Minerva Turkey

What about bob(bies)?

2009-10-05T16:41:00.003-04:00

I haven't felt very motivated to blog for quite a while, and today I think I finally figured out why that is. I have let my work take over all of my time, and I haven't been head over heels in love with a project for a while. Well, today I am going to swatch for a project I am in love with....a pair of Bobbies.

The pattern I am in love with is called Bobbie. Bobbie is a beautiful pair of gloves knit using fingering weight yarn, and the stitch pattern lends itself well to hand painted sock yarns. Last week I joined a knit a long for a pair in the Wollmeise group on Ravelry. Julia Mueller is the designer, and as part of the KAL she has given all of the participants a free copy of the pattern. Isn't that generous! I have decided to use my skein of Regenbogen Wollmeise 80/20 twin. The pattern calls for 100%, but I love this color so I will adjust my needle size to get gauge. I am going to start my gauge swatch tonight. Here is a photo of the yarn. Drool with me. :)

My goal is to get my stash and project pages on Ravelry updated this week, and then try to keep up with my blog. I am going to use the KAL as my motivation. Let's see if it works. Hehehehehe....

Giving a hedgehog medicine is not fun.

2009-04-15T21:44:00.004-04:00

The title of this post just says it all....hedgies are not good patients. My little hedgehog Oy is recovering from a respiratory infection right now. A little over a week ago I took him out for some play time, and he started to sneeze like crazy. His nose was running, and his eyes looked a little gunky. He definitely wasn't himself, so I immediately called the exotic animal vet. We went that same day to see the doc, and she became the first human to discover that giving Oy meds is no fun at all!

He did great with the vet tech. He got on the scale and snorted around like a little piggy. He was his usual cutie pie self, that is until the doctor came into the room. He immediately balled up super tight, and refused to let her touch him. He actually tried to ram the doc with his head quills. It took all three of us to just get a minimal exam completed, and she prescribed a week of liquid antibiotics. The tech chimed in to tell me that the medicine is bubble gum flavored, so he should really like it. What makes them think that hedgehogs like bubble gum? His favorite treats are worms for goodness sake. When she handed me the meds she gave me a forlorn look and said, "do you think you will be able to get him to take this for the next week?" I blurt out "of course", take the meds, and head for home. I figure that once we get home he will cooperate with me. Um, yah I was a bit naive.

I had 14 doses of liquid, bubble gum flavored antibiotics to give a very angry and sick hedgehog. Very large doses too. So, for my first attempt I tricked him into biting the syringe and squirted the meds into his mouth. It somewhat worked, but I could tell that bubble gum was not a flavor he particularly liked. The second attempt went horribly wrong, and I ended up getting pink, sticky liquid all over him. The third, fourth and fifth attempts were also bad. I was trying to force him, trick him, what have you. I hid the medicine in treats, mixed it with food, tried a complicated bait and switch maneuver, but nothing was working. He was mad, and he was getting sicker. His breathing was labored, and I had started to read horror stories about hedgehogs not recovering from a respiratory infection. I was crying and feeling very frustrated.

So, I did some research and saw that some hedgie owners inject worms with the antibiotics, and then feed them to the sick hedgie. Well, I did not have the stomach for that procedure, but my husband stepped up to the plate. He started preparing medi-worms, and Oy gobbled them right up! I was so relieved, and now he is finally starting to get better. He has been eating medi-worms 2x per day for three days now, and I am seeing a lot of improvement. He is still very sleepy, but no sneezing at all today. Thank goodness!

Our little Oy turns 1 year old this month, and he has been a member of the family for 10 months now. We love him dearly, and I can't imagine being able to adore him more. He has such a neat personality, and his favorite activity is snuggle time. Here he is curled up in a t-shirt taking a nap in my arms.

He has completely mastered using a litter box, and he knows very well that he gets a treat when he is done. So, sometimes he tries to be slick and jump in the potty and right back out just to get a treat. He is a smart little bugger. Here he is in his litter box playing around.

I am so glad that Oy came into our lives. He is so funny and so loving. He is even starting to warm up to my husband, who up until the last week was his nemesis. I have to say, hedgies make great pets.

Happy Birthday Mr. Oy!

I just can't seem to finish things lately....

2009-03-23T17:10:00.003-04:00

My knitting friends always made fun of me for compulsively finishing each project I started. This was my trademark even when working on many different things at once. Well, I don't know what happened to my knitting mojo in the last couple of months, but I just can't seem to finish anything. I have so many really fun things on the needles, in need of minor finishing, and lets not mention the pile of items that need to be blocked! Plus, each day I find something new I want to knit. How do you guys get your knitting groove back?

Here is a prime example. I started the Delft Pillow in January, and I flew threw the knitting in about 2 weeks flat. I worked on it every chance I got, and I loved each and every minute of it. The pillow requires some type of closure on the back, and I decided to put in a zipper. I purchased the zipper right after it was done, and now months later it is still not finished.

From the front, I am very pleased with this little pillow, except for the end I never got around to weaving in, but from the back....

I pinned the back for photo purposes, so it won't usually buckle like this. The edging lines up just right on the back, and once the zipper is installed it will lay almost flat. I really need to get motivated and finish this up. :)

So, fellow knitters, share your secrets. How do you refocus? How do you motivate yourself to finish your current project when something new and shiny calls your name?

The Hubby Did Good

2009-01-06T17:34:00.009-05:00

December is a very busy month for our family. On top of the holidays, my wedding anniversary is just a few days before Christmas, we have lots of birthdays, and other family members have their anniversaries in December as well. So, the month is always a bit crazy for us, but in a good way. We had a great holiday season in my house this year. We were able to travel around the state to see family, play with nieces and nephews, and spend quality time with each other. It was a great time.

Since our anniversary is so close to Christmas my husband and I usually agree to get one present for both. We are both very hard to buy for, so this reduces the pressure on us. Then we always go out for a romantic dinner. Well, this year my husband out did himself. He actually got me a knitting gift this year. Here is what he got for me.

He purchased the Noni Medallion Travel Bag pattern (Noni link), needles, yarn (12 hanks of Cascade), and the leather Noni handles to match. I had mentioned this pattern a few times over the last couple of months when talking about my projects for 2009. I was so excited! We placed the order for all the materials together on our anniversary since he wanted me to choose the colors I wanted to use, and all the materials arrived last week. Thanks babe for such a thoughtful and generous gift.

I chose to use the mint green for the background, and the dark brown for the pattern. The color combo reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. I am really excited about starting the project. I cast on during my knitting group on Sunday, and everyone there thinks I am a bit nuts for taking on this project. It is going to be huge pre-felting, and still be pretty big when it is all done. But that is what I want. I really like large bags, and I have a special trip coming up in April (more details on that a bit later) that I am going to use it for. I am planning on really diving in this week to the bag, but I want to take the chart to Kinkos and have it blown up first. My eyes will cross if I read it as is. Plus, I like to highlight the rows when I work with charts to help me keep track of where I am .

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Now, I need to go and catch up on all my blog reading. :)

Holiday time already?

2008-12-10T16:35:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe that the holidays are already here. This year has flown by! Radio stations are playing holiday music, and I have been driving different routes home each night so that I can see all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood. So, to get in the holiday mood I decided to knit up a Santa hat. Thanks to Ravelry I found the perfect pattern in Handknit Holidays (Ravelry pattern link). There are some fantastic patterns in this book. I highly recommend it. Here are some really bad pictures of the finished product. :)

This was a seriously fast knit. The body of the hat took just a couple of hours, and then the bobbles took about another hour. I wish I had tried out this pattern back in October...I would have made a ton of them for gifts this year. They are definitely going on my gift knitting list for next year.

I used Cascade 200 for the body, and Lambs Pride for the trim. They compliment each other well, and the hat is very snuggly. I have lots of holiday gatherings to attend over the next couple of weeks, so this hat is going to get a lot of wear.

Perspective

2008-11-26T19:49:00.002-05:00

Time is a funny thing. How many times in our lives do we say we don't have time for something? Too often I think, way too often in fact. Over the last couple of months my life has been crazy, and I found myself thinking, "I don't have time to knit right now", "I can't even think about blogging right now", "I don't have time to call him/her now". Well, this thinking stinks. I guess Charles Buxton said it best, "You will never find time for anything, if you want time you must make it."

So, two weeks ago I picked up a pair of needles and started knitting again. It felt amazing, and I couldn't believe that I had actually survived 2 months without knitting a single stitch. Then I went to my knitting group to see all my girlfriends. Oh I missed them so much! It was great. Now, I must say that the initial high of knitting again sent me into a project frenzy. I cast on for three new projects all at once, but I am knitting every second I am not at work or asleep so I am actually making headway on all three. No pictures to share today, but I promise soon.

My husband shared a great video with me tonight about knitting miniatures. It is amazing. The artist's name is Althea Crome, and you absolutely must see this video. Click on this link and enter sweaterxxs for the key. Now I know it initially looks like a creepy site, but trust me it is great. No scary surprises. :) I think it would be a very cool challenge to knit some miniatures. I loved knitting the mini sock I did a while back. It was a blast. Maybe I should make some mini sweaters for ornaments/gift tags? I am sure I can find a pattern for that.

Thank you so much to those of you that have emailed to check on me. It warms my heart that so many out there were thinking of me while I was away. I have truly come to cherish my blogland friends. So, Happy Turkey Day to you all. I promise to never stay away so long again.

Time warp

2008-08-20T15:51:00.005-04:00

I absolutely cannot believe that it has been two weeks since I last posted. Time is truly flying by me lately. I have lots of reasons (excuses) why I haven't kept up with my blog lately, but the two biggest are that work has been insane and I have been really sick. First, let me explain the work thing a bit. I have been working very long days trying to get everything ready for the students to return to school this week. Some days I came home from work and actually took a nap before dinner. I have been totally exhausted. That leads me to the second reason (excuse). I have been sick. Not flu/cold sick, but medicine side effect sick. My doctor started me on a new medicine about 3 weeks ago, and the side effects have been awful. The doctor tried to use yet another medicine to combat the side effects of the original medicine, but that made me feel much worse. So, I have decided to discontinue it. I will spare you all the yucky details, but I will tell you that being sick for 3 weeks takes all of your energy.

During the last couple of weeks I have been working on my Ravelylmpics project number one, the Icosa Ball Pillow. I know I am really sick when I don't even feel like knitting most of the time. I started out with great and fast progress, but over the past week I have barely picked up my needles. The pattern is actually a lot of fun to knit. Each triangle takes about an hour and a half to knit, and it is kind cool to keep stacking them up. I now have 11 out of 20 complete, and I am really hoping that I can finish by the Ravelympics deadline. I know it is a long shot at this point, but I am going to try my best. Here is a shot of my triangles so far.

I am going to work on some more triangles tonight feverishly since I am feeling a bit better, and hopefully I can have them all done by Friday night. The deadline for the Ravelylmics is the 24th. So that will give me two days to graft all the triangles together and sew the pillow form. Then complete the assembly. It's ambitious, but I think it just might be possible.

I am disappointed that I will not be able to complete my second project for the games, the Spinadi Pesce socks. They are next on my knit list though. I am so excited about trying the pattern out. Maybe I will be able to at least cast them on this weekend. I have to make myself finish the pillow first though. Otherwise I know I will get caught up knitting the socks and miss the deadline for sure.

I hope everyone has been doing well. I have definitely missed blogging over the last two weeks. Now I am off to catch up on all your blogs. :)

Ravelympics 2008

2008-08-03T19:59:00.004-04:00

I am crazy. Totally crazy.

I got really excited a few days ago, and decided to join in on the fun and hoopla for the upcoming Ravelympics 2008. The concept is so cool. The challenge is to complete a project during the Summer Olympics, which is 17 days long. There are many events and teams a knitter can join, and you can chose any project you would like to knit. There is even a category for WIPs. Sounds like a lot of fun. I really enjoy interacting with other knitters both in person and online, so what could possibly go wrong?!?

I thought, and I flipped through my queue, and I looked through my stash of magazines. I have so many patterns bookmarked that I love. I also have so much yarn that I love and am dying to use. What to pick? Well, how about two of the most time consuming and complicated patterns in my queue one of which involves sewing fabric (I really struggle with sewing). Sure, why not. Oh, did I mention that since I am a school counselor I am just starting back to work full time this week, and the kids return in two weeks. Right in the middle of this event. Yeah, I am nuts. But I do work well under pressure, and I am very competitive so those two qualities should help me complete the projects in such a short time frame. My husband calls it my "only child mentality".

Which projects did I pick? Well the first one is one of my favorite patterns, the Icosa Welt Ball Pillow. This thing is so wild, and I love the idea of having the finished project in my living room. The construction is so interesting to me, and the yarn I have for it is gorgeous. Here is a picture of the yarn I am going to use for it.

This lovely light blue is my main color.

And this ink color is my contrast. The yarn is so lovely and soft.

The second project I am going to work on is a pattern by Yarnissima, her Spina Di Pesce socks. These socks are beautiful, and I have wanted to knit this pattern for quite a while. I have knit quite a few pairs of socks, (and some singles) but this will be my first toe up pair. I am a little nervous, but I am going to go for it. It was really hard to find the perfect yarn to due this pattern justice since I wasn't lucky enough to score the kit that included the coordinating Wollmeise. I was lucky enough to find a skein of Wollmeise Vergißmeinnicht for trade on Ravelry. It is really pretty, and very close to the colorway that was originally paired with the pattern. I think it is going to be a perfect match for the pattern. Here is a shot taken by my friend Barbara at my LYS.

She was kind enough to take a picture for me since I forgot my camera. I wanted to have her wind this hank since she is so good at it. I always like to have a picture of the yarn in the hank and in the cake. I took a picture of the cake as soon as I got home.

Vergißmeinnicht is German for Forget-Me-Not. The blue has a very subtle purple variation, and no matter what lighting I tried I could not capture it. But trust me, it's there and it is amazing. I am really excited about working with it.

I am working hard to finish up some projects that are on the needles so that I can totally focus on these projects during the Olympics. Only a few more days....wish me luck!

Strawberries are cute

2008-07-26T16:29:00.006-04:00

I have always loved strawberries. In fact, they are my absolute favorite food. They are so yummy and refreshing. Growing up my favorite cartoon character was Strawberry Shortcake; I even had Strawberry Shortcake sheets, lunch box, curtains, dolls, etc. No, I wasn't obsessed...it was the 80's. So, there was no question in my mind when I saw the Spring 2007 issue of Knitscene on Ravlery in a friend's library that I was going to have to knit the Strawberry Clutch. It was not easy finding a back issue, but I lucked out. As soon as I had the issue in my hands, I immediately ran out and bought some red and green Ella Rae Classic so that I could cast on right away. Here are my strawberries pre-felting/pre-seaming.

This project had a lot of firsts for me. This was my first foray into the wonders of duplicate stitch, and I really enjoyed adding the seeds. Surprisingly, it did not become boring. It is such a versatile technique, and I am looking forward to using it again and again in my future projects. This was also my first experience with intarsia. I did not like it. Now, it wasn't hard, just very annoying and clumsy. This could be because I held the yarn doubled, but I really did not enjoy making the green portions of these berries. I am going to try intarsia again, but I am not going to seek out a pattern that uses it anytime soon. Another first for me with this project was using my front load washer to felt it. I used my front load to partially felt a bowl last year, but it wasn't a very successful experience. So of course I decided to throw my beautiful strawberries into my washer without doing a test swatch.

The finished size is big enough for a sock project, and it fits on my wrist comfortably. The felting process took 5 mini cycles (about 70 minutes), and I think I probably could have gone for one more. I am pretty pleased with the results, but I think I am going to stick with felting in a top load machine. I know this would have turned out much better that way, so I might actually knit this project again.

Overall, I had a great time knitting this quick little project. I learned some new techniques, and I now know that strawberries are not only yummy....they are cute too.

Secret Pal goodies

2008-07-16T13:22:00.004-04:00

A week ago I received my first Secret Pal 12 package. I can't believe that it took me so long to post about it....I am such a slacker. The package was loaded with yarn goodies. My pal has really spoiled me. Here is a picture of all the yarn he/she sent!

He/She did a great job picking my favorite colors. I have used the green tweed before to make my Alan Dart Gnome. It has such a great texture. I think I am going to use these to make some more Alan Dart toys. He has a great traditional bear pattern for sale on his website. I think the green tweed would make a great sweater for that bear. My pal also sent a mini package to me a couple of weeks ago (again...slacker). The wonderful journal and card at the bottom of this picture were in that package.

My favorite item in the latest package was this!

A TY Beanie Baby turkey. I love it! The tail feathers actually stay up on their own which is pretty cool. My pal has been great to me. THANK YOU whoever you are!

The SP question this week asks, "What is your favorite type of project to take along on vacation?". For me this depends on where I am going, and who I am going with. I almost always have a sock project on me, but I also like to take scarves to work on. I don't like to take anything that requires a lot of counting or charts because it limits how much I can participate in conversations. :)

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT!

2008-07-10T21:05:00.006-04:00

I know that since I live in Florida I shouldn't be at all shocked that it is extremely hot. But my goodness, it is really really hot. Yucky and sticky hot. I went to my LYS yesterday, and I left my house at 10am. It was already almost 90 degrees outside. It is so bad this time of year that we cannot even take the dogs to the dog park. They get so overheated. Every summer I daydream about moving to a cooler climate, but I know that in the winter I would probably regret that decision. Oh well, that is why we all have air conditioners right?!? It would be a perfect time to take a great vacation to Ireland. It is about 60 degrees in the middle of the day right now. I would love to go there. It is my dream vacation spot.

So what do I choose to knit in the middle of the summer? An wool afghan of course, but I am almost done. It is growing steadily, and it should be finished by tomorrow. Every time I work on it I sit in front of a fan, and I mostly work on it in the evening when the house cools off. I took it with me to my husband's office a few days ago to knit while he finished up some stuff. I took some pictures on his conference table. Here is a decent shot of my progress as of Monday.

I am really in love with this project. The pattern is simple but engaging, and the Malabrigo is just a dream. I am really excited to see what it looks like off the needles. Where, oh where am I going to block this thing?

My blog turned one year old over the holiday weekend. I cannot believe it has been a year since I started Minerva Turkey! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun (or getting old). I have met so many wonderful people through blogging, and I have made some great friends. It has given me a way to keep in touch with friends and family, and ways to explore my knitting. Thank you everyone who has stopped by, come back, commented, and become a part of my daily life through your blogs. I hope that the next year is even better, and I have some plans for some changes in the nuts and bolts of my blog in the next few months. Nothing huge, just a little face lift.

My husband got me a new DSLR Olympus E510 to celebrate my blogaversary. He is so sweet, and he knows that I am interested in improving my photography skills. I have so much to learn, but I already absolutely love it. The pictures are so much clearer, and I don't think I will have to rely on my lightbox set up as much. I am really excited, and honestly a bit intimidated. Here is the case we bought to keep it safe from the elements.

This picture is at my hubby's office too, and I can't believe that the light looks decent. This is taken with the fluorescent lights on, and with my old camera it would have looked yellow. I know it isn't a great photo, but it is a start. I am going to try and learn at least one new feature each week.

Stay cool out there, and knit in the A/C. :)

Mmm Malabrigo

2008-07-01T10:11:00.005-04:00

I have been in a knitting funk lately. I've been working on projects, but not really loving any of them. I have been battling one project in particular (all my friends from my LYS know what I'm talking about), and finally gave up last week. I started the same project at least 5 times with different yarns, and none of them worked. Very frustrating! Once I find a solution I will share the details. But for right now, I have to push it out of my mind.

So I decided to put that evil project aside for a while, and start something new. I have been in love with the Hemlock pattern for a while now, and I have seen some lovely ones made with Malabrigo on Ravelry. So when The Loopy Ewe restocked Malabrigo a couple of weeks ago I snatched up 6 skeins in Mint. This is my first project with Malabrigo, and I cannot believe I waited so long to try it. It is scrumptious, and it was the perfect yarn/project combo to get me out of my funk.

It feels so good to love a project again. I am having so much fun with this, and I have made much more progress than in the picture above. I will share more pics later in the week.

My friend Barbara suggested that I use two circulars for this project, and I am so happy that she did. It makes it so much easier to work on, and I can see my progress much better. I am using size 10 needles, and I am very happy with the texture the 10s create. Barbara has also cast on a Hemlock using Cascade Superwash in a lovely taupe shade. I cannot wait to see how hers is turning out.

Oy Update
Oy is doing quite well, and I am very proud to say he is using his litter box successfully! This is a big deal when it comes to keeping his cage clean and fresh each day. He is so smart and playful, and we absolutely adore him. We have discovered that he doesn't like eggs, but he loves apple. He also hates baths, and I mean hate. He gets completely panicked, but hopefully he will grow out of that. Here is my favorite picture of him from the last couple of days.

This is his new sleeping bag, isn't it cute! I purchased it from ellencho on Etsy. It is very well made and very snuggly. Oy loves it. I am posting some more pictures of Oy on my Flickr page, so come on over for some cuteness.

We have a winner!

2008-06-23T23:20:00.003-04:00

Good evening everyone. Thank you so much for all the lovely comments about Oy. I have shared them with him, and he is humbled by the outpouring of cuteness remarks. He is not conceited at all. Hahaha...

I did a random number generator, and Bea of Baa Baa Blacksheep is the winner of the hedgie themed gift pack. I hope you enjoy the package Bea, and I hope that you will let us all know when you make a hedgie of your own. It was a pleasure reading all of the comments over the last few days, and meeting some lovely new bloggers. I have visited each of your blogs, and I look forward to reading them more in the future.

Oy has really bonded quite well with me and my husband. He is hardly raising a quill at all, and we have discovered that his absolute favorite treat is Gerber Graduates bananas. He goes nuts for them. If you say "wanna banana treat" to him he stops whatever he is doing. He only gets two maximum per day. I don't want a chubby hedgie.

I am sorry this is a pictureless post. I have lost my battery charger for my camera, and I have spent the last four days tearing the house apart looking for it. I don't know what I am going to do. I do not want to buy a replacement charger from Canon, but if I don't find it soon I will have to. I have a tendency to loosing chargers and keys. It is a running joke (along with many others) in this house.

I am working on a few knitting projects right now, and I will use my husbands camera to take some pictures this week to share. Until then happy knitting!

Our new hedgie and a contest!

2008-06-17T18:05:00.007-04:00

That's right everyone, the hedgie has arrived. My husband and I picked him up on Saturday in North Port Florida. That is about 4 hours away from our home, so it was truly a day trip. We arrived at the breeder's home around 1:30pm, and she opened the door with our new little baby in her hands. We immediately went inside and she handed him over to me. Now, I will be honest with you here...I don't think I listened to anything else once I had him in my hands. I was just so focused on him. I fell in love instantly. Thank goodness my husband took everything in.

The breeder, Shelly, was so sweet. She answered all of our questions, made sure that we understood everything, and she even introduced us to her other hedgehogs. She has about 15! They were so cute, and we even got to see the brand new babies that just arrived. Shelly made sure that we knew that hedgehogs need about a week to adjust to their new families. During that adjustment period they will be standoffish and shy. We were there about 30 minutes, and then we were on our way home.

We decided to name our little guy Oy. We have been debating names for a couple of weeks now, and we chose Oy as an homage to one of our favorite novel characters. So no, his name is not Oy as in Oy Vey. :) Although my friends like to tease me about that. We have been spending at least an hour a day with him since Saturday to help him get used to us and the noises in our house like dogs barking and our neighbors "music". He is doing well so far, but he has raised his quills a lot. Yes they hurt. But only if he is really frightened. He really is just trying to make us leave him alone when he does it. Shelly assured me that this is only temporary. When he is playing or snuggling in his blanket with me on the couch he is soft to the touch.

Ok, I know you are all just dying for pictures, but let me warn you first. He is CONSTANTLY in motion. He is so playful, and he is darn near impossible to photograph. But I do have a few really cute blurry photos to share.

Here he is with my husband. They are doing great together. Animals are naturally drawn to him.
Most hedgehogs love to play with toilet paper tubes. I don't know why, but man they go berserk! Oy played with this one for at least 30 minutes. He rolled it around, stuck his head in it, and chased it.

Everyone asks me, "why do you want a hedgehog?". It's the same reason some people buy a puppy, or a cat. A hedgie is a great pet. I grew up on a farm, and I honestly miss being around so many different types of animals. Plus hedgies are so cute, they are low maintenance, they are playful and smart. If you want to read more about them you can read the Wiki or go to Hedgehog Central. Oy is absolutely adorable, and we love him dearly. I will continue to share photos (hopefully some decent ones).

Now for the contest. I have put together a fantastic hedgehog themed prize. The winner will receive the Fiber Trends Huggable Hedgehog pattern, the yarn needed to make one hedgie, and child proof eyes. Just leave a comment between now and Sunday night to enter your name. Monday morning I will use a random number generator to pick the winner. Make sure you come by on Monday to see if you have won.

Fun Friday

2008-06-13T22:38:00.002-04:00

I have had a great Friday. First of all, this is the first Friday of my summer vacation. Whoohoo!! So it started out as a great day. My husband and I have finished the set up for the new hedgie home. His cage is decked out to the nines..he is going to be so spoiled. Just like our other pets. :) We also went to a movie today and had dinner together. I am going to knit a little tonight just to top it all off.

Another contributor to my fun Friday was this post by Staci. She was tagged for a meme, and I really enjoyed her "response". It is a mosaic theme meme where you answer questions through pictures. I was really intrigued by the idea so off to Flickr i went to build my own. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and it was a neat experience choosing which picture to use.

Here's how it works:
Type your answer to each of the questions into Flickr Search.
Pick an image from the first page of hits (don't cheat)
Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

I am not tagging anyone specifically because I don't want to pressure anybody. But I hope you guys do this, it is so much fun. Leave me a comment if you make one so I can check it out.

Thanks so much Staci for such a fun activity. Here it is...

Hedgie update: We are picking up our baby tomorrow, so I should have some great pictures to share this weekend.

Well, I guess the hedgehog is out of the bag!

2008-06-07T19:40:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago I finally succeeded in convincing my husband that we needed a hedgehog. I have been trying to convince him for years. I guess I finally wore him down, and he grudgingly said yes. So I feverishly started to search for breeders in my area. I soon discovered that my "area" was going to mean my state! Hedgehog breeders are few and far between, and to top that off hedgie litters are quite small so I knew it was going to be a challenge to find an available baby. So I literally contacted every breeder in my state to be put on wait lists. I heard back from Beach Bum Hedgehog s fairly quick, and to my surprise they had an available baby from a very recent litter. I put down a deposit, and then started to prep for our new baby. When we first reserved him he was only a couple of weeks old. Here is a picture of him from just a week or so ago. He is the first baby pictured...it says "reserved for Shannon" next to his pic.

I was so focused on completing my Secret Pal survey that I really wasn't thinking. I have been planning a big reveal for when we bring him home, and I didn't realize that I had just outed myself with the questionnaire. Hahahaha...that is so like me.

I am so excited about getting the hedgie, and now my husband is pumped up as well. He even bought me a little hedgehog figurine this week for my desk. We are going to pick him up next weekend, and I promise lots of pictures once he comes home. I am even putting together a little contest for later in the week. So stay tuned, there is lots of hedgie fun to come.

Secret Pal 12

2008-06-01T16:23:00.003-04:00

I have decided to join Secret Pal 12 since I am off this summer, and I am super excited. I have met so many great people via my blog and swaps! Here is my questionnaire:

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love so many different yarns. I adore Dream in Color, Wollmeise, Jitterbug, Cascade 220, and Ella Rae Classic and Noro. I am especially fond of indie dyers, and I am open to trying new things. I haven't had the pleasure of trying any handspun, but I would love to.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Unfortunately, I have never splurged on a decent needle organizer. Right now they are all over the house. I really need to remedy this.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I purchased a "Learn to Knit" kit by Lion Brand and taught myself in January of 2007. I have taken a few specialty classes since then, and I consider myself to be an advanced knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no

5. What's your favorite scent? I have to be very careful with scents since I am prone to migraines. So I don't do scented candles or anything like that.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? My favorite candy is red licorice. But please don't send any...I am trying to eat healthier.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I learned to spin a couple of months ago, and I am absolutely in love with it. I also love to collage.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I do have devices that can play an MP3 CD. I am open to all kinds of music. I especially enjoy classical. I love to hear what others are listening to because there are so many different artists out there.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love pink, green and orange. I do not particularly like black or yellow lately.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I do have pets. I have two mini dachshunds, 2 birds, and soon we will have a hedgehog.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Well I live in Florida so I don't NEED to wear these items. But I do. :)

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Socks!

13. What are you knitting right now? Right now I am working on a few bags, but I am planning on working on toys this summer. I really enjoy knitting whimsical patterns.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes of course. They are the best!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I prefer circular wood needles. I also adore wood straights, but they mostly just end up in my hair. :)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I do.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? 1 year

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

19. Is there anything that you collect? Teddy bears and turkey stuff of course. My husband would say that I collect bags too.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I subscribe to Interweave Knits. I would love a subscription to Simply Knitting and/or Knit 1. A few books I would love to have include Socks Socks Socks, Scarf Style, Bag Style, Knitting on the Edge, Knit 2 Together, and any stitch dictionaries. I am also always on the hunt for larger size lantern moon straights. They are so beautiful, and I love to wear them as hair accessories.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I want to learn to knit socks toe up ( I love knitting socks but have never gotten around to this technique), and I really want to learn about designing patterns.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am an obsessed sock knitter! I wear a US size 9 1/2.

23. When is your birthday? September

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Minerva Turkey

Quinn in Progress

2008-06-01T14:08:00.003-04:00

One of my many works in progress right now is the Quinn bag (ravelry link). I have been working on it off and on for about 2 weeks now. I hardly have any free time to knit right now, but I have worked on the bag whenever I get a chance. I really love the look of the finished bag, and that has motivated me to keep working on it even when I get home exhausted.

I must say I had a rocky start with this pattern. I had a hard time choosing the right yarn for the look I wanted. The pattern calls for worsted, and I knit almost half of the top band using a worsted yarn. With the worsted yarn the fabric was way too stretchy. I didn't like how it looked, so I bumped up to a bulky yarn and went up one needle size. I wanted a nice sturdy fabric so that the bag would ultimately be more usable for me. I must say that I am much happier with the bulky yarn, and the color is much nicer. Here is my progress so far.

I'm using Brown Sheep Waverly Wool , but I have no idea what the color number is. I purchased it on ebay at least a year ago. I am really happy with the look of it, but the plys are driving me crazy. I am on the last full repeat, and then I will be in the home stretch. It is a very interesting pattern, and once you get rolling it is easy to follow. I am not looking forward to knitting the handle, so I am looking for alternatives. The pattern calls for 3 icords that are braided for the handle. It sounds lovely but I know it will stretch a lot. If you have any ideas I am open to hearing them. :)

I am going to pick out my fabric lining this week after work. This will be my first lining project, and I must admit I am a bit nervous. I am not a good seamstress, but there is no way this bag will survive my lifestyle without being lined. I am so rough on my bags.

Knitting Daydreams

2008-05-20T18:57:00.006-04:00

Unfortunately, I have not had very much knitting time during the past two weeks. Work has been completely consuming me, and I have not made time for my knitting. Shame on me. I know better. Knitting keeps me sane, and I have been neglecting it when I need it the most. One of the many perks of being a school counselor is summer vacation, and it is almost here. I have about 3 weeks left until break, and I am counting down the days. I love working with the kids, but I need my summer break. :)

Ever since I started counting the days until vacation I have been daydreaming of all the lovely knitting I plan to do. I know I want to work on socks for the Fall, and I really want to finish the MANY projects I have in various stages of completion around the house. The latest issue of Simply Knitting has added another project to my summer list, the Big Top Ted by Alan Dart from the April 2008 issue. I first saw the pattern on Ravelry and I immediately went on the hunt for the issue. Now, book stores in my area do not carry Simply Knitting on a regular basis, and when they do get it in they fly off the shelves. I have missed out on several issues as a result. But I had to have this one. I grew up collecting teddy bears, and they still hold a very special place in my heart. So I spent about an hour calling various book stores throughout the tri-county area begging clerks to go to the magazine section and check for it. I found one clerk who was super sweet and he offered to hold a copy for me. The location was about an hour away from home, and since I was still in an Alan Dart stupor I convinced my hubby to go for a little drive. We decided to stop at Joann's on the way so that I could pick up some Fun Fur for the pattern, and on the way out I spotted the issue of Simply Knitting that I was looking for. I couldn't believe it! At least we stopped at Joann's before driving all the way to the bookstore.

Here is a picture of the pattern insert and a picture of the cover in case you want to scout out a copy for yourself.

The pattern is so cute, and I am very excited about this project. I have read on Ravelry that it is an utter nightmare to assemble so I am going to wait for summer vacation to start it. I bought Lion Brand Fun Fur in Chocolate, and I am going to use some DK in my stash for the collar and hat.

Over the weekend my husband surprised me with a fantastic gift. He stopped in at a local art gallery on his way home from work on Saturday, and he picked up a beautiful little bag for me. He knows I am constantly in search of the perfect sock bag, and when he saw this little gem he knew I would love it.

It is an Erda bracelet bag, and it is absolutely gorgeous. The fabric is beautifully woven, and it is just perfect for a sock in progress. The bag measures 7" tall by 6" by 6" by 6". I love that I can slide it on my wrist for knitting on the go. Each bag is made by hand, and each one is embellished differently. I absolutely adore the bag. Thanks babe!

Happy Tuesday everybody! I hope you all get in some well deserved knitting time this week.

Lavender Llama

2008-05-06T19:19:00.003-04:00

A new knitting friend of mine, Corrina, is a budding designer. I met her at Knitwitz in Jacksonville, and when I saw her at the Midnight Knit In a couple of weeks ago she was knitting a fabulous hat that she was designing. I admired it all night, and last week she asked me to test knit the pattern. I was so honored, and I said yes immediately. As soon as I received the pattern I went to my LYS to purchase some yarn and cast on. I just couldn't wait to start this project.

I decided to splurge a bit on the yarn for this project so I purchased Miski by Mirasol Yarn. I have had my eye on this one for a while. It is 100% baby llama, and I chose a soft lavender shade (102). I rarely go for the purple shades even though I adore the color. This yarn is heavenly soft, and it was an absolute dream to work with. And it didn't break my budget since I only needed 215 yards for this project.

The pattern is the Surrey Hat, and it will be available for purchase through her site as soon as all of her test knitters are finished. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this pattern, and it was very easy to follow. Corrina did a fabulous job explaining each step, and the hat just flew off my needles. I started the project on Thursday, and I had the bulk of the knitting done in two days. I just finished it up tonight and wove in the ends. It still needs to be blocked, but I just couldn't wait to share the finished project with everyone.

Without further adeu.....drumroll....the Surrey Hat!

The pattern starts out with a lovely basic cable, and then it moves into a honeycomb pattern. It is so pretty, and the shaping is outstanding. The decreases happen pretty fast so no cone head issues here. :) I usually have a lot of trouble finding hats that fit me properly. They always pop off. Well, not this hat. It fits my head perfectly, and even with my hair curly and a bit out of control it fits like a glove. I am very very pleased with it.

Overall I give this pattern 5 stars. The instructions are clear, photos are given when needed, and the design is so interesting. I had a lot of fun with this, and I have added this pattern to my holiday gift list.

Mindless Knitting

2008-04-28T18:24:00.003-04:00

I have been working on so many (way too many) long and involved projects lately. I realized over the weekend that I needed a dose of mindless knitting. I usually derive more enjoyment from harder patterns, but with the chaos last week I just needed an instant gratification project. So, I marched right on over to my Ravelry queue, and searched for something simple and fun. Of course I found just what the doctor ordered.

I decided to cast on the Mug and French Press Jacket pattern designed by M.K. Carroll. I used gumboots modifications to knit the project in the round so that I could easily slip it on and off my vast collection of travel mugs. I present to you my cute little drink cozy.

I used Cascade 220 super wash so that this cozy will be low maintenance. Doesn't it look adorable on my favorite pink tumbler?!?

It is also quite stylish on my generic bottle of water. I used it today at my office and it kept my bottle cooler for much longer. Plus, no condensation! Usually I have to precariously balance my water bottle on napkins or worse...drink it room temperature. But now I can bring my cold water to meetings without worrying about ruining desks, tables, papers, etc. I love it.

The best part of this project was that it was super easy. I know it doesn't look simple, but trust me the stitch pattern is very easy to memorize. It only took about 2 hours to complete, and it used hardly any yarn. These have been added to my gift knitting list for the holidays. They are so versatile. I am going to make some more in more colors and different cables. Just think, I may actually have a wardrobe for my drinks. I wonder if this will curb my compulsive mug/thermos/bottle purchasing.....

Dog Days of Spring?

2008-04-21T20:21:00.006-04:00

Ok, in Florida our versions of seasons are very different from the rest of the country. We really just have different levels of heat in my opinion. I love our "winters" when we stay in the high 60s low 70s, but I absolutely detest our mid summers when our temps soar around 98. So, I really eat up this time of year. Our temps are around the low 80s right now, and I know that will only last a few weeks. My hubby and I took advantage of our lovely 80 degree weather this Sunday by taking our doxies to the doggy park.

Our local dog park is huge. It is 14 acres, and it is separated into a small dog and large dog area. The large dog area has a lake, and the small dog area has a few hills. Both sides have dog and human water fountains and lots of benches. It is a wonderful park, and we are very lucky to live fairly close to it. We have only been to the dog park 3 times (the past three weekends in a row) even though our dogs are 4 and 5 years old. The parks in our old city were not very safe, and they were very small. As a result, their socialization consisted of mostly people. So the dogs are still adjusting to the idea of being off the leash around other dogs, but this weekend they both wandered a little on their own. I was a very proud mama. :)

Here is Mini pup making her trademark "wassssuppp!" face. She is so funny!

Mayer is a bit more reserved, but still a super cutie.

Even at 80s it was a bit hot in the sun, so we made sure they got lots of water. I think it is time for Mayer to get a good shave for the summer. He looks so hot with all that hair. Here is a shot of him strutting his stuff, and you can see a portion of the small dog area in the background.

Go outside and enjoy some nice weather, and have a happy week!

Midnight Knit In=Rockin' Good Time

2008-04-20T15:03:00.004-04:00

I attended the Midnight Knit In at Knit Witz in Jacksonville last night, and I had a wonderful time. I live about 1 1/2 hours from Jacksonville, but it was worth the drive. What is a Midnight Knit In you ask? Well, it is kind of like a knitting slumber party without the PJ's. It started at 6pm, and was scheduled to run until midnight. We had food, fun, chatting, and of course lots of knitting. I think we had 25+ knitters, but I never did officially count. I hung out until about 12:30am, and when I left at least 10 knitters were still there. If I didn't live so far away I would have stayed longer. I wonder how late it was when everyone finally cleared out?!?

Of course I cannot go to a yarn shop without buying something. I made a resolution not to buy anymore yarn for a while, but even while sticking to that I managed to buy some things.

I picked up this beautiful Lantern Moon Victoria basket. It is the perfect size for a small project. I should be able to fit two socks in progress in it with room to spare. It is adorable.

I couldn't resist this little cutie. His name is Turk Jr. He is super soft, and I just love his socks. He is a shelf sitter, so he will go to work with me tomorrow. He is destined to have a prime spot on my desk.

Thanks for a wonderful night of knitting Knit Witz. I will definitely be back to hang out with my new friends!

All Socks, All the Time

2008-04-13T16:38:00.007-04:00

I started my knitting obsession with socks, and whenever my knitting mojo goes wonky I turn to some good old sock knitting. Thus, the last week or so has been all about socks. I decided to cast on a pair of Embossed Leaves socks from Interweave Knits Favorite Socks book. I love this book, and I know that I will ultimately knit every pattern in this book. This pattern is lovely and very easy to follow. I have another pair of these on the needles somewhere in the house, but I can't find them. Isn't that weird.

I am using Mountain Colors Bearfoot and Harmony Knitpicks DPNs. These have turned out to be quite large, so they will definitely be snuggly bed socks. I should have gauged. What else is new though! Hahahaha....I am just about to the toe of the second sock so they will be finished this week for sure.

I also cast on a basic pair of ribbed socks for my hubby. He has been hounding me since last year to knit him a pair of socks, but I just never get around to it. I am a very selfish knitter. He liked the softness of the Embossed Leaves so I bought some Bearfoot to use for his socks. I decided to mix it up a bit, and learn how to knit using two circulars for his socks. I have had Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles for a while now so I thought I would give it a go.

I am at the toe for the first sock, and I must say I like using the two circulars. It is really fast, and very easy to transport. Plus, if I get interrupted while knitting I can easily pull the needles and throw it down without worrying about dropping stitches. Big plus for me while knitting at work. I am not sure which method I like better, but I will definitely be using the two circs again.

I also received my pal's sock from the Wee Tiny Sock Swap yesterday. Arlene aka Yarnwhisperer did a fantastic job, and the colors are perfect for me. I also love that she included a clip so that I can easily attach it to my spinning wheel. I absolutely love it! Thanks so much Arlene.

Arlene's mini is the lovely green on the right. I have been knitting more mini socks (because they are addicting). The marble on the left was knit by me. I am going to toggle them to my wheel to personalize it a bit. These cute little socks are modeling on my new knitting cube from Schrodinger. It is so small, but it holds so much! I can fit an entire cake of sock yarn, a finished sock, a sock in progress, a crochet hook and my tape measure. With room to spare! I highly recommend it. It is a very well made product.

Wee Tiny Sock

2008-04-02T16:56:00.005-04:00

I joined the Wee Tiny Sock Swap (Ravelry group link & Flickr group link) organized by Yarn Miracle last week. It was a very quick turn around swap. We signed up last week, knitted our mini socks over the weekend, and then mailed out our packages on Monday. It was a lot of fun...nice and low pressure. I highly recommend that you go check out the pics of these little socks. They are absolutely adorable. Although I must say that these little socks are quite addicting. Here is a shot of the one I made for my swap partner. I have warned her not to check my blog until her package arrives so that the surprise is not ruined.

I used left over Dream in Color Smooshy in Sky Blue, and I included a mini skein so that my pal can knit a mini to match. This sock yarn is one of my favorites, so I wanted to give her a chance to give it a try. Isn't it super cute!

I bought a gift card holder to put the mini sock in, and I wrote a little note on my yarn note cards for the package. They all fit in a really small, padded envelope, and it's on its way to Scotland. I hope she enjoys it, and I cannot wait to get mine in the mail.

I am going to make lots more of these minis. I think they will make great gift tags for holiday packages, and they would also make great party favors. Hmm, I could also use them for place cards, ornaments, thumb drive cozy, chibi holder, etc. Well, at least I have a lot of left over sock yarn. :)

A New Obsession and a Mitten Update

2008-03-31T12:40:00.006-04:00

Wow it has been two weeks since I posted. I cannot believe it has been that long. I have so much to share, so I will break it down into multiple posts this week. I don't want to write a novel/post that includes everything. That would be boring. :)

I have a new obsession. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I purchased a spinning wheel right before Christmas. YIPPEE! Unfortunately, it was damaged in shipping and it needed to have a part replaced. So that whole process took forever. It took a few weeks for the wheel to arrive, and then another couple of weeks for the replacement part to arrive. I have had it for a few weeks, but I haven't had the time to practice/learn at all. My wonderful hubby put her together for me, and I must say I am in love. I purchased a Majacraft Rose, and she is absolutely beautiful. She was well worth the wait. It has been really rainy and overcast so my pictures are not very good, but I just couldn't wait to share her.

The wood grain is absolutely amazing on the foot pedals. So unique. The craftsmanship is utterly breathtaking, and I am so happy that I decided to go with Majacraft. I did a lot of research before I decided to purchase, and I couldn't find any negative reviews of their wheels.

Now, let me be honest. I had no idea how to spin when I ordered this wheel which I know is totally insane. But I just fell in love with her, and I had tried to spin using a spindle which is as close to hell as I hope to ever get. I knew if I was going to spin I needed a wheel. So I figured I would just jump in feet first. Man am I glad I did!!

I went to the Spin In at Knitwitz over the weekend, and I took my Rose with me. The description of the event said that beginners were welcome, and I emailed the owner, Kathe, of the store to make sure a complete novice would be welcome. She was very sweet and encouraging, so off I went to the shop. It is about 90 miles from my house, but it was not a bad drive at all. I was so excited about the opportunity to learn to spin. Honestly, I was a little nervous. But all that went away when I arrived at the shop. Everyone was super friendly, and a wonderful woman named Jennifer sat with me immediately and gave me a mini lesson. She explained the process very well, and by the end of the afternoon I was spinning. Thanks Jennifer!!! You are awesome.

Here is a shot of my first bobbin of yarn. I used the scrap bag fibers I purchased from Funky Carolina.

I used about 1/4 of the scrap bag so far. I am going to spin the rest and then try plying it together. I had so much fun learning on Saturday, and the fibers were just so wonderful!

I bought some lovely roving at the shop, but I will share those another day. Like I said, I have so much to share that I could write a novel. :)

Last but not least....a Mitten Kit Update.

I have knit about half of one mitten, and I am not happy with my stranding. I have started to use two handed stranding, and I like the evenness of the stitches it produces much better. So I am going to frog the mitten and start over. I am a perfectionist. So, no photos of progress yet, but I am off this week so I should have some progress photos soon.

Wollmeise!

2008-03-17T18:57:00.008-04:00

For the longest time I have heard/read such hype about how wonderful Wollmeise is, and I have been trying to pick up a skein since last September. I have never been able to get my grubby little hands on some, but I didn't get swept up into the Wollmeise Fever....until last week that is. I am a Loopy Groupie over at the Loopy Ewe (my favorite shop ever), and I knew that Sheri was planning a sneak up exclusively for Wollmeise. Well, I thought I might have a shot at this one. The Ravelry boards were bombarded with fellow knitters lusting after this yarn, and I guess I got carried away. I stalked the site for almost 2 days, but hey my stalking paid off three fold.

The colors are so vibrant in person it is mind boggling. The green skein is Lowenzahn (Daffodil).

This skein is Regenbogen (Rainbow). My husband actually made a big fuss about this one. That is a first for him, usually he doesn't get excited about yarn. He loves this one. Too bad babe, this one is all mine.

Last but not least is Red Hot Chili. I know that I tend to buy a lot of reds & oranges, but I just couldn't resist. It is so pretty in person. Absolutely the most amazing blending of these colors.

I now understand why knitters are so passionate about Wollmeise. It is absolutely glorious in person. If you haven't tried it I highly recommend it.

Now, off to work on my mittens. :)

What was the name of that colourway?

2008-03-13T19:55:00.005-04:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I blogged. I am such a slacker lately. I have been caught up in daily business, work, knitting (of course), and I caught the yucky flu that has been going around. I caught it bigtime! I was out of work a couple of days last week, and I still don't feel 100%.

I actually started my Fiddlehead Mitten kit, and I must tell you that this yarn is so yummy to knit with. I haven't progressed too far as of today, but I am planning to work on them this weekend. I really want to finish up a couple of things before I devote too much time to them. I have a bad habit of starting lots of things, and then not finishing them. :) I think I can wrap up three projects this weekend, and then I can focus on the mittens.

Now, on the to focus of this post. I have been going a little nuts acquiring sock yarn over the past two weeks or so. Most of it was scored on Ravelry through swaps, but I did order two custom skeins from Sam of sKNITches. Here is one of the custom skeins.

Wait a minute....what does that label say?!?

Yep, that is correct...my very own colourway! I asked Sam to create a skein using the colors of my blog and Minerva herself. I am so happy with the way the colors came together, and I cannot wait to knit it up. It is so soft and squishy!

The second colourway is called Fresh, and it is made up of my favorite summer colors. Here it is....

Sam was an absolute delight to work with, and her translation from idea to actual product is amazing. I will be buying a lot of yarn from her in the future....sKNITches is now in my "top five" sock yarns.

If you want to take a look at my other new sock yarns click here. I had so much fun swapping with other knitters on Ravelry, and it was a really neat way to meet some great people. Every experience was a positive one. Plus, it was a great way to adjust my stash a bit. I bought a lot of sock yarn when I started knitting last year, and I have since discovered my knitting preferences.

Wow...that's a big hat

2008-03-02T21:27:00.004-05:00

It has taken all the will power I have not to start on the Fiddlehead Mittens this week. I immediately wanted to cast on, but once I got set up I realized that I currently had 3 projects in need of finishing. Now, I do not mean that I only have 3 UFOs....no way! I have been consistently working on these three projects, and I am very excited about finishing them. So I decided to finish two of them and then reward myself with the mittens.

I finished one of them this week, my Inga Hat. This is a seriously large hat. It fits my head snuggly, but it is so tall! This was my first stranded project, and I made a few mistakes. First, I should not have used cotton to knit this hat. You are knitters, and I am sure you know why this was a bad idea. Second, I kept knitting so tight, and now I need to block the poor thing to death. But overall I am very happy with the results. I absolutely LOVE the braid on the bottom. It was my favorite part of this hat. It still needs to be blocked, but here is my trusty model giving it a test run.

I am going to knit this hat again for sure, but I am going to use Adrian's modifications so that it is a bit smaller. I like how she adapted the pattern. :) I have some yarn in my stash that will suit it well.

I am off to finish off one more project so that I can move closer to working on my mittens. Let's see if I can hold out.

I'm a lucky duck

2008-02-20T17:21:00.008-05:00

I got very lucky last week. Very lucky indeed. Back in December I fell in love with a beautiful pair of mittens, the Fiddlehead Mittens. These wonderful mittens were designed by Adrian over at Hello Yarn. Last Tuesday Adrian posted a very limited number of mitten kits in her shop. Well, the mittens had become very popular on Ravelry and on Flickr and in the knitting community in general. Popular is really an understatement. Adrian listed the mittens at 2pm and so many people hit the site that it crashed before she could even list the kits. I must admit....I was one of the mitten crazed knitters who kept hitting refresh. Sorry Adrian.

After about 30 minutes of not being able to get onto the site I gave up. I figured all the kits had been gobbled up, and I called it a wash. Well, being a school counselor I get to leave work around 3:30pm some days, and on that Tuesday I got home at about 4:30pm. I logged onto the Hello Yarn site to see the aftermath, and I was completed shocked to find a kit IN STOCK! I quickly added it my cart. The site crashed again right after. Overall, Adrian said she had over 114,ooo hits on her site that day. WOW! Talk about luck!

So I came home yesterday to find a wonderful package. Adrian did a great job with every aspect of this kit!! I am a huge fan of anything green, and these greens are absolutely gorgeous. They are rich and vibrant...and the color variations add so much depth. The outer mitten yarn is 70% mohair and 30% wool. The lining yarn is 100% alpaca. So so soft!! Adrian dyed all the yarn herself, and her attention to detail is evident. She does great work.

Ok enough talk...time for some yummy pictures:

I think this kit is one of my favorite yarn purchases thus far. My hubby thinks that I am absolutely nuts to order a mitten kit. I mean we do live in Florida! But I look at it like this. These mittens will be a special treat on those rare days when we actually have cold weather. We all have something extravagant or special in our wardrobe right?!?

Lobster Cadet

2008-02-11T12:44:00.000-05:00

It sure has been a crazy week! I worked very long days, and as a result I didn't get a chance to knit at all for almost 6 days. Not even one stitch. I didn't realize how much knitting had become integrated into my daily routine. It is my de-stressing mechanism at the end of the day. My "me" time when the house is nice and quiet. So, I went to hang out at the LYS with some girlfriends on Sunday and knit myself silly. My hands are sore today, but it was so worth it.

I finished my first Project Spectrum item last weekend, but I wanted to wait to post about it until I got a suitable model. My first project is a hat knit with Colinette Cadenza in Lobster Punch. It is a great colourway...a mixture of oranges and reds. The pattern is one of the first patterns I listed as a favorite on etsy, the Hawkeye cadet hat by Alice and Grace over at Kathryn Ivy. This hat was very fun to knit. The pattern is very clear, and I love the brim. I knit the medium size, but I wish I had knit the small. It is a little too big for me, but it will make a great present for a friend. I already have another yarn picked out for the smaller version.

Here is my Lobster Cadet modeled by my new, very creepy glass friend:

The brim on this pattern is ingeniously designed. It is very stable and I love that you do not have to use a piece of plastic! It is formed by short row knitting.

Since the Colinette Cadenza is a DK weight yarn, I held it doubled throughout. It helped to marble the colors, and I am really happy with the result.

My favorite part of this hat is the top. I love how the decreases swirl! It is such a nice added touch. I am definitely going to knit a few more of these. So, friends and family look forward to these in your stockings this holiday season. :)

Project Spectrum Begins

2008-02-01T17:08:00.000-05:00

I am so excited about the official start of Project Spectrum. I have already had a lot of fun scoping out patterns and yarn. I have done lots of online window shopping, and a few purchases for the opening element....FIRE. My favorite colors are reds, oranges and pink so the first theme is going to be a lot of fun for me. My first project will be revealed this weekend since it is almost finished.

I picked up this gorgeous Mountain Colors Bearfoot at my LYS last night. I have heard so many rave reviews about this line that I just had to have it. It is a lucsious cherry red in person, but all the pictures I took washed the color out a bit. But trust me, it is really yummy in person. I love it, and I cannot wait to knit with it. I am just searching for the right pattern.

I was honored with the You Make My Day award by Peaknits. I enjoy her blog so much, and I was so happy to see that she passed this along to me. Part of this honor is to pass it along to 10 other bloggers who bring me joy. Well, this is a hard task. I have "met" some really amazing people through this blog process, and it is very hard to pick just 10.

Hobbygasa: I absolutely adore all of her projects, no exaggeration. :) She is very creative and super sweet.

Soto Softies: Maritza's little toys always make me smile. I have yet to get my hands on one, but I swear that one Friday I will make it home in time to take advantage of her shop updates.

Little Cotton Rabbits: I am lucky enough to have two of Julie's lovely little bunnies, and they are a constant source of joy for me. I love them to death, and I really enjoy reading her blog. She is also a super nice person.

Very Pink: I look forward to Staci's antics each week. I love her babies (dogs), and I really enjoy seeing her projects.

Yarn for Brains: Adrienne and Karen give me so many ideas!

Country Girl Zine: Beck creates really beautiful sock blockers, and her blogging style is so down to earth. I really enjoy checking in to see what she is up to.

Pischi Days: If you want to ogle some lovely socks check out Pischi's site.

Kathryn Ivy: Alice and Grace are AWESOME! I am inspired by them constantly.

Nutty Irishman Knits: Jen is a really funny writer, and I look forward to her posts. I love the hats she has been working on lately.

Sockaholic: If you want to droll over some sock yarn and creative knitting head on over here.

It was really hard to pick just 10 out of the blogs I read regularly. For those I nominated, pass this award along to 10 other bloggers if you so choose. No pressure I promise.

Knitting Tattoo

2008-01-27T16:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, I didn't get a knitting tattoo....but I did get an awesome knitting tattoo necklace! Kathy over at SwallowKisses collaborated with me to design this one-of-a-kind pendant. I have admired her work for some time now on Etsy, and I am completely impressed by her work in person. The picture just does not do it justice. The colors are vibrant, and the texture is so interesting. The pendant is 2.5 x 1.5 inches, and it is on a 26 inch chain with a lobster claw clasp. It was gift boxed beautifully as well. I will definitely be a return customer.

This pendant marks the beginning of Project Spectrum for me. I know I am a few days early, but I am just so darn excited about it. The first element is Fire; and the corresponding colors are pink, red, and orange. This is a perfect kick off element for me because I am totally in love with orange shades lately. I have a ton of it in my stash, so I will be knitting up a firestorm (hehehehe) for the first phase of the project. So, brace yourself for lots of orange over the next month or so.

A bad case of startitis

2008-01-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that it has been over a week since my last post. Time has been flying by, and I have been visiting with some local friends. My knitting group has also resumed, so that has occupied some of my time. So, I guess all of that plus general home and work stuff explains time flying. Not to mention that I have a bad case of startitis.

I have joined Project Spectrum 2008, and for the last couple of weeks I have been searching for projects that will compliment the elements theme. As a result I have found at least 10 patterns that I absolutely love, and I want to cast them all on immediately. Well, you all know how well that goes down. I searched through my stash, shopped in bargain bins, and shopped a little to find all the yarn I need for the upcoming patterns. Then I sat down and picked three of the ones I just couldn't wait to try out. One is a basic sock with the new Noro sock yarn. I originally tried a cable sock pattern with this yarn, but I really hated how it was turning out. So I frogged it and started over with a basic rib. I really like the results so far. Here is my minimal progress so far.

What is that lovely wooden item you ask? Well, that is a Knitzi. It holds the DPNs in place wonderfully, and there is no fear of them breaking. I highly recommend them, and they sell these awesome bags that are a perfect fit for the ball of yarn and the sock in progress. I just throw this in my purse for knitting on the go.

The second pattern I decided on is the Noro hat by Saartje de Bruijn. I choose this one because it is fast, simple, and I could use up some of my Noro Silk Garden scraps. I used a left over skein of Noro #258 from my Clapotis, and half a skein of Noro #269 left over from my Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl. This hat was a lot of fun to finish, and it actually fits. This is a big deal for me because hats usually fit me really weird. This one fits nice and snug and the colors look great when it is worn. I love the way that the neutral Noro pops out when it is stretched.

The beehive shapes allows it to stand up on it's own. It is so cute!

Here is a photo with the hat stuffed with tissue paper. I wanted to show off the neutral Noro that I used for the knit rounds. When you wear it the white really pops. It looks a lot like an Easter egg here, but it is much more round when you put it on. :)

The third project I am working on is from Holiday Knits. I will share some pictures of it in a couple of days when it is finished. My camera battery died today before I could get a decent picture of it in progress.

Great Vacation Wrap Up

2008-01-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

Hello all, I hope you had a great holiday season. We certainly did....we got to visit lots of family and friends, and we got to travel a bit. We took a road trip to Williamsburg, VA. last week for a few days, and we had a blast. We have family in that general area, and it is where my husband and I got engaged. We just celebrated our 5th anniversary, so it was only fitting to go back to the area where he proposed.

One of my main goals for the trip was to see snow. I grew up in Florida, and I have never...ever...seen snow. Well, the day we left Central Florida it snowed in Daytona Beach! Can you believe that. On the same day it snowed in Virginia. So, we missed the snow in both places. I was so sad that I missed it.

We visited Knitting Sisters in Williamsburg on our first day. My hubby actually accompanied me in the store, and he seemed to have a good time. It is a very nice store with great selection, helpful staff, and cozy atmosphere. I would be thrilled to have this shop as my LYS. I picked up some Lambs Pride bulky, and some yummy Noro Sock Yarn!!! This stuff is seriously beautiful in person. I have seen it online, but I was hesitant about the colourways. In person it blew me away. Here is the ball I picked out.

It was very difficult to choose only one, but I want to knit at least one pair before I go nuts. The colors in this ball are so vibrant. I am very excited about casting on.

On our second day we went to Colonial Williamsburg very early in the morning. It is a very touristy area, but we both love it. However, we decided to go early so that it wouldn't be crowded. Little did we know that we would have it all to ourselves. It was so cold that morning (low 20s) that no one had ventured out to the area. Most of the shops were open so we got the full experience without a crowd. It was fantastic. Here are a few of my favorite shots from that morning.

It was a great trip. We had so much fun, and I hope we can return soon. I highly recommend the area!

I have not had the chance to block my Feather and Fan shawl, but I am planning on taking care of that this week. I cannot wait to share it with you all.
Happy Tuesday everyone!

My Constant Companion

2007-12-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

I have been knitting like crazy over the past week, and I have a few finished projects to share. First, I finished my Feather and Fan comfort shawl. It came out great, and I am very excited about wearing it soon. I just need to weave in the ends, and block it. That will have to wait until this weekend because we have a lot on our plates this week, but I will share photos as soon as it's blocked.

Second, I completed my version of the Constant Companion from Knitter's Stash. I have wanted to make this bag for quite a long time, but I kept putting it off because I knew I wanted to use some great yarn for the project. I finally found the perfect combo of colourways of Nature Wool. I purchased Araucania's Nature wool chunky instead of holding two strands of worsted. I also increased the size by about 20%, and then made the straps much longer. Nature wool felts nice and strong, so it worked out great. I used 2 skeins of Chunky Multi in shade 210, 3 skeins of 136 (purple), 2 skeins of 132 (light blue), and 2 skeins of 120 (dark blue). I bought these during the holiday sale at my LYS so I saved a bundle.

Since this was knit on 11's it was a fairly quick knit. I carried it with me everywhere for about a week, and it was done in no time. It was massive pre-felting. The photo below was taken with the bag on two full size sheets of poster board to highlight it's scale.

I took it to a friend's house on Wednesday last week to felt it. She has a great washer for felting, and it gives me a good excuse to hang out for the day. It felted really quick, and it took about 24 hours to dry. She also helped me cut the holes for the handles since I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was so worried about cutting them too large or crooked. Thanks for all your help Barbara...you're the best.

Here are a few shots post-felting. It was very hard to take some decent pictures because of the rainy weather over the last two days, but you can see the basic shape and color. This picture is shot on the same two pieces of poster board.

I decided not to knit the button or loop. Instead I attached a wooden button on the front, and I am going to add snaps. I like the look much better this way.

Overall, I am very happy with the end result. I wanted a large bag that I can use for daily travels to and from work. This will definitely fit the bill. It is very thick and sturdy, but it is not heavy. I love how the color variation in the yarn makes the bag look swirled.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Day. Catch you again in 2008!

A very doxie Christmas!

2007-12-26T09:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Day-After-Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a great day yesterday, and that Santa brought you lots of great presents. We had a great day, and we were able to visit lots of family across the state. We drove a grand total of 9 hours yesterday, and seeing our family members made it absolutely worth every minute in the car. Santa was very good to us (too good in some cases), and it was really fun watching our nieces and nephews open up the gifts we picked for them.

One of my favorite gifts this year came from a co-worker in our Secret Santa exchange. She knows that I am a knitter, so she had her mom knit a matching pair of dachshund sweaters for my two babies. I was blown away. I know how much time and thought went into these, and it literally brought tears to my eyes. Now, our dachshunds are a bit overweight. Not terribly, but both pups could loose a pound or two. So, the sweaters are a bit of a tight fit. We had a ball with them on Christmas eve, and the dogs were actually pretty cooperative throughout the process.

We put them up on a box so that they wouldn't run around like the nuts they are. It's a bit dark in the photo, but overall it's a great shot of the sweaters. Aren't they adorable. Mayer is on the left, and Mini is on the right. Mayer is a longhair double dapple, and Mini is a short hair chocolate dapple. They are my babies, and I love spoiling them.

I am off to a friend's house for a great day of felting, knitting and general good chat. Have a great Wednesday.

Comfort Shawl Progress

2007-12-21T18:17:00.000-05:00

I started my Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl this week, and I absolutely love this pattern!! I am having so much fun knitting this shawl, and playing with the Noro colourways. It is very hard to put down, and I have seriously considered not sleeping in order to keep working on it.

The pattern is very easy to follow, and the Silk Garden is amazing to work with despite the zillion knots I have encountered. I am making pretty fast progress, and I hope to have it done by next week. We are going away for a few days very soon, and I would like to wear this on the trip. Here is a photo of my progress so far. It is so big already that it will not fit in my light box.

The lighting is all off in this photo, but I just couldn't wait for some decent weather to post about this project. It has been storming all day, and we may not have very much bright sunlight tomorrow. The colors are much more lively in person. Once I complete it I will take some great outdoor photos. The other thing this photo doesn't highlight is the laceyness of the pattern. It scrunches up on the needles, but here is a closeup to show the pattern a bit more.

I cannot wait to finish this and block it. I love the way feather and fan opens up, and the drape will be gorgeous.

Well, I simply cannot stand sitting next to my shawl without working on it. Have a great weekend! Godspeed to all of you still working on holiday knits!!!

Silk Garden Comfort Shawl

2007-12-17T16:48:00.001-05:00

My LYS had a great sale this weekend, so I decided to go ahead and pick out some Noro Silk Garden t0 make the Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl. I have seen so many beautiful versions of the shawl lately. I specifically love Funky Carolina's and Sweet Sheep's. They are absolutely gorgeous.

I decided to use a few different colourways to get a handspun look. I have been admiring the creamy ivory colourway (#269) for quite a while...so I am very happy to have some now. Isn't it a great shade??

I also picked up four skeins of a mauve/pink/purple colourway (#251). Pink is one of my favorite colors so I could not resist. I think it is going to look wonderful with the ivory.

Finally, I picked up a few random skeins for variety.

I am very excited about this project. I wanted to start something that was easy and relaxing. Feather and fan is just right for me now. I have so many projects that I want to make, but they all require some concentration. So they will just have to wait until the holidays are done.

Gnome Name Update

Thanks to everyone who left lovely comments regarding my Alan Dart gnome. You all had some great name suggestions. I have decided to name him Gnorman, and it fits him perfectly.

Happy Monday!

I Heart Alan Dart

2007-12-10T20:15:00.000-05:00

It took quite a while, but I finally ordered the famous holiday gnome pattern by Alan Dart. I purchased it on eBay from a very nice seller in London. He sent it right away, and in about 10 days it was here. I immediately cast on, and just a couple of days later.....

Isn't he a cutie! I had so much fun knitting this little guy that I immediately knit a second one. I have not seamed up the second gnome, but it is on my soon-to-do-list. The project is very portable, and you can use just about any yarn. The pattern is extremely well written, and I whipped this little guy out in a few hours. It actually took longer to seam him up than it did to knit him.

This was my first experience with mattress seaming that I did not felt. I am not totally happy with my mattress stitching, but by the time i stitched his hat I had it down. Too bad I started on the legs...the most visible part of the gnome. All the quality stitching is on the back!

I bought a small drawstring bag at a local craft store, filled it with lentils, and stuffed it in the main body portion. This allows the little guy to sit straight up with no problems. He is very stable, and he looks adorable sitting on a shelf. His legs dangle just right. This is definitely one of my most enjoyable knitting projects. He has renewed my love for knitting toys. I have been so focused on other projects lately that I have not been working on any toys even though I love them.

If you haven't tried any of the Alan Dart patterns I highly suggest you get your hands on one. The next toy I am going to knit is a dachshund! I bought the Alan Dart dachshund pattern from another eBay seller in England, and it looks like it is very well written. Since I have two mini doxies I am very excited about making this pattern. I will have to wait until after the holidays to start, but at least I can look forward to it!

So, anyone have a suggestion for a name for this chap? He has such personality, but I am stuck on a great name.

Secret Pal 11 Finale

2007-12-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

My fantastic Secret Pal sent this lovely package for the finale. She has spoiled me rotten the entire time. She has sent funny e-cards, kept in contact via email, and sent some very neat packages. This package was the absolute best one. Everything was wrapped in beautiful tissue paper, and each item is just perfect. I am just in awe at how thoughtful and wonderful this person has been. Her name is Rose, and this is her blog.

I have to admit, that one of my favorite items in this package is the card. It is a super cute turkey wearing a scarf. I really like it. It's just perfect. Rose included two felt ornaments, a Santa and a Christmas tree. They are both "springy", and they are adorable. They are going on my tree. The box towards the back of the picture is a very nice set of stationary with butterflies embossed on the front. I absolutely love to purchase stationary, and I collect butterfly stuff so this set will fit in nicely. Also included in the package is a very large skein (270 yards) of Seldom Scene Alpaca blend. It's superfine alpaca and merino. It is an aquamarine color, and it is so soft. My second favorite item(s) in the package is the Noro. It is such a delicate shade of purple. It is so soft and silky. And last but not least, a jar of hand lotion by Burt's Bees. I love their products.

I already have plans for everything in the package, but the first item on the list is the incredible Noro Cash Iroha. This yarn is destined to become a Gretel hat. I have had this pattern for a month or so, and I have been dying to knit it. Now I can get started. Thanks Rose!!

**UFO Update**

I am still plugging away at the Celtic Cable scarf I started awhile back. It takes concentration, so it has been neglected. I love the pattern, but it is not a relaxing project. I am very ready for it to be done.

Have a happy Monday evening everyone.

I've been tagged.....meme

2007-11-30T18:26:00.001-05:00

I have been tagged with a cute meme by Morticcia. So here it goes...hopefully not too boring for all of you.

4 jobs you have had in your life:
Waitress
Casino blackjack dealer
Mental health counselor
Teacher

4 movies you could watch over and over:
Toy Story
Far and Away
Star Wars
City of Angels

4 places you have lived:
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida

4 TV shows you love to watch:
Heroes
Gilmore Girls
Lost
Dancing with the Stars

4 places you have been on vacation:
Disney World (duh!)
Colonial Williamsburg, VA
Asheville, NC
Bahamas

4 websites you visit daily:
Flickr
Ravelry
Etsy
LOLcats

4 of your favorite foods:
Strawberries!!
Hot pretzels
My mom's cooking
Mashed potatoes

4 places you would rather be right now:
I'm home...so I am right where I want to be. :)

If you would like to complete this meme consider yourself tagged!

**I have some super fun stuff to post about this weekend. Make sure to check back.**

Fiber Stash

2007-11-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

I have a fiber stash! I received a lovely package from Funky Carolina over the weekend. It contained the most wonderful fibers, and they were all expertly packaged. Carrie's customer service is impeccable, and I was extremely impressed by the depth of color in these braids. They are gorgeous. I guess I went a little overboard for my first fiber purchase, but what can I say. I fell in love with these, and I know none of it will go to waste.

My favorite in the bunch is the scrap bag of roving. There are so many great color combos and such a variety of fibers. These will be so much fun to spin, and I am very curious about how the different fibers spin up. I unwrapped each of these so that I could really see the myriad of colors. They are amazing!

Since I am brand new to spinning I knew I needed some BFL. So I picked this lovely braid. My favorite color lately is orange, so I was thrilled to find this colourway. This roving is so light and fluffy. It is called Huse.

I also wanted to try some merino top. I know that it is a bit trickier than BFL for newbies, but I love the texture of merino. It is so soft and silky....just yummy. This colourway is called See.

Last but definitely not least, I purchased a merino/bamboo blend. The texture is so smooth and interesting. This is a roving to aspire to, and I am not going to spin this until I have lots of practice. For now it will be a work of fiber art on my wall. :) This colourway is Final Autumn.

I am so excited that I will be spinning soon. I am trying to be patient while waiting for my wheel, but it is very difficult. I am using my wait time to research spinning, and I am reading spinning blogs like mad.

I wish all of you a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving. I hope you all get an opportunity to spend time with those you love.

I have been bitten

2007-11-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

By the spinning bug that is. Yep, I knew I couldn't resist, and honestly I have been researching wheels since the summer. At the time wheels were way out of my budget range, but the idea of spinning is so romantic so I didn't give up my dream of acquiring one. Well, while doing my end of the year budget (yes I am a geek) I saw that I would basically never be able to afford a wheel. I was so upset. I knew I needed a plan to come up with some cash, and I was not willing to compromise my integrity to earn it. :) So, I scoured the house for treasures to unload on ebay. I came up with a few. It is amazing how much stuff I can accumulate, and so much of it I don't even need/use. I unloaded some designer bags, some general rick rack and a few other items. I raised enough money to buy this.

Yes, it is a Majacraft Rose. It gets rave reviews on every forum I have checked. I ordered it today! Isn't it beautiful. Too bad it is going to take a few weeks to get here. It is coming all the way from New Zealand. I hope she has a safe trip.

Now let me back up a bit. Until this past Saturday I hadn't even sat down at a wheel or held a spindle. I took a spinning lesson over the weekend with a member of the Orlando Weavers Guild. It was a mini-lesson...more of an introduction. She was kind enough to cover the basics, and she let me use one of her amazing wheels for the lesson. I had a really hard time with the drafting...I just could not get the feel for it. I guess I just need lots of practice.

So, I need practice and my wheel won't be here for weeks. What's a girl to do? There are no shops within hours of my home that sell any spinning supplies, so I went online today to order a top whorl spindle to practice my drafting. I decided to get a spindle kit from Hello Yarn. It's a great shop, and the price was unbeatable. That should be enough to get me started along with some great videos I found online.

But wait, there's more. For months I have been drooling/admiring Funky Carolina's lovely rovings. She has an awesome knack for color, and everyone just raves about the quality of her fibers. So, I went a little nuts during her shop update yesterday. I got this, and this and finally this. The last one is way out of my ability range, but I can admire it, and one day I shall spin it.

So needless to say, I will not be shopping for anything for a very long time. I have spent enough money to make me queasy. At least it's on quality stuff right!

Any advice from you spinners out there? Are there any books that I should check out, good online tutorials?

Summer is finally gone!

2007-11-04T19:06:00.001-05:00

This weekend we had the best weather in Central Florida. It was nice and cool in the morning, and warm in the afternoon. It was the first opportunity we have had to go outside without sweating to death for months. My husband and I got up early today and decided to take a nice scenic drive to Deleon Springs State Park. It is a great park, and we try to visit state parks as often as we can during the cooler months of the year. It is not a terribly busy park, so we can actually find a nice bench or table and just sit and enjoy the scenery. They also have a great restaurant inside the park called The Old Spanish Sugar Mill. It is a great place. Each table has a griddle built in so you can make your own pancakes. It is a lot of fun, and they are seriously the best pancakes I have ever had.

We enjoyed a beautiful breakfast, and then found a great picnic table in the park to just sit and relax. It was around 70 degrees...perfect weather. Here is the view from our table.

We met some fun wildlife as well including these ducks. They hung around right in front of us for the longest time.

Overall it was a great Sunday. The crisp morning air was just cool enough for me to wear my clapotis. It was so nice to snuggle up and talk with my hubby. Just what the doctor ordered after a very hectic week.

I hardly got in any knitting time this week, but I am making some progress on my Celtic scarf. I am really enjoying the pattern, and I have finally memorized most of it. I will hopefully be able to finish it in another week or so. My husband keeps commenting on how nice it would look on him. He is so subtle.

I have a new project on the horizon that I am super excited about. I don't want to give any details yet because I haven't finalized anything. No I am not pregnant...it is a craft project. More details to come.

Happy Sunday everyone. I hope your week starts out well.

Lesson Learned

2007-10-26T17:20:00.000-04:00

Just because I love a pattern, and I love a particular yarn doesn't mean that they will work well together. I have been so excited about casting on the Celtic Cable Scarf over the past week, and I went to my knitting group in search of the perfect yarn to use. I wanted to pick out a DK since that is what the pattern calls for, so I chose Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold. This is seriously soft and drapey yarn, but I thought the cables would still pop. I got home last week and eagerly cast on my new scarf. After one repeat of the pattern I noticed that it appeared a little thin. I didn't like the transitions, and the edge cables looked muddy. So I put it down for a day or two...came back, ripped and started again. It must just be my novice cabling skills right? I was still getting used to using a cable needle...so I figured the second go would be great. I was wrong. The yarn is lovely, but a very poor partner for this project. Here is a photo of the second attempt using the Silky Wool.

Click on the picture to see just how yucky the cables look close up. It's a scary sight...just in time for Halloween. :) So, I went to my knitting group this week determined to pick out a more appropriate yarn for the project.

I decided to try Ella Rae Classic. My LYS just started to carry this brand/line. It is very affordable at $6 ish per skein for 219 yards, and there were many colors to choose from. It's worsted, and the texture is similar to Cascade 220. It is very nice to work with, and it is springy enough to show off the intricate cable work. I cast on right then and there, and I worked on it while chatting away with my lovely knitting pals. I worked on it a bit this afternoon, and I must say that I am very happy with the difference this yarn makes. You can actually see the cable definition, and I am sure when it is blocked it will look even nicer. I had to pin it for the picture because it wants to fold up like a taco.

I really like the pattern, and the instructions are very clear. The yarn has been very cooperative, and I must admit that the green will go with my complexion much better than my first choice. I am planning on devoting some serious time to this project over the weekend. We are supposed to get some heavy rain on Saturday...perfect knitting weather.

I am also planning on visiting the Mount Dora Craft Fair this weekend. A friend from my knitting group, Kelly will have a booth and I am dying to see her in action. She knits the most fantastic bags. She has such a good eye for color and style. I know she is going to be a big hit at the show. I hope the rain doesn't affect them too much.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Cables and presents

2007-10-22T19:41:00.000-04:00

I received a super surprise gift from my Secret Pal last week, and it came at the best time. I was having a yucky day, but when I came home I was greeted by this lovely package.

The bat is an oven mitt! He is so cute. When you insert your hand you can flap his wings. I love him. The little spools at the bottom are fun holiday ribbons...the perfect size for embellishments. And of course the most fun part...the holiday issue of Interweave Knits. I basically want to knit everything in this issue, but the first thing I will make is the lovely classic teddy bear. I am working on some projects now, but as soon as they are under control I am going to start on him. Thank you Secret Pal, you are the best. I am sending you out a little thank you...so watch your mail. :)

I finished up two projects over the past week. The first one is a pair of fetching mitts from Knitty.com. I knit them in Mirasol baby llama which is the softest yarn I have every touched. The softness of it makes the gloves a little floppy, but once they are on the hand you can't tell. They are great!

The second project is the snowball hat from Interweave Knits. I did not attach a pom pom because this hat will probably be a gift. I am going to make a second one in the same color for me. I used Lamb's Pride bulky, and one skein is enough for the hat and a giant pom pom. A very economical and fun project. I loved knitting with size 11 dpns. So quick and neat. I think I am going to make quite a few more of these.

In this photo I stuffed the hat with tissue paper. I wanted to show off the shape and the cables. Both are very hard to do without a hat model.

These were my first cable projects, and I am definitely hooked. I am working on a cabled scarf right now. I did two repeats to test out the gauge, and I am really happy with how the yarn shows the cables. I ripped out the swatch because I do not want to waste any of the yarn. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. I will post some progress shots this week. I will also update everyone on the Colinette kit this week. So many projects....so little free time. Why oh why can't I be a stay at home knitter.

Happy Monday everyone!

What a great weekend

2007-10-14T19:50:00.000-04:00

I have had a great weekend. I went to my knitting group in the morning, and then out to lunch with some friends. It was such a nice and relaxing day, and the weather was amazing. Today, I just hung out with my hubby. We don't get a lot of time together during the week because our work schedules clash a bit, so I love our weekends. I also did a lot of knitting this weekend. I started and finished the Snowball Hat from Interweave Knits. It is a fast knit, and it was really simple. I may give this as a holiday gift, so I may not post any pictures. I haven't decided yet. I am going to make another one soon. It fits my head just right.

I finally got around to taking some pictures of my Colinette Ad Fab kit from my birthday last month. I think I kept putting it off because I knew it would be hard to photograph. The colors are so soft and light. It was truly difficult to take a decent picture, and I am now very motivated to actually read my camera manual. (I need to learn about white balance so that my pictures come out a bit better.) I love the colors in this kit, and the textures are great. I think I am going to start it this week. It is finally starting to cool off at night here, so I will be able to tolerate this project on my lap. I will definitely post pictures throughout the process.

Last week I received a great surprise on my doorstep...it was a package from Yarn Pirate. I won a contest on her blog a few weeks ago, so I knew a prize was on its way. I was so excited! I immediately ripped open the box. She sent me such a fun set of goodies.

I have been eyeing Trekking at my LYS, but I haven't purchased any. This colourway is perfect for me, but my hubby has already claimed it. The green lizard pen is very cool. When you write his legs dance up and down. I brought it to my office, and the kids love playing with him. Thanks Georgia! I love everything.

I hope you all had a great weekend as well, and I wish you a great start to the upcoming week.

Relief Part II

2007-10-08T20:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right the pignoli bag is completely finished. Hooray! Finishing this bag was a group effort. My friend and knitting idol Barbara helped me with the finishing and felting process, and my fantastic hubby spent 3 days perfecting the art of riveting in order to attach the handle. I am so lucky.....I couldn't have finished this without their help.

This bag is huge. It is 22 in wide and 12 in tall. I can fit a ton of things in it, and it hugs my shoulder just right. When it is on the shoulder it forms a perfect crescent shape. The fabric is super soft and flexible, but it still holds a basic shape. The original handle was awful, and it was way too narrow to support the bag. I cut it off immediately. Thank goodness I had a great substitute available.

Here are some photos...they are not my best pics, but this bag was hard to capture.

I am very happy with the way the colors meld together. I made the gussets with chocolate brown cascade. You will be able to see the gusset a bit better in one of the other photos.

Here is a detail shot of the side of the bag. The handles are riveted on to the gussets. I stole this handle from a very expensive purse that I never used. It was a beautiful suede purse that shed like a balding cat. I was never going to use the purse, but I loved this handle. Now I can enjoy it.

I love the way the colors carry under the bag. Such a neat detail.

Here is the bag with nothing in it. The shape is so feminine. I blocked it by filling it full of towels and using clothes pins to create the creases for the tie.

Last photo I promise....I just wanted to show the shape when it's full. Plus in this shot you can see the handle a bit better. See how big!?! By the way, this is my favorite chair. It looks like an adult version of a doll house chair. So big and comfy.

Overall I would recommend this bag. It became tedious, but it was a very simple pattern. It's a great stash buster. It felted easily, and it was so easy to block. I am considering adding grommets so that the leather tie can slide easier. What do you think?

I'm a first place knitter

2007-10-03T23:35:00.000-04:00

I entered a knitting contest last week at my LYS, and I tied for FIRST PLACE! I was so shocked. The contest was open to the community, and the only restriction was that each project must be knitted with yarn purchased at the store. The items entered were on display at the store last week, and patrons were able to vote for their favorites. There were a lot of fabulous entries including heirloom afghans, beautiful sweaters, an unusual skirt, and some fun accessories. I entered my monkey socks and my alpacas. The alpacas tied for first place (thanks for your help finishing them Barbara!!). I won a gift certificate and a very cool large clear tote. I love bags so the prizes were perfect. The winners were announced on Saturday during the shop's anniversary sale/party. There was food, music, door prizes, and general knitting fun all day. There was even a face painter there! I got this neat yarn ball on my arm. Sorry for the fuzzy photo....

In other news, I went to a friends house over the weekend to felt my pignoli bag. It came out great, and I will post pictures as soon as I attach the handles. I am having trouble with the handles, but my hubby has a solution. He is going to take a crack at it tomorrow. Hopefully it works.

Sorry for the lack of knitting photos this week. It has been a very busy few days at work, and I am just exhausted when I finally get home at night. I will have some fun knitting pictures for you tomorrow. :)

Relief!

2007-09-26T23:08:00.001-04:00

I just bound off the body portion of my pignoli bag, and I am so relieved that it is done. It is huge! It's big enough to pass as a lap blanket. It takes up my entire light box...you can see the lovely pvc legs in this shot. :) At first I really enjoyed the mindless knitting, but during the last few days it became mind numbing. I knew that if I didn't push through it quickly I would put it down and never pick it up again. I will start the gusset and strap tomorrow in my knitting group. I am excited to finish it up so that I can felt it. I hope it turns out well after all this work.

It was my birthday last week, and my hubby treated me to a wonderful knitting kit. I got the Summer 2007 colourway and it is beautiful. I want to finish up this bag and the lotorp bag before I start the kit because I really want to enjoy the process. I will post some pictures of the kit in a day or so. I had a great birthday! My friends and family really spoiled me this year, and I got the chance to spend some good quality time with family.

Have a great Thursday everyone.

Pillow Talk

2007-09-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

I finished my entrelac pillow at my knitting group this week. I had so much fun knitting this project, and I have enough yarn left to knit a second one. So, by next week I will have a pair of entrelac pillows. This is a quick little project, and it would make a great gift. Depending on the yarn used it can also be a very economical project.

I used 2 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Lite on size 7 needles. It is so soft, and it hasn't even been washed and blocked yet. I really like the Silk Garden Lite. I didn't have a lot of plant matter to deal with, and I only found one knot. It fits a 14 X 14 pillow form like a glove. It could be stretched to fit a 16 X16 pillow form, but I like the look of the 14. I added a simple crochet edge for shape, and I have a great coordinating fabric for the backing. I will probably wait to sew it together until next week. I am knitting two bags right now, and I am going to line on of them. I figure I might as well torture myself with sewing in one sitting.

If you are considering entrelac give it a try. It is honestly not scary at all. It reminds me of knitting toys because it is basically short row shaping. Once you realize the goal of each section you are in good shape. I am a visual learner so I used my gauge swatch as my instructions most of the time.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I probably won't get much knitting done because I have to work, but at least I get to go on a mini road trip to the beach. I will take some pictures if the weather cooperates.

Why didn't somebody warn me?!?

2007-09-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

NORO IS ADDICTIVE!

Yes, that's right....I am addicted to Noro. When I first encountered it at my LYS I hated it. It looked itchy and irregular. But now I love the inconsistencies, and the feel is so soft and rustic. I have discovered that I do not like Kureyon, but I really love the rest of the Noro line that I have come in contact with.

I saw a knitted purse a couple of weeks ago that I fell in love with at first sight. It is the Lotorp bag by Noro, and I have been hunting for the pattern ever since. Then last week at my knitting group one of the ladies pulled out the pattern! Yeah!! The pattern looked super easy, so I knew I wanted to make one. But my LYS only had one skein of Noro Iro, and that pattern calls for three. I was so bummed. So I came home and started looking online for some. I went to the online shop where I purchased the Silk Garden I used for my clapotis, and they had some lovely Iro in stock. Here are the three skeins I purchased. :)

Aren't they gorgeous! The yarn is so soft, and the colors are amazing. I cannot wait to start this project, but I do want to finish the Pignoli bag and my entrelac pillow first. Both of those projects should be done this weekend. Now I really have some strong motivation to finish.

I will post pictures of my entrelac pillow progress tomorrow. I am going to crochet an edging on it tomorrow in my knitting group, and then the entrelac portion will be done. I am dreading the actual sewing of the pillow, but I am going to try and do it right away. I know if I put it down I will never motivate myself to finish it. I hate sewing!

Have a nice Wednesday night everyone. See you tomorrow.

I actually knit a gauge swatch

2007-09-16T09:34:00.000-04:00

I took a class at my LYS yesterday on entrelac, and I had a blast. The teacher there is the greatest, and I always enjoy hanging out in her classes. She can teach anyone anything...she definitely has a gift. The other ladies in the group were very nice, and it was fun to dive into a new technique with a group. The class focused on the technique, and we all did our gauge swatches. It was neat to see how the different yarns knit up. I decided to make a pillow so that I can get a feel for the technique before I commit to a large project. I really love the look of entrelac, and I am so excited that I am going to start my actual project from class today.

I chose Noro Silk Garden Lite for my pillow. I had so much fun with the Silk Garden on my Clapotis, and I have another Noro project in deck so I guess you could say that I like Noro. :) Here is a shot of my gauge swatch. There are mistakes in it of course, but overall I am very pleased with it.

I also got my Ravelry invite this week. It is so cool! I need to spend a while getting set up, but if you are on Ravelry let me know your ID so I can stop by your profile. I am of course MinervaTurkey. If you have not gotten your invite don't worry. They are adding people so fast now.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am going to spend my Sunday working on my Pignoli bag, and starting my entrelac pillow. What a great day!

The wait is almost over

2007-09-11T17:03:00.001-04:00

I signed up for Ravelry on July 1st, and at that time I had thousands of people ahead of me. I check my status all the time, and I was so happy today when I saw this:

You signed up on July 1, 2007
You are #11910 on the list.
195 people are ahead of you in line.
19960 people are behind you in line.
36% of the list has been invited so far

195 people! Wooohooo...I am almost in. Most of my friends have already received their invites, so I am so excited that I will be joining them soon. If you want to check your place in line click here. I have heard/read buzz that they will be going public soon anyway, so those of you further down on the list probably won't have to wait very long. I have to admit that they waiting has been pretty exciting. I have been trying to re-photograph all of my stash so that I can set up my account as soon as I receive my invite. My photo skills have improved a lot over the past couple of months, and I want to post decent pictures.

I hope everyone is having a great week. I will post in a day or two with some pictures of my progress on the pignoli bag.

My Secret Pal is the Best!

2007-09-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

The world works in mysterious ways. I was having a pretty bad day (bad bad bad) today, but my spirits were lifted when I checked my PO box. I was pleasantly surprised to find my first package from my Secret Pal! She must have read through all of my posts, because everything she sent is just right. I wanted to take a picture of the box, but it is not in good shape. I couldn't wait until I got home to open it, of course, so I had my husband tear it open with his keys. I think I have mentioned before that I am not at all patient. :)

Here is a shot of the package goodies.

She sent some lovely decaf teas, a skein of jitterbug in the summer berries colourway, a set of multi-size stitch markers, and a lovely card. I love everything! The colourway is perfect. I love pinks and purples.

Thank you Secret Pal. You helped to save my Sunday.

Pignoli Bag Beginnings

2007-09-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

I am a bag addict. I freely admit that fact, and it is no secret. My friends, family, and especially my husband are very aware of this....um...issue. Therefore, it has been a complete shocker to those around me that I have not yet knit myself a bag. I have seen many knit bags that I love, and I have seen even more felted bags that I love. But i had not found a pattern that I was excited about making myself until recently. Not until I stumbled onto the Pignoli pattern. This is a fantastic looking bag. I love the shape, the size, and the potential. Plus it's a free pattern! I knew it right away. This pattern was destined to be my first knitted/felted bag.

Only one problem. I was on a yarn diet. I need close to 1200 yards to make this bag. That's a lot of wool, and consequently a fair amount of cash. I am not a patient person, and I was too excited about this bag to wait. So, I searched my stash for enough yarn for the project. Eureka, I have enough Cascade 220 to knit this bag. I had set the Cascade aside for knitted toys, but I can always get a skein or two at a time later on for those projects. So, my plan is to use this bag as a stash buster. I am going to make wide stripes instead of a solid color bag. I started the bag a day or two ago, and I just started my second color band. Here is a progress shot.

The pattern is very easy. It's nice, mindless stockinette and reverse stockinette. I am going to make the bag a bit wider than the pattern, and the gusset/strap a bit longer. I found another knitting blogger who is knitting this project, Bean Counter. I am going to keep up with her progress. I am very excited to see how her color choices turn out. It's like our own little knit a long. :)

In other news, my hubby provided me with a small shopping spree at my LYS to use at a huge sale they had a week or so ago. He knew I was trying to stick to my yarn diet, so he wrote this off as an early birthday present. I picked up some great deals. I saved 25%-45% off of everything I got. Head over to my Flickr page to see my stash enhancement.

I am going to work on my new bag for a while tonight. I am so anxious to get it done. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

2 weeks flat!

2007-09-03T11:19:00.000-04:00

Well, thank goodness for a nice sunny (and unbearably hot by 10am) morning! I finished my clapotis on Saturday, but I was not able to take any decent pictures until today. We haven't had any rain to speak of here in a month or so, but the day I finish my clapotis we get severe thunderstorms for two days straight. I am glad we got the rain, but I have been dying to take some pictures of this thing. Please ignore the out of control lawn.

This was my first monogamous knitting relationship. I did not work on anything else while I was knitting this. That is a very big deal for me since I get bored easily. I absolutely love this pattern, and I will definitely knit it again. It was easy to memorize, but was still engaging and fun. It took me exactly two weeks to finish it which is pretty fast for me. I added an extra increase section and an extra straight section. I wish I had made it a bit longer, but it still looks great. I used 8 skeins of Noro Silk Garden total, and I used size 8 addi turbos. I have about 300 yards left of the Noro, so I will probably make a hat and drawstring bag too.

Overall, I am very happy with it. It is very snuggly, and the stretch gives it a wonderful drape. I am going to give it a bath, and then block the edges lightly. Then my clapotis will go to its permanent home in my office. It will look lovely on the back of my HUGE office chair, and it will accompany me to meetings in our ice cold conference rooms.

On another note, I finally won a blog contest! Wooohooo! Yarn Pirate had a "Guess the Sex" contest in honor of her fairly new pregnancy, and I correctly guessed that she is having a boy. Congrats Georgia, and thanks for picking my name out of a hat. I love love love her sock yarns, so no matter what I win I know I will love it.

Well off to finish up an old project that has been waiting in the wings way too long. Hopefully I get it done quickly so I can share some photos. Happy Labor Day everybody!

My first meme

2007-08-28T19:01:00.000-04:00

I have never completed a meme, but when I read this one on Chicken Knits I thought it would be a great way to help my secret pal get to know me a bit better. She didn't send out specific tags, so I jumped on the bandwagon right away.

So here it goes, 8 random things about me.

1. I love to sing/perform on stage, but I get really embarrassed when my friends/family/coworkers hear me sing randomly. I have no problem up on stage in front of a crowd, but I can't sing in the car with my hubby. Weird huh!

2. I love soda. It's a really bad habit, and I am trying once again to go cold turkey. There is just nothing like a fountain soda on a hot Florida day.

3. I have the craziest laugh. When I was a kid I was often compared to Woody Woodpecker. It has sort of become my trademark.

4. I wish I could live on a farm....again. I grew up on a farm, and I miss it terribly. I loved being surrounded by animals, and I loved working the land with my parents. It was just the three of us (mom, dad and me). It was hard work, but it was great. I am so grateful that my parents raised me on the farm.

5. I love my car. I always develop an attachment for my cars, and I get very protective of them. I try to park away from other cars in lots because I am very worried that I will come out to door dings. This is not an overreaction. I swear! Anyone else who has parked on a college campus probably has this fear.

6. I love game shows. It is a guilty pleasure I know, but they are so funny. I find it very hard not to "advise" the contestants. I love it that my hubby joins in with me.

7. I am a total night owl. I love to stay up at night. The world is so peaceful, the house is quiet, and I feel like I can totally relax. My perfect work schedule would be to start work late in the morning, and end in the evening. This way I can stay up and get plenty of sleep. My body doesn't want to sleep until at least midnight. This makes getting up at 5am to get to work by 6:30ish very very hard. I have been getting up this early for over a year now. It has not gotten any easier.

8. My husband is truly my best friend. I know it sounds corny, but he is. We started out as best friends. We make time to do things together as often as we can, and he even knits with me. He is the best partner that anyone could want. This year will be our 5th anniversary.

Okay, enough about me. I tag Two Knits of Ivory, Mr. Poopers Day Out and Furry Terrier. I love reading their blogs. I hope you ladies haven't already been tagged with this meme.

Clapotis update:
I am almost done with the straight rows, and I am really impressed with my dropped stitches skills! Okay, I know the beauty of the yarn really deserves the credit. I will post pictures as soon as it is done. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week.

Clapotis in progress

2007-08-22T19:45:00.000-04:00

I am totally in love with the clapotis pattern created by Kate Gilbert. (You can find the pattern on Knitty.) I have seen so many beautiful versions of this pattern in the blogosphere, so I just couldn't resist any longer. It is a really fun knit, and the way the pattern is separated by sections makes it easy to memorize. I have only worked on it a few times because I have been so exhausted after work each evening. I am planning on making some progress tomorrow at my knitting group.

I wish I had knit a gauge swatch before starting this project. I started on my brand new 7's, and I knit almost all of the increase rounds. But I didn't like the way the fabric draped, so I ripped it all out. SOOOO much fun with Noro! For the second attempt I used 8's, and I am very happy with the drape now. Maybe this will be a lesson learned for me....I don't know. I am so impatient! When I start a project I never want to knit a gauge swatch. :)

I just finished the increase section tonight, and I decided to add one additional increase section. I am really happy with the colourway so far, but I am not sure if I am going to attempt to match the stripes or not. I tried when I started the second skein, but the colors didn't repeat the same as the first. I think I will probably let go of my obsessive compulsive tendencies and just let the colors be chosen by destiny.

I smile every time I see these colors together. They are all my favorites....pink, green, oranges, and blue. They look so fun together. Can you tell where the color repeat went wonky?

Well, off to start dropping some stitches on purpose! Whohoooo!! :)

I have no self control

2007-08-15T17:44:00.000-04:00

It has been such a hectic week around here, and yes I know it is only Wednesday! I returned to my office last week (guidance counselors return one week earlier than teachers in my district). So I have been working very long days that start with very early mornings. So I haven't had much time to knit, or sleep, or see my family. OK, enough complaining! I love my job, I really do.

I sat down a few days ago to start my clapotis. I set up my beautiful new noro, my pattern, grabbed a pair of needles, and my most comfy cushion. I took a moment to take in the beauty, and to contemplate how fantastic it is going to be to work on this project. I cast on my two stitches and thought it looked a bit loose. Hmm...did a couple a rows and it still didn't look quite right. Well, it turns out the needles I had in my hands were 9's instead of 7's. Yikes! Of course, I don't have a pair of 7's that aren't carrying stitches on their backs. I literally felt like crying. I was so excited to start the project. Now I was stalled. So I called my hubby at work and humbly asked him to go by the LYS and pick me up a new pair of 7's. He lovingly agreed, and they actually had the size and length I needed! Whohoo!

Only one problem. Hubby works an hour away, and it will be more than an hour until he gets off work. Then there is the commute and stopping by the store on the way home. This is a lot of time without knitting, and I was so psyched about starting a new project. After so many stressful days I really needed some serious knit time. Suddenly I realize that there are two beautiful cakes of Fiesta Boomerang from The Loopy Ewe staring at me. They are brand new, and they are so wonderful. They are calling out to me. What would it hurt to go ahead and cast on my second chevron scarf? I did buy this yarn for that purpose, but I was going to wait until I had made some decent progress on my clapotis. Well of course you know what happened.

I just couldn't resist. This project is such an easy knit, and I really did want a project to keep in my purse to work on during lunch at my office. :) I am very happy with the way the two colors are blending. When I picked out these colourways I tried to pick something totally different from my first chevron scarf. I wanted something more subtle. These two are just close enough to each other to blend well, but they are different enough to add some variety. They are both Fiesta Boomerang. The one on the left is Plum Pudding, and the one on the right is Mochachino.

I am going to my hang out at the weekly knitting group tomorrow night, and I plan on starting my clapotis then. I will post some pictures as soon as I make some head way on it. Until then, happy knitting!

Chevron Scarf.....finished!

2007-08-11T14:01:00.000-04:00

Yep it's true, my chevron scarf is complete. It has been off the needles since last weekend, but I didn't have time this week to take any photos. **WARNING-Too many photos ahead**

I had fun photographing this scarf.

I am really happy with the way the colors blended. So very yummy.

Overall, I am very happy with how this turned out. It was a fairly fast knit, and the pattern is a snap. It is 75 inches long and about 6 inches wide. Since I used DK weight yarn I got a bit more bulk, but I really like that. In fact, I purchased two more skeins of Fiesta Boomerang from The Loopy Ewe last night to make another chevron scarf. I am very excited about the new color combo I chose. I hope it works out well. I picked two shades in the same color family so it will be very different from this one. This will be the perfect project to keep in my purse so that I have something to work on at work during my lunch break. When I actually take a lunch break that is. :)

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am off to start my clapotis and watch a movie with my hubby.

Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

2007-08-09T23:29:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to announce that I have joined Secret Pal 11! I think this will be such a neat way to meet a totally new person. I am going to have a lot of fun with this. It reminds me of having a pen pal.

I completed my questionnaire tonight, and I realized that I am pretty high maintenance. My husband has told me this for years, but it never hit me that it is true. I do like things the way I like them, but I am not rigid or anything. I think I am a good kind of high maintenance....yeah I will keep telling myself that. :)

To my secret pal: I am allergic to chocolate...yep actually allergic, sad but true. I know that people (especially us girls) love to give chocolate with gifts so I wanted to let you know.

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love so many different yarns, and I am not opposed to trying something new. I am in L*O*V*E* with Fiesta Boomerang. It is the softest wool I have worked with, and I adore Dream in Color Smooshy.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I do not have a good method for storage now. I simply have them all over the house, and at the bottom of my knitting bags. I really need a holder. I want something unique and functional.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I have been knitting since the first week of January 2007. My husband and I bought a “Learn to Knit Kit” at a local bulk store while I was on holiday break. We learned to knit together, and it was a lot of fun. The instructions we had were horrible though…so it’s a miracle we learned anything at all.

I consider myself to be an adventurous intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

No, but I really need to start one.

5. What's your favorite scent?

I am funny about scents. Some give me a terrible headache, and others are very soothing. I love fruity smells for the most part. I really dislike scented candles. They are often too strong, and some are dangerous for pets.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I am staying away from all sweets right now. Please don’t temp me.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I love to collage and I enjoy anything to do with pottery. I do not spin, but it is on my “must learn” list.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love all types of music. I know this is a generic answer, but it’s true. My top 5 genres are: 80’s, Broadway, soundtracks, classical, and jazz. I have an IPod, and I have many things that play MP3’s. I love “mix tapes”.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I am a big fan of color exploration. I used to think that I was only attracted to soft colors, but the more I try out bold jewel tones the more I like them. My favorites are pinks and greens, and the only color I don’t care for is black.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I am married…. no human children but we have 2 mini dachshunds and two birds.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I live in hotter than heck Florida, so all my scarves and hats are light. I do enjoy wearing them. I have never had a pair of mittens, but I have always wanted a pair. I would like to knit a pair…they are so lovely and look so snuggly. Ponchos don’t look quite right on me. I already look enough like a pear.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

This is such a hard question. My three favorite items to knit are shawls, toys and socks.

13. What are you knitting right now?

I am working on my first Clapotis (actually going to start this weekend), a pair of socks, a knitted octopus (also starting this weekend), and a lace shawl that has been on the needles for a couple of months. The pattern has gotten tedious, so I really only work on it every once in a while.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

YES! I love knowing that someone spent time on me much more than money.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I prefer circulars. I have hand issues, so circs are a must for me. I hate plastic needles because they are too light for me. I enjoy all wood, and I like the addi turbos. Other aluminum needles seem to be too heavy for me. I guess I have a Goldilocks complex about my needles…they must be just right.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Unfortunately not yet.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

7 months, and considering I have only been knitting for a little over 7 months that’s really bad!

18. What is your favorite holiday?

It’s a tie between Halloween and Christmas. I have such great family memories associated with both. My MIL gave me a wonderful Halloween quilt a couple of years ago. I absolutely treasure it. It’s so unique, and I must say it’s one of the best gifts I have ever received.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

I collect anything with dachshunds on it, and I love pottery items.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I subscribe to Interweave Knits, and I buy pretty much every other knitting mag I see at the bookstore. However, I see so many interesting magazines that are available overseas, but I cannot get them here. I am trying to build my collections of patterns for toys and hats.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I would really like to learn how to spin and dye my own yarn. I am so intrigued by both processes.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I love to knit socks. They are so fun, and I love wearing wild socks to work. I have to dress somewhat mundane for work, so I love to wear outrageous socks. They are a covert way for me to express my wackiness. I wear a size 9 ½ shoe, and I have chubby ankles…hahahaha

23. When is your birthday?

Sept 18th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

I am still on the waiting list. I think I will get in the first week of September.

A Dilemma

2007-08-07T19:56:00.001-04:00

I have developed a strong love....OK obsession for yummy yarns. I like to explore for unique items, interesting textures, hand-dyed, fun novelty, etc. I have found so many wonderful websites out there through reading other knitter's blogs, and I am a loyal shopper at a few now. I especially love some of the indie dyers out there (you know who you are), and Etsy has turned out to be a wonderful resource.

As a result of the interesting yarns available online I do not shop at my LYS as often as I once did. Let me first say that my LYS is about an hour away from my house. My LYS is a great shop in a lot of ways. They carry a great selection of wool, almost every color you can imagine. They have a decent selection of sock yarn, and some fun novelty yarns. I love the needle selection, and they have a ton of patterns available. They do carry some hard to find yarns, and some very nice accessories. They do not carry any indie dyers, and they take a very long time to fill special orders. I absolutely love the people, and I attend a weekly knitting group there. Overall, I really enjoy this shop, and as a result I do not mind the drive at all.

My dilemma is this, how do you balance supporting your LYS and honoring your quest for the perfect yarn for each project? I know that maintaining a yarn shop is a daunting business. I know that this owner is there 24/7. She works very hard. I want to be a loyal customer, but I also want to experience all the wonderful variety available.

This dilemma was sparked by my recent desire for my first Noro purchase. I have decided that my next project is going to be a Clapotis from Knitty. I have wanted to make one for a while now, and I have also been longing for a project that would look great in Noro Silk Garden. So, on my weekly trip to the LYS I checked out some Noro. I didn't find a colourway that screamed "buy me", and the price was a bit higher than I have seen online. I was so disappointed, and when I got home I went online to check out the Noro supply on a site I frequent. Eureka! I found the perfect colourway, and the price was right. Even with express shipping I saved around $30 by purchasing online. That is a huge savings, but I couldn't shake the guilt of not throwing this business to a local shop. I could have ordered it from them and waited for a while. Plus, I want to bring this project in to work on during the weekly group, but I feel a bit hesitant since i didn't buy the yarn there. Yuck.

You didn't think I would talk about Noro Silk Garden without a picture did you? No way! Here it is in all it's loveliness. It is a new 2007 colourway, #258. I love it, and I can't wait to see it knit up. I am going to make the Clapotis stole so I bought a bit more than the pattern calls for. Plus I picked up an extra skein or two to maybe make a little drawstring bag to match.

I can't be the only one facing this type of dilemma. I have found knitting bloggers to be a fantastic resource; so any advice, opinions, feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Progress

2007-08-03T09:53:00.000-04:00

I have not had much knitting time in the last couple of days...unfortunately. It is almost time for me to return to work (I go back on Monday), and I have been trying to get things in order before I return. I am very sad that my summer is over, but I am also excited to see my work friends. I am going in for a bit today to get settled in my new office, and to figure out what supplies I need to get.

I have been working on my chevron scarf off and on, and I am very happy with how it is turning out. It is 58 inches long now, and I still have quite a bit of yarn left. Originally I planned to knit until I ran out of yarn, but I think the scarf will be 10 feet long if I do that. I think I will go to 75 inches and stop. That will give me good wrap around without hanging down to my knees. So I am torn. What do I knit with the left overs? Should I knit a simple hat, a set of fingerless gloves, socks...hmmm... Any opinions?

Here is a shot of the scarf this morning. This thing was very hard to photograph. Not only due to it's size, but the colors are so hard to capture. This photo shows the colors the best, but it is still not 100% accurate. Once I finish it and block it I will take some pics outside in "real" light.

This will be the first project that I intend to block...besides socks that is. It is going to be so large I am unsure of how to block it in a timely fashion. My knitting friends suggested that I block it in sections. Umm...I don't like this idea because there is not a spot in my house that I can allocate to blocking this thing for a week straight. I have read that some people block with steam and magic sizing. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

I hope to finish the scarf this weekend, and I have also been working on a chevron hat in a skein of Fiesta Ballet. I want to finish it this weekend too. Hopefully I will have some finished pictures to share early next week. Then I can move on to my next big project even though I haven't finished my leaf lace shawl. I will alternate between the two for a while. I am expecting the yarn for this project on Monday. I will take pictures and fill everyone in then.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy some glorious knitting time!

I couldn't resist...

2007-07-30T16:27:00.000-04:00

I have definitely been bitten by the knitted toys bug! Making the alpacas was so much fun, and I have seen some really cute toys on blogs that I frequent. I have been trying to decide what toy to make next, and then I say this post on Kathryn Ivy (thanks for making such darling knitted toys Grace!). It's and octopus, and it is so cute! So, I rushed right over to Etsy and bought the pattern. I know, I am a copycat! But I really love the pattern, and I think this little guy will make an awesome addition to my knitted toy collection.

I have some Cascade 220 that I can use to make a couple of the little cephalopods. I think these colors will make some fun combos.

I will not start this pattern until I finish my chevron scarf....I must have some discipline! :) The scarf is close to 40 inches long now, so it will not take much longer to finish up. I will definitely post some pictures when it is complete. I love the pattern, and I cannot say enough good things about the yarn. I have already picked out another color combo from my stash to use for a second one. I think they will make great gifts.

Chevron Scarf....finally

2007-07-26T22:48:00.001-04:00

Ever since I started reading knitting blogs I have been an admirer of the chevron scarf. Finally I found just the right yarn combo. The pattern is super easy which makes it a perfect "throw in my purse" project. I chose Fiesta Boomerang sock yarn in Cosmopolitan (the reds and oranges) and Taos (the blues and browns). This yarn is super soft, and the colors are breathtaking. They are a joy to knit with. I started my scarf tonight at my local knitting group, and here is my progress thus far.

I really like how it is knitting up. The two colors really blend well. These colors are not ones I would usually choose. I am naturally drawn to spring colors like pink, lavender and mint. I am so glad that I picked these two...I don't have anything else like it.

You gotta love having a light box!

2007-07-25T14:01:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love having my light box that my lovely husband made for me. It is so convenient. It didn't look like it was too hard to construct, and it wasn't expensive at all. Best part is it can be broken down and thrown in a bag or box for easy storage. Mine is on my coffee table right now because I have been playing with it all week. :)

The hubby used these instructions Light box. Very good tutorial, and great tips at the end. I want to get a few different color backgrounds to play with, and I definitely want a sheet of plexiglass to play with reflections. I highly recommend using one to photograph yarn. I am still learning, but I am having fun with it. That's the point right?!?

OK, enough photo talk...on to some knitting. I finished my first pair of green socks for the Green Sock KAL. I like how they turned out, but they are a bit big. These were knit with Claudia's hand painted sock yarn, and I used the Penllyn pattern from Wild Horse Farms. All items were purchased from the Loopy Ewe. They have the best selection of sock yarn on the web.

I am using this pattern again for my Yarn Pirate booty club colourway now. I can't post any pictures of it yet since some of the club members are international. It is possible that some have not received their booty, and I do not want to spoil it for anyone. I really like how they are knitting up. The colors are pooling in such a great way. I will post pictures of them as soon as they are done.

I also want to thank everyone who has stopped by my blog, and an extra special thank you to those leaving comments. I am really enjoying the process, and I am having a great time looking at other's blogs too. See y'all soon.

Meet George and Gracie Alpaca

2007-07-23T12:16:00.000-04:00

Well, my first knitted toys are completely finished! I had so much fun knitting these alpacas, and I learned a lot in the process. This was my first time using short row shaping, and this was my first felting project. Luckily I have a great friend who helped me along the way. I used a Fiber Trends pattern for these little guys. The pattern is written for alpacas and llamas, and I think I will make the llamas next. The pattern for the llamas is essentially the same...just a bit bigger all around. I definitely see a lot of knitted toys in my future. They are so cute and fun.

They make a cute couple don't they! I am going to bring them to my office when school starts back in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, none of my students do anything bad to them :).

George was knit with bulky Knit Picks Wool of the Andes and Kiddy Prints mohair. His color is very impressive in person. The mohair has some wonderful black and gray flecks that almost look like spots. I am so very pleased with how he turned out!

Gracie was knit with Cascade 220 and Kiddy Prints mohair. I didn't felt her as much as George. I like the ripple that is left from the stitches. It looks like cording. She has golden flecks from the mohair. She is so sweet and soft.

My wonderful husband built me a light box this weekend so that I don't have to brave the heat here in order to get enough light for my pictures (it's about 100 degrees outside today!). It is a little tricky trying to use just the right amount of light, and I am still trying to figure out my new camera. Hopefully my pictures will continue to improve. I think I will try some different color backgrounds too. That's all I need....another hobby right!?!

Happy Monday everyone! Stay cool out there.

New toys

2007-07-17T11:23:00.000-04:00

Knitting toys that is. I received two fantastic packages in the mail this week. The first one came to me all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii. It is a wonderful sock project bag made by Momma Monkey. I bought this bag specifically for my Yarn Pirate Booty Club socks. I think it is so funky (am I too old to say that....do people say that anymore?). I am not usually attracted to skulls, but this fabric is just so unique. I love the coordinating lining as well. It's perfect. My husband says it scares him a bit....but I think it is cute.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this bag. It is the perfect size for sock knitting. Momma Monkey has added needle holders and stitch holders inside, and there is even a clip so that you can attach it anywhere. Also, it has a squared bottom so it stands up even when empty. The photo below was taken with the bag completely empty! Only a sock knitter would have added such wonderful and useful details. She also included some cute little buttons.

My second goodie to arrive this week was a pair of wonderful sock blockers from Chappy's Fiber Arts and Crafts. They are perfect! I love the design, and they are so well made. Their customer service was impeccable. This is my second pair of blockers. Next, I need a mannequin to really display my socks. :)

My last new toy isn't even here yet. I am anxiously awaiting my first Booty Club shipment this week! I received the shipping notification yesterday, and I am so excited. You can stop by our Flickr group to take a look at all the goodies once they arrive. So that means that I will be knitting socks like crazy this week. I can't wait to see what colourway it is. I know it will be beautiful. If you have never experienced Yarn Pirate's sock yarn I highly encourage you to stop by her site and check it out. She has a true eye for color and texture. I love her yarn.

Have a great Tuesday! Happy knitting. :)

I love knitting socks!

2007-07-12T10:36:00.001-04:00

It's true, I absolutely love to knit socks. They are fairly quick, have lots of interesting components, and the patterns are so diverse. The main reason I learned how to knit was to indulge my love of crazy socks. I wear a size 9 1/2 shoe, and I have a hard time finding cute socks that don't choke my feet. Now I can make socks that fit and look cute. If you fell intimidated by sock knitting I encourage you to give it a shot. I had a wonderful teacher at the LYS sit down with me and show me the ropes. It isn't as hard as you would think. I now always have at least one pair on the needles.

Plus, I love sock yarn. The colors are wonderful, and the textures are very yummy. I have already amassed a large sock yarn stash. Here is a picture of my sock yarn basket. Isn't is beautiful?!?

My first pair of socks were so much fun. They took a while to complete, but I stuck with it. I used the baby cable rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. It is one of the beginner patterns in the book. If you are considering a sock book, this one rocks. It includes instructions for 5 dpns, 4 dpns, and circs. I use 5 dpns for my socks mostly because I love to freak people out in public. They seem to be pretty mesmerized by the tiny needles. It's a lot of fun. Here are some shots of my first pair of socks. You can see my Jordana Paige knitter's satchel in the background. :)

I finished my second pair of monkey socks yesterday. I have named them circus monkeys. They came out great, and I love the way the yarn adds to the pattern. I used Lornas Laces Glennwood. It is super soft. The socks fit like a glove. They were so much fun to knit, and I finished the entire second sock yesterday! Of course I knit for hours straight. Did I mention I hate daytime tv.....Whooohoo.

I must say, socks are very hard to photograph. I want to get a shot that shows off the detail, but I also want to get a shot that highlights the colourway. I guess I just need to knit lots more socks so that I can practice, practice, practice. Well, off to work on my alpaca felted toy. Hopefully he will be done this weekend.

It's an alpaca butt

2007-07-08T20:38:00.001-04:00

Good evening all,

This has been a very fun week of knitting. I am almost finished with my second pair of monkey socks, I am working on a pair of socks for my wonderful hubby, working on my shawl, and I started the felted alpaca pattern from Fiber Trends. For those of you wondering...I don't usually have this much free time. I am recovering from foot surgery (everything going well), and I am limited to staying home for the time being. Poor me, I have lots of knitting time. :)

I am just in love with this alpaca thus far. I hope to make lots of progress on him/her tomorrow, and I am going to meet a friend later this week to felt the little fella. We are planning a little felting party. This is going to be my first felting project, and all my knitting friends have warned me that it is addictive. I already feel the fever.

I love how knitted projects take shape. I honestly didn't think much about how the alpaca would be formed. I just dove right in, and I was so happy to step back after just a few rows and realize what was taking shape. It's an alpaca butt (and his/her legs of course). The green stitch marker is where his/her tail will be placed.

Here is another shot so that you can see the yarn I am using. I am using Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky, and I am mixing that with Kiddy Print Kid Mohair. The mohair is so soft, and I am in love with it. It is hard to tell in the photos, but it has a wonderful color variation. I cannot wait to see how it felts. I will post more pics, and give you all an update when it's complete.

I also wanted to share a picture of my first complete pair of monkey socks. These were my second pair of knitted socks. I love love love this pattern. Cookie A has a talent for writing clear and precise, not to mention beautiful patterns. These were finished a couple of weeks ago, but I just got around to taking some pictures of them today. I have not blocked them yet, but I am pretty happy with them anyway. I used Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in Some Summer Sky. As a matter of fact, making these socks gave me the idea to use the same yarn to start a shawl. It is a great sock yarn. I am so glad my LYS started stocking this brand.

Well, off to spend some quality time with the family. Thank you to all of you who have been stopping by. I have enjoyed your comments, and I am having a ball checking out all of your blogs. Have a great Monday!

My second lace project!

2007-07-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

I first learned to knit over the Christmas holiday break in Jan. 2007. When I first started knitting I was very impatient. Well..honestly, I am always impatient. :) I wanted to knit fun and impressive projects right away. So after I finished my first scarf I immediately signed up for a lace class at my local LYS.

The class met for 3 hours, and the project was a feather and fan wrap. Wow! I was so overwhelmed, but I wanted to make the wrap. So I went home and tried over and over again. It took me a while, but I eventually got the hang of it. I am happy to say that my feather and fan turned out great. It is a very forgiving pattern...it hides mistakes well.

After completing the wrap I immediately started looking for a pattern for a triangular shawl. I decided to use the Leaf Lace Shawl pattern by Fiber Trends. I love this pattern. It is so pretty, and the instructions are very clear. I choose to use sock yarn for the pattern. The yarn is Smooshy in Beach Fog by Dream in Color. This yarn is super soft. It is one of the best sock yarns I have used. I am very happy with the color variation and the stretch of the yarn. I want this yarn in every color!

This is my first time reading a chart, and I am working diligently to not revert to the written instructions. I have been working on the shawl off and on for about a month. I have been knitting socks like crazy this month, so I haven't devoted very much time to the shawl at all (I will post some pics of my latest socks over the weekend). I plan to work on it much more this month so that it is completed by the time the new school year starts. It is very chilly on campus, and I would love to have a beautiful shawl to keep me snuggly.

It's up and running!

2007-07-04T19:59:00.000-04:00

Well, after a long week of planning my blog is up and running. My husband and I spent an hour or so taking photos in my knitting room to add to Flickr, and I will be able to add some here soon.

Under construction

2007-06-27T12:10:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow knitters,

I hope to have my blog up and running by the end of this week. Thanks for stopping by!