Projects in progress

I don't have that many actually, ok, so maybe it's more accurate to say that the one's I have aren't that old. I'm working on a wedding gift, it's a lovely cream color, so I don't want to haul it back and forth to work, (or anywhere else for that matter) 1. because I don't want it to get dirty and 2. because I'm making it for a co-worker.
So, naturally I cast on another project that I can take to work so I can knit in my down time. That beautiful aqua blue Berocco Touche. I bought it a few months ago to make a tank top type sweater with. So the pattern I'm using is the Jat Top from Karabella






and I am knitting along...and along....and along... due to different gauge etc.... I'm using size 8 needles but had to cast on 30 extra stitches for a total of 170 ugh.... so I'm knitting knitting knitting....and got to this point....








when I realized uhoh...this is where I have to deviate from the pattern...in order to change the neckline which as you can see from the pattern is clearly not a tank top neckline. So ... I had to stop...on saturday night, because I NEED HELP and Heartstrings is closed on Sundays...so what did I do? Why, I cast on a new sock of course!!!!




Then yesterday I hurried over to Heartstrings on my lunch hour (and a half) and found Dawn, who is once of the nicest ladies in the universe. She sat down with me, and a calculator and basically re-worked the pattern for me, came up with a plan for my neckline and then said, "come back and see me when you're ready to start the front!!!" How nice is that? And I'll definitely need help with the front. The back of the neck will basically be strait across, probably can't do that with the front.

So....I decided post to my blog today (because when I logged on I realized oops it's been a week since my last post) and thought I'd like to put some pics up of projects in progress. I got out the camera, laid the sweater out on the floor and took pics. Did I mention we're having a heat spell and I've let my elderly wench of a Siamese cat come in the house? Yes well, anyone who has a cat knows what happens when you lay anything, ANYTHING out in front of you on the floor...

THIS is what happens:

yep....she not only walked across it but she snagged it....not once but twice...one walk across and picked up and caught stitches on two nails....oooooooooh yeeeeesh. I was not happy.

Here's lil miss attitude:



She doesn't look very sorry.

Supposed to be about 107 today, so I'm staying in, and keeping my knitting off the floor and in my lap where it belongs (after my chores are done of course) aaaah ha ha ha.

Stay cool every one! Happy Tuesday.

Ice Cream

I received a card in the mail from my secret pal today! Yahoo.... it is very cute, pictures of Ice Cream Cones all over the front of it...think I'll head off to Ben & Jerry's!!!
Thanks Secret Pal, it was nice to hear from you!

Stash Enhancement Day:

Yep, must be Tuesday!!! Went to the LYS to ask a simple, simple question about guage and a tank top I wanted to start today.... hours later, and bags of yarn later I've planned out a few Christmas gifts! Can't say what they are just yet, I think some recipients might just read my blog now and then. I did get my questions answered though, so that's good.

OH....and Happy Birthday to Joanne at Heartstrings!!!!!

Let Them Eat Cake.....

Sunday was knitting circle day....and it was my turn to "host" it, which means everybody came to my house for snacks, knitting and a movie (well, most of a movie anyway).

It was also our chance to celebrate our friend Julies birthday! And so we did....

Here's the birthday girl:

Here's the birthday cake: aka earthquake cake

Here's the group enjoying the cake:

You might notice the TV in the background, below it is the DVD Player now known as "the DVD player which shall not be named", which is apparently now in DVD player heaven but had the gall to crap out just before the end of Knotting Hill leaving us in chick flick hell! Damn technology! have we gotten nowhere? It's 2006 for crying out loud....how does this happen? Ya spend 39.00 on a DVD player and should expect it last longer than 18 months !!! Ok...maybe not! Sorry girls.... (tail tucked between legs).

I'm ticked because I haven't seen that movie in so long....I can't remember how it ended!!!! Then it hits me....it's on all the time on On Demand, for free!!!! Maybe tonight I'll watch it again....sorry girls :)

But we still had our knitting....and cake....yummmmmy cake. And there was singing....the birthday song of course!!! scary stuff! he he he.

knitting: I've started a wedding gift, which I can't describe here because what if I'm an idiot and forget about it and then tell the bride about my blog....well you know.... just suffice it to say that after 3 cast ons and fixing a dropped stitch, which may actually be a yarn over, I'm on my way and it looks pretty!!!! (she'll never know, she doesn't knit....gasp).

And since the bride to be works in my office, I also started the guage swatch for a tank top (for myself ... unless I don't knit to the right guage and then it's for whoever it fits!) which I'll be able to take to work when it's slow in the office, which might help to keep me from wandering over to my LYS and "enhancing my stash"!

Also went to the movie this weekend, saw The Devil Wears Prada..... and in the words of Miranda,

"that's all"

Ok so at about one o'clock this morning, I finished that second sock!!! Yea!!! And I even wove in the ends. (is wove a word?) Today at work, I finished reading the yarn harlot (thankyou Brooke)....for any knitter who hasn't read it .... YOU HAVE TO! It's so funny, I wanted to read small parts of it to the non-knitters in the office, but somehow, I'm sure they wouldn't see quite the same humor as I did. And.....when I finished that, I started back on that second red wash rag....in seed stitch. And since I have a whole skein of the cotton to finish it with, I'll have enough to do a third wash rag! So I guess I will.

Sunday is our Knitting Circle get together....(I'm still in big denial about that guest bathroom....But hey technically I have until Sunday morning right?) the rest of the house is ready though....so bring it on....and don't worry girls...I'll finish it, you won't have to hold it.

Have a great weekend ever body!!!!

UFOs

I grafted the toe on that UFO sock of fixation this evening...and then did the cast-on for the dreaded second sock. I think I've found a solution to that dread though, that is that if you start sock #1 and don't finish it for months, then when you do finish it, #2 doesn't seem so daunting. Well it sorta makes sense. So I did the cast-on, and luckily there was a double episode of Lost on tonight which kept my attention...which led to the news which wasn't really new and that lead to Letterman which of course leads to that cheeky little monkey Craig Ferguson! And here it is after one in the morning, I finished the leg, the heel flap, turned the heel, did the gussets and the gusset decreases and am working on the foot length...but that's good enough for one night, it's lights out! Have to work tomorrow but it looks like a light day so far, (which means I'll take my knitting and it will get too busy to pick it up!).

House cleaning update

So... I have all these days off, since friday at 2 pm to be exact (and it's now 6 pm on Monday), I had sincerely hoped to have my house completely and thouroughly minimalized and clean clean clean. Instead, I have 5 new plants in my yard, my hypertufa bird bath (which I made last fall) has finally landed in it's rightful place in my yard, and my son's (which has been sitting in an "in the way" place on my patio since Christmas) has found it's place in his yard. The picture doesn't really do it justice, if it's in a fairly shady and/or damp place it would get mossy which could look cool. And, it would look kinda cool if the base and top were turned on an angle...Anyhoooo

What else, I did muck out and minimalize my home office, And then I promptly went to World Market and Pier One and bought stuff to "help organize" it...or muck it back up ... we shall see.
At any rate, it's done....and it 's time to move on to mucking out the bathrooms, and doing all the other disgusting cleaning things I hate to do. Which I was sure would be done by now....

I did finish my first wash rag....and am halfway through the second one but ran out of yarn,
pattern: from Knitting the Easy Way
yarn: Plymouth Fantasy Naturale, 100% mercerized cotten
needle: one is done on US #8 circular and the half finished is seed stitch on US # 7 Addi's

And then...since I was out of yarn and couldn't continue I decided it's time I finished my oldest UFO which is a pair of socks from Cascade Fixation.

See the lengths that one can go to in order to avoid the yukky chores in life!!!! (I think we can add updating my blog to the lengths I'll go to also!)

Alright, I hear a toilet calling my name (hey...that doesn't sound right does it...) I'm outta here.

days off

Whooo Hooo ... 4 days off. Ya gotta love long weekends. I have big plans for minimalizing my home... like ... going through cabinets and closets and dressers and getting rid of stuff that's just hanging out there and not being useful. So I got up this morning and promptly started yardwork hahaha back yard looks better but the cabinets don't. Figured I 'd save that for the hottest part of the day...like...right now for instance hehehe. Hey.... I'm just relaxin for a minute after my shower.... a little nappynap sounds nice about now! NO.... muuust cleeaan houuuuse.
Anyhoooo I'm offa here...oh my spoilee blogged today...finally... hehehe she likes the yarn I sent here Yipppeee. She's been a busy bee.

Have a happy 4th everbody!

post card

I got one today from my SP.....Thanks SP. I think she's passively aggressively taunting me. She tells me that she's enjoying her summer at her favorite French Bakery in San Francisco. Oh how I'd like to be there in cooler weather right now! Lucky woman!!!!

BTW Secret Pal --- How's the teething goin?? (throwing out a lil taunt of my own). hehehe.
NO, really I hope it's going well. Thanks for the card!!!

ok, here's one of the purses.
The Pattern: The Retro Bag ( I think)
Yarn: Noro Kureyon color 52 and Cascade 220 two strands
(one of each) throughout.
Needles: 11 circulars.

Procrastination

Ok, so I'm guilty of that....I'm a dawdler sometimes... I forgot to take/post pictures of those purses before I gave them away. And...so that is that. I recently finished a very fuzzy soft pair of sockies for my sp.....shhhhh it's a secret though. They're out of Louisa Harding Kimono Angora mmmmmm sooooo soft!!!! And they tell me machine washable! Hope they fit! :)


AND... I made another constant companion bag....this one I just mailed to my mom...she's giving it to a friend for a birthday present....that lucky woman!!!! hee hee hee.

Today, even though I'm grounded from buying more yarn....don't tell on me....I went to my LYS and bought some cotton for washcloths. I haven't made one yet so I thought I'd give them a try, and that seems like a great way to learn new stitch patterns. Still have to finish the little sweater and then I need to start a tank that I bought yarn for awhile back....can't wait to do that. UFO's first though...(yeah right).

And.. I guess that's about it as far as my knitting world goes...ooooh we did another KC day, knitted....ate salads....watched The Family Stone....(I love that movie) which means we all cried too! Next one's at my house....guess I better put the knitting down and do a little housework...I hate that!!

Happy almost the end of June everyone!!

More Bags.....

Over the weekend, I felted a purse that I will give as a birthday gift to my friend, I knitted and felted a purse that I will give to my son's girlfriend for her b-day.... both are the "Retro" Bag from Designs by Shelly. And they both turned out real cute....I'll post a pic soon.AND... I started another Constant Companion bag from Knitter's Stash. All three are worked double strand with Cascade and Noro Kureyon. It's always fun to knit with Noro and watch the color stripes unfold. I've done so much knitting in the past 3 days my wrist is getting sore!!! (Ibuprofen is our friend) The constant companion bag was "commissioned by my mother....she's going to give it to her good friend for her birthday. What's with all the June B-days anyway! Which reminds me... My niece's is this month too...can't say what she's getting, she could visit this blog and then what kinda surprise would that be?!! OK, it's way too late to be on here...next post pics of purses...(say that 3 times fast). Have a great week my knitter friends!

Constant Companion #2

It's finally finished! I actually felted it last weekend, but... I hate the finish work and have been just too lazy to finish it up. So, tonight I finally shaved the fuzz off it and sewed on the pockets and then put the handles on it. Voila...it's finished. I'm not sure what I'll do with it...I may give it to a friend, a non-knitter, (who knew such a person exists) for her birthday to use as an overnight bag. So, tell me sister knitters....is it a good birthday gift? A good overnight bag?? I'd love some input! I like it ok, but I like my brown bag better!

Pattern: My Constant Companion
Book: Knitter's Stash
Yarn: one strand Noro Kureyon color # 92/one strand Cascade Ecological Wool shade 8010
Needles: Size 11 US/24 inch circular (clover bamboo)

Here are the before felting and after felting pics....



Wow... Looking at the pics I just knowticed the blue/green stripes three in the body of the bag and one on the top edge....kinda cool....ok maybe I like it more now hahaha. Maybe I should take the pocket off????

And She Strikes Again!!!

Yep, two days in a row!!! woohooo I got a card in the mail today..... from Hawaii!!! Lucky pal. And tucked inside the card are some Hawaiin flower decals!!! I love em! If they'd adhere to felted wool I'd decal my knitting bag hehehe but they won't so I'll have to stick em on my car.

Thanks Secret Pal ... you're so thoughtful!

My Secret Pal Strikes....

Will ya just look at the wonderful gifts my pal sent to me? I was having kind of a hectic day and came home to find a cute little bear covered box on my front porch! And tucked inside...was a gift bag homemade from newspaper with handles made of twine thru green eyelets. And tucked inside that was not one but two beeauuuutifuuuul homemade needle holders...(see picture above) . They are both made from denim with a bright pink back and pretty pink and white floral print, with bright pink grossgrain ribon ties. I just love em! Don't my needles look nice in their new resting place? OK, those aren't all my needles, and I definately have enough to put in both the needle rolls. Can you see the two bars of soap? They smell really really gooood (french no less) one is lavender scent, and the other peony. She sent a very sweet card too!
AND ... (yes, there's more) .... a pair of handknit socks!!!!! Look at my HAPPY FEET. They fit perfectly!!! Well done SP
Thank you so much for such lovely and thoughtfull gifts! You are a great spoiler!!!

Antiiiiiiciiipaaaation....Annntiiiiciiiiipaaa aaation....

Isn't that a song? I got a comment from my secret paaaal today....she says I'll be gettin a lil somtin in the mail tomorrow....yea....I can't wait. I love surprises...most of the time hee hee hee.

And...I have ta say.....no... I'm not really all that into Sci Fi....I guess it depends on what we're talkin about. If it's books... I'm more into mystery/crime type books.... and if it's tv, I'm more into the Law and Order/CSI type stuff/medical drama/mystery etc .... Movies... comedy/mystery/drama etc... I saw ET, I saw Close Encounters, I saw Star Wars (the first one not too many after that)

On another note.....my brother...is a lucky lucky brother. He flew to San Juan Puerto Rico this morning, and tomorrow he'll take a hop to the island of Les Saintes where he'll meet up with his friend who lives on a sail boat and they'll be sailing around the Caribbean which is where my brother will spend his 40th Birthday!!! So....HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!

Also today, (it was a busy day), I mailed off a package to my spoilee.....can't wait for her to get it.
I checked her blog today and found that she's enjoyed a nice red wine with the dark chocolate "Toffee Interlude" that I sent her. Hehehe I love it...a woman who appreciates the fine things in life....like, chocolate and wine!!!! yummmm

Happy Tueday everyone!

Days Off

I ended up with another three day weekend this week...I kinda like it when that happens hehehe. I have a million things I should be doing...housework, laundry, yard work, KNITTING...hehe sometimes it just screams out to me...knit me knit me....but I'm ignoring it right now...must do laundry... must pull weeds....
The niece is coming up again this weekend...so it looks like another knitting marathon tonight...oh..we love those!!! knitting, movies and snacks...yummm. oooh I'll post pics! Can't wait to see her progress on her pratice swatch...she's learning to knit (she's a crocheter poor girl) and starting with a complicated baby blanky, yikes.
My secret pal received her ghirardelli dark chocolate/toffee interlude bar that I sent her, luckily it sounds like it wasn't all melty, the pic she posted looked good...and her description on her blog made me wish I'd brought one home for myself and I don't even like dark chocolate! And it turns out .... she's a California girl, thought she's had the misfortune of moving to some other state, poor girl.

border run update: 8 miles down 592 to go, ooh and a couple of pounds down too yipee!

Running To The Border!

Yep, that's what I'm doing. I'm going to run from my house, to the Mexican border!! OK, I'm going to be running on my treadmill in my front room....but I'm going to try to track my progress on a map and the goal is the distance from home to Mexico. My poor dusty treadmill... I've got to find some motivation...so this will be it. So far.... I've knocked out 3.75 miles!!! WooooooHoooooo.... I am on my way hahahaha. Come on...run with me!!! only about 596.25 miles to go!!! Come on...who's in? I'm trying to post a map but it's not happening right now... maybe later. Wish me luck!!!

sweater sleeves

Yea!!! They're done!
Spent 11 hours in lectures today....which was pretty much hell! About half of them were good ones...the rest....torture! San Francisco has been crazy this weekend. The sidewalks are packed with people even at midnight! So we were amazed when we came out of our dinner lecture tonight at eight to find everyone had gone home. Yea!!! It's a lot nicer out there now. Driving was crazy when we got here...it usually is but it was extra crazy downtown.

Anyway... I'm about to cast on a new project! A vest from recycled sari silk.
Here goes!!!!

Conference

Hello my knitter friends from San Francisco!!! The conference is going ok...busy....lots of lectures. So....I pulled out my needles to knit today and realized that the next step on my sweater sleeves was to switch to bigger needles....which I left in the room when I sized the amt of stuff I was dragging around in my bag...so of course, I went out at lunch to a fabric/yarn store and bought some new size 8's hehehe. Didn't want to waste a whole day!!! So, I did make some progress on those sleeves! Yea!

Tonight is an alumi reception for a couple of hours. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, some of the yarn stores I wanted to visit are closed so I guess I'll have to wait til at least Tuesday to do that. The weather's been really really nice! And I'm walking my butt off, or at least trying to make up for the extra calories I'm consuming. :)

Are you all knitting away at home?

Secret pals secret gifts....

Tonight I made the first of my secret pals gifts!!! What fun! I can't
wait to drop it in the mail to her tomorrow.

Also went to sweater class #3. Learned all the different ways to do increases and a few techniques for decreasing too. I'm all ready to start my sleeves and sew them on.

AND... I'm off to San Francisco on Friday, will be there at a medical conference for 6 days. Last night I did a little "research" and made a list of all of the LYS in the area where I'll be!! Yipeeee I can't wait to go shopping. My spoilee likes chocolate....all types...hmmmm seems to me there is a fairly famous chocolate source there hehehe.

welllll I'm tired....Craig Ferguson is on... I love that guy! But he's on too dang late, I've got to learn how to use that dvr thing.

oh btw....here's a pic of my finished bag. If you like this, go to the website for La Lana wool and look at the one Janet Scanlon knitted for them, $$$$$ but just beautiful! I want it!!!

My Bag:
Pattern: My Constant Companion from Knitter's Stash.
Yarn: Cascade 220 double strand throughout.
Needles: US 11 Circular (29 in).