merry christmas

happy birthday to me!

giftiness

i said a dumb thing yesterday .... "good things come to those who wait!"
well, i couldn't wait any longer, so i carefully peeled the scotch tape off the mystery present to see what was hiding inside. i'm sure glad i didn't wait, because it was this!





will my spinning fairy come and get me started on the first little bit?

a very big thank you to my enabler, you cannot imagine the joy and pleasure of unwrapping this baby! thank you! thank you! thank you!!!!

finito!

the beret is blocking on a dinner plate in the kitchen. i think there is a mistake in the pattern, so i improvised and did what i think it should be.

the pattern is the same for all the tams, with different options for the shaping of the top, whether a swirl-crown or wheel-shaped crown. the wheel-shaped crown calls for double decreases every other round. you are decreasing 12 sts every other round. the swirl-shaped crown calls for single decreases, also, every other round, which adds up to only 6 decreases every other round. i think that's wrong. i think that's a recipe for an onion head shape. so, i worked my single decreases every round.

anyhoo, looks like indian grandma is getting a beret from the knitting santa!

ann budd to the rescue ....

as i predicted, i would start a last minute gift with almost no time to spare. who better to refer to than interweave's ann budd? she wrote a couple of super handy books for knitters, and for this project i picked up my copy of the knitter's handy book of patterns. no, the book does not feature felt christmas stockings, that's just to show who i am making the beret for.
so, like a good knitter, i went through my stash looking for an appropriate yarn. of course i did not have such yarn. so, a trip to the LYS was in order! as we all know, i came home with more than just yarn for the beret, but that's another posting.

so, this is the beret, though it looks more like a red wad. the yarn is goddess yarn's emmanuella, a merino wool. i'm knitting it on size 6 16" inox, and just finished with the first ball of yarn. it's going to be a 2-ball project. if i stay on task, i should finish the knitting some time today. then i can reward myself with the other yarn i picked up yesterday. i would be such a good dog, i'd do anything for a treat.

a knitter's nightmare

i dreamed last night that i had gone home to visit with family, but i had only taken two knitting projects with me. when we were getting into the car to go over to someone else's home, i noticed that my needles were broken. both projects were sock projects, each with a broken needle. the tiny size 1 had the last 1/2" broken off, and my beautiful rosewood 2's were flexing and their finish was flaking off, not to mention it was in splinters. where did this distress come from?!

don't look mom !!!!!

it's finished secret knitting ....


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what's better than one? ... two !



i am making progress on my knitted throw. i just started strip #3. they're photographed offset, because when i started strip #2, i started with the wrong color. oops. i'll be able to start sewing these together once i get the third strip knitted.

ps the throw will be 9 blocks tall x 8 strips wide. as of this morning's trip to the laundromat, i have 2 1/2 strips knitted!







i found this swatch when i was digging through some stash. i think it was knitted w/o a cable needle, but i don't remember the little tricks to do that anymore. looking at it wants to make me relearn how, and to do something with cables!

christmas comes early

when i came home last night, there was a special delivery from WEBS on my porch. i just could not wait to start knitting on this! it's going to be a throw, (that's a fancy word for afghan). it's knitted in strips, then sewn together. the yarn is jo sharp's silkroad aran tweed. the pattern is from the contemporary knitting 2 book, also by jo sharp. the yarn is super yummy, and i'm just a sucker for a tweed. i love all the little blips of color.
i was also very impressed with WEBS. they give a generous discount on their orders, and they squeezed so much stuff into one little box, ... and, they had everything i wanted. one stop shopping. i like that. ps i called their orderline to place my order, as not everything i wanted was on their web pages.



i'm using denise needles in a size 8 for this project. they are the coolest needles. i like lots of different types of needles, but have always appreciated my old plastic ones for their great tips and wonderful taper. the denise needles have that, and, they're interchangeable. the set has sizes 5 - 15, with different length cords to snap into the ends.

these are the books i felt i needed for my knitting library. they're books i've been wanting for awhile now, and i'm afraid if i waited much longer, some might not be available anymore. so, i'm stocked up on two jo sharp books, the louisa harding sweater book, and vittadini's spring '05 book. so, that's about the extent of my badness.

have i finished any secret knitting? nope. funny thing last week, dkitty asked me what my secret knitting was ... and i couldn't remember. i still don't remember. that will be a secret taken to the grave. sometimes i forget things. oops.

... but, this is no secret! it's my second hank of handspun. this hank was spun and plied on the wheel, during my spinning workshop. there's more yardage on this batch, but, likely not enough for anything larger than a topfloppen.




i'm not sure what to do about the spinning. i think my most immediate purchase in that dept. will be a nice set of cards and some roving that's ready to spin. a wheel purchase will just have to wait. the one i like most (today) is in the $600 range. ouch! ... and, there are lots of handpainted fleecy things out there too. the world just got bigger ....

is it just me?

(i'll probably burn in knitter-bloglandia hell for this ....) or is anyone else out there tired of seeing vickie howell all over bloglandia? i can appreciate some parts of the knitting aspect, but i just wish she'd stop trying to be sooooo hip and get a new hair-do. i think that's my main issue ... the images i see are all styled. isn't she a real person? with bad hair days and feeling fat days too?
i've seen only two episodes of this show --- one was trying to show how to knit socks. i knit socks. lots of socks, and i couldn't follow what was happening. the camera view was dizzy, and the pace was like taking a college summer school session, w/the lab too!
it seems today is the last day of the tour. aaaaaaw.
should you care, you can read her blog here.

well, that's my story, and i'm sticking with it!

haphazard spinner

i'm pooped. i'm pooped from spinning a tiny weenie hanky of yarn! and it only weighs .5 ounces! truth be told, part of what wore me out was a day of constant (paying) attention. i'm all better now, with some lovely tunes on my i-pod and a glass of wine.

this hank is from a good long session of spinning on a drop spindle, and then plying it together with the spindle. after lunch, it was wheel spinning (yikes!). that was more difficult, as it spins faster, and, and, and ......

i used a lendrum. i had some problems with getting the wheel going in the right direction. i felt like i needed a third hand or foot. tomorrow i will try another wheel. that's the point to this discovery. you must try different wheels.

the morning started out with feeding the sheep :) i want to live on a sheep farm. tomorrow we'll do some spinning of other fibers.

i'm too tired and overloaded to say much more right now.

ps, isn't it pretty?

parts is parts

yep, that's a partial bug-a-boo. poor thing was waiting for its wings and antennae. i've been knitting more bugs, with the wonderful box of knitpick's palette i ordered awhile back. i just love having so many colors to chose from for knitting these little things!



this other fellow is a bit injured. he flew over to schumtzie's last night, for some wine & wool, and was mac-attacked! sneaky F*%#!@" watched ms. onyx divine and me hang the poor target. little did we realize that mr. mac was planning an ambush. poor bug-a-boo was repaired, and later hung far out of reach.

i've made a lot of progress on my wrappy wrap, but, forgot to take pictures. oops.

ps tomorrow morning i take off for my spinning workshop! yippy!

not normal

meaning, normally i ignore such junk, but since it made me laugh aloud, i felt the need to share with you all ....

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Platinum Warlock Your Superpower is Near-death Experience Your Weakness is Rain Your Weapon is Your Laser Tentacles Your Mode of Transportation is Love Van

What's your Superhero Name?

well, i don't really have laser tentacles, but i do have a laser gun! back off! step away from the stash!

confession

i was baaaaaaadddddd! i can't wait for christmas & birthday, so i treated myself to some somethings from WEBS. oooh! i can't wait!

now i'm going to be gooooooood and work on my stocking.

i just can't keep a knitterly secret!

if, you are my MOTHER, and reading this .... STOP! GO BACK! unless you want to spoil your christmas ....



what's in the box?


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and what's in box #2?


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mom thinks she knows everything. she thinks she's getting socks for christmas. why does she have to be right?

i bought her this yarn for her birthday, and a book on crocheting socks. she struggled with gauge, briefly, and shoved the project back in the bag. she doesn't really have time to play like i do though. so, i stole the yarn back during my thanksgiving visit. the pattern i am using is from the xrx book _socks socks socks_. it's a feather & fan pattern, and, i hope it fits! i will take my leftover yarn home incase i need to make any adjustments in length.

i have also been working on my snowman christmas stocking ... but am stalled on deciding which colors to use for the i-cord. plus, i just couldn't tell one color from the next in the lamplight. we have a sunny day here, so, i should get over my color hump this afternoon and knit on!

secret knitting is a bummer. i like posting pictures. i should just give up on secrets.

rainy monday

the new knitty is up! whooo hooo! bet you can guess which patterns are my favorites (the first two).
not to knock another designer, but, who wants gloves that are so bulky that they're knitted with size 9 needles?

ps there are lots of smaller projects, great for last minute holiday knitting ....

i want to knit what?

does this mean i have bad taste? yikes!



you can read all about this at you knit what? hint: if you click on the photo, you will be taken directly to that particular posting.

i happen to love this dress. i would wear it, even if it made my hips look like balloons.

holiday knitting

i think the only thing that can suck about the holidays is not being able to show all the things i've been knitting, because, a certain recipient reads my blog and would have her surprise spoiled. so, it will remain in secretlandia. (sorry mom)

but, inbetween all the tiny stitches on tiny needles, i've been periodically working on my dreaded mohair wrappy wrap. this is the mohair i purchased on my vermont trip, from the booth, where the vendor told me and all my friends, individually, to cast on a different number of stitches. this hex has resulted in some multiple trips to the frogpond.

but, not too long ago, i decided that 66 was the magic number.



this has become my mindless knitting project. all my other projects require focus or too much yarn to haul around.

though not totally knitting related, this is knitting assisted. i put my tree up yesterday. it's an old aluminum tree from the 50's, and looks like it's had a long celebrated life. but, the hole drilled ontop of the dowel for the king branch is a little loose. so, the king branch would kind of lean. and, when i put my heavy treetopper ontop, it leaned heavily. so, what's a knitter to do? how about reinforce with a size 3 aluminum needle?

knit bits

at the request of mom, i must update. because, mom is "tired of looking at that stupid caterpillar!" okay mom, here it goes, but, because of the secret knitting, i can't really show too much! maybe i should start a secret blog.

first of all, i found a lovely hank of yarn in my stash. and i had NO idea what it was. i smelled it. nothing. not a clue. think, think back, where did you get this? yes! as stitches east, from rosie's yarn cellar. i could "see" the pile of lovely hanks on the table, and the difficulty in choosing just one.



so, i did what any obsessive knitter would do, i called rosie's .... "um, hi. i was at stitches east a couple years ago and bought some yarn, but lost the label, and was wondering if you could identify it for me ...." i swore it wasn't what i thought it was, but, the woman i spoke with described it better than me because it was what i suspected! it's schaefer's anne!

why i doubted it wasn't anne, because, it was missing the trademark vinegar scent most schaefer yarns have.

so, mystery solved! anne has 560 yards of superwash merino, mohair, and nylon. it was created as a sock yarn, but it hasn't said yet what i wants to be.

next on the blocking board is my newest favorite yarn! it's called stampato eXtra and it's 100% merino wool. the label says shrink resistant, but the wash directions show handwash. i'll probably handwash, as i don't want to felt a pair of pricey socks.





i really had a hard time capturing the actual colors, but the yarn has at least 8 or 10 tiny strands plied together, and each of those strands is a different color, with the dominant color being two shades of green. i knit these on size 6 needles at a gauge of 5 sts/inch .... so, i have a 40 st. sock!
they're rather cushy, and thick, so destined for the bed and lounging. i think they helped me get over my sock slump!

and, here's a cute picture of agent gray .... she/i am modeling a koigu hat from last season .... it's from interweave knits, the issue with the stupid waiter boys in chunky sweaters.



fun tidbit of the week ... i loaned a book to one of my sweetest knitting girls ... and she returned it with extras ...



say hello to my modified victoria's secret bag and TRUFFLES! .... the perfect companion to seasonal knitting! thank you soooo much beth!

hello, i'm a caterpillar finger- puppet. i have some stuffing in my head, and i'm knitted with size 2 rosewood needles, and some of that fabulous knitpick's pallette! i'm from Fiona McTague's knitted toys book.

who am i?

i posted this tidbit on somebody's blog today. with all the grace in the world, she replied! (ps, her comment is in the previous post, so check it out!) eeeks! so, i had to go back and read what i wrote ... oh my .....


you know, you could decorate that zit you think everyone notices and make it look like a 3rd eye!
i don't do holidays with grace. (i don't like to shop, and all those i'd shop for have everything they need, ... and if they don't, neither of us can afford it anyways!) i come rushing on the field, in the bottom of the 9th, all gung-ho to knit a ton of christmas gifts. but, it's the last minute, in the last hour ..... hey, where's my _last minute knitted gifts_ book?! ... or _weekend knitting_? melanie falick to the rescue!

but now, i reflect, and, ... yes, this is me. wow. what does this mean? (don't get me wrong, because there is no wrong here, there's just an odd smile on my face i can't pinpoint.) and it's good. it really is! the introspective knitter ....

oh! what's this?

isn't she cute? the pattern is from this book. do i need a big box of yarn to knit a teeny bug? of course!

this is what's good about this kind of knitting .... no swatching, it doesn't have to "fit", and it's part of the secret project!

look what i got!

it's not that big of a surprise, because i ordered it for myself, but just look!


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it's a big box of knitpicks's palette. i ordered the palette sampler. it's part of the christmas secret knitting plan. now i'm off to do some secret knitting! shhhh!

some things work out, some don't. not even the photo upload feature on blogger is working now. and flickr is dragging .... so, i will ever so sloooowly make this posting. in socklandia, i ripped out the previous sock, and cast on for this other sock. but ....



if i rip, it will only be the heel. the heel is a bit too deep. i discovered that when i tried on the sock, and slipped my foot into my clog, and i ended up with a bit of extra fabric behind my heel. i love the colors and striping, and how the heel looks. i'm not 100% happy with the sock because of the heel, and a wee hole i have yet to sew up near the ankle.

now, what did not work out. awhile back i cast on for a wrappy wrap ... with my mohair boucle i picked up in vermont. i swear the lady who sold the yarn told each of us very different instructions. so, yet again, i ripped out 80 stitches and 18" of garter st. in mohair! UGH!. next time ... 66. 66 is the magic number!

and now, for the FUN! as what happens with the blog world, we find something, click on a link, follow another, and find new things. this i did one day, and found this ...



i have trouble keeping knitterly secrets ..... click on the photo and go check out her site! there's a link for her blog on that page.

wee hour posting

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yep, ole meilenweit hit the frog pond. i simply did not like the holes in the short rows ... they were especially bad on the heel.
but, i made myself feel better by casting on another toe up sock, with older fresh yarn ...



it's looking mighty pretty! i'll post my progress later. ps i'm using lucy neatby's garter stitch toe and turkish heel. no short rows!

i also knitted a swatch for the viennese shrug. i think i need to go down a needle size though.

ooops

i ran some errands this morning ... to pick up my library books and get some paperwhites. but, somehow i ended up at a yarn store (gasp!). and i made a purchase ((gasp!) again).





i've been eyeing those debbie bliss books for awhile now, so it was past time for me to bring them home. and, i've fondled the yarn many times, so, after a certain number of visits, it expects to come home with me too. the shrug in the picture is the viennese shrug from interweave knits summer 2005. you cast on with a provisional cast on at the center back and knit toward the cuff. the color of silky wool looked kinda like oxidized red wine, but, in different light, looks more like a rich reddish chocolate. it can't decide. kinda like me.

and my sock? well, it's still a sock. but, i'm secretly planning on ripping it out! i think it wants to be knitted like the dorchester sock.