Blog Fodder

I am still knitting on Coachella. I had to rip out the bottom and make it a bit longer. So, on Friday's Feast, I found some blog-fodder!

Appetizer
How many pieces of jewelry do you wear most days?
My basic kit consists of 1 ear stud, 2 hoop earrings, my wedding rings and anniversary ring, 2 other rings, silver necklace that was the first piece of jewellery that my hubby gave me and a wristwatch.

Soup
What is your favorite instrumental song?
Green Onions

Salad
Who has a last name that you like?
Alyssa Milano

Edit: I've changed my mind. I like the last name of Yasmin Warsame. It sounds cool....

Main Course
Name a popular movie you’ve never seen.
E.T.

Dessert
Fill in the blank:
Nothing makes me ___________ like ____________.
Nothing makes me pissed off like my hubby complaining I can't get ready fast enough to go out!

Ciao

Pink!

Mama E of CyberFiber dyed a colourway to help Amy raise money for the Run for the Cure fundraiser for breast cancer. I would have bought this colourway regardless of the fundraiser, though. It's just delectable.

870 yards (2x435) of soft, squooshy, beautiful pink! I couldn't even bear to lay it on the grass for it's photoshoot. What if some VM stuck to it?! I know it's a little ridiculous since it IS yarn after all. And yarn comes from sheep. Which means that VM is the least of what might get on the wool. But it's so nice now! Yeah. So this is destined to be a lace shawl of some sort. I guess stole would be more accurate. I want it to be rectangular. I'm debating the Morning Glory Wrap. Although, technically it calls for DK weight yarn. And this gorgeous pink stuff is fingering weight sock yarn. So the wrap would be a bit more open. Or perhaps the Fir Cone Wrap from Wendy. Or do one of you have any other favourite lacey or lace-like wrap patterns out there?

The knitting of Coachella continues. I decided to rip back past the bust shaping and re-knit it instead of a complete frogging. I tried it on last night and it seems better. I'll know better once I've knit it up a bit further so I can tell how it'll hang on me.

Edit: I've joined a Coachella Knitalong! Join the fun!

Ciao

Hmmm, Not So Sure About This....

I started Coachella from Knitty on thursday. It's a pretty quick knit. which is a good thing. Since it looks like I'll be frogging attempt number 1. At first, I thought it looked pretty good. (you'll have to pardon the weird lighting. It was night and the flash did weird things to the colour and shadows so the drape of it was hard to see)

But then I looked a little closer at it, and it seems to drape a little funny.

And the side view?

Hmmm, a little generous in the boobages, I think. This was a size small (ie 36 inch bust) with one bust shaping repeat done. For the record I am a 36C, usually. Occasionally a 36B, depending on the fit. Clearly here, I don't need the bust shaping, and I'm thinking to go down a size as well.

I did sub the yarn. There is no Berocco suede to be had in my town. I even looked on line and no retailers in my town carry Berocco! I would have to drive approx 50minutes to the nearest town that has a retailer. So I went stash diving and found some Mission Falls cotton. Swatched it up. Seemed to work.

Clearly, it does work. But it knits up a little different than the Berocco would have. Not very surprising.

I must say I really like the top, though. So tomorrow there will be frogging and re-knitting. The next size down. Apparently I am skinnier than I think I am. Hmm, that's not a bad thing, I think.

Ciao

Just in Time

Today hubby and I went out to run some errands. We got back, got the groceries in and then the heavens opened.

There was even some of this:

Yup, hail!

I decided to try swatching for Coachella with some Mission Falls cotton I have. which gave me a chance to play with one of my birthday presents a bit early.

It's a crappy picture AND a crappy cake, but it's the first one ever off my new ball winder! Yup, I am now equipped to bake yarn-cake. Woo hoo! And a close up (just because).

The colour in the first pic is truer to what it actually is. I'm off to swatch with my newly wound yarn.

Ciao

Ridiculous!

The description of my day. I had an appointment with a dental specialist at 7:50am today. Waaaaaay too early in my opinion.

Tonight I decided to finish my hat. I got the petersham ribbon sewn on the inside for a hatband. I threaded the plastic stiffener through the brim. Ta da. Not.

Clearly the trimmer string I decided to use isn't stiff enough. Back to the drawing board. BTW, your computer isn't malfunctioning, I deliberately blurred out my exhausted, sweat-shiny face. This way I don't have to worry about being blackmailed with my horrible picture! (or have it show up in the paper on my birthday or something.....)

Ciao

Yay! and not so yay...

The slogging is over! Yippee!

The lacy shrug is done! I didn't use Sirdar's "Just Bamboo" which is what the pattern called for. It's made out of Sirdar's "Ocean" yarn. Both are ribbon yarns, but the Ocean knitted up a bit firmer and needed more repeats across the back. Just sayin'.

In other news, Primus and Secundus have made up and are now friends.

As you can see, they have gotten quite, ahem, comfortable with each other.....

And now a non-knitting rant. My current client screwed up their schedule and cancelled 11 hours worth of work on me at the last minute. Now, I have been working like a fiend, so I don't really mind the extra time off. However, the lack of notice strikes me as unproffessional. Lets just hope they don't screw up the paycheque!

Ciao

Slogging along

I am slogging along on the black lacy shrug. Seems like it never ends. I knit, knit and knit, count stitches..yup still too many, must continue to decrease. Sigh. Although at least I am AT the decreases!

On to something I was quite excited to see.....plants! Up until a couple of weeks ago, we were still getting the odd frost warning. So I didn't want to plant my herbs outside until all chances of frost were gone. So last Monday, I finally did the deed and stuck some seeds in pots. This morning I went out to water 'em and Lo! Behold!

Basil!
Thyme!

Alas, no oregano yet......Ah well, 2 for 3 ain't bad.

I'm off to slog, er, knit some more.

Ciao

Slowly Growing....

The lacy black shrug continues to grow. It's still just a funny shaped rectangle. Picture what I showed you the other day, but bigger. Other things are growing around here though.

Ta Da!

Tomatoes! I am most excited.

That is all.

Ciao

What am I doing?

Right now I am working on a "Lacy Shrug" in Sirdar's Ocean yarn. It's a ribbon yarn and quite nice to work with. I am about halfway through it and quite liking the way it's working up. The pattern was written by a lady at my LYS for Sirdar's Just Bamboo, but I saw the Ocean yarn and loved it. So, although acording to the pattern I am 2/3 done, actually I am about 1/2 done since the Ocean works up quite a bit more firmly than the Bamboo. Just so's ya know.

And now "in progress" pics:

I tried to get a shot of the lacy effect, not sure the picture is any good, but here it is anyway.

And that's what I'm working on, right now. In between winning things :)

I'm off!

Ciao

And the Streak Continues

A friend held a scavenger photo hunt on Facebook this weekend. The idea was to photograph as inventively as possible, the subjects on the list. Apparently, I won! (Must not have been any other entrants :) Being that it was World Wide Knit in Public day on Saturday, I tried to involve knitting in my photo shoot. so, here are some selections from my entry:

Socks and sandals:

The blue sandal is me and the black sandal is Anne.

Then there was "something soft and round" on the list. That was easy!

A ball of yarn. Duh.

Then there was "Recipe for Disaster" in which we were pretty much allowed free rein. Hence:

Since all us knitters know what happens when you let a cat free in a room full of yarn!

Another topic was "Dirty Qtip". My cat Pagan wandered into the room while I was trying to think up something creative and started licking it! The dirrrrty beast:

Although it WAS quite funny!
No idea what the "prize" is. Probably a dirty Qtip...

Ciao!

Easy Breezy Post

Today I am taking the easy way. I spent yesterday knitting in public and finding things to photograph for the scavenger hunt I am participating in. BUT, I have someprizes I won to show you all! I never win anything. That's what I used to say. Knitting seems to have changed that. Over at Bella Knitting they had a contest as to when the baby would arrive. I guessed right! And the prize?

Mmmmmmalabrigo! Lovely. This is the first time I have had a chance to touch this stuff. Wow! Nice.

Then last week I went into my LYS and entered a draw they were having. I won that too!

Lana Grossa sockyarn, a little, itty bitty, adorable sock yarn holder and some rosewood needles from H.A.Kidd and Company. Lovely. I was thinking socks for the hubby, but that may change....

Ciao

KIP-ing!

Today was international Knit In Public Day. So, of course, I did!

I am holding the camera, so you don't see me, but here is Anne and Christina! My multicoloured Secundus sock got to have some fun today and is in the bottom left corner.

Ciao

Floppy, Floppy.

The hat is dry. Dry, but floppy. It really needs something to stiffen the brim! I tried to take a picture of the hat on me, but it's dark, the pic without the flash is a black hole and the one with a flash, well, lets just say that taking a picture of yourself in a mirror with a flash leads to less than stellar results!

So, the first shot is me dangling the hat:

The second shot is the hat draped artfully over an Easter basket handle:As you can see, droopy!

Ah well, I know what I am doing this weekend! Hat-brim-stiffener shopping. Exciting, I know. I hope you can all contain yourselves!

I cast on for a new project. However, it is in black yarn and taking a picture of that with flash photography results in crappy pictures. With extra crappy sprinkled on top. So you will have to wait for a day when I remember to take a picture during the day. And since I am working 47 hours this week in 5 days, well, that might take a day or 2. Patience, dahlings.

Ciao

An Effed O! Well...Mostly Effed.

For the 2 of you who have been anxiously waiting and wondering what my swatch from the other day was, the suspense is over!

It's a sunhat! The pattern can be found here. However, the pattern calls for DK weight yarn. I had dishcloth cotton. Hence the swatch. I am not sure if this hat is going to be too warm as a sunhat. Being as how it is a heavier cotton. If it is, then I guess the local cancer center has itself a new hat for a fashionable patient!

The next challenge in completing this hat will be to find something to stiffen the brim. Apparently, millinery wire is hard to come by in my smallish town. So, as per the pattern suggests, I will be going out in search of coated clothesline. If that is not rigid enough, then I may go for some crafting wire. I just don't want wire ends poking into my hand when I pick up the hat. I will have to experiment with whatever I wind up finding...

I did learn how to do a tubular bind off with this pattern. 378 stitches worth. The bind off is now engraved on my brain. Until something else comes along and wipes my brain clean......

I'm off to cast on the next project.

Ciao

Still Playing with String

I am still playing with string around here. In the bits of time I have while working a 49 hour week. Makes for slow process. See:

Okay, that's not knitting, but it IS playing with string! The cross-bar on the chair kept coming loose. So I glued it back together. But then you have to clamp it tight while it dries. I don't have a clamp, since I am not a carpenter. But I AM a knitter and I have lots and lots and lots and lots of string. So I used an old trick I heard about somewhere. You wind the string around the legs and through the middle. then you take a pencil or some kind of rigid object and wind it through the "X", then you twist it tight and it pulls the legs together. Thus holding the legs tight until the glue dries. Hopefully this works. I'll know tomorrow. When I sit on the chair. If it doesn't collapse under me, it will have worked. If my next post is from the emergency room at the hospital, you'll know it didn't work....

As for the other kind of playing with string, I have been doing that too. In between obsessively checking my Facebook page.

Remember that swatch the other day? It has turned into this:

I'm almost done the knitting part of it and then the finishing will begin. You'll be able to tell what it is at that point. Or maybe you can tell now, whatever. Better pics will follow once the finishing has begun. At which point we will be able to see if I have made a usable object or not.

Stay tuned for the continuing stooorreeeeyyyy....

ciao