Long weekend/week.. I was feeling REALLY sick most of that time, and I'm just starting to start feeling better enough to knit (and blog about it).
I have made some progress on the baby blanket (I have listed on my planned projects only one, but i know there's two more that I'll have to make. It now has stripes of all four colors, and I'm about to start the repeat (in a different color order). I've been enjoying Cara's showing of color, especially in mitered form. :) I think I can blame starting this blanket with three other knitting projects (and sewing and spinning and life) already going on all on her and her colors. I knew this blanket was going to be fun playing with the four colors. And as a plus, I get to use my new project bag, as the skeins of yarn not in use fit very nicely into the new cherry bag.
I have also finally finished a monkey appendage. ..and started another one. (the monkey head/body is also done). I just have to finish all four appendages and then the tail, then I think I do some pieces with the contrasting color.... someday it will be done and supermonkey will fly!
The lace scarf hasn't been worked on at all... because I was waiting for my knitpicks order to bring me some nice pointy needles. They arrived late last week and will soon be put to work.
I was also waiting for nice pointy needles before redoing my husband's toe again. The new dps are nice (and shorter - i got the 6 inch ones) and the toes are also done again, still a bit of work to go.... and then I can knit for a while and try it on him hoping it fits better.
Speaking of the knitpicks order, along with the nice new needles (isn't alliteration fun?), I had also purchased some bare sock yarn for me to play with and dye and make fun socks, and also three skeins of some lace weight so I can make something out of Victorian Lace Today. I haven't picked the project yet, but I got enough to do almost any of them. Any suggestions? The yarn I got is shimmer, in the deep woods colors (lots of browns with a bit of goldens) it's an alpaca/silk blend and I'm very excited to use it.
I would put on some pictures of this stuff, but I realized on friday afternoon (after the knitpicks came but before I felt ill) that the camera batteries were done, and I haven't recharged them yet....hopefully i'll plug those in sometime before bed tonight and can do pictures before the week is orver.
If you enjoy seeing anything on the site or have any questions about anything, feel free to leave a comment - although I started this mostly to help me keep track of projects I love knowing that someone other than myself is reading
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Progress!
Progress is being made on the new baby blanket. It has a three row pattern and I am going to be rotating through 4 colors.
The cast on edge looks nice, and there is a good three stitch border on each side, so when I am finished with the length I will be done with the whole blanket. I knew I wanted to do a knit ripple, and looked for a pattern online for a while before I found one that wasn't done in strips - this is one from Project Linus which means that I will probably do something for them later in order to feel like I paid it back.
I got a prize today! I had sent off some muppet hats and won a random prize.
It's a good sized bag by knitted bits. It will definately fit a small project, and perhaps will fit my spindle stuff instead. How cool :) Thanks Kate for letting us help and then rewarding us for it!
tammy said:
...I love your handspun, and I noticed that you have a Spindolyn. Do you like it? I haven't been able to get the hang of drop spindles. I keep dropping them or various other bad things!
Yes, I love my spindolyn. I did some coral yarn on it, and I have some plain wool on it right now...sitting there, but plan to get back to it soon, as it is very comfortable to spin in my big comfy chair with it. Drop spindles are a bit to learn all at once, my tip would be to draft some fiber, wrap it up loosely and put that in a project bag on your wrist, and then just practice moving the twist into the fiber - usually people have a hard time moving the fiber faster than the twist and you end up with thick heavily twisted yarn that eventually snaps when you finally hit a thin spot. It's all an issue of combining fiber and twist in the right amounts - and having a light weight spindle helps, as then your new yarn doesn't have to support much!
The cast on edge looks nice, and there is a good three stitch border on each side, so when I am finished with the length I will be done with the whole blanket. I knew I wanted to do a knit ripple, and looked for a pattern online for a while before I found one that wasn't done in strips - this is one from Project Linus which means that I will probably do something for them later in order to feel like I paid it back.
I got a prize today! I had sent off some muppet hats and won a random prize.
It's a good sized bag by knitted bits. It will definately fit a small project, and perhaps will fit my spindle stuff instead. How cool :) Thanks Kate for letting us help and then rewarding us for it!
tammy said:
...I love your handspun, and I noticed that you have a Spindolyn. Do you like it? I haven't been able to get the hang of drop spindles. I keep dropping them or various other bad things!
Yes, I love my spindolyn. I did some coral yarn on it, and I have some plain wool on it right now...sitting there, but plan to get back to it soon, as it is very comfortable to spin in my big comfy chair with it. Drop spindles are a bit to learn all at once, my tip would be to draft some fiber, wrap it up loosely and put that in a project bag on your wrist, and then just practice moving the twist into the fiber - usually people have a hard time moving the fiber faster than the twist and you end up with thick heavily twisted yarn that eventually snaps when you finally hit a thin spot. It's all an issue of combining fiber and twist in the right amounts - and having a light weight spindle helps, as then your new yarn doesn't have to support much!
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Everything has problems
Right now, all three of my knitting projects are not fun. The sock that I've been working on is too wide around (I had it all set once, and then checked and my gauge was off, so I started over and got it to the new number I should have, and when I tried it on his foot, it had a ton of slack, and turns out it should have been the first number - you know, the one that I undid.... grr...) So I'm waiting for my new knit picks dp before I start again.
The monkey I'm working on started with a piece of stockinette knitting that had 70 rows of 40 stitches. Now I need to do four arm/legs that have 60 rows of 20 stitches. These at least I'm doing as tubes, but still, it put me to sleep the other day when I tried to work on it...
And then the lace scarf. This is fun and interesting, but it takes a bit of focus since I have to follow the chart... so I can't do it for random minutes here and there.
SO - I ate a couple more cookies
..and started a new project.
And so, while I work on a new baby blanket, here's some pictures of recently finished projects that didn't make it to the blog yet:
This goes with the Molly doll that I recently finished.
I spun this up over the weekend, originally bought from Criations in CT, you can see the original fiber here.
I made a couple of changes on the blog. If you look to the side bar you will now see a list of current and planned projects, I will still list them in a post every so often, but I will try to keep that current.
I'll keep plugging away at everything - and again, thank you for the comments!
The monkey I'm working on started with a piece of stockinette knitting that had 70 rows of 40 stitches. Now I need to do four arm/legs that have 60 rows of 20 stitches. These at least I'm doing as tubes, but still, it put me to sleep the other day when I tried to work on it...
And then the lace scarf. This is fun and interesting, but it takes a bit of focus since I have to follow the chart... so I can't do it for random minutes here and there.
SO - I ate a couple more cookies
..and started a new project.
And so, while I work on a new baby blanket, here's some pictures of recently finished projects that didn't make it to the blog yet:
This goes with the Molly doll that I recently finished.
I spun this up over the weekend, originally bought from Criations in CT, you can see the original fiber here.
I made a couple of changes on the blog. If you look to the side bar you will now see a list of current and planned projects, I will still list them in a post every so often, but I will try to keep that current.
I'll keep plugging away at everything - and again, thank you for the comments!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Snow and Sock(s?)
Well, I have been contacted by my secret pal and I am very excited about this swap. I've also been in contact with the person i will be spoiling - but I won't talk about that ;). Between snow, stress, and sleep... I have managed to work on some things:
got my seeds started:
(the different tomato seeds are in the window sill green house)
(peppers, brussel sprouts, and eggplant, each in their separate green houses)
I have also started my husband's sock. (He also started one for me... he works top down, and has finished the heel and working on the foot) I work socks toe-up and now that I've finished the toe increases I'm all set to just knit for many inches...
We were asked for the secret pal swap to blog about our favorite knitting tool... I can't narrow it down to just one, but I did try, so it's down to a couple. My favorite knitting tool would be the computer, since any time I have a question I can easily research and find many answers within minutes (usually). As I picked up spinning and asked my mother for help (as I took her wheel and old fleece to play with) she was amazed what I was able to pick up online for spinning and dyeing... much more than she could find in the 80s when she was trying to learn with the help of a few people and the local library.
My favorite traditional knitting tool would be either this:
I love to work from nice neat yarn, and more than that I love to have my stash look like more than a tangled mess...
or this:
My handy container o' tools. Any time I decide to bring a knitting project with me I can just grab this old pill bottle and have almost anything I need (tape measure, crochet hook, sewing needle, many makers and stitch holders, folding scissors, a pen, safety pins, so many little things all together)
but my husband's new knitting toy almost made the list:
He got a nice new counter - it can count three different things at once, incrementing up or down, and at any one time two of the three counts can be locked so the girls can't change them... and I'm sure he would share it with me if I need it when he doesn't.
I wanted to thank those of you who have left comments after reading. It is nice to know that someone is reading. I am not always able to respond (if you don't leave an email address), but either way, I appreciate the comments and feedback! Thank you!
And then of course, my big news: I now have a lap top - thanks to one of my husband's coworkers who was upgrading! So thank you to my sweet sweet husband and to his friend. I am still getting used to it, but thanks to Ubuntu I am up and working and the camera even worked without issues. My sweet sweet husband even got the wireless network working on it last night... so I am using it right now. YAY!
got my seeds started:
(the different tomato seeds are in the window sill green house)
(peppers, brussel sprouts, and eggplant, each in their separate green houses)
I have also started my husband's sock. (He also started one for me... he works top down, and has finished the heel and working on the foot) I work socks toe-up and now that I've finished the toe increases I'm all set to just knit for many inches...
We were asked for the secret pal swap to blog about our favorite knitting tool... I can't narrow it down to just one, but I did try, so it's down to a couple. My favorite knitting tool would be the computer, since any time I have a question I can easily research and find many answers within minutes (usually). As I picked up spinning and asked my mother for help (as I took her wheel and old fleece to play with) she was amazed what I was able to pick up online for spinning and dyeing... much more than she could find in the 80s when she was trying to learn with the help of a few people and the local library.
My favorite traditional knitting tool would be either this:
I love to work from nice neat yarn, and more than that I love to have my stash look like more than a tangled mess...
or this:
My handy container o' tools. Any time I decide to bring a knitting project with me I can just grab this old pill bottle and have almost anything I need (tape measure, crochet hook, sewing needle, many makers and stitch holders, folding scissors, a pen, safety pins, so many little things all together)
but my husband's new knitting toy almost made the list:
He got a nice new counter - it can count three different things at once, incrementing up or down, and at any one time two of the three counts can be locked so the girls can't change them... and I'm sure he would share it with me if I need it when he doesn't.
I wanted to thank those of you who have left comments after reading. It is nice to know that someone is reading. I am not always able to respond (if you don't leave an email address), but either way, I appreciate the comments and feedback! Thank you!
And then of course, my big news: I now have a lap top - thanks to one of my husband's coworkers who was upgrading! So thank you to my sweet sweet husband and to his friend. I am still getting used to it, but thanks to Ubuntu I am up and working and the camera even worked without issues. My sweet sweet husband even got the wireless network working on it last night... so I am using it right now. YAY!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Plastic Plastic and some SP10 stuff
I just got my information for SP10 - in case your looking here for the questionaire there's a link for you to my post where I answered those.
The plastic canvas that I'm working on seems never ending, except for the fact that I finished the big part of it tonight:
With the finished outfit:
I am now working on the raincoat and umbrella and boots... hopefully finished within the next day or two so I can go back to knitting and spinning!
Here's a picture of the finished yarn from Copper Moose. I'm trying to remember how much is there, I'm thinking it was 368 yards, or something around there, I should have written it down obviously. The color is somewhere in between these two (there is only one skein in real life):
The plastic canvas that I'm working on seems never ending, except for the fact that I finished the big part of it tonight:
With the finished outfit:
I am now working on the raincoat and umbrella and boots... hopefully finished within the next day or two so I can go back to knitting and spinning!
Here's a picture of the finished yarn from Copper Moose. I'm trying to remember how much is there, I'm thinking it was 368 yards, or something around there, I should have written it down obviously. The color is somewhere in between these two (there is only one skein in real life):
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Oops!
I forgot to mention my early birthday present. My birthday is not for another month, but my sweet husband was ordering some other things on amazon, and decided to just go ahead and order some stuff for me... I already got Victorian Lace Today and I've glanced through it.. oh... a couple of times. :) Yarn should be ordered sometime soon for SOMETHING in there.
I also have a couple other knitting books (well, at least one is for me for my birthday, he might claim the others as his, but hey, they'll be in the house!) coming closer to my birthday, as they are not out yet.
I also have a couple other knitting books (well, at least one is for me for my birthday, he might claim the others as his, but hey, they'll be in the house!) coming closer to my birthday, as they are not out yet.
Animals
So... for my daughter's birthday she got one of those little weaving looms. I helped her do a square, and then she allowed me to try one with yarn (instead of those stretchy loops). This red woven square quickly (at bed time, with help from my husband) became pig's super costume, and our mild mannered pig became....
....SUPER PIG!
The adventures of super pig began and have continued now for many days.
And then we have the hedgehog:
Made by my sweet sweet husband :) It didn't come out exactly like the pattern, as he used (I handed him) more of a furry yarn that felted slightly rather than a real eyelash yarn. The hedgehog is very cute though... it just needs eyes now, and oh right... a seam sewn closed.
....SUPER PIG!
The adventures of super pig began and have continued now for many days.
And then we have the hedgehog:
Made by my sweet sweet husband :) It didn't come out exactly like the pattern, as he used (I handed him) more of a furry yarn that felted slightly rather than a real eyelash yarn. The hedgehog is very cute though... it just needs eyes now, and oh right... a seam sewn closed.
A post without wisdom
Now that my wisdom teeth are out, and my older daughter turned five, and many other exciting adventurous things happened (not really) this past week.... I figured it was time to post the craft progress for the week.
When I was able to, I worked this week on finishing things to mail off to my new nephew (and family). His blanket was already done, and here is his teddy bear with sweater:
A sweater for his sister's teddy bear (made before I started outfitting them):
The I-cord rug will also be going out in this box (sometime next week hopefully)
A blurry picture of my tufutsies yarn (we bought two skeins, this is the one I am using to make a pair of socks for my husband)
Pretty things from a new store:
These are both from Criations in CT. I found out about this store when I met Jenny. (I was actually going to blog about that, but then got caught up in life... was really fun meeting her, so fun in fact, that I didn't realize so much time had passed until I was home and realized I had forgotten to do more than munch on bread and I was still hungry... we'll have to do it again some time!)
Previous Projects:
2 bears, 1 baby blanket - 1 bear done!
lace scarf - still working
felted rabbit - not started
skirts - no recent progress
handkerchiefs - not started
mystery handspun gift - scarf finished and delivered
pink and purple pig - finished and loved!
something for my younger daughter (shawl?) - started monkey, looking at patterns for shawl
Current Projects:
1 bear, 1 baby blanket
lace scarf
felted rabbit
skirts and handkerchiefts
monkey for younger daughter
plastic canvas "paper doll"
various spinning
When I was able to, I worked this week on finishing things to mail off to my new nephew (and family). His blanket was already done, and here is his teddy bear with sweater:
A sweater for his sister's teddy bear (made before I started outfitting them):
The I-cord rug will also be going out in this box (sometime next week hopefully)
A blurry picture of my tufutsies yarn (we bought two skeins, this is the one I am using to make a pair of socks for my husband)
Pretty things from a new store:
These are both from Criations in CT. I found out about this store when I met Jenny. (I was actually going to blog about that, but then got caught up in life... was really fun meeting her, so fun in fact, that I didn't realize so much time had passed until I was home and realized I had forgotten to do more than munch on bread and I was still hungry... we'll have to do it again some time!)
Previous Projects:
2 bears, 1 baby blanket - 1 bear done!
lace scarf - still working
felted rabbit - not started
skirts - no recent progress
handkerchiefs - not started
mystery handspun gift - scarf finished and delivered
pink and purple pig - finished and loved!
something for my younger daughter (shawl?) - started monkey, looking at patterns for shawl
Current Projects:
1 bear, 1 baby blanket
lace scarf
felted rabbit
skirts and handkerchiefts
monkey for younger daughter
plastic canvas "paper doll"
various spinning
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Quick note
I have been knitting, I have gotten pretty fibery things in the mail, I have also been sick with a stomach bug, and have had two (the last two) wisdom teeth taken out. I am feeling somewhat better and have great hopes for the next day or so to be feeling completely better. Hopefully I'll have pics of some finished stuff and the pretty stuff sometime this weekend!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Oink and Swap
Oink Oink
made from this yarn (home dyed and home spun), and I used the piglet pattern from this book.
In other news, here's the picture of the I-cord rug for my neice
I used my spindolyn that I received in the mail on monday, and I now have a 166 yard, 19 wpi, 2-ply skein of coral yarn.
I have gotten some work done on my lace scarf, and will keep plugging away in between projects.
I started spinning the roving I bought from copper moose. I'll probably do more of that and try to finish it up, as it's my largest non-fleece spinning fiber right now.
I originally bought this to share with my spin to knit swap pal, which I did, and now I'm looking forward to using the rest. ...which brings me to the swap. Now that it's officially over, I was giving to Mel. I gave her:
For the first swap:
one of those skeins (I kept the other rust/olive/rosemary) and the bamboo/wool ply
And for the second swap:
And I just received my second package from my swapper, as soon as I get a blog address, I'll post that, but I was very excited and THANK YOU!! :)
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