Thursday, July 27, 2006
You're a Show Off
Today is show and tell day. Remember being in grade school and having show and tell day. I wish I could remember the most hideous thing I brought in for those days...but really the only thing I can remember from grade school is kissing Daniel Duesing under the cribs in the baby room (we went to a private church school) and being late on my day to hold the flag for the Pledge. Seriously.So here's a little knitting show and tell for you:
My one skein Secret Pal is getting this for this month's swap...a skein of Skacel Laceweight Merino Wool. I love this color. I also included some Choxie Dark Chocolate Mints in a matching tin. :)
Some gorgeous Trekking XXL sock yarn that I picked up last week at knit group when I was supposed to only be shopping for my secret pal. Somehow this skein just jumped into my arms begging me to take it home.
..and...this is the hat that I made for my niece, Kaitlin as part of her 4th birthday gift. I made it in the largest size (20" circumference) and it's nice that's it's adjustable with the i-cord that can be taken in and out.
This is the final gift for my One Skein Secret Pal for August (yes, I actually finished a project early!). This is the Drawstring Bag from One Skein. I love how this turned out and I really hope my pal likes it. I am also going to include a few goodies in this bag before I send it off including some awesome stitch markers made by the lovely Anne from This Is Spiffy!
Hopefully I'll have some more finished projects soon but it's getting close to that time of year when I will have to conceal holiday gift pictures. DRAT!
Tonight at knit group I will be working on a baby hat to donate to Save the Children out of a wool/cashmere blend. Next up: holiday and fall birthday gifts.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Ranting and Raving
So I need to rant before I share some knitting related stuff. I've been following the Andrea Yates retrial on Court TV for about 4 weeks now. I watch for a few hours a day while knitting and Syd naps. After considering everything I have heard I am convinced she knew what she was doing despite her postpartum psychosis and should be reconvicted of the murders of her 5 children. Today she was found innocent by reason of insanity. My heart aches for those children who were drowned one by one by their own mother while they fought for their little lives. And what about the now ex-husband...why is he not on trial? He now admits that he thought Andrea was pyschotic so why did he leave them alone in her hands if he in fact did think that at the time? Should he also not pay for protecting their lives? In a way I am so glad this trial is over because I've had sleepless nights thinking about those beautiful children and how they suffered.Rest in peace sweet babies and may justice be paid someday. :(
On a much, much lighter note, I've been knitting up a storm while frantically watching this trial and will have some pics in a few days of several FOs. What has helped me knit like crazy are a few new accessories I've acquired lately. :)
The Royal Ball Winder...bliss. This bad boy saves me so much time.
...and my Denise kit. DENISE. DENISE. How I love thee! This is the BEST interchangeable circular needle set of all time and I got it thru a trade at Knitty Coffeeshop BRAND SPANKING NEW! LOVE.
Soon to follow, my first project on my Denise's...a cotton hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts made from Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in Aubergine for my niece, Katilin who will be 4 in a few weeks!
Have a great Wednesday everyone.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Living where I don't belong...
see I belong in Boston! But it does sound like I'm rather snooty. Hehe. And really, do I want to live where I can be associated with New Kids On The Block. Um, not really...but I'll take somewhere else in New England! :)| You Are Boston |
 Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots. Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best. And quite frankly, you think you are the best. Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block |
See where you belong and then let me know!
Monday, July 17, 2006
Rip it REAL good...
So I finally decided to attempt another sock...after my trauma session with cat eats first sock a few months back I decided it was the time. I used The Yarn Harlot's Simple Sock pattern from her most recent book because it was an easy pattern and it's well written. I decided to use up some yarn from my stash...I purchased the Sunshine Yarns Taos colorway months ago and decided to give it a go....I swatched (GASP!) and was at 7.5 sts per 1 inch on a size 2 needle (a recommended gauge for this yarn). But after finishing the first one yesterday afternoon I think I'm going to frog it. The ankle is really droopy and I'm really unhappy with it. The foot part itself fits beautifully...I have wide short feet (my mom tells me it looks like I smashed them into a wall actually...though she has the SAME EXACT FEET!) and I was worried that they would be too narrow but they aren't. The heels and gusset are gorgeous and I have no holes like last time from picking up stitches...the sock itself is rather smashing if I do say so myself and I love the color....but I still think it's destined to be ripped and reworked. I have size 1 needles coming to me in the mail so I think I'm going to reswatch and knit them again on size 1's and cast on a few less stitches and maybe decrease a bit around the ankle to prevent saggage. :) Tell me what you all think.
Monday, July 10, 2006
One Skein Swap on Steriods
So I got my second One Skein swap package from my secret pal. There are only two things I know about my pal right now. 1. She's from Brooklyn, New York and 2. She is VERY VERY VERY generous and amazing!!!!Here is what she sent me this month:
A really nice tote bag from the NY Sheep & Wool festival!
A close up!
GORGEOUS handspun yarn from Peace of Yarn...I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color. There are 2 skeins of this!
2 more skeins of hand dyed yarn from Maine that was dyed in salt water! The color is more of a peachy red and gorgeous.
2 more skeins of this wool/mohair blend in fall colors. These are my favorite ones...she also sent me the same kind of yarn in reds/oranges last month. These are also from Maine.
AND yes, there's more. A hand carved crochet hook from Grafton Fibers in Vermont. I must have told her that Anne is teaching me to crochet at a class at Skip One, Purl Too soon!
And last but not least, the Summer issue of Interweave Knits, samples of Eucalan and several patterns for felted flowers!
HOW SPOILED AM I! I love everything pal! Thank you soooo much!
I haven't knit much this past week because I got really sick again so hopefully I will have some new FO's later this week to show you. I need to finish up the bottom of the spiral rib bag from One Skein that I'm making for MY One Skein pal and keep working on a birthday gift that is coming up.
Have a great week!
Monday, July 3, 2006
Born on the 3rd of July
The Mr.'s grandma turned 89 today. I hemmed and hawed about what to make/buy her for her birthday. This is a very special lady to me. I love her dearly and try to spoil her a lot with little things here and there. She is one of those people that really appreciates small, thoughtful things...she sees time spent on making something as really special so she's the perfect person to knit something for. Since she also has a "thing" for purses, I decided that Twitterpated was going to be for her. I'm very proud of this bag because even though I knit...I DO NOT SEW. No really, not even button repairs. It's that bad. So imagine a person who doesn't even know how to repair a rimmed seam, lining a bag for the first time. It was NOT PRETTY people. It took me about 2 hours. Yes, 2. Like I said, it's bad. But she came out beautifully. I made a few modifications to this bag too. I couldn't find handles that I liked anywhere so I just decided to knit some up and add a few D rings. I think it turned out great. I also scored the lining for only $1.20 a yard at Joann's in the bulk bargain bin...ROCKET...it was EXACTLY what I wanted...something feminine but also with a vintage look and the red in the flower matched the bag perfectly!Twitterpated was made with about 2.5 skeins of Cascade Cotton Rich on size 7 and 10 Clover Bamboo needles. I absolutely love this yarn!
Click on each photo to see larger.
Now The Mr. laughed hysterically at this picture...he thought it was SOOOO funny that I still took a picture knowing that the flash would show up...BUT BUT BUT, I wanted you to 1. see that I am NOT the perfect Mrs. Clean because of the nasty state of my bathroom mirror and 2. see how cute the bag looked when slung over a shoulder. :)
Le bag...with the camera wristlet also making a nice appearance in the picture as well..clearly I'm a knitter and not a photographer.
Well, I'm off to curl up with some Cinnamon Apple Spice Herbal Tea and watch some Bill Engvall on Comedy Central. I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. Remember to say a Prayer for our brave heroes that are defending our country and are giving us this freedom to celebrate!
