Z Knits...and Sews

Great Weekend!

2012-01-25T00:26:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend I came down off the mountain to hang out in Phoenix. You see, the elevation of Prescott Valley is about 5,026ft and the elevation of Phoenix is 1,124ft. It's not too curvy of a drive, it's beautiful and one day when I'm not driving down it, I'll take some pictures. People literally speed down there too! I was going the speed limit of 65-75 and yes, they were going faster....whew!

Anyhow, here's a park near the convention center.

Look, wee Palm trees!

Thought this arch/walkway was different.

I'd love a pond like that in my backyard.

More interesting plants. I'm sure I'll learn what they are eventually.

Got to go to Ikea and get my new chair/foot stool cushions...oh..eep...a view of my knitting/surfing/chilling corner of my craft/hobby room.

Guess I need to tidy up a bit ;)

What I really went down to do is meet up with these ladies at the TNNA trade show

(Carrie) Irishgirlieknits, me, and Stacey. We all met via Knitty Coffeeshop years ago and have been following each others blogs, etc. since then. Carrie was there to promote her Irishgirlieknits Designs and Stacey was working her company's booth.

I was so happy to finally meet these ladies IRL. Got to have a few conversations with Stacey, she's just as I expected, fun and interesting to talk to :) Carrie and I were roomies and I had the fun of being her own personal chauffeur. You see due to her bad knee, walking a lot wasn't recommended. We learned a lot about the one way streets in Phx ;)

I couldn't go "inside" the trade show as I wasn't a member/LYS owner/designer/etc. but just being able to spend the time relaxing, knitting and shopping was a nice break. There was some good food, yarny purchases and quite a few sightings of other designers and other knitting celebs.

I enjoyed the entire weekend getting to know Carrie, chatting and learning a lot about the other side of designing. You know all the hard work to not only design the patterns, but the work needed to get your patterns out there to the public.

I hope we get to meet up again soon! Good luck with your surgery Carrie!

Another tale of a colorway!

2012-01-19T00:58:00.001-05:00

I can finally post these 2 projects now.
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta
Colorway: Zarzmora

Lots of purple in here.

Size 17 circulars and some knitting and it later became this neckwarmer. Used every bit of those 90 yds :) Just like my last Rasta neckwarmer I got the buttons from my LYS. She has great buttons. (amongst other things ;)

Next up
Yarn: Malabrigo Rasta
Colorway: Zarzmora

Not as much purple, and some greenish/blackish colors too.

It grew up to become...

LTYC Super Bulky Cowl
Size 15 circulars and literally had to go down to like size 13's to bind off the last 4 sts or so. Whew, that was close.

More close ups of the 2nd Zarzamora.

Seeing them both together like this...

and this...

If you've ever knit with Malabrigo Rasta, it's sooooo soft and yummy. Often times the same colorways are somewhat different as it is with hand-dyed yarns. I have 1 skein of another colorway and not sure what I want to knit. I know it'll be a neckwarmer of some sort as I wear this one almost every day...yes...here in the mountains of AZ...it is needed!

They are now in the hands of their new owners :)

Have an exciting weekend coming up. Can't wait to post about it! It's been a long time coming!

Well....Happy New Year!!

2012-01-11T03:13:00.000-05:00

Sorry, long time, no post!

I can finally show you my sekrit knitting!

What started out as this....

Bee Mice Elf Mixed BFL in Beloved Bard(155 yds) and Emerald (177 yds)
Both spun up to be about sport/light worsted.

They turned into this hat

Fake Isle Hat by Amy King
US 8 needles
What I thought was a good match, was a bit too close. There isn't a lot of contrast between the variegated (Beloved Bard) and solid (Emerald). But I continued knitting on and I am happy with the results. After reading how the hat usually turns out pointy, I followed some advice to delete a few rows and I think it helped a lot. I didn't block it too harshly as it wasn't for me.

A view from the top.

Then with the leftovers I knit these Camp Out Mitts

I used a size 7 for the garter section and 8 needle for the rest, and the following mods:
Cast on 14 and knit 34 garter ridges. Cast on 11 stitches for the thumb and picked up 33 stitches and knit until I ran out of the Beloved Bard. Then I finished the mitts with the Emerald. I did knit a couple of decrease rounds as I was worried they were a bit big. I hear tell they fit fine!

Then off they went to my Snobby Spinner swap pal.

My first FO's for 2012!

Last week in Pictures!

2011-12-26T23:06:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to stop by and post some pictures of the last week! It's been busy between working weird hours, baking/cooking, knitting and visiting with my son. He was pretty busy studying most of the time though :( I have to admit, I do love our new kitchen/breakfast nook/living room set up. We can all do our own thing and still be in the same room.

Lights in the square, Downtown Prescott

Always walking faster than me!

Small, but just starting my nutcracker collection.

I try to get one a year during a sale. This year was the red one on the left with the pincushion for a hat. It's pretty cool as it has knitting in the bag and sewing stuff.

Our 2011 Christmas tree!

Christmas Eve Tourtiere Pie!

My first Creme Brulee........before....

And after......(well a quick trip to the store for a butane canister)

O....My! Much better than any I've had before....seriously!

Like I said....studying for his Coast Guard boards in 2 weeks....it was good for him to have a break, but he's glad to be on his way back for a little quieter study time ;)

Celebrated our 26th Wedding Anniversary

(note all the mugs above the cupboard! For the first time in 20+ yrs, he's happy to have a place to display them!)

Happy New Year everyone!

Soon, you can see some knitting and spinning.....soon I promise ;)

Meet.......

2011-12-18T18:22:00.000-05:00

My husband's Christmas present....

My name is Jefe (Hef-ay) and I'm a Sable German Shepard. I am 1.5 years old. I am fully trained and ready to ~~terrorize~~ hang out with the cat that lives here.

I am a well behaved dog.

Time will tell ;) you are a huge dog Jefe, and I hear you'll get bigger!! YIKES!

Hi BTW! Just busy working and sekrit knitting!! More later!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-12-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

Favorite Holiday Traditions!

Photo of our last tree in North Carolina. As of tomorrow, someone else will be placing a tree there...who knows in the same spot??

Onward to the traditions!

1. First, and most important is a real Christmas tree. I know one day we may have to have an artificial one, but not in any hurry. Yes, they shed needles, but how hard is it to vacuum? LOL! When we lived in Maine, we went to the same tree farm for years. Hoping to find one here in AZ.

2. Holiday movies- Hubby has to watch all the Scrooge movies, in fact he watched 2 last night. Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase is a must as well. White Christmas, Elf, Santa Claus, Holiday Inn and of course the Christmas Story.

3. The kids like to open a gift on Christmas Eve. You wouldn't think at 17 and & soon to be 22 yrs old they would outgrow it...nope ;)

4. Russian Teacake cookies, some call the Mexican Wedding cookies. Hubby's favorite.

5. Mini cheesecakes, my Mom's recipe. Half with cherries, half plain.

6. Standing Rib Roast and scalloped potatoes, along with green bean casserole. Sometimes I do cook a ham as well. After cooking for the holiday, I love to eat nothing but leftovers as long as possible.

7. I have some decorations I've had for years. Many with sentimental reasons and put out every year. Must get them put out ASAP!

8. Tourtiere Pie - My French-Canadian grandmother made this every year!! After she passed I missed it so. I haven't made it in a few years, but I plan on this year. Even though I don't have her recipe, you know her special touches, this recipe is pretty darn close. We usually eat it on Christmas Eve and I cannot wait to smell it cooking ;)

9. Last minute crafting - be it knitting, sewing, or baking I always think I have enough time. I'm always up late doing something. Why should I change it now ;)

10. New tradition - I attended our little town's tree lighting ceremony and light parade. It was very small but enjoyable. The next town over has one as well, I plan to attend both next year :) So nice to be out wearing my handknits enjoying the cold.

Wee Baby Frank's

2011-12-04T21:38:00.002-05:00

I first saw Carrie's smaller version of her Uncle Frank socks a while ago. Couldn't wait for the wee version and I was lucky enough to be asked to test knit. I got one done and it took a few weeks to get the other one.

So cute and wee!

Dear Baby Francis by Irishgirlieknits
Socks that Rock Mediumweight, In the Navy
3.0 mm circular, knit magic loop

No mods as I was test knitting. These really fly off the needles...well if you knit them LOL! (too many projects )

Funny how I knit my big Uncle Frank's in blue yarn too. Next up will be the hat...well you know after Christmas ;)

I can't wait, in about a month, I'll finally be meeting Ms. Irishgirlieknits ;)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T02:19:00.000-05:00

Visiting with the Alpacas

2011-11-27T23:04:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty lucky here with my new knitting friends. They all like to organize meetups in different places other than the coffee shop. The last time they were knitting with the Alpaca's, I had just moved here less than a week, so I couldn't go. This time I was free :)

We went to Peaceful Prairie Alpaca Ranch, which is less then 10 minutes from my house. The ranch owner is such a really nice person and I not only met my first alpacas, I learned a few tips on cleaning fleece. She is awaiting some roving and yarns to come back from the mill and I'm hoping to get some.

Enjoy the photos! They are such animated animals! I need to learn to walk slower when approaching the fence, some stayed and looked, but a few rain away skeered.

This is the view the owners see everyday. Lovely!

These two saw us approach the fence and walked over to greet us.

All hanging out, wonder if they are talking to each other ;)

Lunch time!

Then nap time! You can barely see the bump above the sleeping one. Each corral has one, the animals sleep around it, stand on it if need be. From what I am told, it's their linus blanket....safety area.

Dude, don't bother me, can't you see I'm eating ;)

Hello there!

I fell in love with this one's fleece's marbling. (not sure what you call it)

Close up here looks like a giraffe pattern.

She also has a few sheep.

and some chickens.

And a wee black baby :)

Love this face...

But my favorite is this one ;)

After visiting, we sat in the sun and knit for a bit. Despite it being almost December, I did get a sunburn on my face/neck area. Can't wait for the next visit, such a peaceful place. So peaceful I went home and took a nap afterwards ;)

Eye Candy Friday

2011-11-25T14:05:00.001-05:00

Had to leave some plain ;)

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-22T04:08:00.001-05:00

10 Things you are thankful for.

1. My family, those close and far away. It's been quite a year of change, but we're hanging in there. Although I don't get to see many of them for years at a time, I miss them.

2. My home, although it's a lot more to clean, it's bright, sunny and I feel like a grown up in it ;)

3. The area we now live it. It's so wide and open and the scenery is so enjoyable, let alone the weather :)

4. Knitting/Spinning/quilting - I love to create and my hobbies help to relax me.

5. New found friends! Due to Ravelry, I was able to find out a lot of information about our new location and where the knitting meet ups were. Once I got here and started attending, it was like meeting old friends.

6. Having a job. Even though it's part time and the pay...well...let's just say that first full 2 week paycheck was quite the shocker. Jobs are not plentiful around here, none currently in the field I've worked over 25 years. I am enjoying the change though. I'm still working/helping people, it's just crafty stuff now.

7. McIntosh apples-hubby found some here!!

8. chocolate, all kinds ;)

9. Hair dye, I'm way too young to go all gray ;)

10. Most of all, health! Despite the aches and pains of getting a wee bit older, both hubby and I are still cancer free!! 6 yrs for him and 3 for me!!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Spinning and Sock Sunday

2011-11-20T13:55:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post to show you I still spin and knit socks. Just haven't finished any pair yet, but hope to remedy that soon.

Some mixed BFL in green, about 1.75 oz spun so far.

bag o'bfl awaiting it's turn on the wheel....weeeee

Now onto sock news....

Last time you saw these was in June, I was knitting them 2 at a time and was in deep denial but had hope so onward I went. Until I got to my usual 7.5" of knitting for toe ups for me. They look a bit small in the width department, but again, I was denying it. After trying them on and realizing even after the heel turn, they would be horrible to get on...to the frog pond they went. I cast on more stitches and changed needle sizes and now see below...

Whiz Bang sock part deux! Fits great and right now knitting the leg until the yarn runs out. Oh yes and knitting them 1 at a time now.

Since I love this colorway and I spun it myself, you can see why I salvaged this project :)

Well off to work for me, going to be an interesting week. I'll be working on Thanksgiving evening and on Black Friday for the first time....hoping it won't be too crazy!

What's Up Wednesday

2011-11-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Finally have 1 room that's totally finished. The others all have one or more things to do, but it's ok. The only room that has a deadline is the guest room as college guy comes home next month for a week.

View from the front door. Make a note of the colors you see here....

View of front door from living room/kitchen area. Make note of the tiles...story on that later...

Had to retouch photo a bit, but here is more of the study. This room alone has 1/2 the amount of windows I had in my last house. We have a total of 18 windows.....I got estimates on shutters and blinds and thank goodness for sales! I don't normally like white blinds, but they work here. In fact, due to the sunshine here during the day so far, no need for heat...yet.

2 out of 4 couches/loveseats in this house. It was a former model home, so it all was included. Some we like, some we didn't, thus the work in progress.

Perfect place for my table runner I think.

I do have a bookcase and bench that was originally ours in here. Each room so far has something that we previously owned which is good.

This room has no tv and will become a nice place to sit and read/knit or talk.

The story I hinted at was when this house went on the market, I showed it to hubby. One good thing about previewing houses online, you definately can weed out a lot. He saw that above tile and a few other rooms and was like...nope. Well, had the one we decided to buy next door to this one not been already sold, we'd never viewed it.

So, we decided to view this one and once we got into the kitchen/living room combo, we knew it was home. It wasn't the furniture being included that sold it, or the entire YELLOW walls of the house either. Next part was wheeling and dealing.....with success...obviously ;)

Now if I can get the dining room table cleared from bills, etc. I take some pic's soon to show you the main part we hang out in.

I will repaint it....one day...for right now, I'm trying to embrace my nemesis color...pale yellow ;)

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-15T04:00:00.001-05:00

This week is 10 Things to make with fresh Cranberries:

1. Homemade cranberry sauce- yum! Easy, peasy and good!

2. With leftover cranberry sauce, make Pork Loin with Cranberry Sauce-double yum! (I have tried PW's recipe for cranberry sauce, but I like the ocean spray one better.

3. Make a garland with popcorn. (haven't done that in ages!!)

4. muffins

5. Relish

6. Crisp

7. scones - need to try this one!

8. Jam - may have to try this one too!

9. Coffee Cake

10. New England Cranberry Duff??? What?? worth a try I think ;)

*disclaimer- I've only used the top 2 recipes, but since I usually get 2 packages on sale, I'll let you know how the other ones go!

Local Fibers

2011-11-13T12:43:00.000-05:00

I think I've stumbled upon Alpaca raising land ;) I know of at least 2 local Alpaca farms and hope to find more. I haven't visited one yet, but my local knitting group often has field trips to one of them which I hope I can make next time :)

Found the local spinning source and came home with these beauties! One of the owners told me I'd be back again one day for weaving. That's usually the next step after learning to spin....eek! Um..not right now, but I won't say never ;)

2 oz. of Dark Fawn....so soft!!

Yummy, like butterscotch!

2oz. of Tri-Color

It matches the Dark Fawn pretty well (doesn't look it here though) so I'm sure I'll be either plying them together knitting something coordinating.

One day.....

Off to start my Holiday Snobby Spinners Swap yarn! It was start spinning or unpacking the guest room....would like to ignore said guest room, but my son is due home next month....maybe 1 hr of guest room stuff, 1 hr of spinning, then 1 hr of knitting.....who knows ;)

My Funky Junkies Cowl!

2011-11-10T00:09:00.000-05:00

It arrived just in time for the cold weather!

Close up of the goodies!

Cute stitchmarkers and some yummy soap!

Close up!

It's Funky Carolina MCN in Spooky Castle

Goes great with my coat and a few of my hats too! I love it, so soft!

Linda was a great partner. Did I tell you she spun this yarn while recovering from an injury too!

Now it's time to spin for another swap! Only have 2 rooms to sort a bit more, then only the garage is left and hubby has that mostly done....if he finds another box of yarn I'm ded...dead... ;0

Funky Junkies Cowl Swap 2011

2011-11-09T01:00:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I joined a cowl swap in the Funky Junkies spinning group. We just had to spin the yarn and knit the cowl. Sounds not too bad huh.

Well add moving into the mix and it makes it a wee bit more difficult. I managed, but it wasn't the brightest move on my part ;) I finished by the deadline though so that's good :)

Here it is in fiber form

Spun up

Funky Carolina Superwash Merino
Ground Flowers Colorway
4 oz.
approx. 217 yds
13/15 wpi
Sport/dk/worsted weight

Then knit up into the Gray Gardens Cowl.

US 8 circular
No mods :)
Used 133 yds of my handspun

Here is the I-cord bind off. I'll use that one again!

I-cord cast on. That was a bit fiddly, but easy to do, I'm sure I'll use it again.

I had 84 yds of yarn leftover which I sent to her :)

Although it's almost gone....

2011-11-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

and it's barely 10 am....It was so nice to wake up to this!

and this....

View of the back of the house from the upper patio

Ha! Snowcovered tumbleweed....guess it'll be a bit before it's dried out enough to start tumbling again ;)

Birds on a fence, they love it there!

I'm sure it's just a taste of whats to come, and even though it's almost gone...very lovely!

PS. it's so nice not to be essential personnel at the time being, and to have the day off!

Hat Trifecta

2011-11-06T15:42:00.001-05:00

Whew, just in time I finished my 3 hats for Hats for Sailors! Luckily they get to wear any color on their off time on the ship.

As some of you know, my son will be an active duty Navy man in another year and a half, so the ships are kinda partial to me ;)

Turn a Square
Cascade 220 in Grape
US 7's
Only mods were not knitting stripes.

Hopefully someone will enjoy this funky hat. I need to seriously learn to knit tighter during the decrease sections. Maybe a smaller needle for them as I had to tighten them up.

#32 Bulky Beanie in Malabrigo Rios leftovers....from these
US 10.5
Malabrigo Rios in Paris Nights doubled

I had used 2 separate skeins for the socks, so I combined the leftovers for the hat. Used them all up and actually had to dip into the little leftover ball from last years hat.

I so didn't want to part with this soft one! I am actually going to knit my son one for when he comes home for the holidays as it's pretty windy here.

and...
Starving Artist

Dream in Color Groovy in Cloud Jungle (you'll see this colorway in another FO sometime soon ;)
US 10's
No mods, but if it was for me, I'd be knitting the crown decreases earlier.

In this view, it seems to fit ok...

But a bit huge in this picture. Of course if I slouched it, it would fit better ;)

Hopefully next post will be from my Funky Junky Cowl Swap. That's been my sekrit knitting. ;)

What's Up Wednesday

2011-11-02T16:43:00.000-04:00

Wow, another week gone by! Sekrit knitting is done (will post when my swap partner gets her package) and trying to finish up another hat or two for the Hats for Sailors group.

Lookee what I got in the mail today!!

Socks that Rock Lightweight Minis
approx. 708 yds total

L to R: Smokin' Cause I Am, Bumblebery, Koi Koi, Tanzanite, Oregon Red Clover Honey, Watermelon Tourmaline, Spawn of Brawn, Garnet Dreams, ST-1, Pond Scum, Queen Charlotte, Mad Hatter

Aren't they cute! Doviejay hosted a mini swap and I was lucky to get in as an alternate. You see I had to wait for my skeins (Oregon Red Clover Honey & Pond Scum) to arrive from storage, and the swap had closed.

Anyhow, she did an awesome job chopping and labeling the minis. You can see the little pictures for the colorways too.

Mine will go into my Beekeeper's Quilt stash bag for now. Of course, I may change my mind, that happens a lot around here ;)

FO's will be coming soon!

What's up Wednesday!

2011-10-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say Hi!

Remember me? I'm Sapphire aka catdog! Pardon my eye crud ;)

So um yeah hi! We have had solved the internet issues for the time being. New ISP coming next week. My new house is just too high tech now for the current one to handle it.

Thanks to all who were able to buy my destash. Still some there and more to be added I'm sure ;)

So, back to Catdog...yeah, we think Belle's spirit is with her as she all of a sudden likes rib bones and meat other than turkey? hmmm...remember that show Catdog on Nickelodeon?

Anyhow, just wanted to pop in and say hi! Knitting is going on, but it's sekrit right now so I can't show you. The new job is going good, hehe...yesterday they made a joke about using a box cutter to open boxes to unpack (heh I'm good at that lately ;) They didn't want me to cut myself. I chuckled for two reasons:
1. do they know I am a klutz? (note I walked my nose into the wall on Saturday, yeah, fat nose here!)
2. In my former working life I handled scalpels, needles, and other sharp stuff everyday.

Either way, it's a nice change so far, I'll let you know after the holiday season ;)

PS, not sure if I told you, working at a local craft store and no I have not spent my little paycheck there LOL! Only bought a candy bar so far.

Lonely yarns need love too!

2011-10-21T05:00:00.013-04:00

Hi there! Slowly unpacking boxes and trying to decide what stays and what goes (remember a fully furnished house...yikes!) Anyhow, my fiber studio is much smaller and has to house yarn, fiber, and fabric so my lack of storage is your gain ;)

I do have a cat but all yarn is in bags and tubs for storage. Non-smoking home. Paypal is preferred but email me if you prefer a money order or gift certificate to Webs (want to try a few cubics tips) **also, please note as shipping is included in most items unless otherwise noted.

ETA: I'll be adding more and updating once things are sold. Keep checking back! Thanks!!
Here we go :)
Fleece Artist Kasula

100% Mohair
1000 yards
Rainbow Colorway
It says it's bulky weight, it's really laceweight/light fingering, just a bulky skein!
Asking $28 plus shipping to your area, this skein is pretty hefty :)

Plucky Knitter Merino Lite

Merino Lite - Sisters Colorway
DK / 8 ply
100% Merino
230 yards
Plucky Knitter December Classics 2010 Colorway
It’s a great yarn base and color, sadly I’m not into this colorway anymore :(
Asking $55 shipped for all 3 skeins in US (will ship International for difference in shipping costs if any)

Brooks Farms Four Play - 4 skeins

270 yds each skein
4 ply 50% wool/50% Silk
No clue on the colorway!
Asking $55 plus shipping for all 4 skeins

Plucky Knitter Merino Alpaca Silk

Grandmother's Lilacs Colorway
4 skeins total
Worsted / 10 ply
60% Merino, 20% Alpaca, 20% Silk
225 yards each skein
Asking $80 for all 4 skeins. US Shipping included. Will ship international for price difference in US shipping.

Euroflax Linen

Sport / 5 ply
100% Linen
270 yards Mustard Colorway
Asking $36 for both skeins US Shipped, will ship International for difference if any.
Another Euroflax Linen in Natural

Asking $18 US Shipped, will ship International for difference if any

A Swell Yarn Shop Duets

Martini Olive Colorway
360 yds DK weight
100% Superwash wool
For sale $24, US shipped. Will ship International for extra if any.

Knit Picks Shine Sport in Grass

10 total skeins
8 are dyelot 8021 (skeins to the right) and 2 are dyelot 5915 (2 left skeins and see below)

Asking $20 for the 8 skeins and $6 for dyelot 5915
however will sell all 10 (they match quite well!) for $25

Interlacements Tiny Toes

185 yds each skein
color 218
100% superwash Merino wool
Asking $22 for both US Shipping included, International for difference in shipping if any :)

Omega Sinfonia (100% cotton Sportweight)

Red 5 skeins for $18
218 yds per skein

and

Black 4 skeins for $16

Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (multiple lots of different dye lots)

DK / 8 ply
80% Cotton, 20% Merino
215 yards
Berry Colorway
Dyelot 28
Asking $22 for all 4 skeins US shipped. Will ship International for extra cost if any.

Dyelot 27

Asking $12 for 2 skeins US shipped. Will ship International for extra cost if any.

Dyelot 24

Asking $17 for all 3 skeins US shipped. Will ship International for extra cost if any .

Mirasol Hacho

Asking $18 for both skeins.
DK / 8 ply
100% Merino
137 yards per skein
Colorway 302
US shipping included/ Will ship International for difference if any

Zen Yarn Garden Squooshy

420 yds of 80/20 Superwash Merino/Nylon
3 ply fingering weight
Asking $20 US shipping included/ Will ship International for difference if an

Plucky Knitter MCN fingering

Fingering / 4 ply
80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon
385 yards
Blueberry Morning Colorway
Asking $24 US Shipped, will ship International for difference if any

Dune Yarn

Bulky / 12 ply
41% Mohair, 30% Acrylic, 29% Nylon
80 yards
both skeins for $18, US Shipping included. Will ship international for price difference in US shipping.
Lots more yarn here in my flickr set!! Knitpicks etc.

Have fun!

Pumpkin Comfort

2011-10-15T00:49:00.000-04:00

Ahhh....nothing says Fall to me more than Pumpkin. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cupcakes/muffins/bread, pumpkiny colors and smells....sigh...it is my favorite!
So, when Carrie asked for test knitters I knew just the yarn I wanted to use. Funny thing is, it was the exact yarn base she wanted me to use. GMTA or what ;)

Not the best picture here, but I wanted you to see just how scrunched up you can wear it.....

Or not! It goes with my gray winter coat so well. I'm so glad I got that color as I can use hats/cowls/shawls for pops of color. My usual looking off to the side, almost covering my nose cowl photo.

Even better picture here.

My new backdrop of stones in my backyard :) I love my new photo areas.

As you can see it's a gradual sloping cowl. Bigger for the lower neck/shoulder area and just right for under your neck. You can also tell how the cables pull it in a bit. I'm sure you could block it more aggressively but I didn't want to.

Comfort Food Cowl by Irishgirlieknits
Plucky Knitter MCN Aran in Pumpkin Flame
US 8 needles

No mods, since it was a test knit I even did a swatch. I was .5 sts over on the swatch, row gauge was fine, but I liked the fabric so I continued with the 8's.

Love this yarn, it's so soft to knit with and so far wear. Too bad I only have .75 oz of a skein left :(

Rekindled.......

2011-10-07T12:50:00.000-04:00

Remember this pile of fabric?

Well now for the story behind it. I brought one small tote of unfinished quilt projects since I was transporting my sewing machine myself I thought, why not. I was busy with knitting and spinning, but one day hubby wanted to try out a new pizza place and I passed by here, Seams Sew Right Quilt Studio. While hubby and daughter picked up the pizza, I strolled over to check it out. I found a little shop with awesome fabric colors (see I was a fabric hoarder before yarn/fiber ;) and super friendly staff. I found out that I could come and hang out on Tuesdays to sew, eat, chat and since I didn't have a job yet, why not. Started out working on a few of the unfinished quilting projects I brought along.

You see, since the knitting (then spinning) bug bit about 2005, I've not done hardly any quilting....

It didn't take long for me to sign up for a few classes. This was one that intrigued me with it's construction.

I used a color palette I thought would work in almost any house we were looking at.

Not too exciting, but then I don't plan on this being the last one. In fact it may go to live with my MIL. It works ok here, but you know Christmas coming up ;)

It's an interesting construction, basically pretty easy, just keeping track of each strip set and the cutting of the strip sets as some pieces are really small.

Spicy Spiral Table Runner
As for the fabrics, a few are Moda marbles, can't remember the others as I only bought fat quarters. If you ever decide to make one, use quarter yards not fat quarters as they aren't tall enough. I am missing 1 center strip, but as you can see, (or not) it doesn't matter. You'll see more of these,

Stay tuned, I have more quilt projects coming up ;)

Still here!!

2011-10-05T11:17:00.001-04:00

Whew! The second move in 6 months was a killer! It was the shortest one too! It's been a whirlwind of activity here! Between unpacking boxes, sorting them out once again (donations/craigslist)(also wondering why we moved them here!), looking for a job, having people measure windows and install some stuff, and test knitting(more on that later!) I'm beat ;)

The movers arrived last week and we do have some furniture damage so far. I expected something to break, it's inevitable. We are trying to unpack and sort out so we can file a claim, but it's going slow when you have an entire 3 car garage full! Ok, so on of those areas is just tools/power tools, etc. ;)

This one hurts a bit. It's a cradle my FIL made for both my kids. Not an easy fix either the way he made it. I think the challenge to my husband will be to learn how to use all those woodworking tools he now has to fix it. Hopefully my FIL will visit out here and they can fix it together. We don't expect a lot in regards to a claim, but they do need to know to pack/wrap stuff better. I surely know better now myself to prevent something in the future! Heck, I learned a lot from them.

Luckily there are 5 more chairs. Um...did they not know this wasn't a folding chair ;) Seriously though, our guys here were awesome and fast. They were quite upset someone packed the crate and this happened. The table & chairs are going to my SIL, maybe she needs a stool ;)

Minor here, again another challenge for hubby ;)

All in all it could be soooo much worse. Fingers crossed for the rest of the stuff.

Someone who is making her way around the house, marking her territory.

Napping anywhere she can!

Scene from my kitchen table....That would be the clubhouse with the gym/pool...need to start visiting there soon!

Fire pit for hubby's enjoyment. Note the proximity of the hose ;)

One corner of the yard. Hmmm...rocks all around, wonder what to do with our mower and weed trimmers ;)

Another corner of the yard with mountains (don't know the names yet) and clouds. So many clouds here and open spaces. There aren't many trees here and when the wind blows, it blows...gonna be an interesting winter ;) Good think I know how to knit!

Well off to unpack another box.....

See you soon!

2011-09-22T11:55:00.000-04:00

Will be busy the next few days moving stuff over and next week the big truck comes from storage....fun times!

Not the best picture, but the fence is no longer there. It used to be a model home (yay upgrades and fully furnished). More to come!

PS. Thanks so much for your kind and cheerful comments on Belle. Each day gets better.

R.I.P. our Belle

2011-09-21T00:07:00.038-04:00

Hard to believe she was ever this small.

And grew this big! Sadly, some pictures are in storage, luckily I have these.

Sometimes she looked like she was angry, but she was a loving dog. She grew up with my kids and protected the house.

She didn't mind Sapphire hanging out with her...

Her favorite thing to do was sleep.

and sleep...

Hang out with the family...oh and eat. That girl loved to eat!!! You couldn't leave any cupboard door, etc. open. If she could sniff food, she'd find it. ;)

She was from prize winning parents. She had an underbite and was missing teeth. She wasn't show quality and if we hadn't found her, who knows what would have happened.

You made it 4 very long days across the US, you went from a very hot climate to such a comfortable one. One that you could take walks and watch the crows taunt you everyday. You were literally 4 days away from having a huge backyard to roam free in again.

RIP our Belle....you will be missed..... :(

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-20T06:00:00.003-04:00

This week: 10 Headlines from the Year You were born

1. President Kennedy assassinated in Dallas

2. Cuban Missle Crisis

3. Pope John XXII dies

4. Very first Doctor Who episode broadcast

5. 250,000 march in DC for civil rights

6. Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald

7. Hitchcock movie "The Birds" premieres

8. "The Great Escape" movie premieres

9. Alcatraz prison off the coast of CA closed

10. AT&T introduces the touch tone phone

As you can see, it was a very interesting year!

Ruckled Tannenbaum

2011-09-19T01:02:00.002-04:00

Another hat knit in one of my favorite green colorways.

My hat model is back! ;)

This colorway does look a bit different in each light, but it's green with smudges of brown in it. Definately reminds me of a tree.

Gotta love that red hair!

Interesting swirling decreases...heck interesting hat :)

The tuck stitch is pretty cool to knit. Much easier than 16 stitch cables I tell you! this isn't for me, but I'll be knitting my own soon.

Ruckle Hat by Jennifer Dassau
Published in Fall 2011 Knitcircus Magazine
US 8 16" circ and dpns
Madelinetosh 80/10/10 (MCN) Worsted in Tannebaum (limited colorway thanks to some destashes I got enough for a cowl for me to match my Crooked Tannenbaum)

No mods really. I did mess up the crown decreases a bit and ended up with an extra stitch. Guess I can't knit in public and do 2 things at the same time to my knitting LOL! I fixed it and you can hardly see.

Check out Knitcircus Magazine. All the patterns in each issue for one low price.

Love this picture of her! (she'll kill me if she sees this too ;)

High Altitude Cooking

2011-09-16T11:26:00.001-04:00

Living a mile higher than I used to, I know there needs to be adjustment in some cooking. Stuff needs to boil longer, etc. But figuring it out is a process of trial and error.

Enter my long saga with recreating the whoopie pies of my youth and early marriage.

It was mixing up ok.

They were looking ok, not as thick as I like, but getting there..

Something I can't pinpoint yet, but they are more crumbly than they used to be. I did find my original recipe, but still not sure what it is...

However, when all was said and done, they weren't too bad. I did add a bit more baking soda and powder, so hoping the next batch in my new home will be even better.

They were still good ;)

Enter my used to be awesome peanut butter fudge....
Z-0, AZ - 2

First batch looks good....if you want to eat it with a spoon...

2nd batch....?? what happened....

um...er...not supposed to look like this when it's all mixed up.

Or this...it was going so good and I smiled and thought yes....ha...the fates...I did something wrong again. I've never had it look like this before though...

So...trial and error it'll be. I'm going to make sure I don't double the batches until I've come up with the right mix. In about a week I'll be cooking on a gas stove for the first time in years....more trial and error ;)

PS. If any of my readers has a good, tried and true whoopie pie recipe, please share...I need to compare it with mine, something is...well...just missing and I can't figure it out. My father in law and I will be forever grateful! :)

Hats for Sailors!

2011-09-14T01:02:00.035-04:00

Shanti's mom, Lynne, organized this project last year. Since I'm almost a Navy mom, I'm a little partial to them ;) I knit 2 hats and hoping to knit more this year. (1 done, one OTN so far) Here's a letter from Lynne asking for help again this year. If you have some superwash wool with no project in mind, consider knitting a hat or two or more :) They get to wear these hats on their off time on the ship, where it can get a little cold.

It's that time of year again. Last year at about this time I launched a project to provide a hat for each of the sailor's on my daughter's ship, the USS Decatur. It was an amazing success in that we provided not only a hat for each of the Decatur's sailors, but also for three Coast Guard Cutters guarding Iraq's only remaining oil terminal, and the international troops that staffed that terminal ... British, Australian AND Iraqi military personnel. Talk about extending a friendly hand. Last year's hat project brought hats from all over the country, and from England and Singapore.

This year one of our knitters, Sandra Berglund, took on the project and created a Ravelry group called Hats for Sailors. We were hoping to collect enough hats over the year to cover the heads of at least one more ship. So far we've collected only 64 hats and will need a lot more to meet our goal. Soooooo, I'm coming back to the tried and true knitters from last year ... asking you once again to warm up your knitting needles and start making hats for sailors once again.

The requirements are the same. All hats must be 100% washable wool ... no synthetics due to the fire danger. You can use any pattern you want, any color you want ... we encourage you to be creative. You can go to the Ravelry's Hats for Sailors group for free patterns. If you haven't registered, do so ... it's free and easy. When you are ready to send your hats, contact Sandra for mailing information. Please remember to attach a little note of encouragement to each of the hats you send.

I am hoping that those of you who have blogs of your own will forward this on to your readers and encourage them to participate in this year's efforts to bring love and warmth to our wonderful sailors.

Thank you all, in advance, for your efforts for this year ... we even have a few fun prizes for some of our knitters.

They need them sent by November 7th! Thanks!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-13T10:25:00.002-04:00

This week: 10 things you buy every week! May or may not be groceries.

1. Coffeemate creamer-Hazelnut flavor! I go through a lot lately...umm..er..I need a day job out of the house (well I don't want one, but after the final move to the new house...yeah, gotta get one!

2. Vegtables - my onions, lettuce, zucchini

3. Fruits - frozen for smoothies, fresh whatever is in season or I'm in the mood for.

4. Milk- organic low-fat. It's the only type of milk that my daughter and I can tolerate.

5. Bread - usually whole grain or whole wheat pita breads right now

6. Orange juice - hubby uses is and it's usually the smoothie base for the week

7. Meat - some kind, it varies

8. Dinner or lunch - mostly on the weekends. After shopping too worn out to cook LOL!

9. lottery tickets - can only hope huh!

10. Gas- unfortunately, we need it!

Exciting shopper aren't I ;)

For the 3rd year......

2011-09-12T11:26:00.000-04:00

I participated in....

I was so happy to be the second one to get tagged (captain is the first one) as we should be closing on our new house in the next week or two (fingers crossed for us, some minor issues going on)

I luff red!! I was so happy to get one in my favorite color! It's amazing how Emily comes up with these designs. (after the race you can get your own copy of the pattern from Ravelry) I got it off to the PO the next day and it's on it's way to Colorado next.

Look at the cute stitchmarker and mini crochet hook for picking up them dropped stitches!

So far my Dishrag tag record is: 1 total last place finish and a 1st place finish :) Who knows what place the Lucky 7's will obtain.

Go Team!

Furry Friends...

2011-09-08T10:35:00.000-04:00

Belle...sigh....our million dollar dog! Well not really, but close! We thought her ear surgery in December would end the infections, but sadly not. They did for about 4 months but since beginning of July she's had some problems.

So after she got a ear flush last week and having to be sedated, we decided to get a few skin tags cut off her. You see she's pretty old now, 11.5 people years and is a little unsteady on her feet. She gets the skin tags bleeding by falling, slipping, etc....

So, to protect the belly and elbow stitches, we tried wrapping gauze, etc. Um..no dice...

So I got one of my old t-shirts and that fit the bill!

Although, it made us laugh so much! She looked like a child turned into a dog with it on.

True humiliation......

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-09-07T10:49:00.000-04:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-06T11:34:00.003-04:00

10 Fall/Winter Knits

Awesome topic! The top few are in order, the rest, so hoping to get to, but..um..as you'll see...

1. Finish Creature Comfort Cardi 1 repeat done, 4 to go!

2. Finish Dark and Stormy, finally separated the sleeves! Both these were put away due to the move as well as the heat of summer.

3. Mulled Cider - Will be my first purple sweater! Yay for Dizzy Sheep for great deals on sweater amounts that won't kill the bank.

4. Ruckle - The coolest hat! About to start my first one in the next day or so. Since it's a gift, I'll be knitting my own soon too!

5. Litchfield - Love this hat/mitt set! It'll be in this colorway!

6. Eadon - A perfect use for some Cascade 220 in Bainbridge Heather I have in the stash!

7. Vodka Gimlet - In yummy Plucky Knitter Merino Lite Penny Loafer.

8. Cassis - I think this will move up in the queue, I've wanted it for a long time! Will be in this yummy colorway!

9. Karren - will be the same colorway as the pattern...red...yum!

10. Irish Coffee - Not sure if I'll get to this LOL! Not sure on yarn to use yet...will think about that when I get to it.

So, that's it...Do you think I love Babycocktails's patterns or what?? The ~~best~~ scary part is that I have the yarns in the stash to knit these, I've been collecting them for a long time...I'm sure you'll see a shawl or two pop in and of course socks...who knows!

Remember Pom Poms on peds??

2011-09-05T02:48:00.001-04:00

Well if you don't, here ya go!

This is quite the cheery, bright yarn and it needed something for a little bling...well sorta ;)

They are pretty comfy and waiting for the cold weather....

Toe pic!

Heel Pic aka Poms in action ;)

Darn if I didn't have to change needle sizes, they'd be more stripey...oh well ;)

Pom Pom Peds by The Purl Bee
Claudia Handpainted Sport in Red Wagon
2.75 mm dpns for cuff, 3.00 circular for heel/foot
Mods: Knit sock 1 with 60 sts as per pattern, a tiny bit loose. Knit sock 2 with only 56 stitches. Fits much better.

Now here's hoping I finish my handspun socks that I started in May....

Handspun Friday!

2011-09-02T12:58:00.000-04:00

What started out as this...

Started looking like this....

and became a plate full of this ;)

Yummy BFL/Silk

A wee bit lumpy singles though...

But you can't tell....

GLBLF July/Aug SAL
Paris When it Sizzles on Polwarth
175 yds of BFL/Silk from GLBLF
sportweight

hiking part deux

2011-08-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

Well this hike wore me out more than the last one, so much so I rested until today to post it LOL!
First we started at the Lynx Lake Ruins. We parked the jeep, paid our money and hiked off a mile to get here.

These rocks are what's left of the pueblos that used to be there.

We then travelled this path....

To go here....

(I took this photo standing at the Ruins site)

Lynx Lake

Let me tell you, this is a very relaxing place!

It's beautiful, quiet, and perfect to sit and knit on one of the many benches all around it.

After the new house stuff is bought and maybe for Christmas, I want a kayak so I can spend time in this quiet place. It has a boat ramp, picnic tables, and grills so perfect for a little getaway for the day. Best part is it is literally less than 20 mins from this house and my new house.

I truly am so happy to be surrounded by this forest. It's close by and next year I'll get a pass so I don't have to come up with cash to go when I have an inkling to do so. It will be fun exploring it over the next few years!

Lynx Lake Restaurant and Marina is to the left up the hill a bit, you can't see it from here. It's a German/American restaurant and on Saturdays, we can get our German food fix. Sigh...we miss our 3 German restaurants!

Hiking.....

2011-08-26T00:43:00.000-04:00

Now that we live so close to many hiking trails, I figured it was about time to get outside and just do it! Of course, since my son was home, he needed something to keep him from boredom ;)

Granite Mountain was where we hiked for 2 trips. Of course I forgot my camera on day 1, these are scenes from day 2.

It's huge and full of granite....har, har ;)

Here's a section of it.

The left side of the mountain.

Climbing on up....

Someone was watching us!!

College guy!

The afternoon clouds/storms started coming on so we cut it a bit short. Slowly learning what I need to bring in a backpack. It's been over 20 years since I used to hike. Feel free to give me hints on what to bring, etc.

We're taking another hike on Friday, but it'll be near a lake, probably cooler. Now if we remember to bring the binoculars....
More pics here!

Wordless Wednesday! Sights around my home...

2011-08-24T03:16:00.000-04:00

Sneak Peek Monday

2011-08-22T17:00:00.000-04:00

I think a new theme I'll try to do each week is "Sneak Peek Monday's" A little like Wip it Wednesday, but really no commentary if any.....Play along if you want to and let me know if you do so I can check out your sneek peeks too!

Getting re-aquainted with a hibernating knit...

Working on sock mojo....

Yes, those are DPN's you see ;)

Familiar yarns in a new project....

Wonder what this could be...

Stay tuned...hoping to have something to show finished soon. Don't know what but it'll be fun to see!

Honking Neckwarmer...

2011-08-18T12:38:00.000-04:00

When I saw this cowl in an Interweave ad, I really loved the colorway...

After the book came out, I wanted to make sure I'd knit a few things in it before I bought it, and the yarn.

As you can see it's big! I like it close to my neck like this.
However, if you look at the pattern....the colorway is not the same...

Namewise it is, but there is way too much gold/yellow in here. Malabrigo yarns are lovely, soft and colorful. Variations happen in any varigated colorway, but I wasn't expecting this.

However, I think I'll keep it ;) Now to knit a hat to wear with it...you know me, gotta be sorta matchy matchy.

Rasta Neckwarmer by Breean Elyse Miller
Malabrigo Rasta in Piedras
US 17 circular
Buttons from A Good Yarn, my new LYS

No mods, just knit until the yarn was almost gone.

Wordless Wednesday! Sights around my home...

2011-08-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

Autumn Sugar

2011-08-16T12:27:00.000-04:00

Recently while reading my blogroll I saw a post asking for test knitters. I usually am such a slow knitter I don't often volunteer, but hey, since I'm not working out of the home yet and it was a small project, I was game!

Plus, as you'll see below, a good way to use up handspun. Especially when you are not a high yardage spinner like me, or if you have lefovers, or use any yarn you want! The possibilities are endless ;)

Enter the handspun I wanted to use.

GLBLF Autumnal Rite Polwarth from Oct/Nov 2010 SAL

I think I did pretty well matching the brown to the handspun.

When one's photographer aka model is napping, one must find other ways to document ;)

The mitt on the left is the 2nd one I knit. I didn't knit the wraps as in garter, I don't like to if I can help it.

Mitt 2 also has a wonky curve to it. Dunno what happened...

Doesn't matter as when they are on, who notices...not even me ;) (gotta love a self timer!)

Cane Sugar Mitts by Larissa Brown
Master color is Cascade 220 in Walnut Heather
Contrast color is Autumnal Rite, my own handspun

Mods: made the total length of the mitt longer (she tells you in the pattern how to do so), knit the wraps on 1 mitt, not on the other.

An easy pattern I feel. The thumb part was a bit fiddly with long dpn's but doable. Magic loop didn't work as well for me. I am not afraid of dpn's, just prefer ML most of the time :)

Still have more leftovers, stay tuned for how I use them!

Orange you....

2011-08-11T10:42:00.000-04:00

Glad it's Thursday? Ha...ha!

This hat was a test knit for a new friend here.

It's a bit big for me, I was planning to donate it anyways :)

I think a more pumpkiny, orange is better for me.

Cool decreases, I like the look of it. I didn't correctly knit it as you knit back/forth for the garter rows and I had bigger holes. The holes were supposed to be smaller so you could put a cord through it and cinch it up. Ooops! Quick fix was to just sew up the holes and call it good. Will most likely go to a local charity or Hats for Sailors

Lilly's Hat test knit
Universal Deluxe Chunky in Carrot
US 10 circular

What's up Wednesday!

2011-08-10T11:01:00.001-04:00

Hiya! Been a wild week or so! Daughter has started school already, and is doing ok. A lot larger school than she's used to (Senior class is bigger than her last school) but she's hanging in there. We're both still looking for jobs as well.

We also found our house!!! Awaiting the final contract signing, then the rest of the closing stuff. Fingers crossed we'll be in it the end of Septemeber, early October time frame.

I've been knitting, have a couple small FO's to show you later this week.

Whiz Banging socks going slowly...all that spinning and shawl knitting kept them a bit on the sidelines. Good for group knitting though. I'm about 1" from the heel turn....

I want to start a new shawl, however, trying to be good and finish my Roses are Pink Too! If I can stop tinking, I'll get more than 2 sections done in a week!

Ahhhh, more garter!! Currently test knitting some mitts.

The coffee color is Cascade 220 superwash....

The "other" yarn is my handspun! GLBLF Polwarth in Autumnal Rite from one of the first spin-a-longs. It matches pretty well. I think these mitts will be a great way to use up small yardages of handspun....stay tuned for these!

Handspun Friday!

2011-08-05T10:51:00.001-04:00

What started out as this..

Looked like this after a little while...

Then turned into this...

Yes,it's the same braid...wild colors I tell you!

Then became the last two bobbins spun on my Traveller.

Together they became this...

Now enjoying their time together ;)

I love how the yellow and a few other colors got bits of the black color spun into it, makes it a bit more heathery.

I navajo plied it, which if you don't spin, makes a single ply into a 3 ply yarn. It does eat up the yardage, so unless you are an awesomely thin spinner (not me yet) you don't get a lot. I am getting better though.

Two if By Hand Organic Merino
Pope Mittens (name makes me giggle!)
4 oz.
n-ply, post soak is 166yds of light worsted. Lost about 9 yds.

Organic merino was lovely to spin, these most likely will be mittens...unless I score a bit more of the colorway...then who knows what'll show up!

ETA: I scored 2 more braids so you'll be seeing it again soon!

Onward to the next spin!

I love garter stitch....

2011-08-02T01:50:00.000-04:00

I really do, call me sick or something....however, this is one garter stitch project I was happy to finish :)

Nothing with the pattern at all! I'm just a fidgety knitter sometimes. I am making myself finish things instead of jumping around and having tons of WiP's...thus you'll be seeing some getting done soon!

Guess I should have worn a different color shirt...oh well...

It really is an easy knit, relaxing too, sometimes too relaxing LOL!

Often windy around here, was a bit of a pain to pose ;)

Stripe Study Shawl
Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering, MC "Backwards in High Heels" and CC in "Henley"
US 6 circular
Mods: due to the Primo only being 385 yds each, I knew I needed to only knit 10 CC stripes (thanks to notes from Ravelry). I used a crochet bind off with a hook 2 sizes larger than I knit with.

It's lovely, soft and so drapey. Knitting with Primo is a pleasure, so soft! Depending on the job I have someday, hoping I'll get lots of wear besides with my winter coat ;)

Finish Line!

2011-07-26T10:54:00.000-04:00

My tour this year is done! I did fine by my standards!

I really had no goals, I did have 5 braids I wanted to spin up and also to ply the set of bobbins you see. I got 3 braids done and those bobbins done too.

See my wheel o'bobbins!

Still have these to ply...ran out of time.

Off to knit on some never ending garter....I do love to knit garter...but not right now ;)

My favorite so far!

2011-07-23T01:51:00.001-04:00

What started out as this.....

Became these (one finished pre-move, one finished a few weeks ago)

Then became this....

To this....

And is now these!!!

Don't mind me...I'm in love with them...can you tell?

Two if By Hand
Superwash Merino
La Di Da (brown/burgundy/gold) 2 oz.
Was Only Joking (Blues/reddish) 2 oz.
N-Ply 193 yds total (105 & 88 yds)
Sport/DK weight
3rd TdF finished spin
I split each braid in half lengthwise first, then split them each 4 total times (8 strips total of each colorway). Then I spun them alternately one of LDD, then one of WOJ.

I have to admit, I didn't want to spin it this way...was going to spin them separately and figure something out.

So....glad....I went out of my comfort zone/box and just did it. I so love the colors!! It's also my most total yardage of n-ply :)

I spun the bobbins on my Traveller and plied them on my new Lendrum...ahh...the wheel I should have bought first. I learned on one and have always wanted one...after the last few months and my birthday...I'm a happy spinner!

Can you tell ;)

A little sight seeing

2011-07-19T02:11:00.000-04:00

Living in Northern Arizona means not too far from here!

Last time I was here, I was 13 yrs old. Don't think it changed much LOL!

This is only one section, Mather Point I think. We got to another area, but then the rain, thunder, & lightening arrived and we had to cut the trip short.

Oh...it's the Grand Canyon, almost forgot to tell you!

The kids...um..young people ;)

Amazing view!

Trust me, I'm not ill at all, have no idea why I'm scowling.

This was from the burrow/donkey/horse trail. We started walking down a bit before the sky opened up on us. I knew I didn't like heights much..well this confirmed it even more. I surely won't be joining hubby on the burrow/donkey/horse trip in the future. In fact quite a few pictures were blurry from that area.

It's less than 3 hrs away and we've already made plans to go back and visit a few more areas and even hike a bit....well maybe on a not so high trail ;)

College guy is only here for a few more days, than off to the Navy for a month, then back to school for his senior year...sigh..

What's this????

2011-07-08T17:29:00.003-04:00

Haven't seen this around these parts for a while huh?

Thankfully almost every window here has shades. They are huge windows and since we're here temporarily, I am not buying any to fit. I did bring a few of my old curtains with me (not in storage) so I used them where I could.

However, the kitchen has 2 windows with mini-blinds...mini-blinds that don't go up or down easily at all (takes 2 people) So, luckily I brought my sewing machine and this fabric remnant.

I had originally bought it to make tote bags for sale way back when I did that. I re-found it stored in a hope chest while packing up. Glad I threw it in the blanket box to come with us.

One casulty of the move, my lipped edge ruler. This is an awesome ruler as it catches over the edge of your cutting board, and ensures you get a straight cut. Sigh...I'll still use it and hopefully find another one on sale one day. Fingers crossed it's one of the few move casulties we find.

Another thing I love about this place is the sunlight! I wanted the blinds to stay 1/2 down so I could open them whenever. (ha who am I kidding they are stuck like that)

I luckily had enough to make 2 sets of curtains. This is the side of the kitchen.

This is by the sink. It is so nice to have a window by the sink. Definately a must while house hunting. My wishes for it are cupboard space and window by the sink. Time will tell, more house hunting tomorrow.

I may just leave these here when I go, we'll see if they fit in with my new place.

You may see some quilting around here...someday soon ;)

TdF Days 1 & 2 Progress....

2011-07-05T02:34:00.001-04:00

First finished handspun!

After it's fulling bath, it ended up being 235 yds of 17 wpi (fingering, but a heavy one) I have a mini skein of about 29 yds too as it all wouldn't fit on one bobbin.

Lots of different colors, should be interesting knit up.

Here's how it started!
Funky Carolina Handcarded Batts
Eff the Neutrals! 4 oz.

Sunday's progress, about 1.5 oz. of organic merino from Two if By Hand.

Monday's progress on the same half braid.

Not a lot of the greenish yellow on the end of it. Will be interesting plied up.

Off to rest up for the rest of the week!

If it's July 2nd....

2011-07-02T01:50:00.001-04:00

It must be time for the....

From July 2-24 as the bikers are Touring France, us crazy spinners are challenging ourselves in different ways by spinning.

I have some goals...about 5 braids, a few fibers I've not spun before too. Not sure how much spinning I'll do when my son gets home, but it's worth a try ;)

Here's one team I'm on

Two if By Hand-awesome colorways...stay tuned.

I'm also with the Snobby Spinners and the Funky Junkies!

Speaking of Funky Junkies....this will be my first spin!

One of Funky Carolina's carded batt sets I got in a destash. I plan on spinning this as a single ply yarn, so the challenge for me will be treadling slooooowwww!!
Hehe..looks like a pelt o'colors to me!!

Tobuscus the Octopus, Formerly known as....

2011-06-30T14:51:00.002-04:00

The Octopus with no name ;) After I presented this to my daughter, who has been patiently waiting for eons for this, she had no name picked out.

By last nite, it was to be Tobuscus..aka Toby the Octopus.

Eeep, you're seeing my underside *blushes*

I think this is my "best" side!

See, I'm not too big, just right!

Octopus by Hansi Singh in Amigurumi Knits
Stitch Nation Alpaca Love in Lotus and Dusk
US 5's ML and DPN's

Only mods used were I used kfb at the beginning of the head section instead of what increase the pattern used. It does leave the bar, but it was way too fiddly with 4 dpn's and impossible with magic loop.

Suggest that you knit all 8 legs, then seam them. Oh and don't use single ply yarn!! I started this in Stitch Nation Wool love and when seaming leg 2, it fell apart.

It's so neat seeing how the construction of these wee things is. It was a bit fiddly, but not too bad. Besides, seeing a 16 y/o smile when she gets it, priceless! She may not let me knit her hats/sweaters/etc. but wee things are ok!

Since most all of my stash was packed on it's way to storage, I had to buy more yarn...eeek. Seriously though, this yarn can be bought at your local craft store and is really soft and great to work with...

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-06-29T13:02:00.000-04:00

Patterning...

2011-06-26T00:06:00.000-04:00

Since I started knitting like 6 yrs ago, I often find knitting patterning in everyday items. I don't buy everything patterned I see, but this certain item fit the necessity of storage that was needed for our bathroom.

It was a neat find.

It hides everything we need inside and looks good.

Oh, and I had to find a little basket to match as well :)

Well Hello There!!

2011-06-22T13:23:00.002-04:00

Whew! It's been a long few weeks! We arrived in Arizona last Thursday and just got the internet installed this week. Had a few problems with it, but seems to be going good now :) I missed my online friends!

Anyhow! The last week or so in NC was tremendously crazy! Getting the house ready for sale (re-painting some ceilings and trim work that I had paid someone to do, but....well we won't go there!) Oh and packing, I ran out of boxes...sigh...had to change the truck size as well. The house is empty and for sale if you know of anyone moving in the area ;)

Our trip out here wasn't too bad. Four full total days of driving. The animals did much better the last 2 days when we didn't medicate them....figures! One of the tires of the car carrier got a flat so we had to get it replaced outside of Amarillo, TX. As I was driving, I didn't get to see as much outside as I wanted to, but what I did see was beautiful, flat, and hilly/mountainous. I sure wished we could have taken more time to enjoy the areas we passed, but hubby had a deadline :(

Now we are pretty much settled into our temporary quarters, once our house is sold, we'll be moving again. As much as I love the charm of this old house, hubby's boss prefers him not to live where he works, and for other reasons, so don't we. We are thankful that we did get this place as having pets makes it hard to rent.

Oh..you wanna see pictures I bet!

Three stories! Old calvary officers quarters....the stories it could tell!

I love this porch!! Once I get some chores/paperwork done, I plan on hanging out here a lot! Knitting and spinning! Oh, how a hammock would be so awesome huh!

This view is looking out from the porch.

Beyond those trees is the Community College where the Farmer's Market is. I plan on being there bright and early this Saturday to check it out.

When I first walked into this room, I claimed it for my own! (heck we only have 5 bedrooms, living & dining room, etc...) It's pretty empty too, 95% of our stuff is in storage.

Those shelves are built in and wonder just how many things have lived there before....

Here's the after! It's pretty cozy and close to the kitchen. I spend almost all my time here! Funny thing is, it's the room with the most stuff in it too...priorities right ;)

It also doubles as an office. Daughter is waiting on a USB wifi adapter so her computer will work, I have to share mine ;) BTW, she has the entire 3rd floor to herself. Her own bathroom as well. We spent the weekend assembling furniture (trying not to think that we'll have to dis-assemble this furniture again...)

Love my sitting area! (someone else does too) I can see outside, feel the breezes and just relax (or try to).

Oh and for knitting content, that bowl at the base of the stand is holding this...

Stripe Study Shawl My colors blend together more than being very contrasty, but I like it.

In a nutshell, we're slowly getting used to the 3 hour time change, mile high elevation, and dryness. Saline spray and lip balm is my best friend right now ;)

So what have you all been doing these last few weeks?

Oh Gourd...

2011-06-06T23:12:00.000-04:00

At our last guild knit night, they surprised me with this! So cool and very unexpected.

A gourd made into a knitting bowl.

I've always seen gourds made into different stuff and wanted one.

She used fabric strips dipped in something to line it.

All of these were inside!

Here I was buying some skeins of cotton (oops, had packed and sent off all mine) to knit some...

Now I don't need to ;)

Crooked Tannenbaum

2011-06-02T00:14:00.001-04:00

Hmm...what's that?

Welcome to my last FO in the State of NC! *happy dance*

Hey...I spy a fence, not my fence, but my neighbor's which withstood the tornado despite our tree landing on it ;) We took ours completely down and when I went to take my FO shots, there it was!

The things I do in almost 100 degree weather...model a wool hat! Good thing it has some lacy parts to it.
I knit this as part of the MadMay KAL on Ravelry. It took all month, but hey, I've been a wee bit busy this month ;)

Crooked Paths by Melissa LaBarre
Madelinetosh MCN Worsted - Tannenbaum Colorway (this is her Etsy store which she debuts her new base and colorway lines.)
US 5 & 7 circulars.

No mods used, easy to knit by the chart even in my movingfriedbrain! Have about 1/4 skein left and another entire skein so hoping for a cowl and maybe some mitts...stay tuned!

In a few hours the movers will be here...then t-11 days and we'll be on our way outta here!

ETA: the modeled shots are the true color, the red mulch makes it hard to make the green show up...hmmm

Campfire Fondant Socks

2011-05-29T17:06:00.000-04:00

What? Did you think I had given up knitting? Not....a....chance!! I admit I'm not spinning as much as I want, but that takes more energy and paying of attention, some knitting, I can be satisfied with a row or two ;)

Bright colors or what! Always loved this colorway but I admit when I was knitting it up, not as much. While knitting the foot of the first sock, I realized someone else would love these wild, crazy socks.

Modeled on the new porch paint job :)

Toe pic!

I gave them Friday night to the "Mom" of our knitting group/guild. She's around 82 and is always knitting or crocheting for others. In all the years I've known her, she's loved every pair of socks I've knit and joked that she wanted a pair. I don't often knit adult socks for others, but in this case I knew she'd love them.....and she did, what a smile I got from her!

Campfire Socks by Jacquelynn Vance-Kuss
SweetGeorgia Yarns Speed Demon Sock in Fondant Colorway
US 3's, magic looped.

No mods, an easy to remember pattern, very soothing to knit!

Next pair up....2 at a time plain janes! Yes, I'm all about the simple knitting right now...sorta ;)

Friday goings on!

2011-05-27T06:44:00.000-04:00

Just popping in to say hi! Lots going on as one can expect.....

-I am surrounded by boxes...of all sizes...better get used to it for the next month or so...

-Instead of a 2 bedroom apartment for temporary housing.....we are getting a 3 story house! YIKES....still can't take alot though...

-I am now unemployed....I still get a paycheck until the end of July due to hoarding my leave...but still...very scary...I haven't applied for a job in about 15 years...been at the last job for 21 years.

-Impatiently waiting for handyman to finish some jobs around the house....hrmphf!

-aaaahhhh nice antique white walls now...grumble...boring and they attract dirt easily!!.....(poor painting guy...I do like color, he had to hide a lot!)

-some, minimal knitting...more like just before I pass out, a row or two

-landscapers arrive on Monday, figures my yard will be awesome now...

-movers arrive on the 2nd....should be interesting...wonder if we have 18,000 lbs of stuff??? Inquiring nosy minds wanna know...

Buy a new bed for Belle and she has to share it with Sapphire!

That's it for now...have an FO, but that's the next post! Have a good weekend everyone!

Fiber prOn

2011-05-20T15:30:00.000-04:00

Haven't done this in a while..a bit of time to kill while waiting for the rooms to dry before I put stuff back in them...going, slow, but going ;)

Allspunup's May/June Spin-a-long fiber!!!

Love the different colors! So glad peeps like to destash as I hesitated too long in the sign ups.

Will definately be something for hubby...methinks he needs a new scarf for his new job for the upcoming fall/winter...

Stay tuned to spinning...well..sometime ;) I forsee at least the last few weeks of June spinning time!

Allspunup Merino/Silk 80/20
Down to Earth Colorway
4 oz.

Coming soon to a bobbin near you..er..ok someday!

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-05-18T00:10:00.000-04:00

T-????

2011-05-11T23:56:00.000-04:00

Whew, getting all sorts of busy around here!! I've got a painter, handyman, and about to hire a tree removal person and landscaper/yard person! So hope this sells this place fast :)

This pile o'wood is now gone and is replaced with old, rotten porch posts and banisters...more on that another day..

Give me a minute to say good bye to my sage green walls...

Ok, I'm back! As you can see, coat 1 of antique white....boring, but necessary to brighten up and help to sell. The ceilings are looking awesome too! Bright white semi-gloss paint is making them very perky!!

So wished the movers were coming soon...would be great to get rid of some boxes I keep tripping over ;)

Dining room looks great! So hoping we don't have to have the wallpaper below the chair rail removed...

Remember this?? Well my little solution turned out into what you see below!

It's all kinds of awesome!! Not too expensive I'm told (handyman will send me the bill I know ;), but again, should help sell...unless they don't like black...eep!

I think the corner design really makes it interesting...

Coffee station! In this room, I really wanted a creamy beige, light brown to match the counter tops...but, the boring antique white really pops in there...besides, I'm not painting to my specs! Heck I'm not painting at all. Since my surgery, any prolonged overhead work isn't easy to do, the packing...waiting to pack, etc.. is about all I can handle right now...

That is until 10 days from now....what's happening then?? Well, after 21 years of loyal service I will be leaving my job. My security in earning a living and heck in doing what I know. This gives me 2 weeks to get the house on the market and let A finish school. ..Luckily I've been ~~hoarding~~ saving my leave so I will still get paid until mid July. But, don't cry for me ;) I'm so looking forward to starting over and seeing what the future holds...scary...most definately, exciting....very...

T-30 so days and Arizona bound!!

Take me back Thursday....

2011-05-05T00:24:00.024-04:00

When one is cleaning out the closets in one's attempt to prepare for painting and packing...one finds things that have been put in a "safe" place? (no I didn't find my handknit Plucky cashmere cowl :(((((

You know, now that I think of it...the maker of this afghan is who taught me to crochet all those years ago...

Now I'm not gonna tell you how long either...so don't ask ;)

I love the color combos she chose way back when. (still not telling!)

The "she" was my babysitter. I am the oldest, but my parents had a late in life baby and I surely wasn't old enough to watch us all...

It's had some use over the years, but for the last 15 or so (I think) it's been stored in a "safe" place.

I dunno why I'm worried about it, I'm sure it's Red Heart or some other acrylic, so you know it'll be around for a good long time :)

I don't have a lot of momentos from my childhood, the few I have are dear to me and unearthing them lately brings back some good and sad memories....now to pack them back up and move on :)

Weekends were made for....

2011-05-01T22:06:00.001-04:00

well I wish it was for a certain beer (aging myself here or what!)

What you see here is some of the tornado damage of a few weeks ago.

Trust me, it could have been so much worse, we are really thankful! Finally, the insurance adjustor came out and took pictures and checked out our roof. (only minimal damage, a few loose shingles...phew!!)

So, hubby, daughter and I spent the weekend tearing down the entire fence and jungle gym (wooden fort/swing set)

Quite a pile o'wood there! Now to call and get it hauled off by the city, which I'm sure is quite busy right now, hoping it won't take too long.

The realtor we had stop by suggested the removal, it was pretty run down and the gate was barely hanging on. We were going to have it repaired, but decided to let the new homeowner have at it.

Farewell my FO post friend! Onward to new backdrops!

2011 Crochet Potholder Swap...Received!

2011-04-27T22:49:00.001-04:00

Amongst the pile of boxes by the front door today, these lovelies arrived! (don't get excited over the boxes..only 1 had a skein or two of yarn and Malabrigo Book 3 :) (Lots I want to knit in there!) The others were stuff for moving...
It's always exciting to see what ones you'll end up with after seeing everyone's FO's in the thread.

How intricate or a lot of crocheting in this one!

What's kinda funny is I copied her little tag idea...funny I got one of hers!

I really love this pattern, simple but the different colors make it :)

Good thing Cristi doesn't live too close...um..er..she might want this one ;)

This one is a neat construction, you add the edging after.

Neat design here too :)

No one has received mine that I know of yet. I love mine and will pack them away with last years to decorate my new home..um..er..now where is the box I put them in?????

Yes, there is still knitting going on...

2011-04-24T23:43:00.001-04:00

Despite the packing and uncertainty of just when certain home repair projects will start...what to do with the animals when the house is painted, then carpeted...I know it'll all work out and thank goodness we still have a few weeks to go...

One needs the knitting to keep her wits about her that's for sure!

Here are some interesting socks! Eye blazing colors for sure!

Another pair I'm attempting 2 at a time via magic loop. They are plain jane socks so we'll see how long I last this way...

They are my handspun too! :)

Finally a shawl with just a wee bit of detail to keep it interesting...

Off to knit a little bit more.....reward for packing boxes and preparing for a yard sale in a few weeks...yes...we....are....crazy...my in-laws will be back in town that weekend too...actually happy I'm on call then...um..er....I think...

Have a good week everyone!

I'm just a tote....

2011-04-23T01:03:00.005-04:00

Just a lonely new ~~tote~~ chest, and I'm sitting here waiting to see what I will be filled with. Hope it's something soft and squooshy...not some boring books or ugh...clothes...I'm a biggun...I can hold 40 gallons :)

You see my new owner is moving across a few states and will be living in temporary quarters for up to 6 months... (shhhh she's a little tense about that...something about living here for over 20 yrs makes her a bit nervous...excited, but nervous)

She's trying to decide just what yarns and projects (mainly those like 3+ sweaters she needs to finish knitting, oh and the 3 socks in progress).. can go inside...she won't have her craft/fiber/yarn/sewing/guest room again for a while...she's not quite sure of what to think of that...she'll get over it I know...she's a good trooper...however...those decisions...they vex her...she needs her fibery fixes to keep her sane...hmmm...

Don't mind her if she's here sporadically over the next few weeks or if she blabs on about the so called "fun" of moving.....she told me something about people coming over to fix up the place...to pick it apart and see just how much someone will pay for it...to decide what goes on the truck and what must stay behind to be loved in a new home...

Decisions....Decisions...

ETA: Turns out, we'll be renting a smaller moving van for our necessary things for at least 6 months (hoping for less)and towing our truck...more yarn/patterns/fiber is necessary right....right... ;)

ETA part deux: Hubby confiscated this tote and put dvd's and the wii in there...had to buy a new one ;) a bigger new one ;)

Wild, Windy, Weather

2011-04-16T22:25:00.000-04:00

So glad it's over and turned sunny again! We had tornado's hit all over NC and other Southern areas today.

It was scary and loud and luckily our house was spared major damage as others nearby weren't as lucky...

A tree decided to crack up and land on the neighbors fence...

A tee tree...

So glad there was nothing below in their yard to get hurt or their house...phew on that one!

Our slowly dying fence keeled over a section...

And one post cracked under the pressure too :(

All of my local friends have checked in on Facebook, so happy so far no one is injured or homeless. Quite a few areas have totaled houses. In fact, one at the corner of my street no longer has a fence like this...it's all over everyone's yard and so much damage to their house...they are not home either...

A crew of young people went through the neighborhood with axes and chainsaws helping people out. In fact, at this posting, they had cut up this tree and were fixing the fence as our neighbor has small dogs. Just when you think no one helps anyone anymore...they come along.

Took pictures for the insurance guy as we need to get the stump out....cause we gotta get this house ready....ready for what you ask...

For mid June.....why you ask???

We are MOVING!!! To the mountains of Arizona!! (I repeat Mountains...mile up...high altitude, not flatlands and heat) No it's not Maine, but close to it and it'll have to do for now! More on that later...gotta go knit and spin while I still can ;)

YPF-Not even close version :)

2011-04-15T00:15:00.005-04:00

I love the colors in this scarf I knit my MIL! I scored another skein in a destash too.

Then I saw the same colorway for sale and bought it...

Go ahead, click back to the scarf....I'll wait ;)

Not even close huh!!
Some very pretty colors, don't get me wrong.

But when your heart is set on another, sometimes a "not even close" version just won't do.

My loss could be your gain! I have 4 skeins of this yarn! It's pretty soft and I loved knitting with it.

Sheep Shop 2 Bulky 100% Merino Wool
Spring Colorway
90 yds per skein

All 4 can be yours for $20 plus shipping. (will ship International too) Just email me if you want it. I'll need your zip/post code.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-12T06:00:00.009-04:00

10 Favorite Snacks....in no particular order ;)

1. Plain chips...ahhh- Humpty Dumpty are my favorite, but hard to get down South...I love Lay's Natural's Thick Cut with Sea Salt...yummmmm! Lately, hubby has been stealing them...

2. Apples-especially MacIntosh, when I can find them. Other favorites are Granny Smith, Pink Ladies (something like that??), red delicious..

3. crackers with cheese - can be cheddar, swiss, asiago, or just plain american...and cream cheese spreads..my downfall. As for crackers, almost any kind will do. I do like sesame & poppy seeded ones the best. But sometimes a good ole' Ritz is just fine :)

4. dried cherries and cranberries - sometimes on my salad or just eating them.

5. Heath bars...wth! I can't get enough of them lately...mostly I leave them right there at the store so they don't tempt me!!

6. grapes - my favorite are Thompson Seedless ones :)

7. Bread - so bad for me, but who can resist freshly baked bread. Not that I make it fresh anymore...

8. Nature Valley granola thins...dark chocolate, granola..yeah I feel like I'm cheating and being good all at the same time ;)

9. Red licorice - Twizzlers cherry is one I do like...Red Vines not so much..dunno they taste funny to me.

10. Pretzels - ahh..another comfort snack. Especially if my tummy is upset. My favorites are loop kind, you know not straight ones ;) A new one I like is thinly sliced. Freshly baked pretzels...um..er..must resist..it's that fresh bread thing you know ;) There you have it, some good some bad snacks...tons more I forgot, I know ;)

PS..I just figured out my html stuff..needed to update my post editor...who new...gah!

Circular Needle destash

2011-04-10T19:49:00.011-04:00

Hi! Been doing some weeding out of my extra needles. Since I am a very tight knitter, using some of these are just not working anymore. Plus, it's hard for me to use 16" circulars. Some needles have been barely used and are in great condition.

So, my loss is your gain! If you purchase more than one set of needles (some are sold singley and some are sold in a set of 2) you get $1 off per set/single. I don't mind shipping International, but may need to ask for a few extra$$ for shipping, still a steal) :) PS: dog/cat in home.

Asking payment via paypal and just email me your choice(s). I don't have blogger access during the day to mark the ones sold, but will try to email you.

Ok, damn blogger!! Each time I go in to edit, it messes up! So linking you to my flickr destash page HERE iffin you are interested. Thanks!

Finished :)

2011-04-06T19:09:00.007-04:00

A few are eye-searing, but I had a lot of compliments on them!

Previously, I had 3 done. Now see 3 more and why I finished 6 instead of the required 5.

This would look good in my kitchen...but can't keep it ;) and the back :) This one...it was the 5th one...then that white section you see...

It doesn't like the darker blue next to it. It let it bleed all over it...so badly I had to rip it back to the blue section and redo. Glad I had enough yarn...

Love me some gray! This eye searing one...yeah...the 6th one...it replaced the green/white/gold one...all the white on that one got bled on :(

yikes! This orange!

Off they go in the mail to be redistributed who knows where :) African Flower Mandala Pot Holder 3.5 & 4mm crochet hook Various colors of Tahki Cotton Classic and Aslan Trends Pimo Classico cotton A few flower centers are a bit "different", by the 3rd to 6th one, no problem following the directions ;)

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-05T00:41:00.002-04:00

10 Favorite 1 Hit Wonders, in no particular order....

1. Taco - Putting on the Ritz I like the funky beat and voice.

2. Mary Jane Girls - In My House why..dunno, just like it :)

3. The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men HELLO, single, in college and partying...enuff said ;)

4. Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me we would do some funny dances to this!

5. Tommy Tutone - (867-5309) Jenny, Jenny weirdly, the 867 is in my area...wonder if I dial it and 5309..would Jenny answer ;)

6. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come on Eileen I like the beat and guess it was the start of my liking of British singers, etc.

7. Soft Cell - Tainted Love Now who hasn't sung this, crying over some dumb boy!

8. Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take it! Nope, we aren't gonna! Many a morning with hoarse voices from yelling this!

9. Alannah Myles - Black Velvet sniff...my favorite one to hold my son when he was a wee baby and dance/sing around the house to calm him...put him to sleep...well try to anyways!

10. Madness - Our House...in the middle of the street...yeah another British band.

Yeah....I'm an 80's girl... can you tell ;) Um..er..can you tell how or what I spent doing from 1981-85????

What's going on Wednesday??

2011-03-30T00:30:00.003-04:00

Well, I've been hookin' lately as it's that time of year again! 2011 Crochet Potholder Swap! I really wanted to try a new pattern this year and then worried I'd be too stressed about other stuff to pay attention to detail.. Been eyeing the African Flower pattern for a while, I could almost imagine a blanket of them...but until then African Flower Mandala Potholder will have to do ;) Here's the first one! I didn't quite do the flower according to the instructions..but it's pretty and useful! I like the backs, you just go on and on and match them to the fronts... Onward to the 2nd one...um..so colorful..yeah.. that'll make up for the WTH were you doing during the flower part?? Different, but hey, it's still pretty and still a useful potholder ;) Just love this blue...sigh..I had less than a yard left after this. 3rd time is the charm! Oh yes! This is how the flower should be! I didn't fully soak this one yet...thinking I will as it should fluff the back up more...you know fill it in. Various colors of Aslan Trends & Takhi Cotton yarns 3.5mm and 4.0mm hooks 2 more to go!

A Tale of 2 Fleece...

2011-03-28T23:01:00.005-04:00

or is it fleeces...hmmm anyhow! I'm sure this will be a small series of posts on how I'm doing with this...yeah...this huge box of wool that arrived at my house Monday.

You see, a Dr. I taught to knit now lives on a farm, she sent me 2 out of the 3 fleeces she had.

The ram is a Southdown "Babydoll" and his name is Papa Fuzzbutton!

Here's a close up of some of his locks. Here is...

Fiona, she's a 1/2 Suffolk, 1/2 Babydoll (white fleece-- very soft).

and some of her locks! I separated them and now they are awaiting a bath & some picking (0r whatever you call it)

What the heck did I get myself into huh?? I'm only cleaning them, then sending them off for processing...should prove to be interesting.. stay tuned ;)

Newest Fellow on the Block!

2011-03-24T18:18:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to my hubby!

Official Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives

He got his certificate this fall, but the ceremony made it really official! I had to find his amongst over 300 people! Let me tell you, caps and gowns at our age are not flattering at all ;)

I'm so proud of him, a long, hard road and here's hoping there is a light at the end of the tunnel...time will tell ;)

Whiz Bangs

2011-03-22T21:08:00.004-04:00

Such a happy colorway!

And oh so very hard to photograph too!

Some colorful singles...

To a pretty awesome ply.... not as tight as I usually like...but still knittable :)

Enjoying the bed of clover..

So many colors....

Makes me smile just to look at it.

So very soft!!! Now what will it become...who knows...

Whiz Bangs
SW Merino by Two if By Hand
279 yds of fingering/light sport

Did I say so...very...soft ;)

"Enchanted"

2011-03-16T21:52:00.004-04:00

When I first received my two braids for the All Spun Up Ravelry SAL for Feb/Mar I was more happy with the base than the colors. I didn't dislike the colors, they just didn't seem to be intense enough with the green,(not much for pastels) The purple was ok ....shame on me....

Shouldn't judge a book by it's cover huh! Also, one should not answer a plea for destashing to help someone for a sweater....yeah...shame on me again!

This fiber was awesome to spin! My singles were 24wpi, I kid you not!!

All too quickly the spin ended. Look up, um...don't those colors look intense to you, not washed out...yeah, shame on me again ;)

I knew while spinning the singles, it would be navajo plied. I would sacrifice yardage as my singles are not super thin, but to me it could be plied no other way.

A wee bit o'energized yarn here before it's bath!

Enjoying it's rest on a bamboo plate...

I'm so bummed I destashed the other braid!

Varying intensities of the purples and greens...love!!

I'm thinking this will stripe up when knitted too...not sure if a cowl or hat...it's so soft and squishy...might be a cowl, I can always knit a contrasting hat...or hey, if I move to the cold, they'll be mittens...or not...for now, I'll just pet it and call it George!

alpaca/merino/silk
130 yds of worsted weight, 12 wpi
navajo plied

From AllSpunUp

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-15T00:24:00.000-04:00

Hi! This weeks topic, favorite kinds of pie!! Oh...um..yum!!

1. Lemon Meringue - just yum!!

2. Strawberry, preferably mine ;)

3. Blueberry - even better if Maine blueberries ;)...seriously, I like almost any berry pie

4. Coconut Cream - I could eat one all by myself...probably why I never keep it in the house ;) Sonic has a good shake though...

5. Pumpkin - mainly in the fall

6. Apple - especially with Macintosh and other apples mixed in :)

7. Boston Cream - chocolate, sponge cake & custard...yum!

8. Touche Pie - French Canadian meat pie, sigh I miss my Me'mere's!

9. Chocolate Chip aka Tollhouse Cookie pie - now what's not to love about this...huh ;)

10. Key Lime - love the tartiness of this!

So, so many more! Leftover baked chicken pie....strawberry rhubarb...

You notice no nut pies...yeah..pecan is ok, not a favorite

Links not necessarily recipes I've tried, but hey, gets you started should you now be hungry for some PIE!

And on it goes....

2011-03-10T00:41:00.001-05:00

I know things could be sooo much worse right ;) So, that being said I am pretty glad so far the only "extra" project other than painting and some polyurethaning, is going to be taking care of this...

Yup, because I had a nice edge put on the front, it made the back of the countertop shorter...a lot of the wall got damaged by the removal of the old one...

So the little bit of time I had in between installers, off to the home improvement store I went.

Came up with these black rope tiles. First time tiling....and using grout, should be interesting. Let's hope I don't have too much to cut!

You can see a potential cut here, but since I don't plan on putting the tile in front of the black backsplash any longer, I should be ok here...fingers crossed.

Oh, and now I've got to paint the ends :( And of course on this side, you can see where it's even taller than the tiles (from a previous attempt at caulking strip by me...grr) Hopefully it'll come off well. Cripes, why does your wall look dirtier in pictures then IRL??

Here's one side done! The other side wasn't too tidy so this is all you see until the tiling is done. Love my new sink, it's huge and doesn't drain all the water out until you are ready to! ;)

My faux granite aka formica :D

If anyone has any trim solutions other than tiling, please let me know!! I can still take the tiles back ;)

Wip it Wednesday--The House Version

2011-03-09T00:41:00.003-05:00

So what's new?? With us, it's another version of getting your 20 year old house updated and ready for a future sale....

I call this stove on a tiger ;) (one of DD's old blankets I made)

Hubby and I saved like $400 removing the old countertops, stove and sink. At first I was skeered...hubby + me + DIY isn't normally a good thing ;) Probably because I'm a perfectionist :P, he's more easy going, lets get it done!

Anyhow, it was really easy! Well for me, I wasn't the one on the floor with my head in the cupboards unscrewing the stuff. But hey, I had to remove it all..(and I'll be putting it back too!) I did break the caulking seal on the tops of them, that wasn't too bad. Cupboards have been washed and I'm so getting rid of some crap before I put the stuff back...

You can see the boring beige the wall used to be...then you can see my dry brushed gray paint. But, since we have to get house friendly colors, I'm sure it'll be a form of boring beige one day soon again. I almost painted it a few weekends ago...then thought better of it. Good thing too, as um..well, there were a few dings from my caulk releasing job.

eek! No sink! Cannot WAIT for my new one!! Poor cupboards need some TLC too. I think a sanding and coat of polyurethane will spruce them up. That's a job for another day....

As you can see, my kitchen area is very small! One day, it would be nice to have more cupboard space, but for now, I'm actually glad I don't!

We're moving....in June....just not sure if it's 2011 or 2012 ;) Stay tuned and see what's next in the house sale prep adventures of Z & J!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-08T00:06:00.000-05:00

Hi!

This week's edition is favorite smells! Here are mine in no particular order!

1. Cinnamon- candles, food, ahhhhh just a great scent!

2. Fresh cut grass-even the candle I had once wasn't too bad.

3. Balsam fir- trees or even the faux scent in candles...love my balsam fir!

4. Vanilla- especially the vanilla cupcake candle smell! I have been known to sniff the bottle of vanilla just before I add it to my baking ;)

5. Caramels - mmmmmm

6. Chocolate - double mmmmmm

7. A freshly bathed baby - well, what I remember, it's been 16 years, I think it's the baby lotion smell ;)

8. Pumpkin bread baking - reminds me of fall

9. Snow - no I'm not weird, but I can smell it in the air ...well I used to, I'm a bit out of practice ;) here's hoping I get more practice soon!

10. Lilacs - I'm not too much of a flowery scent liking person except for this one. One day I hope to have a few bushes again

There you have it, I know there are more, but these are all I could think of right now. Pretty funny most of them are food related ;)

Take me back Thursday....Belle Edition

2011-03-03T00:00:00.004-05:00

Hard to believe almost 11 years ago she was this little!

Now she's this big!! A "healthy" girl!

Random quotes when people see her...
"are Bloodhounds supposed to be that fat?"
"does she bite?"
"she doesn't like food does she ;)"

You can see how big her head grew too!

She's a pretty good girl with bad hips, eyes, and hearing and lumps all over her! She's prone to fatty tumors and we've had one large one removed under her neck. Her ear operation went well, still a small infection, but nothing like before. Now she tells her daddy when it's time for bed ;)

C & C Replacement Cowl....

2011-02-27T16:34:00.004-05:00

Replacement you may ask...sniff...yeah, my lost somewhereinthishouseIprayIwillsomedayfind Ohh Cashmere! cowl.

It's not cashmere, but trust me, it's *almost* as soft! I doubled the yarn to get more of a bulky weight and I really think it added to the plushness of it.
I wanted the 16 cable aspect to match my C & C 16 Cable Hat, but didn't want a collar-ish type of cowl, you know one that curls up under your chin. I wanted it scrunchy...one you could settle your chin into and be warm....

and scrunchy it is! A winner!

Hubby was laughing as I walked outside to get these pictures...picture me in snowflake flannel pj pants, white t-shirt, my wool coat and cowl.....wait for it....81 degrees...and no I'm not bragging, I want it to be cold! I am a displaced northern girl! It's February, supposed to be cold, not freaking AC weather!!! (keep yer fingers crossed peeps...we are still hoping...)

I'm an overachiever, I got a 2 colored cowl!

In hindsight, since I knit this with the yarn doubled, I should have used the 2 skeins separately as one has more black than the other, which being a handpainted yarn it happens. I usually don't sweat it in smaller handknits, but with sweaters, I always alternate.

This colorway is amazing, a black over burgundy/red and so very hard to capture...I love it very much!

C & C Replacement Cowl aka The Burberry Inspired Cowl
The Plucky Knitter Superwash Merino Worsted 1.93 skeins (approx. 15 yds leftover)
US 10 circular

No real mods I knit it until it was around my neck as I wanted and then probably 4 more rows so getting it on/off would be easy. It turned out to be 20" long.

If you hate kitchner stitching, don't bother knitting this, unless you want a seam and use a 3 needle bind off. It's 58 sts people!! I don't mind the K-stitch and towards the end, I was getting tired of it....well either that or the tremendous extra yarn I had to pull through to do it. Yes, I've run out of yarn K-stitching before, thus the extreme long tail I cut to sew/knit it.

Knitting 16 stitch cables isn't a lot of fun when you are a tight knitter. Why? Well those last 8 sts, the captive ones on the cable needle. (no way I'm cabling without a needle on this amount of sts...no...way!!) Howevah, my good ole pal Megan had a great suggestion. After you knit the first 8 sts of the cable, put the held remainder sts back on your left needle and knit away... *lightbulb moment* sure wished she would have reminded me about that when I was knitting the hat and most of this...

Now just patiently waiting for cooler weather to wear it...which could be Monday morning going to work, as this time of year going from 80 to 50 degrees in a day is common....hmmm

Take me back Thursday....Sock edition...

2011-02-24T00:16:00.002-05:00

to March 2006, my very first pair of socks! Lion Brand Magic Stripes in the Lumberjack colorway! I learned a lot, and as you can see, I've not stop knitting them. I still wear them! They've held up very well!

I've also learned why you need a marker at the toe decreases ;)

My 2nd pair of socks didn't have the same fate! Although they are bright and cheery....they've just worn out and got a wee bit felted so they didn't fit any longer. :( I also usually always try to buy superwash sock yarns to avoid this problem. That and not allowing hubby near them ;)

All Things Heather sock yarn in Neopolitan, I miss them!!!

Frank's Paris Nights

2011-02-21T10:39:00.004-05:00

I wish I could say they visited Paris....

These were hubby's Valentines present. He got them with a toe finished, but not kitchnered and a toe not finished at all.

You see I've only knit him 1 pair of socks and since he only wears them at home and not often, no wonder it's been over 3 years! He wore the heel out and they are um..er..acrylic and I'm not even trying to fix them...come to think of it, they are in the black hole of lost knits so I couldn't fix them if I wanted to...(I've lost 2 cowls in the past month :(

Toe pic!

Heel pic! I really love the ribbing down the back of the heel.

Got the daughter to model so you could see the neat patterning down the front....

and the back! Eek..I may have ended a heel sooner than the other...oh well ;)

Uncle Frank socks by Irishgirlieknits
Malabrigo Rios in Paris Night
1.5 skeins
US 4, magic looped (what else ;)

The yarn is awesome, for those that may not know, it's the superwash, worsted version of Malabrigo. It can be a little bit splitty, but the knitted fabric is awesome.

The pattern is really easy, it looks complicated, but it's not. I'm sure I'll be knitting a pair for me one day...unless hubby doesn't wear his, then I'll reknit the toes smaller ;)

ETA: Irishgirlieknits patterns are 20% off until Tuesday the 22!

YPF-Fiber edition

2011-02-18T11:38:00.002-05:00

This is from the Oct/Nov Spin-a-long, behind I know, especially since I have the Feb/Mar to do now!

Autumnal Rite-Tom's Colorway
4 oz. Polwarth

I had some drafting trouble, totally me though. Still learning here :)

As I was halfway through plying as a 2-ply, I was wishing I had navajo plied it. But, one can't undo a plied bobbin. Well one can, but you have to be nuts to do so! ;)

It's so soft and poufy!! Thinking of something to knit with it. Maybe something with garter...hmmm...

When one has leftovers from plying, one practices navajo plying. Yes, one does that especially since my last one was a bit ropey, gorgeous, but stiff.

This....swoon, is so light, sproingy, and airy!!! Sadly only 20 yards, but who knows, it could be the brim of something!

Another look at the loveliness of navajo ply!

Practicing getting my singles thin enough so I can gain more n-ply yardage. One day it'll happen!

In the meantime, I'll enjoy what I make.

GLBLF 4 oz. Polwarth
170 total yards of 2 ply dk/worsted
20 yds of sport navajo ply

Funkified Toasts!

2011-02-16T20:52:00.003-05:00

Remember my last post?

Now even more Funkified ;)

I couldn't think of a cool, funky shot...boring huh!

I really love how the colors turned out. I let it knit up however it wanted to be. What's going on with my type "A" ness ;)

Toast by Lesile Friend
US 7's
Funkified Eegads Handspun 109 yds

I cast on 30 stitches for the first one. Since I had 2 balls of yarn, I knit this one until I had just enough for bind off, which was 9.5". It was a little tight, but I was hoping after blocking it would fit better. It does a bit, and in the pictures they aren't totally dry, so I stuffed them with plastic bags to stretch this one out more.

The 2nd one I cast on 32 sts and it fits much better. I knit until 9.5" and had about a quarter sized ball of leftovers.

This yarn is sooo dense. I didn't like how it was knitting on 8's, but yikes! I guess I need to soften my navajo plying or something ;)

Love the cheery, bright colors. With my weather though, going to hang out in my fiber room as decorations until next year though :( Hoping she dyes more of this colorway, I want a hat!

YPF-Funky Handspun Edition

2011-02-11T00:11:00.002-05:00

What started out like this...

Has turned into....

These awesome colors all together!

They are funky all together!

Well, since they are from Funky Carolina, they should be ;) Love her bright, vibrant colors!

2 skeins of BFL/Silk that was a dream to spin the singles. My most consistent single spin so far.

The navajo plying went pretty well too. I didn't break any singles, but I sure wished I had got more yardage. But I'm still a newbie singles spinner. Just when I think they are super thin...they aren't. I will be knitting these very soon.

Funkified Eegads
4 oz. BFL/Silk
109 total yards, navajo plied
worsted/light bulky weight
from Funky Carolina

Bitty Vera

2011-02-09T00:41:00.001-05:00

What is Vera? Well Vera is a colorway I've always liked from Lorna's Laces yarns. See the yummy chocolate, creamy beige, and bright raspberry....making myself hungry now ;)

Toooooooo cute or what! I hope to see a modeled shot one day!

Bitty Bump by Gina Bomono
Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted, "Vera" Colorway
US 11 & 15 dpn/circs
Used approx. 180 yds, approx. 45 yds leftover

Mods: well, not sure if you call it one, but I doubled worsted yarn for the bulky weight. I wanted superwash and the only bulky that fit the bill wasn't so voila, double the worsted and there ya go!

I also picked up 8 stitches in the underarm area to ensure no holes. I slipped the first stitch at the beginning of each row (well I did forget a few times ;)

A cute, easy knit. I love it with the ribbon, but heck you could add a button too. No buttonhole needed either.

I think the patterns from the designer are really cute, sorta like wee grown up wear. I also think they will be perfect for handspun yarns too!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-08T00:01:00.001-05:00

10 Favorite Oscar Winning Movies:

In no particular order....

1. The English Patient - huge crush on Ralph Fiennes....sigh, men with an accent ;)

2. West Side Story - I do like musicals :)

3. The Sound of Music - I loved it all, the singing, scenery, storyline....

4. The Silence of the Lambs - Clarice....... still gives me the chills!

5. Forest Gump - run Forest, runnnnnnnnn

6. Schindler's List - chilling definately, but a good story. Great acting too.

7. The Greatest Show on Earth - I like it :)

8. Terms of Endearment - much like Steel Magnolias, it's a hard movie for me to watch :(

9. Gone With the Wind - my favorite line..."Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn!"

10. Rocky - yo' Adrian!!

I do like old movies, and around here, we see lots of them, plus wartime ones. I have to admit, the last few Oscar winning movies I've had no desire to even see. Out of the last 5 winners, I've only seen bits of No Country for Old Men...

Now is my list of what should have been Oscar winning movies! ;)

1. Casino Royale - um..er...Daniel Craig ;)

2. Quantum of Solace - ditto Daniel Craig, he's my favorite James Bond.

3. Defiance - double ditto Daniel Craig, but I have to admit, when hubby and daughter wanted to see this at the theatre I said, meh..but went to spend time with them. Brought my knitting and started to knit...until you know who appeared on the screen. But seriously, this is a really good movie.

4. Steel Magnolias - I think Sally Field did a wonderful job in this. But the scene stealer was Shirley MacLaine....Weezer....

5. The Shawshank Redemption - in the end, Andy got out, and Ellis got to join him, and the Warden got his just desserts.

6. Star Wars - What are they up to now...like 77 ;) Nothing to me better than the original.

7. Vertigo - Love Alfred Hitchcock movies, this one was my favorite.

8. ET - ET phone home....

9. Psycho - again Alfred Hitchcock, chilling and for a while after I first saw it, taking a shower was a bit scary ;)

10. Saving Private Ryan - very realistic and sad scenes.

There you have it, maybe you've found one you've not seen yet...or not ;)

Frankensocks!

2011-01-31T21:14:00.004-05:00

You got your toes!

Your heels!

Cuffs brought to you by JSSBO

one side...

and the other side!

Frankensocks!
Frankensquirrel Polwarth by GLBLF
handspun by moi!
US 3, circular via magic loop

Knit toe up, using 48 sts. Short row heel as I was worried about yardage and I didn't want to have short cuffs. A new trick I learned on the SRH with this tutorial. Basically, you wrap and turn one stitch on each side of the instep stitches to help close the gap that can happen when you start knitting the entire sock again. Of course I used my usual bind off (see link above) for rib.

They are heavy, and dense, but oh so lovely! I had to let go and let the handspun show, you know, not try to play with the colors or match up the stripes. I had about 200 yds so no being picky was allowed. I love how the colors all intermingled and the stripes are just subtle.

I'm sure not my last handspun socks!! Just wished it was a wee bit colder so I could wear them :(

This would be all that was left!

I actually had to frog back one cuff about 3 rows (glad I didn't bind off all the way ;) as sock 2's cuff was shorter...since they are called Frankensocks I was going to live with the cuff length difference...I couldn't ;) and I wanted some repair yarn too.

You didn't think I could totally give in to no matchy, matchy something did you?

YPF- Sock Monkey!!!!

2011-01-28T01:02:00.000-05:00

YPF--long time no see huh!

These colors scream Sock Monkey to me!!

Could it be it's name???

Perhaps Today is a Good Day to Dye BFL Sock
Sock Monkey Colorway
400 yds fingering weight
Hanks Yarn & Fiber

So very soft!! Should be interesting knitting up!

Take me back Thursday....

2011-01-27T00:30:00.003-05:00

This week is brought to you by......

Wanna guess??

I chowed these down so much during high school and college.....YUM!

When I spied them at the grocery store I got a bag...only one...sigh...

Am I showing my age with this flavor?? Oh how I've missed you! Nacho cheese and plain are good and all, but Taco flavored, that was the first flavor I loved!!

I swear if there are any bags left this week...well I'll make sure a few go into my shopping cart ;)

Knitting with Handspun

2011-01-24T17:37:00.004-05:00

What started out as this....

Is looking like this....

and this....

and moving right along as this....

Look at them there stripes!!! I love that they are subtle in their transitioning too. Seriously, I did not plan this! I'm such a spinning newb I just spin it....and it somehow becomes yarn...

It doesn't have a lot of give like other sock yarns do..well maybe because it's sport/dk weight on US 3's. It's quite interesting to knit with...um..er..gotta work on keeping consistent yarn ;)

Gotta go, I want to finish the cuff in the next day or so and cast on Sock 2. My sock mojo is back....

Take me back Thursday....

2011-01-20T00:30:00.003-05:00

Well I remembered this week ;) Last week was an icy blur...

Some of you mentioned wanting to see me, so I'll show you what this weeks finds were. As I'm usually behind the camera, not many updated pictures of me..plus I hate being in front of the camera usually.

25 years ago we were these young kids!

Fast forward about 7 years and here we are with the boy...

Fast forward to 1995 and here we are posing for a holiday card.

Oh..how did I end up with 2 blonde children I'll never know ;) and oh to be that skinny again!!

Yes, I sewed the matching vests, they are cool santas and I still have them :) Of course none of us can wear them...sigh. Hubby was lucky I didn't have enough fabric for his LOL!

Wonder what I'll find for you this weekend ;)