"Legendary Stash"

I've officially crossed into "SABLE" status in terms of my yarn stash.  (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy.)  I can hear my husband's eyes rolling as he's reading this, and probably nodding enthusiastically in agreement.  I finally put away all of my yarn from the Webs Tent Sale earlier in the month and made the mistake of telling him how many yarns I have stashed in Ravelry.  (Answer:  triple digits.)  He did some quick calculations to see how much I spent on all of it and almost fell off the couch.  Dude, don't do the numbers.  We don't wanna know.

This year's Tent Sale was on May 14th and was fantastic as usual!  A gorgeous day, not a whole ton of people the second we got there and a small group to boot.  I had been squirreling cash from yard sale items and things for quite a while and was pretty proud that I covered all but $10.00 of my yarn with it.  We had a fantastic lunch at Northampton Brewery and then Maureen and I headed home to get our knit on.  We've also picked out a new KAL project, "The Joker and the Thief."   (Photo courtesy of Melanie Berg, on Ravelry.)  mine will also have grey as a base color, but then varying shades of turquoise and purple.  Fitting, right?  :)

Anyway, I wish I could say that I'm going to go cold sheep (no yarn purchases until a set amount of time/stash is used) but I know that I don't have the willpower for that.  Especially since I'm making my first trip to the Maine Fiber Frolic with Maureen and Cindy this weekend!  AND Mom and I are trying to make plans to go to Rhinebeck in October.  Yep.  The stash will continue to grow, though no exponentially.

That Neverending Cleaning Thing

The Craft Room Cleanout marches on.  The floor is finally clear, but every surface is littered with stuff.  I've got all of my knitting needles tossed into a laundry basket, which is kind of pointless since they're all poking OUT of the basket.  I've put aside a bunch of yarn from leftover projects and single, lonely skeins (Looking for love on Match.com) that I'm putting to use in a new yearlong charity project.  I'm going to make hats and mittens for the local Youth and Family Services outlet, and donate them at the end of the year.  And man, do I have unfinished projects, a lot of cross-stitch stuff mostly.  Some baby blanket squares that just need to be sewn together, then donated.  Some things require more work, but many are just a couple of hours away from being a work in progress to a finished object!

two things I learned at Christmastime this year...to avoid excess stress, upload pics throughout the year instead of all at once and WEAVE IN YOUR ENDS, DAMMIT.

But now it's time for another game of:   Finish or Frog?

This damned, damned sweater.  I started it in March of 2012...at the wedding of my brother in law in Pennsylvania. Literally....I was working on it in the church during rehearsal.  All that's left is button and neck bands, and short sleeves.  Why is that, you say?  The sleeves have too many stitches to do them on double-pointed needles and FOR SHAME I have not yet taken the time to learn the Magic Loop method.  From what I understand it will take a Youtube video or two and I'll be good to go.  So....laziness?  It stays in the "finish pile."

This is a cute sweater.  I started it...oh I don't know, two years ago for my niece?  It certainly won't fit her now, and I screwed up royally on the lace bottom.  But for some reason I just cannot bring myself to frog it.  Maybe I'll put button bands on it and give it a good soak, then put it in a pile for gifts.  The only person that knows there are mistakes is me.  Well, now YOU know, but are you gonna tell??  :)

An adorable baby blanket that I started last year.  It's more complicated looking than it actually is, the hearts are pretty easy to make.  What happened with this project is that I started working on other things and didn't note where I was in the pattern......so I'm going to frog it.  Perhaps I'll start it again later, it seems less maddening to do that than try to figure out what the hell I am supposed to do next.

 My 2012 Ravellenic Games project.  The idea is to start a project during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, and be finished with it by the end of the Closing Ceremony.  There are people out there that start adult-sized sweaters during this time, AND finish!  I chose a shawl, the Marrowstone Shawl to be exact.   Major fail, I got the lace edging done and never went back.  I should've chosen a freakin' hat.  Time to frog, my dear, no matter how pretty the lace is.

Lastly....a pair of plain vanilla socks for me that I started in the old house.  I moved 18 months ago.  (Have you noticed that "Projects for me" always take a backseat?) I'm at the toes of the first sock.  Finish Pile.

And now, instead of "having to" buy a second bookcase, I have room for things!

Sweater, Sunday, Sickies.....

-Last week, I took a look at the sweater that I had been knitting for my niece's birthday.  I started it in June, got the lace body finished and figured I'd add the sleeves later.

-I pulled it out of hibernation and saw that there were mistakes in the lace.

-A week before her party, I decided to frog the sweater and make a new one.  Yeah, a week before her party. I picked a short-sleeve number that I've made and loved before, and set out making it in size 2T.   I work GREAT under a deadline!

-Worked all week on it, every free moment.  I even knit a row or two in the mornings before work and during my lunch break.

-Saturday night, I still had two rows to finish, the bind-off, weaving of ends and the much-anticipated sewing-on of the buttons.  I had purchased two kinds to choose from (Because I am a little obsessed with buttons.)  So which will it be....brass-colored rosettes or clear plastic embellished with white?  Hmmmmm.

-Morning of the party....binding off.  And then we decide that we're not going to the party because Hubby is sick.  Truth be told, I'm still not feeling 100% myself.  Two (sicky) parents at a party?  I don't think so.

-That being said, I'm sick of sickness.  It's been at least three weeks that someone (mostly me!) has been sick.  No more Rx's!  Down with thermometers!  Begone, tea and ginger ale!!

-So, no party.  Next week we'll take a trip to see the birthday girl and her parents for dinner and to give her her birthday presents from us.  But the birthday girl's sweater is done, and now I have a week to spare.  Time to cast on something else.  Knit all the things before Christmas!!

-To be fair, I am still following my rule of not going bonkers trying to knit up a bunch of stuff for Christmas this year.  Truth be told, I have one present cast on right now and two ideas.  Small ideas.  But there's other stuff....my knitting group's Potluck and Swap Night this year's theme is "Ornaments."  Guess I should get on that.  Plus, I'm doing Ravelry's birthday swap again, for the fourth year running.

-Reading this last paragraph....I think I've got some crafting to do.  See ya!

First Crush

Who doesn't remember their first crush?  I hadn't thought about mine for years until this week.   I went to a private Catholic school and were forced to wear these gaggy outfits of plaid jumpers, yellow blouses and ties.  Oh, and brown kneesocks.  Sexy.  The boys didn't have it much better....brown pants, same yellow shirt and that "gorgeous" white/black/brown/yellow plaid as a tie.   I vaguely remember this boy.....he had blue eyes and slicked-back hair, and was quite skinny.   I do remember that his name was John, and that I chased him around the blacktop at recess.  That was me....quite subtle.  If I liked you, believe me, you knew about it.

Why all this thinking about crushes?  Last week at Will's birthday party, a friend from our old neighborhood gave him a gift of a rubber-band bracelet.  These are the latest craze, kind of like friendship bracelets or ribbon barrettes or even safety pin-beaded bracelets.  Kids all over are getting these bags of little rubber bands that I think resemble the rubber bands I used to have to use with my braces.  Then you do something with a loom and it makes a cool bracelet.  Well.  I'd been hearing about "Mom!  We NEED to buy a loom!" for over a week.  I had purchased bands but AC Moore was out of looms.  Then lo and behold...while shopping for a big coffee pot for work, there's a bunch of looms at the checkout at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  (I guess that follows in the "Beyond" category.)  I brought it home and he's quite excited!  We're figuring them out together and it's slow going....because though I am a whiz with the knitting needles, I'm kind of crap with a crochet hook.  We'll persevere though, probably by watching YouTube videos.

I asked him who the first bracelet would be for, expecting him to say himself.  I was wrong.  Instead I got "Well, there's this girl named Caroline in my class.....I'm really glad you got pink bands, Mom.  Because those are her favorite."

 And so it begins.  Right on schedule.  :)

Rhinebeck!!!

The mecca for all knitters/crocheters/fiber enthusiasts.  The holiday of the year!

I never thought I'd be able to arrange going, since it's about 3.5 hours from home.  But it turns out that Webs offers a bus trip and tickets were a mere $45.00.  For $45.00 you get a ride that you don't have to drive, a busful of awesome knitters like yourself all excited to be going somewhere, the ticket to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival and your name entered in several of Webs' fabulous raffles.  (Mom and I won none of them, but all of our seatmates around us seemed to hit the jackpot.)

Mom stayed over on Friday night because Saturday was going to be a super-early start.  Brian scoffed my "I'm going to get up at 4:45AM!" and remarked that this was something that he just had to see.  True to my word, when the alarm on my phone went off, I popped out of bed and said "Look at that, I'm up and no snooze button!"  (it helps to have a continual nightmare that you've missed the bus.)

5:30 AM:  Mom and I are in her truck, cruising down the MassPike in the dark.  We made it in plenty of time for the 6:30am bus boarding, and it was a fairly uneventful trip to the Duchess County Fairgrounds.  Well, except for the part where it took 45 minutes to get in there.  But what are you gonna do, it's a fantastically popular place!  People flock from all over to attend this.  I've never seen anything like it, I've been to a few festivals but this was by far the biggest gathering of "my people,"  all wearing hand-knits and radiating excitement.  And oh....the hand-knits!  Everyone oohs and aahs over things that people are wearing, and they bond over patterns and yarn types.  Chatting about yarn and patterns almost sounds like a different language.   (I love your shawl...is that Wingspan?  No it's Hitchhiker.  Oh, this?  It was supposed to be a dress but I modified it to be a tunic.  You can find it on Rav under "Pambe dress")

We'd been warned that there would be long lines for food, so Mom and I opted to eat right away.  The place had everything for food....barbecue, greek, fancy, pasta, burgers, seafood, etc etc etc.  What it also had that was kind of annoying was bees.  It was an unusually warm day for October and they were out in full force.

After lunch it was time for SHOPPING!!  There were so many vendors there I lost count.  Mom and I brought home lovely treasures:  buttons, notions, stitch markers....and Mom got some fabric of sheep knitting on black background to make a few project bags.  And of course, there was the YARN.  SO much yarn in one place!  Chock full of yarny goodness!  Gorgeous colorways in every weight.   I practiced quite a bit of restraint by only bringing home four skeins of yarn.  This one was my favorite:

 Madelinetosh Tosh merino light in "Jasper."  Saw it across two tents and it "spoke to me."  Green usually isn't my thing but I had to have it.

We also saw animals:  I got to pet a beautiful sheep named Leanne, she was a doll.  And they had a kids' area that was full of activities had we brought the boys, including a little zoo.  There were lemurs and baby kangaroos.  I'd never seen a kangaroo up close, and I can now say that our dog Joey is aptly named!

These guys posed for a photo.  

Several hours later we piled back onto the bus for the ride back to Northampton and then an hour's ride back home from there.  It was dark on the way home too, making the day feel surreal.  And when we got home, Brian had cleaned the house and there was dinner for us on the table.  It was wonderful!

All in all, a fantastic day.  I wish I'd taken more photos.  I'm so glad to have attended and I'd certainly do it again.  Next time though, I'd like to get the Yarn Harlot to autograph one of my books.  :)  And see one of the Ravelry meetups.  And maybe, just maybe, take a workshop.

On God and Beading

  Yesterday I spent some time with the Big Kid, working on a craft project.  His brother had given him a beaded animal kit for Christmas, and he was very psyched to make a penguin keychain for his school backpack.  The end results weren't quite as pretty as the picture, but we get the general idea.

First we sorted beads by color and how many we needed in each color. 

Then we knocked them all over the floor and re-counted them. 

Then Mama screwed up and cut the satin cord instead of just folding it in half.  Yes, the box does say that the kit is for kids aged six and above.  But I guess at 36 you may qualify for remedial instructions.
We got it together and voila!  A penguin.  Will is currently obsessed with penguins.  Oh yeah, and Spider-Man.  If there was a beading kit to make a Spider-Man keychain, he'd be in his glory. 

Spending this kind of special one-on-one time with your kids is precious.  It also has a tendency to lead to intriguing conversation.  Such as yes, Mommy does know how to do other crafts besides knittting.  But here is the gem of the afternoon, which came out of nowhere:

"Mama.  You were wrong about God and the world.  My best friend Silas at school has it all figured out.  First there were bugs.  Then birds, then crocodiles.  And from crocodiles, humans."  Consider myself corrected.  Daddy and I agreed, and told him a little bit about evolution. But then Brian said "But where did the bugs come from?"  With great dramatic pause, Will said "I don't know.  I'll have to ask Silas about it at school tomorrow."  :)

Pretty Flower

Throughout the year I knit things for charity and store them in a big Rubbermaid box.  Let's face it, I have more yarn than I could possibly use in a lifetime.  (Insert your joke at my expense here.)  So why not share my love of yarn with others!

This is a little improvised hat that I put together quickly over the weekend.  I love the gray and magenta together, but it needed a little.....something.  A quick perusal of Ravelry patterns for knitted flowers and I found what I was looking for.  Add a few beads and VOILA!  Haute couture toddler-wear.  The best part:  I didn't spend a dime on the materials for this hat.  (Well, not this weekend, anyway.)  The yarns and the beads were all stuff that I had on-hand.  The flower is meant to be worn more on the side than at the front of the hat.

Being the mom of two boys, I adore making girly stuff when I get the chance.  Some little girl is really going to like this.

Jewels at Home

Once in a while I join a swap thru Ravelry.  I especially like a group called "Ten Dollar Swaps" because that is the minimum and maximum that you are expected to spend on your partner's package. It takes some creativity to find yarn and a couple of goodies for just ten bucks (shipping doesn't count) but it can be done!  Also, stash yarn and materials that you have on hand that you didn't have to buy don't count in the total.   Each month has a theme, and this month is "Secret Partner Swap."  That means that while I know where I am sending my package, the person doesn't know who is sending it until they get it. And on the flip side, I have no idea where my package is coming from, or who my partner is.

This month included a handmade item and my partner lives in a hot climate, so I went with the Saroyan Shawl.  I changed it up a bit, making it in sock-weight yarn so it made for a light shawlette instead of a big heavy shawl.  Perfect for when the AC is cranked and you're freezing.  At the movies, for example.  AC at the movies is always cranked to "antarctic."  :)

But the thing that I am most proud of is the handmade stitch markers that I put together.  Purchasing pretty, beaded ones wasn't an option as I know they are much more expensive than ten dollars.  And the more that I looked at some of mine, hanging off the needles in a pair of mittens that I am working on, I said "Hey, I can totally do that!"    A few years ago, when I worked part-time and then only-child Will and I belonged to a playgroup, one of the moms sponsored a jewelry-making class at her home.  I became hooked, and being a whole-hog kind of girl, stopped at Michael's on the way home to purchase tools and more beads and supplies.  I made a few necklaces, bracelets and earrings for holiday gift-giving that year, and was pretty proud of myself.  When it was time to clear out my craft room (sniff sniff!) because I was pregnant with Sean and needed a place for Will to sleep, I packed up my jewelry-making and cross-stitch supplies and banished them to the basement. Finding them was half the fun, the joy of finding such pretties while "shopping in my own home."

This was so easy, and so fun.  I see some more in the future, perhaps as knitter's gifts.  One can ALWAYS use more stitch markers!  (And project bags....some day I'm going to get out my sewing machine and make my own project bags.  Ooh!)

Yarn Dyeing Saturday!

A group of friends and I got together at one of our houses on Saturday to play with Kool-Aid and yarn.  I've had a lifetime of staining stuff with things like Kool-Aid, so I was really intrigued to see what happened when you spill it all over something on purpose!

First of all, you need yarn made from animal fiber.  It's impossible to dye cotton yarn in your own home.  No matter how long you soak it, the Kool-Aid just won't take.  I used Knitpicks "Bare" from their catalog.  It's 100% worsted-weight wool.

First, the soaking.  We all had brought dutch oven pots, and the yarn had to soak in lukewarm water for at least 20 minutes.  (We ended up going outside on Kristina's deck and enjoying the surprise summer weather, we kind of forgot for a bit that there was yarn soaking.  No harm, no foul.)

Then, the process of adding the Kool-Aid.  I added the powder directly to the pot....if I ever did this again I would make the dye first and then add the yarn.  Oh well, I do like the variegated version that I ended up with, which took a whopping THIRTEEN packets of Kool-Aid!

Then it's off to drain it, making it look like the worst spaghetti ever!

Someone had taken a picture of all the used Kool-Aid packets....it was an impressive sight!  Unfortunately, it wasn't me.  Kristina's kitchen smelled like fruity Kool-Aid and wet wool.  BTW...wet wool stinks.  But the Kool-Aid is rather nice.

Here's the end result, coming out of the pot.  That's my friend Kim next to me, she is dyeing hers green.  Green is her signature color by the way, and mine in case you couldn't tell, is purple.

All of our yarns on the drying rack on the deck.  (thank goodness for that nice "summer" weather!)  Danielle went for a bright blue, and Kristina and Kim also made some variegated on the bottom rack, using a turkey baster to distribute the different flavors/colors of Kool-Aid.

The yarn came home with me, still wet and tied in a plastic grocery sack.  I hung it on a hanger and let it finish drying on the shower rod in the bathroom.  For two days, my bathroom smelled faintly of grape Kool-Aid.  And now that it is wound up, it still smells like Kool-Aid and probably always will.

The finished product.  Gorgeous.  :)

Now, what do I plan on doing with this yarn?  I'm thinking the Arroyo Shawl.  For myself, of course!

Thanks for a fun day, ladies!

Full Stocks

In cleaning up a bit today, I had another pair of mittens to pin together and put away for charity.  I keep two plastic Rubbermaid bins in the closet in Sean's room for stuff that I knit for either charity or Christmas gifts.  Well, they're both full to the gills.   (Why store them in Sean's room?  His closet was the only one that had any room.  Storage space in this house is minimally ridiculous.)  I knit mittens from stash yarn, mostly leftovers from projects that I have already completed.  Once I get to a baker's dozen I'll ship these sweeties off to Knit for Boston, along with a couple of stash hats that I've made.  There are also a couple of baby blankets and some pink baby-girl hats for Stitches from the Heart put together, I plan on sending them after Christmas.

I have so, so many things I want to knit before the end of the year!  According to my little widget, I've knit about six and a half miles already since January first.  WOW!!  And I only add projects to that widget once they're finished, so with half a sweater and a few other things on the needles, I've done even more.  I still have at least two Christmas gifts to go, plus a couple of babies on the way.  And I know that I said that I would never make any animals or amigurimi, but Will fell in love with a stuffed snake toy at Webs, so I want to make him one for his birthday.

Hmm.  Think I need to plan on buying another box.  :)

Baggin' It

Finished Object:  The Christine Bag!

This was my first choice as my first cabled project.  But after trying it a few times in two different yarns, I realized that at the time, I didn't know how to count.  So I gave up.  Now, apparently I DO know how to count, 'cause here she is!

This is a birthday gift for a friend, who requested a bag for a birthday gift.  I chose the color (amethyst) 'cause I know she's a purple-lover just like me.  The original pattern has the bag with a big, floppy bow.  My friend is NOT a floppy bow-kind of gal.  So there's no bow, and that is that!

Eventually, I am going to make one of these for myself.  In fuchsia.  And yes, I already have the yarn in the house.  And I may or may not be a floppy bow-kind of gal, we'll just have to see.

Fifty Hats = Fifty Warm Babies

For Will's first birthday, I came up with the idea of giving back for the blessing that we have received.  After some thinking, we decided to sponsor a baby food drive for a local council here in town.   Friends and family donated baby food to our home for hungry babies in Central Massachusetts.  We collected quite a bit and were thrilled with the work with we had done.

After Sean was born, we again wished to give back to the community.  This time, I wanted to utilize some skills and creativity, not to mention my ever-growing yarn stash!   Through a self-disciplined project, I pledged to make fifty baby hats for Stitches from the Heart.  This would allow for me to warm the heads of fifty newborn babies, and to practice some new skills and learn new stitches.  And to commemorate Sean's first birthday (which was on January 10th), the hats are now complete and will be on their way this week!

Why baby hats?  Babies need a little warm hat when they're first born.  As anyone who's ever lived in a cold-weather climate, you lose a lot of heat through an uncovered noggin.  And there are a lot of babies that are born whose parents can barely afford diapers, let alone "extras" like warm lil' baby hats and other things.    Plus, when I came up with the idea, I was a relatively new knitter.  I had done scarves and blankets and other items with straight edges.  I had just made two newborn hats for Sean and I was  tickled that I was able to create something that wasn't a square or a rectangle!  In the beginning, I vowed to use just stash yarn and bits and pieces from leftover projects.  However, I was easily seduced by the baby yarn aisle and bought a few skeins along the way.  Baby yarn is extremely alluring.  And luckily, fairly cheap and satisfying.

The hats are in all different sizes, from preemies to newborns with larger heads.  They are all variations of a basic pattern or two that I have used.  Some have seed stitch borders, some are ribbed, some are just plain stockinette.  Two of the hats are donated by my very cool friends, Kim and Kristina.  In the interest of washability, all of these hats are cotton, acrylic, or a blend of these two. Plus, newborn babies really don't like wool and preemies, who need hats the most, cannot tolerate wool at all.

A selection of preemie hats

I am so proud to have finished this project!  It feels really good to give back for the gift that we have received.

Sending out Birthday Surprises

I signed up at the beginning of the year on Ravelry for a Birthday Swap. The concept behind the swap is that everyone loves surprises for their birthday!  Seriously, there's nothing like coming home and finding a package full of goodies like yarn and handmade items.   Since my birthday is in December, I had a looong time to wait for my turn!  In October I was assigned a partner who also is a December baby and we are supposed to swap birthday packages.  The requirements included that we had to send one food treat, at least one skein of yarn and one handmade item.  The rest of the package was up to us, after some "stalking" to find out your partner's likes, dislikes, favorite things, etc.

My package was sent to the Northern Maine Coast this week.  Here is what my lovely Birthday Partner will be receiving:

-Tazo Chai Tea
-Hershey's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
-sm container Jelly Belly/Coldstone Jelly Beans
-one skein Stroll laceweight yarn in Ultramarine
-Yankee Candle ramekins
-Froggy stitch markers and row counter from Etsy
-two skeins of Specialty Alpaca sockweight yarn from the New England Fiber Festival (I'd call the color Peacock green)  I have no idea which booth I bought this, but it was a farm in upstate NY that dyed and spun it)
-two scented pencils made from recycled newspapers
-"initial" stationery



And my favorite thing in the whole package....

Old Shale Lace Scarf (made by me!) in blue Jojoland Melody fingering yarn.  This is the same yarn and pattern that Baby mangled on our way home from PA.  LOVE IT!

A Baby Burrito...

...Or, my Hooded Baby Blanket is finished!

This is a gift for my friend Danielle, who is expecting her first child in January.  She is having a boy, and I liked this colorway of Nature's Choice Organic Cotton from Lionbrand.   This pattern is meant for a small baby, so Danielle will be able to wrap the baby for the first two months or so in this cuddly blanket.  It came out really cute!

To turn a baby into a burrito, follow these three  simple steps:

1.  Lay hooded baby blanket out flat.

2.  Put baby in middle of blanket, and fold sides in over baby.  Place hood over baby's crown.

3.  Tuck bottom of blanket over baby.  And try not to melt from the cuteness!

Teddy bear used for emphasis; your "baby"  may vary.  :)

Winter Sanity Swap

Recently I had signed up for a Winter Sanity Swap through Ravelry.  Just a little holiday fun.   The purpose of a Winter Sanity Swap is to give your partner a little piece of Winter Sanity.  It's a knit/crochet kit that's designed for you to take it out when things start to get crazy and go awry and you soothe yourself back to some semblance of relaxed.  (Or at least less frazzled)  People were supposed to post answers to questions about patterns likes and dislikes, details about your holiday celebrations, and then you go and "stalk" your partner by reading their answers.

The Swap is now winding down and I've really enjoyed shopping for my partner.  I'm now finished and ready to box it all up and ship to Arizona.  Based on my "stalking" her posts, here's what I'm sending her:

--Three skeins of Jojoland Tonic yarn in what I would describe the color as Sonic Blue.  (the same color as my last car, and I loved it!)
--A pack of three Boye aluminum crochet hooks
--a pack of tapestry needles
--a shawl pattern called "Walden."  Despite it being Arizona, I've been there in December and i know it gets cold at night!  I kept the yarn fiber light though, it's an acrylic/wool blend.
--Two snowflake ornaments, one blue and one silver.
--a package of Goldfish, themed "Twelve Days of Christmas.  (Target find today!  Might make a good stocking stuffer for a certain four-year old, and it's pretty cute)
--Lindt dark chocolate truffles
--Chai Tea
--Unicorn stitch markers
--and lastly, a fabric drawstring bag to store the project while she's working on it.  It's a black background with lots of multicolored snowflakes.  I can't take credit for it, it's another fabulous Etsy find.


Then, one night last week I came home to a box from Missouri sitting on my coffee table.  It was MY winter sanity swap package!  I was one of the first ones in the group to receive a package.....and what a nice one it is!

--Handmade crocheted project bag
--Handmade crocheted wrist warmers in the same variegated yarn
--Lindor White Chocolate Truffles
--Scented Pumpkin Candle
--Felted Christmas pin
--Handmade green and silver beaded stitch markers from Etsy.  (Seriously, who doesn't love Etsy??)
--Christmas drink coasters
--Tapestry needle for darning those pesky ends in your project
--two sets of aluminum circular needles, size 7
--a pattern for the Laodice shawl, one that I have been coveting in my Ravelry queue to make for myself
--three skeins of Imagination hand-painted sock yarn in a colorway called "Evil Stepmother."  SO soft and pretty!

To my swapper----thank you, thank you!  To my swapee...Enjoy!  (though I hope that you are not reading this)

Next up is the Birthday Swap!

Magic Trick

I've finally finished my Lucy scarf, and it came out looking like this:

Huh.  Not quite what I expected.  Two balls of fingering-weight yarn and it is kind of short and scrunchy-looking.  I'm not a tall woman, so a shorter scarf is OK but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind....

That, my friends, is where blocking comes in.  Having never "blocked" something, I had to read up on the subject.  The Yarn Harlot sings the praises of blocking, and her stuff always looks amazing.  So she must be onto something.  So out comes my dog-eared copy of Stitch n Bitch, so I can figure out what to do.

First, Lucy gets a bath.  SnB calls for wool wash or some mild shampoo.  Having no special "wool wash" I opt for the mildest thing I can find:  baby shampoo!  Here goes nothin'!  I always say a prayer and cross my fingers whenever I'm about to do something that seems nutty like this.  (like closing my eyes and hoping for the best while plunging a knitted item to be felted in a washtub of hot, soapy water)  In reviewing blocking techniques, I especially liked the line "Agitation is to wool like garlic is to a vampire." 

Lucy needed to be rinsed twice. She also demanded the use of three towels!  I also learned an important lesson:  wet wool STINKS.  The smell of progress is not a pretty smell.  Luckily it dissipates quickly.  Either that or you hold your nose every time you walk by it while it dries!

I set up the ironing board in the dining room, as there isn't a lot of clear table space in a house with two adults and two children.  I laid it out on the third towel of the night, and gently tugged it into shape.  I checked it several times, then allowed it to dry overnight.

Voila!  Just like magic. Blocking....I'm now sold!

A Little Lace

When I first started knitting two years ago, I honestly thought I'd give it up after a few weeks.  I never thought I'd be the obsessed nut that I am, with an ever-growing yarn stash.  And I certainly never thought I'd progress beyond garter stitch scarves and maybe the occasional baby blanket.  And I have made those things.  And so much more....baby hats, bags, clutches, mitts....and now I'm making lace!  Yes, Lace!

My friend Alicia from my knitting group made this scarf first, and I just drooled over the photo.  As a matter of fact, two of us in the group are making this scarf.  The yarn, I admit, was a total impulse buy.  I was in line at the checkout in a little yarn store in Delafield, Wisconsin when I saw it on the table, whispering to me.  It talked it's way onto the counter and into the bag.  Four balls of "Jojoland Melody" to go with the Noro Kureyon I had picked out for a bag.  I'm a total sucker.

This scarf is going to be for me and I can't wait to try it on!   Like I said, I've been knitting for two years and so far I've only kept one thing for myself.  It's high time I made something pretty for myself.

I'm pretty amazed at the ease of this pattern, I never thought I'd be able to do this.  I'm already setting new goals;  I have a book on hold at the library on making basic cables, and I want to teach myself how to use double-pointed needles.  I've made thirty hats for Stitches from the Heart (on my way to a goal of fifty by January!)  and they are all seamed.  If I did them on dpn's I could skip the part at the end where they have to be sewn together. 

Right now I also have a knitted bag in the washer.  I'm felting it using hot water and soap.  But that's a whole 'nother blog post!

Procrastination is a Way of Life Around Here....

Know how good it feels when you finally finish something you've been putting off?  It feels incredible! 

This project was two years in the making....not because I was actively working on it, but because I spent a lot of time ignoring it.  It's a wedding record for my brother and his wife.  I actually started stitching it when I found out that they were engaged.  I did the main body rather quickly....and then I learned how to knit.  It also doesn't help that I despise finishing work (regardless of the craft) and this sat in a sandwich bag for oh.....I don't even know how long!  It was supposed to be a wedding present last May.  Then I put it down to knit.  The wedding came and went.  I decided that it would make a lovely Christmas present, once I fixed a couple minor mistakes and initialed the piece.  Then around Christmas....I couldn't FIND the dang thing!!  Christmas came and went.  Then I had a baby and well, nothing got done!  I found the wedding record yesterday wedged between my two yarn organizers.  I've finally washed it and it's drying in a towel in the kitchen right now.  I figured it needed to be done NOW, so I didn't have a chance to lose it again.  It's not initialed....and I don't care!  And now it's finished just in time....for their first anniversary to have gone by.  I'm calling it a first anniversary gift anyway!!

Pictures to come, as soon as it is framed. 

One-Skein Swap

I meant to post about my one-skein knitting swap.  I signed up to swap yarn with a partner through Ravelry. 
My partner was from Ohio and we emailed back and forth a few times to talk about knitting and what we like/dislike etc.  The rule was that you had to send your partner a skein of yarn that they could use in a project, you didn't have to knit anything.

Here is what I sent:

 I know that it said that we didn't have to make anything, but I thought this knitting project bag ornament was so cute!  Plus I made it out of scrap yarn and it was a very fast project.  I want to make one for my Christmas tree this year.

I got a message that Chris loved the package!  Especially the chocolates and the purple Bamboo/Silk yarn.


I got home from work on Thursday night and SQUEE!!!  My package was there.  I opened it up and  I felt incredibly spoiled!  Thanks for all the great things:  the Lion Brand Thick n Quick yarn, the cookie pop, handmade stitch markers, circular needle, baby socks and patterns!  (I know I forgot something)

So I've learned:  swaps are incredibly fun!  And it's exciting to get something cool  in the mail again, instead of the usual bills and junk mail.  I can't wait to sign up for another one.

Gold!!!!

 

Cue up the National Anthem....I've finished my Knitting Olympics item!  The Meandering Rib Scarf is now complete.  :)

Since both Brian and I want to wear this, I made it a little shorter than the called-for 65 inches.  After all, I am only 61 inches tall, so it would be ridiculously huge on me had I followed the length exactly.  And even better...I finished with two days to spare!  Despite frogging it twice in the beginning (a "false start" like in Speed Skating)  and the fact that this pattern absolutely mystified me last year, I did it!  And I did it with having a baby and a toddler in the house.  That's the really impressive part.  I don't think my housework suffered any more or any less....the house is trashed most days anyway with Will "The Destroyer" playing with toys in the house and the baby stuff everywhere.  If you can't keep it clean, you might as well knit, it's a lot more relaxing than constantly picking up the toys over and over and cursing it.  Annnnnddddd....I did this and followed the rules, my interactions with loved ones didn't suffer.  At least, I don't think they did, you'd have to ask them.  :)