Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Already??

Is it the last day of May already?? Wow, that went fast. I'm always sorry to see May go because it's my favorite month. And June means my birthday is officially over for another long year. Thank you all so much for the wonderful birthday wishes though, I've truly got plenty of warm wishes to carry me through the year.

Since it is the last day of May, and my Project Spectrum content has been sorely lacking this month, I thought I'd show you a few of my favorite green things around here.

Our bedroom.

My herb garden . . .

. . .especially the basil!!!

And how about a green FO?? Camden's baby sweater is done!!

Child's Placket-neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino
Started: Around May 8th (I forgot to note it down)
Completed: May 30th

This turned out to be a lot of fun to knit!!! I even finished two days early!! I won't see them until Friday, and it would be just like me to be up until midnight on Thursday trying to get it done. (Oh yeah, it was supposed to be for the Christening two weeks ago - I'm not early after all.) I must give credit to MintyFresh at PepperKnit for her great Lazy-loop tip. It made all the difference in the world as far as knitting speed was concerned. I decided to leave off the buttons and fold the collar down instead. I think it looks really cute that way!

I have a few other FO's to show you . . . blog-related FO's. I've finished a few graphic jobs last week. I did a fun little banner for Nancy at The Beekeeper's Granddaughter. She's now even got a colorway inspired by her blog . . . go check it out!! I also did a complete overhaul for Karyn at Noey's Mommy Knits. We'll be adding a Blogs I Read section in the next few days, but other than that, we're done. It was a lot of fun working with these two ladies, and adding some more character to their great blogs. I finished up a couple more jobs today, so I'll have some more graphic FO's to show you next time too. If you're interested in spicing up your own blog, visit my graphics site for more info!!

Friday, May 26, 2006

38 . . .

is not so bad. Look what I woke up to this morning!!!!

Mouse over the picture to see what's inside!!!

A wonderful card that made me cry. (I'm a sap - I always cry at his cards!) Scarf Style. A print-out telling me some new clip-art is coming from Amazon. Two gorgeous hanks of Atacama Alpaca yarn from Chili. It's so beautiful . . . I have to find something really special to make with this. And four, yes FOUR, hanks of Koigu. Ladies, my little Pea went to Knitting Central all by himself to choose these six wonderful hanks of yarn. The picture doesn't do them justice (it's dark and cloudy here today). Two of the Koigus are lovely light shades of orange, yellow, purple and pink. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have looked at this colorway myself, but I really love it. Pea said he chose it because it looked seem to scream spring. And the other two are in a colorway I've been wanting, but had never mentioned to him (he knows me so well). They look gray in the picture, but they are actually beautiful purple and green shades - they remind me of African Violets. We're also going out to dinner tonight, and to Mohegan Sun casino (again) tomorrow!! Oh he spoils me so!!

I think for the rest of the day, I'm not going to do much of anything. My friend Barb and her 2 year old daughter Madison are taking me out to lunch. I don't plan on cleaning a single thing today!! In fact, I'm going to spend the afternoon knitting on the couch! I might even have a FO for my next post!!! What could be better than that??

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Whew, lots going on!!

Although not much of it is knitting!! Okay, there has been a little knitting, and some great new yarn, so don't leave just yet.

First up is the tag sale on Saturday. My gosh, we had so much fun! I can't believe the stuff we had, things packed away in the basement that I had forgotten all about. I tend to get very sentimental and I'm a real pack-rat, so it was a bit hard for me to put my stuff up for sale. But we just don't have the room to store things, and since it's just the two of us we really don't need six sets of dinner plates, five sets of silver-ware, two electric mixers, two lawn mowers . . . . I could go on and on. So, we unloaded a bunch of it, and made enough to buy us a very, very nice anniversary dinner next month. Not bad for a day spend sitting out in the fresh air (we were very lucky that it didn't rain).

The weather luck didn't hold out on Sunday though. We met Pea's parents for a birthday brunch for FIL at The Castle (Go look, it's a really great place . . . I want to live there!!!) . Then we went for a long walk. Look how pretty!!

I managed to snap these before the rain started. Yes, rain. Yucky. And cold! Don't worry, it stopped just as we made it to the diner for coffee.

I've also been quite busy with my new budding graphics business, and I couldn't be more thrilled! An extra perk that hadn't occurred to me is that I'm meeting lots of new bloggers with wonderful blogs to read. So as my free time diminishes due to the graphics work, I'm also amassing an even larger list of blogs in my Bloglines. But it's been so much fun, I just need to get a new routine down and learn to schedule time for graphics, time for blog reading and commenting . . . oh yes, and I suppose time for housework?? Then again, I suppose I could skip the housework, huh??

Are you ready for the knitting and yarn content? Yup, I thought so!! Camden's baby sweater (in Project Spectrum green) is not quite done, but coming along nicely. I really love DB Baby Cashmerino . . . it's so very soft. And this pattern has been really fun to knit so far - look ma, no seams!!! Just a little Kitchener stitch under the arms when I"m done, which is great because I love my Kitchener!!

I don't have much progress to show on Embossed Leaves, since I've been concentrating more on the baby sweater. I'm still loving the pattern though. And it seems my yarn has been talking to me . . . . didn't you see it comment in my last post? Apparently, it's getting rather uppity and demanding to be cast on right now. I figured I'd better listen, so I tried last night but didn't have much luck. I just don't have the right lace knitting needles. (Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!) After all, the yarn did promise to behave and knit up all nicey-nice.

Speaking of yarn, I did tease you about some yarn to show, didn't I? I am so thrilled to present SWEET PEA!!

Fresh from Christine's hot new Etsy store (click the button for the link).



Run, don't walk, on over and get yourself something before it all sells out! Her sense of color is wonderful and these beauties are going to sell out fast. We worked out a little trade for her banner and button - and I certainly got the better end of the deal. Gorgeous sock yarn named after my gorgeous husband! I showed it to him when it came and do you know what the first thing he did was? Held it to his nose and sniffed it!!!! He said it's what I always do when new yarn comes, so he did it too. Glad to see he pays attention once in a while!!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Meme Day

I was just over at Heide's blog and saw her post about being REALLY late in answering the Dye-O-Rama meme. Which brought down tons for guilt on me, because I too have not answered it. So here we go (and Dye-Pal, you know I'm pretty easy going and will be thrilled with any yarn you send me!!)

Questions specific to this swap:

Your favorite colors? I am usually most drawn to earth tones and soft, muted colors. But then again, I have my share of brights in my stash. I think any color can be the right color, if matched with the right project!!

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? For socks, I like sport or DK weight, but I've done worsted too and it's fun because they knit up so fast. Fingering is also great, especially since I joined the Amazing Lace KAL.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I love them both . . . again, some patterns look better in solid yarns, and some benefit from some multicolored patterns.

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? Sure, I'm a Yarn Fl**zy and I love them all!

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? Never met a sock yarn I didn't like.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? Why, I'd name it after the wonderful pal who dyed it for me!!

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? It sounded like so much fun, and a good way to get introduced to dying. I loved the thought of having tips and support refer to on the Dye-O-Rama blog.

General yarn/fiber questions:

Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? Nope, this will be my first.

Do you spin? Not yet, but I somehow bought a drop spindle at my first Fiber Fest.

Have you knit socks before? Yes, I'm working on my sixth pair!!

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? Just for socks, so far. . .

What are some of your favorite yarns? I really liked the Trekking. I've loved Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino for the baby things I've knit. I'm not fond of acrylic (but that wouldn't hold the dye anyway - tee hee).

What yarn do you totally covet? I was really thrilled when I finally bought my Koigu. Still haven't knit with it yet . . . . I'm just admiring it!!

Favorite patterns? Usually what ever I'm knitting at the time is my favorite. I'm loving Embossed Leaves right now!

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Oh my, the list is too long to post!!

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Addis, Inox, bamboo, rosewood.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Something soft and pretty.

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? I'm diabetic, so I have to stay away from candy.

What's your favorite animal? Hmm, I'm not sure I have one.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? No, no pets (yet . . . I'm considering it).

If you were a color what color would you be? ??? I don't think I'm very good at this section of the meme.

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else's).. A cute little tank I knit myself. (Okay, I don't have one yet, but hopefully I will soon!!)

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Huh? I guess I believe you can find inspiration anywhere.

Tell me the best quote you've ever heard or read. I love most of Gone with the Wind. How about this one:
Scarlett: Sir, you are no gentleman.
Rhett: And you, Miss, are no lady.

Do you have a wishlist Sure, but it's in my head!!

Anything else you'd like to share with the group today? Why yes, I do. I have one more meme that Ragan tagged me with!!

1)What's your favorite LYS? It's a tie between Knotty Girl and Knit Together.

2) What about it do you like most?I love the friendly atmosphere of Knotty Girl and the huge selection at Knit Together (and also the Frequent Buyers program).

3)What is your 2nd favorite? Knitting Central.

4)What would you improve about it to make it a tie with your first? Oh gosh, I don't know. It's hard to choose favorite yarn stores or think about what to change in them. I imagine it's like trying to pick your favorite children, or think about things to change in them. I just love them all, in their own special way!!

5)What's the last thing your bought at your #1 LYS? Umm, I think it was at Knit Together. I bought sock yarn (big surprise) and Cottonade for dishclothes.

6)Who's Next? Anyone, anyone? Bueller?

Okay, gotta run. It's tag sale time!!

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Let's give it a go

Thank you all so much for the great feedback on my thoughts of doing some blog graphics. I am proud to introduce



I'm going to give it a go! Click the button for details. I'm pretty excited (and a little nervous) to be starting this endeavor. But I've always believed in the saying "Do what you love, and the rest will fall into place" and this feels like a good first step. I can literally spend hours in front of the computer playing around with graphics and my blog, so this seems like a great fit. And I already have three clients - thanks ladies, your support means more than you could know!!

Monday, May 15, 2006

Fresh start

Well, it's Monday. A new week and a fresh new start. I can't say I was sorry to see last week go, and I'm certainly glad Mother's Day is over. Pea and I had been very apprehensive about it since was are still having MIL problems (my MIL, not his!!! My Mom's a saint!!) But the day turned out much better than we could have hoped. We had a nice brunch with all four parents and it felt like nothing had ever been wrong. Today we both feel like a huge weight has been lifted from us. Now if we could only see some sun!! (Seriously, it's been about eight days since we've had any sunshine - maybe longer. Ugh)

Next step in our fresh start is gearing up for our neighborhood tag sale this weekend! I can't wait to put all our crap beloved belongings that we just don't have room to store up for sale. And hopefully we'll make some yarn money spending money for our anniversary trip next month.

And yes, I've even been knitting!! I'm making pretty good progress on the Embossed Leaves Socks and having a wonderful time working on them. I know, I should be working on the baby sweater . . . . but really, I have a reason why I'm not. You see, all weekend I'll be sitting outside at the tag sale. And I don't think I'll be able to focus enough to knit the Embossed Leaves chart. So I should save the baby sweater for the weekend and knit that at the tag sale. I should easily be able to finish it!! (And that leaves me free to work on the socks all week - it's a win/win situation.)

So I guess that's it. I knew I didn't have much to say, but it's been almost a week so I felt like I should post. Well, there is one more little thing. I'm thinking about offering my services to create buttons and banners for bloggers who wish they had one but don't have the time, patience or software to do it themselves. What do you guys think? I am by no means a professional, but I think it's something I might like to try. Do you think anyone would be interested . . . or do people figure why pay when you can create your own for free?

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Move along, nothing to see here . . .

Really, you shouldn't even bother reading this post. I got nothing. Go see if The Yarn Harlot posted . . . I'm sure she's got plenty for you to read about. There's nothing to see here.

The baby sweater? The one for the Christening that was last Sunday? You want to see that? Yeah, so do I. No problem. There it is, on the left. See it? No?? Come on, where is your imagination. Can't you pretend there is a beautiful baby sweater resting right there? The one that takes four to six hours to knit. Mmm, I've put at least twelve hours into it so far, and haven't even finished the 6 1/4 inches of the body. Why? Why??? Well, my needles are all wrong. The Denise needles aren't working for this project at all . . . . the yarn won't move over the joins. Very aggravating. So I dug around and found an Addi Turbo with a too long cord. I am desperate enough to Magic Loop it . . . even though the cord is a little small for Magic Looping and I've never Looped before. Even without the needles problems, I doubt I could ever knit this thing in six hours.

How 'bout those Embossed Leaves socks? In that pretty Appletini yarn? Those must being coming along nicely? No???? Oh yeah, I haven't started them yet. Why? Why???? Well, I'm trying to be GOOD. I want to start them. I want to cast on so badly. But I told myself it was more important to get that baby sweater done on time. Yeah, we can see how well that worked out, can't we? I guess there's nothing stopping me from casting on today. Umm, almost nothing. Except that I need to get that sweater done before Camden is too big to wear it. He was born two months ago weighing 4lbs, 7oz. Now he's over 8 lbs. That's double his birth weight . . . in two months!!! So in two more months, he'll double his weight again and be up over 16 lbs!!!! (Yeah, I know that's not how it works . . . just humor me. It will make me knit faster).

When all else fails, we can always flash some yarn p*rn, right?? All that great new yarn I bought at Maryland Sheep and Wool. Oh yeah, I didn't go to Maryland S&W . . . I was at the Christening with my new baby sweater. Well, how about the yarn I bought at my LYS on Saturday. Oh yeah, I didn't go to the LYS . . . I was working on that d*mn baby sweater. Well, how about the new yarn I ordered on-line? Mmm hmm, I still got nothing. No new yarn. No new yarn for a long, long time. At least until my birthday (I hope). Why? Why???? Well, Pea's huge dentist bills, followed by a big trip to the garage for his car (which STILL is not fixed, thank you very much) have pretty much ensured we won't be seeing any new yarn here for quite some time. We'll be lucky if we're not eating Raman Noodles every night, let alone buying yarn.

So there you go. Nothing to see here. A whole post of nothing. Don't say I didn't warn you! Go on ahead over to The Harlot now and see what great stuff she's doing.

Friday, May 05, 2006

I never made promises lightly

And there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left
We'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold

Oh yes, I'm walking in Fields of Gold,alright!! The Fields Of Gold socks are done!!

Pattern based loosely on Yarrow Ribbed Sock from Knitting Vintage Socks
Cast on: April 6, Completed: May 4
Yarn: Instant Gratification by Hill Country Yarns, Honey Butter

I really love these socks!! The yarn has a nice squishy feel on my feet and was really great to work with. They also knit up super quick on size 5 needles. Well, okay, it took me almost a month to knit them, but that was only because I got sidetracked in the middle. The second sock was knit in just over a week. That's a record for a slow knitter like me. The yarn comes with a Instant Gratification Basic Sock Pattern, which is more of a guideline for the basic construction of the socks. I used the rib pattern from the Yarrow Socks and am really happy with how it complimented the yarn.

At first I wasn't sure that I like the gold in the colorway, but it really grew on me as I knit and knit. And this is certainly my best fitting pair of socks yet. I am really happy with the way the heel flap and heel hug my foot, and even my picked up gusset stitches don't look as bad as they usually do. And call me crazy (because I know you all will) but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE to do the Kitchener stitch!!!

Up next sock-wise, my Embossed Leaves endeavor. This will be my first time knitting from a chart, as well as my first time trying a sock pattern more challenging than your basic stockinette or ribbing. I can cast on for those once I get that baby sweater done - hopefully I will make it in time for the Christening on Sunday. (I suppose finishing it in church would be frowned upon???)

But for now, I hear Pea getting out of the shower. He took a vacation day today, so we're off on an adventure. And I'll get some great knitting time in the car! Happy Friday.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

And the winner is . . . .

Thanks to everyone who played along in my little yarn / husband contest. There were some great answers, including Sandy (which certainly fits), Stone, Khaki, Sam-on (too funny), and the totally random guess of Dave. You guys are hysterical!! The most popular guess, and also the winning answer, was Peat. The yarn doesn't look too mossy to me so I'm not exactly sure how they came up with that name, but I took it as a sign since Pea is really Pete.

And now, the winner of the Boysenberry yarn is . . . . Olga of Yo La Tejo!!! Congratulations Olga, send me you snail mail address and I'll get the yarn out to you!

I may come back later and write a whole post for today - but for now I wanted to get the contest winner announced. Bloglines is telling me I'm getting behind in my blog reading, so I'm off to visit your blogs now. Have a great day, everyone!!

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Dear Secret Dye-O-Rama Buddy

Hi, it's so nice to meet you!!! You might be glad to know, I'm a pretty easy-going (not too fussy) person. :) Self-striping, self-patterning, just variegated, solid . . . . any of them are fine by me!!! I'm an equal opportunity sock yarn employer (which really means, I can't resist any of it . . . ). So I'll just leave that to you, you can use your best judgment or pick which ever kind you think you'd have the most fun dying up. As for colors, I guess I seem to like them all too . . . in the right shades. I usually tend to steer away from anything too bright or basic primary colors . . . . I guess I go more for muted tones and earth tones. But then again, I do see a few bright yarns in my stash. I think it's the Gemini thing rearing it's head once again - as soon as I say I don't like something, the "evil" twin comes along and decided that I actually do. So, to put this long rambling posts into just a few words - I think I'll be thrilled with what ever you dye up for me!!! Have a blast, and I can't wait to see what you come up with. :)

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Good-bye April, Hello May

With a heavy heart I bid adieu to April. I really loved all the happy yellow and orange I saw all over blogland, and enjoyed noticing how much yellow I have around my house too. My Orange Reverse-Bloom washcloth is done, and the Fields of Gold socks are in the home stretch. Once I turn the heel and pick up the dreaded gusset stitches, I know I'm in the clear.

You can find the complete write up for both flower washcloths on my Flicr page. These were really fun to knit, and I may just do a few more.

So, it's time to start lining up the May projects, and I seem to have no problem finding the color green in my stash! To the left is my brand new Appletini yarn. I think I'm going to attempt to knit Embossed Leaves from IK. It looks more involved than any of the easy boring other sock patterns I've knit so far, but I'm hoping I'm up to the challenge. I also have some green yarn picked out for a baby sweater for little Camden. I've spent hours trying to decide what pattern I want to use, but since we'll see him for his Christening on Sunday I finally decided on the Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. (It will be very last minute too - I hope it goes as quickly as the book says!!!) I'm so excited to meet the little guy, who is up to about 8 pounds now. I can't believe we haven't been up to see him yet!!

Okay, if you haven't already done so, don't forget to venture a guess in the Yarn / DH Name Contest from my last post. Guesses are accepted until first thing Thursday morning, when I will draw a random winner from all correct entries. Good luck!!