Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Whew!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but there was a serious knitting frenzy going on. I realized that the end of the month is tomorrow and decided that if I was going to finish my Sockamania socks for the month that I had better do some serious knitting. Not to mention my house is in serious need of cleaning and I was actually in the mood to clean yesterday morning. So as soon as I wore out the cleaning mood--which only took about two hours--I knit until the socks were finished--which took the better part of the rest of the day. Now my house is really clean--in some areas--and my socks are finished!Now, I am going to work on that afghan in earnest for a few days until I get the next Sockamania project. I figure I have about 120 more rows left to knit on that ******* afghan and then it will be done. I feel really sorry for my son because he will be the only one in the family that never got a hand knit afghan from me. In fact, if I EVER get the notion that I am going to make another afghan PLEASE stop me!!!! Do you know how many pairs of socks I could make in the time it has taken to make that afghan!? It would've gone much faster though if I hadn't made it so big. Wait until you see it!! I'm pretty sure it's getting big enough to cover a queen size bed at this point.

In case anyone is interested, The Yarn Harlot is making a pair of mittens from the Selbuvotter book. They are so beautiful!!! (If I could just get this stupid afghan done I would be making a pair too!) I CAN'T WAIT MUCH LONGER TO START MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am almost finished with the next new sock pattern. I will post a picture of the sock on here, but the pattern will be available at my etsy store.

Happy Knitting!

Friday, October 26, 2007

? Rambling on and on and on......

I couldn't think of a title for today's post. I just feel like rambling on about whatever I guess.


The daughter's afghan has definately hit a black hole! I went to work on it last night and the first row I knit I counted 155 sts. Well that is very interesting because the last row I counted when I finished working on it the other day was 134. Somehow in the last several days the number of stitches in the row increased! (I am on the decrease side of the afghan right now). I worked on it for about 4 hours last night and if there hasn't been a serious decrease in the number of stitches it might be time for this afghan to become a UFO for awhile so that I can regain some sanity. HoneyBunny asked if I was knitting the afghan for a giant because it is getting HUGE! That teenage daughter of mine better like it or else.....just or else! and she better act extremely excited when I give it to her! I am going to have to quit making afghans, they are WAY too much work--especially when you are used to making socks all the time. I told myself when I got my "Selbuvotter" book the other day that I could not start any of those mittens until the afghan is done. I may have a melt-down if the afghan doesn't hurry up!!!!

The Sockamania socks are almost finished--which is good because the last day of the month is in 5 days. I would have been done weeks ago if I hadn't been knitting on two other pairs of socks this month and worked on that black hole afghan.

By the way, if you haven't ever tried Haneke Wool's merino/silk blend, sport weight yarn, I highly recommend it. I am designing a pair of "ski" socks right now out of it and it is the BEST merino/silk blend yarn I have ever worked with. I am not just saying that because I sell Haneke yarns either--course the reason I sell Haneke is because of the superior quality. I love this yarn and will be making many more projects out of it! Watch for the patterns and products on my Etsy store.
Isn't this a cool sculpture! HoneyBunny took a picture of it on one of his trips out of town. I wish it was in my front yard. I really like it.

I guess that's all. I need to get busy knitting.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Monday Again?!

Is it Monday again? The time just flies when you are having fun.

We went up to the mountains on Saturday. The weather wasn't the best, but we still had a wonderful day!! We did a little fishing and then took a drive out over the top of the mountain.

As you can see, we ran into some snow. It took twice as long to get down because we had terrible driving conditions. Ah, the pleasures of living in Colorado! I didn't mind, but HoneyBunny hates to drive in zero visibility.
Here is the hat for HoneyBunny that I mentioned briefly in my last post. Modeled by the cutest little boy I have ever seen!! Look at those eyes!!! Anyway, I used KnitPicks Panache in "Coal". It is so soft and wonderful--a great yarn! Then I duplicate stitch and embroidered the spider.

It turned out really good I think--for my first spider anyway.

I got an e-mail today from Zontee Hou--the Marketing Communications Manager for Lion Brand Yarns saying that they wanted to include the story I wrote for their "Knitting Changes Everything" online story collection in an upcoming podcast!!!! It made my whole day! I am so excited! She said that the podcast will be the third week of November and it is on "knitting and crocheting gifts and the best gifts we've given or received". I will be sure to include a link on here so that you can find it when it comes out. Did I mention I was excited?

Happy Knitting!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Fun Stuff!

I knew my daughter had it in her to be crafty although she swears she's not! (Teenagers just hate to admit that they are anything like their relatives!) But she made this absolutely adorable tote bag yesterday. I promptly confiscated it for my own. I love it! it is so cute and she did a great job! I didn't know she even knew how to do applique, but there it is, a jack-o-lantern appliqued on the front of this cute bag. I am so proud of her!
This week's WIP's look a lot like the last couple of week's WIP's. The afghan is slowly getting finished. In fact I have a goal to have it done in two weeks--that is if I don't find another project to start instead. The October Sockamania project is half done and I have started the other sock now (the orange yarn project). And, I just couldn't help myself, I cast on for a pair of socks out of my swap yarn from Hege. There are many more WIP's sitting here on my desk, but none that I am working on this week. I took a poll for the Knitting Daily blog to see how many UFO's I had and discovered that I really need to get busy finishing some projects. I am so ashamed that I would even consider casting on another project with that number of unfinished projects laying around.

Finally, my order from KnitPicks got here, after spending all week last week in a "sortation center" in Denver. I am thrilled!!!to have it. The Selbvotter book is everything I every dreamed it could be. I love knitting, I love ethnic knitting, I love historical knitting articles, I love to read about knitting--especially historical, ethnic/cultural, well researched knitting books/articles that end with patterns for what you have been reading about. This is all of that!!!! If you are thinking about getting it, DON'T HESITATE ANY LONGER! It is fantastic and I am sure the afghan can wait until I have a few pairs of mittens and gloves made.

The white yarn in the order is to finish the afghan (someday) and the black is for HoneyBunny's special request hat--which is half done as of this morning.
All the fun I can handle for today!
Happy Knitting!



Monday, October 15, 2007

Yarn on Monday!!!

As I went to the mailbox today I was hoping for some yarn, as I do every Monday when my order did not show up on Friday (because for some stupid reason it had to spend all week last week in Denver). Anyway, to my great disappointment the keys for the package compartments in our neighborhood mailboxes were both in place--meaning that there were no package deliveries inside. With heavy heart I opened my 4 inch by 4 inch mailbox and, accompanied with squeals of delight, discovered my yarn swap package from Hege!!!!!! I practically ran home (for those of you who don't know me, I don't run, PERIOD). I examined the stamps--from Norway of course-- and then opened the package.........................LOOK WHAT I FOUND INSIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not only did she send me four lovely skeins of yarn from Norway, but she also sent me a wonderful handmade card. I was so excited!!! I am so excited!!! I don't know whether I should knit it up or place it in some esteemed display in my house. (Yarn, to a Knitter, isn't always for knitting--a concept NOT understood by non-Knitters). I have to make at least one pair of socks with it because I am totally in love with the color combination!!!

So Hege, I have just one thing to say, "I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" I wouldn't have been this excited or happy if I had found a package of 100 dollar bills in my mailbox. (Don't even try to understand THAT if you aren't a Knitter). Yarn--that I can't get here in Colorado--from Norway is priceless!

Friday, October 12, 2007

This Weeks WIP's

I missed my Wednesday WIP reporting so here it is today.

I finished spinning that wool yarn that I was planning to make the hooded sweater out of. Unfortunately there isn't enough of the brown. I still haven't figured out how to take a pile of fluff and figure out exactly how much of it I will need for a particular project. I either end up with way too much or too little. I know there is a way to figure it out, but I prefer the spinning "by the seat of my pants" approach where you just spin and hope you get what you want. I love the color that this yarn turned out! I will have to spin some off-white to go with it so that I have enough for my project.
I tried to promise myself not to start another project before I finished some others but I saw this shawl and all self control went out the window. Now I find myself working on it INSTEAD of the other projects. It is made from a DK weight yarn on US size 10 1/2 needles so it is coming along pretty fast. It is for some unsuspecting soul for Christmas. I can't say her name because it's a secret. I hope she will like it--what do you think--do you think she will?

And last--although not the only other WIP I have--is my socks for Sockamania. I wanted to make them pumpkin orange in honor of October. I have NOTHING that they will match and I am not fond of wearing this color, but I love the pattern. Note the little cable detail along the leg. They look great on!

The daughter's afghan is more than halfway finished. I am on the decreases and so the more I work on it the faster it seems to be going. It is going to be HUGE! and incredibly warm. It is a great project to work on in the early mornings and in the evening because it keeps me warm. I will post the picture of it when it is finished.
My yarn from Hege should be here any day. I can't wait to see it! Plus my (Christmas project) order should be here anyday as well. I can't believe I ordered yarn and books thinking that between now and December 25th I would be able to make that much stuff. Oh well, what doesn't get done I can give next year! I HAVE to make the one project for this Christmas no matter what--it's for HoneyBunny and it is a special request. More details later. In the mean time,
"Tend to your Knitting!"


Monday, October 08, 2007

Yeah for Halloween!!!!

It's no secret that Halloween is my favorite holiday. However, there are those who give you a funny look if you tell them that you like Halloween better than Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas, it's just that Christmas isn't ....... I don't know, it just isn't Halloween. Plus, being the "forever actress", I love to dress up!! Halloween was always so much fun for me even growing up. My mother always made us the best costumes--no princesses, clowns, fairies, etc.--no we had to be something scary. Dracula, vampires, ghosts, witches, mummies, etc., because, after all, "that is what Halloween is all about". See, we've forgotten that on All Hallows Eve all of the evil spirits come out and it takes a scary costume to keep their spirits away from us (this is the original belief and my mother believed that we should stick with tradition).

So...Here we are at my house during Halloween.....

1. Family portaits of Halloween past.

2. Welcome mat.

3. Welcome sign.
4. My witch hat, adorable fat toad, and new afghan. (Note the spider web curtains! Made them last year! LOVE THEM!)
5. Cauldron complete with fire underneath (thanks Martha! great idea) and wall decorations--yes that is a real, but quite dead, tarantula.
6. Plant stand and glowing pumpkin.
7. Front door decorations. Unfortuately for all of us that live in this house, the grim reaper guy scares each one of us at some point every year. You know, you get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, or worse--to see what's making that noise outside, and suddenly there he is peeking in the window. I have heard my son actually scream like a little girl at the sight of him in the night and then start giggling when he realized what he saw.
8. And last, the table display. The nifty little witch has graced my Halloween's all of my life. I don't know when my mom got her but she has been there every Halloween that I can remember and now she is there for my children's Halloween as well.

There you have it. Halloween at my house. I have a Halloween wish too. My favorite Halloween tale is "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", and for as long as I can remember I have wanted to dress up, all in black, and ride a black horse all around town, down the dark side streets carrying a lighted pumpkin on Halloween night. Wouldn't that be fun!!!!! I'll bet I could scare BIG kids with that one.
Yeah for Halloween!



Friday, October 05, 2007

Somebody Stop Me!

Please tell me that I am not the only knitter that is thinking that she can start now and handknit a Christmas gift for each of her family and friends. I honestly found myself looking at and ordering a large amount of yarn for Christmas gift projects. Who am I kidding? At this point I will be lucky if I finish the WIP's I have right now by Christmas! Not only was I ordering yarn and patterns, but I was digging in the stash (of books and yarn), like some kind of gofer or mouse, and actually putting yarn with patterns and saying to myself, "Oh! I'll make that for......and I 'll make this for..... and that would be perfect for......" I woke up this morning and looked around at the PILES of yarn and patterns that I dug up yesterday and buried my head back in the covers. Now that the madness has subsided a little I have a huge mess to clean up. At least I didn't cast on a few of the ideas, then the mess would be worse. You know what? The whole thing makes me feel like a little bird at "nesting" time--flittering and fluttering around, surrounding myself with bits of paper and string and sticks!!!!!!

Blogger is having problems so I will have to post my Halloween decor pictures later.

Happy Knitting!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Wonderful Wednesday

HoneyBunny invited me to go for a ride with him today for work. I love to go with him when ever I get the opportunity. I get to knit and sight see, and nothing pleases him more than to have me along for company when he is driving all day.

This is what the mouth of the canyon looks like that we drove through. Huge granite cliffs topped by red sandstone, lots of pinion pine trees and sage brush. This is my favorite canyon in the world!

This is the house that they are paving the driveway for. We decided that it is a log mansion, not cabin. It is absolutely beautiful!
The house sits at the bottom of this amazing little valley.

More of the view of the canyon drive.

I had a wonderful time and took a bunch of pictures of all of the fall colors. I love this canyon!


Ok. So, here are this weeks WIP's. This is a sock that I fully intend to finish in the next few weeks. I actually started it last winter and somehow it got shoved to the bottom of the UFO pile. It resurfaced when I finished those two black hole projects. So, now it has been promoted from UFO to WIP.
This is the Turkish sock that I have been working on--and off-- for the last couple of months. I absolutely love it and wish I had nothing to do but work on it until it was finished. Unfortunately, the daughter's afghan has sucked up a huge chunk of my knitting time. I am half way finished with it now. I may have it done before Christmas after all. For now it remains a WIP.

There you have it. I have decorated for Halloween and will post the pictures next time with pictures of my progress on the October Sockamania sock.
Happy Knitting!





Monday, October 01, 2007

The Good and Bad about Monday

Monday's are usually a mixed day for me. Most people just hate Monday because it means that the weekend is over and they have to go back to work or school. I used to hate Monday's for the same reason. However, now that I am (working) at home Monday's are weird. I am excited because, once again now that everyone is gone to work and school, my time is my own. I can knit when I want, get dressed when I want, eat when I want, go to town IF I want, etc. I don't like Monday's where HoneyBunny decides that since I am at home I am not busy. I have an entire day's worth of Honey-Do's! I HAVE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO HERE AT HOME! After all, the new Sockamania pattern comes out today, I started spinning some GORGEOUS yarn for a sweater and I am having a lovely time with it, the Turkish socks I started after my finger surgery are coming along very nicely, it's time to decorate for Halloween, and I am all excited about the sock yarn swap Hege and I are going to have (got some exciting ideas to surpise her with)!!!! I had a wonderful Monday all planned out and now I have to get myself together and go into town instead..................Maybe if I hurry really fast (within the speed that won't get me a ticket) I can make it back home before noon.

I'M OUT OF HERE!!