. I came back to find my husband washing the dishes. No, he didn't just shove them all into the dishwasher. He was actually washing them by hand. You see, folks, his jobs around the house consist of killing bugs, taking the trash out, hanging my many pictures, cutting the grass and operating the air conditioner. The cleaning of the kitchen belongs to the cook. Thus, it was a lovely surprise!

So instead of cleaning the kitchen, I got to go play in the garden. The other rose bush is saved from the evil mower!

Afterwards, I started to prepare for dinner: ham, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. Can I pass along a cooking trick to you that I just tested out? Like most others, I tend to buy pre-cooked hams that just require warming. During the last 20 minutes or so, one is recommended to baste the ham with a brown sugar mixture. If you have kids visiting or time is of the essence, try this: baste the ham with molasses instead. The kids can help out with this one. Just hand them an old paintbrush that has never seen paint or anything else equally toxic, and have them dip into in molasses and then paint it onto the ham. It's fun and easy! Plus, my husband was raving about how good it tasted.

Birthday Presents: Hubby got me a bike rack and tote to carry all my purchases back home. The only trouble is I can't get it to fit on my bike. Typically, it would be attached to the bike seat pole, but I have to have my seat almost at the lowest position in order to reach the pedals (Oh, the joy of being short). Thus, there isn't enough length of the pole to attach the rack to. I'll drag it up to my trusty bike shop and see if they can't advise me on what to do next.

My dear friend got me a Craft Tote. Isn't it cute? It holds all my sewing notions.

The next day I went to visit my Aunt and Uncle. They spoiled me with a homemade dinner: roasted chicken, spaghetti, Italian bread, and green beans. It was very good. The chicken was the best though. And because they know how much I love to bake, they gave me 2 cookbooks and a huge tub of flour. (They had picked up a 25 pound of flour from Sam's Club and then didn't know what to do with it all. I go through 10 pounds in a month so I was happy to take some off of their hands).

The only bad thing that happened was poor Jake came down with an ear infection. I started him on the ear drops and wipes yesterday and, as you can see, he is feeling much better today. He'll have to endure a few more days of treatment though. It takes both of us to get him to cooperate with the ear drops for he tries to bury his head in your lap.

So, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend and a wonderful birthday.

Thank you to all for your warm wishes!

Happy Birthday to Me

2007-08-11T06:31:00.000-05:00

I made butter pecan cupcakes for my brithday today. They are supposed to taste like my favorite ice cream. Jake thought they smelled delicious, but gladly settled for a Greenie.

Hope your weekend is filled with fun and good food too!

My 1st Purse for the KAL-CAL

2007-08-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

If I had followed a pattern, my 1st purse would not have taken so long. Of course, it would have stolen all the fun away. I would not have learned how to knit a circle, to knit a drawstring, or to calculate the circumference of a circle.

Plus I have the satisfaction of designing my 1st purse. It's a lucky one!

You can tell that they are horseshoes, right? Please tell me you can. Oh, please.

Apologies first

2007-08-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

I would like to apologize to all Geometry teachers.

No, no it is not completely useless information.
Yes, yes one can use the geometry skills in everyday life.
I should have paid more attention.

If I had paid more attention, this would not have happened.

The bottom tube was my 1st attempt at making the lining's body.

I now know that the circumference of a circle is Diameter * Pi. I hope to never forget it.

A New Indie Community

2007-08-08T05:04:00.000-05:00

Have you heard? The indie (independent artists) community has a new website where artists can meet each other, meet prospective buyers, and meet prospective retailers. It is called IndiePublic. Of course, I have already set up my page on it.

Knitting news: After many attempts and a boatload of frustration, I have finally worked the kinks out of my Lucky Purse lining and drawstring. Hubby is home today so I may not have a chance to post pictures this afternoon, but I'll have them up by Thursday for sure.

Have a wonderful day, All!

Weekend Work

2007-08-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

How was your weekend? I hope it was wonderful!

I spent the weekend quilting, gardening, cooking, and being followed around the house & yard by Jake. Hubby even took me out for lunch on Sunday. It was a lovely weekend.

The quilt is almost finished.

I completed the border and stitched it to the front. Then, I made the "quilt sandwich", holding everything together with safety pins. (I've decided that I am never going to hand-baste the layers together. Why? Pure laziness.) Finally, I machine-quilted the piece together. The majority of the quilt is machine-quilted via the technique called "stitch in the ditch". Only the diamond in the middle has a 1/4 inch stitch (a.k.a. I stitched 1/4 inch away from the seam).

Next on the list:

Learn how to make a hanging sleeve
Attach it to the quilt back
Stitch on the binding.

So close! Which means I am all the closer to starting on my next quilt - a baby quilt.

Sunday was mostly dedicated to working in the garden and hanging out with Hubby. I am in the process of creating specific paths to mow between. If my husband mows down one more of my plants, I'm going to throw the mower out! He's killed a Japanese Maple sapling (with Jake's help who peed on the tree when it was trying to grow back), and injured my rose bush (again with Jake's help ... I think they are in cahoots!) and 2 hosta plants. So in an effort to ensure he doesn't nick my rose bush again, I ripped up the grass under and around it, laying down mulch along the way.

Hopefully, next weekend I can "save" the other rose bush.

So, what knitting did I accomplish over the weekend? Um. Does knitting 2 rows this morning on my mystery project count?