tired of being tired...

i had high hopes for this weekend~ my father in town, a few good meals, some chores and catching up on work.

alas, i feel tired and under the weather and decide it is best to stay at home and do as little as possible.

i have not picked up any knitting in a while. not out of coice, i have just been too busy. dad brought with him a few knitting books to tempt me and out of one of them i found my nephews christmas present... am i running out of knitting time already????

i also decided to give this tutorial a try. it gives instructions on making your own cookie cutters only the supplies are hard to come by and in the end i managed to come up with this. (ignore the copper tape seaming it together~ i am working on that part)


i could not find a sheet of copper that was hard enough to keep shape so i went with aluminum. i cut one inch strips (oh yes... if someone could tell me where to buy this i would be most grateful).

i am learning.

it will get better.

happy fall

you know you have good friends when... thank you our kind neighbors.
happy fall.

more orange

ok, so i need experience learning how to photograph while misquotes are dining on me and the humidity fogs the lens.

alas.. here is our gem. we lost one but have the potential of 5 it's first year.

our little satsuma tree bares fruit....

i heart orange

thank you colour mart.

thank you for all of these wonderful orange colors to choose from....

in my library

i dont know how i missed it. first published in november of 2008 ~ a stitch in time: v.1:vintage knitting & crochet patterns from 1920-1949 should have already been sitting on my bedside table giving me sweet dreams.

now i become aware of it's existence, oh joy!, only to find out it is out of print.

how can that be. it has not even been a year.

this was a book i had to have. it contains 60 of these retro original patterns with conversions for todays knitting terms and yarns. complete with pictures of both 'then and now'.

i found it. i overpaid. i had it shipped from england. it came. i want to call in sick this week. i don't want to leave it.

thank you jane waller and susan crawford.

welcome miss scarlett

these beautiful pond lillies are in bloom this week in our garden.. i think they must be for you. they are such a wonderful color and they only bloom at night (hey you were a midnight baby!)











here is your little gift.

i hope you like it.

be extraordinary~ just like your family.

color

24 piece crayola color pencil case.

this is a gift for a wonderful little girl i have yet to meet but i know she will grow up to be something extraordinary.

i’ll give you my attempt at a tutorial of what essentially was inspired by a gift from my leigh. it is my treasured knitting needle case.

supplies:
scraps of fabric.
1 yard ribbon
crayola color pencils

1) cut 1 piece each of contrasting fabric 20 by 10in for the lining and outer piece.

2) from the same fabric as the outer piece cut 1 piece 20 by 7 1/2in. this will be the inner pocket.

3) fold the top of the inner pocket fabric piece one inch downwards towards the wrong side of the fabric. top stitch at the fold.

4) pin the wrong side of the pocket to the right side of the inner lining where bottom pieces meet. turn. working on the wrong side of the inner lining mark ¾ spacings from end to end-starting ½ in from left side and ending 1/2 inch from right side.
following markings stitch from bottom to the pocket top. (twenty four mini pockets)

5) cut 1 yard of ribbon in half. pin ends to right side of the pocket with ribbon facing to the left.

6) place outer piece right sides facing to lining with pocket and ribbon (make sure the ribbon is centered) leaving a 2-inch hole for turning, stitch around the entire rectangle. turn. iron and top stitch around whole piece to finish.


may she draw, may she color and may she create.

an odd dog

miss opal has always been gender challenged. since we've had her we make it a point to buy her pink accessories (collar, lead etc).

she does not know she looks the least bit masculine nor does she know that she is really very overweight.

both became obstacles for me when i decided to knit her a sweater. of course i went out and bought beautiful bright pink wool. i picked my pattern- this simple lion brand “need for tweed” knit dog sweater.

besides the model is a boston too.

here is where the problems begin. the sweater is knit in two pieces, the top and the bottom. after knitting it i think it would be just as easy to knit it in the round and skip the dreadful seaming. i was pretty close to completing the top when the totally obvious was pointed out to me…. a plump round dog in a thick pink sweater is going to look something like a barnyard animal. (dare i say pig?)

oh my.

i ripped out a large enough amount to add a pattern- i was thinking stripes but the “what not to wear” tv series told me that stripes make you look wider than you are. so i opted for charlie brown zig zag in green and white.

so far so good

the top was completed and i was moving on to the bottom. the shape of the bottom piece is rather like a wine bottle. it is wide where the belly is and takes in decreases as you get closer to the neck.

i did my homework and worked out that miss opal had the body size of a medium dog and the neck size of an extra large dog. my final belly piece looked like a reversal of the original. but to my surprise it worked.

a few other mods.. i also added a ribbed collar so it would be easy to put on and take off and short sleeves because i thought it would look better.

i think she likes it.

happy hat

happy birthday my friend. i am so sorry it will be late.

i want you to go forward this fall with something to keep you warm.

you know.... if you don't like it.... i am sure it will make a suitable tea cozy.

details:

denny hat by martin storey

queensland collection bengali x 4 skeins

needle us 9 / 5.5 mm

alterations:

c/o 105 sts (instead of 103)~ you have a wonderful head full of thick curls.

... and i love you

been in a blog fog

sheeze i must be the queen of blog neglect.

i don’t really have an excuse.

for any of you longhorn fans out there i copied one of my husband’s bowties (i used a 16” neck) and sewed up 5 bowties for our bartenders at work for a texas exes dinner.

1 yard of fabric makes 5 ties.

so all of you hook'em horns fans... no excuses.

(what a hypocrite)

i am knitting a shawl

no…. not for my grandmother.

it was a self-discipline failure.

i found this single skein of undyed 100% superfine alpaca. sadly it was pricey~ but this is an 8oz skein of 665 yards of fluffy softness.


i could use it to brush up on my lace knitting skills before i tackle laced leaves cardi by carol feller?

humph. but why i don’t knit shawls and wraps is the enormous number of stitches to keep track of~ who needs to recount 3,000 stitches to confirm what row you are on or worse, what place you are in the lace pattern?

so i begin my first attempt. the only true inspired moment i have had was to choose a pattern that starts with a minimal amount of cast on stitches and increases to the nightmare number of stitches where i will no doubt loose track of where i am and give up on the project out of frustration.

pattern details:
seafoam shawl by sarah barbour

on another note… i hit 3 ½ miles of semi paved scenic footpaths up hill to knitting etc. yarn shop. (the iphone gps app really should have topography information)

worth the exercise, i take the bus back to town to admire my new stitch markers from the comfort of my hotel room with my feet up.

outdoor ithaca & thier civil war cemetery

i am in love~ or will be soon….

i am in ithaca and should be working on my ithaca laced leaves with the wonderful angora i bought from vancouver but i am so close to having completed my vancouver project.

here is the update:

to compensate for the fronts being too large, i decided to cast on 24 (not 34) stitches (ok so in terms of sizing i am playing with loosing 4 inches in the front!!!!)… well sadly i am not in need of the 4 inches…

i altered my increases so that when i came to shoulder shaping i ended up with same amount of stitches as i did working the back. it was a temporary plan but i stuck to it.

when i finished all of the pieces i found myself off to find a wool shop to purchase a similar color yarn. my savior of the day was homespun boutique~ a mere block away from the hotel. i couldn’t work with the cashmerino astrakhan for seaming….. very frustrating. then i needed to work out the whole crochet thing…?... nightmare.

at homespun i found an almost exact color match with ryc cashsoft dk (kingfisher)

seaming went much quicker with the cashsoft. once i did the single crochet around the outside i could not find where the loops were to pick up for crochet so i took it out and used the cashsoft dk & cashmerino held double for the crochet edging. whew. all done but the sleeve trim!

i had a try on… this yarn is wonderful.
i think i am in love.

sunset with mother seagull

why knit when you can buy yarn?

money spent in a wool shop equals many hours of browsing entertainment.... who could ask for more?

well today it sort of all came together....


today's formula: 2 skeins @ $20 per skein/3 hours = $14 per hour.... a little more expensive than the movies.... but look at what i came back with~

this is a hand dyed fluffy angora goodness called 'peter rabbit' which i found in point grey village at this 'worth the 40 minute bus ride' yarn shop called urban yarns.

two stores down from urban yarns is~ the cloth shop which sold these wonderful vintage style small people patterns from oliver + s, this beautiful book cupcake!, and amy butler fabrics.

and to top it all off this neighborhood had a sushi restarant & a cheese and wine bar, oh my...

blue top and a salty sea breeze

well, i heart sunny and much cooler (than texas) vancouver. even better, from where i am currently sitting i can see large (!) furry baby seagulls wandering about. with luck they will get close enough for a picture but i am not hopeful, i have been watching them for a while and they seem to like the "just out of my lens distance."

~ camera shy big furry babies.

i have been working on the short sleeve top. i have finished the back and the size looked right so i started working the fronts (working both at the same time) and about 4 inches in~ decided there was no question it was going to be too big. i need to run out today and buy a tape measure to work on adjusting the measurements because mine did not find it’s way into my travel knitting bag.

(mental note for travel... a place where one can buy a tape measure is not the sort of vacation attraction i prefer to spend my time hunting down....)

what i have noticed with this yarn is that the hardest part of working with it is the cast on. if you pull the stitches tight it tends to separate and bunch the strands and for me i ended up with a inconsistent loose edge. i can’t be bothered with finding a solution because this pattern has a crochet edging that i hope will hide it.

i was surprised that it was easy to rip out the front pieces with out any problem though. so far i have not split any stitches (silent sigh of relief) which is common complaint with cashmerino astrakhan…..

motoring on

our little malnourished dehydrated stray boston terrier

meet the new member of our family.

homegrown figelettes

yes these tiny little almost immature fruits grew from a tree in our yard.

…… even better we decided to sauté them with simple syrup and cointreau with a bit of nutmeg.

tasty……

projects to come...

i have been searching for a project that i will take with me to vancouver. i really had been looking for some time when i found this pattern in an old(ish) vogue knitting magazine i had in my fairly large bookcase(s) of patterns that may or may not be knit someday.

pattern: short sleeve top vogue knitting spring/summer 2005
pattern #05 by gabrielle hamill

yarn: karabella yarns empire silk

as you can see the pattern is written for a tall skinny nicole kidman… which i am not. my idea is to make something that would not have the v-neck down to my belly button and not to emphasize my petite upper proportions.


my solution begins with a nubbly bouclé yarn and an empire waist.
more details to come…..

duck and cover…..

there is a drought.

this is our next generation of toad who repeatedly frequents my garden shoe for cover. i understand because it is the second week of over 100-degree weather. poor little thing.


well a dear friend of mine had a baby shower last weekend.

i decided on a spotless giraffe~

the details:
yarns: crystal palace yarns merino frappe 1 skein 061 gold & naturally hand knit harmony 10 ply dark brown

needle: size 8

pattern for sale here: mochimochi gargle.

not sure what i was thinking. i don’t like felting and i am crap with double pointed needles. but the shower is a jungle theme… i know a giraffe is not really jungle "theme" but who could resist this cute guy? so i picked a fairly fluffy yarn that i think might give it a slight felted texture and i knit it on straight needles and added and extra stitch at the beginning and end for each piece that i used for seaming.

well it is done.

alterations to the original lion brand pattern

worked to 17.5in in length.

shaped waist with 2 sets of ssk & k2tog closest to arm hole split.

pattern:
- -II- -II pm - -II- -II
1st decrease:
- -II-II m -II- -II
2nd decrease:
-II-II m -II-II

Added the increase stitches to the next 2 inches (adding back the lost purl stitches)

started to knit the front bands with buttonholes but ripped them out. the holes were lost and i did not feel like reinforcing them~ decided to add pearl snaps instead.

same recipient, addition… pony softie

did i say i liked the book stitched in time?



look at this sweet face?

don’t all little girls want a pony for their birthday?

humm? or am out of touch with little ones? would it go in the closet with other generational outdated toys in favor of hannah montana posters and lip gloss?

whatever fate awaits this little purple pony he was a joy to make.

a weekend full of birthdays…

i am sure everyone has a month out of a year that is overloaded with birthdays. for me it is a weekend overload. 3 birthday parties in one day next weekend along with 2 of my favorite small and adult people who are back in boston who i cant be with. yeah… that is five in one weekend.…

and wait… is sunday father’s day?


did anyone know you could print on ribbon?!



i didn't. but for one of the sweet little ones i decided on a flower pin made in lightweight summer color cotton. not at all an original idea. i owe a depth of gratitude to alicia paulson and her book stitched in time.

happy june

more garden blooms....


and thank you sister for the best photo album ever!

got green day tickets with franz ferdinand and deciding the shape of things to come

still working on my cropped raglan sweater. so far i have miscounted my stitches, ripped out 15 rows, re-balled two skeins due to knots a kin to spiderwebs and dropped two stitches. i amaze myself that i knit and not pick up a less stressful craft like play doh.

the few modification i have made (on purpose) thus far have been to size the small pattern to an extra small, decrease the size of the crew neck and i have started knitting in rib (dropping needle size) shortly after joining the body.

modifications i plan to make if i get that far.... increase the lenght and add buttons.

....it looked like such as simple pattern....

happy anniversary.

meet the new member of our koi pond... mr/mrs/miss (name tbd)

happy anniversary sweet.

and a picture of the strangest pond lilly pad

i am knitting a multi color terry cloth bathrobe?

for those of us who have owned a chenille sweater, you know how wonderfully soft they are and the temptation to knit one is huge.

here is the pattern (no it is not a bathrobe but a cardigan)

the yarn: araucania quellon hand dyed yarn in coloring 08

not sure about the chenille, so i am going down a size in the needles in case it sags. fell in love with the yarn when i saw it but came to my senses after i looked for a pattern that would be able to carry off hand dyed yarn & the difficult drape of chenille.

i am knitting two rows and alternating a skein to blend the yarn because there are huge differences in the coloring…. i am not optimistic.

the alternate: something i know i will knit quick and love for no reason at all.

a bunch of radishes...

can't see the forest through the... house plants..?

dont knit with acrylic

but doesn't it look snugly next to a bunny?

*free pattern can be found here.

bob the dog

bob is the official mascot of ravelry.

bob has become such an icon over the few years ravelry has been in existence that fellow members have dubbed april 11th (the day in 2005 that ravelry was created) "bobmas" day.

i am sure i am not the only raveler who has fallen in love with the first few seconds of the video put together celebrating "bobmas" day by the website creators posted on "bobmas eve".


Happy Bobmas! from Ravelry on Vimeo.


it was only yesterday that i noticed my boston fall asleep while having a good go on her chew toy...

had she done it before and i had not noticed?....

or is miss opal spending time peering over my shoulder while i spend endless hours on the ravelry website?...

does she have interest in knitting?
.... or maybe bob?