little sheep. big sheep.

wine and knitting

2011-12-01T02:59:00.001-08:00

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?

knitting in japanese

2011-11-23T05:58:00.001-08:00

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

we learned that he was smartenough not to run the streets in the afternoon so it took early mornings tofind him and get him fed. at some point he decided we weren’t all that bad andi snagged him. he underwent surgery right after the snatch and grab, becausewhile 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 allpuppy- (gosh i forgot what it takes to be the owner of a puppy)… his 100 mileper hour skinny body needed a sweater. he is kinda built like a whippet/italiangreyhound mix. we think he may very well be a sicilian greyhound but whateverhe is- he sure is cute, bright, clumsy and one early riser.

i decided since coming back frommy trip to japan that i would knit him a japanese sweater. i have a fewjapanese knitting pattern books (and a few more after my visit) but i havenever tried one. the pattern i found seemed perfect for him with the exceptionthat it was a hoodie sweater (even worse it had a pom-pom on the top). afterbeing thrown into a family with middle aged parents, 2 geriatric small dogs andone other who is deaf and sleeps morning, noon and night he has nothing better to do than playwith anything he can (envelopes from the bin, wicker furniture, plasticcontainers… well, just about anything.) so far he has chewed through one nylonlead and on his way to chewing through two others. a pom-pom on his head wouldbe fair game for knit destruction. besides those greyhounds are just meant tobe in turtlenecks, right?

i have to admit that i guessed onthe gauge, guessed on the needle size, guessed on the wool but found a websitethat did a good job of explaining “the reading of japanese knit charts.” thiswas after spending a great deal of time deciphering a crochet chart byaccident. 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.

happy halloween!!!

2011-10-31T04:55:00.000-07:00

steve

2011-10-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

thank you steve

back from japan

2011-09-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

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.

a little knitting happiness with wool from woolybug

2011-09-21T04:05:00.000-07:00

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!)

fairy star mat

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.....

FO... free rapunzel

2011-09-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

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.

free rapunzel

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 :)

a post about the lack of posting

2011-09-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

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"

and i dedicate this post to...

2011-06-09T03:19:00.000-07:00

16 years.

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

the oysters~ even better

thank you for 16 wonderful years

tweet tweet

2011-05-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

mask envy

2011-04-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

**love**

black and white

with a blue ribbon to match.
i hope she likes it.

happy saturday part deux

2011-04-22T02:35:00.000-07:00

see all these goodies? they came from the first ever yellow rose fiber producers fiesta.

yes i could have bought the place up and brought home an alpaca for a pet, who wouldn't? to add to my stash of to be projects yet to come is a hand painted (in golden yellow) 70% bamboo/ 30% cotton fine lace weight yarn from fiberlady, also from her i bought the hand painted spinning fiber in peach cobbler (more of a soft warm light rose color) which is 50% bamboo/ 50% natural fawm alpaca and soft as a feather. the beautiful brown yarn is from bluebonnet hills alpaca ranch. it i 425 yards of 2ply 100% alpaca yarn with no dyes in it's natural color as a thank you for my english friend for her swap gift.

i would love to take you home...

beautiful handmade spindles from kcl woods

i would love to take you home....

i took you home... and you

i want it all....

happy saturday part 1

2011-04-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

hoot! hoot! i received my tiny owl knits swap package from a wonderful english knitter, such a long journey for such a precious parcel to make....

the pattern is it is october glory by canerysanctuary. but wouldn't it make a great little sexy corset??? (and i think it is just my size)

a few more pics of the beautiful detail of her knitting...

2 skeins of rowan romance and see the knit sea urchin that also came with it?

really i have not even gotten to the best part. these are two original art works by her for ME! (yes i am getting them both framed!)

i know, right about now you (and I) am thinking 'stop the press' this is the coolest gift ever... and still in amazement there is more.....

there is this handy fairy notebook perfect for keeping my pattern notes (for my favorite tok pattern gnome home which was also sent to me early as part of the gift to tell me the package had been mailed, a beautiful necklace of leaves and beads and little tiny owl buttons.....

(so much love in such a small package)

thank you fellow blogger woolybug, thank you so much!

free tea cosy pattern

2011-03-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

well a huge thank you to leigh for my beautiful naked personal tea pot i received for christmas this year. given your cold boston winter i decided it needed a something to keep it warm.

ok I did my best at free handing the project so this did take me a while to work it out. i have not knit a tea cosy before so i was not even sure what i was going to do but here you go~

download here: tiny tea cosy

the goods~
one skein shibui knits sock
1 skeins = 191.0 yards (174.7m)

us needle size:

us 2 - 2.75 mm

happy knitting!

a post to make up for a huge lack of posts

2011-03-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

obsessed with world news, work and sleep have kept me from achieving a decent blogger status. i am in danger now of neglecting it so long that i will be too embarrassed to continue.

i first of all want to share a present i have knit a dear friend of mine back in january.. for her birthday.... in january... which is still in my possession. a bad friend who is unintentionally working to bankrupt the usps through postal neglect. yes bex, i will send you your scarf (from last year) and mer i will eventually hand you your present in person.... maybe you could come for a visit????

the details~
pattern~ bristol's cowl from the talented bristol ivy
yarn~ this fantastic quince puffin (i could eat all their colors they are so tempting) one skein in birds egg
needle size us 13 & 11

some more notes for future making reference if i indeed make one for myself ;) ~

argh! got to row 9 of the chart (my first drop stitch) i looked it up and after you drop the stitch you make one in the ladder. after working round 10 i had too many stitches.... (again)

oh my i was not meant to knit the cowl. i decided i should take it back to row 8 dropping the extra stitch i added for each drop stitch. …. bummer....pretty stupid.

(also) after row 8 i changed to my addi turbo size 11 (did not have size 13)… things started moving much quicker than the bamboo.

rip, rip, rip

i took the knitting back to row 8 and dropped the stitch as it should have been done :), now not much else can go wrong…. just repeating patterns???

it was easy moving from here on out. i did debate casting off after the fourth repeat thinking i might not have enough yarn to complete but i decided to motor on (what’s the worst that can happen… i have to buy more wool?!) :)

completed with a final tally of 13” cast on tail & 90” left over wool…

puffin

2011-01-08T14:44:00.000-08:00

i recently became a fan of quince and co. they have beautiful yarns in beautiful colorways. i found a designer that i really liked and chose her pattern bristol's cowl. the pattern uses one (hopefully because that is what i ordered) or possibly 2 skeins quince puffin.

well i have learned that i can not read knit charts.

rip, rip, rip.

i am becoming as good at un-knitting as i am at knitting.

my confusion? (please note that if you own the pattern you may regard me as stupid)

i worked the first 3 attempts using 13 stitch repeats (with rows 1-8) thinking the m1l and m1r on the chart equaled m1l= m1l and knit the original stitch & the m1r= m1r and knit the original stitch. every row ended with one extra stitch (as 77 is not divisible by 13). i caught on and bit my lip so i would not cry and just now started working in the pattern as written.

(i am a written pattern girl now terrified of charts.)

i am planing on making 2 of these .... so i will learn.

sunday breakfast

2011-01-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

broiled grapefruit

the tasty goodness~

grapefruit sliced in half and segmented

2 tablespoons harveys bristol cream sherry poured on each grapefruit half followed by 1 teaspoon brown sugar sprinkled on top

broil in preheated oven till brown sugar melts

happy new year

2010-12-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

can you believe it is almost a new year? i shudder to think of all of the projects i started this year that i have yet to complete, all of the promises i have yet to keep, all of the things i wanted to do and all of the sudden it’s time to make new commitments for next year-

a few of my completed project for 2011 that I have not shared...

my "i hate socks" socks. my most frogged item is by far is the sock. the day i started to give them another try i attempted 3 patterns and frogged them all. i like this one~ cant you tell by the name i gave them? at least it was easy to see where you are in the pattern and very easy to keep up with. my goal was to give socks for christmas this year.

i started them in july.

i did not give socks for christmas this year.

true pattern name: blueberry waffle socks by sandy turner
needles: us 5
yarn: 2 skeins reynolds soft sea wool purchased from black sheep wool company

pattern notes:
1) 12 rows of rib
2) 8 pattern repeats before beginning heel
3) (oops) instead of decreasing every other round after picking up heel side stitches i decreased every round~ too far along to go back, will just have to make the second the same and hope they don't look like rejects.….
4) ended with 20 total pattern repeats before shaping for toe

what i actually gave for christmas this year was my 2010 cable and lace ornaments. knitting in the round, very much like a sock (small pat on the back) but without the dreaded gusset, heal flaps and other crazy unnatural knitting techniques and terms that sock knitters use. the pattern 'cables and lace christmas balls' came from patty mccallister.

i used louisa harding’s glisten in these beautiful jewel tones and plain 3.5in glass christmas ornaments.

i c/o 42 stitched and worked 4 cables with an additional 4 rows worked before the two decrease rows. they fit perfect, no need to measure anyone's feet.

i could not find a christmas red in glisten so found a substitute in berlinis new bejewel (looks exactly the same only a heavier weight). the red is beautiful and the ornaments cable details show up better with this yarn but on the first ornament into the skein i have found 3 knots and about 8 inches of frayed unusable yarn mid way through. because the gauge is different i kept the needle size the same and knit 4 cables and then jumped right into the decrease rows.

note if your interested in the yardage for purchase~ one skein bejewel makes 2 ornaments.
one skein glisten makes 2.5 ornaments

the newest project on my needles is to make a cosy for the beautiful tea pot leigh gave me for christmas. i have never knit a tea cosy but this little guy is small enough that i am pretty sure it wont be too painful to design one through trial and error. i am using shibui knits sock yarn (in seaweed) and us size 2 needles. when i get it worked out i will post the pattern.

happy new year everyone!

miss scarlett's new party frock

2010-12-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

the pattern is "party dress by judith swartz published in dogs in knits.

the goods: 2 skeins louisa harding kimono angora pure.
us needle 4 & 6

here goes the story... well i thought i was off to a good start. little miss scarlett is nothing more than a peanut and i thought i would need to modify the smallest size (even though she has a healthy appetite and keeps a nice belly).

so i started off only casting on 183 stitches. when i was done with the dinner bell ruffle i went ahead and put it on her and it “looked” way huge. so i decreased the first round of garter stitch at every ruffle by one leaving me with 57 stitches (not working in the round).

when i got to the front leg opening i realized it was going to be too tight and decided to add the chest stitches and begin knitting in the round.. what a mess.

ended up knitting the ruffle around the bottom and increasing the front leg pick up stitches to 32 around the leg opening.

she loves it.

(showing off her belly)

my ravelry stitch marker swap japanese furoshiki/hello kitty

2010-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

the rules:
1. make 5 stitch markers reflecting any theme you choose.
2. one handmade furoshiki. size may vary.
3. a heart as part of the project

i chose a beautiful traditional silk fabric for my furoshiki and made it a 22" square with a finished edging. for my stitch markers i used 5 porcelain hello kitty beads each with 2 sterling silver beads on each side and a silver closed jump ring and long sterling head pins.

a picture of all my findings. and the finished furoshiki.

i hope my swap partner enjoys them!

happy thanksgiving everyone

2010-11-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

funny to have a warm day on thanksgiving. our first frost isn't until this weekend. even our hibiscus are still blooming. the weather made for a good weekend to do the deep fried turkey thing. (yes on our front drive) we are truly texas hick now.

opal and oscar look to be considering to be friends~ even though i think it is just the same full belly coma we all go through on thanksgiving.

hoot! hoot!

2010-11-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

its my birthday!
thank you to all of my friends and family for all the wonderful well wishes, cards, presents and flowers. i feel pretty darn special today!

its a party!

2010-11-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

it's a party

a birthday party for miss mel

i could not help myself. bought a heavy fabric mardi gras mask to doll it all up with her flowers in her favorite colors (yes i am working on one for myself)

a trip to my local craft store to buy the flowers, floral glue, floral tape, super glue, and ribbon.

happy birthday melanie!

another day another birthday!

2010-11-17T21:29:00.000-08:00

happy birthday melanie. i wanted to get this post in the day for the day but today has turned out to be another fiesta friday nightmare. (i know only you'd understand)...

here's the goods:
pattern- silk neck warmer
yarn- shibuiknits baby alpaca dk (by far the softest yarn i have used. just like angora)

pattern from luxury yarn one skein wonders
and the yarn from the fantastic blazing needles yarn shop in salt lake city i visited this summer.

color: mulberry 229
needles:
us 6
us 8

finished pic on me with the beautiful scarf pin my sister gave me~

birthdays

2010-11-14T17:52:00.000-08:00

happy belated birthday bex~ i know its a bit late~ i hope you like it!

the goods: 1 skein aysen by araucania (70% merino wool, 20% alpaca, 10% silk)
824 pink red
needle: us 10

pattern: elizabeth's wool- angora diagonal scarf from luxury yarn one skein wonders
its shorter than the pattern calls for because i did not have the necessary yardage but the length doesn’t seem to make much difference. i wish i could get a better photo of the colors in the yarn, its quite beautiful and warm & so soft.

get ready for the crawl...

2010-10-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

woohoo. this is the week for the best little yarn crawl in texas. sadly it is the same weekend as ACL but i will endeavor. :) lots of great shops in austin....
i bought my passport this past weekend from yarnivore. in addition to getting this bag i ended up buying some angora wool for a sweater for miss scarlett. the pattern came from the book i bought there~ dogs in knits by judith swartz. looking forward to a scarlett sweater soon!

playing catch up

2010-10-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

i'm a blog neglector who has a new family member to introduce. meet scarlett (squirt), our new stray.

shes been with us two weeks now, a little bright spot who shines a little brighter every day. she's put up with all the medications, dental work and doctor visits and shes not run away (yet).

welcome to your new home miss scarlett.

why i knit

2010-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

green owl

2010-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

my sister likes lime green (at least i hope she still does). this little pattern was written by another fellow knitting blogger ~ my knitting basket. her owl coffee cup cozie can be found on her blog for free here. she has a lot of very interesting free patterns but this one caught my eye (and the other 107 ravelers who also knit one.)

being the 107th logged knitter of this pattern has me thinking that i hope someday she runs into someone somewhere... and find that the one thing they have in common is a knit owl coffee cozie.

i changed the pattern up a bit to accommodate the lime green lambs pride bulky by using size 7 needles (for a tight fabric) and only knit 4 owl repeats to fit the mug i chose.

i hope she enjoys it.

happy birthday sarah!

conkerr cancer

2010-08-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

hello pillowcases.

if you have not already please visit the conkerr cancer website. who wouldn't want to bring some cheer into a chronically ill child's time in the hospital and what a sweet and simple way to make some thing that might accomplish just that. it was through craft hopes new campaign to bring awareness to the charity that i found myself at the fabric shop looking for just the right cotton designs, coordinating fabric for the tops and just the right trims.

when i was growing up i had a "special" pillowcase that was made especially for my small stuffed raccoon (his name was rocky). rocky has his own pocket where he slept with me on my pillow. i decided that i could not make a pillowcase without the pocket for any little ones special stuffed friend or treasure.

i love my boston

2010-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

happy birthday sweet opal. i thank you for your kind heart ....and for putting up with my knitting indulgences & penny's attention :)

happy 4th of july

2010-07-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

as part of what started out to be my attempt at competing in one of ravelry's challenges, i bought this wonderful black coned yarn from colourmart. it's fibers are 100% extra fine merino that was braided into an aran weight for pringle of scotland. checkout their website for a really great acoustic set by franz ferdinand. pringle has a wonderful line of fashion handknit designs that i would love to own, but i'll be cheap, buy their yarn and make my own. the yarn has a wonderful feel to it~ its feels almost squishy as if it is braided with a hollow core.

the pattern was designed by ysolda teague (fitting as she is a scottish designer). liesl is a cardigan that is made really to make your own based on the weight of yarn you choose and the many modifications she offers. i was knitting the 1,793rd version on ravelry. (wow- ok that's a lot of income for one pattern @ 4gbp each).. saying that i think i lost the first one i bought and ended up buying it twice. now i am roughly 1/3 of the way through my version and the count of ravelry projects is now up to 1,906 and i am one month past my competition deadline. who are all these crazy quick knitting liesl lovers? i half expect to see a line for sale at target.

here is the beginnings of mine~

happy long weekend...

2010-07-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

matching clutch

2010-06-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

well since miss ella's birthday gift is going to be late and i have an unused zipper bought especially for her i attempted this great gathered clutch from noodlehead.

thank you noodlehead for such a great tutorial.

little ella's pillow

2010-06-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

happy birthday lady ella.

this is, of course for little miss ella.

i started with an angora feel yarn~ trendsetter viola in a wonderful orange/peach color.

us needles 6/4.00 mm

1 skein total = 180 yards

i also used a 12” pillow form, 1/2 yard of a soft fabric, store bought yellow pipping and this angora feel yarn. c/o 60 stitches and given my past luck with eyelash yarn i decided NOT to keep track of my stitches. i knit until 12” and sewed to piping.

(no zipper)

I bought a zipper and had intended to put one in but i kept thinking the yarn would get caught in it.

time to box it and get it off so that it is not too late for miss ella’s birthday.

happy birthday little ella and miss chi.

i love you both.

welcome to your new home

2010-06-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

vaja cases has this customizable ipad cover. the happiness my little ipad feels..

woo hoo

2010-05-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

i know- it is sad to get so excited about a painted fence....

really we have stained it multiple times with little success and then... wow. the powers of a good painter and latex paint.

mer thank you for helping me with the color selection.

banberry place

2010-05-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

my new finds :)

1) amy butler rainy days rain jacket
2) lola goes shopping..... all the goods~

1 yard Splashy Rose Persimmon

1/2 yard Henna Garden Brown
1 yard Daisy Path Celery

and dont i love my new store??? banberry gave me a couple of yards of my favorite blogger/designer how about orange's

designer ribbon.

happy anniversary

2010-05-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

happy 15 years of marriage to my kind and loving husband.

to finish what i started

2010-05-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

or not...

honestly i spent the afternoon in search of projects not finished. where do they go? i have so many i am sure they could occupy their own island of misfit knit projects.

on the productive side i found and decided to frog my first "frogged" project. i had committed 5 skeins of rowan big wool to storm by kim hargreaves.

not sure what i was thinking when i decided to knit this. it really is not something i would wear. not flattering and a little boring to knit. i think instead i will use the yarn to make wrenna and see how it goes.

the only other find is a keeper~ from the same pattern book.

i began knitting "ward" back in 2008. back then i chose to knit a size medium (really i am an extra small)~ but i think i was thinking that the featured picture draped over a long sleeved top looked appealing. i have one skein of yarn to go. it is worth finishing even if it is too big in then end.

some kinds of fruit

2010-05-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

happy mother's day to all of the wonderful mothers we love.

still trying to rid myself of this horrible cold. the idea of sleeping all day had occurred to me~ but idle hands.....

i have more tape measures than i know what to do with. almost every knitting project has put me in a position to need one when one is not handy... so i own more than i need.

thank you to fellow blogger poppy lane for her tape measure cover tutorial.

at least i can have fun covering them.

our loquat tree now has fruit. it is an amazingly short period of time we have to pick them before they over ripen or the birds have them. i am going to stew and freeze them for later ...

maybe time for a sunday nap...

at home sick

2010-05-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

i am out sick today, exhaustion turns nasty cold, you know how it finally catches up with you?

and to the joy of my husband... no voice. just a sad whisper without any means to inject meaning into my words.

happily i sleep a home and in between naps i complete the second to my pair of knit slippers.

my feet hurt

2010-05-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

but are these shoes not worth it?

in an attempt to make friends with my feet after what i put them through i decided a nice sunday afternoon of knitting just for them might do the trick.

my first thought was how cute and seemingly simple these little slippers are.

a few minor changes to the gauge to use a substitute yarn, minor mathematical calculations and then car crash.

first i would like to thank fellow ravelry knitter tiny owls knits for her amy march's slippers

i did have the yarn the pattern called for but i had some cascade yarn pastaza left over from the log cabin socks i made for my father in law and i wanted to make something similar for myself.

the mods began by adding two more increase rows at the beginning, minor mathematical equasions to get the rest to self adjust and then i hit the heal.

it was like reading a foreign language. i love new techniques and i enjoy learning them even if it is the hard way. through around forty repetitions i called it quits on the instructions and decided to spend some time working short rows but ripped it out and decided in the end to cast off the 24 stitches i had remaining by splitting them in two (12 on each double pointed needle) and casting casting them off together using a third needle. it took me most of the afternoon to figure it out so i am done with it for the day.

i happy

2010-04-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

work/life balance?

no.

after two weeks of me attached to my iphone as my only usable communication outside of work for.. well work.

really i dont even leave work because my need to be connected keeps me at the office but at home this mac user communicates via phone.

stressful.

today, when i came home from work i had awaiting me this beautiful 27 inch LED backlit display with a wide screen monitor computer with a wireless keyboard and magic mouse.

what a great hubby.

this machine capable of allowing me to work remotely (commute time = extra sleep) greeted me with the new broken bells album.

i happy.

super-chic

2010-04-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

ok “super-chic” was the name of the feature in my lucky magazine that inspired me to find a yarn that would give a similar result as their fantastic “popcorn” cashmere blend scarf. (cashmere-blend scarf, $275, autumn cashmere. the tannery, cambridge, ma, 617.492.1811)

certainly not a reference to me or my scarf.

this is for miss peggy. i think the pink scarf will no doubt look better on her !

the goods again:

needle us 10-6.0 mm

yarn: plymouth yarn poppin (66 yards)

color 09

pattern here

blog nods

2010-04-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

yeah- another external lsbs web feature.

if you knit and you blog about knitting consider joining this wonderfully supportive group who shares your interests.

and congratulations to all lesser known skein bloggers for spending the time and commitment to sharing their personal knitting stories by blogging and for taking this group to a new level by creating a website specifically for us. i am lucky to be featured and thankful for the their supportive community and especially for those dedicated to the upkeep and maintenance of the LKS website.

happy knitting & happy blogging

happy easter. happy me.

2010-04-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

happy easter!

the pattern for these cute little white chocolate and milk chocolate egg cozies can be found here at drops designs website

the goodies:

2 skeins naturally harmony 10ply in brown 03
2 skeins naturally harmony 10ply in cream 02
needle us 6

absolutely no modifications. what a fun pattern to knit. even better they found stardom! you can find them on americas knitting website in their project section. for those of us who don't own a yarn shop and secretly wish too this is a website dedicated to the support of yarn shops with a knit shop directory, yarn shop spotlights and projects~ like these little cuties.

today i am going to make soap. i just bought another copy of soapylove to send across the pond to an english friend who just came for a visit and fell in love with my copy.

her highness soapylove just came out with her new spring news letter. you can get a copy here.

happy easter. happy knitting. happy soaplove.

today is the day

2010-04-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

welcome home little ipads. we are in love with you both. yes twins!

it is also the day i have played with the design of my blog. i cant seem to find something i really like but it needed a face lift. feedback is welcome.

happy ipadding

sister and yarn goodness

2010-01-30T17:53:00.001-08:00

last weekend dad and i drove to austin to see my sister who was visiting a friend. our plan was to have brunch at the south congress street cafe which turned into lunch because we got off to a late start. i highly recommend this joint and even more so i highly recommend not going over the weekend. however, should you decide to offer your custom to this popular SoCo eatery over a saturday or sunday~ expect a 45min plus wait. this worked out for dad and i because we were 45 minutes late.

sorry sarah...

amongst all of the retro airstream turned gourmet catering vans, old motels which used to rent by the hour turned nostalgic sleeping accommodations and over populated good restaurants is hill country weavers. known for their huge supply of almost any make of yarn including imported japanese yarn goodness producers habu~ this place will keep me occupied for hours.

the above recently acquired:
grey- berrocco ultra alpaca fine
brown- habu cotton nerimaki slub
gold/cream- habu silk mohair kusa
raspberry- habu non twist cotton boucle

a little something for the new year

2010-01-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

i have been looking for a yarn that would make a scarf that my mother in law bought a while back.. it was chenile and soft with little light weight puffs in it.

i found something similar when i fell in love with sageyarns poppin scarf and checked out her blog~ what wonderful and clear instructions on how to knit with this yarn. i checked my locals and as it turned out i had to order the yarn on line.

the goods:

1 full skein plymouth yarn poppin in white
needle US 10
pattern: poppin goofballs

i love the pattern but i have had 4 knots in one skein thus far…. not cool.

and we are in a new year...

2010-01-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

finally taking down the christmas decorations.... and i still have not sent all of my gifts out yet(!) it has been unusually cold here in texas~ not good for motivation. i am in my second week of weekend couch potato'ness'.

my holidays were tested with what patience i have while knitting lace, try as i might i went through many "learning opportunities" playing with different patterns. the project was lace trim for pillowcases. for the bamboo pillowcases i chose bamboo blend yarn and for the silk pillowcases i chose silk blend yarn.

i have yet to declare my resolutions for the new year.... but for my family and friends who have yet to receive their christmas presents, i am sorry.

so here it goes everyone~ for 2010 i resolve to start my christmas presents with time to finish them (again)~ and i apologize for spoiling your late (again) gift.

we deep fried a turkey

2009-12-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

and yes- we are still alive to tell the tale

may peace and happiness be with you!!!

happy baby knitting

2009-12-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

meet miss scarlett's feather and fan baby cardi.

this was really fun to knit.

the goods:

us needle 9

cascade yarns 220 wool.. in a wonderful christmas green (less than 220 yards)

pattern thanks to leigh foster can be found here

beside the obvious modification (yes i got rushed for time and did short sleeves).. i also turned the collar inward and tacked it in rather than outward. i really did not like the way mine looked showing the purl side.

i have to admit i had moments where i was sure this was going to be WAY too small but to be sure i went out to baby gap and bought a size newborn-03m onesie to check for size. once i washed the pieces and blocked them it turned out to be big enough (i think) and the feel of the yarn was softer than when knitting.

i hope little miss scarlett likes green!!!

la crème glacée napolitaine savon

2009-12-13T14:51:00.000-08:00

thank you thank you thank you to the wonderfully talented soap goddess and fellow blogger debbie chialtas.

i bought her book soapylove (you can buy her book at amazon.com) and found myself ordering strawberry and rich dark chocolate scents (for soap!) on line and learned how to avoid all of my previous soap making disasters-- but the ideas!!!! after all of my excitement i decided on making as many of these wonderful neapolitan soap bars as i could.

i could just eat them.

i ordered the popsicle molds from amazon but all of the "professional" (aka. non local craft store) chemical colorants and scents came from debbie's line at bramble berry.

packaging was fun as well. i did the heated saran wrap treatment she describes in her book and then just bagged them with clear candy bags and added a bow.

for the cards i found this retro bath image from dreamstime designed by dust for a few dollars and printed them on 4x6 glossy photo paper.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

2009-11-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

is it new year’s yet….?

well i have had another birthday. (usually one of my favorite days of the year) only so much has happened this week i blinked and all of the sudden even all of the leftover turkey was gone.

we even took the low road when it came to thanksgiving. a sort of ‘bird in a box’. many thanks to whole foods creative culinary team for providing our thanksgiving meal for our guests and keep us sane for the day.

it is saturday now and the olds have hit the road headed homeward. last night we all went downtown to the holiday river parade & lighting ceremony, a mere 5 in over 150,000 people who trekked to the san antonio riverwalk to see this over 20 year old parade. i don’t want to offend those who get up real early on thrusday and crowd the streets of new york for the traditional macy’s parade but this is definitely the way to go. after some champagne & dinner we get to sit with a warm cup of coffee on the edge of the river and get to see these river boats turned christmas float boats sail past us, …margarita anyone?

what a great day to have a birthday

2009-11-24T07:22:00.000-08:00

on nov 24th in 1859 charles darwin publishes on the origin of species.

and today...why not buy an original?

"Rare Charles Darwin Book Found On Toilet Bookshelf"

thank you npr.

is it really november?

2009-11-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

this time last year i was given the means to purchase a set of interchangeable circular knitting needles for my birthday. one year later i have found the perfect set.

i was price shopping (yeah- for a year)

playing with my new kit…. i note there is no comparison to my previous knitting experience with my old love of addi or my newer ka bamboo circs… it is as if anthony bourdain had just discovered they joys of drinking and smoking late in his career… i found these super pointy, light, interchangable needles with joining cables that feel soft and already broken in a new addiction.

my first project turns out to be a preemie cap the day after the needles arrive. the pattern can be found here.

yarn: lily sugar'n cream stripes in lime green

needle: us 6

mods:

i cast on 38 (not 35) stitches using us 6 throughout. the first 13 rows were all knit and then worked stockinette instead of the pattern’s ribbing at the beginning. i want the brim of the hat to be turned so i knit the hat about an 1/2 inch longer than the 3.5 to 4” the original pattern calls for using the medium preemie instructions.

finished using pattern… i knit to 4”

rs (k2, k2tog) repeat (29sts)

ws p

rs (k1,k2tog) repeat (20sts)

ws (p2tog) repeat (10sts)

rs (k2tog) repeat (5sts)

5 stitches left (icord to 4”)

note the tooth mark on the second to last of our satsumas. bad opal.

tired of being tired...

2009-10-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

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

more orange

2009-10-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

thank you colour mart.

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

in my library

2009-10-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-27T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-07T07:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-28T06:28:00.001-07:00

i am in love~ or will be soon….

2009-07-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-12T21:26:00.001-07:00

why knit when you can buy yarn?

2009-07-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

meet the new member of our family.

homegrown figelettes

2009-07-05T18:46:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

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…..

2009-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

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…

2009-06-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-20T16:51:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-07T17:11:00.001-07:00

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..?

2009-04-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

dont knit with acrylic

2009-04-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

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

*free pattern can be found here.

bob the dog

2009-04-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

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?

what is going on with my favorite food blogger, i need to knit & happy fiesta friday

2009-04-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

my blogging idol last posted on march 4th. i understand that these personal sounding boards that we devote to much time and energy into are not a priority, however i miss reading about her devotion to all things edible.

that being said today is fiesta friday so “c'est la vie” to the rest of the united states~ us san antonians get this day off to party. or, in my case…. i get to knit (at last).

in my desperation... argh!!!!!

i looked everywhere for the cotton ease the pattern called for and could not find it.

i am way to impatient… i should have held out for cotton but i needed a knit-fix & i have a day off.

soon miss ella will have a summer dress. it may be acrylic~ but it will go in the washing machine and dryer without fear.

... and i will have succeeded in fulfilling my need to knit something worth devoting my time and energy into another useless post for my personal sounding board.

i heart birthdays

2009-04-19T12:24:00.001-07:00

i cleaned out my craft room.

i am now able to make my way from the door over the four feet of floor space (recently having been used as temporary junk space) to my sewing machine. the machine had been drawing me to it for a while now~ only i was put off (completely) by the thought of going through boxes, bills, bags of yarn, more bags of yarn and of course the dreaded graveyard of projects less loved and unfinished.

wait, i have a window in this room?

a friend’s birthday really served as my motivation. she really hates her birthday & i think birthdays are fun… but sadly i am forever sending her late gifts. this year i was a bit better (by degrees of lateness) and got her gift off to her at least the week of her birthday.

last year i sent her something bright and cheerful, knowing she loves only black in a conservative non-color committal way. black is always a safe bet for her so this year i chose black.

the pattern though has the somewhat bright and cheerful name that fulfills my need to convert her (in the most subtle way)…

pattern:
buttercup bag by made by rae

i love groovy bloggers with free patterns.
and what a neat little pattern.
thank you rae.

i hope you like it leigh.
happy birthday my friend.

happy easter

2009-04-12T10:03:00.001-07:00

these are not dorothy's ruby slippers

2009-04-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

.... so i turn a little bit texan today. because anthony had his citizenship interview we each bought a pair of… yes, cowboy boots.

when in texas…

our choice~ texas hand made boots from lucchese. our company while we were shopping~ joe pantoliano (ralph on the sopranos)

thoughts~ just finished a no-blister 3 mile trek to our pub. i give them a big hearty yeahaw.

why i think my sister is cooler than the easter bunny (in 19 words or less)

2009-03-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

who else but my sister would ship a box full of jelly beans (my favorite) from nyc to texas?

happy spring!

2009-03-29T18:47:00.001-07:00

work/life/knitting balance

2009-03-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

ok so i joined the club of all of you do-it-all’ers.

only i can’t seem to do it all. two weeks ago i started my career again and am learning again how to manage the work/life balance…. but to all of you who do it~ how do you manage to knit?!

i don’t even come home to hungry children & soccer practice and i still cant find the time.

but to make my day, my week, my month.. i got love from a dear friend supporting my decision to come out of retirement…

and i will make the time to knit something for her.

she is the best.

i love you leigh.

a birthday dilemma

2009-03-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

i am not a fan of variegated wool.

i fell in love with this color combination, a light pale blue color with a warm purple…. yummy.

my friend asked me for a scarf for her 40th birthday.

great.

sadly i don’t know how to work with variegated wool. self-stripping yarn creates an unusual problem. the problem for me is because of the multi colors; you can’t knit in lace or pattern because you loose the detail with the multi coloring.

i chose a fairly simple pattern:

forsa scarf from noro: cornelia tuttle hamilton book 2

the goods:

5 skeins queensland collection bengali
needles US 9 (long.. as c/o of 302 sts)

in the end i love the scarf.

happy b-day LP.

to “who-o-o”

2009-03-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

i am off to the post office this morning with my package….

isn’t the owl cute?

you can get the pattern here

a gift for a special small person.

2009-03-06T17:04:00.001-08:00

a small person who was enormously kind gave me a photo which i have to say looks really good framed and hanging on my wall.

i love it.

a little birdie told me that her favorite colors are bright blue and bright green (lucky me that i have that wonderful green yarn from gavin’s cardigan still around the house.)

heck who knew i can still fake crochet.... i only own two crochet needles which cant come close to being the required size for the yarn but in this recession resources are hard to come by, right?

the flower was a simple crochet flower inspired by boutique pink designs. i knit the stamens and a knit the bobble in the center based on patterns from nicky epstein's knitted flowers..

you should check out boutique pink designs work on etsy.

to attach the pin i glued a bit of felt on the back to hold the pin onto the wool (and glued a bit-o-my fingers as well).

i like it... (my fingers don't)

the goods:

1) araucania nature wool chunky (gold)
2) colourmart 100% extra fine merino (aka. gavins green yarn)
3) sirdar snuggly dk (teal bright blue)

a special thank you to:
the small object for the wooden gift tag idea
robinhill for the leaf pattern

i made the leaves from robinhill's pattern but left them out. they seemed to take away from the flower pattern.

enjoy my little friend.

be smart.

be creative

& love life.

i hope you like it.

* atom art bowl in red from anthropologie

a strange fruit.

2009-03-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

before we moved to texas , i had never heard of a loquat tree.

now i have not one, not two but three of these enormous fruit bearing monsters.

our neighbors had told us they make good jam…. but being a girl on a mission i scoured the internet and found this kinda cool sounding tasty dessert: loquat crunch. personally i am a big fan of the wonderful world of the dessert crumbles from rhubarb to apple… but loquat?

so today i stewed loquats.
i made crumble.
i baked.

….and it did not end there….along these same lines i am ashamed to say i also baked ginger cookies.

i know… but i am craving sweets (my comfort food), stuck at home waiting for ups & also doing a bit of knitting ;-)

happy wednesday everyone!

*authors note: no humans were harmed in the tasting of these recipes

my ball winder & me

2009-03-03T09:09:00.001-08:00

ever spend two or three evenings winding lace weight yarn into a ball?

i have.

something i plan never to do again.

the true advantage of these simple plastic gadgets (beyond saving wasted time on balling hank yarn) is the ease of which it winds the yarn into a loose center pull ball that allows you to knit without yanking the yarn repeatedly tuning the skein into a flopping fish out of the water jumping around pretending to be a chew toy for your dog.

possibly the best money i have ever spent.

pimpin’ my ride

2009-03-02T14:09:00.000-08:00

xm… meet my mini cooper

mini cooper meet xm….
~at last~

you see this has been a long time coming. when i bought this little bundle of joy my configurations came out all wrong. somehow you can’t custom order a cooper with more than three of the following:

satellite radio
satellite navigation
blue tooth adapter
aux. jack for i-pod

i bailed on the sat radio but that is all fixed now. this q-t comes with a remote control (?) honestly i think i can reach from the drivers seat to groceries in the boot. i don’t really think the remote is key however should i like to change the channel from my kitchen~ i know it is possible.

wheee...... off for a drive............

little sheep. big sheep.

wine and knitting

knitting in japanese

happy halloween!!!

steve

back from japan

a little knitting happiness with wool from woolybug

FO... free rapunzel

a post about the lack of posting

and i dedicate this post to...

tweet tweet

mask envy

happy saturday part deux

happy saturday part 1

free tea cosy pattern

a post to make up for a huge lack of posts

puffin

sunday breakfast

miss scarlett's new party frock

my ravelry stitch marker swap japanese furoshiki/hello kitty

happy thanksgiving everyone

hoot! hoot!

its a party!

another day another birthday!

birthdays

get ready for the crawl...

playing catch up

why i knit

green owl

conkerr cancer

i love my boston

happy 4th of july

happy long weekend...

matching clutch

little ella's pillow

welcome to your new home

woo hoo

banberry place

1 yard Splashy Rose Persimmon

1/2 yard Henna Garden Brown 1 yard Daisy Path Celery

and dont i love my new store??? banberry gave me a couple of yards of my favorite blogger/designer how about orange's

designer ribbon.

happy anniversary

to finish what i started

some kinds of fruit

at home sick

my feet hurt

i happy

super-chic

blog nods

happy easter. happy me.

today is the day

sister and yarn goodness

a little something for the new year

and we are in a new year...

we deep fried a turkey

happy baby knitting

la crème glacée napolitaine savon

happy thanksgiving everyone!

what a great day to have a birthday

is it really november?

tired of being tired...

happy fall

more orange

i heart orange

in my library

welcome miss scarlett

color

an odd dog

happy hat

been in a blog fog

i am knitting a shawl

outdoor ithaca & thier civil war cemetery

i am in love~ or will be soon….

sunset with mother seagull

why knit when you can buy yarn?

blue top and a salty sea breeze

our little malnourished dehydrated stray boston terrier

homegrown figelettes

projects to come...

1/2 yard Henna Garden Brown
1 yard Daisy Path Celery