February 29, 2004

non personal knitting time

This weekend has been about knitting for the store i work in, rather than myself. I have a store model (Baby sweater) that I am doing out of FDC's Dolce Amore yarn. While I love the yarn the lace pattern at the bottom of the sweater had been giving me grief. Thus I had to put it down for about a month. When I picked it up again on friday night it still wouldn't work out. So I frogged the lace piece (about 2 inches) and redid it.

Cameron had to come home early from daycare on Friday thus when I wasn't concentrating on the lace pattern I was looking after him. BUT I am now almost at the armhole shaping for the front of the sweater. With luck it will be done this week. That is ... if i can stay motivated.

Today was spent running around to the car dealership that we are working with to get a minivan. Now, I have to admit that I never thought that I would be a minivan sort of girl. However, they are so much nicer than they used to be. Also, they drive like a dream. I am looking at the Toyota Sierra. Keep your fingers crossed for me. They are in high demand and we may be put on a 4-6 week waiting list to get one. BUT we also got a great offer on our trade ins. No longer will we be a 3 car family (3 cars are really not needed when there are only two of us) and we will be a minivan/suv family. OH i am growing up!!

February 28, 2004

gallery

A gallery to show off my finished projects, wip's and those that are stalled

February 26, 2004

Its Official

It is official. There is now a knit along for Audrey from Rowan #35. Do you want to join?

This knitalong is going to be jointly hosted by elisabeth, Theresa and myself. So sign up with any of us. Becky is going to be designing a wicked cool (like the terminology??!!) button for us all to use. Now for the rules of this knitalong:

1) Rules? we don't need no stinkin rules. But a suggestion that will help the knitting goddess and angels look down favorably upon your knitting ... consider making your swatch big enough to add to the Mason-Dixon Afghanalong.

**rules can be amended at any time we see fit**

So look at the pattern, pick up some yarn and get knitting.

(for me, i have to finish a project before I can start, my own personal goal!)

February 25, 2004

Audrey Knitalong

Yes Another knitalong.

Audrey from the new Rowan Magazine.

I will host it or Elisabeth from Curls And Purls will. A start date of ... hmmmm ... April 1? or whenever you want. Of course we are in serious negotionations about the rules for this knit along. The sweater is a classic fifty's style sweater that is so in these days.

Check back.

February 23, 2004

all these projects

Okay, So here I am. I have all these projects on the go (i don't mind that) but I was at work today and there was a great pattern for this new yarn by Reynolds called Cabana that is a cute bulky cotton pullover. It will be a quick knit. Do I start it now? I could probably knit it in two weeks at the most.

ARG. The decisions.

BTW. Love Fair Isle. Love it. Capital L. Love. Just as soon as I get bored, it changes.

February 20, 2004

progress is made (and there ARE pictures)

Well looky here. I have made some progress on my knitting and I even have pictures to prove it. Can you believe it? I know I am shocking you all with my posts that actually contain pictures. But see, I did make a pledge to have at least every other post contain pictures. So far, so good. (okay okay here are the pictures)

socks & square

That green/white square is my first square for the MasonDixon Afghanalong for Afghans. There was some yarn on sale at work that i just couldn't pass up which will be perfect for the squares because it is chunky and a quick knit. Hopefully I will get another knit this weekend. The orange/purple/green striped sock is a new yarn we got at the store, of course I can't tell you what it is because I don't remember. But it has become my portable purse knitting project. The white line is not a part of the yarn, rather it is my dummy yarn for the heel which i'll be doing later. This is my first time doing socks like this and i'm loving how easy they are. The other sock is the first of my knee high socks for the knee high knitalong.

charlotte has begun

okay so I haven't gotten that far on the shawl. Right now I am stuck on row 31 of the shawl. It doesn't really bode well for me now does it. One thing that I am not crazy about is Koigu's pattern writing abilities. They don't make them very user friendly. Currently I am contemplating writing the pattern out line for line. If anyone has done it already or has charted it out and still has it please let me know!! It would save me a step.

the vest has begun

This is the corrugated ribbing (or most of it, i have a few more row's to go) of the crofter's vest from Folk Vests. I am enjoying doing the color work though I know that my technique is not that great. Over time it will get better and the main purpose of knitting this vest was to learn to do Fair Isle knitting. I'm self taught on this although working in a yarn shop makes life that much easier when it comes to asking for help. I can see why people become addicted to doing Fair Isle projects. Seeing how the colors come together and how the pattern is going to emerge is addicting.

As for bed and Breakfast. I haven't done much knitting on it. But I am hoping to get some good knitting done this weekend. On what i'm not sure, it just depends on what I feel like. I have pretty much decided that B&B isn't goign to be wearable this year since its already warming up in Nashville.

February 14, 2004

Charlottes web button

Okay who has the I love Charlottes web button?? I've been searching for it today on all your blogs and I can't find it. I know its out there!! HELP PLEASE.

As for Charlotte's web. This is not my first lace pattern BUT I am having issue's with the pattern. I've had to start it three times already. I am having issue's with the 'mirror image' portion of the pattern. Am I just going backwards?

Any and all help will be appreciated.

As for other knitting news: I have been doing some cleaning up at home. I put away my winter projects that I am not going to pick up again until the fall and I also started a quicky scarf to work on while I am sitting here reading blogs. Also, I have started doing socks. Not the knee highs but just general socks that i can carry around in my purse. debb from work has shown me an awesome way to do the heels so that you don't have to turn them!! I'm pumped to try them out.

Also, i've updated the side bar with my new projects. I am really going to try and make an effort to post pictures every other blog entry at least. Keep your fingers crossed that i can keep it up.

February 10, 2004

just a few things...

There are just a few things to catch you up on knitting wise. I know that it is amazing to everyone that I would need to catch you all up, since I have such a great history of keeping my blog up to date and posting pictures (don't fall over or faint when you read this post!)

You asked for it! Banff complete!

Banff was completed before I went to Calgary except for the neck. That I was able to finish up in no time while I was there. One of the many great things about using a big yarn. Stats on the yarn used in case you didn't catch it the first time around:

Rowanspun Chunky "Green Waters"
8 skeins used
ndls 10.5 US

**i knit the small/medium but the length was taken from the large size as i wanted the sweater a little longer**

I loved knitting this sweater. The knitting started on January 15, 2004 and i finished it on January 24, 2004. Hopefully there is going to be some yummy cotton that comes in this summer that I will deem good enough to knit this sweater out of. OR I will be waiting till next fall/winter to knit it out of some other great wool that I know I will come across. The instant gratification of the project was a good quick fix that I definately needed.

Oh and the dog ... that is Angel, my 3 year old deaf great dane. She has all the recessive genes and looks like she is anorexic but eats like a pig. She thinks she is a lap dog. I have 2 others ... pictures of them sometime i'm sure.

bed & breakfast progress

This is the back of bed and breakfast, but it may be turning into the front. Since there are so many projects that I want to knit, and quite a few stalled projects that I have laying around my house, I am quite tempted to change the pattern. Currently there is a cable on the back and front. However, I am considering making the front be the only piece that has the cable on it ... we'll just have to see how that goes.

first fairisle

The yarn for the first vest in Folk Vests. A crofters vest that is a beautiful fair isle. I am going to undertake that as my first fair isle project. The inspiration came from the recent knit picks catalogue. Although I have been covetting this vest for awhile. There are a lot of projects that I want to do in this book too. WHY oh WHY can't I be like an octopus with 8 arms and all filled with knitting. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I could be working on 4 projects and get more done....(fade to fantasy of knitting ... even though she has more to say ... but hey ... gotta keep you coming back)

February 8, 2004

What yarn are You?

You are Mohair. You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Other than the fact that i can't knit with mohair because i'm allergic to it ... well perhaps this is why. We are just too much alike. But really. I don't think I am as bad as the mohair is. Personally, I think that mohair is much more stubborn than I am ... hey I don't get into the tangles that mohair does once unravelled (or do i? you'll have to ask my husband about that). I really wish I was something else other than mohair. But alas, perhaps this is the only way that mohair and I can ever be related.

February 1, 2004

freakin cold = perfect Banff

I finished Banff. I had hoped to get it done before I travelled but was unable to do so due to the the necessity of packing and laundry. It is a pain in the ass how life intrudes on my knitting time. Needless to say I made sure that I had knitting time available to me as soon as I got off the plane in Calgary. Actually, it worked out quite perfectly since Banff is just outside of Calgary and Banff is the sweater I finished. Friday night found me drinking tea, knitting and chatting with my mom in front of the fire. It was friggin' cold here but amazing how quickly i adapted to the weather. It was -30 degrees celsius when we arrived. As of today (Sunday) it was only -14 out and I was wearing just a sweater and vest outside.

Saturday we went to my aunts place for a family get together. Everyone loved Banff. I have three requests for it already. My aunt has just joined weight watches and i struck a deal with her. When she loses half the weight she wants she will get the sweater that i just knit. My mom and other aunt want it but made in cotton. Thankfully at work my bosses ordered some bigger gauged cotton so I am going to have to do some experimentation once it arrives. Mom's birthday is in March perhaps if she is good she just might get something special.

Tomorrow is a travel day and i've got my knitting on the go. I brought two knitting projects with me. One is the socks for the knee high knitalong and the other is a shop model i am doing for the store. I am almost at the point of the calf decreases for the first sock!