Knitasnoopy

Current WIPs and FO

2012-02-12T19:45:00.000-06:00

Couple of weeks ago, was at a standstill on the Top Down Swing Sweater until I could get an opinion from Rebecca about the fit of the sweater. As you can see, it was too big, would benefit from a short row in the back, and ruffles on the bottom (what's up with that?). Will take out to first increase, add a short row on the back, and knit straight down. Will see how that turns out.

Next on the consultation list was the Every Way Wrap. Diagnosis was that I should do two more repeats and it would then be ready for me to start the last repeat. I'm almost done with the first repeat and can't believe I'm heading into the homestretch on this wrap.

First (almost) finished object to report is the Triplicity shawlette which was the first project in the Knit-along project from Knit Purl Hunter. It just requires some ends to be woven in, blocking and then post picture of totally completed picture on Ravelry. Project isn't done till pictures are posted on Ravelry, right?

Next up in the FO report is the Pioneer Braid Scarf. This pattern just lend's itself beautifully to yarns that gradually shift in color.

First two weeks on the job

2012-01-15T20:38:00.000-06:00

Well it has been two weeks and so far haven't hit the 10 hour week work, but today is not over and I'm sooo close (currently at 9.55 hours and last week I ended with 9.63 hours). Here is a quick recap of the my work towards goals.

1) 9 podcasts listened/watched while knitting 11 more to go before audiobook purchase.
2) No projects completed, no money in savings toward loom.
3) No projects completed, no Ravelry shopping cart purchase.
4) No adult sweaters completed, no yarn purchased....

Wait, wait this will get boring really quick if I do this on a weekly basis, think this will be done on a monthly basis.

You may have noticed a few new items on the side bar. If you didn't, please take a moment to look at the Yarn Meter which indicates how much yarn I've knitted this year, pretty nifty eh? Next is a widget that is linked to my Ravelry project page showing the progress on current projects. These are only the projects that I'm actively working on and at least one more shawl and a scarf missing (you should have seen the list before I changed a lot of projects to hibernating!).

The first two projects are the Top Down Swing Pullover and Every Way Wrap. These two are active but on hold until I make it to Mount Horeb and I'm able to consult with Rebecca and/or Mo on these projects. On both of these, I want their opinion on the fit as my bathroom mirror does not give me a very good view of both. The pullover is almost done, just need to knit the collar and two sleeves. While yes I know I could have continued on, it just didn't feel right to continue if I'm going to end up ripping out a portion of the body. The wrap has been on my needles for almost two years and think I have almost completed the correct number of repeats but again wanted their opinion on the fit (hmm maybe I should invest in a full-length mirror?).

Next on the list is the Samovar Shawl which I haven't worked on since before Christmas and halfway feel that this should be moved to hibernation, but I'm so close to being done that having this project visible on the blog will help me get it done, I hope.

The fourth project, Triplicity, is the first project in Knit Purl Hunter's Progressive Needles knit along. I joined the project through Sutter's Golden' Fleece up in St. Germain in October, purchased the yarn while on the crafting retreat, balled up the yarn but then never started this project (and the next two). This week, with the pullover and wrap, on breaks, it seemed like an excellent time to get started on this project. It is progressing quite nicely but it is definitely not something I can knit and do other things, like play cards, have a conversation, etc.

The last project on the list, Tuckernuck Cardigan, was started a year ago as part of a design your own sweater class. Again this project should probably be in hibernation as I can't work on this and the wrap as they are both cabled items and my brain can't deal with two cable projects at the same time, but I want it in view to remind me to get going on things.

Not mentioned, and soon to be posted on Ravlery, are the Pioneer Braid Scarf and Bat Shawl. The Pioneer Braid Scarf, is a project that I can work on while playing cards, which we did with friends today, or have just a few minutes to knit (making it an excellent project to have when out and about). The Bat Shawl is part of another design your own class that I took from The Cat and Crow which is also on a slight break until I can work out of the chart for the next section after the bats (hmm thinking some pictures would be helpful for you, will work on that for next week). The section after the bats is a lace pattern that has a different number of stitches most rows and I'm thinking my stitch count will be way wonky for current number of stitches on needle vs. first row of lace pattern. Need to graph it on paper so I can visualize it better.

Wheel at the store, waiting for a new home.

My big news this week is that I purchased a spinning wheel. Yes that is correct a spinning wheel. On Tuesday, someone had posted in Ravelry on the On Wisconsin page that the second hand store in Edgerton had a wheel for $15 which had a broken flyer.

Yesterday, I called the store and it was still there. Was still undecided if I should go, and knowing that I would kick myself later if a didn't, that I decided to call Mom to see if she would be interested in driving to Edgerton. Dad answered the phone as she had gone to get the mail and then was going to take my brother who doesn't drive to Madison. Explained to Dad why I was calling, they are always the voice of reason, yes yes the wheel was only $15 but once I have it, that would mean more expenses to get it fixed, then fiber to spin with, etc. and he said for $15 even if you can't get it fixed it would be an excellent decoration.

I figured this was a sign that I should go down to Edgerton as this seemed so atypical for him. Not too sure how well you can see it but the varnish is wearing off, the flyer is most definitely broken and the drive band is missing but these should be easy fixes.

I am unable to find any markings so have no idea what brand of wheel it is other than a traditional. If you have any clues on what type or how to identify it, I would greatly appreciate it. Renee suggested I get in touch with one of the Wednesday night knitters who just had a wheel restored and I plan on doing that soon, just hope it won't cost more than the price of a new wheel!

Oops someone broke the flyer!

Part-time Knitter

2012-01-08T16:17:00.000-06:00

When money is tight (what a weird expression), often people do a combination of things, look for items that can be cut back on or you can do without; if you are making payments on a house or car, you may look into refinancing these things; or in some cases, you get a part-time job.

Money is tight currently for me. The reasons are various; no pay raise in past four years, paying more for benefits, and I would like to save money to buy a house.

Lets see, I don't drink or go out a lot, so nothing to cut there but I am going to cut some luxury items like Netflix and buying soda at work (you do the math $1.50/bottle, 2 bottles a day). Since the "Move" back in July, I've been trying to minimalize current possessions and what comes in the house, as space is limited, so not much to cut out there as well. I don't own a house and my car is paid for but I am working on lowering the APR on my credit card, so doing all I can there. All thats left is a part-time job.

I've done the part-time gig in the past and quite frankly they are not for me. For one thing, I would end up having two suppers, one before work and another at home as I was hungry again. Then to top things off, I was usally so wound up that I'd be up for another couple of hours. Which wouldn't be so bad except the employer doesn't seem to appreciate that their retail job is not my life. I have a day job and some sleep is required so no it's not ok to keep me at the store till 10 pm or later simply because I'm over a certain age and have no state appointed work curfew. Added to this, a part-time job would mean that I wouldn't be home a lot and that's not fair to Rosie (plus I really really don't want one).

Having said all this, I've taken a part-time job. It doesn't pay a lot and there are no health or retirement benefits. What the job does have is flexible hours, excellent co-workers, and I'm doing something I love. Are you ready for what my new job is? It's knitting! Ok, ok bare with me here. As evidenced by my stash, I have plenty of yarn to keep me busy for a long time, it's paid for and will result in lovely items for myself and possibly some gifts (yes Erica selfish knitting is definitely in my future but I still plan on making some things for the deserving few). Knitting can be done anywhere at anytime so it's a perfect job for a dog owner.

The idea for my part-time job started back in May when I purchased an app for my iPhone called HoursTracker. The reason for the purchase (think I started with the free version but bought the full version soon after) was to track how long it takes me to knit something. You know how it is, you've just completed a project and it never fails a non knitter will ask you "How long did it take you to knit that?". With this particular app you can assign an hourly pay rate and that got me thinking about how really knitting could be a job of sorts. Knitting Guild and Knitting Group are now staff meetings (a lot more enjoable than at my full-time job!), this blog is my time sheet and knitting events like Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, Stitches, etc are conferences (which I'm never sent to at my full-time job). So you see, knitting is an excellent part-time job.

Last week I posted my 2012 Rewards which will function as my "payscale". After writing about WS&W, it made me think that I should start saving money for events like that and here is my revised 2012 Rewards.

2012 Rewards (Updated)
1. Every 20 knitting podcasts or iTunes university I listen/watch while knitting, purchase 1 audiobook.
2. Every project completed, put $5 in savings towards a rigid heddle loom.
3. Every 20 projects completed, purchase 1 item from my Ravelry shopping cart.
4. Finish 4 adult sweaters, purchase yarn for a sweater in queue.
5. Every 10 blog posts, purchase 1 movie.
6. Work 10-19 hours in a week, put $10 in savings towards fiber events. Work 20+ hours, put $20 in savings.

As I've only put in 6.8 hours this week, and Sunday is the end of my "pay period", need to get back to work. Till next time!

Fiber Event Catch Up #3: Three Irish Girls Trunk Show

2012-01-01T14:51:00.000-06:00

September 17th saw friend from Stoughton, have to find out if O.K. to mention her name on blog, and I went to Chicago to attend the Three Irish Girls Trunk Show at Windy Knitty. We started off mid morning and had an enjoyable time driving down.

Hard to believe but this is all that came home!

Lunch was at a Thai restaurant not that far from Windy Knitty and then on to the trunk show. If you have never seen/felt Three Irish Girls yarn, you simply must! The colors are wonderful and it was hard to resist purchasing oodles of yarn but I only purchased a three skeins of yarn and a scarf minder (hee hee just thought of it Three Irish Girls, 3 skeins of yarn...). I know I know the restraint but I'm trying to change my yarn buying habits.

From there, we went on to Ikea. At Ikea we had a quick snack as my blood sugar was getting low and my friend needed to rest and then shopped around a bit. I found curtains for the living room which were totally not something that I thought I would ever buy and large beverage glasses, as the ones I had been using are rather on the small size. She found the mirrors that her daughter-in-law wanted and a few other items.

Once we had our purchases for Ikea loaded up in the car, we headed home. There was a quick stop in Janesville for diner at my favorite Chinese restaurant and then continued on to Stoughton. We did some switching around of things from her car to my car and I returned totes she had loaned while moving back in July (terrible how long it took me to unpack some things).

All in all, a very fun day and one I wouldn't mind repeating (hint, hint).

What do you knit?

2012-01-01T14:47:00.000-06:00

My UFO bin runneth over

Back in September I was at a local yarn shop browsing and the clerk and I were chatting, when she asked me "What do you knit?". You have no idea how much that question gave me pause as it seems to me that I am great for starting projects, as evidenced by my UFO bin, but completing them is somewhat problematic.

With the New Year, people make resolutions, set goals, etc., which is one of the reasons this blog was started. But just like my other projects, the main reason for starting this blog (reduce the amount of yarn under the bed/in my closets, now cupboards) never has seen fruition. This year instead of setting big goals, I'm setting small goals and rewards which will hopefully result in a reduction in the amount of fiber hiding under the bed/in cupboards.

The work on my 2012 resolution/goals actually started in October 2011, when I took all of my yarn stash, UFOs, WIPs and made a pile of everything on the living room floor.

Stash October 2011

At first, I was sorting things out by fiber type/color but it became readily apparent that this was not going to work as it was the same system I had been using. Instead, I started a much lengthier process of going through the yarn stash and sorting everything out by yarn weight. Once everything was in bins according to yarn weight, I then went to Ravelry opened up my Favorites and Queue and started matching up yarn with projects.

The result was going from a Queue of 1.5 pages (roughly 45 projects) to a Queue of 7 pages (189 projects) long. Don't know how many bins all that yarn was in but I'm down to two bins and one chest (that doubles as my coffee table) that are looking for projects. The yarn in the chest I'm not anxious on having projects for immediately as it is the "good' stash yarn and I'm fine with waiting for the next viral knitting project that sweeps the knitting community like the Clapotis. The bin yarn I will go through today and see what is in there and see what projects I can find for it, though I'm thinking some of it would be very interesting to weave with.

Earlier today I drafted out my goals and while they may seem strange, I think they will result in much knitting/reduction of the stash. I will explain in my next blog post why they are all monetary

2012 Rewards

1. Every 20 knitting podcasts or iTunes university I listen/watch while knitting, purchase 1 audiobook.
2. Every project completed, put $5 in savings towards a rigid heddle loom.
3. Every 20 projects completed, purchase 1 item from my Ravelry shopping cart (contains patterns that are probably in the queue).
4. Finish 4 adult sweaters, purchase yarn for a sweater in queue.
5. Every 10 blog posts, purchase 1 movie.

There may be some tweaking of the rewards during the year, but this is a very good start. I plan on doing a comparison photo in December 2012 to see our things have progressed. Let me know what you think of my goals and if you have any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate them. Hope I didn't send you into shock with my yarn stash pile (believe it or not, there is one bag of yarn missing!) and wishing you a healthy and happy New Year!

Rosie was exhausted after watching the sorting of the stash

Crafting Retreat 2011

2011-12-31T11:26:00.000-06:00

Knit Along yarn

Beginning of October was the annual crafting retreat with Mom, Charlene and Rosie. We wanted to have a longer retreat this year so started things on Wednesday. Our first stop was at Herrschner's on the way up. Didn't find much that tempted me but did find an adorable stamp for making cards.

insert picture of stamp

We arrived at our cabin around mid afternoon, while the cabin was nice, wasn't quite what we wanted as it wasn't right close to the water though you could see it (what a bunch of ingrates!). After we got our gear in the cabin we went to St. Germaine to buy our groceries. After dinner, we spent the evening working on our projects and watching a movie.

Charlene reading the paper

Thursday was really low key, for the most part. During the day we watched movies, I went to Sutter's Goldn' Fleece for a little shopping. Pictured is one of the yarns that I purchased. It is for a knit along the store is participating in run by Knit Purl Hunter. January will be the start of the third knit along and I haven't even started the project for this yarn, guess I better get cracking on these projects!!

After lunch we went for a work down to the end of our lane to explore a bit. Charlene had promised to bring back some leaves for one of her coworkers so we had fun looking for different leaves.

Mid afternoon we lost our electricity due to high winds. Apparently out in the backwoods when the wind is really gusty power outages are common. Thankfully we had a fireplace in our cabin though we never got a good blaze going that first night as the wood was damp from the drizzle that had been going on and off during the day (hmm note to self always bring in wood when you have a fireplace). Very glad we had some heat from the fireplace and plenty of layers of clothes/blankets. Mom, Rosie and I slept in the living room tending to the fire during the night and Charlene was bundled under blankets.

Great source of heat if you have dry wood!

Friday morning we still didn't have power but this was fine as this was our planned exploring day. Before heading out for breakfast, we brought in wood just in case the power didn't come back on while we were out. The hope was maybe the wood could dry up a little (or at least wouldn't be in the damp pile outside). Once this was accomplished, we started off with breakfast at a local diner that was super busy. Which was easily understood as the food was very tasty! We then went to Eagle River to pick up a distant cousin of my Dad's who had lived most of her live up in the Eagle River (believe she is in her late 80's). As Mary does't walk that well, we drove enjoying the fall colors and her showing us different places she had lived/places she thought were interesting.

After our day visiting with Mary, we went back to the cabin. Thankfully the power was back on so we had constant heat from the furnace instead of having to worry about our fire making efforts. But wouldn't you know it, now when we didn't need the fire we were suddenly a bunch of pyromaniacs (or maybe it had something to do with the wood being inside instead of the damp cold outside?)

Mom working on her plastic canvas

Saturday morning was spent working on our projects out on the deck. After lunch, we went into St. Germaine for a little shopping (not many shops) and some ice cream. The evening was spent watching movies and working on our projects. Before going to bed, Mom and I rearranged the furniture in the living room. We had done a little rearranging when the electricity went out so we could share the lantern/be closer to the fireplace. We had liked the coziness of this that we never changed it; hopefully we put things back in their correct spots.

Didn't take very long to clean up things and get the van loaded for the return trip home. All in all a very lovely retreat once again.

Rosie checking the outdoors

Completed Christmas Gift!!

2011-12-01T00:40:00.002-06:00

It's not much but it is part my brother and sister-in-law's Christmas gift. What do you think??

Fiber Event Catch Up #2: Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival

2011-11-26T11:00:00.000-06:00

Last year was my first time attending Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival and this year went in for the full effect. Things started before the actual event as I signed up for two classes (Thrum Mittens and weaving on rigid heddle loom), signed up for the Ravelry Unwind party, and planned on camping at the event. Since it had been a while since we (my Mom was my camping buddy) had camped, thought it would be a good idea to get out our camping gear and make sure we had everything/knew how to put things together. While we didn't set up the tent, we did set up my cot (a monstrous thing from Cabela's) and made sure we had all the parts for Mom's air mattress (it's this really nice high one).

Friday we started off with breakfast at McDonald's, a traveling tradition for us and since we thought we had time actually dined in instead of doing drive through. As we were leaving, we saw my Mom's sister so we sat and talked for a bit until my Uncle came back from dropping off their car for an oil change (or something). We then continued on to Jefferson, picked up or campsite post and picked out our spot. Having only camped in state parks, how Jefferson Fairgrounds did things seemed very loose. They have a general area for people to camp with the only restriction is that the areas near electric plug-ins were for those who paid extra. After a bit of debate on how to set up the tent, we got everything arranged in camp and had a quick lunch and then I was off to class. But wait I had forgotten to bring yarn for class, so I stopped at Mo's booth (owned by one of the owners of The Cat and Crow and her sheep/yarn business if called Four Crow's) and bought some handspun for class. We won't discuss how I was cutting it super close on getting to class on time or maybe it was fashionably late?

Once at class, quickly realized that I missed the part about your yarn needing to be in two balls if you wanted to do two mittens at once so I purchased a kit from Liz (class was taught by Liz Sutter of Sutter's Goldn' Fleece fame). Had a great time learning the technique and while I know they are going to be extremely warm mittens, I need to sit down and work on them and finish them soon! After class I did do a bit of shopping as I wanted to get some yarn from Sun Valley Fibers that I have been lusting after. Last year by the time I made it back around they had sold out of it and same story when they were a vendor at knitting guild. Was able to pickup two skeins of the Oriole colorway. Oriole is this wonderful black and orange yarn that is a great color combo for someone who counts Halloween as one of her favorite holidays and school colors were black and orange. The plan is to make Stephen West's Daybreak with this yarn (picked up the contrasting color called Kent from Sun Valley as well).

Mom and I planned on eating all of our meals at either the vendors on the fairgrounds or going to restaurants so we didn't have to lug around ALL the camping gear, trust me we had more than enough as we do not pack lightly! Supper was at a bar that served pizza. While the pizza was good, the bar was a bit noisy as there were young kids running around amok and doing things like spilling their soda on the pool table. Once back to the peace and quiet of our campsite we worked on our respective projects, Mom plastic canvas and me the mittens (never did touch my other projects the entire weekend).

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the activity center and then on to shopping. Did I mention that we/I tend to overpack? Well I brought along my backpack and after one vendor asked me to please take off my pack as I was bumping into things, Mom held onto my pack when I went in a booth until I found the green bag in the right hand corner of the picture. It is the perfect project bag holding the yarn necessary for a smaller project like a scarf or mitten (though with my two different skeins of yarn for the thrummed mittens plus roving it did get a little tight in there). Missing from the picture of my purchases is some Miss Bab's yarn that goes with the yarn in the center of the photo. I'm going to make a tweed jacket with the two yarns.

Things are fuzzy (it has been over two months) but I do know that we were at the Miss Bab's booth, LOVE her colors, when Erica and Branden caught up with us. They had come up from Chicago and set up camp next to us. We had a bit to eat and then I went to Mo's booth to help her family while she was teaching a class. Think Mom hung out by the food vendors waiting for our friend Walker. He had planned on arriving earlier but his house guests were slow starters so that delayed his morning. Walker and Mom spent time together while I tended booth but when things slowed down at the booth, I was able to catch up with Walker & Mom (who had been watching the auction) and Erica & Branden (who did shopping), for sundaes.

I had registered Mom and I to attend the Ravelry Unwind party long before I knew that Erica and Branden would be camping by us and since our supper was paid, we put in an appearance. I think we were one of the firsts to leave but as it was crowded and loud in there, I for one didn't feel too badly leaving. We spent the remainder of the night having an enjoyable time talking with Erica and Branden and leaning about geocaching from Branden.

Sunday was taken up with the weaving class and me taking down the tent after class. Dad had come to pick up Mom so they could attend an annual picnic that his job hosts every year. I know I know not very chatty but figured I've bored you enough with the details of the weekend so I will leave you with a pictures of my weaving.

Fiber Event Catch Up #1: Stitches Midwest

2011-10-27T20:21:00.003-05:00

Since I last wrote, there have been several fiber events that I've gone to. The first being Stitches Midwest. The easiest way for me to give non-knitters an idea about the size and hype of Stitches is in sporting terms. I would equate Stitches to either a playoff game or the world series/super bowl (leaning towards the latter).

My friend Erica and her husband, Branden, moved to Maywood (Chicago suburb) in July and she invited me to their place as their new home was only 40 minutes away from where Stitches Midwest was being held.

I drove down Friday night and was at their place around 9 pm. After a tour of their house, we had tea and knitted for a bit before going to bed. Saturday morning we had breakfast of frittata which I'd never had before but really liked! We then went to a farmers market in Oak Park which was way smaller than Madison's, made a quick stop back at the house to drop off goodies from the market and Erica to make something for her lunch and we were on our way.

After one wrong turn, we knew we were heading in the right direction when we saw this.

Once inside there were rows and rows of vendors. Erica's method for such events is to tour the entire show making notes and then going back to select booths to make purchases. I really like this method because you never know what the next booth or row will be and there is less chance of buyer's remorse. We made it almost way through but I needed a break due to low blood sugar so around 1 pm (or it could have been later), we stopped and had lunch. Continued on after lunch and I did pretty well budget-wise until I made my purchase at Miss Bab's (but I'll go into that a bit later). Here are my purchases, not including the BIG red hat I had to purchased to protect my delicate skin (part of the curse being of Anglo-Saxen descent with red hair) and the shawl kit I purchased from Just Our Yarn.

The green yarn (Miss Bab's color way Spearmint Tea) in the upper lefthand corner is going to become the A-line cardigan from Cabin Fever (pictured). Also from Miss Bab's was the green and black yarn (Franken Sock), the orange (French Marigold), and the purple/green/orange (Ghoul Friend).

After Stitches, we went back to Erica's, knit/spin/had supper (I highly recommend Trader Joe's pizza crust - its already made up just have to roll/push it into shape), maybe not in that order but after two months you can understand why the details may be a little fuzzy.

Sunday was breakfast of homemade gluten free muffins that Erica made (delicious!) and more spinning though if memory serves, Erica had fiber that she was carding. I made progress with my drop spindle. Enough so that my spindle is no longer in danger of rolling out the of the basket, it now has a place to nest in my spinning basket. My departure was delayed as I had a try at Erica's spinning wheel. 'm definitely going to work on my drafting and at some point I would like to try out more wheels so I can get a wheel of my own. But first I have to complete a few dozen projects to make room for a wheel!

Moving on

2011-08-16T12:51:00.000-05:00

Mid July saw my parents moving to a 55+ apartment (which they are loving) and my elder brother and I are renting their house with plans on purchasing the house if everyone likes the new living arrangement. The week that my parents moved out was the hottest week (hopefully of the summer) and it was not so much fun.

Earlier this week, had the realization that I may need to down size my craft belongings since my stuff will be living downstairs in the main part of the house and there are no lovely closets to stash things. Currently have my yarn stashed in two chests plus one flat tote underneath the futon all in the living room, two cupboards in the dining room and in plastic totes underneath my bed (mind you there is still enough room for Rosie to hide out underneath the bed). Still need to move down all the beading, sewing, stamping and scrapbooking supplies.

While showing my cousin, who is an art teacher, my "new" living space, I asked her if she could use certain items from my crafting supplies. She was very receptive to taking anything so there will be some purging of supplies going on over the next month or so and then I'll have her over to "shop" for things.

This move has me seriously examining the items that I purchase and bring into the house because no matter how many bookcases, cupboards, etc you install it is nothing like a closet and if you don't have that space you need to either get very creative in how you store things, reduce what you purchase, use what you have, give some things up or in my case a combination of all of these!

The one that got away

2011-08-16T12:34:00.001-05:00

Almost two months since my last post but I have written posts just never published them. Here is my July 4th post...

Last weekend thought I had made headway on the Audubon shrug for my Mom (for me if it is too big for her). It was rather nice outside so I was knitting out on the deck Sunday morning and had finished the first section of the back, and was ready to start sleeve one. All I did was put the needle down on the metal table (prior to casting on) to do something and it slide off the table, down to the deck and poof! Went directly through a crack between two boards!!

Didn't mind so much loosing the needle, what I minded was that I had neglected to note what size needle I used to obtain gauge and had no clue so guessed that it was the size 7 the pattern called for (why I would think that have no clue as I NEVER use the needle size that patterns call for, my gauge is way different).

Well guess what? Tuesday night was feeling the fabric of the back and comparing it to the sleeve. That's right, it wasn't a size 7 that fell through the crack. Ripped out the sleeve (was almost to the 2nd increase) and restarted it using an 8 and will see how that feels.

In the meantime, if you want a free Addi Turbo probable size 8 US, all you have to do is figure out how to retrieve it (without removing any boards from the deck)!!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T19:41:00.002-05:00

Today we (Dad, Mom & oldest brother) celebrated Father's Day by cleaning out the refrigerator in the office, had lunch at Outback, did a little shopping at Shopko, and then helped my brother move some boxes from his place to our garage.

After that, Rosie's swimming pool was brought out for a little "swimming" (it's a small kiddie swimming pool but I'm thinking of upgrading to a larger one). Mom and I soaked our feet and for some reason, Rosie didn't want to go into the pool but since she has no qualms about going into the duck/goose swimming pool at the Chicken Ranch (our friend's farm) or the river at the dog park, I don't think it was because of our stinky feet.

So while Rosie was lounging around on the deck, Mom and I worked on projects. Mom worked on an organizational project and I worked on the second hat for Mauricio (which would be his first now, right?). It isn't as intricate as the Herringbone Tweed (though I will take another stab at the Herringbone at a later date) so there is a pretty good chance this hat will be completed early this week. Would have stayed outside longer but it felt like it was sprinkling so we packed things up and went inside.

Sometime while I was folding the fabric I washed yesterday and vacuuming, it rained which may have put a damper on the next item on my to-do list but the porch was relatively dry, though it was extremely humid outside. So while the light was still good, I took pictures of the most recent stash acquisitions and hope to have everything posted on Ravelry and put away sometime later this week.

After supper, registered for two classes at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in September. First class is Friday afternoon and the second is an all day class on Sunday. There were more classes that I would like to sign up but want to leave Saturday free so I can go shopping with friends and hang out with Mom who will be camping with me that weekend at the festival.

That's enough of this, now back to Lord of the Rings and knitting.

Happy Father's Day to All!

And the right hand is holding?

2011-06-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

Last week I had made significant headway (snicker) on Mauricio's hat. On Thursday, there were five of seven repeats completed and the biggest concern I had was if there would be enough yarn remaining. There was a second skein of the green on hold at yarn shop in case this happened but as it turned out there was enough (for this particular hat).

Can you see where I changed hands with the green/brown?

This is the first two-stranded knitting that I have done and have learned why it is important to keep track which color is in which hand (and the importance of doing your gauge swatch in the color work AND making sure the gauge/final desired outcome coincide). I am doing color work with the double knit mittens, that are currently off in UFO-land, but they don't count in my head since they seem to be a different type of critter.

When I started the hat, must have held the brown in my right hand and the green in my left. Two weeks ago while at The Cat and Crow, I switched to green in my right and brown in my left. It is not so visible to the untrained eye (at least I hope so) from the front, but when Rebecca turned the hat inside out it became obvious that I had changed gears. Had asked her to look at my stranding as I was worried I may be knitting too tightly, which I'm not.

If you look closely at the first picture, you can tell where I switched colors which has given me a very good knitting tip to pass on to you. When doing a color piece, swatch a portion, making note which color is in which hand, and then switch. This way you can see if the appearance of the item will be altered any. When I look at the hat, the brown yarn in right-hand appears more subdued and the right-hand held green pops more.

Last Friday was my last Furlough day and I had hoped to complete the hat then. Unfortunately ran into some issues with loosing track of where I was on the charts so had a major visit to the Frog Pond not once but twice over the weekend. Had most of the hat completed Wednesday night before leaving The Cat and Crow (didn't go Tuesday as had a belated pedicure and haircut - short hair requires constant cuts). Stayed up until the wee hours (okay was done by midnight but it felt like the wee hours since I was extremely tired and wanted to go to bed) and finished the knitting. I left the yarns attached and ran a safety pin through the live stitches as I wanted to see how it fit Mauricio and THIS is how it fitted.

To quote Charlier Brown "Aarrgh!!" While I did have gauge with plain stockinette (like the pattern called for), this again shows why you should do your gauge swatch in the actual color work so you know how much it will suck up and you can compensate accordingly. Will weave in the ends, and with any luck, blocking will make it big enough to fit either an adult with an extremely small head or a child. Regardless of who receives the hat, I still need to make a hat to fit Mauricio's noggin (must remember to bring tape measure to work on Monday). After I have his head dimension, will peruse the stash and see what I can turn up for Mauricio's Hat v2.0.

FO to report!

2011-06-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

The FO (finished object) I have to report is the baby afghan I was working on. At work, we refer to the folks who work in our immediate area as our office family (let's face it, the people you work with are like family, at least you see them more than your own family. The shower was for a new office family member and on Saturday, was the shower for her and her partner. The ladies received a lot of really nice things for the baby and more importantly, to me at least, I think they both liked my afghan.

While I hate working against a deadline (did I forget to mention that the afghan was finished with a day to spare, not bad eh?!?), I have two more projects with a deadline. The first is a hat for guy at work who is leaving at the end of June (such is academia). The next project is for my cousin who has commissioned me to make an afghan for his daughter who is moving away from home. The afghan will have an intarsia center, using a picture of their dog who is similar in appearance to Zeus pictured here. Surrounding the center will be a double crochet border.

Well need to get cracking on the hat so bye for now!

Dog Sitting & Knitting

2011-05-03T13:33:00.001-05:00

House/Dog sitting for friends who are on vacation in Hawaii. I only brought one project, the Lace Sampler Blanket from 60 Quick Baby Knits. The reason for one project is that its for a baby shower at the end of the month.

Did some calculations on the number of rows in the project and I need to complete 74.25 per week, ending on Saturdays, because lets face it, you know I'll be probably be working on this up till the very start of the shower. Here is my progress so far.

Have 4 repeats done which puts me behind for Week 2 by 40.07 rows. Should be able to make significant headway on this as I have today off and working on the blanket and listening to podcasts. I'm currently 2 episodes behind on KnitCents, all caught up on Cast On and I'm now listening to the Knitmore Girls. This one will take a while to get caught up on as I'm just starting to listen to it and currently on Episode 30 out of 149.

Going to go grab my shawl (think I'm coming down with a cold), a little more to drink, and settle back in for more knitting. Here are some pictures of the dogs and kids (I don't have to take care of the outdoor critters but its fun to check them out).

Thumbless Mitten: Part 2 and Steel Hooks

2011-04-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

Back on September 22, I posted about my thumbless mittens. Well today, I don't have a thumbless mitten but it soon will be! Was walking to my car after work and I always keep my thumb wrapped around the strap of my bag. Today I felt more bag and less mitten with my thumb.

The thumb is at the top of my to do list AFTER I liberate my size 6 lace needle from the cowl that has been patiently waiting to be bound off with beads. The size 6 is one of the needle sizes recommended for lace knitting class I'm taking tomorrow night (I know, I know how long have I known about the class??). Last night went looking for a small steel crochet to get the beads onto the knitting but alas all of mine have gone on walkabout.

I'm trying to keep my money local by purchasing items from local businesses when possible and avoiding box stores. I called around to knitting shops I could make it to before they closed, but unfortunately they didn't have any small enough hooks. Called Hobby Lobby and yes they had it but as I was hanging up with them, I recalled Wisconsin Craft Market. For those not familiar with Madison area, WCM is a locally owned craft store. Not only did I find the steel hook, also found the same yarn the mitten is made out of (yarn was included in class and don't remember if there was any left and if there was, where I stashed it), blocking mats and two pattern books PLUS if you check out their website they usually have a coupon. Today's coupon was 25% everything excluding orange tagged items (which the yarn was), not bad, huh?

The first book was Perfectly Plus: featuring the knit-to-fit workbook for the full-figured woman and the other was Plus Size Fashions. While I know there is more to me, I really wish folks wouldn't single out one demographic based on their size. Do you see any books entitled Fashions for Anorexics and Waifs? How about a title of Fashions for Real Women? This would be more statistically accurate, at least in the U.S.

Day Seven: Your knitting and crochet time

2011-04-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of the daily blogging and having daily topics has been very helpful. My hat is off to those who do this on a daily basis as I found it challenging to get things in every day. If I were to do this on my own, chances are very strong that I would loose my one follower.

Knitting time is divided into three distinct times. At home, at work and at a knit shop. When I am knitting at home, it is usually for a couple of hours on the weekend and would like to do a couple of hours during the week but there is usually something else I'm trying to get done or going to.

To give you an idea of my environment, look at the pictures from last Saturday and Day 3. There is the work basket at the foot of the daybed. Next to that is my chair. The chair was purchased at Good Will and it looks like the type of chair you would have found as a visitor chair in an office about 20 years ago. Nothing glamorous and I really need to made a cushion for it but knowing me, if it was cushy like a chair you would expect to find in someones living room, I would probably fall asleep and no knitting would get done.

In front of the chair is a TV tray that has an Ott light and usually my iPad which contains patterns and current books I'm listening to while I knit. There is a TV/DVD in the room and I occasionally watch movies but if I watch a movie, my attention falters as I get into the movie and not my knitting. Listening to books or podcasts enables my mind to form the pictures of the surroundings and watch my knitting.

At work, I knit during lunch. Monday through Thursday, how much knitting I get done during lunch depends on whether or not I eat at my desk or go to the cafeteria, whether or not I brought a lunch or have to get something from the cafeteria and if I eat lunch at my desk how many times people walk up and ask questions (even though they can clearly see you are at lunch). I'm trying to get away from my desk more for lunch and if I do stay at my desk, have resolved not to answer the phone.

Friday is the big knitting day at work as I take an hour and I get together with other knitters I met at Guild (Hi Erica and Mary). Due to the longer lunch on Friday, I'm able to get in a solid 30 minutes of knitting time which makes up for the other four days.

Last there is the knit shop knitting. I'm trying to go to one shop on Tuesdays and the other on Wednesdays but sadly enough, it seems like there is always something going on that makes this difficult to do on a weekly basis. When I'm at either one, there is a fair amount of knitting that I get done, and perhaps some stash enhancement, but this will need to be curtailed if I ever want to save money and not have a room that is so well insulated with wool, that I'm roasting in the winter.

Day Six: Something to aspire to

2011-04-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

Sorry was so busy getting things done yesterday that I forgot to blog. Made a deal with myself that if I made my card for the shoebox swap had with my Mom, Aunt and cousins, posted the printer I would like to sell on Craigslist and posted the remainder of the yarn that I took photos of earlier in the week on Ravelry, I could go to Lakeside Fibers.

LF is the first yarn shop I started going to when I learned how to knit. Over the years it has changed appearance and ownership, but it is still a cool yarn shop. Yesterday they had a book signing for Sheryl Theis' new book Get Hooked on Tunisian Crochet. Tunisian crochet, also known as afghan crochet, is a cross between crochet and knitting. Previously I have made a rug and mat though the mat has a "few" ends to be woven in and is on my short to do list as a project to complete this year.

A year or so ago in a fit of organizing and downsizing, I gave to charity all of my Tunisian hooks and books so now I'm going to start all over with the supplies. Part of me is sad about this because of spending money on things I had in the past. But a bigger part of me is happy because there are now some really yummy looking hooks and the books now have things like hats, bags, sweaters, shawls, and oh yeah afghans and mats, but definitely much different than 15 years ago when I made my two projects. So this is definitely something that I will give a whirl this year.

Something else I would like to learn in the next year would be darning. I currently have four pairs of socks and two of them are awaiting darning and a third is close to needing a little TLC. There are techniques a plenty that I would like to learn but darning would be darn useful to know :)

Day Five: And now for something completely different!

2011-04-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

Day Four: Where are they now?

2011-03-31T19:22:00.000-05:00

This was the topic I seriously considered using the wild card on but will give it a try. Have no particular projects to mention but rather what my family has done with the knitted offerings they have received over the years.

Let's start with my Dad. Dad does not do sweaters, mittens, handknit socks, scarves. the only thing I can make for him that he would wear are hats. He likes the hats I wear but he says it has to be super cold as they are so much warmer than a store bought hat. Maybe the adage about handknits are made with love and keep you warmer is true (but seeing as how is bald and I try to use really soft yarns not sure if I am buying the too warm story).

Mom, Mom pretty much loves anything I knit for her. I have knitted her a hat which she loves (though it could be a tad bit longer, so much for making to the directions and not having the wearer try it on). Last fall she gave me a request for purple socks which was great but rather disappointing as I had picked up some really cool red, white and blue yarn at the WI Sheep & Wool Festival a few days before. But I made up for it, even though she doesn't know it and found a really cool purple sock yarn. She luvs the knit socks in the winter, especially this winter as her feet have been colder, so I plan on giving her at least one pair for her birthday - good thing it is not until July. She is also patiently waiting for a pair of double knit mittens that were started about 3-4 Christmas's ago and I really should get done this summer and give to her when we go on our 2011 fall crafting retreat.

Then there is my older brother Mike. Mike is a wonderful guy to have come along with you when you are shopping for things as he really likes to shop and unlike our other brother, he can actually render excellent advice about why to use one item over another and color choices. Case in point, Mike helped me pick out the yarn for my first cardigan (pink and black) which turned out very nicely for a first sweater. When I lived with baby brother, I once made the mistake to ask him if what I was wearing looked ok/matched and lets just say lesson learned. Mike has been patiently waiting for a vest and a cardigan for... well lets not talk about how long. The yarn for the cardigan, I think its the cardigan but it could be the vest, is finally in the yarn basket. I am going on the record here that I WILL HAVE the garment done for Christmas 2011 (please nudge me every once in a while to see how its coming along). Mike also loves handknit socks but they are not so fun to knit for him as he likes them really long aka knee high. Though I did buy the kilt hose book with the express thought of knitting him a pair...

Now to my baby brother, Donny. Excluding the socks I have given Donny, anything I given or his family, I have no idea what they've done with things or if it was given away. With the socks, per his wife Michelle, Donny takes meticulous care of them and makes sure to lay them out flat to dry. They have been gifted with various items i.e. scarves, sweater, shawl and there has never been a sighting on my part. Oh well I will continue to make them things as that is what I prefer to give and if they don't like it then maybe they should put in a request so I make something they do want/would like.

Day Three: Tidy Mind, tidy stitches

2011-03-30T22:25:00.000-05:00

This blog started as a method for me to be "honest" about my WIP, UFO, wishlist etc. Don't think I have achieved any of these quite yet as I know there are UFOs and WIPs that are not on the sidebar. But let me share what I do in terms of attempting to be organized.

First there is Ravelry (if you want to look me up, my user name is Knitasnoopy). On Ravelry, I am attempting to keep my yarn stash and library up-to-date. As I find patterns that I like, I add tags so they can, hopefully, be found easily. Keeping the projects up-to-date is a current weakness but I believe my notebook (will talk about this in a bit) should be able to assist me if I ever get my act together and log projects on Ravelry.

Besides Ravelry, I keep a notebook that travels with the current project I'm working on (no Rosie is not always my book stand). It is not too big and contains everything I need to know about the current project I'm working on i.e. pattern, yarn label & sample, needles used, notes about the project. In the back of it I am also keeping business cards for various yarn shops that I stop at during my travels.

Next I have my knitting area in my bedroom. In this cozy little space, I have a large work basket that was purchased last fall when we went up for the crafting weekend. In it I keep UFOs, some yarn that I would like to start knitting on soon and the extra balls of yarn for projects I'm actively working on. It is amazing how much this can hold and how much more room there is after you complete an afghan!

Didn't take a photo of the yarn stash as it can be seen in the photo from Saturday, when I reorganized the yarn stash and readjusted the books in my library as things were getting a bit tight. My Dad made the awesome bookshelf that houses the majority of my library. It was purposefully made narrow for two reasons. First we were concerned that my books would really weigh a lot and over time put too much stress on the shelves (which is why they are thick and not simple sheets of something). Second, as it was a custom job it was made to fit exactly in the space I had at the time.

All in all, don't think I do too badly in keeping things organized. I actually enjoy organizing things and think others may agree somewhat with this. Wonder if I could make this into a business?

Day Two: Skill +1UP

2011-03-29T23:16:00.001-05:00

Can't say that I have challenged myself greatly in the past year until recently. Last fall I took a moebius cowl with beads and a separate beading class that went over the different methods and when you would most likely want to use each method. So far this year I have taken a drop spindle class and sweater design class. On Tuesday, I'm taking a lace class and in a couple of weeks all of the Sally Melville classes. Up until these classes probably the last time I took an official class was the toe up sock class. Guess I'm making up for lost time?

To review some of my prior projects that were difficult.

I did an entrelac shawl and found several more entrelac projects I would like to do. Though the next entrelac project, I will try my hand at reverse knitting (as opposed to turning the work back and forth constantly).
Currently working on two different cable projects (Every Way Wrap and sweater design class project). Let me tell you knitting one day on one cable project and then the next switching to the other can confuse your mind! Almost started doing the shawl cabling on the sweater.
Two toe up socks at the same time. Enjoyed how once you finished, you were done. Only downfalls were having the two strands of yarn going at the same time and them twisting up and depending on how you worked your yarn, you either work from the center and the outside or guestimate where half of the skein would be and hope that you come up somewhat even.
Have a pair of double knit mittens on the needles and I really would like to finish for next winter to give to Mom. Then I can start my own double knit mittens and have toasty warm fingers!
The mobius cowl had a very interesting cast on (look up the Cat Bordhi moebius cast-on on Youtube) and definitely would like to do more of these. Thinking would make a great gift for friends and family.

Goals for techniques/projects I would like to do in the next year are:

Steeking
Fair Isle
Intarsia
Knit backwards
Master Norwegian purl
Tunisian crochet - did some long time ago see pumpkin mat from crafting retreat weekend

If I give a try at all of these techniques this year I will be doing very well indeed. What sort of projects would you like to try this year?

Day One: A Tale of Two Yarns

2011-03-28T21:59:00.001-05:00

Today's topic is pick two yarns that I have either used or are in my stash or which I yearn after and capture what it is I love or loathe about them.

This one is rather easy. I loath single ply yarns due to the fact that at lower weights (lower meaning anything below a super bulky) I tug, pull, whatever on the yarn too tightly and end up pulling it apart which causes excessive end weaving at the end of the project. The exception to this would have to be super bulky yarn that I knitted my green jacket with. That stuff was awesome! Lets hear it for Cascade Magnum!!

There are many yarns that I love but in the process of organizing my stash this past weekend, I realized that I have 3 skeins of Malabrigo and Prism that have very similar shading of purples with hints of green (note just a hint of green not primarily green) that I had purchased at 3 different shops/venues since November. What drew me to all of them was the colors and how incredibly soft the yarn is.

To put it succinctly, what I love about a particular yarn is the color and then how it feels. I have found that I have become a very tactile person both with fibers and with most things in life. Wonder if this is true for all people who work with fiber and various other mediums?

Until tomorrow...

Two Posts in One Day!!

2011-03-27T20:51:00.021-05:00

Just before shutting down the computer checked the other blogs I read and Renee had a post about Knitting & Crochet Blog Week. She got this from Eskimimi Knits.
I'm game for a challenge (maybe it will improve my skills). My cousin Rachel is now on year 2 of a photo a day. She has some really unique and creative photos that I use for my screen saver at work. Anyway here are the details....

Day One: Monday, 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns

Part of any fiber enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Tips: It is a good idea, if possible, to choose a yarn that you adore and a yarn that just didn’t work for you. You do not need to be critical of any yarn if you do not feel comfortable in doing so, but perhaps you came to realize that one yarn wasn’t suitable for a particular project, if possible you could blog about what you have come to learn about choosing the right yarn, or your love of experimenting with fibers.

Day Two: Tuesday, 29th March. Skill + 1UP
Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

Tips: Don’t be abashed at admitting your own skill and progress. If possible, include pictures of projects that you gained new skills from.

Day Three: Wednesday, 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches
How do you keep your yarn wrangling organized? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organization exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organized at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organized, blog about an aspect of that organization process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organized stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

Tips: Many people use their blogs partly as an organizational tool – logging and cataloging projects and newly attained skills, projects and modifications. Did you bare this in mind when you began blogging?

Day Four: Thursday, 31st March. Where are they now?
Whatever happened to your __________?
Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

There are a lot of different aspects to look at when looking back at a knitting project and it can make for interesting blogging, as much of the time we blog about items recently completed, new and freshly completed. It is not so often that we look back at what has happened to these items after they have been around for a while.

How has one of your past knits lived up to wear. Maybe an item has become lost. Maybe you spent weeks knitting your giant-footed dad a pair of socks in bright pink and green stripes which the then ‘lost’. If you have knit items to donate to a good cause, you could reflect on the was in which you hope that item is still doing good for it’s owner or the cause it was made to support.

Tips: This topic is similar to one we used for the first Knitting and Crochet blog week. This is purposeful and is intended to help the blogger to reflect on past items and refer back to previous posts and projects once in a while.

Day Five: Friday, 1st April. And now for something completely different
This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.

There are no rules of a topic to blog about (though some suggestions are given below) but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog. This can take one of many forms, but here a few suggestions:

Wordless, photographic post
Video blog post
Podcast
Cartoon/sketch of an idea
Write about a subject from a different perspective (for example, you could write about a day in the life of a knitted sock from the point of view of the sock).
Interpretive modern dance (why does someone always suggest this?
A poem or piece of rhyming verse
Stop motion animation

Tips: The actual subject matter of the post might be quite dependent on the media method(s) you choose to use and as such there is no specific ‘topic’ to blog on. You could blog about a recently completed project, a knitting experience, a trip to the LYS or anything else that takes your fancy. The point behind this post is to get people thinking about using their blogs in different ways and pushing he boundaries of what they use their blogging platform for.

PS: Yes, it is April Fool’s Day, so have fun with the post.

Day six: Saturday, 2nd April. Something to aspire to
Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

Tips: If you think you have learned all you ever want to in your craft then say so. Maybe you have been knitting for nearly 30 years and yet never learned to purl (many my think this is impossible, but I met a woman on the bus who told me exactly this once… Maybe she was following the E. Zimmerman school of thought to closely?).

Day seven: Sunday, 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time
Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

Tips: Last year we had a topic asking about the actual location of where you knit or craft, this is similar but not the same. Try and concentrate on all of the little aspects that make up your knitting time. Maybe you always head for for your Flaming Lips CD when taking on simple knitting but prefer a bit of Brahms when tackling more intricate work, or maybe you enjoy knitting with audiobooks or complete silence. Perhaps your crochet time is never complete without a cuddle from Tiddles the cat.

If you find yourself stumped by or otherwise unsuited to one of the above topics during Knitting and crochet blog week, you can choose to play the wild card.This alternative topic is provided to ensure that the blogger does not get stuck frustrated by blogging about something which is not appropriate to them.

Wildcard – Embellish the story
Embellishments come in all types and forms. Some are more than purely decorative and form a practical function – pretty buttons are as much part of holding a garment together as mere decoration, and some are just there to give a piece an extra ‘something’. Blog about an embellishment, be it a zipper, amigurumi eyes or applique patch which you are either saving to use or have in the past used to decorate a project with. Write about whether you are a very minimalist kind of knitter with classic lines and timeless plain knits or whether you love all the bells and whistles or sticking sewing and otherwise attaching decoration to your pieces.

Use these topics and brief descriptions as a springboard for your posts and take them in whatever direction you fancy. If you are a Ravelry member and fancy chatting about what others are going to do to take part, then feel free to pop along to the Blog Hub group and find out what other folks are up to, or if you have any comments or questions please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below and I will be sure to get back to you ASAP. Eskimimiknits

Updates

2011-03-27T20:19:00.000-05:00

Since I last wrote, still haven't completed my brother and sister-in-law's hats but I have made progress on the sweater design class project (will try to get photo loaded next week). Have to switch out the bag I keep it in as the current bag is getting crowded (made for smaller projects) and the sweater is my take every where project (probably the only good thing about living outside of a commuter bus area). With the two swatches I did for this project, I decided to make all my swatches bigger and when have an adequate amount will make an afghan out of them.

In February, took a drop spindle class. While I'm not ready to change my name to Spinasnoopy, think I could become addicted, but time will tell. *Note to self see if can take a spinning (wheel) class at Sheep and Wool along with weaving class*. Completed everything except weaving in the ties for hat I made for my first cousin once removed and FINALLY completed green afghan that Rosie is lying on or barely seen on bed below.

This weekend has been very productive organizationally. Reorganized my yarn and while it is not all off of the floor (which has been my goal since inception of this blog and made more difficult by my ability to purchase yarns faster than I knit), I do feel better about where things are stashed. Had an "a-ha!" moment when sitting on the floor Friday night. I had taken the yarn out from underneath the day bed and was sorting out alpaca, super wash wool and hand wash, and lamenting over the fact that all my pretty Malabrigo, Koigu, Prism, etc was in the Piggly Wiggly bags (lime green bags in photo) and others that I use more often couldn't be seen/were difficult to get to. I had just finished sorting things out and was cramming the bags back underneath the bed and looked up toward the open closet door and saw all of the acrylic and cotton yarns. After so many years, it came to me, put these yarns under the bed and move the closet yarn to the chest and spill overs underneath the bed.

Since it was rather late when this moment struck, reorganization had to wait till Saturday. Knitting/crochet books also fell victim to reorganization, with the ones less frequently used (afghan/blanket books) moved to hallway bookshelf.

And yes, I actually did get some knitting done this weekend. Have completed almost one repeat on green Every Way Wrap. Taking me to almost having 11 of 16 repeats completed. I so want to start another project but have way to many ongoing. Have resolved that in 2011, I will:

Always have one afghan in the works (so I can use up the acrylic yarn). No problem on this! Currently have two in the works, a flag and a whale intarsia along with the yo-yo afghan. The yo-yo is going to take forever since it calls for a gazillion squares.
Weave in ends of projects for 1 hour each week. This was how I managed to complete the green star afghan and have a feeling this is the only way the pumpkin mat will get done by end of September.
No purchasing e-books (which take time away from knitting and other crafts), until.... have to figure out what this part will be. Probably some sort of reward for completing X number of projects whether it be knitting, crochet, beading, sewing, etc.
Listen to books/participate in knit-alongs. There are several groups on Ravelry that have interesting concepts (one is the project will always take 220 yards or less of yarn). The 220 yard one will satisfy my wanting to start new projects, use my pretty yarns AND have gifts ready for Christmas or other occasions and the read-alongs will take care of the back log of started projects.

Enough blogging for this week. Now back to knitting for another hour or so.

Knitting tips

2010-12-26T22:45:00.003-06:00

Have been busy working on Christmas presents; was only making a pair of socks for my cousin and for my brother and his wife, who spent Christmas down here, a market bag (class I was taking from Cat and Crow) and two hats (was thinking it would be good for cold days at farmers market).

Completed one of Linda's socks when it became obvious that I could complete her socks and have nothing for Donny and M or put the sock aside and work on their presents, which is what I choose to do.

Finished the market bag Christmas Eve and then cast on first of the two hats for them. Gave them the bag, started hat (now known as Hat 1.0) and ball of yarn ear tagged for Hat 2.0. I was very confident that I could finish the hats before they headed back home. Have the impression that they were not surprised that their gift wasn't done and didn't seem all that receptive to any of their gifts.

It is now December 26th and so far I have made two hats but one only slightly wearable. Due to a nasty thing called gauge, Hat 1.0 was incredibly tight. This was ripped out Christmas day and redone on larger needles but Hat 1.2 was only slightly wearable. By slightly wearable, this means you can't have a big noggin' like my brother and I have. As the hat fit my sister-in-law's daughter, she is now the proud owner of a brown cabled alpaca hat. Hat 1.3 (formally the yarn for Hat 2.0) is cast on with a two-tone yarn that really does nothing for the cables so I'm thinking of ripping this out and redoing this in a plain ribbing. Will have to go through stash and see if I have a yarn that will compliment it to make Hat 2.0.

Once Hat 1.3 and 2.0 are done, they will be mailed up to Donny and M along with a game Mom Gave to them. Mom had purchased the game at a local store but the deck was all messed up by the manufacturer. Completing the hats and getting them mailed out soon is a matter of principle even though I'm pretty sure they could care less about receiving them.

Here are my Christmas knitting tips (most of these you have probably heard):
1. The deadline should not be a surprise (but somehow it always is). Plan early and get the projects done well in advance. Umm this one will happen for me only in some alternate reality.
2. Gauge is important. I hate to do this and I'm constantly amazed that this is such a shock when things don't work out!
3. No surprises. Ask people what they would like made, but do not be afraid to give limits (do you want to make something ultra complicated that you detest?).
4. Make sure the recipient is either knit worthy or knit worthy for what you are making. There are some knitter's who will not make gifts for people as they know recipients do not appreciate the hard work that was put into their gift.

Have a general knitting tip that for me is a major breakthrough. Always hate that I can't look at my knitting and tell which row of a repeat I'm on. My "discovery" is stitch markers!

At the begining of row 1 of repeat (for instance on a hat), do the first stitch of row 1 and place a stitch marker (for me any color except green as that is my knitting on one circular beginning of the round color); complete row. If working in the round, on row 2, do 1st stitch, remove marker, do the next stitch and place marker. There are now 2 stitches to the right of the marker. Keep moving the stitch marker in this manner at the beginning of the round. When on last repeat, do not place the marker (so its handy for row 1). Now if I put the knitting down (or if I'm having a strawberry blond moment and can't remember what row I'm on midway through the round) I can tell at a glance what row I'm on.

Haven't quite figured out what I'll do if knitting something flat but my thought is to have the marker at the beginning of the row on the right side. Can easily tell the right from wrong side, usually. If I can't, I place a stitch marker that can be clipped onto the right side. I use clip on markers to indicate how many repeats have been done. On the Every Way Wrap, there are a series of markers climbing up the right side showing my progress.

Class

2010-12-14T23:28:00.000-06:00

Tonight was part one of the Market Bag class in Mt. Horeb. I got late out from work/traffic was slow getting out of Madison. Called Rebecca, one of the store owners, and she said no problem as I was the only one signed up for class. Quick stop to Culvers for supper (love the snack packs!) and then onto The Cat and Crow. Quickly picked out yarn and while I ate supper, Rebecca started winding the yarn for me. Apparently linen yarn is cantankerous and was rather reluctant to be wound.

She was still working on winding the yarn by the time I finished (no I didn't inhale my food). We both worked on unraveling things with Rebecca helping customers from time to time. Eventually got the yarn wound and cast on but didn't get too far due to above mentioned details and the fact that was having a good time talking with another lady who came to knit and sharing some recipes.

Guess Rebecca was feeling rather bad about the yarn winding as she gave me some left over linen yarn she had in the green I wanted to buy/use for the band and strap (or could it be she dreaded winding more of the linen yarn?). She also gave me a break on the class price so that was a nice surprise!

Speaking of classes, have signed up for all five of the Sally Melville classes in April at Woodland Studios (credit card is feeling the pain of that one) and really would like to sign up (and did sign up) for classes at The Cat and Crow. First is a drop spindle class and next is a sweater design class. Found a childs sweater in the Interweave magazine that was oh so conveniently sitting on coffee table where we were knitting tonight that will be my sweater design project. More on that later. If the sign up sheet would have been ready tonight for the two color knitting classes, would have signed up for that as well. Knowing me, next week when I go back for part two of MB class, there will be one more student in this class as well.

Hmmm there was also the photography class at The Cat and Crow...

Wildflower progress

2010-12-14T06:32:00.000-06:00

Sunday I finished sock one of my cousin's Wildflower sock all the way to kitchnering the toe. Before weaving in the ends, I wanted to try it out. It was so unbelievably tight that I ripped the entire thing out. Granted my cousin probably doesn't have the cankles that I do, but I think it would have been too tight even for my Mom (who I use as a too-tight gauge for hand knit socks).

My reasons for being so confident on this is that 1) I used a smaller needle than usual (2.25 mm), 2) cast on 64 stitches and typical sock for me is 72, 3) leg of sock was longer than my typical leg (which if you have any sort of calf on your leg this would strangle your poor calf), and 4) most importantly, my cousin had tried on socks that I was knitting during our vacation and they fit her fine.

Casted on attempt #2, sunday night and completed two repeats during knitting guild meeting last night. Would have completed more but Lily wanted to see how the flower was created. Plus sometimes your listening more to the speakers than "concentrating" on your mindless knitting.

Have a knitting class tonight which is to be my sister-in-law's Christmas present which will cut down on sock knitting time. Good thing I have Friday off if the socks need to be mailed off by Saturday!

So far today...

2010-12-10T13:53:00.000-06:00

Have legal/personal holiday leave to use before the end of the year or I can give it back to the State (so not happening!). So far today, I've slept in til 9 (if one ignores having your dog wake you up at 3:30 and 6:30 to go outside as sleeping in), a load of laundry, showered, made lunch, deliberated as to whether or not use the emergency only credit card to purchase clothes online (so far I'm resisting), worked a little on my cousin's socks that need to be finished by next Saturday so she gets them by Christmas, and in a bit going to Stoughton to watch the latest Harry Potter movie.

Still have my Aunt's shawl on the needles and ridiculously close to being done with this project, have various other projects that either need ends woven in and/or doing the bind off. In particular, need to finish binding off the cowl (last class I took) since I will be taking a class next week for a French Market bag. Need to stop procrastinating and get a move on!

A Little Christmas Shopping (for me)

2010-12-04T20:47:00.000-06:00

Went to two craft shows today. The number of vendors at both were small but did manage to find a few things for inspiration to either duplicate or presents for myself.

Christmas Shopping...
At the first show, bought some stamped cards that had interesting design to them that I plan to use on cards for me to make some Christmas stocking stuffer that I will duplicate (small Hershey candy wrapped in decorative scrapbook paper, gingerbread person made out of a round circle covering a peppermint patty, snowman soup etc).

Christmas Shopping (for me)...
The second show didn't have as many vendors as past years that I've gone to it, but there was a couple who had yarn (Forest Academy Alpacas) Bought a lovely skein of black and white that was plied together and then a skein plied together in the same fashion but the colors this time are black/white/mauve. Also purchased from them was 4.2 oz of natural black cria fleece.

Have a slight dilemma now, do I keep the fleece for myself (have a drop spindle and have been thinking about learning how to use) or gift it to one of the spinners I know? What do you think I should do???

Another great idea, NOT!

2010-10-25T17:11:00.000-05:00

So remember last week where I goofed up the mindless knitting project because I was paying more attention to the cute guys working on the broken water main? Well don't think this happened at the same time but it was probably close to it.

On the shawl, there are three different hand-dyed yarns all in the same colorway. Well apparently I forgot which color was next because the last time I switched colors, I joined the wrong one. After a little debate, decided to rip it out because even though it is a gift and I won't see it, will bug me to know that it is there. So I ripped it out and when I got close to the join, this is where it went really really bad.

When I had joined the wrong color, I had ended the row prematurely as well so had to add more yarn for a very brief moment. Then in a fit of efficiency (and because I had messed up my increases/SSKs and was a stitch short which left a hole at the join), I wove in 90% of the ends starting with the big hole (the hole was closed beautifully thank you very much) and had a difficult time finding the ends.

Eventually found the ends, started unraveling more than I needed and lets just say that it is better to do things like this when you are not tired and had a bit of time to sit back and study the situation and not just unravel willy-nilly. Was going to finish the pink section (right side of picture) last night but was so danged tired and a little frustrated with myself, that I went to bed and was asleep about 10 seconds after I laid down.

Should have taken a picture last night but this afternoon when I took a picture, it actually helped me see what I need to do. Complete the pink section I'm on, pickup stitches along the orange side so it is joined and should be good to go to start with the correct color, I think (hope).

Time will tell.

Lost in translation

2010-10-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I somehow screwed up half a row on my mindless knitting project, the multidirectional shawl by switching from garter stitch to stockinette.

I was sitting outside on the porch"knitting" while watching the cute guys working on the water main that started bubbling up like a fountain in the street almost in front of my home. Just before Mom came out to see how things were progressing with the guys (she wanted to shower and they had turned off the water in our area), I realized that I had switched for just part of a row to stockinette. I was in the process of frogging it when she came out. Somehow the story looses meaning if you have to explain stockinette vs. garter stitch...

And we have bind-off!

2010-10-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

On my way to the moebius cowl class tonight, I stopped at World of Variety (local "dime" store) to see if they had the leaf bags like pumpkins for Mom. They did, and I was strolling in the next aisle over to see what other fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations they had when I spied a Christmas decoration on the opposite side of the aisle that I just had to get. I know, I know way to early for anything except Christmas gift making but when you see this I'm sure you will understand why I broke down and bought it.

Before class started, I was on row 7/8 and needed to get to 10. Easily done, okay I was binding off as the other ladies were blissfully? doing the picot bind off with beads. Was undecided as to which one of two beads to go with so decided to use both as they go great with this yarn (and the moebius is rather colorful). I did manage to finish the repeats and do about 8 picots (only 56 more to go).

When I'm done, there should be enough yarn left to make either mittens or fingerless mitts. For the mittens, I would have to add another sock weight yarn to this thus making the mittens not too matchy-matchy with the moebius. Mitts on the other hand (snicker) would match perfectly. Hmm maybe I need to decide who these will be for?

Crafting retreat results

2010-10-12T22:31:00.000-05:00

Beginning of October Mom, Charlene (family friend) and Rosie (our Cairn Terrier) went on the annual crafting retreat. The leaves were gorgeous! If you can ever make it up to the Wausau area, Rib Mountain along the interstate is beautiful and then once you get up further north, well, very difficult to describe but it is a great place to be in the fall if you just want to enjoy the fall colors.

We had excellent weather and our cabin was very lovely. It was a lot closer to civilization (last year it was a 15-20 drive to Mercer and to Eagle River it was another 40 minutes). We are thinking about doing a week long get-away. Wonder if we will need that trailer my Dad always jokes about when Mom and I go on a road trip??

My to do list has shrunk a little and finished a project that wasn't even on the list! To sum up, took a total of 17 projects and completed 10. Not bad, knew going up that there were some I wouldn't even get to but I did weave in more ends on the green star afghan. Believe I now know what to do with the Pioneer Braid Scarf but was not happy on how I was doing the short-row turns so ripped the scarf back to the beginning of braid #2. The instructions didn't tell you what to do on the knit row and most knitters are probably nodding their head and know exactly what you should do in this situation, but alas if its not written down, I'm never sure what to do (for me the answer turned out to be slip the stitch).

Here is my final report of completed projects:

DONE - Towel holder: weave in ends
Pumpkin mat: weave in ends and add border
DONE -Tan ribbed scarf: weave in ends
Towel holder: figure out pattern
Aunt B's Pioneer Braid shawl: start 2nd braid
DONE - Green doily with cream edging: weave in ends
DONE - Paw Track Socks: fix tight cuff
DONE (on 3rd braid) - Pioneer Braid Scarf: cast on and work first 3 braids (so I know what I'm doing on #5)
DDs 2nd sock: cast on
Mom's double knit pine tree mittens
DONE - Baby sweater: add button and weave in ends
DONE - Dishcloth: weave in ends
DONE - Baby sweater: add button and weave in ends
STARTED - Green star afghan: weave in ends
Linda's Wildflower sock: cast on
DONE - Caliometry: add button and weave in ends
DONE - Tip to top mittens (not originally pictured)

Make-up class

2010-10-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

Made it to Mount Horeb tonight, to learn the cast on/get started for the class I was supposed to start last Wednesday. Ended up not going the first night of class as I had an extremely bad cold and as I didn't want to be near myself but with this not being an option, elected not to inflict my germs on the class and stayed home.

Feeling much better now and was able to make headway on the project tonight. We are making the Elegant Arrows Moebius Scarf by Sivia Harding. It has a very unique cast on and so far I'm on row 7 of 26. Next week will be the second (and last) class. We will be putting on beads/binding off so I know what I'll be working on for the next few days!

Pictures to be posted later this week.

Do you think I'm bringing enough?

2010-09-30T17:03:00.002-05:00

For six years, I attended a knitting retreat sponsored by Sutter's Gold 'n Fleece up in St. Germain. It was great! Stayed at a lodge that used to be a logging camp but now has the main lodge and various cabins. We would arrive on Friday night, have two classes on Saturday, prizes Saturday night and knit, knit, knit!!

Two years ago was the last retreat that Liz held. At that time, Mom and I decided we would do our own retreat of sorts. Last year we rented a cabin outside of Mercer and while it was nice enough inside, on the outside it looked like a very bad shack. We came up on Thursday, explored on Friday (spent about an hour driving one way to get to where we wanted to explore/shop), Saturday we stayed at the cabin working on our projects and watched movies/listened to a book and came home on Sunday.

This year, we are doing pretty much the same but have rented a cabin a little closer to where we want to be and have a friend joining us. Mom plans to work on a rug hooking project she started a couple years ago, Charlene will work on a plastic canvas tissue box and I will be working on all the lovelies in the photo (which will hopefully trim down my WIPs).

For those curious (and so I have a list to make sure I bring all the patterns):

Towel holder: weave in ends
Pumpkin mat: weave in ends and add border
Tan ribbed scarf: weave in ends
Towel holder: figure out pattern
Aunt B's Pioneer Braid shawl: start 2nd braid
Green doily with cream edging: weave in ends
Paw Track Socks: fix tight cuff of
Pioneer Braid Scarf: cast on and work first 3 braids (so I know what I'm doing on #5)
DDs 2nd sock: cast on
Mom's double knit pine tree mittens
Baby sweater: add button and weave in ends
Dishcloth: weave in ends
Baby sweater: add button and weave in ends
Green star afghan: weave in ends
Linda's Wildflower sock: cast on
Caliometry: add button and weave in ends

I debated about bringing 1 or 2 big projects or just items that needed to be finished and compromised on both. It seems like a lot but with 9 of the 16 projects requiring buttons/ends woven in, they should go fast leaving me ample time to concentrate on the other 7 projects. Friday we will be stopping at Sutter's so there will be an opportunity to buy more yarn in case I run out of things to do...

What did you do this weekend?

2010-09-26T18:40:00.011-05:00

You know how you get to work on Monday after the weekend and your co-worker asks, whatcha do this weekend? My short answer would be took a knitting class, attended a birthday party and ran some errands. Well here is the long answer.

Saturday I took the Beaded Knitting Workshop at The Cat and Crow. There is definitely something to be said about reading and doing versus having live demonstration and working on methods with someone there to answer your questions. This class was excellent preparation for the Moebius Cowl class I'll be taking on Wednesday to which beads will be added to it. In the afternoon, I attended an 80th birthday party for my best friend's mother. They had done a lovely DVD of pictures of Gloria and family/friends and lots of signing as they are a very musical family.

On Sunday, my brother and I ran a few errands. First we went to Stoughton to drop off the large ball winder for one of the Wednesday night crew. From there, we went on to Penzey's Spices and Vom Foss-very cool places if you have need of spices/oil/vinegar and like to cook. Then on to Mounds (have to stop at a pet store when my dog is along), Michael's, World Market (take my advice DO NOT buy the peach salsa, blech!), and then Shopko.

Once back at home, I took pictures of the items I'm going to take up north for crafting weekend coming up and recent yarn purchases (have to keep my Ravelry stash up to date) and worked on some blogs and then finally some knitting!!

The size 6 needles are in the process of being liberated from the mittens (they are needed for Wednesday's class). I'm casting off the mittens using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off so far it seems stetchy enough but will have to decide if in future I will need to go down a needle size like others have mentioned.

...and that is what I did this weekend. Wishing you a lovely week!

Thumbless Mittens!

2010-09-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

Today was a great knitting day specifically and family/crafting in general. Worked till noon and my Mom and Aunt picked me up and we went out for lunch, went to a couple of scrapbooking stores, stopped at Pegasus Games to pick up the Bananagrams game that was ordered during their anniversary weekend and had Coldstone for dessert.

The Mittens from the class at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool are progressing along somewhat okay. I like the pattern, and the coloring of the yarn but the yarn itself I am not digging. It is a single ply and when I tug the first few stitches when I turn, the yarn has a tendency to break. So far there have been 3-4 breaks with the yarn. That black spot is where the thumb goes by pulling out the black yarn and do an afterthought thumb. Though in class we, the students, was calling it a forethought as there was a significant amount of thought put into the placements of the thumbs.

The mittens have become project number one as they need to be finished before Wednesday as I'm taking a class that night making a beaded Moebius Cowl which require the exact same size needle AND cable length. Who would have known size 6 was so popular!

Bad Car Karma

2010-09-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

Hmm how to begin? The past week has been an interesting one with concerns to my car and driving in general. Things started off on Monday having an irate mother yelling at me and ending with the total death of my car (at the time of this writing). Let me explain.

On Monday, I was driving to work taking my usual route, that I've been taking for at least the past couple of years. With this route, as I meander through residential streets, there is a stretch of road I see this one police officer continually having people pulled over either speeding or some other infraction (rolling through the stop signs is popular) and domain of two crossing guards.

This particular day, there was no police officer handing out tickets, safely passed the first guard and made my way to the next intersection/crossing gaurd. At this interesection, my light is green, the crossing guard has collected up her cones and is awaiting for her light to change to white so she can cross (the street I am going straight across on) and, I'm guessing, take the cones in to the school (remember I have the green light?).

Okey so far so good, what's the problem? The problem is the two siblings, big brother taking younger sibling while mom watches from the minivan, who proceed to cross the street when there is a NO walking for pedestrians. I slow down and give a honk and continue slowly across, a quick glance at the crossing guard shows her standing there hanging on to her cones not doing anything. They make it across the street unscathed and as I pass mom, she is yelling at me.

Backing up to find out what is being yelled at me, I proceed to have my a*@ chewed out. An attempt to point out that I had a green light where I am promptly interrupted about "I should have more respect of children going to school". Realizing this is one irrational and angry mother bear defending her cubs, I leave. Obviously she is correct, I do need to have more respect of children who obviously need further education as they think they are exempt from rules put in place for everyone's safety.

Here are the thoughts that crossed my head:

I bet she is the type of parent who will take their kids and cross in the middle of a busy street, say University Avenue, you choose a busy street in your city, wherever she chooses, and be rightly (?) upset when people nearly run them over and call for the area to be picketed, reminding people that pedestrians have rights - um who was J-walking, what lessons are you teaching your children?
As the crossing guard was packing up her cones and no other children or parents taking their children were around, I'm assuming momma bear was running late and had to get big brother to his school or appointment after dropping off junior and she is feeling stressed. While I can understand and sympathize, there is a quote comes to mind that I've heard from one of the physicians I work for it goes something like "An emergency on your part, does not qualify..."
I'm a terribile person and should have never even thought to cross the street let alone honking.

In my defense for #3:

I am a childfree (adj. pertaining to adults who do not have or live with children) spinster (n. DERGATORY an unmarried woman, typically an older woman beyond the usual age for marriage, adj - and my preferred definition as a knitter - a woman who spins).

Probably in a karmic twist of fate while driving to work, using a different route which now permits me to be disrespectful to college age students crossing streets against the light, my battery light came on. Didn't think much of this other than that I should probably call my Dad and let him know that I may call him later with a dead car complaint but forgot to do this as had two meetings first thing in the morning and was busy all day.

Friday afternoon, as I was getting ready to leave, I remembered the battery light coming on and called home and spoke with Mom.

Mom will pass on situation report to Dad and she is on standby, check.
Get to car, check
Car starts with no battery light, check
Plug in iPhone to listen to podcast (Hi Brenda love your podcast), check
Proceed home, check
Receive call from Dad, which causes podcast to stop playing (normal), answer call and put Dad on speaker phone (typical for me), check
Dad acknowledges situation and informs me he is on standby as well and call is terminated, check
Podcast should come back on but doesn't, uhh no check

This is were things go screwy. To wind up this long post, radio would not come back on, battery light is back on along with the ABS light being on. Nothing else happens until I go bumping across McCoy road bridge (ahh road construction may you come to this part of Hwy 14) and my gas gauge goes from F to E WHAT?!?

So rattled about losing my tank of gas in a blink of an eye didn't realize until half a minute later that I had nothing on the dash that required electricity (speedometer needle pointing at 0, the heat light at C or whatever it points at). I make it home pull into the garage (shouldn't have done this) turn car off a (shouldn't have done this-beginning to feel like Dobby) and consult with parents.

We go out to take car to car shop. Attempts was made to start the car, but it gave that click-click-click sound when you have a dead battery/bad alternator. Will try to start car today by charging battery so we can get it up to the car shop otherwise it will need to be towed.

Sigh

WSWF (or Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival)

2010-09-12T21:03:00.000-05:00

Some of the Wed Night Gang

This past weekend I went to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI, for the first time. Actually first time for me to go to anything along this scale, boggles the mind what Stitches would be like!

Friday I went with a friend and we had an enjoyable time. Watched a little of the instinct testing for young herding dogs, looked at the silent auction items and rug hooking display by Cream City Rug Hookers (of whom I had always heard about but could never find a website for them or figure out when their meetings/hook-in are so was really exciting for me that I was able to sign up for their mailing list) and then on to Shopping.

All I have to say about the shopping is, WOW! I am forever grateful that on Friday we went through first and then went around again to make purchases saved me hundreds I'm sure because at that point I was so tired that I just wanted to purchase the things that had caught my eye and put my feet up (note to self wear sneakers who cares who sees your handknit socks?!?).

Me modeling a lovely Alpaca ~~necklace~~ yarn

Both on Friday and today I bumped into some of the ladies from Wednesday night, bought some cool yarn, saw people I had met over the years at knitting retreat I went to in St. Germain area (Hi Liz!) and signed up for a class today.

Sunday it was a bit more tame, met up with a friend who grew up on a farm and has a hobby farm now. We watched some of the dog trials, looked at the sheep and lambs and bummed around till I had to leave for my class.

The class today was learning to do 2 mittens at the same time using Magic Loop method and as a bonus got my Kitchner groove back, a skill I regretfully lost somewhere.

Definitely plan on signing up for more classes next year (weaving, rug hooking and knitting) and now debating whether or not to drive back and forth daily or camp the weekend at the fairgrounds like some do. Oh well, this is something to ponder later.

Raspberry lemonade anyone?

2010-09-11T14:12:00.002-05:00

Now that I've purchased a 32" needle, things are progressing on my Aunt's shawl at a faster rate. Did you know it's rather difficult to knit if you are constantly shoving stitches around because they are so tight together? But I'm not happy with the appearance, afraid it may be confused for an anorexic afghan. So after some searching on Ravelry, for my yardage/yarn weight have decided to try a triangular shaped shawl. So far if I were to name what this shawl reminds me of, it would have to be raspberry lemonade.

Wednesday night I almost finished the third ball of yarn on the Every Way Wrap but was distracted by putting together my "reading" list for while knitting. Have a strong preference for listening to books on tape otherwise I would only read and no knitting would get done. At a friend's suggestion, I will be using the BBCs Big Read list. So far I've only read 7 - that I'm confident about. Don't want to rely on my memory of what was read during high school, as I was no scholar in high school and it was a few decades ago...

Not so mobius

2010-09-06T21:14:00.007-05:00

Accomplished quite a bit today. Figured out how to organize the pdf files on my iPad (using it to store patterns that I'm actively working on/to be on needles soon, no more paper copies to lose!), wound yarn for upcoming projects, and several loads of laundry (knitting isn't everything).

Casting on scarf/wrap for my Aunt who will be having radiation treatment later this month for newly discovered breast cancer. Had already planned on making her this wrap and her treatment date gave me a deadline. Should be very achievable as this is done in garter stitch.

Back in August Mom, Aunt, Cousin and Cousin's son went on a road trip to visit relatives in Iowa. Traveling back we stopped at Crazy Girl Yarn Shop in Corralville. My Aunt liked the Mobius Wrap, but didn't necessarily want a mobius, she just wanted a scarf for around her neck. Shop model was done in Rayon Metallic but I feared it wasn't that practical (rayon/cotton blend + handwash) for WI winters on a farm? Doesn't sound like a winning combination.

Yarn I'm using, Winnifred's Washable, will be perfect as it is a merino/acrylic blend that is machine wash/dry, in pinks/yellow (Aunt B is a pink fan) and plus it is was in my stash, score!

On Ravelry, I signed up for the Frankensock and Wildflower sock knitalongs. Details will be in later posts as I'm trying to cast on for the Not so Mobius and it isn't happening with all the things I'm doing at once. Too much multitasking.

Back in business... Again

2010-09-05T21:18:00.002-05:00

Okey so it has been a while since my last blog but I'm posting now so it has to count for something right? right?

Mom modeling "Carol's Clever Shawl"

Today I spent the day checking out various things on Ravelry and other sites. As a result, I'm now signed up for two knitalongs, joined a couple of groups that center around reading of books (not a strong point for me but if they are audio books should do better, I hope), posted pictures (here's one of them) and generally got organized (seems to be a theme for me).

In Knitting News:
I frogged the Every Way Wrap back down to the ribbing in August as I was writing notes for the wrap in notebooks (yes plural) and of course couldn't remember which one had the most recent notes.

To further complicate things with the wrap, was also using a row counter that either hung around my neck (purchased a second one as lost the first one) or an app on my iPhone and again after putting the wrap aside for a while lost track of which one (notebook, row counter or iPhone) I should be going by. Have stopped writing in notebooks/using the phone and instead have a cute row counter that clips right to the project (note to self should pick up a few more well worth the investment when one considers the time lost trying to figure out your d*** notes).

Also using stitch markers at the start of every repeat with a bigger stitch marker clipped right to the wrap holding the remaining markers to count down the repeats. Currently on repeat #9 of 16 so may have this done by end of month in time for yearly knitting retreat up north where I first saw the pattern and fell in love with it.

Now moving on to organizing my loose leaf patterns that I have purchased/found on the internet that are begging to be put in their appropriate binder. What a wild and crazy life I lead!

Wrap & Mittens

2009-11-15T19:53:00.010-06:00

Sitting down for the first time this weekend to do some knitting not counting Friday even though I was off and spent half of it knitting :)

Big thing slowing me down was I had some cards to make up for Sunday. I peddle Stampin' Up! stamps, not very actively. My Cousins, Aunt & Mom come up to my workroom once a month to make cards (I think up 5 card designs, usually cased, get things ready for them ie cut the layers out and they make 2 of each card for a total of $10 and take them home).

The other two reasons why are 1) I'm hooked on Cafe World on FB; something so addictive seeing those weird little animated people going about doing "their thing" and 2) more importantly, couldn't remember where I put my row counter to my wrap Friday night. Eventually remembered today that I must have put it in my purse when walking into the restaurant Friday night cause didn't think it worked with my outfit. So glad I found it, had visions of frogging back to last cable row (note to self need to learn how to read cables) just so I could figure out where I was.

Currently have four repeats completed on the wrap and loving how reversible it is. Not 100% certain if I like the ratio of moss stitch/cables I did. Right now, if I were to do this project again, I would add 1-2 more cables and less number of moss stitches. Will have to see if I change my mind when more is done. Here is what I have so far.

Last week MKG had its monthly meeting and the specific charity item being collected was kids mittens and I made two pairs. Okay, okay so one pair is an adult large and the other is a child's small, surely there are very large kids out on the playground and big kids need mittens too! While not too keen on how the kitchner stitch turned out on the larger, I do like the shaping on this pattern, Ann Norling's Basic Mitten, better than the other one. What I like is the decreasing at the top. Submitted for your input are the two mittens side-by-side.
Plans for this week include, getting buttons on my caliometry so I can cover up my ears for the long walk from the parking lot to the hospital, start the Simple Yet Effective shawl (Christmas present) and keep plugging away on my wrap (want to have eight repeats done by end of month).

Now off to actually get some knitting done!

November Goals

2009-10-29T21:06:00.003-05:00

Last night at my usual Wednesday night knit spot, I finished 2nd repeat on my Every Way Wrap and was starting another repeat when I realized I f****d the cable 6 rows back - sigh. Tried fixing just that area but it looked even worse than if I had left things along (must remember front vs back when cabling). Have it ripped back and I'm back on track.

Tonight I'm trying to watch Torchwood and work on the wrap but thinking that this show is a little too intense for me (I'm more of a comedy/romance-type). In a diversionary tactic, went on to Ravelry and read some posts and actually posted something:

In November I will:

finish Calorimetry for myself
finish 2nd scarf for my niece (her Christmas gifts all done then!)
continue logging yarn stash
inventory knitting needles
finish preemie hat
complete half of my Every Way Wrap
start & finish shawl for friend (Christmas gift)

As I hardly ever post anywhere (facebook, ravelry, etc) need to work on this. I should probably add to the November list here:

*post one item on Ravelry every week

So much for New Year's resolutions

2009-10-27T23:39:00.001-05:00

Well, well, well has been 10 months since my last post and lets see how I'm doing on my New Year's goal

have even more yarn
rughooking basket still out in open
chest still contains yarn
have even more bags on floor
obviously have not updated blog on a weekly basis
still haven't completed a single preemie hats from cotton scraps
still haven't completed a dishcloth
made a few yoyo's but still have many many more to do
made 2 stocking caps and donated to local knitting guild-small progress!

Obviously need to work on goals, the year is not done yet. I work better when things are organized (good excuse) and I did work on updating my Ravelry stash in September, but stopped when ran used Flickr photo allowance. Plan on doing more posting this Saturday and Sunday, thus dipping into October and Novembers photo allowance.

2009-01-19T10:52:00.000-06:00

My stash is starting to take over my knitroom, I mean bedroom, and need to get things under control. My goals for 2009 are (with reward of accomplishing goal following):

* zero yarn stored out in the open - allow work basket and knitting bag (uncluttered look to room)
* zero yarn under day bed which is rather high - will have spot to put rughooking basket
* blankets/linens not yarn in chest my Dad built - more hiding room for Rosie (family dog) to hid under the bed
* zero projects/yarn on right hand side of closet shelves - no more bags on floor
*update blog on a weekly basis - keeps me honest and work hard on items so have progress to report

Making specific items either for gifts or charity to address specific stash issues (excess of cotton and acrylic singles). They are:

* Preemie hats from cotton scraps
* Dishclothes (thus creating more cotton scraps)
* Yoyo's to make Vanna White's Granny's Daughter afghan - needs around 900+ squares
* Stocking caps, scarves, mittens, baby/childrens sweaters to donate to local knitting guild

Still getting organized

2009-01-04T19:10:00.000-06:00

Has been a while since I posted (so much for this blog help me keep on task). Will have to see if can do better in the new year.

To summarize my gift making for Christmas 2008:

Mom - socks? Nope received a CD
Dad - ? hat in Wisconsin colors
Mike - socks or vest. Nope felted mittens started a while back and promise of starting his vest
Donny - Hat and scarf that I will make at knitting retreat. Nope knit too small a gauge gave a grilling cookbook and some Star Wars stamps I had bought for him a while back
M - shawl (birthday) + socks. Gave shawl for Christmas gift and 1 sock for birthday (currently have 2nd sock on needles)
Esa - ? Leg warmers (1.5 pairs)
Jeanette - ? Red scarf
Lori - ? Blue cotton Clapotis
Walker - ? No idea what to give so far
Jason - Transformers dishcloth (will make more but a start). Didn't get started but have plans.

Well today I spent most of the day photographing and entering things into my Ravelery library, stash, projects and so far no work has been done on Lori's Clapotis (see picture) which needs to be done by Saturday. I'm half-way done so not too worried but will see how I'm feeling by Friday.

Somewhere in the process of getting organized, I lost a ball of yarn that is for a pair of double-knit mittens going to make for Mom, hope they will pop up somewhere.

Found out from Mike that the mittens I felted for him are warm but the wind goes through them. He did say that they are better than the first mittens I made for him as he could be in a protected bus stop and fingers would still get cold. Hmm as this was my first attempt at felding wonder if I didn't felt them long enough or is this typical of felted goods?

Better get cracking on Lori's Clapotis and finish watching some DVD's that are due back to the library tomorrow (currently watching season one of the Brady Bunch and have the Mistress of Spices and Jane Austen's Life to watch).

Another Wednesday Knit Night

2008-10-15T21:28:00.000-05:00

Most Wednesday nights I go to Woodland Studio in Stoughton, WI to knit with a group of ladies. I'm not much of a talker there but have a great time listening to the other ladies talk about various things from books, politics, to restaurants.

While there I worked on my afghan square. We are making squares that will be assembled into an afghan and then raffled off for the Historic Downtown Stoughton fundraiser. Can't find the book right now but believe it is an Interweave Press book.

One of the ladies, Laurel, showed me her project book (not what she called it but can't think right now). Anyway it holds the patterns in her queue (what a dorky looking word!) and its way cool - will have to see if I can find one as it protects the patterns better than my clipboard method.

Getting Started

2008-10-04T20:29:00.000-05:00

Howdy!

In an effort to keep me on track with my knitting, I'm starting a list for Christmas 2008. Will add things as I go along and keep ya'll (don't know who I'm talking to but you are known as ya'll now) as to status of projects. My goal is to have over 50% completed by Christmas. And as I can't call in sick now until December 25 (thought for sure the one physician I work for who knits as well would understand and sign off on a note), better get cracking (or knitting)

Mom - socks?
Dad - ?
Mike - socks or vest
Donny - Hat and scarf that I will make at knitting retreat
M - shawl (birthday) + socks
Esa - ?
Jeanette - ?
Lori - ?
Walker - ?
Jason - Transformers dishcloth (will make more but a start)