Stop right there!

If this giant hand was waving at you, you'd stop, right? This is one of the pair of Mad River Mittens from Knitty that I am working on right now. To give you an idea of the scale, here's another look . . .





I knit this last night while watching "Torchwood" over at YouTube.com and they were almost too easy. After the knitting is done, the felting begins. I just had to go to bed before finishing the second. That will happen this afternoon while I watch "Bright Young Things" on DVD.

Speaking of knitting, I visited Guinifer's blog, Halfway down the stairs and she is kicking on the Lime and Violet Sockathon. I've done about five inches on my sock and she's finished a whole pair. This is so totally unfair! But, her hard work did inspire me to take a second look at my pattern.

I am (gasp!) ripping apart my current sock to start another pattern, either the Laburnum 5-stitch pattern or one of the 6-stitch patterns from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. I got this book as a Christmas present from my daughter and it's high time I put it to work. Knitting should be fun and the previous pattern just took too much looking back and forth. I just couldn't memorize it. The Schurch book looks very clear and concise (which is funny because I also own Ms. Schurch's Hats On!! which is not my favorite hat book) and I am raring to go get me some socks!

By the way, I think I have found the perfect all-purpose podcast, Richard Taylor's Roots Rock Radio. This alt-country-rockabilly podcast is a swinging listen. Some episodes are darker than others but the Christmas episode (Number 85) is great for listening to while working out and episode 75 is just about perfect for knitting to. Go, Sidewinders, go!

As for the Saturday Seven, I asked my Youngest Daughter whether she wanted to dust the living room - or find seven things that needed good homes. Barely a half an hour later, this is what appeared.




I don't think anyone actually did dust today!

Who's that yarn?

I got a very nice comment about what yarn did I use for my first sweater of 2007. Guess what? I forgot! I gave the remaining skein away with the baby sweater (along with an extra button) so they would have it on hand for mending, new buttons, etc. And I completely forgot what the yarn was called. So, for a few days, I was scouring yarn sellers' sites, looking over all the baby yarns.

I originally bought the yarn some time ago for another project at a local shop, Borealis Yarns, which is not my usual yarn shop. Their web site didn't have much information and I couldn't get over to the actual store. Tonight, I saw it THE YARN online - it was:

Plymouth Encore: a nice soft, baby fluffy 75% Acrylic and 25% Wool yarn. It knit up at 5 sts per 1 inch. They recommended a US size 8 needle. I used my new Knit Picks size 6, 16 inch circular needles as well as set of Brittany size 6 double pointed needles. The yarn came in 200 yds/100g balls - I used two and 1/2. My heathery-denim color is listed as color 658.

So - the mystery of the missing yarn is solved. I recommend it for items that are liable to get washed a lot (like baby sweaters) and the recipient might not want to spend a lot of time on handwashing (like new parents.)

Oh, and I've been spending my time with the mystery patterns from Knitty.com. I'm currently knitting up the Mad River felted mittens by Symeon Noth. Love, love love them! I'll post some pictures tomorrow - too many late nights knitting makes for cranky days at Chez Lazy.

First sweater of the new year!

I finally finished my baby sweater project for Andy's co-worker. I started this the day after Christmas using my great Knit Pick Interchangeable needles. These needles are lovely and I had no problem with my order. A friend told me her needles did not fit her cables and she had to send them back.

Luckily, nothing wrong with my set. I love their nice sharp pointy tips! It was a real pain to go back to my dull wooden DPNs to do the sleeves.

Now, if I could only make my Violet's Pink Ribbon sock go as quickly. It's a nice pattern but hard to remember where I am. Rounds go so slowly that a picture this week would look just like last week. You'll just have to imagine it.

I am dying to start a new sweater project but I also need to finish my blue/green Interlocking Balloons scarf this month as well as a cool little red bag I started some time ago. Must . . . finish . . . projects . . . aughh!

Goofing off in the snowy North

Two of my daughters have dances this evening and I should have been working on getting them out the door but this is what has been distracting me instead.

It is just a lovely, sunny but cold day here in Minnesota and once I got upstairs in my cozy office/spare bedroom, I couldn't help just goofing off. Checking out vacations at Walt Disney World and Colonial Williamsburg (our school has an odd week-long break in February), looking at pictures of David Beckham dressed as Prince Charming (with my teenaged Disney daughter), setting things up for Girl Scout Cookie Sales (I'm a cookie mom - want some cookies!?), etc., etc., etc. Cozy and warm and with a high speed Internet connection - what more could you want?

I did collect seven things this week. I thought this would be a difficult week but once I started thinking about who needs what to keep warm and cozy, things were begging to go to good causes. I found many more than seven items.



The blue jacket was Youngest Child's coat last winter and he just can't squeeze in it anymore. It was a great Hanna Anderson jacket - enjoy it, Baby Karl! The green coat was a leftover from Oldest Daughter's closet - she just doesn't wear as much Army surplus anymore. Thank Goodness! Cozy blue robe - out grown. Green gloves - outgrown. Six sweaters - not outgrown in the physical sense but definitely in the style sense. I just don't wear short sleeved sweaters anymore.

Well, Time to leave the nest and deliver girls to their pals houses. One is going to an Oldies Dance and - she's wearing 1980's clothing. Hmm - I used to have a lot of that! The other is going to a Father/Daughter dance - without her dad. He's out of town for the weekend and she's horning in on someone else's Dad Date. Me? I think a good dose of "Torchwood" is in order!

Look what came in the mail today!

I got a great gift certificate for Christmas from my lovely sister-in-law, Kim. She heard me talk about Handmaiden Sea Silk yarn and found a store that carried it.

Well, who could resist such a lovely treat? I bought two skeins of Sea Silk in the Woodland colorway. This yarn is 70% silk and 30% Seacell (a cellulose type fiber from seaweed!) and it feels luscious. Very smooth but not slippery. I searched for patterns that would work and I think I'll make the Flower Basket shawl from Interweave Knits. To round out the order, I also bought Colorsong Yarn's Socks Your Way Merino Skein from Fleece Artist in a gorgeous springy Green Pastures. With 480m/524.9yds. of sock weight merino yarn, I should be able to make a generous pair of socks. And the great thing about this yarn? It all fits into Wendy's Woolen Curtain - the Knit Your Stash 2007 program. The Sea Silk is a gift AND the sock yarn is exempt.

So far, I have only good things to say about Colorsong Yarn. Their online store was easy to use, the colors seemed true, and when there was a minor mistake on my order, they called in person to tell me that they were correcting it. Good job, guys!

Oh, and Wendy isn't being too fussy about her challenge anyway. Change to fit your own situation, she says. Sock yarn doesn't count, she says. Hmm, I think she will end up with more yarn thatn she started with!

I see the New Year and I want to paint it - grey

Black is what I was working on - but this darn camera. Actually, everything looks slightly chocolate brown which would fit right in with my evening of wine-ing and dining with old friends including a great chocolate martini. So, no knitting today or tonight but plenty of fun nevertheless. I have to go to bed RIGHT NOW, I really mean it.

Oh, and the Saturday Seven? A great black Forrester consulting bag, some pants, shirts, two poorly chosen skirts from some of my daughters, some really "hand-me-down" black stonewashed toddler jeans (when were these in fashion?) and a belt. Which might not actually be black but navy blue. I couldn't tell.

The story of something missing

As I sit here working, my husband and Youngest Child are reading "I Spy Mystery" by Jean Marzollo with photographs by Walter Wick. It is a lovely book of picture riddles. DearHusband made that title up as the subtitle for the page they are working on. Strangely enough, it applies to what I am working on.

What's missing is COLOR! Something is definitely up with my digital camera as every picture in the last few days has had its color sucked out. A Color Vampire is out to get my knitting. Now, I know that my BC socks are a lovely pink/white/purple. I know my baby sweater is deep denim blue. Alas, that is not so, according to these pictures.



I've been having a hard time with the pattern for these socks but I think I've got it beat. I finally figured out how to use Annie Modesitt's "No Cable Needle" cabling on the pattern. That's really sped things up. As for the rest of the sock, I might be messing up the gauge but I'm willing to let it go a bit.

As for the blue sweater, it's got a while to go. This is the Tedious Path of Knitting. Round and round and round. If I could only add this to my workout as exercise!



I think I've got a head start on planning for the new year - I just picked up The Green Mountain Spinnery Knitting Book: Contemporary and Classic Patterns by Margaret Klein Wilson. I've been checking it out for awhile and just couldn't resist any more. I think I'm just a traditional kind of girl knitter at heart. I would like a little more color, however!

One more reason why I love that guy . . .

I've been after my husband to clean out his closet for some time. He is a very stylish fellow and likes to pick out his own clothes. Unfortunately, he doesn't like to get rid of his clothes! I've given up trying to get things into his dresser drawers because there just isn't any room. So, this week when he said, "Let's get this cleaned out," I thought we would be sorting this for days. In one afternoon, he turned this . . .






into this.





As always, he both surprised and delighted me. And gave me a really easy Saturday Seven. 21 items to be sure! Happy Saturday, dear!

To Sock or not to sock or "Let's pretend it's Wednesday!"

I've tried to publish this post at least three times this week with nothing but failure. I'm not sure if Blogger is failing me or I'm just picking a busy time but - there has been knitting going on this week at Chez Daisy. I've been indulging my not-so-secret addition to watching "Torchwood" over the Internet and finally getting to view the extended versions of "The Two Towers" and "The Fellowship of the Ring." My teenagers have what's called "Project Week" so they are working on various projects at home. Now, If I could only get them to stop raiding the refrigerator and losing the television remotes!

For the "Torchwood" viewing, I have to knit very simple work so I can manage to download the next episode, watch the current episode and not drop my laptop all at the same time. I've been working on Cottage Creation's "Lillie's Little Sweater" - very easy and pleasant. My only problem so far was forgetting to keep the button band done in garter stitch. I think I'll need to block the band pretty firmly in order to make up for where I had to frog it out and restitch it.



After winding up my "Violet's Pink Ribbon" into a ball, I've been having second thoughts about making a shawl. It's just very - pink. A lovely, spring-like pink. So, I read about Lisa Lloyd's free "Pink Ribbons Breast Cancer Awareness" pattern for socks and decided to give it a try. After I tried unsuccessfully to start a toe up sock about three times! I think my problem is trying to teach myself a technique and produce it at the same time. No go. Here is the VPR on the swift and ball winder as well as in the sock pattern.




Neither picture has the correct color depth but they do give you a taste of the pastel palette. Now, on to "The Return of the King - extended edition!"

New projects, old projects and time to move on.

I've been trying to plan out my year in knitting all week and having very little success. I want to make some socks (I've got to get started on those two miles of sock yarn!), I want to make a sweater for my middle daughter and I want to make some shawls. However, I also need to finish my DH's Aran Sweater, I've started a baby sweater for one of my husband's coworker's son and I need to do something with all that Yorkshire Tweed.

How to combine all these projects in one timeline? I think I am going to start with my Lisa Souza yarns first, just because I love the feel of this yarn and can't wait to use it.

Like a lot of people, I've purchased Lisa Souza's Violet's Pink Ribbon sock yarn and, while I love the yarn, I am not a pink person. I wear a lot of black. Who doesn't - it's slimming and it goes with everything! I may also be revealing my age but I like to make my shoes, belt and purse match. And that is almost always - black. Now, I do occasionally break out into colorful socks but usually blue or green or red but - not pink. So, I think that the best way to incorporate pink into my wardrobe is to knit a shawl - very likely the Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2004 Issue. The pink and cream is spring-ish so maybe something for wearing to the Opera this spring. I am definitely going to use the L&V colorway for socks for me, however. Wendy's Generic Toe-up socks fromWendy Knits! looks good to me. I've always wanted to knit toe up socks and this one looks easy.

As for the Saturday Seven, it was a small but significant pile. I've been mining my items and the rooms I work in for most of the items I've given away in the past. Now, I'm moving into my children's rooms. Youngest Child provided this week's pile. He is growing so quickly and changing interests so often that this was an easy clip. Clothing and three baby toys. While we loved Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", Youngest spends most of his time humming the Star Wars/Darth Vadar theme. Time to move on.

Happy New Year and great socks to all!

Well, the Misses Lime and Violet have challenged their readers to add up all their sock yarn yardage and figure out how many miles of sock yarn they had. Turns out I had a grand total of 5349 yards which equals 3.03 miles. Of Yarn.

I'm thinking I might make about eight pairs of socks this year - My guess is that I'll use up about 2 miles of sock yarn. Now, this jives in nicely with the idea of a Yarn Diet as described by blogger, Wendy from Wendy Knits!. After long semi-serious discussion, she has come up the idea of "Knit from your Stash 2007" and I am reluctantly thinking this is a good idea.

The Guidelines for L-B and Wendy's Knit-from-your-stash-a-thon:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?

2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.

I think I can live with this! Especially when I walk through yarn stores with friends and say things like, "Yorkshire Tweed, I love that yarn. I have 15 skeins at home." 15 skeins??! This is a problem. I have the yarn for at least three sweaters, two purses, three shawls and many pairs of socks as well as at least two baby sweaters. Honey, if I could only make this many items this year, I would be knitting into 2008.

And for the big giveaway this past week? No photos but I Freecycled a flip top box of large pieces of fabric. Each piece was at least four feet and some as big as six feet. I originally bought the fabric for medieval costumes and this parting was only one box of four that I really should part with. But one box at a time.

Happy New Year!

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, aim high.

Well, I guess I agree. Who wouldn't want to be like JFK? I just wonder what he would knit?

You Are Most Like John F. Kennedy

You live a fairy tale life that most people envy. And while you may have a few dark secrets, few people know them.

What Modern US President Are You Most Like?

I've mostly spent the day getting organized for a New Year's Eve day party and photographing my stash for L&V's Knit your Sock Stash 2007. I had to do a little research about Sandnes' Smart Superwash yarn - turns out it CAN be considered a sock yarn. Yikes! That adds nine more skeins to the stash!

Once I get out the calculator, I'll let you know the final yardage I am planning to actually knit in 2007.



Pretty colors, aren't they?

A last minute Christmas in the bag!

So, I think I may be forgiven for not posting the last few days. Like many knitters, I was feverishly knitting until the last minute last night. As my DH brought down the presents, I was still sitting on the couch finishing my second pair of Fetching mitts. I probably could have had the evening off if I hadn't have taken an afternoon nap. I see on other blogs that terrible colds are making the rounds of North America and I am still under the weather. Sick. Tired. Drippy. So, I chose to sleep during the day and knit during the evening. It wasn't too bad since all our wrapping was done and VH1 was running all Christmas videos.

At least I can show a picture of the mitts in action.



I also managed to drop off the Saturday Seven a day early at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Saint Paul. Pretty simple leavings this week - I just didn't have the time to really take stock of what we should be pruning. Two books, a bag of toddler clothing, a pile of teenage girl clothing (I don't know where that came from - her closet is still as packed as before) and three Christmas ornaments. Sometimes your tastes just change and I knew we wouldn't be putting these up again. But someone else will want all of this and that's what makes this so much better than taking a trip to the landfill.







We didn't end up having a white Christmas after all. With 40 degrees F. as the high today, anything that arrived on Friday is long gone. Slush is a poor substitute for snow. I heard tonight that this is the first December 25 with no measurable snowfall since snowfall recording begain in Duluth in 1875.



Sigh.

Happy Holidays anyway and a Peaceful New Year!

Anatomy of a Christmas: 2006 (or - Two down, one to go)

Today, the snow finally arrived. Everyone in Minnesota has been complaining about having a brown Christmas but it's actually been quite nice. Low 40's F. and dry for weeks. I even found new leaf and flower buds on the honeysuckle vine on my garage. Well, that's long gone now. It's wet, snowy and 34 degrees F. Snow is the first step towards making things look holiday-ish around here.

In the meantime, I finished my Fetching mitts in RYC's Cashsoft Aran in Forrest green. They were truly the easy products that everyone says. Unfortunately, I am completely unable to produce the picot edging that is part of the design. Instead, I made up a purled bind off that seemed a little ruffly. It's not quite the right thing but, hey, it's three days before Christmas. Finishing gifts is the second step on the path to Christmas.

The Sheep(less) Tote is now finished as well. I tried to pose a photo that showed off the side pockets but I had nothing but batting to put inside it. I think I am going to make a plastic canvas insert for the bottom to give it more shape. The batting is the Monster Mashup that I made from my Halloween-themed Fiber Exchange. I had to put away the spinning wheel, however, to make room for my Monday Night Book Club holiday party. We had a great time, reading our annual Holiday Play aloud. This year, we read "The Miss Firecracker Contest" by Beth Henley.



The third and final step? Getting the remaining gifts in the mail. My parents were going to spend the holidays with us here in Minnesota but some minor medical problems have kept them from flying. So, their presents will have to become New Year's Gifts and only if I get them in the mail tomorrow!

One for the money (or lack thereof)

Since I am still so far under the weather that I could give you the forecast in Sydney (partly cloudy, 11 degrees C. - Thanks, David Reidy!), I can only account for one single bag of giveaways this week. There were more than seven items in it. I did not take a picture. Some summer skirts, several items of outgrown toddler clothing, a set of sheets and two books. Trust me. It's all gone.

Knitting wise, I'm officially finished with my felted knitting tote and it's upstairs drying right now.










The pictures aren't very attractive because it was still quite damp. I plan on doing a little steaming/shaping tomorrow. My favorite parts are the side pockets for knitting needles.

I did have my yearly "Dog intrudes into Knitting Bag" meltdown this week when Zelda the German Shepherd played a little catch with one of my just-completed "Mrs. Beeton's" ruffly wristlets. As she ate most of the beaded cast on of one cuff, I had a blurry vision of me having to reknit a whole new cuff. Instead, I opted to figure out how to snip out the damaged Kidsilk Haze, bind off the damaged yarn, rebead the missing beads onto new Kidsilk Haze, knit into the existing cuff stitches and then bind the whole thing so that the new blended into the old.



See how she mocks me with this relaxed pose! Zelda is actually the Foul Fiend of Knitting.

The only good thing about this 1/2 days work is - Kidsilk Haze (a 70% Super Kid mohair/30% Silk blend - I actually used Kidsilk Night in the turquoise blue Oberon colorway) Fuzzes. I was able to fluff up all the new stitches to make them match the "mouthed-but-not-eaten" existing stitches. The bottom cuff is actually the one with the redone cast on. The beads aren't in quite the right place but the rest looks fine.



Luckily, the other recipients of cuffs on my Christmas list asked for plainer mitts so I am casting on for some of the ever-popular Fetching mitts from Knitty in Rowan Cashsoft Aran - a great Burnt Sienna kind of colorway. I think I'll make some of the Voodoo wristwarmers if I've got enough time.

For bigger works, I've also started my string bag gift again. The first cast on turned into a puddle of red (as Miss Lime of Lime n' Violet calls it) "catyack." Right now, my only trouble is that my Addi Turbos are too blunt to make this an easy knit. It's definitely a carry-along kind of work. This afternoon, I was working on it while my daughters and Youngest Child were at play practice for our church Christmas pageant. In the knitterly equivalent of listening at the door, I was knitting along in the back of the church when, suddenly, I realized it was my boychild deserting the Shepherd gang and bolting for the back door. Unfortunately, after he was returned, I also realized he was the one leading the "Pizza, pizza" chant. We got out of the following dinner as soon as possible.

Welcome Back, Knitter!

One of the most sublime experiences we can ever have is to wake up feeling healthy after we have been sick.

-Rabbi Harold Kushner

This is absolutely true. A bad cold has been making the rounds at my house. First Middle Daughter, then Youngest Child, then me and now Dear Husband. At first, I didn't mind. All the extra time at home would be good for my Christmas Knitting. Everyone needs a little down time, afterall. But then I got the Bad Cold and it was a doozy. Dizziness, headache, earache, cough, sore throat - everything little germ was having a holiday inside me. By the end of the day, when my cold medicine was working full strength, I barely had the energy to sit in a chair and knit a row or two.

And family life was moving onward and upward so I actually never got to go to bed. Instead, I was driving, running errands and Christmas shopping. I think that was the big mistake - everyone else got to go straight to bed for two days and do nothing but eat a little toast and drink tea, nap a little and then nap some more. Me - I was on the go.

Which explains the lack of posting and my missing Saturday Seven. And the fact that I am still sick with the "Cough that makes my lungs pop out" while everyone else is better. Now, if I can only catch up with the laundry, the present wrapping, the Christmas card sending and the baking. All things I actually like doing (not the laundry!) but just need a little more energy first.

I did actually give away items last week. First, I had to make them, however. My church home, Randolph Heights Presbyterian Church, has a Mitten Tree every holiday season where we collect hats, scarves and mittens for a Women and Families Shelter. The woman who taught me to knit, Mary, now does nothing but knit mittens all year round for the tree. She also developed a simple but warm, double-layer pattern for fleece mittens. I usually sponsor a mitten sewing workshop every year and actually had about 15 pairs of cut-out but not sewn mittens leftover from last year. Since there was no way I was going to be able to knit any mittens this year, I sat down every evening and sewed mittens. Eight pairs went to the tree on Sunday and I have four more pairs cut out and ready to sew. This is what my dining room looks like right now.



I am really looking forward to getting this finished. Knitting wise, I did finish the Mrs. Beeton wristlets and I am down to the I-cord straps on my felted Noro bag. I'll cast on another bag this week and then finish up my other set of wristlets next week. No Christmas stockings or felted door decorations this year - maybe I'll start in July next year!

In other health related news, many of you knitters have been listening to the Lime and Violet podcast. Miss Violet has written about finding a lump in her breast and is now is negotiations with her insurance company over her care. The Lime and Violet podscast homepage is accepting donations to help pay her very large deductible which will re-set again at the start of the new year. Please consider making a donation, even if you don't listen to her, and consider it as giving the gift of good health. Try it - you'll like it! And if you love a knitter, consider buying Lisa Souza's "Violet's Pink Ribbon" colorway in yarn, sock yarn or roving. Her work is excellent and a potion of the proceeds go to Miss Violet's health care fund.

Now, go home and get some rest tonight.

Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

So simple.

Today's seven was simple. Probably some people would say too simple but they were seven things that really needed to go. I bagged up seven pairs of curtains today. They used to hang in my parlor and living room. I made them about 13 years ago as a stopgap measure but I never got around to replacing them. Well, that day finely arrived and now, I have curtains to spare. They are still quite usable and would work for (several) young person's rooms as they are made of washable polyester. Off they go to St. John the Evangelist's big sale.

It's kind of sad to let a piece of your history go but I am ready, ready, ready.

Craft-wise, Good Friend Melissa and I ran over to Craft-O-Rama, the No-Coast Craft Show, in Minneapolis. It was a great show - very wide ranging - and we both bought some great gifts. I only wish that there was more fiber. A lot of inspired knitting but no hand spun or hand-dyed yarn.

At home, I was knitting mini-socks and mittens all week for a Girl Scout craft sale. I don't know what I was thinking because I didn't take a picture of any of them. More Christmas present knitting as well - yes, for people who read this blog! I'm looking forward to seeing how these are received.



This year, for the first time, we decided to make a real gingerbread house. We had a shaky time making the dough - thanks, dear Husband, for your pie-dough/cookie rolling expertise! - and icing. Everyone liked that part. Middle Daughter even revealed that she used to eat the ones that they made in school. I hated to tell her that they were usually made with glue mixed into the icing! Notice the pan of hard candy "glass" and extra gingerbread boys behind the house. We give Martha Stewart a run for her money! The gingerbread house is still a little shaky. We had to go heavy on the icing cement because we had definite structural issues. No steel girders here, we use holiday ribbon. Tomorrow, when things are really firm, the decorating begins anew!

Quickie update - great craft/art show!

Nocoastcraft.com is having the coolest craft show this upcoming Saturday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Midtown Global Marketplace in Minneapolis. As soon as I drop one child off at the SATs and one at Lego League (we're a geeky family), it's off to craft heaven. La, la, la, yarn, fabric, stuff, la, la, la. . . . (she skips off in anticipation.)

Birthday booty, er, bounty . . .

Do these people know me or what? This is just the knitting-related portion of Sunday's birthday bounty. My sister sent the bulky yarn and the Lantern Moon needle sleeve and needles as well as some lovely stitch holders. I've always wanted some Lantern Moon items but held off because it seemed too expensive to buy for myself. Thanks, Chrissie!

Good Friend Melissa must have been stranded in a yarn shop because she gave me not one but three lovely knitting books, two skeins of KnitPicks yarn and some great wool wash. I know she is doing a lot of holiday knitting so we will have to have find some knitting time together to check out the great patterns in "Knitting for Peace."

There were other, non-knitting related presents as well. My husband remembered my plea for a new bicycle helmet (unfortunately, only slightly less nerdy than the one I had before but much better fitting) and my daughters all performed special music for Sunday's church service. I have the photographs to prove that they actually play instruments and (at least Kate does) sing in public. Lovely!

I really haven't had time to enjoy my new knit gear - I've been too busy knitting! I promised a few knitted tree socks for a Girl Scout craft sale and I've been also working on my first pair of Mrs. Beeton's ruffly wrist warmers. They've been giving me fits figuring out how to place the beads but I think I'll be able make the next pair more quickly now that I've got it figured out. More pictures to come.

Happy Blog Day!

Well, it might not actually be today - in fact, the real date was November 14 - but I needed a few days to reflect. And come up with something. I've really enjoyed blogging even if it's in relative obscurity. I've also found so many other bloggers with similar interests and love of fiber that my blog reading has made quite a dent in my knitting! Knitting podcasts have become an addiction of mine - I listen via ITunes and my IPod everywhere - and I've been finding that knitting is truly an international obsession. One podcaster that I listen to lives in Japan and another, David Reidy, from Sticks and String, is in Australia. Finding these sites has been great - there are so many takes on knitting out there.

Myself, I've had a couple of knitting intensive days over the holiday weekend. I've been working on a pair of Mrs. Beeton's gauntlets from Brenda Dayne but the Rowan Kidsilk Haze that I'm using has been giving me fits! I cast on three times and consistently twisted the stitches so that I had a lovely Mobius strip of knitting. Not a wristlet. Gaaugh. I'll hopefully post a picture tomorrow.

As for this morning's giveaway - it was the easiest one yet. The two circular saws were posted on Freecycle and went the same day. The two bags of books, picture frame and cd of bagpipe music (yes, actual pipers piping) went to St. John the Evangelist for their next big sale. The big white thing - a canvas suit storage bag for a closet - the black dish shelf also went on Freecycle. They haven't gone yet but they will leave my property this week.



I'm expecting some more knitting time tomorrow - at least I hope so. It's my birthday!

At last, a full repeat!

One full repeat of Intelocking Balloons - unfortunately, now I need to pop away and make the wristlets that these will accompany. The Mrs. Beeton's wrist warmers are Christmas presents but I think the scarf will be a birthday present for the same girl.

The beaded cast on is a killer but the rest has been going well. I take photos tomorrow. I am hoping to use the long Thanksgiving weekend for a lot of knitting. My birthday is Sunday so I'm not really sure what is planned for that day. Casino Royale perhaps?

OOOh, a new button!

I just knew this would be the spot for me - after all, I am making something in Noro during November - but now I found the button for this. Lovely. Fun. Something to make me knit faster!

Saturday fun!

I had a very busy today with our redecorating after painting (ie. hanging curtains and refilling bookshelves), cleaning and attending the Weavers Guild of Minnesota's Fiber Fest at the Textile Center of Minnesota
.

I bought some beautiful woven towels and tablerunners as Christmas presents and was very tempted by some beautiful wallhangings. My husband and I are going back tomorrow to take another look at a wallhanging for our parlor.

Today's Saturday Seven was very easy to sort out. You might have a hard time seeing the difference but there is a cream colored tablecloth as well as a mis-matched set of pink and floral sheets on that pile. The sheets are not a pair and do not match any sheets at my house. I think they came from my late Mother-in-law's house on a folding bed we inherited. If she was still around, I would offer them back but . . . The tablecloth has never been the right size for our dining room table so it was time to have it move on. The two books are merely the start of the book deluge as we sort out the book boxes in our garage's attic. At the end of my life, I do not want to have people looking at my left behinds and asking, "Why on earth did they keep that?"


I bought the black gloves for a cross country skiing trip but they were always too big and bulky. I put them in my car with our family's "distress bags." Not for us but to give to homeless people asking for help. Our church puts together large ziplock bags of essentials like socks, canned food, bottled water, personal items and over-the-counter medicines. The deacons sell them to church members who hand them out to people in need. I'll hand out the gloves with the next bag I give out. This isn't an every day situation but I drive a lot and often see people with "Help if you can" signs at the top of on-ramps.

The large paper folio we bought for a long-ago art project. The picture frame was another gift that I was saving from at least seven years ago. Everything today was easy to part with and will go to a local charity. I sorted them out earlier this week. I've found that it's a lot easier to think about why we are keeping or not keeping something when I set it aside for a few days. In fact, with all our cleaning, I think I've set aside at least four things already to give away next week!

Knitting wise, I've been fighting the good fight on the green Interlocking Balloons scarf. Only eight more repeats left! I'm starting the Mrs. Beeton gloves designed by Brenda Dayne
and these will go together as a gift. I am on the endless winter of knitting in the round on the Sheep Tote. Slog on, slog on, slog . . . on. . .
/

Party with Oldest Daughter!

Although she really observed her birthday yesterday, today was the day we celebrated Oldest Daughter's 17th birthday. I felt a little bad making her do her chores but we are trying to finish painting and then clean up for friends, pizza and a trip to a hockey game tomorrow afternoon. Tonight was the family birthday dinner, cake (German Chocolate) and presents.

So, basically, she's worked this birthday angle for three days of partying! Hard to believe she is so wise!

So, what with all the birthday to-do, I have to hurry up and get in the Saturday Seven. I've been organizing our family photos for a few years and finally have worked my way through the copy-paper box full of miscellaneous photos. You know the kind, the extra copies of birthday photos and golf-outings that come your way. Well, I've been sorting them into subject matter and putting them into labeled photo envelopes in photo storage boxes. Underneath this pile of photos, I've been finding all kinds of things. One bag of stencils had almost as many memories as the photos. In the past, I've stencilled bedrooms, kitchens, and family rooms. I've saved the stencils even though I don't use them anymore. The two photo frames came from various family members but I could never find a place for them. The three rolls of Laura Ashley "Kate" wallpaper came from when we wallpapered our bathroom in our last house. I still love this paper. Lovely Middle Daughter donated a bag of clothes and a stack of Elementary School piano music. The last item was a favorite sweater that I've held onto for a long tim - since the 1980s. It was cotton and never fit flatteringly - but it had the best strip of appliqued leaves.


I can only hope to make leaves and berries like that.

. . . and seen again

I thought you might like a peek at the Interlocking Ballons scarf that I am working on for the Scarf Style knitalong. I picked this pattern because I love the undulating pattern but it is excruciating slow to knit. Usually, a repeating pattern has a right side and then a "knit or purl back" side but this often changes from side to side. Augh! I still like it but the design is not the easy point I was looking for. It will be a Christmas present - 8 more repeats of 44 lines more!

For relief, I am also working on the Fiber Trends "Sheep Tote" bag - a much easier felted style. I can almost close my eyes to knit this one! I am not putting the needle-felted sheep on the outside but I love all the extra pockets. I've never felted anything with pockets so I am looking forward to this treat.

The thread wrapped into the yarn creates a really interesting, almost aggressive texture that is very pretty when felted. Right now, however, those "jump out bumps" make me think I've dropped a stitch and I keep going back to check. So far - no problems.

Things seen . . .

Well, Saturday just got by me somehow - we had painting, cleaning, trips to the hardware store, dentist's appointments, etc. and I had a late afternoon/evening Movie Night with the Monday Night Book Club. We were celebrating Melissa's and Marti's BIG birthdays. You know that those are the kind of birthdays you can't just put out on the Internet So we went to see Sweet Land - a charming little Minnesota-made movie - and then went out to dinner at Beaujo's Wine Bar and Bistro in Edina. Very good food and really quite reasonable. The wines were great, too.

So, all this fun and frivolity took up the rest of Saturday. So there weren't any Saturday Seven photos. Here's what I had in mind.


I think I mentioned before that as I clean out my house, I've been finding both more and less to give away. I cleaned out my former girl scout supplies and came up with two very nice file boxes. One I am donating to my church library for library cataloging supplies and the other is going to Freecycle. The four books, two sets of mystery series, will go to the book exchange at my YWCA. The Seventh thing I didn't want to bring in from the garage. It's a a Fisher Price bed gate - the hinged gate thing that you use to help toddlers sleep in a big bed. Youngest Child moved from a crib into a toddler bed and never needed the bed gate. My older children never had a "toddler bed" and they always needed the bedgate. One daughter even fell out of bed once and broke her collar bone. Darn those high Victorian iron bedstands! We got rid of those a few years ago but I never got rid of the gate. It's going on Freecycle in the morning.

Knitting wise, I've been working on a felted bag in Noro - today was just boring garter stitch but I'm really enjoying the yarn. It's Noro Kuja - a funky yarn with a color-changing, contrasting thead wrapped around it. My colorway is mostly plum and green. It has a great felted texture because the thread doesn't felt. Kind of a flecked look. I'll take a picture and post soon, promise.

Good Night!

Soctoberfest Revels!

I finished Andy's Striped Socks in just the nick of time, late on Halloween night. Actually, I had to rip the toes out and redo them in black because of a funky little extra row that I put in way back by the heel of the first sock. That put off my striping pattern on the second sock as well. Despite this, they seem to fit well. Andy has very long, narrow feet with narrow heels so I always need to adapt his sock patterns. He is really a ragg sock kind of guy - he doesn't seem to like fancy socks - so almost all of his handknit socks are a variation on a ribbed sock.

Now that I have a little more free time, I worked on my Interlocking Balloons scarf from Scarf Style. I like the pattern but I think that I need to photocopy the page so I can cross out lines of graphing. And it's hand-dyed indigo/turquoise - a lovely color for bleak winter days.