Blue Eyed Knits

What have I been up to?

2008-08-01T15:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry- fell of the "Blog Wagon" there for a while. I've been busy, knitting and staying busy with the kids. Here's a couple of project updates:

Christmas Balls

Baby Sweater

Felted Basket

"Hey Teach!" Sweater

I'll try to be better about blogging!

Natural Dyeing Experiments #2 and #3

2008-06-16T12:36:00.003-04:00

Here's my next two experiments with natural dyes. This one is a superwash sock yarn, dyed with Logwood Blue, Lac (burgandy/purple-ish pink) and Cochineal (lighter, reddish-pink). I totally love how this turned out!
Reskeined, it's a beauty!
Next, I dyed up almost 2/3 of a POUND of wool roving in the five different dyes, and got interesting results with the exhaust. From left to right, Osage Orange, Madder, Logwood (was BLUE! I think I should have added more dye or less wool, but it is a nice beige shade!), Cochineal, and Lac.
Once it dried completely, I folded, braided, and rolled it. This pancake is HUGE! (10 1/3 ounces!)

Natural Dyeing Experiment #1

2008-06-12T12:51:00.004-04:00

Wow- two whole months! I'm such a slacker!

Not much exciting to blog about- just a couple of pair of socks for the SAM5 knit-a-long. BUT- on to the title- I aquired a bunch of natural dyeing supplies from Maiwa and got BUSY!

Behold- Experiment #1

Yarn: Cascade 220 (1 skein) Originally natural colored.

Dyes: Madder Root, Osage Orange, and Logwood (blue), premordanted in Alum & Cream of Tartar
Simmered at 140 degrees in quart jars for about 1 1/2 hours.

Rinse- it took about 8 rinses for the Madder section to (finally) run clear.

Outside Drying! These colors are SO vibrant! I have plenty of dye left in the jars- I'm mordanting some spinning fiber now to use as exhaust.

I also have dye material steeping (Lac and Cochineal) to try some more tomorrow. I have one skein of bare sock yarn premordanting now, but I have plans this evening, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow (at least.)

I found MY summer time-waster! LOL!

Slacker! Couple of FO's

2008-04-05T20:00:00.002-04:00

I won't bother trying to explain how busy I've been or give excuses as to why I haven't posted. Let's just gloss over all of that and go directly to my most recent F.O.'s, shall we???

Finished my Salto socks today! I used Zitron Trekking Pro Natura in a lovely chocolate-brown color. Worked these on 2.0 and 2.25 mm needles (Harmony wood Knit Picks DPN's) and they came together pretty quickly! Love the cable work, and they're much more impressive looking than your average plain sock!
Next up (actually- I finished this before the socks- kind of an interlude between sock 1 and sock 2!) is my first Baby Suprise Jacket. I aquired the pattern leaflet (an Elizabeth Zimmerman design) from ThreadBear in Lansing, but I owe much thanks to Dawn for her online notes, as the EZ pattern is definatley not a line-by-line guide! Absolutely will be making another one of these!

This one is made from Elegant Yarns Fantasy, also found at ThreadBear, and it's 99% done. Needs a little crochet edging around the neckline and some buttons, which I haven't looked for yet.

Finished Noro Socks

2008-03-09T15:04:00.003-04:00

Finished up the Noro Socks today- here's the specs:
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock
Colorway: S-40
Needles: 2.5 mm Opal Bamboo DPN's
Pattern: Improvised- based on my usual sock recipe (toe-up, gusset, short-row heel) but with a tiny cable running up the top of the foot. Topped off with a couple of inches of 2x2 ribbing so I can fold them down in the spring/summer.

Spinning Update

2008-03-02T21:20:00.002-05:00

I purchased this fiber from "All Spun Up" on Etsy (see post below) a couple of weeks ago. It's 70% superwash Merino wool and 30% Alpaca. Tonight, I spun up about-half into 3-ply (Navajo-ply) sport-weight yarn, approximately 12 WPI. This skein is about 65 yards, and is around 2.1 oz. Lovely, isn't it?!?! Once I spin the other half, this will become a pair of socks for me. I love the "neutaral- goes with jeans" color scheme.
Hopefully I can get some more spinning time in soon and get the other half plied up!

Red Wings Shorties

2008-03-01T17:49:00.002-05:00

Just finished this cute pair of cutsom shorties for a friend of mine. Made from Knit Picks Wool of the Andes (White) and Patons Classic Merino (Red.)
(The legs are actually the same length- I obviously didn't lay them exactly flat when I photographed them!)

A Two-Fer!

2008-02-24T19:23:00.002-05:00

The first part of this "Two-Fer" is my first skein of spun silk. The second aspectis my first beaded yarn. Behold! Approximatley 95 yards of 3-ply silk yarn, 2 plies are spun silk and 1 ply is commercial sewing thread to which I strung on 100+ size 11 seed beads in a variety of coordinating colors.
Too bad my camera doesn't handle close-ups very well! You can see some of the tiny seed-beads spun in there on the right-hand side. This stuff is SO shiny!
Here's what I started with- a length of hot pink and electric blue unspun silk. Purchased from ThreadBear in Lansing last week 2/13/08 when dh and I managed to get out of the house without the kids to see "The Blind Boys of Alabama" in East Lansing.

Working on a pair of shorties (Detroit Red Wings theme this time) for a cloth-diapering friend, along with the Noro Socks (one is DONE! Second one is casted on!) and the hibernating Autumn Cardigan. Don't know why I can't get it in gear to work on that- I tried last weekend and only managed about 8 rows on one sleeve before I switched to something else. :sigh: I think it's the tiny DPN's. With such a huge body going, row after row on little DPN's doesn't seem much like progress. I've heard others have stalled out at this point in this pattern too, so I'm chalking it up to "normal."

Malabrigo Baby Sweater

2008-02-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

First up today is a teeny-tiny baby sweater made from one skein of Malabrigo (colorway "Curacao") for Baby Sainz. A co-worker of mine just found out their firstborn will be a boy, and thus I had to "get busy" with the tiny clothes. This sken of BUTTERY soft merino has been itching (not literally!) to become something adorably tiny, so I sat down and "winged" it, no pattern. I wish I could write up the pattern, but it's not a 'perfect' design by any means. The arms are a bit skinny, but newborns tend to have wiry arms, eh? (Mine did!) I'm so excited for them, I can hardly contain myself! This baby has been a beautiful blessing, and has brought new life into a tough work environment.
Picked up some silk to spin while stopped at Threadbear in Lansing before the "Blind Boys of Alabama" concert on Friday night. I truely wish I'd had more than 20 minutes to spend in there. Absolutely going to have to make it a day trip next time!

Scored some merino/alpaca roving on Etsy last week, a fantastic shop called "All Spun Up." I can't hardly decide what to spin first!
Although truely, I should be working on some WIP's, right?!?

Wyatt's "Hot Legs" Longies, half-of-one Noro Sock, and "WhatIfKnits" Raffle

2008-02-14T10:01:00.003-05:00

1. Recently completed (except for installing the elastic in the covered waistband) longies for a dear friend's ds, Wyatt. Dad's a huge Jeff Gordan fan and wanted a pair that would mimic his colors/theme:

2. Showing off the start of my Noro sock yarn sock. Simple stockinette with a tiny cable running up the front of the foot. I might add one later that runs up the back of the calf, but I haven't decided yet! (The cable shows now on the 'side,' since this sock-fetus is currently laying sideways. Not that the picture shows it well anyway! LOL!) I'm really loving this yarn, even with it's unusual pseudo-single ply and a touch of thick-and-thinness. It's softer than I expected, and coming together nicely on 2.5 mm needles. (US size 1.5)
3. WhatIfKnits is hosting a rafffle with some AWESOME prizes in exchange for making donations to chosen animal welfare or protection groups, or your local equivalents. I donated to Harbor Humane Society's "Hope Fund," and hope you will consider entering this raffle and supporting a good cause.

Sam's Stripey Socks- DONE!

2008-02-03T20:13:00.000-05:00

Here's my February socks! Started them yesterday, 2/2 and finished tonight before half-time 2/3/08. They're made for my 6-year-old son, and he LOVES them already!Yarn: Regia Stretch Color, 50 grams (tiny bit left over.)
Pattern: Improvised toe-up, 2x2 rib on top of foot and all of leg, gusset w/turned heel.

Colorway repeats were not exactly the same length in each repeat, which bugged me but Sam says that makes them "special," so it works for me! :)

Sam's Stripey Socks

2008-02-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

Taking a break from the Autumn Cardigan has given me a chance to make a pair of socks for my son, Sam. He's been asking for socks since I finished Emily's handspun rainbow socks (below) so I picked up a ball of Regia Stretch Color (he only needs 1 ball to make 2 socks, lucky me!) and got started yesterday. Even though I had a raging headache, I finished one sock yesterday and hope to have these finished today. Good mindless Superbowl Sunday knitting, for sure!

Steeking 101

2008-01-30T12:13:00.000-05:00

Finished knitting the body of the Autumn Cardigan. Time to STEEK!

Someone once asked me if there was anything (knitting related) that I was scared of. It took me a long time to answer, as I'm pretty much an "I can do that!" kind of gal. The closest thing I could come up with is steeking. Taking scissors to something you've spent so many hours on, knowing that one wrong 'snip' and there-she-goes all unraveling and becoming a limp pile of kinked threads.... okay, so it worries me a bit. But, I've done it before and I'll do it again, so here she goes!

A. Body of a fair-isle peice that needs some steeking!
B. Machine stitching zig-zags down one side and the other of the 'center' row that will be cut. (This is an arm whole.)
C. Lots of places to steek in this particular pattern! Here's the long-stretch down the front of the cardigan.
C. All sewn, ready to cut. (Yes, the kids must have hid my good scissors! All I can find is their 'kiddie scissors,' but they'll work! The steek must go on!)
D. Hold your breath and CUT!
E. Voila! Instant cardigan!
I've picked up stitches and have about 2 inches of one sleeve done, but I'll photograph that when I get something that looks like progress. I'm setting this aside for a couple of days; I'm starting to burn out on it and don't want to end up hating it. Plus, I think it's going to be too small, although washing/blocking might take care of that problem. I think I just need a break!

Emily's Easter Egg Rainbow Socks

2008-01-26T20:05:00.001-05:00

These are of the superwash merino I hand dyed and hand spun myself! Pattern was pretty-much a take on Fleeegle's toe-up short-row-heel sock, but with some of my own twists thrown in.
About 2/3 done with one of the JoJoLand spiral socks, and almost finished with another row of leaves on the Autumn Cardi, but I'll update those when I have something more intersting to photograph!

Drive-by Update

2008-01-22T12:39:00.000-05:00

Still plugging along on the Autumn Cardigan- almost done with the third row of leaves! (5 rows total) Have to take frequent breaks due to the needle size (US-4) and colorwork, but I'm totally loving the pattern.

On other fronts- I've finished one of the hand-spun socks for Emily (the 'Easter Egg Rainbow' yarn) but haven't had time to work on the other one. Little progress on the Jojoland spiral socks too- BUSY week!

Of course, today I have NO excuse, as we have our first Snow Day of 2008. Here's a view of the back porch. Gotta' love the Left Coast of Michigan in January!

Autumn Cardigan- Progress

2008-01-13T21:30:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to drop a quick update on the Autumn Cardigan. It's coming along quickly now that I finished the ribbing! Almost done with one row of leaves. I LOVE how the colors are coming together!

On other fronts, I'm 99% done with one of the Easter Egg Rainbow socks (in Em's size) and about half-done with one of the Jojoland swirly socks (my size) but I didn't snap pictures yet. What's to see but two not-done socks?

I have a feeling I'll be obsessed with this Autumn Cardi until it's DONE! LOL!

SQUEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-08T20:04:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! (Can you tell???) My Kauni yarn finally came!

I have big plans for this yarn: an Autumn Cardigan, as designed by Ruth Sorensen.

The colors I chose are EQ (rainbow- for the leaves) and EK (greens/yellows- for the background) like the version pictured on the left in the pattern. I'm almost done casting on the bottom rim, and can't wait to see the colorwork emerge.

Final Photo of Hannah's Slippers- Emily gave these to their new (very happy) owner yesterday, the first day back to school from holiday break:
Off to knit in my happy chair. Good night!

"Leftovers" socks- first FO of 2008

2008-01-06T17:23:00.000-05:00

First finished object(s) of 2008!

Specs: Socks -small ladies size, using leftover OnLine Supersocke (from Sarah's socks, below) and some solid turquise Brown Sheep Wildefoote. No, the toes don't match, but OH WELL! That's why they're called "Leftovers!"
Yarn from yesterday isn't dry yet, so I'm not sure what to cast on next!

From "Zebra Stripe Gum" to "Easter Egg Rainbows"

2008-01-06T00:05:00.000-05:00

My adventures in dying and spinning- 12/31 (dying) and 1/5 (spinning):

1. Start with 4 oz of superwash merino roving that's been calling my name for MONTHS!
2. Divide into six equal 'bumps' since I have six tablets of Easter Egg Dye.
3. Give each bump a home inside a ziploc bag.
4. Prepare the egg dyes with a splash of vinegar.

5. Add warm water to each Ziploc until the fiber bumps are soaked, then add a cup of dye.
6. Stash the ziplocs into pre-warmed crock pot with water, turn on low, and go do something for a couple of hours.
7. Once the water in each ziplock is clear (all dye is taken up by the fibers) remove bags from crock pot and let cool.
8. Rinse with clear same-temp water a couple of times and lay out on a towel. Roll the towel up and squeeze out excess water.
9. Hang to dry on dowel (along with a couple of skeins of hand-spun Brown Sheep mill-ends yarn. May as well multi-task!)

This is where my dh walked in and said "Hey- first it was Hippy Guts and now you have Zebra Stripe Gum!" I can always count on him for comic relief!

10. Once COMPLETELY dry, divide each color into four (relatively equal) segments, and roll into color-sequence bumps. (I off-set each 'bump' by about 1/5 of the red/pink so the color repeats when I did 2-ply would be a little bit off-set.)
11. Spin fine singles.
12. Finished! 2 skeins of 2-ply fingering weight "Easter Egg Rainbows" yarn! Can't wait for it to dry so I can knit socks!

No photos today, but updates and "Zebra Stripe Gum"

2007-12-31T16:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, no pics today. Sorry.

1. Finished Hannah's slippers- felted and currently drying. I'll snap a photo of those before they're off to live with her.

2. Started spinning the Brown Sheep mill ends roving. Not sure if I'm loving it yet, but the second bobbin-full came out more even than the first. I Andean plyed the first bobbin, which was kind of a bust (as in "almost broke my flipping-off-finger in the process" kind of bust) in which I had to do half-at-a-time because my bobbin was FULL. Yeah, well, it's plyed. Not exactly pretty, but for a first attempt at a new technique, I learned a lot! The second bobbin will be spun from a center-pull-ball instead, producing (hopefully) smoother 2-ply yarn.

3. Super-Secret-Mystery dying/spinning project in progress. Let's just say 4 oz. of superwash merino has been begging to be dyed. Leftover Easter Egg dyes were involved. Dh's reaction contained the words "Zebra Stripe Gum," and it's drying now so I can't start spinning yet. :sigh: Probably once I get back from Chicago later this week, as I doubt it'll be dry before we leave tomorrow.

(Leaving y'all in suspense! Mmmmwwaaaahhhhhaaahhhaaa!!!)

Finished "Burrow" Socks

2007-12-27T22:27:00.000-05:00

Both socks DONE!
On the needles next- I have a pair of socks using the leftovers from Sarah's Socks (below) and some Wildfoote in solid turquoise, just to use up some scraps. I have tons of other things I could work on (like that raglan- yeah, I forgot about that for a while!) while I wait for the Kauni I ordered. (Still stuck in customs-limbo...)

Feels SO GOOD to be able to finish up some projects without having them "linger," KWIM? Maybe I'll spin up some of the Brown Sheep mill-ends tomorrow. We'll see what kind of mood I'm in tomorrow morning! Gotta love Winter Break!

"The Burrow" Sock #1 Complete!

2007-12-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

First sock knit from my handspun, Navajo plied "The Burrow" fiber from Spiffy Knits. Knit on Clover DPN's size 2, using Fleegle's pattern modified for a 2x2 rib on top of foot and up leg. Fits like a GLOVE and is currently drying on my new sock blocker from The Loopy Ewe.
These are pretty rugged socks! I can't WAIT to wear them with my Birki's, even in the dead of winter my feet will stay warm!

Alas, no action shot, but here debuts "Rona!"

2007-12-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

Up first, fresh off the needles, is "Rona- Blob stage."
Full shot- blocking
Center Detail
Edge Detail
The giftee was my sister, Nikki, who gifted one of her first knitting projects (a striped purse for our Mom) this year. I completely forgot to get an action shot, but lets just say I think she was happy and maybe even suprised! (Considering about 18 months ago I sent her the link to the Zephyr colorcard and told her to "pick a color." She picked this, Elderberry, and Fuchia, which I *knew* I couldn't knit with for that long (without color-induced migraines!) so Elderberry it is!)

Specs: Yarn- Laceweight Jaggerspun Zephyr, colorway Elderberry, approximately 100 grams. Pattern, "Rona Shawl" from KnitPicks. Knit on DPN's and Circ's, Clover Bamboo size 3. Started in January 2007, finished December 2007, but marinated for long periods of time while I knit plenty of other FO's! Those last dozen-rounds are KILLLER, each round taking a good 90 minutes!

Still can't show you the F.O., but...

2007-12-23T18:37:00.000-05:00

(Just a couple more days, and I might even get an 'action shot' of it with it's new owner!)

I *can* show you the socks I finished (in the nick-of-time, literally!) for our school's Media Specialist, Sarah.

Sarah always comments on my hand-knit socks, and for a couple of years now has bugged me to teach her how to knit. I'd be more than happy to, but she (like me) is always busy, and had decided back in October or Novemeber that she was going to put that idea on the backburner, and threw out the "how much would you charge to knit a pair if I bought the yarn...????" question we all hate to hear. (A fair wage for the number of hours spent? A small stipend on top of the yarn cost which is WAY more than most non-knitters expect? Not an easy question, especially when dealing with friends and co-workers.)

So, what did I do? Suprised her with a pair for herself. Her daughter was so impressed she now wants her mom to learn how so SHE can have a pair. I guess she'll learn how to knit anyway! LOL!

Behold: Sarah's Socks:
Specs: Yarn-OnLine Supersocke 100 Tropic Color, pattern by Fleegle. Completed and photographed at my desk on Wednesday, 5 minutes before Sarah came in for her afternoon shift. Instead of wrapping, I just cut a length of leftover yarn, balled up the socks, and tied a bow. Complete with a "Post It" note To/From tag. LOL!

What's up next?!
Tonight- I shall finish the second Convertable mitten, as it's been marinating too long.
(ETA: FINISHED!)

Then- Emily's friend came for a sleepover last weekend and requested a pair of slippers, so it's another pair of FiberTrends Clogs- Bright green & purple! I'm thinking of reversing the colorway to make a mis-matched-but-coordinating set, as that's just the kind of funky girl Hannah is! LOL

One More F.O.!!!

2007-12-14T20:36:00.000-05:00

But I can't post pictures!

(Because it's a gift, and I'm not going to give away the suprise! But, if you're on Ravelry, I'm asemumma- look for my most recent finished project!)

First attempt at Navajo Plying! ("The Burrow" Part Deux!)

2007-12-05T18:08:00.000-05:00

Here's half of the fiber spun super-fine on my Ashford. (Quarter for scale)
Navajo Plied on bobbin- a little over-plied and the irregularites in the singles are kind of amplified by this method of plying, but I think it's pretty good for my first try at a new technique!
Just for a little more eye-candy- on the winder (see all of the lovely color variations? LOVE how Navajo plying keeps the color sequences intact but still blends them well!)
And finally- skeined. (Once I spin the second half I'll soak and smack to set the twist!)

Teaser for later...

2007-12-05T12:24:00.001-05:00

Imagine for a minute what I could do with this...
When I get home and can take some decent pics of my own... you'll see! Mmmwwhhaaahaaaa!

***Thanks to Colleen from "Spiffy Knits" (part of the "Tiny Lady Cooperative" group) for letting me steal your "pre-spun" photo! Stupid me forgot to photograph it before I dove right in there! LOL!

One Convertible Mitten Done!

2007-12-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

Problem is, it's too big! Well, it "fits," but it's too wide. Even though I got gague for this project, it's pretty obvious that this convertible mitten is too wide. Considering it's 100% cashmere, I'm leary of trying to felt it down a little for fear of ruining it completely. Now, I need to decide if I

a. Frog it and re-knit (probably not going to happen)
b. Knit its mate and deal with it (likely)
c. Knit its mate and gift them to someone with larger hands. (Although the thumb might be too short for someone else... while I didn't get width gague, the thumb (knitted to the pattern) is almost too short for ME! Of course, I could always rip that back a bit and knit it longer...)

Decisions, decisions!

Improvement!

2007-11-27T20:13:00.000-05:00

Top is the first skein of "Hippy Guts," bottom is the final (of 5) skeins. Gonna have trouble working these into one project, given the different gagues! LOL! Oh well, good problem to have, I suppose!
Next up is either some white-and-brown mill ends I bought off of Ravelry or a gorgeous braid of "The Burrow" I bought from... where else... Ravelry. It's an addiction, I tell 'ya!

"Honey- It looks like a hippy BLEW UP!"

2007-11-08T20:52:00.001-05:00

Yep, that's my hubby's reaction to my newest batch of fiber. LOL!

Specs: Lorna's Laces Roving in "Rainbow," total weight 10 ounces.

First, I split the whole bundle down the middle into two (roughly equal) "bumps."
Emily assisted with the splitting, and while we were working on that, my husband walked in and said the title quote, which put dear Emily on the floor laughing.
Spun up 2 bobbins (a little too full, I found out later) of singles, with the color repeates slightly off-set.
Plied the singles into 2-ply, and here's about 75 grams of yarn.
I still need to set the twist, but enough for tonight. "Hippy Guts" it is. LOL!

We have YARN!

2007-11-07T21:44:00.000-05:00

Second full bobbin of singles- this one is a little bit better than yesterday. I'm finally getting the "feel" for the Ashford!
I ended up with 2 HUGE 2-ply bobbins full of yarn, once I finished spinning the singles. Off to the left you can see the mini-skein I'd spindle-spun before the Ashford arrived. I'm pretty close on WPI (just by looking- I need to find a WPI tool.... Lori... did you hear that?? How much for one made by your hubby? LOL!) so it should "mesh" pretty well. I'll skein it up tomorrow and set the twist, since I have to get some sleep for work tomorrow.
Oh, and I snapped a pic of the last half-bobbin of fiber before I spun it, since I totally forgot to photograph it pre-spun. DUH! Beautiful sheen, eh?

Life is good!

First Bobbin-full

2007-11-06T20:03:00.001-05:00

Here's my first (admittedly sloppy) bobbin of singles spun on the Ashford Traditional. Yep, she needed a good lube job and some adjustments on the drive band tension & brake tension, and the thick/thin over/underspun areas are TOTALLY my fault. I need to get used to wheel spinning again!

This is some merino/tencel I picked up at the Michigan Fiber Festival last summer. (Yeah, it's been in my stash THAT LONG!) I have a couple of bobbins worth to go, then I'll ply it (probably 2-ply, since I have a spindle-full of spindle-spun that I plied end-to-end, and I'm hoping the gague matches up enough to knit up a pair of socks or something with this, as it's not exactly going to be 'pretty' yarn when I'm done, being the first trial run with the wheel!)
After I finish this roving, I have a huge batch of Lorna's Laces in Rainbow to spin. Oh, the possibilities!!!!

My new toy! Yipee!!!!!!!!!

2007-11-06T16:45:00.000-05:00

What's this I see? The UPS man dropped off this rather unusual-shaped and unusually-large box at our doorstep yesterday!
Hmm... intriguing. Bubble-wrap and packing-peanuts galore, and here's what came out!
Ta Da! She's my new (used) spinning wheel! An Ashford Traditional, bought off of Ravelry, from a lovely seller named Nikki (great name, but nope, not my sister Nikki!) who did an AWESOME job dis-assembling, packing, and shipping her to me quickly! I had her put back together within a reasonable amount of time, and there wasn't even any cussing involved! GO ME! LOL!
Behind her, you can see my great-great-great-(I'm really not sure how many "great's" but you get the idea) grandmother's wheel brought over from Norway. Let's just say my Mom can remember her grandmother spinning on it and telling HER stories of HER grandmother spinning on it. However, she misbehaves for me- the double-drive drive band just will NOT stay on no matter what kind of tension I set it at, and one of the maiden supports is gone, so I've rigged it up to hold up one end of the flyer and bobbin assembly, but it's more frustration than it's worth. Plus, about half of the hooks are missing and the half that are left are snagged and jagged. Refurbishing it would ruin the antique-ness of it, and would be Verboten by Mom. She may go back and live with Mom now that I have a functional wheel to USE!

Had a bit of trouble treadling my new Ashford last night, so I picked up some 3-in-1 oil and plan on giving her a good lube and seeing what she can do!

TWO finished objects this weekend! Whoooo Hoooo!

2007-10-07T13:44:00.001-04:00

First- the FINAL pics on the Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan.
Get a load of those hand-painted buttons! (THANKS AGAIN, MOM!)
And I FINALLY finished Sam's Wonderful Wallaby, although now it's 80 degrees in October and it'll probably be a while before he can wear it without sweating buckets!
True to his big-headed size, the hood is a little wonky, but I think it'll all work out once the sweater gets a wash, as it's mostly cotton and will stretch out quite a bit. Here's a shot of him being his goofy self...

Then it was "Can I take this off now, it's TOO HOT OUT HERE!" Can't blame him, but he really IS happy that I finally finished this, since it's been "hibernating " in the "almost done" pile for months.

Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan

2007-10-06T19:17:00.000-04:00

DONE! Well, I'm waiting on the clear coat on the handpainted buttons (THANKS MOM!) to dry, and the final blocking of the sweater is still a bit damp, but it's DONE!

My mom is a FANTASTIC painter, and I sent the natural wood buttons that came with the sweater kit over to her with my gague swatch of the yarn, and she came up with these dainty little flowers that are PERFECT!

Now, if the ridiculous weather would cooperate! It's been in the 80's (yes, the *80's* in October, in MICHIGAN! Unheard of!) I can't wait for sweater & turtleneck weather, but I guess I'll have to wait a little longer. :sigh:

Photo Update!

2007-09-29T15:10:00.001-04:00

Peace Fleece Everyday Cardigan- all pieces DONE and blocking! YAY!

That's what happens once school starts.

2007-09-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

:SIGH:

I *have* been knitting on the Peace Fleece EDC! In fact, I have the back peice and the front panels done, and the sleeves (which I'm knitting both at the same time flat) are 2/3 of the way done. But, alas, I have no pics.

One of the coolest things is that I dropped my gague swatch and the natural wood buttons that came with the kit off at my Mom's place, and she's going to hand-paint the buttons to coordinate with the tones of the yarn. That "special touch" the sweater needs? COVERED!

A big reason I haven't posted much lately is Ravelry. I finally got in! YAY! But, it truely is the "black hole of time," and entering things into my 'notebook' there and spending WAY too much time in the forums and browsing other people's projects has eaten up a lot of time (and energy.)

The school year is well underway, with our fourth week under our belt. Things are going well, but with the Michigan State budget issues right now, and the threatened State government shut down, it's a bit (??) tense too. They've threatened to JUST NOT PAY the October 22 School-funding payment unless the State is back up and running by 10/16. Seriously now. Skip the payment? I can understand DELAYING it, which would be bad enough, but how in the H*%# do they expect schools to eat that much money when they've strapped us every year for the past (at least) 10 years?

Oh, and little man broke his arm on the playground at school during recess on the Monday of the third week. He's none-to-happy about missing out on critical monkey bars time, not to mention his gymnastics lessons are on hold until he's given the all-clear from the orthopedist. :sigh:

Peace Fleece Progress

2007-09-03T12:15:00.000-04:00

I've been plugging along on the back piece of the Peace Fleece Cardigan, and now have about 17 1/2 inches done (it needs to reach 23 1/2 inches* to go on to the next step!) I think I've chosen that to work on right now because it's pretty mindless stockinette, and my brain is on overload with school starting back up and even the relatively easy Cashemere Scarf lace repeats are too much for me right now. Plus, I'm catching up on smut TV, and I can "knit-a-row/purl-a-row" without thinking too much, which I need when I'm in this kind of mode.

(*Yes, I'm fiddling with the pattern a bit. The size Large instructions say 25 inches, but when I measured MYSELF, I still have to admit while I'm a Large in girth, I'm definately not a Large in length, thus I'm using the Medium size length measurements and melding them with the Large girth. :sigh:)

I took this picture when I had reached about 9 inches, but I'm too lazy to take another progress pic, since it's basically just a bigger rectangle at this point. Once something interesting starts to take shape, I'll snap more photos. (Oh, and it's not BLUE as this photo implies, it's WAY more purple than this! With tiny bright-pink flecks too! Much closer to the yarn/pattern color below, which I took with more natural lighting. This one is way-off-color.)

Terrible case of Project Polygamy!

2007-08-27T19:27:00.000-04:00

I ordered some Peace Fleece yarn (actually, a kit to make the Everyday Cardigan Sweater) and it arrived today. Like I need another project, but I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF from casting on a gauge swatch! It's "just" a little gauge swatch, right?

Eye candy

Cashmere Goodness

2007-08-24T20:25:00.000-04:00

OMG! This stuff is like knitting with HEAVEN! I bought this scarf kit at the Fiber Festival (don't ask how much $!) and it is SO DREAMY to knit up! The pattern is called "Crest of the Wave" lace, with a garter ridge edging. I can't even tell you how soft this stuff is! The yarn is 100% American Cashmere, 2-ply laceweight from Rabbit Tree Farm.

Now that the Mystery Stoles are done, I need to finish little-man's Wallaby (it's probably 95% done) and a few other things, but I can't put this scarf down right now. I've knitted another 2 repeats since I took this picture a half-hour ago, and I'm seriously addicted. So, I think the scarf comes first (unless the pattern gets too repetative, which is a possibility) then finishing some UFO's. ("unfinished objects" in the knitting world! :tee hee:)

In the meantime, I'm dreaming in Cashmere!

Both Shawls DONE!

2007-08-21T18:25:00.001-04:00

Black shawl is DONE! You can't see them here clearly, but this shawl has peacock-green shiny beads. (They didn't photograph well at ALL!)

1. Tip & body
2. Wing Detail
3. Full Shot
4. BOTH shawls! "Odette & Odile" a.ka. "Yin & Yang"

Fiber Festial and ONE FINISHED STOLE!

2007-08-18T21:17:00.000-04:00

Today was the annual Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan. I was so proud of myself, I only spent an arm instead of an arm and a leg! :tee hee: Seriously, I stayed under budget, even though I bought a skein of cashemere (and pattern) to make the most lucious scarf, a new bag, a shawl pin, and some wool wash. NOT BAD considering all of the high-ticket items I had my eye on. What I really want/need is a working spinning wheel so I can take advantage of the gorgeous fibers they have there every year.

This year, I brought a friend, a fellow teacher (who happens to be the art teacher, so you can imagine her excitement upon finding out about said festival!) and we had a great time ambling from booth to booth, enjoying the eye-candy Angora rabbits, petting an Alpaca or two and watching a sheep-shearing. She got TONS of supplies to do some felting (which it totally new to her, she's trying this as yet-another-hobby like most of us crafty/artsy folks!) both wet felting and needle felting.

In other news, Mystery Stole 3- White is DONE!
Knitted, washed, and blocked! I bought a 1-inch thick 4' x 8' sheet of insulation (with foil backing on both sides, so it doesn't absorb any water) at the mega-home center yesterday. THAT was a trick to get in the mini-van! Thank goodness I was alone (and that I'm short!) since I had to fold down the back bench, both of the kids mid-row seats, and put both front seats all the way forward to get it in and close the hatch. I covered one side of the insulation with an old twin sheet (pink, of course, from princess' collection!) using duct tape and now I have a portable blocking board! No more mattresses for MOI!

By the way, the "Mystery" theme is "Swan Lake." According to the designer,

"First performed in 1877 as The Lake of the Swans, in Moscow, Russia, it was not an immediate success. The score, written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was originally deemed "undanceable" and too complicated for a ballet. Several revisions and rewrites were made of the score and the one performed with today's productions of Swan Lake is a revision of Tchaikovsky's original score by Riccardo Drigo for an 1895 performance.
The story begins with Prince Siegfried's birthday. He receives a crossbow as a gift from his parents and is told that since he is of age, he must marry. His response to this is to take his crossbow and his friends and go into the woods to hunt. As he sees a flock of swans flying over, he waits near a lake for the swans to land. As the swans land however, he sees that they are in fact women. He learns that the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart has turned the princess Odette and her maidens into swans. By day they are swans, but at night they resume their human form, only to become swans again at dawn. Some versions have the swan to human transformation occurring at midnight. Prince Siegfried dances with Odette and falls in love with her. He intends to announce his love for her and declare his intention to marry her at the ball the following night to be held in his honor. This will break the spell on Odette and return her and her maidens to their human form permanently.
The following night at the ball Von Rothbart (who has found out about the Prince's intentions) arrives with his own daughter, Odile. Odile is dressed exactly as Odette, but she wears black instead of white. The prince doesn't recognize that Odile is not his love and, not paying attention to the time doesn't realize that Odette is still a swan even as he dances with Odile. He declares his love to Odile and pledges to marry her. At that moment he realizes that it is only now time for Odette to regain her human form and that he has been tricked. Odette, realizing that she has been condemned to live her life as a cursed swan, drowns herself in the lake. Prince Siegfried, in grief, also throws himself into the lake.
The stole begins with the traditional lace pattern “Wings of the Swan” that I used in Leda’s Dream. Only one repeat of the pattern is made before it is split in half and continues up the sides of the point and along the edges of the first two thirds of the stole as a border. The large decorative motif that many of you saw as faces, insects, dragons, and other creatures in is merely a decorative motif with swirls and curls to fill the space. The honeycomb pattern is another pattern used to fill the space and not necessarily symbolizing anything in particular. The following motif that has a floral appearance is the traditional Shetland lace design “Cat’s Paw.” This design is usually worked as a vertical insertion, but I used it as a scattered, all over design in this stole in reference to a particular dance in the Swan Lake ballet. Le Danse des Petits Cygnes or Dance of the Little Swans is one of the most famous parts of the ballet. When Siegfried meets Odette and her maidens, there are several dances by the swan maidens, but this one is done by four dancers, each holding to the next one, moving in unison doing the pas de chat step. Pas de Chat means literally step of the cat, so using the Cat’s Paw lace design seemed natural in this stole. The final third of the stole is a wing. It obviously fits as the swan part of the theme, but the single wing with the more formal first part of the stole also alludes to Odette’s cursed existence as both swan and princess."

Okay, eye candy pics!

1. Done- unblocked
2. Soaking in Euclan
3. Full view
4. Wing detail
5. Mid section & join
6. Tip

I can't wait to finish the black stole and show it off too! (It should show up better against the bubble-gum pink background!)

Until next time!

Clue 4 is DONE! (Just in time!)

2007-08-02T17:21:00.000-04:00

I finished Clue 4 on the White Shawl a few days ago, but just put the finishing touches on the Black Shawl and pinned them both out for a photo session because I realized how badly I've negected taking photos of this project. (Project(s) since I'm making 2? They're the same pattern, though!)

Thus, I present Alpaca with a Twist- Fino, color "First Frost" with Pearly beads:

And an unidentified Japanese yarn in Black with Peacock-green shiny beads:

Clue 5 comes out first thing tomorrow morning. And since I refuse to go outside when it's 95 degrees with insane humidity, I suppose I'll make good progress! :o)

No excuses, no pictures

2007-07-18T14:27:00.000-04:00

I've finished Clue 3 on MS3 on the white shawl, but not the black one (yet.) This week has been kind of busy and I haven't made the time to finish it yet.

"Princess" is in the process of getting braces, which has meant weekly trips to the orthodontist for one procedure or another. She gets next week off, while her appliance is being built in Wisconsin, of all places. Then, another set of spacers before her final "installation" of the palatte expander & braces. She seems so young for this, but her mouth is in a terrible state and needs some intervention.

"Little man" is being his usual five-and-a-half-year-old self, which is talkative, SNUGGLY (suprisingly!), sweet, but yet a bit on the high-maintenence side. He's still an early-bird and hasn't adjusted so well to our layed-back summer schedule. He'll probalby start sleeping in in mid-August, just in time to start adjusting back to the school-year scheudle. Oh well...

Got into my classroom yesterday and did a LOT. Cleaning, arranging, bulliten boards, etc. Have a bit more to do, then I'll focus on lesson planning and curriculum in August. For a summer "off," I sure spend a lot of time thinking about/working on/setting up/pre-planning for the school year! I even sewed new curtains (I'm switching classrooms for the upcoming school year, so it was time to do some updating) today, which I hope to put up this afternoon.

Almost Harry Potter 7 time. I can't wait!

2007-07-07T22:25:00.000-04:00

Wow, I really suck as a blogger!

MS3 is not only coming along, but it now has a fraternal twin. I finished Clue 1 so quickly (one afternoon) I decided to start a second one, in black, with the coolest peacock green/sparkly beads.

Clue 1 Done- White Shawl

Clue 1 Done- Black Shawl

Clue 2 Done- White Shawl

So far, this MS3 project has kept my rapt attention, except that the clues are a bit short for me. (Probably because I'm off work for the summer and used to GO-GO-GO 24/7 and life has suddenly screeched to a halt. I have more time for knitting than most, so I shouldn't complain about short clues! Instead, I will just make 2!) I still have no idea what the theme will be once it's complete. The only guesses I've had so far are a Harry Potter theme (which the designer has already refuted) and some sort of birds-and-the-bees theme, which doesn't mesh with the black or white color choices. Who knows....

I'll try to be better about posting progress!

Third swatch is a charm!

2007-06-16T12:29:00.000-04:00

Swatched for MS3 again, this time on bamboo 2's, and tried a center bead placement. This did the trick!

Third Swatch

All three, top- size 2's, middle- size 3's, bottom- size 4's.

Swatched- but not quite right yet

2007-06-15T09:03:00.000-04:00

I swatched the Alpaca (color "First Frost") on size 4 needles last night, but I'm thinking it might be a little loose in the stockinette, so I'm going to make at least one more swatch (size 3) maybe even one on size 2. Going to hit the bead store soon too (maybe today, if the kids cooperate!) to find something subtle; kind of a tone-on-tone effect. (Yes, the LYS had anothe skein in the same dyelot, so I'm golden on yardage with lots of swatching room to spare! Winding one of those skiens last night took FOREVER, and I'm hoping I didn't wind too tightly. It was hard not to, with that tiny lace-weight yarn pulling against the giant wooden swift! I gave it some hand-tension, but it's still pretty tight.)

Behold- first swatch...

ETA: Second swatch....

Size 3 needles, with beads! (I think I "overblocked" this one, but I'll see what it looks like after it dries.)

Jumping in and ready to swatch!

2007-06-14T08:54:00.000-04:00

I found a link regarding the Mystery Stole 3 Yahoo group, so (of course) I jumped on the bandwagon. It just so happens I bought one skein of "Alpaca with a Twist- Fino" in an almost-white color a while a go, "just because," and I think it will be a perfect fit for this project. The question now is do I swatch it up and make sure or zoom down to the LYS to pick up a second skein, hoping she still has one of the same dyelot? I should probably just call her and ask her to set one aside for me (if she has one) and quickly swatch the one I have. Oh, and this will be my first "Knitting with Beads" adventure too, so I need to pick up a vial of #8 seed beads, something clear-ish and maybe a little shiny, I'm thinking. This is so hard, not knowing exactly what it'll look like! Part of the fun, I suppose.

Ds's Wallaby is coming along, one sleeve done and the other on it's way, once that is long enough to join to the body, it'll go fast. Still working on sister's Rona shawl too, but that thing is a monstrosity at this point and needs to wait until I have some more patience.

2007-06-13T08:58:00.000-04:00

Finally remembered to take pics of dd's Wallaby!

Hood down:

Hood up:

Ds's Wallaby is :uh coming along. Even though it's smaller, it's kind of boring to make the same pattern back-to-back, so I'm not feeling the knitting mojo right now. BUT- I'm officially OUT OF SCHOOL for the summer, so expect some progress soon!

Final Sweater Pics!

2007-01-28T18:34:00.000-05:00

Here's the FINAL version of the Entrelac Jacket, complete with hand-made dichroic glass buttons!

First, a shot of the full sweater. Next, folded up so I could show the collar as it lays, rather than distorted by the hanger. Last, the best close-up of the buttons I could get with my digi-cam.

Isn't this just 'da bomb! Okay, I'm done posting shots of this one....

Still working on Rona and Jaywalker, and Kitty Pi is currently felting. (Although, I used a lighter-gauge yarn and it's not 'standing up' yet, it's looking more like a round rug! If that's the case, OH WELL! No big deal, I could use a rug anyway!) Nothing's particularly camera-ready right now, so I'll spare you the 'wad of yarn' look.

Project Polygamy

2007-01-22T18:12:00.000-05:00

I have a major problem with project monogamy. Not exactly a revalation on my part, but since finishing Maddie's sweater, I've started no less than 3 projects.

1. Rona Shawl for my sister. Jaggerspun Zephyr in Elderberry. Somewhere around row 70.

2. Kitty Pi in some Noro I scored from Destash.

3. The last one is a pair of Jaywalker socks, but I didn't dig them out of my KIP bag to take a portrait.

Last but certainly not least, the obligitory cat photo. Meet Lucille!

MLK Day? Ice storm? Nah, you still have school.

2007-01-15T20:03:00.000-05:00

:sigh: Welcome to Western Michigan!

Maddie's Sweater

2007-01-11T21:10:00.000-05:00

My niece, Madelene, has a birthday present waiting!

She'll be 3 in March, but I finished this raglan early. (I'm concerned it looks a little smaller than I thought, but that's what I get for messing around with gague/size to use the Malabrigo instead of sticking with the written information!)

If it's too small, I'm debating just knitting another one and giving this one to a co-worker who has a 2 year old. :tee hee: Not that it was difficult, but I just don't feel like frogging a perfectly good sweater due to my own daredevil-ish attempt at pattern tweaking. And, I have enough yarn to make the next size up. SWWEEEETTTT!

So what's up next? (noislily drumming fingers....) Will it be the Rona shawl in Zephyr Elderberry? Gotta get some longer circs for that one, as I all I have in the right size is 16-inchers. BUT- I could start on DPNS until I get to the LYS! Also thinking of some Jaywalker socks in my homespun Lorna's Laces, but I'll have to do some gague checking on that one. Hmm.... Or, I have plenty of other self-patterning sock yarn I could make some generic socks with, but I'm kind of burned out on socks right now.

Decisions, decisons!

Done!

2007-01-09T19:52:00.000-05:00

Forgot to post a pic of the finished sweater! Disregard my half-asleep expression and extra 35 lbs. :blush: I was on my way out the door yesterday morning and decided to take a snapshot before I left for work...

:sigh:

2007-01-07T01:13:00.000-05:00

I tried. I really tried. The collar kicked my butt..

What started out as THIS ...

<------ Sleeves attatched, no bottom band, no center (button) bands, no collar, no sleeve cuffs

Turned into this ------>

Notice the bottom band, center (button) bands, and COLLAR (that kicked my ASS). It's currently blocking on Em's bed, as she's having a lovely sleepover at a friend's house tonight.

But alas, the sweater won, it has no sleeve cuffs. (I can knit those tomorrow and block them some other day, right?!?!? SAY "RIGHT!" FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!)

Have I told you lately that I love....

2007-01-06T11:57:00.000-05:00

...my manicurist? Seriously, some major mojo for Margaret. I am not a girly-girl AT ALL, but when it comes to my natural (jagged, thin, brittle, peely, AWFUL) nails, I am a teensy bit vain. I've been going to Margaret for quite a while (since my previous girl, Kim, quit suddenly. How *could* she?!?!?) and she does a FANTASTIC job. Nails are always as thin as possible, perfectly shaped, never any snags or lifting at the bases, and overal perfection.

So why did I cheat on her? Well, the Friday before Christmas, I had to do some last-minute shopping (who, me?) at a mall I usually don't go to. (They have more stores than my usual mall, where Margararet and her chums are located.) Well, I was in a hurry and realized that I needed a fill VERY BADLY, and that if I didn't get one that evening, I'd be more than a week overdue by the time I could get up to Maragaret, and that simply wouldn't do over the holiday weekend. So, I cheated and went to the big-mall nail place. BIG MISTAKE! Sadly, I was in too big of a hurry to notice how awful they really were before I paid, but after a couple of days more and more flaws were evident. Lifting, snagging, lumpy, thick-in-places... :sigh:

How would I ever face Margaret again? Especially with these awful creations upon my fingertips? She'd *know* I cheated on her! What would be the best approach, blase "Yeah, I went somewhere else, what about it?" approach might damage the beautiful relationship we've fostered. (Oh, and she COULD hurt me with that Dremel! Not that she ever does, but Jeff sure did!) What about the "begging for forgiveness" approach? Sounds more like my style.

I contemplated bringing her a gift as repentence, but decided just to give her a good fat tip if she fixed me up good. I wandered in, asked for Margaret, and waited a couple of minutes while she finished up her last customer. She greeted me warmly, as usual, and began. She always starts with my right hand, and Jeff must have done a moderately-better job on that hand, because all I noticed was Marageret's eyebrows twitch a couple of times. When she got to my left hand, which was terrible, she started making comments under her surgical mask; half Vietnamese, half English, and I knew she was disgusted. Lots of clucks and sighs. I tried to get her mind off the fact that I'd cheated, and talk about her kids (she has two daughters in college, one at U of M Dentistry and one at MSU Vet school, and one son- a senior in High School) but she kept bringing the conversation back to Jeff-the-awful-sculptor. "How much did they charge you for these?" and "See, this is terrible!" and "Ugh, this airbrush job." I felt about two inches high until she alcohol-sprayed my gel sealer and I could get a close-up look at the difference.

Maragret, you are a master. I will never cheat on you again.

Behold- sleevage. I hope to have the final sleeve done and the sweater assembled soon!

Entrelac Jacket Progress

2007-01-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

So, Christmas morning brought me this:

Sarah James' Entrelac Jacket pattern & JojoLand "Rhythm" yarn

Okay, so I self-bought a Christmas present and had dh wrap it. Oh, and I got *two* bags of this yummy yarn, but you see.. I was so anxious to start I forgot to take a pic until after half of the first bag turned into this...

Back panel complete!

Since then, the knitting progressed to this:

Back panel, two front panels, finished & blocking!
(excuse the naked mattress pad!)

Now, that was a couple of days ago. (I've been too busy to upload pics! Sue me!) I've since assembled the shoulders and completed both seed-stitch side panel, finished the entrelac panels for both sleeves, and am working on seed-stitch underarm areas.

My original goal for the FO was Monday. Not totally sure I'll make that deadline, so although I'm optimistic, I've reset the goal date. The Ceramic Cafe is having another dichoric glass class the weekend of 1-19, and I WILL have this jacket done by then, hopefully to create dichoric buttons (DROOL ON MINIONS! BWwwwaaahhhhhaaaaa!) for this masterpiece. That goal is totally do-able.

Oh yeah, I have 40-50 pages of math text to format before 1-15. Doh! I suppose I *should* set aside the knitting long enough to actually meet this deadline, since I missed my first deadline by a little. (Totally not like me, I HATE missing deadlines, but that first one was WAY over-optimistic anyway...)

Gotta run! I have a doctor's appointment today (more lectures about my weight & distinct lack of exercise... fun fun fun!) and the housework situation has gotton critical. MUST VACUUM!

Madness in West Michigan

2007-01-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

With all of the events surrounding the death of former President Gerald R. Ford, you might think Western Michigan might have thought of some of this ahead of time! I mean, yeah, this is the first time Michigan has dealt with the death of a hometown president, but he *was* 93 years old, it's not like this was unexpected! They figure there were 60,000 people in line last night to pay repects at the Ford Museum in downtown GR. To some of you, 60,000 might sound like a drop in the bucket of humanity. BUT- when you pour 60,000 people into a downtown area IN JANUARY in Michigan, you've got to expect issues. Parking, traffic, crowd control, communication... plan, anyone? An 8 hour wait in line...

From what I have read, the people of Michigan (and from all over, apparently!) were well behaved (for a change.) And the weather certainly cooperated. I mean, it *is* January and we haven't had snow in at least 3 weeks. Unheard of!

Regardless of your political affiliation, GRF was the epitomy of a Western Michigan man. Rest in Peace, Jerry.

Blue Eyed Blogger Strikes Again

2007-01-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I've jumped on the blogging bandwagon... again. There, I did it. I'm not even going to begin to try to explain my 15 month absence from the blogosphere. :sigh:

So what's on the needles???

1. Entrelac Jacket- the Sarah James pattern I "got" for Christmas. (Okay, okay, so I picked out the pattern myself and ordered the yarn from Ebay, gave the box to dh and let him wrap it. Who cares!) Using JojoLand "Rhythm" yarn in the light pink/blue/green colorway. Back & front panels are done and sewn at the shoulders, both side seed-stitch strips are done, and one sleeve is on the needles. I'd *love* to have this done before I go back to work (on Monday) but my lack of housekeeping over the past couple of weeks is catching up with me. Maybe I should extend my target? Nah, who cares about housework anyway???

2. Bula- of sorts. I ordered some JojoLand cashemere/merino yarn just to try it out, and now I have ten balls (YES- ten balls) of non-superwash sock-weight yarn. I hate non-superwash socks (although some of this may become socks someday!) so I'm winging a bula-neckwrap-headwrap thingie. Stupid idea, as it's 200 stitches in the round on size 0's. :DOH:

3. Maddie's Sweater. Madelene is my neice, she'll be 3 in March. I'm working on Ragalan-in-the-round pattern from Little Turtle Knits in malabrigo yarn. So yummy! It's probably next on my FO list after the Entrelac Jacket.

4. Socks. Do I even have to list how much sock yarn I have in my stash????

6. Emily's Cow-print Sweater. I hate that freaking thing. My daughter wanted a cow-print cardigan. Of course, it HAD to be purple and pink cow print. Why? I have no idea. I don't even want to think about that stupid thing. A large-scale intarsia project is just not my thing. I should have just said "NO!" but now that it's started, I suppose I should finish it before it's too small for her. (Or just frog it and admit defeat!)

What else, what else... I know there's more....Oh yeah, my other hobbies!

Quilting- still sitting in the "to do tote" is the quilt for Emily's bed. Top is done, the layers are about 1/3 binded together (hand-quilted, BTW!) and there it sits. I also have most of the squares cut (and a few put together!) for the denim/flannel quilt.

Cross-stitch- I scanned a portrait of my kids into a computer program that converts it to a cross-stitch pattern. It's probably 60% done. My kids were 4 and 9 months when the portrait was taken. They're 8 and 5 now. *sigh*

Sewing- I am a supremely lucky lady- my MIL got me a serger for Christmas! Fantastic lady that she is! However, it's currently in "time-out" for bad behavior. (Admittedly, *my* bad behavior...) I can't, for the life of me, get the tension settings right on this thing! My MIL mentioned that I could sign up for a class at the sewing center she purchased at, but I haven't admitted defeat yet. I should just call the place, eh? Once I get the bugs worked out, I have fabric for a pair of PJ pants for Em.

That's enough for now. I'm stressing myself out thinking about all of these projects!