Sunday, December 30, 2007

In the Blink of an Eye

Rather a sad day here for me. My son, Michael just left to go back to NYC. We won't see him again until sometime in the spring or summer. It was so wonderful having him here for the 9 days. He liked the two hats I made for him for Christmas and wore them while he was here. It sure didn't seem like 9 days. The whole Christmas thing flew by. After New Years day I'll start to take down and put away all the decorations. It took me about 3 days to put it all up, and probably will take me 2 to get it put away. I'm amazed, actually, how fast time goes by in general. Wasn't it just a bit ago we took the kids up to Traverse City over New Years for skiing? Lots of snow and people. What a blast. I never skiied before that time and was very scared to try. I don't like to fall! After several attempts, I made it down the bunny hill without falling and just snowplowed my way down. Fast enough for me. lol! The kids zoomed by me, taking to it right away.
I've started knitting a baby hat out of Artful Yarns Reality, which is a cabled yarn, not plied. Its for Danny and Stacy Grants little daughter who will be 5 mos old. Her shower is January 12th. The hat turned out too big and I ran out of yarn before finishing. I followed the pattern as written. curses! I frogged the whole thing and started over, going down one needle size and casting on 2 sts less. That should do it. If not, I'll get her a gift instead. I'm not going to make myself crazy over a baby hat.
I got some new yarn, Dream In Color Classy, in the Black Parade colorway. I took a pic of it, but you can't see the color shading in the yarn so I'm not going to post it. Its black/charcoal/blue. Really pretty. I'm going to make Mike a runners scarf. Its a large tube, actually, and you can wear it like a neck gaitor, or a hood or a face covering. It's for running/walking out in the winter weather. Should work out fine, if I ever get it started/finished. I'll get him to model it and a pic taken. I'm also going to make a similar thing for my nephew, Andrew, who is leaving for Iraq. He's not overseas yet, but in Dallas waiting for deployment. It's a helmet liner which is Army approved. It's a balaclava, and it covers your head, leaving just your nose and eyes uncovered. I got some good wool and it shouldn't take long to do. We are all praying for him. He won't be back for about 15 months.
Back to work tomorrow, New Years Eve. Back to the usual stuff.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Deep Breath




Here's the One Row Scarf I mentioned in an earlier post. I really like how its turning out. The color looks more muted than it actually is. I photographed it on my dining room table with a rust colored tablecloth. Also pictured, are a pair of mittens I made for my sister for Christmas. They look great! I love how the yarn made the pattern in them. Its Universal yarn, classic worsted. Nice yarn..washable. I really need to learn how to put the pictures I want to post within the text and not at the top. Its kind of annoying! But, it's better than nothing. I've got a ton of new yarn I want to post here too, but I can't have all the pics at the top of the page. argh!
I made it through Christmas! I had some serious doubts. I actually caught a cold from some dork at work who came to work sick. There were a LOT of people that I work with sick, so its no surprise I was too. Rotten timing! I spent the majority of the time in the kitchen cooking. This was entirely my fault for saying "I'll do it". ha..I'm gonna think twice next year, thats for sure. I'll cook Christmas eve and Christmas day but THAT'S IT. I love to cook and I'm happy when it turns out good and everyone likes it but its a helluva lot of work with planning and shopping. Having a cold didn't make it easier, either.
My sister and her husband left last night for Charlotte, NC and Michael is leaving to drive back to NYC this Sunday. Its so nice having him here! I miss him but I'm very glad he's happy there. I miss all my kids!
I'm off work until New Year's Eve day. I might get a low census day then too and not have to go in. I've been off for a week and its been great!
I've got pics of my granddaughter and other family pics I want to post as well. Stay tuned!!
Moving along with my Loopy Ewe project. I should have it done by mid January, if I keep at it. I have a tendency to shift around to other projects. I have..um..5 active as of now. 2 scarves, one pair of mittens, the Loopy project and a pair of socks. Almost done with my cashmere cable scarf, so maybe I could say 4.5 projects. yeah..that sounds better.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Home Stretch

Well golll-ee. I actually finished all my Christmas knitting. This is really my first year of doing that. It might be my last. I don't think its such a good idea to go nuts with projects for just about EVERYONE in my family that would wear knitted stuff. Next year, I might stick to just my sister, oldest son and daughter. There's just so much I want to knit for myself and can't get to. Maybe I do better when there is a purpose for the FO and a deadline to make. eh...who knows?
I got the bestest gift ever for Christmas! My husband already gave it to me so I could take pics of our granddaughter before she leaves to go back to Iowa on the 23rd. She's not spending Christmas with us this year, so we're having a mini one on the 22nd for her. Its a Canon power shot..something. (Theres numbers that follow.) Its pretty high tech compared to the camera I had. I have to go through the instruction book to figure everything out. Notice I said "book" and not "booklet". Yep..its pretty detailed. All I really want to know is how to take the pic and delete the ones that I don't want. Its got a thing-y to put the little disk in so you can plug it into the port in my computer so I can load the stuff onto Flickr. I gotta get my daughter again to start me up. Once she shows me how, then I can do it. Either her or bf Patrick. Its got a macro thing on it for super close ups, and I gotta figure out how to do that as well.
Had a pretty big snow storm last night and today. We got about 8 or 9 inches, I guess. Very windy so the snow was blowing all over the place. Its stopped as of now and very clear and cold.
In a previous post, I said I bought some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran to make my Irish Hiking scarf. Well, it was that same yarn I used to make Katie's Fetching..and it pills and fuzzes something awful. So, I'm taking it back to Neighborhood Knits and getting something else instead. Its really pretty yarn and I really like it, but not for that project. I doubt I'll use it again for anything. I got some of this from WEBS: http://yarn.com/webs/0/0/0/0-1001-1294-1323/0/0/4452/ Its Di.Ve' Zenith in Cornflower Blue. If I don't find anything at Neighborhood Knits thats what I'm going to use for the scarf. It's half price and I think its beautiful. I read in someones post on Knitty that its a bit splitty. I'll have to see. I'm planning on using rather blunt needles so that should help. As soon as I finish the two scarves that I'm working on now, the double cable scarf in the Cashmere, and the One Row Scarf from the Harlot in Print 127 (which is REALLY pretty) then I'll start the Irish Hiking scarf.
This is my queue: Irish Hiking scarf, Chevron scarf by Joelle Hoverson: STR lightweight in Scottish Highlands and Metamorphic, about 4 pairs of socks: Soxxie in Serengetti, Lornas Laces Shepherd sock in Denim, and one pair in Black Watch, Wollmeise in Dani, and my Loopy Ewe Swap project which I have to finish by February. Yeah, I'd say I have a lot to do. I have no business buying any more yarn. yeah, right. So why do I continue to buy? Because I see gorgeous yarn that I can picture knitted up and it makes me happy! so there. ;)

Monday, December 10, 2007

Yes, its that time of year again for Santa Mom/wife

Uh huh..its that time. Time for absolute craziness which I vow not to get caught up in every year..and I still do. Decorate the house? check. Shop for gifts? check. Plan/shop/cook the food. check..(or about to). Finish my knitted gifts? check almost. Wrap presents? check. Keep house clean? ..well..half check. Be utterly cheerful and not overwhelmed?..um..trying. One solid month of all this planning and implementing..and its over within a 24-36 hour period. Amazing.
I do like Christmas..and I do like being busy. But..geez.
I have my knitted projects that I wanted to get done for gifts, done. tada! There are two extra ones that I really should finish, and will try to, but I'm not going to go nuts finishing them. Once I have a wee bit more time, I have some picture taking to do and posting of things. I have some more yarn to post and a couple finished things to show. I found a free pattern on the Yarn Harlots website for "One Row Scarf". Its really easy! Use worsted weight yarn, size US 8 needles. Cast on 26 stitches, or any multiple of four to make it wider or narrower. I cast on 30 and its about 5 inches wide. Ok..the pattern is : *K2, K into the back of the next stitch, P1*. Repeat between asterisks. Thats it. When you get to the last two stitches in the row, K2. Its a reversible pattern and it looks really nice with yarn that doesnt have a lot of color in it. What I mean is that highly varigated yarn hides the pattern. Ask me how I know. :-(. I tried Malabrigo, which is a worsted weight yarn, in Stonechat. It is black/gray/purple/burgundy and way too busy for this pattern. I frogged it and started over with Print 127, which is a Filatura Di Crosa yarn. Nice color way of muted orange/brown/camel with bits of other colors thrown in. Its different, for sure. Kinda picky-scratchy but I'm hoping once the scarf is finished I can soak it in wool wash so it'll soften up. I've got about 6 inches done and I really love how it looks. I know I keep promising pics and I'll get them up soon.
My son, Michael is coming home for Christmas and getting here on the 21st. Can't wait to see him! My sister and her husband are arriving here from Charlotte, NC on the 21st also. Gonna have a full house and its great! Katie has moved back home, too. We don't have a large family, really..about 11 of us will be here for dinner on the 25th. Just for that alone...that everyone is here at the same time makes all the work worthwhile.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

A Week of Busy

I haven't had the chance to post this week because of crazy-bizzi-ness. Mike has been sick for the past two weeks with bronchitis/pneumonia. He can't seem to shake it, but says he feels better a bit every day. His cough is horrendous sounding.
I decided on Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/debbie-bliss-cashmerino-aran for my Irish Hiking scarf. I think I used it once before when I knitted a pair of Fetching http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fetching for my daughter and it fuzzed something awful. I can't even look that up because I don't keep notes on my knitting. tsk tsk. I know I should for just this reason. Anyway, too late now! I like how the yarn looks and it should knit up nicely. I also got the Great Adirondack Soxie yarn in Serengeti. This is some beautiful yarn!! As soon as I get it photographed I'll put it up. I also broke down and finally bought a yarn swift and a ball winder. The swift is from The Knitting Zone and its a table top model rather than the clamp kind. I don't think I have a table edge that would accommodate the clamp. It works great and I have all the yarn that needed to be wound, wound up. I have 4 skeins left that I'm considering trading/swapping/selling. Not sure though. I don't like it as much as I did, and I have a LOT of yarn that is wound that I would rather knit up.
I saw a pretty neat camera today over at Best Buy. Its a Canon Powershot. The digital camera I'm using now is ok..a Fuji. Its like a box..a cube shaped camera and kind of unwieldy. I bought it when Chris was in basic training and that was in 2002 (I think). Takes ok pics I guess but I'd like a new one that is smaller with more features..like a macro for taking close ups.
I got Mikes Christmas present today..which is why I was at Best Buy. I hope he likes it!! and nope..I ain't sayin'.
Almost done with my Christmas knitting. yaaay!!..finally.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Music to Knit By

Sometimes the best place for me to knit is right in front of my computer. I get the audio stream from this internet radio station from London, England. http://www.classicfm.co.uk/Article.asp?id=421143&spid=13479 It is, by far IMO, the best classical music radio station I've ever heard. That includes the station that I listen to on XM radio. It's not the most comfortable seat in the house, but when I want to get some serious knitting done, its where I am. I can't watch tv and knit because I get distracted and stop what I'm doing. I honestly don't know how other knitters do that! How can you watch tv and watch your knitting at the same time??? London is about 5 hours ahead of us here in the EST, so often its the middle of the night over there when I'm listening. Its wonderful stuff. If you can, take a listen!
On the knitting front: I finished the one sock for my sister and cast on for the second. Almost finished with the scarf for Patrick. I dont know which will come first..the end of the yarn for it, or me being tired of working on it. ;) I have a scarf for my MIL thats knit out of Alpaca with a Twist and its a very soft, pretty lavender shade. I really should finish that too. I'll get a picture up of it when I get it done. I saw the most beautiful scarf!! Its called the Irish Hiking Scarf and its similar to the cable scarf I'm working on now, but its wider by a couple of inches. http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingcarf.htm I'm presently trying to find the perfect yarn for it and have posted questions on Ravelry and on Knitty. I just don't know yarn that well yet so I asked for advice and opinions. I want something in an Aran weight (18 sts/4 inches), a solid or semi solid color and something that is not scratchy-picky. I hate that and I won't wear it. One person said she used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. Unless I find something better thats what I'm going to use. Neighborhood Knits, in Dearborn, carries that so I can go scope out some colors. I gotta love it and be excited about it..or it'll languish in my closet undone. tsk.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Will she finish??


This project is currently keeping me from finishing my Christmas knitting, which I started in the summer. Good intentions, ya know? I have two that I have to finish, and possibly two more if I can. I love knitting this scarf with this beautiful yarn. Its Debbie Bliss Cashmere and every inch of it is gorgeous. What is showing now is one skein. I measured, and I get 10 inches exactly out of one 45 yard skein. I have 6 of them, so my scarf will be around 60 inches long. I might not knit it that long. I know me, and I get bored rather quickly. So, I might be able to knit some mittens out of the leftovers when I decide to stop.
I have a feeling I'll be knitting wildly the week before Christmas to finish my gifts and be swearing I won't do it again next year. (ha!) I have my Loopy Ewe swap project I need to do as well, but thats not due until February. I took it to work last Wednesday and left it there accidently. argh!! Its coming along really nice. The yarn I got for it, Interlacements Tiny Toes, Taiga, which is varigated greens, was a good choice, IMO, for this project. Its turning out very pretty. (hehe...hi Karen!)

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Addicted

From being on the Loopy Ewe site on Ravelry, I caught a discussion of Great Adriondack Soxie sock yarn. I went and checked out and its absolutely beautiful! Heres the link: http://yarn.com/webs/0/0/0/0-1001-1294-1323/0/0/2818/. I got Serengetti. The colors are so vivid. There's 360 yards per skein, so I'll probably knit the socks toe up. That way there'll be no drama on my part wondering if I got enough to knit them cuff down. Ask me how I know this.
I'm gettin' in deep here with sock yarn and yarn in general. I tell ya, I'm addicted! I have a lot of it and it's waiting for me to knit up. I swear I'm going to do it ALL and not buy any more yarn. Then along comes this great new yarn that I haven't heard of and it's so beautiful and I can picture it knit up and I WANT IT...(sigh) and I get it. I desperately need a yarn swift and a ball winder. I can't keep running over to my yarn shop and ask if I can use their winder for yarn I didn't buy there. Its tacky. I probably have around 20 skeins I need to wind. Maybe more. I don't have the nerve to count them all. I just know over at the Loopy Ewe (my favorite online yarn shop) Sheri's going to have Wollmeise yarn up soon and I want that too. Its very hard to get. I gotta be strong!!!!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Pink/Rose Mittens for Barb


DSCF0296
Originally uploaded by LeslieD1
I made these for my SIL for Christmas this year. They turned out so nice! I love this yarn and have bought more in another colorway. I wish the pic was a bit clearer, though. I took this on a pillow case (no, really) at night with an overhead light on. Considering the crummy conditions, I guess it came out ok. But I'm getting a new camera and from now on, only taking pics in the daytime. I've got a couple more things to photograph and post and will do it when I have a bit more time. Thanksgiving is Thursday and I have waaay too much to do, as usual. Lookin' forward to Saturday when its all done.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Socks that Rock!


I've been working on these for a long time. These are Socks That Rock, lightweight, in the colorway Scottish Highlands from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I LOVE this yarn. I bought one skein and its about 340 yards. I made the one sock, and was afraid that I didn't have enough to make the second. So...I started the second one toe up and that took me forever to find a toe up pattern that I could understand AND do. Tada! I found Judy's Magic Cast On on Knitty.com and using the Magic Loop, I finally got it going. I'll knit until I'm out of yarn. If it's a little shorter at the top than my other one, thats fine. That's the beauty of knitting toe up. You knit until you're out of yarn. :) I'm finishing my Christmas knitting and then I can finish those socks and start stuff of my own. I'm in the Loopy Ewe Swap, and I've barely started my project for that. She's going to love it!! I'm so excited to give it to her. I hope she likes it. I have so many things I want to knit. Lotsa projects in my queue. I bought some 100% Cashmere yarn from WEBS yesterday 50% off!!!! Impossible to pass up that deal. Its Debbie Bliss and gorgeous! The color is a pale gray. I have about 315 yards and a cable scarf pattern. I'll be starting that soon, too.
I gotta take more photos of my yarn..better ones. I think I'm going to ask Santa for a new camera. I've noticed a lot of people on Ravelry take yarn pics with a Canon Sure Shot. I don't know if thats just a coincidence or what, but that's the camera I want.
I'm off work this weekend and am working funky days next. I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our family so Sunday and Monday are going to be organizing and shopping days. Hope to get some good knitting in too. I'm on a deadline here!!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Under Construction



Still trying to get this site up and running so it looks comparable to everyone elses. I get impatient and frustrated trying. WHEW. My daughter has given me a lot of her time to help me. So...I'm going to put her pic up along with mine. This was when we were on our way home from Toronto last year after Christmas shopping for the weekend. We were on the Via train from Toronto to Windsor. I think we were a bit bored on the train by this time. :) Lovely picture.

I'm still trying to get yarn pics up. I took some, as I said in my last blog, but I want to take better ones. Might have to ask Santa for a new camera, I think. So, once I get them they'll be put on here all at once, probably.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Photos

I took some pics of my yarn and some of my projects to try it out. Got a little bit of help from Katie, my daughter, and Patrick, her boyfriend. They're uploaded to Flickr and on my Ravelry site in the proper place. They came out pretty good, but I know I can take better pics. So, I gotta experiment a bit, I think. Its going to take me a whole afternoon to photograph ALL of my yarn with the labeling information for Ravelry, and then get them all up there. I like that feature where its like a yarn/project/needle inventory. I also love seeing everyone elses stuff. Some of it is so impressive it's intimidating! It can be inspiring too.
Today is my husbands birthday and we celebrated with family and dinner here at our house.
I have tried..unsuccessfully..to knit a pair of socks for my sister for Christmas. The first pair were Jaywalkers out of Lornas Laces Black Watch. Beautiful yarn. My BIL saw me knitting them and said "she'll never wear them". Curses. Tried Cascade Fixation..on US 5 because I couldn't get the gauge on 4's or 3's. Screwed up the simplest sock pattern. Noticed the HUGE mistake when I was all the way at the toe of the second sock. I just couldn't bear to rip it back to the cuff..where the mistake was. Stuffed them in my closet. grrrr. My final try is with Lornas Laces Sport, Aslan. Beautiful stuff. Don't care what my BIL says. So far I've had to rip them back 3 times. 3 TIMES!! I get past the heel flap..the heel..and picking up the gusset stitches and screw up every time. I'm getting it right this time, dammit! I'm running out of time because I want to finish them and my other Christmas stuff too, which I'm almost done with. I want to knit for myself SO bad and I will as soon as I finish this stuff. Plus..I have things (notice I said things..plural) for my Loopy Ewe Swap that I'm in. The project is due in February. Second week, I think. Knowing me..I'll need all that time to finish them.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Easier than I thought

Its official! I've finally done something related to blogging with NO help from my daughter. Yes, folks, its true! However..I do need her to show me how to post pics. I've got a lot of stuff that I've knit and am knitting and I'd love to show it here, and on The Loopy Ewe and on Ravelry. I'll get to that very soon, I hope. I'm sorta kinda new to knitting. Been at it about 3 years. Learned when I was 9 from my mom and it didn't stick. (no pun intended). I re-learned when I saw a lady in a shop in North Carolina knitting behind the counter. I went to KnittingHelp.com and re-taught myself. I LOVE that site. So informative and easy to follow. I'd recommend that site for anyone that wants to learn to knit or purl.
Well..thats it for now. This is completely new to me...work in progress, so bear with me while I learn this stuff as I go along. Great to be here!