"Magenta Cloche"

Down to the wire but I managed to finish something before the new year. Not that I finish many things but it sure feels good to be able to say I finished another project for 2006.

Actually this was a last minute thing that I started yesterday and was so much fun to make that I had to see it through.

Mr Snowman cookie jar was more than happy to be my model and said that he would even consider trading in his top hat for one of these if it was the right color!

Wool: Gjestal, approx. 100g hank :)

Merry Christmas!

Just an update on my progress with the Cinnabar scarf from Magknits. I changed the pattern repeat somewhat and decided to go with the "double ribbed mock cable" all the way through instead of breaking it up with the "seafoam" pattern. I like the flow better. I also love the color of the merino wool from Painted Yarns and the way it is creating a shadow effect across the scarf as I knit. Sigh...I love this scarf which is going to make it hard to give away as a gift for my mother's birthday. I do however have until March to finish and admire it.

Something new before the New Year...

I needed a quick start little something for a boring flight to Houston this last week...something fun and easy to take along. I ran across the Cinnabar scarf on Magknits and the picture inspired me. An easy lace pattern and some beautiful 100% merino from Painted Yarns was all I needed to be easily sidetracked with another project. I don't think I have finished anything lately, even though I keep telling myself I should!! Oh well, maybe that would be a great New Year's resolution...then again, maybe not! :)

Ahoy there!
Skulls and crossbones...makes for a totally teenager type toque...that a too cool 17 year old girl would wear...even out in public...in front of her friends and all!
Actually the toque was supposed to be for her brother but of course it didn't fit. So hopefully on my third attempt at this skull and cross bones pattern I will get the sizing right. He has totally lost faith in me I am quite certain.

Done with Diamonds!!

Finally, another finished project. I started this throw last year with the intent of giving it as a Christmas gift. After hours of stitching the squares together and the dilemma of figuring out how to do the crochet edge, I gave up. The guilt of it sitting in the UFO basket all this time finally weighed so heavy on my mind that I couldn't stand it staring at me any longer and I pulled it out last night and finished it. Thanks to "The Happy Hooker" I sorted out the crochet edge and planted myself with a glass of wine and worked away until it was done. I think it only took me a couple of hours. Sad really that it had to sit so long unloved and unadored.

The pattern is from the Family Circle Easy Knitting Holiday 2004 issue. OMG this really was a long time in the making!

Now I can't decide if I should give it away or keep it all for myself!

Tadaa! Tattoo Toque!

It finally came to me in sweet epiphany as I hovered over the bargain bin of sale yarns at my LYS. For a long time now I have wanted to knit something for my DH that he would actually wear and love not just because I made it for him with my own sweat and tears (and of course lots of cursing) but because it was something that he could wear proudly. An original work of art created by his beloved wife. Something that reflects his own personal taste. So as I gazed at all the skeins of rich wool marked down by 50%, (my husband loves anything that is on sale so it is ok to buy something as long as you got a good deal!) the vision of this toque filled my knitting thoughts. I bought the wool, rushed home and sketched and then knit for a whole afternoon while he went skating with our little guy. And voila! the toque was a hit. He loved it! I was so relieved.

Now maybe I can finish some of my other projects!

Blueberry is very.........................

Ahhh, finally an update on the blueberry moehair topdown raglan. The model is my ever stylish eleven year old son. Getting him to put this sweater on and model it for a photo was no small challenge. I promised I would leave his face out of the photo which is a shame because he really is soooo cute. Anyway you get the idea of how it is coming along.......slowly! I do however intend to have it ready by the time the snow flies, which around here could likely be any day now!

Gauntlets....but not forgotten.

Finally a picture of the finished pair of gauntlets, or as some people like to call them, fingerless mitts. (I know, not a very good one but the photographer was a little cranky.) Proof that I can actually finish something.

I can hardly wait for some real fall weather to have an opportunity to wear them outside instead of just walking around my house in my pj's grinning like I am the queen or something 'cause I actually knit a finished project. Not that I am trying to hurry winter along or anything, because I am not quite finished my top down raglan! I definitely want to have that done before the snow flies!

Whoa Nelly.......

Where did this last month go!

I started a Top Down Raglan. My next experiment in knitting delights. You can't really tell from the picture but the yarn is Jo Sharp..mmmm...Rare Comfort, Infusion Kid Mohair in Blueberry. Doesn't that just sound yummy!

So I had to go to Manitoba for the long weekend for a family reunion....yawn...no really the reunion part was ok but damn if that isn't a long drive! 11 plus hours and to top it all off the schnauser was sick. Yep, sick schnauser with the sh#ts and yacking every 20 minutes in a compact car doing 110 down the number 1.

"Honey he's farting! Pull over I thing he has to go!"

" Honey he's heaving, stop the car I think he's gonna hurl."

"Honey, who's idea was it to bring the dog on this family vacation anyway?"

So instead of enjoying the never ending scenery of Saskatchewan and catching up on small talk, my DH and I dealt with the dog's illness and tried not to blame or be blamed for bringing the beloved family pet on our only car trip of the entire summer vacation.

Oh yeah, and I started the Trekking socks but decided to make them for myself as my husband doesn't think he would like home made socks...ahem!!!! So now the WIP tally is two sweaters and one pair of socks.

I think my dear Aunt Nelly would be proud.

Easily distracted...........

What was I going to say. Oh yeah. I know I've only almost completed the back of my cardigan. I finished the gauntlets but I still want to post a picture of them on actual hands. I have yarn in my stash to do that shawl that I keep dreaming about but am too terrified to start. I still haven't started the mans Trekking socks, but really that's only because I am trying to learn this cool new way of casting on toe up socks. I have been checking out others blogs and drooling over their finished projects and wishing I could be so disciplined. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm easily distracted. My husband says I have ADD and he might just be right, but I like to think I am a dedicated multi tasker.

Anyway, I bought "The Happy Hooker" by Deb Stoller and now I am distracted by the art of crochet. I don't think I like it as much as knitting. I mean I am pretty sure I don't but I thought it would be a handy thing to add to my repertoire.

So I have spent much of my weekend doing and redoing this simple little project just for the sheer enjoyment of learning something new and crafty. Working with textiles in any form is sheer bliss to me and if it makes me smile, and swear a little bit sometimes, that's a good thing. Right Martha?

Gauntlets?...what are gauntlets?

That's the comment made by my DH when he asked "Watcha makin' honey?"
So then I had to explain it to him at which point he commented that he didn't like that kinda stuff, vague memories of bad Madonna videos, and really didn't understand what would be the point of having a pair of those anyway......sigh.
I suppose it doesn't really matter because he doesn't think I'll finish them and even if I did at that point he would just say "Oh, where did you get those?" with a slight hint that maybe I had been shopping again....sigh.

All husband comments aside....the pattern is from the Vogue Knit.1 premiere issue. I always wanted to knit the hat in the photo with the fingerless gauntlets and never really had a thought about the gauntlets because in the photo they are in black and you can't really see the pretty lace detail. Well I bought this skein of Schaefer Miss Priss 100% Merino in the color way Rosa Parks, mostly because I loved the colors, and I had never found a use for it till I was flipping through the mag for the thousandth time and thought it might be a fun and quick little project. It was, and they turned out beautiful. Now I just have to sew up the seams and I will be all set for fall. I think they will be awesome with a jean jacket and who knows maybe I will even get around to making the hat!

I am still working on the sweater from my last post and just about have the back done. I really like the way it is turning out. I will post pics as soon as I have more progress.

Nasturtium....hmmm.

OK so I admit I thought it was kinda orange, maybe a little bit brownish orange, but Jo Sharp calls it the big Nasturtium word. So I googled it and found out that a Nasturtium is actually a flower. Sounds kinda familiar. But what I didn't know is that it's an edible flower. So if you think it looks lovely enough to eat you actually can eat it.

"Nasturtiums are an attractive and nutritious addition to salads, and they make a beautiful garnish. Nasturtiums have 10 times the vitamin C of lettuce, so add a gererous portion of leaves and flowers to your salad mixes. Grind the seeds in a pepper mill, and use as you would black pepper."

But back to the sweater...yay I finally started a sweater! Lost in la la land somewhere for so long that I haven't knit anything, I finally decided to pick up the needles and knit something. Not knitting it for the man in my life either but for me, just me. I loved the color and the style and it just screamed knit me, you can actually wear this one. So here I have started, slowly but yet showing some progress. And in case you haven't recognized it already, it is the Interweave Knits summer 2006 issue. The wool is Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool. I got a wicked deal off ebay for this stash.

Jackpot! Oh lucky, lucky day..........
Not only did my Spring issue of Interweave Knits come in the mail today but so did my order from Rowan in England. Four wonderful issues of Rowan for a very lovely price. And fast too!
Oh how I have longed for a copy of the Rowan magazine after seeing all the lovely projects that people have knit from it and finally I scored!
I also got lucky on ebay and bought 15 skeins of Jo Sharp Mohair in blueberry for a wicked steal of a deal.
Ah knitting heaven.....now I can plan my shawl project and get all psyched.
All in all it's been a very good day, a very good day indeed.
(If you haven't got the Interweave mag yet, you should definitely check it out. Some really sweet patterns this issue.)

La la la Lace.....another first attempt. Going beyond scarves led to socks and now beyond socks to lace...not that I've given up on socks, I already have solid plans and purchased yarn for my next pair. (A nice manly pair done in a German sock wool called Trekking) Just a little diversion with the lace scarf for my mom's B-day which is coming up in March.

The pattern is from www.Knitty.com, one of my fave spots on the net for knitting, called "Branching Out". Nice easy but fun pattern with quick results. As you may be able to see from the pic I am using Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, 65% wool and 35% silk, as recommended. I wish I had chosen a richer color, say a nice green or blue, as the beige is a little ho hum, but nice to work with none the less.

I am thinking this definitely needs to be blocked.

I am also thinking I should have used Addi Turbo's!!

(Obviously I wasn't thinking!)

Hmmmm......I see a shawl somewhere in the near future... :)

Lock, stock and two smoking needles....the red hot sizzling socks are done just in time for the Feb 12th cut off.

I found it really hard to take a pic of my own feet so I decided to pair them up (ha, just a little sock joke there!) with their chile pepper cousins.

I think next time I will try knitting both socks at the same time to eliminate all that counting and recounting to make sure they are identical.

Anyway for my first pair I am very satisfied and look forward to wearing them while I work on the next pair. If you haven't tried socks, you really should. It is such a blast and a lot easier that I thought it would be. Ciao for now fellow sock knitters!

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!!

Red Hot Chili Pepper Socks. I like things spicey and this pair of socks is definetly the spice of my knitting projects right now.

I have tried and tried to find a decent red hot yarn for the Red Hot Sizzling Socks contest, but man, doesn't anybody sell such a thing?!! I have been on line and around the shops and no luck. If I do not find anything soon I will have to submit this pair as my entry.

IF ANYBODY HAS ANY TIPS WHERE YOU CAN FIND FABULOUS YARN I COULD USE YOUR HELP. ANYONE?!!

If the Sock fits.........

My first pair. Quite proud really. Taught myself from a collection of patterns and books. I found the website knittinghelp.com very useful in the turning of the heel and also a pattern that I used from the website. The foot is my ten year old son Troy who loves to model, with his feet anyway. I will try to get hime to model my fair isle toque eventually. The giraffe is from Jamaica. Brought back from our weddingmoon.
The only thing is those little holes. I will have to work on making those disappear in my next pair! I plan to do something in a hot red for my hubby!

OK. You asked for it here it is. A picture of "my little schnauzer". I know, I know. You can't go around saying that one of your interests is your schnauzer and then not post a pic of the little guy.
Even with that evil flash eye he's snoochie!
He's my snoochie schnauzer, my snoochie poochie. My little silkey snoochie schnauzer poochie.
Heh, heh, heh. I love him.

Blogger newb. I guess I started this so that I could join the Knitted Babes blog but we will see what this becomes over time. Who knows. Maybe I do have something to say. If I ever figure out how this whole blogging thing works!