Gnome Sweater

Finished up this sweater last night, for a friend's baby girl due in December. DH actually asked me to make one for our little guy-color me very flattered. The yarn is a yummy shade of blackberry, and it's got hints of red, blue, purple, black and grey in it. Very nice!






And a close up of the neck since the pic above is so dark:

Bedrest stinks...but the knitting is great!

Yes, the continuing saga of me and bedrest. I am so tired of my house I think I may scream. But, the knitting goes on. I did these little ditties last night, Beaded Booties. I don't have any girls to put them on, and this bun in the oven is another boy, but darn it! They are cute and I really wanted to make them, LOL.

Amity Mama Forums - Felted mocs FS: snowflakes!!!

So I know I've been MIA a bit lately, but I'm onbedrest for preterm labor (26 weeks 1 day today!!) so I've been doing nothing but sitting on my fanny knitting all day. I've got tons to show, but for now I'll show off these adorable felted mocs with some embroidery.


Amity Mama Forums - Felted mocs FS: snowflakes!!!

Harvest Longies...

I don't have time to write much, but just had to show off the longies I just finished. I wish the pic did the bark/chocolate brown justice, because it really is such a deep georgeous color!

Home again...

The boys and I have been up in NY since Saturday, my grandma's really sick. It's amazing how much knitting you can get done when you are sitting in the ICU with nothing else to do but start at the monitors and pray. I don't have much time to write, have so much to catch up on now that I'm home, but wanted to post the after pic of the felted mocs like I promised!

Sneak preview...

so I had this crazy dream that someone approached me to write a book last night, and I woke up with 4 pattern ideas. I whipped out this first one in about 2 hours-I'm On Fire!! They are (going to be) felted mocs, this is the before pic. They're in the wash now, so I'll post a finished pic when they come out. Ethan grabbed one as soon as it came off the needles and said, "OH, my slippies!" So I think they'll be a hit around here if nothing else. Be on the lookput for some new patterns around here, I've got major creative vibes going :)

The perfect ending to a perfect day...

Just had to update, after I wrote the last entry about 1/2 hour ago, I went downstairs and was greeted by this site on my couch. They did this with no prodding from me at all!!


God must be smiling on me today :)

Today has been a good day. The boys let me sleep in, the weather is cool enough to warrant me wearing a sweater, and we went for a jaunt into Media (Everybody's Hometown), which is a fun little town with tons of cool artsy shops and a new bead shop, too. There's a trolley that runs through the center of the main street (and I wish I had though to take the trolley in from our town, cause the boys would have loved it, but I realized it too late!) And the best pizza place around (Little Anothony's for anyone close enough to ever visit.) I had a slice of roasted pepper, broccoli rabe and kalamata olive pizza for lunch.



Anyway, we were on a mission to make a necklace for Gigi (my absolutely awesome mother in law, the boy's beloved "Georgeous Grandma", thus the moniker "GiGi"). Anyway, here's what the boys created (and I finished when they got bored) for her birthday celebration tomorrow. GiGi and Pop-pop are taking them to the Zoo for the day, so I get a whole afternoon to myself. I'm practically gasping at the thought!





Plus, I got to chatting with the owner and mentioned that I'd love to teach a beaded knitting class, and she seemed very interested and offered class space in November! I told her I was thinking more along the lines of early spring after the babe's born, but I'm pretty excited at developing the class. I think I might be able to rent their classroom space when it's not in use for knitting classes, as well. Wahoo!!



So, of course I bought some more beads for stitch markers. I got the most adorable silver little turtle charms, and some beautiful butterflies as well. Here's the turtle ones:







We ran into my friend Mindy in town, and she posed in this pic with the boys. I think little Ethan with that big head is hysterical!




And yes, that's AJ trying to scratch Mindy's eyes out with the freaky Freddie hand!

So I hate that blogger just deleted the entire post I wrote. Ugh-now to rewrite it. It's never as witty the second time around, yk?



What a day! Ethan's asthma has taken us for a ride the past few days, since he got croup. When his coughing made him throw up his OJ this morning, I knew it was time to bundle up for a visit to the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital. So, off we went. Ethan got four breathing tratments and a shot of steroids, and now we're happily cuddled back at him. He'll be on Orapred for a few days, but I think we've weathered this storm pretty well. Last time, we had to stay at CHOP for 5 days. Man, how I love those steroids and the magic they cast on my little guys lungs!



I did manage to get a bit of progress done on his gansey while he slept at the ED. It's for Christmas, so the center motif is little trees, which you cannot tell from the pic. He's already grown quite attached to it, and treis to cuddle at every occasion. I've had to rescue at least half a dozen droppes stitches from his attempts at "lovin", but if it makes him happy, right now that's fine by me.





I managed to also get the second bootee doen in this cute pumpkin pair. The yarn is Wildflower DK, and if I haven't mentioned it before, I loathe this yarn. It splits like the Dickens, it's like knitting with 8 strands of thread, held loosely together. Yuk. But the finished product is awfully cute (or will be, once I seam the second bootee).





And finally, one more pic that I promised a few days ago-my little turtle stitch markers. I hope they make you smile as much as they do me :)

Dh took the boys to the Y to swim before I even woke up this morning, so I've had 3 hours (and counting) of blissfully quiet knitting time. (Gotta love that man o'mine!) Finally got a chance to sit and figure the details on the Pilot Cap pattern everyone has been bugging me about, so now it's finished. Here's the hat:





I'm not sure what I'll do with that sample one, since there's a definite lack of girls around here, but that's the yarn that was salvaged from the swift incident the other day, I couldn't bear to waste it.

I think I'm going to start a gansey sampler today, for a new pattern. I've been itching to do matching ones for Ethan and AJ to wear for Christmas pics, and since the house is quiet and all the cleaning is done, I feel like it's okay to start another project (let's NOT talk about the half dozen or so that are sitting on my workdesk to be finished, ok?) I'll be using some of the yummy 2 ply yarn I carry, in the hunter green shade. Very Christmas-y, me thinks. I'll post pics tomorrow when there's some progress.

Well, I'm posting pics, so I think that means the yarn came out well! I am in love witht eh autumn colorway I talked about this morning. It's going to my friend Tanya, for her little Fae's booty, and I hope she loves it :)





And here's the rest of my "inbox" that I dyed today. I love being a knitter, all these fun colors!





ANd finally got the boys to model the hats I did for them over vacation. Notice the ingenious shaping at the ears to keep those little lobes warm and cozy? I'm planning to write up the pattern for the site, but it's slow going, so if y'all want it, pester me about it and I'll try tog et it dne faster. Ethan's (the white hat) has a tree pattern in purl on it, and Aj's (the green one) has a diamond purl pattern on it. Pretty cute, huh? (that hats aren't so bad either!)

Today has been a much better knitting day. I consoled myself yesterday by making the cutest little turtle stitch markers (pics coming as soon as I charge the digi batteries). They make me smile every time I look at them :)



My beginner's knitting class at the YMCA is coming along very nicely. They've all caught on quickly (I know it's cause I'm such a great teacher, LOL!) and they started their first circular project last night. It's just a simple aht, but they were all terribly impressed with themselves that they could actually knit in the round. I told them it wasn't hard, but I think that's one of those things you just have to learn for yourself :)



Hubby stayed home from work today (playing hookey to go play golf, bad boy!) so I got a break fromt eh walking-to-school routine and managed to get 8 skeins of yarn dyed this morning. Very productive, so I'm feeling quite proud of myself. I tried a new colorway, kind of an earthy-autumn thing going' on, so I'll post if it comes out well (and we'll all just forget I mentioned it if it comes out badly).



I'm working on the pattern for the pilot cap lots of you have been asking for, and I just cannot seem to get the dimensions right. If iI get the back right, then the sides look wonky, if the sides are right, the back's too narrow. Ugh-if I rip out the sample one more time I'm throwing in the towel. I wish I had written down the directions when I did it last year, then I wouldn't have this problem, would I?


Mental note to self-Always write things down. Youwill forget more than you think you can remember.

Argh!! It is NOT a good knitting day for me, folks. First, I woke up to the boys sitting angelically ont he couch watching Clifford, and Dh was already gone for work. I walk intot he playroom/workroom for me, and my beautiful wooden swift has two pieces snapped in half. :sob: So who's the culprit? I know it's one of the boys, but their mouths are closed tighter than a ship out at sea. Harumpf!! It's a good thing I just got a wholesale account with a company that wholesales wooden swifts, tee hee!




So I schlep to the attic to pull out the yukky metal swift, and start to wind the skeins I dyed this weekend. We take a break to walk AJ to school, and then when I get back I'm rinsing dishes in the kitchen when Ethan comes in and says, "Uh-oh, mama. Yarn messy!" I (try to) walk calmly into the workroom, and am greeting by this sight:




Ethan thought he's help me out by spinnign the yarn for me. Well, it's not a tangled mess that will never be undone. I'm forced with either spending hours to untangle it (not a wise investment of time fo rone skein of yarn) or cut it off and de another. Wah!!


moral of this story: yarn+toddler=sad knitter today

So I'm all excited about some creative juices I've got flowing the past few days, and bundle the boys to head off to the yarn shop this morning. I know it opens at 10, so I plan our arrive for around 10:30, so it will probably still be empty and the boys don't bug anyone. We show up at 10:24, and it's CLOSED. Yes, closed, locked up tight, empty. I can spy the yarn I want for swatching through the window, but can't get to it. Wah! What's the point of having posted hours if you do not honor them?


So, we head to the library for a bit, and after the library head to another local yarn shop. This one's due to open at 11, so when we arrive at 11:35, I think surely they will be ready to greet us.


NO! I'm wrong. They are closed too. What is up with this?! I understand that yarn shops are generally run by sole proprietors, but this is not the first time I've visited these establishments when they have been due to be open adn are closed. I suppose I should have learned my lesson and called before I went out. But am I asking too much to expect a business to honor their posted hours?! (and lest anyone think it's because of inclement weather from Isabel, she's not due here until late tonight, and basically all we've got going now is a light breeze and some cloud cover)


Now I'm left ordering online, since I won't be able to get out to either shop again, and I want to start these swatches before I forget the ideas. So much for trying to support small, local businesses. Harumpf!

Okay, so I haven't been quite as good about blogging as I said I would. September has crept up on me, and we're mired in preschool, Sunday school, and such. My beginner's knitting class at the Y is going well, I love the students in my class! Next week theya re going to tackle circular knitting and a cute little hat, and they are terrified. I remember how scared I was the frist time I had to join, and I know they will do just fine.



We just got back from a glorious week in the Adirondacks, which turned out to be quite productive for me. I got several patterns written up, including the one for these beauties: LTK Longies!



Ethan is deserate for a new pair, so I'm doing some for him in a denim-y blue Bartlett yarn. Aj wants a monster hat for the winter-so need to think about what that is, exactly! No projects on needles or planned for me, since I'm getting huger by the second and don't desire to knit any tents for myself.



Ah!! Baby newsflash: IT"S A BOY! yes, anotherboy. There's a special place in heaven for mother's of three boys, and my spot in the corner, knitting under the tree, is reserved already. It's right next to the padded room they've reserved for mothers of twins.



Now that we know it's a boy, I've started to get the urge to knit cute little denim yarn sweaters and such. We'll see how much I get done though!

Back from Long Island, what a weekend! I was in such a rush to get up to my parents' on Thursday that I left all of my knitting at home. Up at their house I came across some of that fluffy TLC Amore yarn and came up with this little ditty:


I was going to make it into a 3/4 sleeve sweater, but I think I like it just how it is now. I'm picturing some cute little curly-headed tyke in a pair of bootleg jeans, with a crisp white button down shirt underneath it. Tres chic for the preschool set, LOL! I think I will offer this as a freebie on the site (the pattern, not that exact vest;) )

Also swatched that Cotton Plus for a darling holiday dress. I really like that yarn. It's got a nice crape and stitch definition to it (and it was cheap!)

A girly vest, a darling dress. It seems my inner muse is definitely leaning towards the feminine designs lately-perphaps this babe is already making herself known? Only a few more weeks till we'll find out for sure (yes, I am one of those impatient mamas who cannot wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl!)Carodan Farm Wool Shop.

I need to get out more often. I took a trip to AC Moore today, and was completely shocked at the assortment of yarn they were proffering. Last time I'd been, they had Red heart, Red Heart, and some Lion Brand wool-ease. Now, it's a veritable yarn shoppe, complete with "dazzle", LOL! As if we needed more proof that knitting is the *in* thing to do, the craft giant store is now carrying Sirdar yarns.



I did manage to snag some nice cotton acrylic blend that isn't as sproingy as Cotton-Ease, I think it will have a much crisper drape and show stitch definition very well. And although I am an admitted fiber-snob, I did pick up some super soft and fluffy TLC Amore, it was begging to be made into something baby-licious.



As promised here are the pics of the halter and the stitch markers :)



Deja vu, no?




And the first two sets of markers:


And the second set:


My fave is the fish set, I love those beads!!

So I've officially decided that I have no original ideas. Blah. I finished up a halter top for myself about 5 weeks ago, a maternity halter. Very cute, seed stitch top section, ties at neck. Was gonna finish writing up the pattern, even contemplated submitting it to the Knitty book, but never got around to finishing the largest size number crunching. Imagine my surprise when I check knitty this weekend, and there's *my* halter top in the Summer Surprise! Ack-good thing I didn't submit it, LOL! It's freaky how similar my top is to the Cleo version. More proof that there really is nothing new under the sun. Ah, well, at least I got a sexy maternity top out of it ;) Promise to post a pic as soon as I charge the digi batteries so you can see for yourselves just how alike great minds think.



In other knitting news, I've got a great idea for a new kid's design (which will probably show up in someone's else pattern in the next IK, with my luck lately!), but can't find a suitable yarn for it. Want something simple, slightly crisp, sport or Dk weight, and must be easy care since it's for a kid. My mind is a complete blank. Any suggestions?



I made myself some pretty neat stitch markers this weekend after being inspired by a friend's georgeous beaded necklaces. They came out very cool, I think. Again, pics when batteries have life.



That's it for now...

I actually have a lot of knitting related stuff to share today :) I'm working on a new pattern for a stuffed star for sister-in-law's new baby. The nursery is a moon and stars theme, so I thought a cute stuffed star would eb cute for the crib (that hopefully will never get used, cause I'm trying to convince SIL that co-sleepign will yield more sleep for everyone). It's made in a bright sunshine yellow cotton-ease, and I have to admit, I like this yarn. It knits up nicely, pretty crisp stich definition, and it was cheap, which is always good.



On another cheap note, I'm swatching for a Noro Silk Garden scarf for myself. It's yummy, a pretty pale green with slubs of various colors. I have no idea how old this yarn is, I got if ages ago at Goodwill in a huge bag of Noro yarn for $10 (there were like, 15 skeins of various Noro yarns in this bag.) Wooo-hooo!!! I'm guessing since I'll be big and feeling frumpy this winter, I will anticipate needing to pamper myslef by knitting a pretty scarf (which will also serve to distract attention from the monstrous bump I will have come November!)



Lastly, I made myself some stitch markers with beads that have been sitting around forever, waiting patiently for inspiration to strike. They are really quite beautiful, and as soon as the battery is charged in my digi, I will dutifully snap pics for your enjoyment.



Today was a good day. I slept in, DH took the boys to swim at the Y, then everyone napped, and we went fishing at the local park. Went for water ice afterwards, and now I'm looking forward to an evening of old movies and swatching for my scarf. Life is good.

I know I've been awful about blogging. But, to be honest, I've done nothing but knit soakers for the past 4 months. Not that I'm complaining, I'm thrilled my biz is keeping me so busy, but now that I'm pregnant the primal urge to knit warm fuzzies for the babe is kicking in. I NEED my therapeutic knitting back! So, hopefully I'll have oodles to show very soon!

I have been a [i]bad, bad[/i] blogger. But, I've got an excuse. The boys and I have been nearly half-dead with the flu for weeks. Weeks! But, I have been knitting!

and my newest pattern creation: the moc booties. I love this yarn! Classic Elite Provence. Expensive, but egyptian cotton that is just so yummy!



Pattern's coming soon, I promise. Computer crashed this weekend with the almost completed pattern, so I have to reconstruct it.



If you haven't been to my site in a while, go check it out. I've kicked off the ~Knit Something~ idea, and it's got a whole new look. :)

Found out about a new LYS today new yarn shop today, it's pretty cool. Check it out: Technicolor Sheep



got some funky eyelash in the mail today-making myself a slip stich scarf. It's working up quick and I like it-definitely funkier than my usual wardrobe. I'll post pics soon, promise.



Nothing else to report, really. We've had the flu, I cannot wait for winter to be over. I am tired of being sick, tired of the boys being sick. Tired of snow outside my window. I want warm weather!!Knit Something!

sorry for the long load times tonight, I have no idea what's going on! I'm working on figuring it out though...

I've come to the realization that either I am the luckiest woman on Earth, or I am a big loser. It's Saturday night, and my hubby is out with the guys playing pool. What am I doing, you ask?

Well, I am sitting here, updating the site, working on the raglan sweater for Ethan, eating Ellio's pizza and drinking a (very tasty!) Wild black cherry wine cooler. It's bliss for me, alone with my knitting and pizza, but I know there are several of my friends who would cringe at this sight! It's amazing how much your life changes when you have kids, right?




Got a few measely inches done on the raglan today, but made great headway in writing up the multisize pattern, and got a few more inches on the "was-to-be-knitty submission" MIL is taking the boys tomorrow, so I'll get a few solid hours of knitting time, wahoo!


I met up witha f riend for coffee at Border's this afternoon, and have fallen in love with the "wearable spindle" in the winter issue of Spin-Off. I must have one of these, but of course, now that I've chopped my hair short again, I've no place to put the hairstick/spindle.The boys would probably just rip it out of my hair and try to spear each other anyway.


Here's a pic of the very first yarn I spun with my new asford spindle. Turns out, it didn't need a hook, I could just do a loop thingy (yes, I know, very technical term there). It's so awesoem, I love it. I'm so proud of that little ball fo yarn! Of course, Dh laughed and said, "Is it supposed to be lumpy like that?" Jerk.


On a sad knit note, Ethan dumped something of unknown origin on his Aran vest yesterday. I'm so bummed, I love this vest! He was with DH, and he can't remember what it is spilled, so I am on mystery cleanup. The vest is 100% wool, aran weight, and I will be so sad if it doesn't come out.

That's it for now-off to finish my black cherry cooler. Knit on...

Well, I've officaially given up hope of finishing the Knitty project i was going to submit, since the deadline is tomorrow and I've still got half a back and a whole front to finish. Maybe next time! Or, I'll just finish it and post yummy pics for y'all to drool over, it's such a great color and that cashmerino yarn is so georgeous.


Here's a pic of the alpaca scarf I finished yesterday. It's 100% alpaca DK (by Reynolds, but can't recall the anme of it now and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look for the ball band-so sue me!) in a really nice demin-y shade. I did it on size 8 needles, so it's got some awesome drape to it. It's my version of the bow scarf but I increase two stitches every other row instead of one every row, and I made it wider (worked to 30 stitches instead of 24). I didn't do the ribbed slot either, I split the stitches and did garter. So I guess it's a very loose interpretation of the original bow scarf, LOL (I just can't ever follow a pattern the way it's written! It's a complusion to design and change everything)

I wore it today and got several compliments!


In other knitting news, I am officially teaching again. I'm doing a class at the ymca, for the spring session,a dn I'm developing a sweater workshop, a teen class and a middle school class for the summer day camp program. I'm so excited to be back in class again, I missed sharing knitting. The best part is seeing all the things they've created at the end of the session though, so I'll have to be patient for that!


Started swatching for a raglan sweater for Ethan tonight. It's wool-ease chunky, since this kid is a one-boy demolition crew when it comes to clothes. I got the dark chocolate brown, thinking it will hide all the mud he's going to get into this spring. I'll post pics as it gets going.


And now for something completely different. The Friday Five


1. As a child, who was your favorite superhero/heroine? Why?


Wonder Woman-I dug those bracelets!




2. What was one thing you always wanted as a child but never got?


My mother's approval




3. What's the furthest from home you've been?


California (I'm from NY)




4. What's one thing you've always wanted to learn but haven't yet?


To spin well




5. What are your plans for the weekend?


Swimming with the family tomorrow at the y, work on Ethan's sweater, have a fabu dinner tomorrow night with Dha fter the boys go to bed, teach Sunday school, annual meeting at church. Sounds so exciting, doesn't it?!?!




That's it for now, I think. Knit On...The Knitting Circle

Ohhhh, it's so much fun to spin! I sat watching the state of the union with my little drop spindle, creating yards (okay, maybe inches is more like it!) of fluffy, beautiful yarn. I'm so excited!



Pictures tonight, I promise. THe spindle, the yarn I spun, and the alpaca scarf I'm working on. It's been super quick, it's kind of like a bow-scarf, but instead of ribbing at the hole it's just garter. I think it'll be very warm, and so cozy around my neck.

Wahoo! I've fianlly given in to the urge to spin, and my little asford drop spindle arrived today, with a pristine bag of roving. I'm so anxious to get started, BUT (there's always a but)...the spindle did not come with a hook on it?!?! Of course, being the completely clueless newbie spinner that I am, I have no idea if this is normal. Am I suppossed to put the hook in myself, on the end I prefer? Right now, it seems as if this could be a top or bottom whorl, I just have to choose a place for the hook-thingy (very technical, I know).



Drat! I so wanted to get spinning tonight, and now I have to figure out about this hook problem. Of course, now it gives me time to dye some of this roving, so at least my first efforts will be colorful!



DH is, to put it midly, not thrilled about the spinning endeavours. He jokes that we've already got a dozen sheep's worth of yarn in the attic, and now we're going to add the fleece too? But I just couldn't resist the call of the wild, LOL.



In other knitting news, I am moments away from having the soaker pattern ready for public consumption. Just a few more pictures to put in place, and it will be finished. Finally.Knit Something!

sorry I've been rather neglectful of this blog lately, I've been spending all my free time revamping my site. Check it out: Knit Something!. I promise, more knit content coming soon, really.

We're finally back in the land of *normalcy* again. A scary few days with Ethan and his asthma, two sleepless nights in the hospital, and nary a stitch to show for it. Ethan was so sick he pretty much needed me to hold him and cuddle for the entire two days. Now we're back home and trying to readjust to life with round-the-clock nebulizer treatments, what fun!

Zero to report on the knitting front. Hoping to get soem dyeing done today for wool for the soaker kits. Still finisheing the write-up of the pattern. blah, blah, blah...Little Turtle's Garden

i was wrong. it can get worse. we're waiting for Dh to come home and stay with AJ so I can get Ethan to the hopsital to be admitted. there's nothing scarier than watching your child sit in your lap and struggle for every breath and you can't do anything. please pray, send healing vibes, positive thoughts and anything else you can muster for us.

Well, it can't possibly get any worse, right? Ethans got a double ear infection now, hasn't slept in three days, and I think he might have pneumonia as well. We're off to the doc today. AJ, poor thing, has ruptured a blood vessel in his eye from coughing so hard. And I'm not even going to get into the sinus problems I'm having. When it rains, it freakin' pours.

not much tor eport on the knitting fornt, I can barely think straight. Finished a soaker last night, starting another one today. mindless knitting for the doc's office, and with a 2 year old splayed on my chedst, there's not much else I can work on.



Please send all your spare healing vibes my way. I'd be ever so grateful.Knit Something!

I'm feeling a bit delusional. Must be the sinus medication. If anyone's got some secret way to cure sinus infections, feel free to share it, cause I've got a doozy coming on. Bugger-I hate being sick.



The Eagles are winning. Rah-rah.

WAHOOO!!! Finally got off my lazy bum yesterday and sent a proposal into the Y about starting a knitting class there. The program director called about 15 minutes after I sent the e-mail, she was so excited. So, I'm officially off sabbatical, LOL. I'll start teaching again in April. Now, to dig out the class outlines from that hellhole of an attic, and pick some new beginner's projects. This almost makes up for not being able to take that microbiology class this semester. Almost.

We're all sick here, excpet for Dh, who has abandoned us to watch football with his buddies. ugh. Can't blame him, really. I feel like crud and still wish I could get out of the house. At least I've gotten some work in on the picot sweater, since none of us can get off the couch. If I have to watch another Land Before Time video, I might just lose my mind.

The boys are sick, and that severely impedes my creative process. I did manage to dye some wool this morning, in georgeous jewel tones. Makes me realize I really need to get back into the dye thing-I always feel so happy when I do.

The picot sweater is coming along well enough, I'm not crazy about how the yarn is working-that darn microfibre is already becoming a blight in an otherwise ideal project. I can feel it pilling in my hands as I knit. Ick.

Working on a multisized sweater pattern, but can't decide the gauge I want to use, so I keep change it, and thus changing the whole stinkin' pattern. Time to let it fester for a while, I think. Maybe it's the yarn I need to change? It's Mission Falls cotton, but I'm thinking I might like to do it in Saucy instead. It's for kids, and I think the boys' sweaters in the Saucy have held up better than the vests in the MF cotton.

Won't get a lot of needle time this weekend-Dh has the Eagles game tomorrow, and I've got LLL District Workshop on Sunday. I suppose I can take the knitting with me to the workshop :) I love the odd looks I still get whenever I pull out a WIP. No matter how much the media hypes how coolknitting is, people still think it's odd when a 20something is doing something domestic-IN Public, no less. Oh, well, off to the boys, I think I hear wretching again :(

Another dreary day. It's suppossed to snow tonight, but only a bit. I'm desperate for a good, long snowstorm. I love watching the boys frolick in the snow-everything looks so pristine and fresh.

Finished the swatch for the cashmerino-18st/22r. It is so incredibly soft, I am going to love this project! Have decided on a picot edge treatment, the seed stitch did nothing for this yarn. Have 6 soakers to finish up, got a few more orders. Guess I'll pull out the old dye pots and have a color party.

Made a few pairs of wodden needles last night-they came out pretty awesome. I'm thinking I might add them to the site, but then again, I might keep 'em all to myself (but really, how many pairs of size 8's cana girl have?) I enjoyed playing with the sculpey for the beads at the top-such a nice change from the play-dough I'm usually mucekd in with the boys. I had forgotten how nice it was to knead hard clay into this soft, malleable little ball, waiting to be shaped into something grand. I must have been feeling sentimental last night, cause as I was molding the clay I was getting all warm and cozy feelings thinking about the boys, and how they are as malleable as the clay. They are my biggest UFO, and this is one I know I'll never, ever finish.

Really struggling with writing down the patterns. Just can't seem to get it from head to paper, even after trying the whole tape recorder at my side and dictating as I knit. Maybe I'm just not ready to let the patterns go yet? Who knows, but it's really starting to grate on me. Little Turtle's Garden

what a grey day today. Dreary, icky, cold-the perfect time to knit (what isn't a perfect time to knit?!?!) I woke up in the middle of last night with the inspiration of that autumn red Debbie Bliss Cashmerino that's haunting me-a 3/4 sleeve, raglan, boatneck sweater. I'm picturing it with my favorite cream beach capris, a pair of jute mules and big Jackie O sunglasses. Tres chic! Now to find the time to write tha pattern and knit it. wugh.

another flash of insight-I'm picturing a black, soft v-neck, fully fashioned form fitting sweater, with side pleats, rice stitch collar, and fold back cuffs in rice stitch. Now to find the perfect yarn-must be super crisp and great stitch definition. I'm thinking a DK mercerized cotton-must be somewhat shiny.

Now to finish the knit-a-long, and dye up some more wool for those soakers on order. Knit on...HTTP 404 Not Found

Forgot to add-Happy New Year!

Okay, at my friend Jo's insistence, I am going to make it one of my New Year's resolutions to write in this blog! We'll see how long I last, LOL.



Okay-on the needles today: a cotton preemie 5 hour baby sweater for the local NICU. Various handdyed wool swatches for a knit-a-long I'm starting on my forums. I'm having fun picking out the stitch patterns for the blocks-some of them are stitches I haven't used in ages. I'm also working on some new patterns (again, at Jo's insistence, LOL) and I'm rewriting my proposal for summer camp classes at the local community arts center. I want to teach a kool-aid dyeing class to the high schoolers, but the center's director isn't keen on the idea. Phooey!