Thursday, December 01, 2011

wine and knitting



and my love of wine saves me $2.49

has anyone heard or bought these great little yarn sleeves? you can get them from patternworks (set of 5 in multiple colors) for the hefty price of $2.49

i kid you- they are worth the $2.49

only while purchasing some items for my beverage stash i noticed that my favorite beverage store has these nifty net wine bottle sleeves

(aka yarn sleeve)

pretty thrift, no?


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

knitting in japanese


we had a cold day. enough to get me back into the knitting mood. our newest stray joined us this summer at the height of the summer heat. it took almost two months of driving around the blocks of our new office looking for him, each one of us with a can of dog food in our trunk in the event that we ran across him.

we learned that he was smart enough not to run the streets in the afternoon so it took early mornings to find him and get him fed. at some point he decided we weren’t all that bad and i snagged him. he underwent surgery right after the snatch and grab, because while he was on his own he was hit by a car and only used 3 of his four legs.

now he is on the mend and all puppy- (gosh i forgot what it takes to be the owner of a puppy)… his 100 mile per hour skinny body needed a sweater. he is kinda built like a whippet/italian greyhound mix. we think he may very well be a sicilian greyhound but whatever he is- he sure is cute, bright, clumsy and one early riser.

i decided since coming back from my trip to japan that i would knit him a japanese sweater. i have a few japanese knitting pattern books (and a few more after my visit) but i have never tried one. the pattern i found seemed perfect for him with the exception that it was a hoodie sweater (even worse it had a pom-pom on the top). after being thrown into a family with middle aged parents, 2 geriatric small dogs and one other who is  deaf and sleeps morning, noon and night he has nothing better to do than play with anything he can (envelopes from the bin, wicker furniture, plastic containers… well, just about anything.) so far he has chewed through one nylon lead and on his way to chewing through two others. a pom-pom on his head would be fair game for knit destruction. besides those greyhounds are just meant to be in turtlenecks, right?

i have to admit that i guessed on the gauge, guessed on the needle size, guessed on the wool but found a website that did a good job of explaining “the reading of japanese knit charts.” this was after spending a great deal of time deciphering a crochet chart by accident.  you can down load it here- it is interpreting japanese knitting patterns by marsh white. 

the book is stylish knits for small dogs. the patterns is on page 26, item number 17: nordic hoodie vest. 
my goods:
1 skein each of cascade 220 heathers in shades 4009 (dark teal) and 4010 (gold) (plus a bit of unknown white fluffy yarn for the snowflake)
us 9, 10 & 10.5 straight needles. 

 


Friday, September 30, 2011

back from japan


oh i have so much to share but above all, worth even the worst case of jet lag, it is worth going if ONLY for their shoe accessories. 

above snidel pumps
shoe belt (accessory from average shoe shop) used to YEAH keep those super high heels from slipping 
shoe belt flower clips. or you could get bows, ribbons, what ever you fancy!

truly a country full of shoe love.



Wednesday, September 21, 2011

a little knitting happiness with wool from woolybug



woolybug sent me this gorgeous rowan yarn romance.... given it was part of my tiny owl knits gift swap care package i chose to whip up a sweet tiny owl knits pattern with it (btw this one is for free!)

2 skeins rowan romance
us size 10.5 needles
crochet hook 
2 matching buttons 

turned it into a pillow- love it and my little one loves it too. the only modifications i made was to add a single row of crochet scalloped edging to the finished border.

day dreaming.....





Saturday, September 17, 2011

FO... free rapunzel


 my first tiny owl knits swap.

the gifter (me) is unknown to the spoilee (it's a secret, i cant tell). the gifter gets to stalk their spoilee by any means to make, buy or share something they will appreciate. A few simple questions were asked of everyone to get the gifter started such as: 
* what's your favorite/least favorite color?
* what's your favorite/least favorite fiber to wear or craft with?
* what's you favorite pattern?
* allergies?
 
you get the idea...

my spoilee is from canada, so i could not pass up the opportunity to knit something for the cooler weather that i currently long for.

(of course) i chose a tiny owl knits pattern.  


the goods~ 
2 skeins rowan big wool in a burgundy color
us size 13 circular needles
bit of matching ribbon for the braids

hoot! hoot! i hope she likes it :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

a post about the lack of posting

a fellow blogger and dear friend of mine and i were talking the other day. both of us love to blog and both of us seriously behind. all of the prep had been done, the photos to share chosen and then we moved on to chronicle the next post. so on my computer sit many post of the forgotten (recent to not so recent) past.

and where do i pick up? do i show off my new handbag that i choose to sleep with every night? post my charity projects? gift knitting? swap projects? selfish knitting i have done for myself?

for now i will share my new handbag.... aka "pillow"

Thursday, June 09, 2011

and i dedicate this post to...

16 years.

the lobster rolls were the best i have ever had...


the oysters~ even better


thank you for 16 wonderful years

Monday, April 25, 2011

mask envy

**love**
black and white 
with a blue ribbon to match.
i hope she likes it.