Princess Papaya Knits

Ta Da!

2005-01-07T11:11:00.000-05:00

So I have been tinkering around with this for a while now and seeing Lauren's big move the other day really whipped me into shape. I have finally gotten around to revealing my secret plans to you.. FruityChick--my new blog. There are still many, many, many things to be tinkered with there, so bear with me... For those of you who are thinking of doing this, I registered mine and got hosting through media temple--movable type can come preinstalled for those of us with lackluster computer skills... This blog will be around for however long blogger keeps it...but please update your links!! I dont want to lose anyone!

Happy Near Year, 1999

2005-01-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

2005—are you kidding? Wasn’t is just 1998? When I was young, I would overhear my parents saying things like “this summer just flew by” or “It will be Christmas before you know it” I thought they might seriously have some type of time distortion disorder but now I realize just how wrong I was. Summers are approximately 4 days long and weekends are about 30 minutes. I think I might just ignore the fact that its 2005 and pretend its actually 1999 again. I should start preparing for Y2K--its going to end the world, you know. I also remember when I was in middle school and we would have to write those little back to school type essays. Sometimes they were the ever so creative “what did you do on your summer vacation” type deals but other times they were more thought provoking—like “Imagine what your life will be like in the year 2005.” I thought I would, of course, be President or an astronaut and surely, I would be driving a flying car. Things haven’t turned out exactly the way I planned but I’m ok with that. I like my non-flying car just fine and I have changed my mind on the whole President thing. In the words of (someone on SNL impersonating) George Bush—that job is hard, and I don’t really want it. This year will be better than the last—I am sure of it. I have a lot planned and my life will definitely be different than it was at the end of 2004. I am starting my “big kid” job here in a few weeks, I am going to get a lot of knitting done (which always makes things better), I am going to turn 25, I’m going to move the ole blog to a spankin new domain and do some improvements to the stash (hello, Maryland sheep and wool festival!) Knitting—what? Oh, right, this is a knitting blog…back to knitting when I have pictures. Which means, back to knitting when my mother in law leaves and I can take artful pictures of my knitting without her thinking I have some type of mental issue (she doesn’t know of the blog and that’s just how I want it to stay). There honestly though, isn’t much to show—I’ve just been working on the projects I’ve started. Gramma’s socks are nearly done, my ribby cardi is growing (I’m nearly done with the first half of the front—so only the other half and a sleeve to go!), and my wavy scarf is looking a lot more scarf like instead of potholderlike. I’m gearing up to start the very tall socks for one of the 400 knitalongs I’ve joined. I need to get gramma’s socks of the needles so I’m free to start. Maybe I can finish them up tonight.

Monsters and Stitch Markers and Mittens, oh my.

2004-12-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Ok, I think I am finally going to do it. I am going to admit my semi-failure. I will not complete the second Latvian mitten. Its been hounding me for weeks—sitting there in its little baggie waiting for a mate and I have passed it by in favor of new, shiny projects that do not require me concentrating until my eyes can no longer focus on non-yarny objects. I didn’t even tell you guys that I moved it back into the yarn stash area—it hasn’t been in my pile of current projects for some time now, but its true—the unused yarn is ready to be made into something new—some socks maybe. I have cast it aside…my first non-finished object. I feel free now, free from the bonds of the mitten. I no longer have to dread the hours and hours of concentration—working a small pattern with overly small needles thinking—knit tight! Knit tight girl or the second mitten will never match the impossibly tight first. You’ll walk around forever with one mitten snugly fitting over your hand and the other flopping around, barely holding on for life. I don’t even know how I knit the first so tight…it just happened. I see no way out of it. I cannot modify the pattern or they will not match, I cannot knit the second, so all is lost….I will have to start new, improved Latvian mittens and I am ok with this. My in laws are in town this week, so I haven’t been in full knitting or blogging mode. I can only describe our relationship as a work in progress. Things will be interesting for a few days but, after that, I’ll be back full force. Pictures and everything. I started a blog for the monster along. I know you want a pair of these slippers—they are so overly cute (should I have said scary?). So go join—it will be tons o fun. In other news, I bet your stitch markers aren’t as well traveled as mine. I was in the bathroom at work this morning and felt something in my shoe. I discovered a little stow-away—a red stitch marker. I have no earthly idea how it wound up here but it is living on my keyboard now. I’ve named it Bob. Bob says hi! I must have some type of disorder when it comes to naming things—I can get really attached to strange objects (pennies, small rubber ducks, etc); I name them and carry them around with me. Weird, no? I even named my car—Kermie, the green Saturn vue; my computer—ludmilla the laptop; and my imaginary—no, future—baby elephant, Stanley. But maybe I’m just crazy.

More Yarn...

2004-12-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

So, I probably didn't need more yarn but thats certainly no reason to not get more. Maybe I will be injured in a great yarn avalanche but, until then, I will always want more yarn. But more on the new yarn later... First, some projects, both new and old: Gramma's Sock My Gramma (mom's mom) has had a tough year--she fell and broke her hip just a couple of weeks before she was supposed to come down to visit and be at my sister's wedding. She couldn't attend and I know that must have been hard on her. Socks may not cure all but I am hoping it will help: These are the Whitby socks from knitting on the road. The picture isn't quite true to color--they are a little brighter and bluer than this. I hope she likes them--and I hope they fit. I'm going to start the second one soon so I can get them in the mail. My Purple Socks I finally finished up my purple socks. They were kind of boring to work on--just plain stockinette. They were quick and easy but I think they may be my last super plain sock for a while. Ribby Cardi I am chugging along on the cardi--I am just a few inches away from finishing the back. Hopefully, that will happen today and then I can decide how I want to do the lengthening (if at all). I am considering picking up stitches along the bottom and working down with the dark accent color to add a band around the bottom. I guess I'll finish it up and see how the length is first. Lace I bought several skeins of laceweight yarn on ebay when I first started knitting. It was before I understood gauge, so I didn't realize that 800 yards of yarn for 50 grams would be super thin. It sure is pretty though (mm..cashmere) and I've been wanted to make something out of it since I got it but haven't had the courage. I finally ordered a few books and some size 0 addi's and got to work last night--I swatched this: Its the center of the azalea pattern from the first book of modern lace knitting. Its actually a luncheon set in the book but I am going to make it much larger and have it as a shawl. It may look big in the picture, but I spent about an hourish on this little 2 inch circle. Stash So, I haven't posted all of my stash enhancements recently--but I got these two shipments this past week: My order from Elann: How can you not love the peruvian wool? Its fantastic--I ordered enough to make a sweater out of each of these colors and I ordered enough Jo Sharp Rare Comfort Mohair in deep purple to make a sweater as well. My order from Webs: Webs was having a mega sale this past week--I got a couple of cones of yarn (5 bucks a pound--how can you beat that?). The colors are about a DK weight and the white is a baby slub yarn that I am thinking about maybe doing a little dyeing experiment with a bit of. Its a wool cotton blend--so the wool should dye and the cotton stay whitish, right? I guess we'll see. After seeing Lauren's fantastic kool aid dyed yarn a few weeks back, I am excited to try again. (My camera's batteries died so I took this set of photos with my digital camcorder's still feature. yay for closeups!)

The Jewel Scarf and Other Mysteries

2004-12-21T09:38:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the comments, everyone. I had lots of fun knitting yesterday as I was home sick. I did cheat on all my new WIPS though and started something else--a sock for my gramma. I finished the first up last night and I am definately loving the pattern--its Whitby from Nancy's Bushs travelling knitter book. I'll post pictures soon :) I am probably going to break down and make another pair for myself but I will need to make a few minor modifications to the pattern so they fit over my freakishly shaped feet. I blame my parents for my oddly sized feet...its all their fault I have wacky genes--how can it be that my foot is the men's medium size around and the 8 year old size long? what is going on there?? I can wear kids sneakers but pretty pointy women's shoes? never.... anyway... The Jewel Scarf I'm glad everyone likes my jewel scarf. I tracked down the yarn I used--its Gedifra Byzanz and you can find it here: Click me for Yarn Fun or you can get it at AC Moore, which is where I got mine. I used two balls but I am considering going back for a third so I can add a little fringe. I think I cast on 8 stitches and used size 19's (vampire stakes, as I like to call them). My scarf still curls a little but I actually like it this way now--it makes a nice little roll around my neck--mmm...warmness. I can totally see the joy in the super quick scarf--I used "Sheela" to make my sister's scarf--this stuff just knits up so quickly. A word of warning about the sheela yarn though--once its cut, it isn't to hardy, so be gentle. Argyle Mittens The argyle pattern was in "1001 great knitting motifs" I'm knitting my mitten with Paton's Kroy Socks on size 2's. I am vaguely following the mitten pattern from knitter's handy book of pattern's. Other We didn't get enough snow for a snow day home from work but I am still hopeful I'll have at least one of those this year. I am back at work today with a major case of the blahs. I am excited to get home and finish up the second sock for gramma and get that off in the mail. If you don't visit here again before then, I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend. Don't drink and drive or my husband and I will come and kick you in the shins.

New, Improved--with more new WIPS than ever before!

2004-12-19T13:50:00.000-05:00

I think I have more things going right now that ever before. I have started everything for my knitalongs and even decided to host my own (i'll post the button for the monsteralong later today--it will be starting, oh, say, January 20th?) Ribbi Cardi I started my ribbi cardi: I finished the sleeve last night and my husband commented that it looked a little odd. I realized I hadn't bound of enough at the beginning of the sleeve cap shaping and had to frog the entire cap. I nearly cut it up into little tiny yarnfetti. I got a hold of myself though and finally finished it up this morning. I decided to do the sleeves first because I wasn't to sure whether I wanted to do a paneled front or a completely ribbed version. I am still not one hundred percent but I am learning toward all ribbed. I love my colors by the way--mm...green :) So far (other than the sleeve cap thing), this has been a great knit--the ribbing is pretty mindless once you get going and it does seem to go pretty quickly. Mariah Ok, I know this one isn't supposed to start until February but I just had to get a little bit going--this is all I have done, I promise :) I have so much else going on that I doubt I will get any more of it done before the actual start date, so I won't be too far ahead. Wavy I've gotten about one and a half repeats done on Wavy. At first, I wasn't sure how I liked the fuzziness of the yarn with the pattern but now I've grown to love my fuzzy wavy. Argyle Mittens mmm...argyle. I just couldn't resist this. I've always wanted something argyle and I came across the pattern in the new 1001 patterns book. I started this last weekend and although its slow going, its fun :) I'm kind of winging the thumb gusset--I checked out the closest pattern in the knitters handy book of patterns and am kind of vaguely following that--and hopefully it will all come out. Jewel Scarf After the amazing 1 hour scarf I made for my sister while she was here, I just couldn't resist pulling out those size 19's and working one up for myself I love how it turned out--I'm blocking it because it was rolling a bit (darn stockinette...). I think I'll be able to block most of that out though since it was pretty slight. I love jewel tones and this yarn had just a little bit of metallicness to it. Its pretty darn rad. (I heard that word the other day for the first time in years and years and remembered how much I used to love it...) Other news Email me if you would like to join in the monster along (or just leave a comment and I'll add you). I'll be making a pair in grey with black fur (one eye on each only) for Nick so he doesn't have to wear mine around. I'll put the button up later today--its yours to take but please host it yourself! Send me snow thoughts! I've heard there is a chance of snow tonight and I would love love love to have a snow day home from work tomorrow!

Knit Along?

2004-12-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sure, I can do that. Three? well...I guess we'll see, won't we. Yesterday, while bored out of my mind at work (my boss in under the impression I work slower than a snail and therefore gives me only a little at a time to do), I signed up for a knit along. and then another and then another. Not to mention I started some argyle mittens over the weekend, I have done very little work on my backyard leaves scarf and I still have that latvian mitten starting at me waiting for a partner. (although, honestly, I am thinking about totally redoing the latvian mitten--now that I have done some more colorwork, I can see that my gauge is tiny tiny tiny on those mittens and I don't know if I could duplicate it.) So, I have joined up on the Ribbi Cardi along. I already have my yarn (celery and oregano), I just need to order the pattern and start work tonight. This should be a fun knit--something vaguely mindless to do while the hubby chats with me in the evening. I also joined the wavy along. How can you not love this scarf? I'm going to do mine in brown sheep handpaint originals in cream puff. fuzzy, wavy, yummy. Its hosted in German (oohh..scary!) I used babble fish to translate a little blurb I saw that had my name in it--I got this back: "Megan has still no picture (begun) wavy on blog, but please looks at you once their knitted shoes! Those are class, or? There times someone should make a KAL, I would like to see the gallery!" I think I get the gist of the exceptionally bad translation :) A monster slipper KAL would be a great idea--maybe I should post to the knitty forum? I'd love to make another pair :) Everyone seems to love my slippers (I even got a comment from a non-knitting person of the male persuasion with a nifty blog) and there would be a really fun gallery afterwords :) Also, the mariah along--thank goodness this one doesn't start (officially) until february. (although, truth be told, I did start it last night--but I only did an inch or so, I swear!) I did already make one tiny modification to it though--I wanted to make it a bit of an easier knit, so I made all the cables around the bottom twist in the same way, so I didn't have to keep track of which one I was on. I plan on doing the rest of the sweater as the pattern states though. Did I say argyle mittens? yes, argyle mittens. They are so freaking cute--two shades of pink and white. I am totally happy with them. :) I am planning some serious knitting time this weekend, so there will be pictures of everything soon! In other news: I had such a fantastic time with Lauren and Meg this past weekend. They both came over to my place with their husbands and (while the boys played nicely together) we knit and chatted. It was great and everyone loved my food (you have no idea how much I was stressing about whether or not everyone would like it...). I am so excited about doing it again, girls :) Maryland Sheep and Wool buzz is beginning and I couldn't be happier. I am already dreaming of the yarn overdose I will likely experience. (is that even possible? too much yarn??) I can't wait to see so many of the bloggers out there that are planning on coming down for it! (yes, I will be making cookies for everyone!) A big thanks to my secret pal. I got her last package a few days ago--A lovely card and a gift card to michaels (my michaels has fantastic knitting books, so I'm planning on doing a little perusing this weekend...). She was fantastic and made the last few months a little easier. Thanks, secret pal.

Fun Things To Do At Work--Episode 1

2004-12-14T11:55:00.000-05:00

I'm stuck at work without the ability to knit so I try to find at least a few fun things to do on the internet: I plan on making a bit of a series out of it--so there will be a little archive of fun if you ever find yourself with internet access and no yarn. Today's FTTDAW: Make a Virtual Snowflake! email me yours!

Monster Slippers and other goodness

2004-12-11T19:51:00.000-05:00

What are these large image like things? Pictures...on my blog? amazing considering my lack of pictures lately. This past week of work has been interesting--its definately nice to have a weekend now and I am very ready to get to my "big girl job" I got quite a chuckle at that phrase :) I've gotten little knitting done this week but I did get a few things finished: Monster Slippers I love these--they were indeed the main reason I bought the new SNB book. I mean, come on, who could resist big fuzzy slippers? I had to have them immediately upon buying the book so off to the store I went. I couldn't get brown sheep bulky quickly enough, so I settled for some Paton's classic wool and thought i would use it doubled. Well, don't you know, it worked up to the exact gauge. I did mine in turqoise and lime green. very monstery. I did the "regular" pattern and just added eyes, by the way--i decided my monters didn't need the mouth option. I finished one quickly and couldn't wait to felt it, so into the washer it went. I finally finished the second one and tried them on for comparison: I tossed the second in the washer and even put it in the dryer, since I am so impatient. Just a little while later I had: Monster Slippers!! Two eyes was clearly not enough for me. Mine are not only monsters--they are three eyed monsters!! I am totally in love with them, even though they are super toasty warm and make my feet a little hot. Things I learned while making these slippers: I hate hate hate hate hate picking up stitches through two layers of knitting fabric--talk about a pain in the butt. Oh, and if you are thinking of making these babies--don't kill yourself over getting the stitch count exact--it all works out if you guestimate a little bit. I didn't even count for the second one and it looks just as spiffy as the first slipper. Oh--I also learned how to sew on no-sew on google eyes: Custom made monster eyes: Step One: thread a thin wire (look in the jewely section of the craft store) through a button. Step Two: hot glue the eye to the button. Step Three: thread the wire through the slipper and twist together. presto chango: buttons and wire become monster eyes. If you happen to have the buttons with the post-like holes instead of the flat buttons, those will work even more swimmingly. And, while you have the google eyes out--have some fun. put them on your dog's bottom and take a picture. I did. Or have your husband model them: Sorry girls, he's all mine. Maureen's Scarf Maureen's visit was many moons ago, but here is the first picture of her scarf: cute, eh? Bowl-o-Balls Two more balls added to le bowl. Backyard Leaves Scarf I love this scarf! It was quite a pain to get the chart thing done but once you get the hang of it, it really speeds up. The leaves are a lot more three-d than the scarf in the book but I think I really like them like this. Also, the color is less radioactive orange than in this picture--it is more of a pumpkiny fall color. Its nice, really. Other Stuff Would you know just a few days before I am having a linner party with Lauren and Meg (and their husbands) that Petey would eat a char? Good thing he is cute and I have extra chairs.

Another Day, Another Dollar

2004-12-07T11:47:00.000-05:00

Well, kids, I am finally back to work. Two and a half months of sitting around knitting has transformed into the usual daily grind of research, research and more research. I do actually like the work I do--its interesting enough and the people are really nice--but I am anxious to get my next job going. See, right now, I am working at an in between job--my real careerish job doesn't start until March. At least my mini-job pays well. Honestly, it was really strange being back. I had no intentions of ever coming back here--for a long time I thought I would be home on maternity leave now and after I lost Gwen, I thought I would just not work until my real job started. Things haven't really worked out just the way I thought they would. Anyway, on to more exciting things. Blogger ate my last post--so here it is in short version: Maureen and I had a great time--did lots of shopping, little bit of knitting and a lot of planning of things I will knit for her. I got one of her scarves done (a quickie size 19 needle poofy yarn creation) and will probably start her second scarf soon. She saw my ruffley scarf and knew she had to have one. So I am being a wonderful sister and knitting one for her. I can't believe she actually knit. She asked me to show her how and then she picked up the needles and knit a little square after I showed her the knit stitch just once. Her swatch is perfect--no sagging stitches, nothing dropped--just rows of perfect garterish knitting. how irritating is that? Now that I know she can, I am even more determined to get her to actually buy yarn and knit something herself. You guys know me really well, apparently. Everyone guessed what it was I was working on from the new SNB--the monster slippers with the alligator mittens scheduled ASAP. I guess that means cookie heaven for you--any requests? I suggest the chocolate peppermint balls--its a family recipe and oh so tasty. I am at work right now, so this is a sadly pictureless post. I will hopefully get the pictures off my camera tonight so I can upload them tomorrow. I meant to do it last night but this whole getting up really early to make the commute through DC is takings its toll--I've been asleep on the couch the past two nights by 8. oh--other news: I have taken another step toward getting rid of comcast internet forever: I changed my email today to a gmail account (how nerdtastic!!). you can reach me at: megan.ellinger@gmail.com faboo! I guess I should go do actual (minijob) work...

A totally unexciting post.

2004-12-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Today, my sister is coming to visit me from a land far, far away. Actually, its Tennessee--not that far, but still far enough that I don't get to see her often. Soo....I wont be around until she leaves on Sunday--then, you will get a mighty post full of pictures. excited? I have done very little knitting lately. I worked a bit on my cardigan, worked on the falling leaves scarf, and started a scarf for my Gramma but I haven't gotten very far--I am just not sure if it is right for her (it is really yummy yarn though--cashmere-merino mix in a periwinkle color--scrumptious, I say!). Oh--and I do have one other half done new project I will tell you all about next time--its from the new stitch-n-bitch and it is SO FUNNY! any guesses? If you have the book, take a guess and if someone can actually guess the right project, you'll win a home cooked meal of your choosing (including a tasty dessert) when you come for the maryland sheep and wool festival--you are coming, right? If not, I guess I can mail you cookies :)

100 Things About Me

2004-11-30T08:52:00.000-05:00

I love reading other people's lists and I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I saw a few other people who had theirs up in the last few days and thought I would add my own 100 Things About Me (written November 29, 2004) 1. I just turned 24 in October 2. Until I was married, my initials were MMM 3. It is the only thing I miss about being single 4. I was interested in my husband for three years before we started dating 5. He never knew but wished he had 6. I moved half way across the country to go to school after 5 months of dating him 7. He moved in with me three months later 8. We lived together in a studio apartment for almost a year 9. We bought a house in the suburbs and didn’t have a car to get there 10. I told my family I was pregnant on April fools day 11. It wasn’t a joke—but was a surprise 12. I miss my daughter, Gwendolyn, very, very much 13. I want to have another baby but we are waiting until the timing is a little better 14. My undergraduate degrees are in Economics and Political Science 15. My minor was math and I actually really like math 16. My husband has to keep score when we play games because I can’t add in my head 17. My master’s degree is in energy and security policy from Georgetown University 18. I think Georgetown is highly overrated 19. I can wiggle my eyebrows up and down separately 20. I work for the Department of Defense 21. I had a wonderful childhood 22. I still have all my stuffed animals from when I was little 23. They are not creatively named—Mr. Bear, Mr. Turtle, etc 24. They are probably the things I would save in a fire (living things excluded, of course) 25. I am completely afraid of bunnies 26. I taught myself how to knit from books 27. I’ve only been knitting for about 4 ½ months 28. I don’t really like diamonds 29. My engagement ring is sapphires 30. I got to pick it out 31. We were planning a wedding but ended up going to the courthouse alone 32. After we were married, we went to a movie and out to dinner 33. I wanted to get married by Elvis in Vegas, my husband wanted something more traditional 34. We have two dogs (Benny and Petey) and two turtles (Elvis and Elmira) 35. I love public speaking 36. I clam up in small group settings 37. I love to read 38. I can read out loud very, very fast—faster than the micro machines guy 39. My favorite book is the Count of Monte Cristo 40. I was the only student to finish the book in my 9th grade English class 41. I graduated from high school early 42. I was on the chess team and played competitively for several years 43. I did competitive debate in college 44. I was a girl scout for almost 10 years 45. I was a summer camp counselor 46. I still have my 8 bit nintendo hooked up 47. I wish I had taken more art classes in high school and college 48. I am very close to my family 49. I talk on the phone to them almost every day 50. Halloween is my favorite holiday 51. Closely followed by Thanksgiving, then Christmas 52. I’ve never done drugs 53. I don’t smoke or drink 54. I really really like chocolate 55. I like to cook 56. I think I make the best cookies ever 57. I love weird sports 58. I watch the lumberjack competitions, ping pong, and (my favorite) curling 59. I like to name things—my computer and car both have names 60. I drive a green Saturn Vue named Kermie 61. My feet are almost always really cold 62. My husband and I play cards almost every night after dinner 63. I have always wanted to be able to build giant card houses 64. I have extremely small hands and feet—I can wear kids size shoes 65. I bite my nails and am always trying to stop 66. I want to build a giant gingerbread house this year 67. I don’t like reading instructions 68. I was a vegetarian for about 4 years 69. I did it on a dare 70. My husband is my best friend 71. My two other close friends live hundreds of miles away 72. I don’t watch any reality TV shows 73. The only show I make a point to watch is Jeopardy 74. I hate traveling 75. I have never left the country 76. I don’t like crowds 77. I think coming up with this many things about myself is hard 78. I used to be an extremely picky eater 79. I am better about it now 80. I still don’t like beans and mushrooms—I don’t care what you say about them 81. My favorite movie is the Last Starfighter 82. I also really like the Goonies 83. I almost always listen to 80’s music 84. I consider myself a caffeine addict 85. I hate coffee—I drink Diet Coke 86. My favorite food is bagels and cream cheese 87. My favorite flavor of both is Jalepeno 88. I put hot red pepper flakes on almost everything 89. I collect cookbooks 90. I rarely cook from a recipe 91. My husband was the first person (other than my dad) to ever give me flowers 92. He brings me flowers now all the time 93. My favorite are yellow tulips 94. I still take flinstones vitamins every morning 95. I don’t like the orange ones, though 96. My favorite scent is berries 97. I almost always have candles burning 98. I don’t like shopping—I would rather do it all online 99. I am bad about remembering birthdays 100. I think trees are really beautiful Actual knitting content to come soon--I finished the first of the purple socks, made the second mitten and started the backyard leaves scarf from Scarf Style. I'll post details and pictures :) Have a good day!

Small Projects Abound

2004-11-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

Am I feeling noncommital? Maybe--I just can't seem to work on a large project. The upside is that I am churning out the small stuff, baby! I think it was Michelle who said I must be a fast knitter. I don't really think so--I think I am just a little obsessed and therefore knit just about every moment I am not actively moving. But hey, thanks for thinking so :) on to the new additions: Wrist Warmers I just made these yesterday when I realized my hands were really cold while knitting. What else was I going to do with that extra skien of debbie bliss alpaca silk? This stuff is fabulous and wow, are these wrist warmers soft. I love them! Benny's B Sweater Do you think this counts as an entry for the Weasley Along? I have been wanting to along with them because I really love the sweater but I don't think its something I could really pull off around the office.... If it doesn't, it definately counts for my Pooch Along entry! Red Bucket Hat I haven't ever felted a hat before! I ordered a bunch of the Peruvian Wool from Elann. I was going to make a striped bag but once I got the yarn, the colors didn't really go the way I wanted them too, so I made a hat with the red yarn. Bowl of Balls I am still working on this one--it might be an ongoing project for a while. In honor of my sister (who, among other things, owns her own interior design company), who is coming to visit next weekend, I decided a little decorative knitting was in order. I have had this bowl on my coffee table for a while. It usually collects junk and remotes but soon it will be filled with cute felted balls. Striped Mittens Another half finished project--Striped Mittens. These match my ever so cute Hayden hat :) In other news I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. Ours was nice but a little sad for reasons some of you who have been reading my blog for a while can probably guess. I have been working on my purple socks (almost to the toe of the first) and my pink cardigan (v 5.0) (a couple more inches done) but they are looking pretty much the same. I will post pictures when I am a little farther along :) Thanks, everone, for all the comments! I love reading what you all have to say :) I am pretty obsessive about reading everyone's blogs but I don't leave as many comments as I should. Maybe that will be my new years resolution :) Its almost December! I'll finally be able to move some of the recently finished things into a new "fall" section in the FO gallery on the sidebar. Then I will have lots of space to fill up with new knitting projects--yay!!!

Rip it, Rip it good

2004-11-22T10:12:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? oh--thats right--frogging hell. Remember the purple sock? gone. The new cardigan I was working on? gone. The second try at the cardigan? also gone. The third and fourth tries? gone gone gone... I am, however, determined (or stupid--just don't tell me). I have restarted the cardigan: I have no idea what I will be naming it yet but it will be hooded and the cable design will border the front panels and continue around the hood. I have yet to think about how I will graft a cable together but as of right now, I am just pleased I have gotten a whole four inches of one front done. During the torture that was cardigan tries one through four, I took a mini break and made--what else? a hat. I vaguely followed the directions in the knitters handy book of patterns but I was afraid of running out of yarn, so I skimped a little bit on the "work even" rounds. I think it still turned out ok. The purple socks (part two) doesnt look much different, you say? I know...I frogged the first because I misread the pattern and was making a men's large. (how did that happen??). I would have finished them for Nick but he isn't the purple sock type, so I had to frog them and start over. If they don't fit this time, I will likely do something horrible to them involving scissors and a garbage can. I am not above intimidation, so maybe I should tell the sock what will happen to it if it doesn't cooperate. hmmm...lets see...what else have I been doing since a decade ago when I last blogged. I made a camera case: It wasn't meant to be a camera case but a certain fruity named girl forgot about it in the washer and it felted down to midget size. Luckily, it is the perfect size for my digital camera. doesn't a felted camera case just scream knitting blogger? I love it! I also did a little stash enhancing thanks to elann: I am planning on the ribby cardi although if my current cardi doesnt work out, I may just wimp out and do a simple raglan sweater. Thats about all thats going on here in frog hell. write soon and send a frosty beverage my way--its hot in here! PS's Thanks for all the glowing comments about my hat--I was so proud of it and I am thrilled you guys like it as well!! I'll be typing up the pattern for my Benny sweater soon if anyone it interested! (sorry for the crappy pictures--the sun refuses to come out here in maryland, so its dark in my living room)

More Hats

2004-11-16T09:52:00.000-05:00

I meant to post a new picture of the Nora hat the other day but I have been cooking up a new idea that I think you guys will really like. I'm still getting the little details down but I'll tell you guys all about it really soon. Updates: Nora A better picture of Nora. I also made the pattern into a pdf--you can download it and keep it forever--the pattern is in the sidebar. Dragon Another new hat--I whipped this one up the other day for a break from my new project. I made the pattern up as I went along: I see a few places for improvements but I like it. I know--it seems like I am really hat crazy--but I also have: The Yet to be Named New Knitting Project I stared a cardigan the other day for myself. I started with inspiration from the knitter's handy book of patterns but I am doing some changes to the pattern and adding a few things. I'll take pictures while I work on it today... There hasnt been much else happening around here lately--just working on my supersecret project.... Hopefully, it will be ready to share tomorrow! If you haven't already, go wish Lauren a Happy Birthday!!

The Nora

2004-11-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

Ok, chickadees, here is the pattern for my cabled hat, named Nora (my husband suggested ernestine): The Nora Materials: one hank Cascade 220 or Brown Sheep Worsted size 8 16 inch circular needle size 8 DPN’s cable needle tapestry needle Gauge: 20 stitches/10 cm, 4 inches (in stockinette) Size: fits my head—about 21 inches around (I also had my husband try it on and it fit him but needed to be a little longer) The pattern is not very flexible—if you must adjust the size, I recommend using a larger/smaller needle or a smaller/large gauge yarn instead of altering the pattern. Directions: Cast on 90 Stitches. I use the long tail method but use whatever method with which you feel comfortable. 1. (k1, p1) around 2. (p1, k1) around 3. (k1, p1) around 4. *(k1, kfb) twice, p1* repeat from * to * around (end with 126 stitches) 5. (k6, p1) around 6. (k6, p1) around 7. (k6, p1, 6 st right cable, p1) around 8. (k6, p1) around 9. (6 st left cable, p1, k6, p1) around 10. (k6, p1) around Repeat rows 7-10 until piece measures approximately 4-5 inches (depending on how long you want it. I made mine 4 and it comes just to the top of my ears. If you want yours to cover, or if you have a larger head, you'll need to make it closer to 5), ending with a row 10. Begin cap decreases: 1. (k1, ssk, k2tog, k1, p1, 6 st right cable, p1) around 2. (k4, p1, k6, p1) around 3. (4 st left cable, p1, k6, p1) around 4. (k4, p1, k6, p1) around 5. (k4, p1, 6 st right cable, p1) around 6. (4 st left cable while decreasing [see end notes], p1, k6, p1) around 7. (k2, p1, k6, p1) around 8. (2 st left cable, p1, k6, p1) around 9. (k2tog, p1, 6 st right cable, p1) around 10. p2 (k6, p3) around to last 7 stitches, k6, p1 11. p2 (k6, p3) around to last 7 stitches, k6, p1 12. P2 tog, (k6, p1, p2tog) around to last 7 stitches, k6, p1 Before beginning the next row, shift the first stitch to the last needle. 13. (6 st right cable, p2tog) around 14. (k1, ssk, k2tog, k1, p1) around 15. (k4, p1) around 16. (4 st right cable while decreasing, p1) around 17. (k2, p1) around 18. (k2tog, k1) around 19. (k2tog) around 20. break yarn and weave through remaining stitches, pull tight. Notes: To cable while decreasing, shift first to stitches to cable needle, k2tog, then k2tog from cable needle. You should now have two stitches where there were four. The seed stitch trim will look a little ruffley while you are working on the hat. No worries—the cables will stretch around your head to match the size of the border and the ruffley look will disappear. Need help? Email me at meganmmellinger@comcast.net This pattern is my creation—If you use it for evil purposes like making money or claiming it as your own, I will be very, very, very angry. I will post a better picture of mine soon and I'll be starting another, probably next week and I'll post plenty of pictures as I go! I hope you all enjoy the pattern--its my very first design and attempt to write down a pattern, so I hope it is clear.

Look, look, its a hat, its a hat!! and I made it all myself!!!

2004-11-12T10:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, could I be any happier? I made up a pattern and it worked--and its cute. I finished just a few minutes ago: it looks purple in the pictures but in the real world, it is blue. Also, the picture itself is crappy--I never knew how hard it was to take a picture of the top of my head at just the right angle and hold the camera steady enough to not have a fuzzy picture. The idea behind the hat is to have the cables decrease as the hat gets smaller. The first set of cables (every other cable) decrease to nothing and then the other cables begin decreasing and end at the top of the hat. Heres a shot of the leftover yarn I had from my hank of cascade: see--thats blue. So, do you like it? More importantly, what in the world should I name it? I am going to make another as a present for someone and thought maybe you guys would like to join me in an along of sorts. I would even entice you with a really cute button for your page and, if you don't have a blog, thats ok, i'll post pictures for you! i'll type up the pattern and get it up here sometime today (along with a better picture), even if there isn't a knit along :)

In with the New

2004-11-10T09:12:00.000-05:00

I've been starting a few new projects lately. They are all small projects and are contributing to my desire to use up some of my stash. This is, of course, mitigated slightly by the knowledge that as soon as the stash gets a little low, I'll give in and by more yarn but, thats just the way it is. New Projects: The Purple Socks I started these the other day and worked on them while playing in an online poker tournament. Knitting and poker certainly don't seem like things that go together but its a perfect combination. My poker skills are definately improving. I was at a table yesterday and made about 12,000 fake dollars (I started with 1000). If only it was real money... I am making these with pretty short cuffs (I've just started the heel flap in this picture). I always worry that I am going to run out of yarn while making socks, especially when I am using a new brand of yarn, so I do the short cuff thing to compensate. The Blue Cable Hat Well, the purple cable hat has been reincarnated. I am trying my pattern again and hopefully I have compensated enough in the right places so it doesn't come out baby sized again. I have already seen the improvements in the edge--it lies flat now instead of doing the curl thing it did in the purple version. If it works out this time, maybe I'll share the pattern if anyone is interested. Benny's Sweater I've been threatening my husband with the idea of dressing our dogs for a while now. He finally conceded that benny would probably benefit from a sweater since he is so small and I promised to make it manly enough. My husband is gone for a few days on business and I took the opportunity to make the sweater in a cute--I mean, fierce looking--lime green. Here is benny. lounging on the couch watching CNN in the sweater: and the action shot: Can you see him? He is right in the middle, sitting and looking at me. He is probably thinking "what in the world is mommy doing with that silly little silver thing again. She is so weird" Doesnt he look warm? It worked up in a jiff with the bulky weight brown sheep. I got the general idea from the SnB book but made lots of changes including a better neck design, lots of ribbing and different sleeves. The Q&A Thanks for all the compliments I got for the edge stitch thing. I have learned so much from people's blogs and I really love being able to help you guys back. I'll be glad to help anybody out if they have a question; I am hardly the best knitter in the world but I love a challenge and, if i don't know the answer, I'll try to find out for you.

Inquiring minds want to know...

2004-11-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

I finally finished up the lovely blue socks that have been hanging around in my knitting bag for a while. As usually, I wore the first while finishing the second and tried making the second just a little longer. I liked how that turned out, so I ripped out the toe of the first and added some length. voila—a comfy pair of socks. I used Cherry Tree Hill yarn for these and it was well worth the high price. I have fairly small feet so I have nearly half of the ball left. I will probably end up buying another skien of the yarn, making a pair with it and then combining the leftovers for some really fun stripped, variegated socks. The socks are so soft and comfy, although next time, I will definitely knit them at a tighter gauge. I think I used 4’s on these and they are more of a summer weight sock. As soon as I finished those up, I cast on for another pair—this time using Brown Sheep Wildfoote in a deep purple (I think it is called Vinca Minor) and size 2’s. I have about 2 inches of cuff done and I am really pleased with the density of the fabric. Edge Stitches Tia asked yesterday about edge stitches. I don’t remember were I first saw this—I think it was on the ruffle scarf from Scarf Style I made a few weeks ago. The idea is to use a stitch to create a smooth edge on the fabric. Here are a few close-ups of the red scarf I am currently working on: Here is the normal edge: See how its all bumpy? I hate that, so I started using the technique from the ruffle scarf, which is also in the Vogue Ultimate book of knitting (along with many other edge stitch methods). You slip the first stitch knitwise and purl the last stitch every row. And here is what the same scarf looks like with a nice slip stitch edge: so neat and perty! the edge also creates a really nice edge from which to pick up stitches—now I use it on all my scarves as well as the heel flaps of socks—it creates one long stitch for every two rows of knitting, which is just what you need to pick up the gusset stitches—now they always come out even!. I had seen this in several sock patterns and never really gotten it until one day when it just kind of popped. I just love those moments when things like this all come together.

3 Days, 2 More Hats

2004-11-07T15:50:00.000-05:00

Have I gone hat crazy? Maybe. After finishing up the hayden hat the other day, I was again left with a frightfully empty knitting bag. I fully intended to work on a pair of socks that have been lurking around for far too long but then Nick reminded me he was going to be off to New Mexico for a business trip. We checked the weather and, holy crap, its really cold there at night. I decided he needed some knitting hat love and cast on for this: The Green Man Hat Here is the detail: The pattern is a combination of a few different things: an edging rib (a 4 stitch cable and 2 single ribs repeated around) from Knitting on the Edge and a basic stockinette hat--the decreases modeled vaguely on the hayden hat I had just finished. I made it with Cascade on size 8's. I finished up in about 4ish hours and it only took about half the hank of wool. The Purple Cable Hat While working on the hat for Nick, I had an idea for a hat for myself and ended up casting on last night for it. Here is a picture of it: I have some work to do on the pattern--first of all, its tiny--I compared its size to the guidelines in the Knitters Handy Book of Patterns and its running at the 0-6 month size. darnit. I do really like the way the cables decrease though and I think I know how to adjust the size. Maybe I'll try again tonight or tomorrow. In other News My Christmas cactus is blooming--yay! A few questions from the comments: Ann asked about the Hayden Hat: It is indeed knitting--a very clever use of slipped stitches. You can find the pattern here. Diane asked a few days ago about the Alpaca Scarf pattern. I got it form the Vogue Ultimate Book of knitting. As I understand it, those patterns are not copyrighted and since I have found the same pattern in 2 other books of mine, I feel ok about posting it here: For my scarf, I cast on 14 stitches but any multiple of 4 plus 2 will work. row 1: k2 (p2, k2) across row 2: p2 (k2, p2) across row 3: repeat row 1 row 4: repeat row 2 row 5: repeat row 1 (rows 1-5 will form a 2x2 rib pattern) row 6: repeat row 1 row 7: repeat row 2 row 8: repeat row 1 row 9: repeat row 2 row 10: repeat row 1 (rows 6-10 will create a 2x2 rib with the ribs reversed, so the purl columns line up with the knit columns below them) repeat rows 1-10 for length. Here is a closeup of my scarf: One thing about mine--I didn't use an edge stitch on mine, so the size is all bumpy--you might want to do some type of simple slip stitch edging or something to neaten things up. Hope that helps! (ps, if anyone does know different about the copyright of patterns like this, let me know)

I'm Done, I'm Done, I'm Done!!

2004-11-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

I present to you, the Hayden Hat: Finished while watching We Are the 80's (music videos from the best decade ever).

Strike a Pose, Petey!

2004-11-04T07:07:00.000-05:00

My dog is great. I was taking my usual boring pictures of the knitting updates and petey was right there, looking cute (as usual) so I thought I would let him model. I think he could be a star: The Hayden Hat Here he is with the Hayden Hat for Laura's Hat Along:

If you would like a non-petey picture, follow me

I really like the pattern--its a great mix of interesting pattern/easy TV knitting. I did all this while watching election returns on Tuesday night. I got to the point in the pattern where I think I am supposed to start decreasing more rapidly, so I put it on hold until today, when I hope to finish it up. I am making mine out of Brown Sheep worsted in three colors (you can use five for the pattern but I only had three that went together in the stash). All in all, its a fun little hat--thanks Laura! The Yellow Scarf I finally got around to taking the FO picture of the Yellow Alpaca Silk Scarf. I wore it several times this weekend and got a couple of compliments on it (dont you love that?) Sharpie Crisis Update Remember my sharpie crisis from last week? I found this in the middle of the guest room floor the other day: Goodness only knows where it has been. I have found a few suspicious marks on my carpet but I am willing to overlook them for now, considering the offending sharpie has turned itself in. I am going to be finishing up the hayden scarf today and maybe working a bit on the blue socks or the red scarf... yay..a knitting day.

Halloween

2004-11-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

Well, halloween was kind of a bust. After a handful of trick or treaters, Nick and I left the bucket-o-candy out with a sign that said take a few pieces so we could focus our attention on other things (like an online poker tournament and finishing up a scarf). When we went back to check on it, some jerk came along and taken all the candy. I had many not nice things to say last night and I am still bummed about it but I guess I should have known better. Anyway, I did finish up the Yellow Alpaca Silk scarf and I am wearing right now. It is wonderfully soft and two skiens were plenty for a nice length. I haven't taken pictures yet but I will and will post them--along with my new project which will be started later today. Its a Hayden Hat for Laura's hat along. Its really cute--I am going to check out the stash and see if I have anything that measures to gauge. I have a few skiens of Brown Sheep that might work. I love hats :) Here is a pretty picture to tide you over until knitting pictures are posted: Its the last rose of the year on the bush by my front door.

Oops

2004-10-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

I didn't really mean to start new things until I had at least something done. E for effort, F for followthrough, I guess. The New Scarf In all the time I have knitted, my husband has recieved all of one knitted thing from me and that was merely be accident--the presidential socks that had funky gauge and didn't fit my feet. He loves them but I feel badly that the only thing he has recieved was only given to him because it was a reject. So, I decided he needed a scarf. My husband doesn't really believe in many colors but I have been pushing the idea for a while and to further this, I chose a lovely burgundy color. A real color (not dark blue, grey or black) that wasn't too pink or too bright. I slaved over my various books of stitch patterns trying to find the right one that would be good for him and yet be interesting enough for me to knit. I finally saw one in my Vogue book and began. I only meant to swatch--but I just kept going. As it grew, I realized it was--shall we say--a little feminine. I thought maybe it was just me and decided to wait for him to get home to hear the final verdict. I think he assumed it was for me because he used the word "pretty" to describe it. I told him my story and he agreed it was "too girly" I guess, in the end, I agree--the drop stitches do make it look a little lacy but Benny doesnt mind and hes a boy: And the closeup: Its a little bent in this picture--I had to make do since Benny was using it to sleep under and didn't want me to move it. Now I need a new project for Nick. I think another scarf or hat because he does walk to work a couple blocks from the subway ever day and it is windy here in DC... I'm not sure yet, but I know it will be less frilly than this last attempt. PKA I did a little more PKA work this weekend. I want to make the entrelac stole from Scarf Style but I wasn't crazy about the yarn they used. Then I remembered--hey, I can dye yarn too! So, I did up a few small samples and set to work. Here is some pink lemonade, black cherry and grape. I wanted to make a variegated mix of those colors and it looks like a large purple cat had hacked it up halfway through the process, so I decided to just straight dye the rest of the samples. I should have persevered though because I swatched up the one mixed ball and I think its lovely: The colors are a little darker and more, well, different than in the picture. It doesn't really look variegated at all, does it? Well, just trust me on this one, it is. Now I just have to dye the 42 pounds of yarn the stole will take. I am thinking the bathtub might be the best option but I dont know--any suggestions?

What??

2004-10-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

So in my more bored moments, I sometimes to random google searches. This time, I thought I would try to find my own blog on google. I typed it in and this came up: BlogShares have you guys seen this? its a fake stock market in which people trade blogs. And we are all in it. Its kind of creepy... I never signed up for this... It shows a bunch of stuff like all of your outbound links and all the incoming sources. Even who is trading your blog stock. this is too weird...

Happy Birthday to me!

2004-10-27T07:42:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the big day--my brithday. My husband stayed home from work to spend the day with me and we just relaxed. It was great. :) The last few days have seen several events: Birthday Had lots of fun--got lots of presents in the mail. I came home (from the yarn store, of course) to a pile of packages (I didn't take pictures because I just didn't have time--packages need to be opened as soon as humanly possible, right?) which (among many other things) contained knitting related presents: There were also some ciculars from my mom and a gift card for AC Moore from my mother in law that didn't make it into the photo but were also much appreciated. I also got tons of love from you guys--thanks! I loved the ecards and comments and the real live snail mail card I got from my lovely secret pal (thanks, secret pal!). *sniff sniff* you guys are great! Nick and I sat around most of the day and chatted/watched tv/knitting/played playstation (you can probably guess who did more of what). Then we ordered in food (Outback), watched an all chocolate episode of Good Eats (he made these which looked good enough to make me want to lick my TV), my favorite cooking show (perhaps because the guy on there reminds me of my husband), and fell asleep to the baseball game. Ok, this didn't happen on my birthday, but it was close: did you see how Ken is doing? I am so impressed...I hope he never loses because Jeopardy just wont be the same. Yes, I know, I too saw all those news stories a while back that said he loses but I am ignoring them because I believe in Ken. The Dogs The dogs..always interesting. Story the First: Pictures this: Here I am, walking into the living room. Hey--whats that on the floor? I check to make sure it isn't a bug and then pick up the object and puzzle for a few seconds and then realize: Oh no--ITS A SHARPIE CAP AND ITS MISSING ITS SHARPIE! It could be anywhere--being dragged around leaving stains on walls, floors, oh god--even furniture! I walked around the house for quite some time hoping to find a sharpie without a corresponding black sharpiesque stain on the carpet. Benny has already gotten his little paws on many things that have left stains on our carpet, including a tube of red lipstick (which is a funny story in itself since he had red paws and a red face for days afterwords). I search and search but cannot find the sharpie. I know it can't just dissappear so I am assuming that one day I will find a big black stain on the carpet and be puzzled as to how it got there. Story the Second: So Nick and I decide to play a little Rummy with our last remaining deck of cards (the others have made their way out into the yard and have been chewed up.) Benny and Petey follow us into the dining room and set up camp. After a while, I just can't stand the sight of them laying on the hard floor anymore and go in search of their beds. I bring them in and they immediately get in them. Approximately four minutes goes by and we look again and find this: Now, this bed arrangement doesn't quite seem fair does it? I mean, you can barely see the bed under Petey. It definately wasn't designed by me to be this way--I thought big bed for the big dog and little bed for the little dog but they obviously didn't see it that way. The Cases I made myself some more cute knitting needle cases: This is the DPN, Circular and Crochet hook case (it was a dpn but the pockets turned out to be too deep). cute, huh? I keep finding little things I can do to improve them so new models will probably be making appearances around here every so often. At least I have one for every kind of needle now (not all are pictured, of course). The Blog Dillemma So Comcast has yet again found another way to make us hate them. We have decided it would be best to break up and find new partners. This means all my pretty photos that are currently being hosted by comcast will have to find a new home. This brings up an interesting point--should I just take the plunge and get my very own webpage? I think papayaknits.com is free...and that would solve my rotating internet service/online storage problem. I mean, I am married to someone who does internet webpage design stuff on the side after all.... what do you guys think? Knitting Finally, the stuff you were waiting for, right? I did quite a lot of knitting over the last few days: I made this: I didn't even take any pictures of the booga bag as it was being made. It just kind of happened, I swear. I would sit down and think, I'll just knit a few rows and then take a picture but then, all of the sudden, it was just done. I made this out of some spare fisherman's wool since I have developed a dislike of Noro (I just think its scratchy--not nice to work with at all. I mean, the color thing is cool, I admit, but I just think it is a bit overpriced considering the scratchy factor). I think I would like to make my next one a little wider and shorter proportionally and maybe dye the yarn first (or at least use some brown sheep or something colorful). I also worked on the blue socks: On the second sock now--I laugh at the second sock syndrome! Yes, these are for me--I know they look like midget socks but I have really small (like I wear a lot of kids size shoes small), kind of wide feet. And the yellow Alpaca Scarf also got a little attention: Yay. It is so wonderfully soft. This is one skien of the Alpaca Silk and it really went a lot farther than I thought it would. I still have two more skiens of it so it should be a nice longish scarf. I am already thinking of new projects though. I have two ideas for things--one a scarf and another a sweater--both of my very own design. I think the scarf will be very very nifty but until I have a finished product, I'll keep it a secret. The other is a wrappy sweater which I think will turn out cute but I have to sit down and do some measuring and thinking... Although I laugh in the face of second sock syndrome, I haven't yet cast on for the second mitten. I did show you guys the finished first mitten, right? or did I leave you with the thumbless mitten? Anyway--I finished the first mitten. I decided to kind of wimp out and do a solid red thumb and now that its done, I really like the solid thumb; it also has the added bonus of not having all the extra stringies inside to get in the way of thumb movement... perfect. I think I am going to try to finish either the sock or the scarf today and get something cleared out of the knitting bag so I cant start a new project without guilt.

A Favor

2004-10-25T09:25:00.000-04:00

For reasons most of you probably know, I have done a whole lot of soul searching in the last month. The one thing that has become most obvious to me and something I have really tried to take to heart is that we just never know what is going to happen tomorrow. Odds are, it will be a boring day, just like all the other--but it could be life changing. Take yesterday: I was sitting around watching football, knitting as usual. Then a news story came over the television--something about a plane crash and nascar. I didn't hear it very well because I was talking to my husband but I got a little worried. I am far from a nascar fan but my cousin is on of Mr. Hendricks' assistants and is usually close by him and the racing team and is usually one of the passengers on the plane when it is on its way to a race. Then, when I heard the plane did indeed belong to the Hendricks, I was panicked. After a few calls to family, I found out that my cousin is safe but upset--she knew almost every person on that plane and they were like her family away from home. I have been bad about keeping in touch with family--especially in the last month because I always thought I had time. Now I know that you just never know. So, today, do me a favor: hug your family and friends and tell them you love them--you'll be glad you did.

Behold The Mitten

2004-10-23T13:49:00.000-04:00

I have been avoiding the mittens for a while. They are slow, complicated and require a lot of knitting extras like books, row counters and that makes for a less than relaxing knitting experience. While knitting the mittens, all you can do is think about the mitten--worrying about whether or not you are following the right row of the chart, hoping to everything you hold dear your gauge is not off so you end up with a too small mitten, thinking your yarn is so tightly twisted that this can't be right, thinking please, please don't let me sneeze because I will lose track of the braiding sequence. I think the great philosopher of our time, Yarn Harlot, put it best: "Your world becomes only the [mitten]." Because they demanded every ounce of attention I had, I left them to sit in the knitting caddy for some time while I turned my attention to socks, scarves and a booga bag--things I could mindlessly knit while watching tv or playing poker. It was wonderful--knitting while sitting at the computer, knitting during football and actually seeing the plays as they happened, knitting while chatting on the phone--I loved it all. But somehow, out of the depths, they called to me with their pretty red and pink pattern and I could not and cannot resist. I picked it up and did a few rows and appreciated the mini-mitteniverse I was a part of. Then the decreases began and all hell broke loose. I had to finish. Its almost done--just missing the minor detail of a thumb, scheduled for completion very soon. I love it. It is warm and toasty and perfectly fits my small hand. All people with small hands will appreciate that; it is frustrating to never ever be able to buy mittens or gloves because you always have that extra inch or so of mittenness that gets in the way and looks stupid to boot. I usually am reduced to buying little kids mittens and gloves and that brings a whole other battle into play: trying to find adult looking non-nickolodeon character sporting handwear. But--back to the mitten. I am smitten and once the thumb hole is complete, I will cast on for the second and set up residence in mitteniverse for a while--emerging only when I have completed.

Hello, Bucket Hat

2004-10-21T14:10:00.000-04:00

I though I would start a new bucket hat since I love my first one so much and it is such an easy knit (and therefore makes playing online poker extremely easy). I started it at about 7:30 this morning and, even with a couple of phone and food breaks, finished up about 1. fabulous, I say! And look at the rest of the yarn I have leftover--you can barely tell I used any at all! I worked on the blue socks for a while yesterday with absolutely no frogging necessary. mmmm...warm blue socks and I am really loving the cherry tree hill yarn. It was expensive--definately more than a pair of socks should cost and I only ordered it because I was ordering the sheepy tape measure from YarnMarket and couldn't very well go through the whole process of ordering and waiting with no yarn to show for it--but it is very very nice. I bought some brown sheep wildfoote yarn for more socks and hopefully that will also be nice to work with. hmm...its only 2:30. should I make another bucket hat? is two in one day possible??

Crazy Turtles

2004-10-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

Did I ever mention my two pet turtles were insane? Well, they are. I walked out of my office yesterday and into the living room, where they live in a tank next to the stairs. I found them *stacked* on top of each other sitting in their warming lamp. Just sitting there, how weird is that? My animals are just so weird. I haven't produced a whole lot of knitting in the past few days. Oh, I've knitted. I started 5 socks. The first (along with my brand new brittany dpn's) suffered death at the hands of a schnoodle named petey. the second through fourth were somehow off gauge, even though I swatched--I think I was a little tense while working since the needles were so short (whats up with that? My clovers are several inches longer than the brittany's...) and now, I have started sock the fifth. Notice it is not on toothpick size brittany's but on huge log-like clovers. And yes, this one is actually knitting to gauge. finally. But working feverishly on socks only to frog them an inch in is not all I did yesterday. Check these out: I made them yesterday morning. They aren't quite done yet--I am going to sew a ribbon on them so they can tie shut. Pretty snazzy, eh? I made one for my crochet hooks, my long straights and my short straights. The crochet hook case was meant to be for dpn's and it worked perfectly except for those damn short brittany's (they kept disappearing into the pockets). The crochet hooks claimed it and now my DPN's are demanding a new one. And I still need to make a circular case and a case for all my knitting gadgets. I am not sure exactly how I want them to be yet so those might get done in the next couple of days. I discovered yesterday that I can knit while playing online poker. Fantastic. Can you tell I am a bit stir crazy at home by myself all day? Thankfully..my new job should be starting relatively soon.

aaalpaacaa

2004-10-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

How could I have forgotten this? I also started a new scarf--butter yellow alpaca silk. I chose a simple broken rib I saw in the stitch dictionary section of the vogue reference book. Just a simple 2 x 2 rib but you alternate it every 5 rows. Its nice--ribby with texture but doesnt contract like a normal rib would--perfect for showing of the yarn. mmmm...scarfy goodness.

Monday, Monday

2004-10-18T09:27:00.000-04:00

Ahh...another weekend. I know I promised pictures over the weekend--but better late than never, right? I had an awesome time with my mom--we knitted and chatted and she totally outpaced me, making two scarves and starting another. I worked on the White Ruffle Scarf: And the presidential socks (so named because they were mainly done during the debates) which, because of a gauge error on my part (darn gauge, how I hate you!), became man-socks for my DH: Then, yesterday, I went to the Folk Art Studio to meet with Megan and Lauren. We had a great time and while I remembered to take pictures of the yarn I was drooling over so my husband could go back and get it for me for my birthday, I didn't take any pictures of us...so you will have to check out the ever so responsible a blogger Lauren's page for those. Maybe I will steal some later and put them here though...:) We knitted for a while and then shopped--I got some new lime green sock yarn and a few sets of needles. I have become quite a convert to wood and bamboo so I have been slowly rebuying my favorite sizes. I had to leave a little earlier than I would have liked to come home and find out what happened in football world. Turns out it was probably best I wasn't here to see my beloved Titans lose to those pesky Texans. I also finally took pictures of my SP3's fabbo present. Sock yarn (yay, you can never have too much of that!), some stitch markers and the empty case for a circular needle. (The needles themselves have already made their way to my knitting caddy to start a project and are therefore unavailable for a photo session :)) Whew--it was a busy week! I also did a few rounds on *the mitten* but it doesn't really look any different. I am going to put some serious time in on it today or tomorrow, so I will post pictures then.

Thanks Secret Pal!

2004-10-14T07:11:00.000-04:00

I got an awesome package from my secret pal yesterday--Thanks secret pal! I'll post pictures for everyone to oogle over tomorrow after mom leaves. We have both been knitting like maniacs--mom is on her second scarf and I have finished the first of the presidential socks. I did however, have a little mishap with them. I realized half way through I had grabbed the wrong DPN's out of my box and so my gauge was a whole stitch off. I tried them on after starting on the foot and they were just too big. :( Then I realized hey, they probably fit the hubby just perfect--I made him try them on, DPN's and all and it was indeed true. After making him promise to love, cherish and keep the socks clean by not walking outside in them, I finished the first up last night during the last debate. One down, one to go. Mom and I went to the yarn store (the Studio Arts Cafe) had another of the best grilled cheeses and drooled over their yarn. They have expanded to carry Debbie Bliss and Noro since I was last there and we both walked out with Alpaca silk and some Noro wool for scarves. Score! Not much else happening--Mom leaves tomorrow so there will be pictures here finally. Until then, happy knitting :)

Monday Night Football.

2004-10-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

Did you watch the game last night? I am a big titans fan and my husband is a big packers fan...so I am feeling a little guilty today (and yet also very happy). In other news--my mom is in for the week, so blogging will be little if any. I have finished the white ruffle scarf, started new socks and a new scarf. I also helped my mom pick up knitting again (she hasn't done it in years) and she is also working on a scarf--yay! I will post pictures when I get a chance. I hope everyone else is having a good week :)

Super Power

2004-10-07T17:00:00.000-04:00

I think I have discovered my hidden superpower: I can go for a very long time without blinking. A crappy superpower, you say? Well, it sure does help with the Latvian Mittens--see? The back, as of this afternoon: The palm (yes, you are supposed to continue the pattern around the palm but, come on, even I am not that insane and the zig zag is pretty enough for me): Want to see that pattern again? of course you do: I don't know how much more I will get done tonight; the pink/red combination is really difficult to distinguish under artificial light so maybe the white ruffle scarf will get some attention and love.

Latvian Mittens--Day 2

2004-10-07T10:50:00.000-04:00

I worked on the latvian mittens yesterday for hours. I have developed a love hate relationship with the braids: on the one hand, I love the way they look and it is very satisfying in a way to make something so intricate and pretty--and even to spend hours doing it. But on the other hand: they are an all consuming, cant think about anything else unil they are done, knit until your hands cramp up kind of thing. Last night I told my husband I would make a very poor latvian woman because, at the rate I am going, I could produce about 1% of the needed mittens to complete the crazy wedding rituals described in the latvian mitten book (apparently, latvian women knitted hundreds of pairs of these mittens and then, on the day of her wedding, distributed them to her new in-laws--mostly her mother in law.) I don't think I'll ever let him go to latvia lest he be wooed by some faster knitting latvian woman who will bestow mittens on him by the dozens. Perhaps spurred on by the evily funny comment left by Yarn Harlot herself (beginner of all things latvian mitten related), I even dreamt about the mittens. I wish I was joking but sadly, I am not. See the time? Thats AM. What was I already doing? Mittens. (This picture was taken at 10:30 when I realized I hadn't blinked in nearly 40 minutes--definately time to take a break and go stare at a computer screen for a few minutes.) needless to say, no work has been done on the pretty white ruffle scarf.

I am weak.

2004-10-06T14:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, that is indeed a latvian mitten. Well, its part of a latvian mitten, anyway. So, So weak.

Oh My.

2004-10-06T10:53:00.000-04:00

A scary thing happened yesterday: I received my copy of Latvian Mittens. I first saw this book on Yarn Harlots blog and her mittens were so fabulous, I ordered the book for myself. It was, of course, on backorder, but being the patient person I am, I waited it out. (Actually, I am not patient, I checked my email nearly every day hoping for a message from Amazon saying the book had finally shipped then, when I got that, I obsessively checked on the package using the tracking number. Those tracking numbers are such a mean trick--If they weren't available I would just resign myself to waiting until the package arrived on my doorstep but now that I can find out where in the US the package is, I have to check on it twelve times a day, hoping the tracking information provided by the UPS/Fedex/DHL has been updated so I can claim some small victory. Now its like crack--I want a GPS thing attached to my package so I can follow its exact movements around the city on the delivery truck so I can be ready when the truck pulls up.) Anyway, back to the scary part: Holy crap, those mittens look intimidating. I sat and flipped through the book in awe for a while yesterday. Finally, my husband asked if that would be my "new project for tomorrow" (meaning today). I was a little scared and said no, I didn't have the yarn I needed (thank goodness, had I had the yarn, I think I probably would have attempted a mitten and only bad things would have happened). Oh no, now that I am writing this, I am feeling this horrible need to start a pair of mittens to prove to myself that I am not a scardey-cat. Darnit, why can I not just be ok with being a knitting scardey-cat? Is that really so bad? Darnit darnit darnit... In easier knitting news, I have made some progress on the white ruffley scarf but it looks remarkably the same as the picture from yesterday, so I will wait and post a picture when it is more substantially changed. I fully intended to start some new during the VP debates last night but after 30 minutes, I fell asleep. I should have never laid down on the couch "for just a few minutes during a boring part." Now, I have to hope C-SPAN reairs it today so I can satisfy my dork need for all things politics. Err...I think I have to go sort through the stash and see if I have latvian mitten yarn now--I will keep you updated if I give into my ego and start those evil looking things.

I'm Back

2004-10-05T07:20:00.000-04:00

First off, thanks for all the emails. Its been a really rough week and knowing there are people out there thinking about me has really helped. I am starting to feel better and I feel like I could write a war and peace length volume on how much knitting has helped me in that regard. What have I been knitting? The white ruffle scarf from Scarf Style--the newest addition to the knitting library. I am totally in love with this book, even though I was extremely skeptical when I first saw it pop up on my amazon recommended list. I was anticipating a book either full of your standard issue rectangular scarves or, even worse, a book of those utterly unwearable "art" pieces. It is niether--it is full of interesting designs and gives a lot of room for inspiration. There is only one thing in the book I will definately pass on--the thing from the cover. Its a turtleneck with sleeves and I just can't see this working for me. I have been making decent progress on the ruffley scarf--so Megan: 1, Stash: 0. However, there was a surprise visit to the new AC Moore (which I didn't even know was being built--how? I have no idea) at which my husband and I both received $10 gift cards--so of course, I spent much more than $20 on yarn and came out with an armful of stuff. The new AC Moore stash additions: (Meg:1, Stash:3 for three projects) Of course, I have now determined I want to make a stole with the green mohair (its so ugly, its fabulous!) so I need to go back and get more. I said this to my husband yesterday: I think I need to go back and get more of this green mohair--I'll probably go tuesday since there is little danger of them selling out of lime green mohair before then. him (in all seriousness): are you sure? should we go today? I love that man. Then, I got an email from amazon. My latvian mitten book was on the way. So exciting, since its been backordered for a while. Then I realized I was also due to get a shipment from Webs so I could start the thrummed mitten-a-long hosted by Yarn Harlot. I am woefully behind since my roving had yet to arrive and was eagerly awaiting its delivery. The Webs order: (Meg:1, Stash:7 (four more projects)) Whats missing? the roving--its on backorder. sigh--I am never going to start the thrummed mittens. Then my husband says he wants to go to the bookstore. I happily go along--only to find more knitting magazines (although one of them is crochet, so I dont know if that technically counts) and a knitting calendar. Meg:1, Stash:9. I waited and waited all day but, sadly, the mitten book did not arrive but now I do have something to look forward to today. Oh, I also got a call from my mom yesterday who is going to come and visit with me next week: guess what she wants to do: learn to knit and go to yarn stores and buy me yarn. alpaca yarn (remember the super yummy alpaca yarn from studio arts cafe, lauren? it will soon be mine!) yum. I love mom. My stash has claimed overwhelming victory. There is no way I can fight it. Especially when you consider that after all that yarn glut, I have only *ONE* project going. How did this happen?? I feel like I should go make some socks or something but I want to work on the scarf as well. Dilemmas, dilemmas. In doggie news: Benny just wants you to know how much he loves his Brown Bear.

bad news

2004-09-29T13:46:00.000-04:00

hey everyone, something really bad has happened with gwen--the worst thing that can happen. I am pretty devastated (as is my husband) so I wont be around for a while. There will probably be some changes around here when I am ready to be back... To my secret pal: Thanks so much for your package--it was so nice--it really cheered me up. Thanks everyone, Megan

Still Sick.

2004-09-24T10:59:00.000-04:00

I am now on day 4 of the cold funk. I hate being sick--it is such an inconvenience. What am I doing while sitting on the couch? Why, knitting of course. Here is what I did the second part of yesterday and this morning: Cute striped socks for a certain baby girl! I am really starting to get into the sock thing...and so far, I have had no problems with second sock syndrome. hope everyone is feeling less snotty than I am!

Socks!

2004-09-23T13:30:00.000-04:00

I missed you all too! Today has been less than interesting around here. I am sick at home for the second day in a row, so--you know what that means--knitting! I finished up the green socks this morning and started on a new pair--they are too cute for words, so once they get going, I will post a picture of them. Here are the green socks--so toasty warm! And, as promised, the PKA Yarn Hat has finally had its photo taken: This hat was so super easy to make--not even one whole skein of Brown Sheep handpaint originals. The pattern is from the Knitters Handy Book of Patterns which, when I bought it, I thought I would just use for reference, but I have made several things out of it--I highly recommend it! Lauren asked about the purple sweater from yesterday's post. I used a pattern from Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits. Its the one that is made from self-striping Noro Yarn. I had some of the Berroco X-press on hand from the Webs sale, and it was a close enough gauge match. I changed the pattern just a tiny bit--adding four stitches to the width of the sweater (I feared my pregnancy induced large chest wouldn't fit in the sweater) and worked them into the shoulder seams, two on each side. I didn't change anything else though--the arms and the neckline were worked exactly as described in the book. I was a little scared the bulky yarn would add a little to much bulk to the sweater, making me look even more enormous than I feel but I was surprisingly pleased--the fit of the sweater was just right so the bulky yarn added the fitted yet not tight look to the sweater. Now I just have to wait until the post-pregnancy era so I can wear it out! ~~~~ Petey says: gee mom, you grow the bestest tomatos--I hope you don't mind if I just help myself to a snack right off the bush? Of course, it is a little warm out, so I need to bring it inside on the carpet to eat it but I *promise* I won't get tomato guts all over....

Oh Internet Access, how I have missed you,

2004-09-22T16:31:00.000-04:00

I am so glad I finally have internet access at home again. I can finally show you all some pictures! yay! First up: the finished red cabled baby sweater. Second: the purple sweater for yours truly. I love it but I won't be wearing it anytime soon as it is less than pregnancy friendly. I have learned my lesson and the next thing I make will definately be button up the front or held off until the post-baby era. Third: the green socks. Here they are as I was starting the second sock. I was partially afraid to take pictures of the first because I didn't want to jinx myself. It turned out pretty well--the heel could have been prettier and, lets face it, I am not a kitchener stitch expert as of yet, so the toe is less than lovely. Is that a heel flap? i think so! Finally--I got a package from yarnmarket with my new love: mmm...sheepy tape measure, you are so cute! and, because I couldn't order something from them without ordering some actual yarn, I also got: I have promised myself I won't use it until I make a perfect pair of socks with less fabulous yarn because I don't want to spoil the lovely new yarn....we will see how long I can resist. Sorry for the absence of posts lately--not having access to the internet to do the photo thing really puts a damper on the quality of posts I can put up--but I hope everyone is enjoying the new look of the page! At least I did something bloggy while I was unable to do actual posts. Darnit...I just realized I forgot to take a picture of the PKA yarn Gwen hat--looks like another post with pictures is in our future!

GIANT MICROBES!

2004-09-16T09:07:00.000-04:00

While at work, I found this site (yes, it was actually work related...for once, I wasn't just bumming around the internet looking for something fun): GIANT STUFFED MICROBES! I AM IN LOVE! I *need* these. I am going to order the 'health' set but I am also considering the 'critters' set. The bed bug kind of scares me though... Knitting News I am still without internet service at home (apparently though, I am far from the only comcast hater in the world, which is somewhat comforting), so still no pictures to share with you. I did finish the PKA Gwen hat last night though. It turned out pretty darn cute--all fuzzy because of the mohair content in the yarn. I made an i-cord out of the last few stitches and tied it in a knot. yay--my first I-cord!

Why I need a Rocket Launcher.

2004-09-15T07:19:00.000-04:00

For a few years now, I have been asking my husband for two things: a. a baby elephant named stanley who will eat circus peanuts and live in my backyard and b. a rocket launcher, so I can scare and/or cause injury to people who are bad drivers, inconsiderate jerks and people who are just plain mean or stupid. I don't really expect to get either (although I know my husband is working on finding the biggest, cutest stuffed elephant he can (hes so cute)) but I am really feeling the need for a rocket launcher today. You see, a couple of weeks ago, we switched from cable to direct tv so we could buy the nfl football package which comcast didn't offer. We called, we signed up, direct tv came and installed; then came time to deal with comcast, our old cable company. We called, they said no. What? how can you say no, you won't turn off your cable? It turns out you have to *in person* go and turn in the cable box from your tv--during business hours, no less. So we did. We explained to them we didn't want their cable service anymore but we did like their fancy shmancy high speed internet service and wished to keep it. They, now with their grubby paws on their precious box, agreed. Fast forward a week or two. We get a bill from comcast charging us for the next month's worth of cable. We call, we explain, they say 'ok, we will shut it off.' Then, later that day, the internet stops working. errr. We call again. They say they will have to have someone come and hook the cable from our house up to the pole again. We explain noone has unhooked it. They are baffled and a marathon call with the comcast tech people begins. A few hours later, my handy husband has got working much to the surprise of the tech people, who believe this problem cannot possibly be solved unless someone comes and pokes at the cables on the pole. The next day, the internet stops working again. We call and they say everyone's cable internet is down. Obviously, this is some type of mind game, in my opinion. They assure us it will once again be up or someone will come out to the house. Today, I still have no internet at home. :( Comcast is convinced someone poking at the cables will fix it and I am convinced that a rocket launcher pointed at the comcast headquarters would be much more effective. So, I have no pictures to share with you. Gwen's cabled sweater is done and blocked and the PKA yarn is well on its way to becoming a baby hat. I also got a shipment of yarn I had forgotten I ordered, so a brown sheep cotton fleece hat/scarf combo for me is in the planning stages. Maybe I will magically have internet service when I return home this evening. Or a baby elephant, I would take that instead.

Funniest thing ever.

2004-09-13T15:31:00.000-04:00

ok..so I am at work right now and, every once in a while (ok, usually), I take a few moments out of my day to read other peoples blogs. I just went to yarn harlot's blog, (why do I not have her linked in my sidebar? I must remedy this situation...) and her entry for today is about the funniest thing I have ever read. You should go read it. Now. Yarn Harlot

Project Kool Aid

2004-09-12T08:34:00.000-04:00

I have finally jumped in and tried Kool Aid dyeing. It was surprisingly fun and easy and, although I did indeed dye my hands dark pink in the process, I have some cute pink yarn to show for it. Here is how it went: I started with Brown Sheep handpaint originals yarn in cream puff. Its a mix of wool and mohair. Why did I choose this yarn? It was the only neutral colored wool-ish yarn in my stash. I have about 10 skeins of it I got for a song on ebay. Before I even begin, here are the lessons I learned from my PKA experience: (1) wear gloves unless you don't care about how your hands look for the next two days. (2) make your ring of yarn you plan on dip-dyeing smaller than I did--I dripped kool aid all over. (3) protect your counters (4) if you are the most impatient person in the world (next to me, of course) and you just can't wait for your yarn to dry, you can microwave it for a while to help the process along. (5) microwaved yarn is hot. seriously hot. Use tongs or a fork or something besides your fingers to move it out of the microwave. Anyways, here is the process: Here it is soaking: I wanted to achieve a variegated look--all black cherry but with different intensities, so I made three bowls of different strength solutions: I dipped the yarn into the different colors kind of randomly--it ran together and, eventually, I got it to look like this as it was drying: I microwaved it for a couple of minutes and let it dry, then rolled it up: CUTE!! It is destined to become a hat for, of course, Gwen--who, even though she isn't born yet, has more clothes than me. Don't believe me? Heres an update on another article of her clothing I am working on: a red cable sweater: This is the front and the back. I still have to do the collar and button band (it buttons along the shoulders) on the front and finish the arms. I have one started but didn't take a picture since it is still an unimpressive 1 1/2 inches long. The back and sleeves are all seed stitch, which I am quickly learning to hate. It is far from difficult, it just seems like it takes an incredibly long time to accomplish with all that changing position of yarn that happens. Anyway--just two sleeves to do and I will get through them.

Jeopardy

2004-09-09T08:43:00.000-04:00

For those of you who read me fairly regularly, you can probably figure out that I am a huge dork. It should, therefore, come as no surprise to you that I have been impatiently awaiting the return of Jeopardy from its taping break. The return came monday and Ken, the jeopardiest man ever, is still at it. Its so exciting to watch and now that he has been on so long I am starting to get very attached to him and am dreading the day he finally loses. Thankfully, it was not last night. Although the show did keep me from knitting for quite some amount of time... Anyway, I finally did get around to getting some pictures off my camera so I can show you progress on the new red cable gwen sweater. (made from cascade 220 in burgundy from the cable sweater pattern in Knitting for Baby). Here it is as I started it: Then I took a break to pet Benny, who was sleeping soundly next to me: (addendum: I just took a look at this picture in the post and wow--look at that pregnant belly!! I think every pregnant woman has that day of realization that she is, indeed, getting huge. I had that day yesterday at the office when it finally dawned on my that I could no longer see my feet without bending over.) I was pretty impressed, so I kept going: I have since finished and started on the back. Actually, the piece in the pictures above was supposed to be the back but I started getting nervous about having enough yarn to finish the sweater. I decided to make the back the front and make a new back in plain seed stitch to conserve yarn. By golly, I think its working--I still have a decent ball going from the first hank of yarn and I'm a couple of inches into the back. I will definately have enough! Hooray! I still have to work on the neckline and button band across the front and that seems like it might be trouble but I am feeling all confident now that I have successfully completed cables :)

Hello Secret Pal!

2004-09-07T09:46:00.000-04:00

Hello Secret Pal! I got your cute little e-card--Thanks! Its adorable, I must say. Knitting News I started yet another baby sweater. I really meant to make socks but while pulling my sock yarn out of the stash, I ran across some dark red wool and decided to make a supercute cabled sweater for Gwen. I already finished the front! yay! I have pictures but, of course, they are still stored on the camera and I can't get to them right now, so they will be posted tomorrow. I am at work today after my looong four day weekend. It was so nice to be home without anything to do and now I am back in my office (yuck) reading (double yuck). I did take some time out this morning though to set up a new email and send my first email to my secret pal! I am already planning a few things to send to her :)

Secret Pals 3 Questionnaire

2004-09-04T09:15:00.000-04:00

Hi-diddly-ho there, Here is the completed secret pal questionnaire for the lucky someone out there that got me! 1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I do enjoy nice fibers but am willing to work with near anything, as long as its soft. 2. Do you spin? Crochet? yeah, baby! I crochet. Its been on hold for quite some time while I have been on my knitting kick. When it comes to crochet, I stick to blankets and scarves and avoid clothing since the crochet fabric just doesnt drape as well. 3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Not really--scents in lotions bother me a bit so I stick to baby products for myself. My husband is allergic to cats though, so don't send me a kitten! 4. How long have you been knitting? My grandma taught me basic stuff long long ago but I have only really picked it back up in the past couple of months 5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? nope...just a baby registry on amazon. I'll keep you updated in case I make one... 6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) This one is so easy--anything berry scented works for me. I'm not really a flower person but if the package has a strawberry or raspberry on it, I'm likely to pick it up 7. Do you have a sweet tooth? No, I have sweet teeth. I love chocolate--especially milk chocolate. 8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? My only other real hobbies other than knitting and crochet (which my father refers to collectively as 'yarnin') is reading. I don't think I've ever met a book I didn't like. 9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if you want to make her a CD) I like all music except for rap. I mainly listen to jazz (dave brubeck kind of stuff) and 80's music. 10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? If you could lump it into the family known as "jewel tones" i'll love it. I also love all forms of pink. 11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I'm married with two dogs and a baby girl on the way 12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) Princess of the world? I guess thats stretching it. I currently work in government and I really love my job, I have a fantastic husband and am really happy--I guess I have it about as good as it gets. :) 13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? i really like brown sheep, mainly because of the color range but other than something that is really easy to split, i like everything 14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't like things that squeak. I dont like things that are really itchy. 15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? baby things! although I am working on a few things for myself--I just finished my first pair of socks and really enjoyed them--so socks may be an upcoming obsession 16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? see above! 17. What are you knitting right now? a sweater for myself and a couple of scarves 18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us) I'm really more of a stole/scarf/shawl person myself.. 19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? circular 20. How did you learn to knit? other than the knit stitch from grandma, I am totally self taught from books. I actually hadn't ever even seen anyone knit in person until I met up with Lauren last week. 21. How old is your oldest UFO? just about a month Hope that helps!!

Ta Da!

2004-09-04T08:30:00.000-04:00

Well that was a hectic end of the week. Heres the update: I finally got around to playing with the new yarn I ordered from Webs summer sale. I feel like I got quite a deal. I got: 1. A Wool-Cashmere blend that is destined for a sweater--either for me or the husband (he deserves yarn love as well) and maybe a matching small sweater for the baby, if there is enough. 2. Brora Softspun wool in pink and light blue. Surprisingly soft and (the picture not being very color-true) the pink is great--its almost a pink/purple twist combination. 3. Berroco X-Press in Purple (three bags) and an aqua color (two balls). The purple is already being made into a simple V-neck sweater for myself that is turning out quite lovely. Least, but certainly not last: Petey was watching me take all the pictures of the yarn...he seemed a little jealous, so I had to take a picture of him as well--he is pretty darn cute, isnt he? In other news, I finally took a better picture of the sweater I finished for Gwen and the socks I made for her as well: I am fairly pleased with how they both turned out as they were my first attempts at a sweater or socks. I went to the craft store the other day and got sucked into buying some cute scarf yarn. I just couldn't help myself--it was on clearance, ok?? I got three skiens... Finally--I bought a new car! With the new addition to the family coming soon, my husband and I finally decided it was time to be a two car family so we went out yesterday and I came home with a cute green Saturn Vue! its adorable. yay! Whew--thats about all I have in me for now. I am going to continue working on the sweater for myself today and i'll be sure to get a picture of it as I finish up the back. Ta ta!

Yesterday...

2004-09-01T08:22:00.000-04:00

I came home Monday night to find my little puppies sick. Apparently, the macadamia nuts they had stolen from my purse early that morning had some type of chemical in them that causes temporary paralysis in dogs. :( Off to the vet we went where my little pathetic looking babies were poked and prodded and given a charcoal treatment to neutralize anything that might be left in their tummies. There were already feeling better by the time we got home but how sad...I was so worried about them. That, combined with some symptoms I had been having myself, made me want to stay home yesterday from work. So I sat on my couch, surrounded by my two puppies and knitted. Oh--and waited incredibly impatiently for my box to arrive from WEBS. (I have a love/hate relationship with the tracking ability offered by carriers now--on the one hand, I love knowing when my package will arrive but on the other, because I know its coming, so I can't concentrate on anything but it arriving.) It finally came and was fabulous--so much yarn :) Some of my stuff ended up being sold out so I didn't get it but what I did get was great :) Many sweaters will be made! One of the things that I ordered was a bunch of Berroco X-press yarn. I was skeptical because I had read the bad reviews at knittersreview.com about it being twisted to tightly but I started a sweater with it last night and have yet to have any problems. I say yay for x-press. And it knits up so nicely--nice soft spongy fabric that will make a lovely sweater. I am already half way up the back :) I also finished Gwen's second sock (I know...no pictures--I will have them tomorrow.) It came out pretty well, although I still have a lot of sock skills to improve. They also came out a size to big, even though my yarn was knitting to gauge. blah...I will try again on socks for me, perhaps this weekend. Little else to report. I am just getting back to work and enjoying my tasty coffee cake muffin.

The Store.

2004-08-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

Lauren and I met yesterday at the best ever local yarn store--which I am not referring to as "The Store" to my husband who is already making jokes about the size of the stash enhancement potential. I can't believe I lived less than a mile (you hear that? *less than a mile*) from a yarn store and didn't even know it. Anyway, the Fiber Arts Studio is fantastic--complete with the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever that taste almost like garlic toast with american cheese melted inside! Heres Lauren: We met, we ate, we knitted and we chatted. It was fabulous; I had so much fun, I didn't even realize we had been there for more than four hours. I also made out like a bandit as it was sale day: Stashy Goodness! Included is: Colinette Giotto Ironstone "New Wool" Trendsetter "Savvy" and three skeins of bulky Lamb's Pride for a felted bag of some sort--Limeade and Purple--how fun! In other knitting news: I finished up Gwen's Yellow Baby sweater before I rushed off to The Store yesterday. It turned out really well, especially for my first sweater. I still have to weave in some of the ends and block it but I'm already really happy with it. I was at a loss as to what to start last night when I got home from the Store. I had so much new shiny yarn and couldn't decide. After much debate, I finally decided on a pair of tiny baby socks (in pink, of course) made with some sock yarn I had bought weeks ago and since been very very afraid of. I hadn't ever made socks and was sailing along until I got to the part where I was supposed to turn the heel. It was horrible and my cute little sock turned into a pincushion knot. I ripped it out in frustration and told my husband we had to go to the bookstore today so I can get a knitting socks book. I am going to start another pair of socks when we get back from the bookstore--I just feel so lost without a project going (other than pink blanket, which is my mindless garter stitch transit system project). Anyway--Check out lauren's site--she took way more pictures of yesterday's adventure than I did and they turned out so cute! Ignore me in them though--as I look extremely puffy and pregnant. I am going through the phase where I look like the michelin man.... only 88 more days to go though!! (actually, they are pretty cute pictures...but I think its every girls obligation to complain at least somewhat about pictures.)

yarn nightmare

2004-08-26T13:09:00.000-04:00

ok...so this may put me much farther into the knitting dork category than I thought I was but I had a nightmare last night that involved my yarn stash. In my dream, I went downstairs to start a project because I couldn't sleep and found my yarn all tied in knots..all over. It was like my yarn tubs had completely exploded and a gigantic four hundred skien knot was lining my walls. oh...its just so horrible to think about. Anyway...enough of that. My yarn is safe at home and although I cannot actually see or check on it, I have enough faith in the laws of physics that I trust it has not moved on its own since I left this morning. I finished up the heart on Gwen's sweater last night. I must say, I am so incredibly proud of it. I even had a bit of trouble with one of the rows and had to attempt my first ripping experience. It went ok--some of the stitches look a little loose but I am confident time and blocking will help. I have to do the neck/shoulder shaping and make the final sleeve and then sew it up! I will definately finish this weekend. Also--the famous Wendy answered my question today in her blog. I asked about sweater design and accounting for cables--she is such a fantastic teacher and her answer was incredibly informative. Yay! Thanks Wendy--You're Fabulous! Not much else happening in the land-o-Papayas.... I intend to finish up the front of the sweater tonight and check on my yarn (just in case the laws of physics actually have changed today...)

Petey

2004-08-24T10:27:00.000-04:00

ok...one more picture--since I learned how to resize them and everything... Petey!! isn't he adorable?

Yarnin'

2004-08-24T08:46:00.000-04:00

Little knitting was done last night on account of a large traffic jam that kept me on the road for far far too long getting home last night. When I finally did get home, I laid on the couch, staring at my knitting but never really getting around to it. But, I did take some pictures. yay! everyone loves pictures, right? right?? Here is a significantly better picture of my pink bucket hat: cute, huh? I wasn't really sure which size to make and ended up with one just between small and medium--it is a little large. I know the yarn (landscapes by lionbrand) would probably felt a tiny bit since it has wool components but I hate to make it look funny if it felted weird. I still have a bit of the yarn left--so maybe I will try to felt a swatch this weekend sometime. I just hate to ruin my happy little pink bucket hat. Next up: Gwen's Yellow Baby Sweater--a pattern from Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby book. I do highly recommend that book by the way--it is excellent for beginners. It starts with basic stitches (the garter stitch) and slowly adds elements like color changes, shaping, and new stitch patterns with each new project. You can start from the beginning of the book with absolutely no knowledge of knitting and by the end, be working cables. Fancy!! I checked it out of the library a couple of times and ended up buying myself a copy... Anyway, back to the sweater. Its Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino (yum!) in a light yellowy butter color. Mostly stockinette stitch with a small seed stitch heart in it (which showed up surprisingly well in the picture). I have the rest of the front and an arm to do and then finishing it up. It will be so adorable... Next... I did some plastic baggy-ing of the recent (in the last month) stash additions. I really need to get some of those little gel packets to keep the moisture down, by the way. So much yarn! I love it. This is just one of many tubs-o-yarn currently living in my guest room. While I was baggying the yarn, I noticed this on the inside of the lid: Do not store young children in large plastic tubs! I love funny warning stickers. In other news--I am back at work, neglecting a report by thinking of my blog, yarn and Sander's hot fudge icing. It is a store that used to be common in Michigan, where I grew up. They have the very best hot fudge and butterscotch caramel topping you will ever taste--one so good it will ruin you forever and you will never be able to cheat on it with inferior ice cream toppings. I online-fondled it for a while and then emailed my husband and demanded (usually, I hint--but this was just too important) he get it for me for my birthday (only 63 days away). He is so good to me... :) I am sure I will have tasty toppings on the big birthday day. ok...ok...i should really work now.

Appliances and a Seed Stitch Heart.

2004-08-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

well, i spent the weekend doing the most exciting thing ever: buying new appliances. Last week was the week of death for appliances in my house; i lost my toaster, vacuum and clothes dryer. So off to lowes my husband and I went...so much fun. We ended up getting a new dishwasher as well since ours makes this horrible metal on metal grinding sound and we hate to run it and, with a baby on the way, it will be nice to have a nice quiet appliance. In between all that thrilling appliance adventure, I knitted. seriously knitted. I finished the back, arm and started the front of Gwen's Yellow baby sweater. I got about half way up the front of the seed stitch heart on the front and, my my, it is looking absolutely adorable. I think I will finish it this week but am currently debating with myself about the neckline--the pattern has a simple rolled stockinette neckline but that seems like it might be a pain to get on and off a new wiggly baby. I am thinking I might tone it down a bit and leave one of the shoulders partially open and add some buttons so it will be easier to deal with. Its a little scary but I think I can do it. I bought new yarn storage tubs as well this weekend so I played in the yarn stash last night, putting all the pretty yarn in new ziploc baggies to keep it nice and happy :) So exciting. In other news, Lauren (of lollyknitting around fame) and I are meeting at a yarn store i didn't even know was by my house--how exciting! I feel like i've been asked out on a date :) this is so fabulous.

Pictures Pictures...

2004-08-20T12:46:00.000-04:00

Finally got around to uploading some pictures but sadly few of them are actually of knitting.... anyway...here they are: mmm...goldfish. and whats that in the back there? a bucket hat? how cute! to bad the lighting is way way off... what a cute puppy! I especially love the "i'm getting a massage and i have my tongue out because it feels so good" picture. thats my little benny..he has such a hard life. I also have another puppy (Petey) but the pictures I have of him here at work are all gimongous so I have to shrink some down and put them up later... yes...that is an old tangerine that sits on the shelf above my desk. we (my office mate and i) have named him senior flap flap. why? i don't know...it just seems fitting.. as the sticker clearly states though--he is definately a "super worker"

Goldfish Crackers.

2004-08-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

mmmm...i LOVE goldfish crackers--i have one of those gimongous cartons of them here at my desk at work and am currently eating them off of nauseatingly pink paper (it was the only thing i could find). I took a picture with my cute bucket hat in the background--i'll put it up tonight when I get home to my camera friendly home computer. i did some work on my baby sweater last night--i have about 1/3 of the back done. it goes really quickly since its basically a little stockinette square. I didn't get to much done as I spent most of the night angry at my dogs who ate my loveseat slipcover while I was at work. darn dogs. they are locked in the kitchen today but I am skeptical of our thrown together security system which consists mainly of a stitch holder device. I hope I do not go home to more furniture destruction. in other news--there is a buzz around a few of the MAK girls here hoping to get another knitting group going. check out Lauren's fab blog if you are interested. I have finally finally finally gotten into double digits in the pregnancy countdown--only 99 more days to go until the big day (november 27)! so exciting!

Bucket Hat!

2004-08-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

Bucket hat is done! and looks pretty darn good, if i do say so myself. This was my first real project that wasn't a giant square or rectangle--I was so happy with myself, I immediately started on a baby sweater from Melanie Falick's Knitting for Baby book. So Cute! yellow with a seed stitch heart on the front (made out of the yummy debbie bliss baby cashmerino from Stitch DC). My guage is way, way off because the yarn is so much thinner but I am following the directions for a much bigger size and it is measuring just the way I want it. (yay for swatching!) I totally wimped out last night and fell asleep at (wow) 7:30. I am feeling the third trimester tiredness starting to catch up with me. I am going to work more on the cute yellow sweater tonight while olympicsing. I promise promise I will actually put the pictures of all the recent stuff up soon...I meant to do it last night but I was trapped by pillow...quite sad, actually. I did put a picture of me and my supercute Chihuahua Benny up in my profile--isn't he adorable? I think he needs a sweater too. I'll have to alternate that picture with one of me and my supercute Schnoodle Petey...i love my dogs!!

Weekend o Knittin'

2004-08-16T09:15:00.000-04:00

This weekend was eventful--I ripped Big Green Scarf and remade him into a green bag. It's a little soft sided but is just the right size to fit into my big work shoulderbag with my purse, so its darn near perfect for me. I also started my very own bucket hat. I am using the new lion brand landscapes in pink--I was planning on using some of the cascade 220 I bought at my recent yarn store trip but, as I am an instant gratification kind of girl, wanted to use some yarn that didn't need felting. The hat itself is coming out fantacular and I plan on finishing it up tonight during the Green Bay game. Even though I went to Stitch DC just a few days ago, I made another yarn trip this weekend. I went to the local craft store with the intention of only buying the DPN's I needed for the bucket hat but walked out of there with a ton of yarn--including some tasty feeling acrylic/angora blend for my sitcom chic I plan on starting this week. mmm....so cute and washable too. What else...oh--some sock yarn for some lime green and pink socks to wear around the hospital this fall when I have baby Gwen (a girl needs to have cute socks on then, right?). I am considering using some of the leftover acrylic angora blend to make her a matching cardigan--how cute would that be? I also (i know, i know, the list keeps growing) got some cute novelty type yarn to make a few more bucket hats--it was on sale and I just couldn't pass it up. I love hats and scarves... I am stuck at work now but I will post pictures of the completed bucket hat and new purchases soon. Along with some of my completed projects.... Thanks to all those who posted comments in the past few days--I feel so loved!

Big Green Scarf Update.

2004-08-14T10:37:00.000-04:00

I hate big green scarf. I killed it an its remains are being made into a big green bag. I just wasn't happy with the way the edges were turning out and, even though the cable looked great, I was worried I would be unhappy with the finished scarf so...I am going to make a small bag out of it so I can tote around a different WIP. I think I could possibly finish it today and I will post a new picture...:) yay. I stopped by Stitch DC yesterday for the first time--it was so cute! I ended up getting some light yellow baby cashmerino and a few colors of cascade 220 to make a felted hat and bag. I think I will make a scarf with the cashmerino but i haven't quite committed yet. I had every intention of getting yarn for a cute cardigan a la sitcom chic style but, with the growing belly, I was sure it wouldn't fit right and I just hate being disappointed--So I will wait until the post-baby era when my significant belly eventually goes away. In my yarn spree yesterday I also ordered some from Webs summer sale...they just had too many good deals to pass up and I am weak. I ordered a couple of spools of the cashmere/silk blend yarn that is destined for sweaterhood. I also got come cute purple chunky although for the life of me, i cant remember what kind that has promise of being turned into one of the coats from a recent edition of one of my new knitting magazines. I never ever used to read magazines and now I am a total magazine ho; I can't decide if I would rather have a subscription or just be surprised when I go to the bookstore...I have the cards filled out and sitting on my desk. decisions, decisions. Not much else going on--just preparing for the upcoming wind and rain that charley's remains will bring to us here in DC. The plants are coming in from the patio and there is some non-power friendly food to be purchased. blah--I hate storms.

Addict.

2004-08-12T14:32:00.000-04:00

I've been in denial about my yarn/knitting/crochet addiction for some time. Then, on my lunch break today, I just "popped" into the bookstore to see if there were any magazines I had overlooked on the 18 times I had been there before... and happened upon the knitting book stash. Yes, I walked out of there with four new books. Its like crack, I just can't stop....they are all so shiny and pretty and new.... I was partially strong though and didn't buy three good books I saw because I knew my local library had them (I know because I have had them checked out now for a few weeks...). I'm probably going to sit here all day trying to think up reasons to justify my new purchase to myself... addict addict addict....

Yarn Call!

2004-08-12T10:47:00.000-04:00

My Brown Sheep yarn finally came--20 shiny skeins of Brown Sheep Handpaint wool in Peacock and Cream Puff. I am so thrilled. Now I can finally begin my oh so cute felted bag. I just can't decide between Knitty's French Market Bag or a cute bag from one of my (far too many) books... oh, the dillemma.

BIG GREEN SCARF

2004-08-11T09:59:00.000-04:00

I had good intentions of simply organizing my yarn stash but I came across this great big bulky cotton yarn I had bought on clearance a long time ago. I had forgotten all about and after it had reemerged from the darkness of the "green yarn tub," I got sucked into starting another new project--I am calling it BIG GREEN SCARF--ohhh..scary. For my first attempt at cables, I think it is turning out well. The picture is less than stellar (I shrunk it too much exporting it from my iphoto), but its about 6 inches long making it far from done but working up quickly on my broomstick size 15 knitting needles. The actual cable-ing is a little difficult because the yarn is so stiff but its getting easier as the project moves along. I am using the 12 stitch "Giant Cable" pattern from my shiny new vogue knitting reference book. My Brown Sheep Yarn still has not arrived. I am also waiting on the new Vogue on the go crochet scarves book to arrive. The scarf on the cover is just nifty. Hopefully, a package will be waiting for me upon my return home this evening or I will have to face BIG GREEN SCARF again...

I must Have this

2004-08-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

I have a thing for hats--especially hats that resemble other things. I just came across this hat--Berry Cute by Fiber Trends: http://store.nobleknits.com/becuhatbyfit.html I simply must have it. Unfortunately I am stuck at work and should really wait until I get home to order it....the unfairness of it all is just striking.

An addendum to my last post (obviously, I am not working at work)--I found another hat that is shaped like a pumpkin--fabulous! http://knitting.about.com/library/blpumpkin.htm

I need to start a list of projects I will get around to making...

Waiting for Yarn

2004-08-10T09:05:00.000-04:00

I am so impatient. I ordered some new bulky Brown Sheep yarn last week to begin the cutest shoulder bag and it has yet to arrive. I am hoping I will come home today and find a big box on my porch but I am trying hard not to hold my breath.

I also had an idea to make a cute felted case in which to carry my digital camera around with me since my lovely dogs have torn the zipper off of my old case. Maybe it will even coordinate with the cute shoulder bag. Geez, this yarn needs to come quickly because my "cute" shoulder bag is quickly becoming a multifaceted project with lots of extras like interior pockets and coordinating camera cases.

I got so little done last night--football and a headache will do that I guess. I was still hopeful and carried my knitting around with me for a few hours but nonetheless, got only one row done on baby Gwen's pink cotton blanket. It is now here at work with me, taunting me. Maybe a bit of my lunch hour will be devoted to it.

email posting

2004-08-09T13:54:00.000-04:00

just a test to see if i have mastered the posting by email concept.

hmmm...a blog.

2004-08-09T13:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I sure haven't ever done this before. I had a website way back in the day--remember when Geocities was the coolest? yeah...way back then. A blog...a place to air my griefs and hobbies (mainly knitting...) sounds good :)