Monday, December 31, 2007

We Made It To Oregon...

Here we are in a town called Newberg, Oregon.  It is about 20 miles south of Portland.  We arrived at about 6:30 tonight, and I'm looking forward to seeing Oregon in the daylight.  

We stopped at a few places along the I-5 in Washington on the way here, including Seattle Premium Outlets, Village Yarn & Tea in Shoreline, Washington, the Sunlight Cafe in Seattle and Weaving Works. 

So far my yarn experiences have rated a "meh".  I did get to see the Noro Kureon sock yarn and I absolutely hate to say it, but it was really disappointing.  It doesn't feel all that great and it seems a little thick and thin in places.  I may yet buy some though, just to try it.  The sample I saw at Village Yarn & Tea looked surprisingly good.  

We just finished one of the best Mexican meals we have ever had.   We tried a small restaurant called Cancun Mexican Restaurant, and we both ate until we were stuffed and had leftovers and had our salsa bowl refilled and the bill was $10.95!!  Very yummy!  I'd highly recommend giving this place a try if you are ever near Newberg, Oregon.

I am so glad I've got my laptop and wireless internet, so I can jot everything down from this trip before I forget.  The hardest thing about being away is missing the kitties.     

Well, I'm exhausted and I think we'll be having an early morning tomorrow.  We're going to try to go to a couple of yarn stores and a couple of outlet malls tomorrow morning, and after that we'll be heading south.  We're not sure how far we'll go --- Maybe all the way to California!  

More tomorrow.  I'll actually get my camera out tomorrow.  

P.S.  The reason we're staying in Newberg is that the room with a jacuzzi in it was $30 cheaper here than in Portland.  There.  Now everyone knows I'm jacuzzi tub obsessed.  

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Finished Diagonal Cross Rib Socks

I managed to finish the pair of Diagonal Cross Rib Socks for my Apres Christmas Sock Swap Pal (it's a secret so I can't tell you who she is).  I was actually surprised how quickly these knit up, but I'm glad they did because I can get them mailed before Stu and I go away.  


Here are the specs:

Yarn:  Dream In Color Smooshy in Blue Lagoon (I have about 1/3rd + of the ball left).
Needles: 1 32" 2.5mm Addi Turbo for doing the magic loop.
Pattern:  Diagonal Cross Rib Socks from Favorite Socks.

Notes:  I enjoyed the right cross more than the left cross, and if I was to do it again, I think I'd use the right cross for both socks.  I also think the pattern stands out better with the right cross.

We're heading out for a little post-Christmas getaway.  We're going to head down to Oregon (perhaps farther to Idaho or so) and do lots of shopping along the way.   I feel like I really need to get away from the phone constantly ringing, the cats creating messes all over the place and all of the other crap that is driving me crazy.  I need a vacation!

Any recommendations of places to stop in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho?  How about recommendations of what to do on New Years Eve in Oregon?  I think we'll be in Portland. 
 
I'm hoping to post from the road, since I'm taking my computer and camera with me.  

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

My Mom Jokes That I Married Santa...

As many of you know, I have a very generous husband. Here's proof ---


Technically, this isn't even a Christmas present.  It's more of a "we made it to the end of the year" gift. 

Did you know that you can use a Mac on a network full of PC's? How 'bout that you can upload Flickr photos right from your desktop? The only downside is that it doesn't work with my old multifunction printer (it's on its last leg anyway so no biggie)

I'm off to count my blessings (and figure out how to use a Mac!)...


I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Edited to add:  It's snowing!  Christmas Day and snowing!!  It's very wet and there isn't going to be any accumulation, but it's exciting none the less.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Smooshy.

I finally tried it.

Does anyone else have a problem using their yarn that they anticipate will be amazing to work with? I always have to make a second trip to the LYS to pick up the same brand in a different color specifically to use.

For example, I went to the LYS a few weeks ago and bought 2 skeins of Dream in Color Smooshy, but I couldn't bring myself to use either of them I had to return last week to buy more to use! Hey, if crazy means buying 4 skeins of Smooshy, I'm in!
I am currently using the Blue Lagoon colorway (my teal obsession continues). The pattern is the Diagonal Cross-Rib Sock from Favorite Socks. I've used this book more than any other knitting book I own.

At first the pattern confused me a little bit. I was knitting into the back of the second stitch on the left needle by placing my needle between the first and second stitches. I realized that my pattern wasn't looking quite right, so I tried not going between the two stitches and just going in from the back, and that worked.

On my sock, the first two pattern repeats are screwed up and don't stand out like they are supposed to, but I'm using it as part of the design, because it just looks I like I've eased into the pattern and not just screwed it up.

**Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of me through this unpleasantness with the old job. If I didn't respond to your comment it's because you're email is not set to show to me when you leave a comment. I really wanted to be able to respond to everyone individually. I really am blessed to have all of you.**

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

One Year Ago Today....

...My life was forever changed, and I wouldn't have it any other way...


"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."
Author Unknown

Thursday, December 20, 2007

The Best of Intentions...

I'm out. I gave my notice and my bosses pretty much both had temper tantrums and and told me that two weeks wasn't enough notice and that they'd need at least a month to a month and a half of notice. I've worked there for less than three months (by 5 days) and by law I don't have to give them any notice (and the person who did the job before me for 20 years only gave them 5 days notice).

One of my bosses had the nerve to say that she didn't realize there was a problem (even after several formal meetings about the problem). I think someones head has been up her butt!

Anyway, I don't want to get into all the gritty details, but with the unprofessional way they treated me today, I say screw the notice. I'm not going back.

I even have a new job already! I'm going back to my former company, but in a much different role. I will be taking care of all of their HR and payroll. I'm glad to be going back.

Now, I know I promised knitting today, but I've had a really draining day, and I didn't get the pictures I wanted, so could you wait until tomorrow?

I want to give a heartfelt thank you to every person who commented and/or contacted me regarding my last post. Your support gives me a lot of strength and it means a lot to me to know that I am not alone and have such great people in my corner.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

This is Why I Don't Talk About Work..

I am taking the day off today. It's Wednesday, but I have a migraine and have been under enough stress over the last few months that I'm surprised that I have not been permanently medicated.

This stress may come as a surprise to some people, since I haven't really blogged about it. You likely did notice that I have basically fallen off of the face of the earth when it comes to blogging.

Will you listen to my story if I promise to tell you about knitting tomorrow?

A few months ago I started a new job. The old job wasn't unbearable or anything, other than ticking me off once in a while, but the new job was so full of promise and more money.

Even on the first day at the new job I had a bad feeling. Everything was a mess, the person training me had never actually done my job before, and there was not one second to breathe.

I told myself it had to get better. It hasn't gotten better. Only worse.

My position is actually two positions (when I applied they were hiring for two positions, but when I got the job it was clear that they were not going to be hiring anyone else).

I have been talking to my bosses and telling them quite seriously that this is more work than one person can do (I am the master of prioritizing, but when two to four huge projects have the same due date and time, there are just not enough hours in the day).

I have been telling them that I can't continue to work like this and that I would be leaving if the workload could not be remedied for 3 months! 3 months!!

We have even had a few meetings that confirmed the problems. The meeting about two months ago showed my amount of work per week at 52 hours (not including any organizational projects, which are numerous and required). They kept saying that they would get someone in to help, but had not done one thing to start the process of hiring someone. All the while the bosses were getting more and more demanding of my time.

Finally, by the end of last week I was at the end of my rope and had come to the realization that help was not on the way. Things were not getting better (even with constant reminders to the bosses), and I could not take it anymore. So Monday morning I turned in my resignation letter saying that for the sake of my health I could not work there anymore.

Well, now they were taking it a little more seriously. (that was not my intention, by the way). My boss asked me to give him until Tuesday to see if he could figure out a way to remedy the situation, and I agreed to give him that time.

We were supposed to meet at 3pm (I leave at 4), but we didn't meet until 4:05 and I was in there until 5:30. Guess how much time my duties should take in one week? 63 hours! I'm supposed to work 37.5 hours. No wonder I'm totally stressed!!

Apparently I'll be getting an assistant. I'll believe it when I see it. They had several months to remedy the situation and it took a resignation letter to have them appear to do anything; this makes my angry and the amount of time that has passed has made me bitter. Not to mention that they have already been promising someone to help for months and have not gotten anyone.

They say I'm a really good fit, so they want to keep me (I'm not easily offended and people can be themselves around me and I'm nice and cheerful, and I quote "not a bitch" (I love that one!), and people feel comfortable around me), but I have a feeling that they want to keep me as much because it would make them look bad to the owners if they couldn't retain staff that they hired (a lot of people who have been there for a few decades are jumping ship).

So, the jury is still out. I may stay, I may go.

I know my husband would be more than happy if I quit right now and never ever went back. Actually, I probably would be too.

Thank you for listening to me. I try to keep the work stuff out of here as much as possible, but it's been overtaking my life lately, and I just needed to get it out.

I'll give you a hint about tomorrow's knitting content --- It's a pattern from a sock book that starts with an "F" and the yarn starts with an "S" and ends with a "Y".

Saturday, December 15, 2007

It's a Hat! With Cables!

Apparently, even with all of the crazy going on, I still knit.

I don't know why, but I've been in the mood for cables lately. I think it may be the time of year and the coziness of cables.


The Pattern:

This hat is from a pattern I found on Ravelry. I was looking for a good men's hat. It's called the Caramel Cable Hat and is designed by Iris Wilde.

The Yarn:

I used 2 skeins of Mission Falls 1824 Wool, which is 100% merino superwash.

This is my first time using this yarn, and I love it. I just wish the yardage was better. It's so soft and squishy. At some point I will definitely knit myself a sweater with this luxurious yarn.

The Needles:

I also used a 16" 3.75mm circular Addi Turbo needle and once the decreasing got to be too much, I switched to a 3.75mm set of Crystal Palace double pointed needles.

The Mods:

I only did 3 repeats of Chart B because I was worried about having a hat that was too gnome like. Then after I moved onto Chart C - I spent the rest of the time second guessing myself and thinking the hat would be too short. I decided to go forward and trust my judgment, and I'm glad I did, because the hat is the perfect length.

I also repeated the very last row one extra time, because there was something off with the stitch count for this row (even though I followed the pattern exactly), so even with this extra row of decreasing, I was still left with 15 stitches, when it should have been 13. I don't know if it was me or the pattern, but as far as problems go, this was about as minimal as it gets.

The coolest part?

Call me a geek, but I think that the coolest part of this hat is that there are decreases in the cables, but you can't see them because they are done in the center of the cable on the row before the cable cross. By decreasing this way, the cable at the base of the hat is actually larger than the cable at the top. This blew my mind!

I can't believe how on top of my knitting I am this year (the secret is to start in the summer). This hat was the last thing I had to knit for Christmas.

I love this hat, and I love that the pattern is so unisex. I'm seriously considering making one for myself in the new year.

How is your Christmas knitting going?

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Where Have I Been?

I was going to start out be apologizing for being absent for so long, but I'm really trying to blog for myself, so I'm not going to apologize. I will say that I'm sorry if you missed me. I missed you too!

I've been busy doing this new thing...I think they call it exercising....

For the last two weeks I've been doing a ton of walking. I decided that it was a little silly to not exercise because it cut into my knitting time. So, everyday at lunch I've been walking as fast as I can for 15 minutes one way then turning around and walking 15 minutes back (although some days I come close to skipping the "back" part :p

Stu and I have also been walking in the evenings (last night we did a 25k walk, which was very hilly and damn cold!).


I've also made some major changes in how I've been eating. My diet is now about 98% vegan. And seriously, I feel great! I have more energy than I've had in years, or possibly ever!

How did this all start?

Well, it was a culmination of things. First, I've gained "a few" pounds, and have been becoming more and more miserable about my physical state, and of course, the more miserable I was, the more crap I ate, etc, etc, etc.

Second, the right book landed in my lap at the right time. It was the stern talking too/dose of reality I needed. The book is called Skinny Bitch and it changed my life. Seriously.

Aside from cutting out nearly all meat, I have also cut out white flour, white sugar, and white rice. Instead, I'm using things like dehydrated cane juice and agave nectar (super yummy and doesn't f*ck with your blood sugar), and whole wheat flour, and brown rice. Don't worry, I'm getting lots of protein too. Mostly from beans and some tofu (I'm one of those strange people who actually likes tofu).

I have also cut out cheese. I figure that if I can't use it responsibly, I can't have it at all. So far, this has been the most difficult thing to eliminate, but it is getting easier. And if absolutely necessary, I allow myself a very small amount no more than once a week.
One of the best things about eating this way is that I HAVE to cook. It is a lot harder to go out and pig out or get take out, because I'm not eating most ingredients the restaurants use. This is making me have to cook and pay attention to what I am eating. So far I've made up some really awesome things. In fact, I'm finding this type of food actually tastes better than the over-processed crap I normally eat.
I also found an awesome website called The Post Punk Kitchen. I made their vegan pumpkin muffin recipe (with a few alterations) and it was awesome. I even got the muffins to rise! I took them over to my parents' last weekend and they were a hit. Although, things that taste remarkably similar to pumpkin pie are usually a hit. They were so good, I made them again this morning.

The results so far?

I have a ton of energy, my skin looks better, and the best part? I can pull my old jeans on again. I tried to put them on before all this stuff, and I couldn't get them over my hips, not a chance. Now I can get them on. Not done up. But on. And that's good progress.

Honestly, the real best part is that this is sustainable and I am seeing results.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

My So Called Scarf #3

Okay, this is a plan b post. I had intended to upload a tutorial I put together on how to knit the right and wrong sides of My So Called Scarf, but I made it too big, so I can't upload it anywhere for now.

I spent the entire day today working on the scarf for my brother's b-day on December 6th, and I finished it early in the evening. Woot!

Since it looks basically the same as it did in my last post, so I won't repost the picture until I have one of him wearing it. I will say that I'm very happy with it.

There has been a ton of snow here this weekend, but right now the rain is in the process of washing it all away. We're in for very heavy rain for the next few days. I mention this, because I have been making a point to get out and power walk at lunch everyday, so tomorrow I already know I will get soaked. Actually, the walking is why there has been less knitting around here. That's half an hour less knitting everyday!

Here's Redd partaking in his favorite weekend activity --

I did venture out yesterday evening to go to the LYS. I picked up some yarn for a Christmas present hat for someone and 2 skeins of Smooshy. Will share pics very soon. I was hoping to get to these yarns today, but that didn't happen. Hopefully tomorrow.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Lace Bug...

I've been bitten again. The last time the lace bug bit was in the spring, resulting in one Sea Silk Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style, and one slightly heavier weight one in raspberry colored Koigu.

This time when it bit, it wanted lace weight wool or a wool blend. I found an overflowing cupboard of Fiddlesticks Zephyr Wool-Silk in my LYS, Three Bags Full.


Fiddlesticks Zephyr Wool-Silk is a 50/50 blend of merino wool and tussah silk (tussah silk is from wild silk worms, and is collected after the silk worm is done with it, making it the humane silk).

A deep plum color would be made mine, for it's resemblance to a AE sweatshirt I tried on at the AE in Bellingham was unmistakable. Stu said the color was great on me, but I opted for the familiar gray instead.Plum is destined to be a Print O' The Wave Stole by Eunny Jang. I will be knitting it in one piece instead of 2 halves grafted together. Life it too short for ugly graft lines in pretty lace shawls. Too. Short.

Pewter also spoke to me. It's silvery tendencies had me envisioning a lacy rectangular shawl, not to big, but sporting an extensively intricate border.


Likely the Pewter will be turned into something from Victorian Lace Today. Exactly what, I am not sure.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

My So Called Scarf - Take 3!

When I finished my Azul Profundo Malabrigo My So Called Scarf a little while ago, I wore it over to my parents ' house where my brother saw it, and almost wouldn't give it back!


The only way I got it back was to promise I would make him one in the same pattern and same color. I had to get this yarn from Personal Threads in Nebraska, because it was the only store I could find that had 3 skeins of the Azul Profundo color.


I'm making it twice as wide as the original pattern, so I needed lots of extra yarn. I figure I might need part of the third ball, but if not, I'd be more than happy to use the leftovers to make something for myself.

This scarf is 60 stitches across, so it will be nice and toasty.

As you might be able to see, I'm using 2 dpns to knit this scarf, because Redd gnawed on my 8mm bamboo needles and totally destroyed them.

I'm going to be hauling this scarf to work as my lunchtime knitting for the week, and hopefully I can get most of it done by next weekend.

Considering this is my third My So Called Scarf I am surprised that I am not totally sick of this pattern. I think it's the perfect mix of mindless yet stimulating. I know that some people are intimidated by this pattern, but seriously, it's easy. Just do it!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I Don't Know What You Call Them, But 'Round Here, We Call Them Pirates...

I am so glad that this knit is done. It was a PITA from beginning to end, which was entirely my own fault. That being said, I am pleased with the results, and I think the recipient will be quite happy as well.

Specs:

Yarn: 1 skein Cascade 220 - Black
1 skein Cascade 220 - White
1 bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran - Black (for lining)

Pattern: We Call Them Pirates by Hello Yarn.

Needles: 3.25mm 16'' circular Addi Turbo x 2 (I used one until I had decreased too much, then I knit in the round using 2 circs.


My Own Project Issues:

First of all, I think I picked a horrible week for doing color work. I haven't been getting enough sleep, it has been insane at work, busy at home, and I've been really distracted, because my Grandma is in the hospital and I'm really worried about her. This leads me to my first complaint, which is that I had to pay too much attention which was unenjoyable for the above reasons.



The second is that I used some dishcloth cotton for the provisional cast on; this made it difficult to pick up stitches in the first place, but when I went to pick up the stitches for the lining, it was even worse! So, bad choice in provisional cast on yarn.


The hat turned out a bit too big, so I followed the pattern's advise and got it wet, then threw it in the dryer for a little bit. This left it the perfect size, and very slightly fuzzy, not felted. I did this before doing the lining (which I still think was the right choice, because I didn't use the same yarn for the lining, so they would not have shrunk up at the same rate. Unfortunately, once the hat was totally dry, the provisional cotton was still soaking wet, making picking up the stitches 10 times worse.

Here's the hat part way through the lining---

As you can see, all of my complaints were from what is going on with me personally, and a bad choice of cast on yarn, followed with some good old fashioned deadline knitting (did I mention this is a Christmas present that has to be shipped overseas, and therefor has to be done ridiculously early?).

Even with all the odds stacked against it, I am impressed with the simplicity of this pattern, as well as the ease and speed with which I was able to knit it up.

Would I do it again?

In fact, once things settle down a bit in the new year, I think I'll probably knit myself one with some hot pink skulls on a black background.

Friday, November 16, 2007

My Favorite Socks?

You know I live socks, handknit socks to be precise. I knit them like a fiend. I wear them like a zealot! So you may be shocked to know that this is my favorite pair ----

I do have a favorite handknit pair, but as for my overall favorite, your looking at them! They're the ones I want to put on on a Friday night after a long week, they're the ones the I reach for after swimming in freezing water at the cabin.

Strange isn't it? So that begs the question --- What are your favorite socks? Are they handknit or commercial?

Redd is already enjoying his weekend---

These are some of my favorite pictures of Redd.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of knitting, listening to podcasts, and relaxing.



There might even be a few blog posts!

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Lexie Barnes Knitting Bag!

I have to share my latest knitting acquisition. It's a knitting bag designed by Lexie Barnes!


This bag is in my colors, pink and black, and has little skulls all over it. How cool is that!?! It is also waterproof, which is of utmost importance when it comes to Vancouver's rainy weather.

It has a ton of room in it, and looks stylish enough to use everyday. I think it's even got enough space in it to use as an overnight bag.

It has a very small zippered pocket on the outside near the top. This would be a good fit for a cell phone or iPod.

It also features an outside pocket that would be a perfect place to keep a magazine or your pattern.

The inside is a very pretty pink and has a ton of pockets. I have to say that this bag is refreshingly well constructed, and I can see it lasting a very long time.

You may wonder how I can spend $130 on a knitting bag (guilt free even!). I have a budget. I have been sticking to my budget for the last month, and it is going well. Basically, I get my spending money every Friday, and I have to spend it on whatever I want. That means I can't be buying things like toilet paper or milk or gas (those are accounted for separately in my budget).

So, for the bag, I saved for a bit and was able to buy it for myself. It is so nice to be able to buy something so frivolous and not feel guilty for it.

For the first time in my life, money is not stressing me out. I mean, I used to agonize over every penny I spent, because I had no idea what state my finances were in. I really didn't know if I could afford that latte I was buying. My solution was to charge it and feel stressed and guilty. (Thankfully I have a really low credit limit).

I came home about a month ago, took my debit and credit cards out of my wallet and gave them to Stu to hold onto. I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I am now using cold hard cash instead of my credit and debit cards. I get my cash on Friday and I have to budget that money until the following Friday.

I know that I can afford to spend every penny I spend. Honestly, I have never felt so free!

* The reason I am blogging about this is that money issues are normally something one keeps to oneself, but I'm hoping that my experience can help others.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Finished Drops 103 Jacket!

I actually finished it mid-week last week, but didn't get it blocked or put the buttons on until this weekend.Unfortunately, the only picture that shows the whole sweater while I wear it is very poor quality. (I snapped this on my way out the door yesterday. For some reason, all the rooms with mirrors are on the dark side). You at least get the gist of how it hangs ---
Of course I had to get a close up of the shoulder seam since I used the new technique of sewing up the seams and then attaching the sleeve to the body. I'm still very happy with the results. I've been going around telling everyone to look at my shoulder seams!

Now, my buttons are not placed evenly, but i think it makes it look very funky. The funny thing about these buttons is that I actually bought them about 3 years ago from Fabricana in Richmond. I dragged Stu and Martin in there with me to find buttons for my first cardigan (it was a disaster, knit out of cotton before I knew how cotton behaved). I think they go perfectly with this jacket, so I just cut the buttons right off my old cardigan.

There is only one thing I would do differently if I was making this jacket again. I would add an inch or an inch and a half to the sleeves. I like my sleeves long, and I found myself tugging on them yesterday while wearing the jacket out and about. Here's one with the cuff detail---

And here we have an oh-so-flattering torso shot. This one was more to show how the color worked out.

Specs:

Pattern: Drops Jacket (No. 103-1.

Yarn: 7 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Forest. I used only about 20 yards ( maybe less) of the 7th skein.

Needles: One 32" 5mm Addi Turbo circular needle.

*Remember, delurking is delightful!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Sleeve Attachment: There Is More Than One Way...

Usually when I attach a sleeve, I do it before I do any seaming (other than attaching the shoulder seams). This time I choose to try something different, hoping it would give me slightly more professional results.

I sewed up the side seams then I sewed up the sleeves before attaching the two together. This left me with a better idea what everything would look like as I was sewing the two together. All in all, this method caused me less grief than sewing everything up pose attachment. The first sleeve took me two tries to get everything to match up how I wanted, but the second one took me no time at all.

As I would for the other method, I began my sewing at the top center of the sleeve cap, and worked my way all the way around going counterclockwise.

As of last night, the whole thing has been seamed, but I've still got to block it before it's big unveiling.

I needed strength last night while doing all of this seaming, so Stu made a very yummy dinner of salad, followed by perogies with lots of garlic and onion and sour cream for dipping.

I'm going to try to get the jacket blocking tonight, but I have to work at my old job (I'm getting sooo sick of it, but I think this is the last time so I'll tolerate it). I am really looking forward to the long weekend.

Friday's coming!

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Caught Off Guard...

Was anyone else caught completely off guard after work by daylight savings time? Yes, I changed all the clocks on Sunday, that's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is getting home from work at 4:3o, sitting down at my computer to read my email for a few minutes, and then looking up 15 minutes later, and I was sitting completely in the dark!

I was going to take a few pictures of the Drops 103 Jacket (which is coming along swimmingly), but it was pitch black before I knew it.


I'm still working on the collar, but I've only got an inch or so to go. The collar construction is quite neat, since you increase 2 stitches on each side several times, so you end up with little wing type things on each side of the collar, which get sewn to the top of the double moss stitch on each of the fronts the fronts. Doing it this way makes the collar wrap around and be very turtle-necky.

Here's a little picture of the state of the stash (the bottom bin has FO's and my needle case in it and that's about it (maybe some dishcloth cotton). So, I'm still making good destashing progress.I know it's a bit of a side note, so back to the Drops Jacket ---

Unfortunately, I could not take this project as my lunch project today, because I need to wind another skein of Malabrino (Forest) Worsted to finish it off. I thought that 6 skeins would be plenty, but it turns out that I'll need to to use part of the 7th skein.

So for lunch, I worked on a dishcloth.

Goodbye fish tank---

There has been a bit of a change in our living room too. Our last fish died (don't feel bad, we were waiting for it), so we got rid of the fish tank tonight!

Monday, November 05, 2007

A Weekend In Tuscany...

My Socktober socks this year are extra special!I only knit one pair, but they were a test knit for Abigail's new sock pattern called Tuscany, which she has just released today!

I knit them over the weekend last weekend.

Specs:

Pattern: Tuscany by Abigail 1870 Pearl.
Yarn: 1 skein of Cascade 220 Paints in color number 9930 (make sure you don't do to many leg repeats if you're only using one skein). 6 max.
Needles: 3.5mm 32" Addi Turbo circular.



These were a very quick knit, and I really enjoyed every minute of them. They had just enough detail that they were not boring for even a second, but it only took me a few rounds to memorize the pattern repeat.

These would make an excellent gift. Especially if you haven't started your Christmas knitting yet!

Thank you Abigail for letting me be the first to knit these!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Fuzzy Feet!

Here they are---

And a view from the side---


In just two evenings I managed to knit and felt this pair of slippers.

I used the recommended yarn, and knit them exactly as called for, but I think I over-felted them a bit, because they are now very very small.

Specs:

Pattern:Fuzzy Feet from Knitty.
Yarn: 1 skein of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in M-82 Blue Flannel.
Needles: 7mm 32" Addi Turbo circular for magic looping.


Here's a before shot of the first one--

And here is the after comparison---

As you can see, they're a little small!

I've already started a second pair out of black Cascade 220. I'm knitting them a bit bigger in the hopes that they will fit my feet once felted.