A cupcake for you....

Hat that is...hehe..um..er..sorry! ;)


Topside view!


Sunday Dulaan Cupcake Hat
Lamb's pride worsted in Onyx doubled
Paton's Divine in Amethyst
US 11 DPN's and Circular

A very..warm...hat..my 3rd for Kristy's Hat Quest of which I am planning 1 more hat, then mailing them off next week. I love this cute pattern, a simple 2x2 rib with a flat top and just casted on another one in worsted weight for HFA. Maybe I should rename this one the Fez hat or the cupcake liner hat.....LOL!

Here's your to scale picture!

I just love Lamb's pride yarns...

YPF-Strange, but true....

I'm sure this is quite common, but it was interesting to me!

Different fibers take dyes in different ways. Something we all know happens and those of you that do dye fibers/yarns, experience this on a day to day basis I'm sure!

Well, now you can experience this!

Jitterbug Sock Yarn by Colinette Yarns
100% Superwash Merino wool
Kingfisher Colorway


Neat colors huh!


Remember this??

Colinette Banyan
Kingfisher colorway
49% cotton
51% viscose


I got the Jitterbug after the Banyan as I loved the colors so. I was quite surprised to open up the yarn and see the difference.

Oh, and check it out here! All the different yarn bases dyed with the Kingfisher colorway!

Strange but true huh?

Tales for Tuesday...

and early WIP Wednesday!

Onto the WIP's 1st! - well all that I'll admit to anyways :P


Pink Forward's

Love this artsy shot, which was a little challenging (see below)(far below, not directly ;)

Remember this, sitting in hibernation along with....
this one...

Well, they can finally be knit on again and not frogged!!!

Why you ask (well even if you didn't) the gene test was NEGATIVE (phew!) Now one more minor surgery and radiation therapy and some close screening I should be fine! Thank you all for your comments, prayers, thoughts, vibes, etc!

Oh, and what I eluded to earlier...um..er....well...um..I've been known to be a klutz.


As you can see here! Not sure a lot of knitting will be done in the next few days...heck typing is hard as heck!

I was trying to sit on a stool at work, behind the lead screen as I can't "wear" lead yet, it slipped and I did too and landed on my butt with my hand outstretched. My fingers showed a fine display of Vulcan signage as I landed on that hand. Luckily, no broken bones, just a sprain.

Geesh, boy was I red-faced, this all happened while the patient was on the table, doc was ready to start the procedure and an audience of 2 other peeps...
I can pick the perfect times let me tell you.....

The Hats, they are a

Happening around here! This one done, another on the needles and even more planned. I'm in a hat phase around here. 2 for Kristy's Hat Quest (Ravelry Link) when I finish the one OTN and then I'll do 2 for Hats for Alex. All before the 8th of August, as when the Ravelympics start, I'll be knitting even more hats and cowls. Going to be using a lot of sock yarn stash for that, yes, I'm on the Team Blue Moon Fiberarts. I'm all for knitting with doubled yarns and using the stash :)

Ahh..something about Icord...yes, I love knitting it, can you tell!

Avalanche Hat (pdf link)
Lamb's Pride Bulky in Turquoise Depths and Winter White, doubled
US 11 & 13 Brittany DPN's

You know how I love this yarn...well this hat is perfect for a skein of yarn, as long as you have a contrast color standing by :) As you can see I needed help to finish and had only about 1-2 yrds leftover. Great way to use up a random skein.

My hat model was away , so I had to improvise the photo shoot. I enjoy knitting this pattern, it makes a very thick and warm (I'm sure it is!) hat and good to send to a cold area for wearing.

The last two weekends have had me shopping for the college boy and high school girl! Whew, except for some shoes for the girl, we are done.

There is more college boy shopping to do as a lot of what he needs is specific to the school and he's gotta be fitted for the uniforms, but that's waiting until our trip to Maine in 3 weeks folks!!! Yikes...*scampers off to get some boxes ready**

I love Target's $1 spot. I got 2 of these, some of my favorite childhood candies (heh, who am I kidding, I still eat them!) They'll make good notions boxes to go into my many project bags...

YPF-The Lizard

Ridge that is!

A few of my friends have knit one, each in their own way.

My Noro Bouquet


I likey this color,


and this color


and this color, the one that started it all, the one which will be my first colorway knitted, #51.
It was my very first skein of Noro purchased in 2005 at my first LYS I ever visited in NC. (only the 2nd one overall at the time :)

I like seeing all the different versions out there, heck some have even used crochet. As for me, I like the applied I cord here and the strip knitting method here. Both of which I'll be using.

I had probably random skeins in the stash already. I've been gifted a few (thanks again! :) , swapped for a few, got a few at a steal, and paid full price for very few! :) There was no method to my colors, I did get a few I liked, but the rest are basically a potluck. After color 51 I may just stick my hand in the bag and knit the very skein I pick up.

Since I plan on knitting this in strips, I'm thinking I'll just use up the entire skein and try to keep them about the same size....or not....who knows....stay tuned!

SIP and a HalFO

Yeah, it's socks here most of the time lately!

Meet Pink Forward (real name is Spring Forward) but I have my reasons for the name ;)
STR mill end in Rose Quartz I'm guessing. Despite some needle size issues, I used a 3.0mm and was a bit too big, I went down to a 2.25mm for the ribbing and back up to a 2.75mm for the cuff and it's going well now. This pattern is so easy to memorize! A plus for me. Yeah, talking in mm as .5mm makes a big difference for me with this pattern. More on those later.

Here's the HalFO

Finally!!!! Cedar Creek Sock 1 in STR Gypsum.
This pattern isn't hard, by the time I got to the foot, I didn't need to follow the pattern line by line. I don't normally show just an FO shot of one sock, but hey, it'll be a while before Sock 2 arrives, so what the heck. I think the eleventy billion gusset stitches I picked up and that uber tough heel about drove me mad...that amongst other things. But I do plan on CO sock 2 ......this week maybe??

I have another sock, but since I ripped back to the cuff to steal the needle to knit Pink Forward (don't worry, I bought that sock a new pair of Addi Lace needles in a bigger size that it needed anyways!) nothing to show yet.

Now this...sniff...sniff
Hehe..yeah I don't normally post my laundry here do I? T- 1 month!! These are my son's towels for college...washed and packed up,ready to go...don't think I'm ready though...

Bamboo Review

I've been wanting to review these needles for a while as I got them, gosh, months ago, but wanted to use them a bit before I did.

I've always loved bamboo the best. Most don't have the best cords or the joins to the metal which always stopped up the knitting, for me at least. Probably as I knit tightly.

Switch X-changeable Circular needles by KA. Sizes US 5-15.


They are kept in this cool case, and you can see at the top where the cords fit in. Very portable!


What I love is the entire needle is bamboo. The end part is brass. Some others have smaller tips in the larger size, which I find annoying to knit with. I only have the metal in those sizes 11-17, but I have to say the shorter length is harder to knit with for me. So for me, this was the selling point. They screw on pretty tightly, and I've only had a couple instances where it's been loose, but not fallen off. Mainly when knitting chunky wools. With any interchangeable, I find myself always making sure the joins are tightened.

That being said, if you love knitting with bamboo like I do, they are very nice. Not too pointy, but for most work, just right.

Another selling point was the cord lengths, 16"-53". However, what I didn't realize, until I got them, is the thickness of them.

You can see above, the very top cord is thicker and used basically with the larger tips. The bottom one with sizes 5-9.


You can see them in action here! I've annotated where the join is, you can barely see it, and the transition is pretty flawless IMHO. They work great on hats, and small knits, but in the lower sizes the thinness of the cords can make an adult sweater harder to knit. They just aren't that strong at the joins, in my opinion.

You can't join them to extend the length, just like the other pairs I've mentioned. You can't use the thicker cords with the smaller tips as the brass end pieces have different sizes for each size needle. Quite the bummer there too.

However, that's why I have a few backups when needed for those types of knits. Mainly why I got this as a companion set, not my go to set for heavy duty sweater knitting. Which ain't happening here any time soon as it is!

I got mine here! They don't show the same case I got, I think this was one they had in the early days selling of it. It was present to myself after a bonus at work, one can't spend all the $$ on yarn...which I didn't as just after I placed this order..um..er... I had an interesting time, on my trip to Charlotte.

YPF-The Prickly Edition

The name of this colorway suits my mood today! I was looking through my pr0n set wondering what to pick, and was even gonna skip it this week...cause I'm prickly...then I found the perfect one for my mood!


Cider Moon Glacier (DK weight)
Prickly Pear Colorway
I'm so sad they haven't resolved whatever was going on as they have such pretty colorways. I got this from someone's destash, and try to get colorways I like when I can.

Makes me even want to start a pair of socks with it right now, but I'm not going to. I have too many SIP's as it is...

Yeah, I'm prickly today, watch out I might sting you!

Why am I prickly? I was supposed to find out some important news today, but due to a screw up I have to wait 11 more stinkin' days!! Like my life hasn't been an upheavel since May! That's all I'll bore you with!

I'm prickly................

Bucket O' Poison

Here you see the first go 'round!


My Eyes!! I do have them! Yes I knit it to pattern spec's and I did have that little inkling..um..er..try it on, so I did, thought nah..keep on knitting..well you can see where that got me huh!


So here we go....frogging the Bucket O'Poison. (#3)(more on that below) First knit was to 6.5" from brim. I frogged to about 5" then started the decreases.



Better Bucket Hat (pdf file)
100Purewool Poison Colorway
Started March 13, 2008
Finished July 8, 2008..um..quite a long time for a HAT! (deets below)
US 7 circs (review on them soon!) and dpns

The brim is knit by provisionally casting on X amount of stitches. It does suggest using a spare circular, so way back in March, I did so. Was so proud of myself, all that twisting, turning, and just about going crazy and when I started to knit, it was a PIA! Enter frogging #1.

Then I learn how to PCO using a crochet hook and the waste yarn, etc. So proud of myself...knit 1 row and put it in a bag never to be seen until last week!

Here I am at knitting guild knit nite, and knitting away, chatting, etc. have about 2" in...to my horror...work is twisted! Enter frogging #2! Sit there for 20 mins. trying to figure out crochet cast on....can't remember, i'm at a darned bookstore and can't find info there, but remember my trusty knitters companion was somehow in my bag...so I use the PCO in the book, also described here, using long-tail casting on (my favorite!) However...sure wished I had read, use a slippery waste yarn!! I used a single ply I had in my notions bag..um let me tell you it was absolutely no fun picking up that cast on when the time came to hem it!

Sorry, no pics of the hem, my first ever knitted one, but here you go, only 3 froggings to a completed FO!


I like the button enough, and even have some black leather strip to add, but I just didn't like it. I think I'll look for some black ribbon, maybe!


Oh, did you notice...yes, I got about 6" chopped off! Went back to one color too! (well kinda hard to notice that right now though ;)

Ponders if she can glue her hair back on! No, I don't really want to LOL!

I do love this pattern, and found some mods to make the brim flare (Rav. link) out more. So, I'll go through the stash and find another one as it's basically hat, socks, and other not too needing to be fitting stuff right now!

The one where Bezzie would be so.....

Proud!! You see Bezzie , can grow just about anything and it lives! She even grows flowers outta a sock! I love her green thumb.

Mine, is usually black so I had to prove to my hubby that I just don't murder plants...sometimes they live!

Down the stairs and the newly repotted hibiscus that needs a bit more soil.


1 of my 2 hanging geraniums.....ignore the few dead leaves ;)


The plant from my coworkers is doing quite well!

I'm tired of paying for basil and rosemary and have it go bad,(or have none in stock!) so I decided to start growing my own. I've already used the rosemary in my chicken and some of the basil is in the crockpot right now hanging with tomatoes, beef, onion, and garlic for spaghetti sauce.

See, still alive


I've got a little secret though....can you spy it?


Now can you spy it? I have these in each of the big plants, ones I have a history of them drying out! Bezzie would be so proud again as these are cheapass self waterers! No glass globes for me, I just took an empty water bottle, pierced a hole in the cap, flip up and place in the soil of the planter. I can't take credit for this, I saw it on a home and garden show a while ago!

Well that's it for now! Busy, busy, weekend...more later! :)

YPF-The Twisted Version!

Yeah, I'm in a weird mood lately! ;)


Twisted Fiber Arts
Sherwood Colorway
Duchess (sport, squooshy weight)
240 yds
**from her website: Skein Design: Mutating Variegate. Variegated yarn that starts as a variegation of one group of colors and mutates into a different set of colors, also variegated. Easy to work with but hard to put down, you’ll want to keep knitting to see what comes next. Each skein is an individual. ** Meg dyes some great yarns! Maybe one day I'll get her roving..well need a wheel first...

I've used this yarn before in a different colorway!

I love how it knits up and the colors here are so bright and cheerful! We likey cheerful 'round here lately!

PS. Oh and Carrie, yes it's a link, but it's hard to get and sells out very fast ;)

Seriously?

They are done! :) When I first discovered this colorway (see below), the description was the colors of scrubs, lab coats, and well..you know red and for a character on a medical show, who goes around saying....seriously?(website is down so I can't get the real description) but needless to say. It was me! But my favorite word is obviously?? heh!


I wanted a simple pattern because to me the stripes are why you buy the yarn, you don't need to have a busy pattern that is hidden.

sKNITches Syncopation
Seriously? Colorway
US 2 inox circs
60 sts, cuff down, 3 x 2 rib, short row heel (gosh, it's been a while since I've K-stitched a toe!)

My first cuff down short row heel! Not half bad. ;)


Strike a pose! Here I am ready for work, gratuituous scrub and croc photo (shhh..don't tell anyone I kinda borrowed these for the photoshoot.)

Ahhh...don't they match pretty well!
Love this yarn! So soft and a ton leftover! These were 7" cuffs too! My next pair of self-striping socks are these for the Loopy Groupies Red KAL also from sKNITches!
Most likely will be plain stockinette and 2 at a time ML...not liking the 2 circs method as well as ML lately. Seriously?