finally, finally - i have some finished projects to show you!

first up is stig's hat. this was actually finished once, ripped halfway out (the fit was not working for me - or stig) and then re-knit and finished last week. i've been trying to remember to snap a picture of stig wearing it, and for one reason or another i kept forgetting. but today i remembered, and so here it is:


since finishing the hat, i've picked up adella's log cabin blanket again and made a little progress. going is slow, and to be honest - boring. but it's slowly growing:


and here's a shot with my shoe, for scale:


and last but not least, this afternoon i cast on for my next sweater, 'pilar'. (who comes up with these names, anyway?) so picture pilar without the turtleneck and knit in a paprika-colored merino wool:

it looks a bit more bright orange-y here, but trust me - it is paprika.


i'm going to try to buy the yarn for my knitted Xmas boxes this weekend. i'd love to get those 6 boxes whipped out and be done with them, but we'll see. i seem to be easily distracted these days...

Well, I'm back from Vermont and the sweater is done done. Which means the zipper is in, even though you can't tell by the picture. It was so nice to see J and K. Kirstin looks wonderful!! Jason of course looks wonderful too! Don't want to leave the Daddy out!!! We can't wait for the Blessed event!!! Are you ready for the pictures? Here again, I lack the oh so beautiful models and all of Amy's Teddys are gone from here!! So here I present......Henry's sweater!!!

You guys are sooo good! You've made so many things! They're adorable!! Adella is quite the model! Pumpkin hat? Did you make up the pattern? You're good! Sorry no more fun projects for you Amy. I'm back from my sailing trip unscathed. I didn't fall over board or anything!!! I thought I would get lots of knitting done but one can't sit in the car and knit and still concentrate on all of the cars we might hit. By the time I settled down and started knitting it was time to start concentrating on directions. Then visiting and boating etc (eating) I knit quite a bit on the way home and I am working on the hood of Henry's sweater! Hopefully I will finish it in the next couple of days! I should be doing wash but..........no I don't think so! I been so busy with vacation I need some me time!! Poor me!! Adjustment to real life is so difficult! Well, Ahoy maties!

Well, I heard back from Mahar Dry Goods and he wants to start off my carrying 4 pairs! One each of the monster, monksy, skull and bones and pumpkin bum. After that we will work out some sort of drop ship arrangement. So. Cool.

On the not so cool end of things, I am finishing up a pair of Jolly Rogers, then have to do the 4 pair for Mahar, then have an order of 3 pairs of longies for another customer. I may never be able to stock my Hyena Cart or knit anything for fun again.

So here is a picture of the last fun thing I'll ever be able to knit. A pumpkin cap. The rib on the right hand side looks a little wonky in this picture, but that is just my horrible photography skills.

no jibber-jabber... straight to the pictures! i've finished some things!


the watermelon that came in our farm box turned out to be just right for blocking adella's hat... but it looks better on her:


and a dark shot of my finished armwarmers and cross-hatch scarf (malabrigo, i still love you so!)



today i picked up adella's log-cabin blanket for the first time in months. i'd like to finish it soon, but i'm itching to start something new. (log cabin, you are destined to be my fall-back project for some time now...) in the meantime, it's looking good. i'll post pictures soon.


what's on everyone else's needles?

I just emailed the gentleman who owns Mahar Dry Goods and begged him to let me sell my things in his store. Though Liz and Jessie have prodded me numerous times to go and look around there, I only just got the urge to do it. They have so many wonderful things there! I sent him my most vintage-y pictures and we will just have to wait and see what he has to say. I was very surpized tha, as a vintage store, the only knitted gear they carry is footwear. What's up with that? I hate putting myself out there for rejection, but there you go.

I have just finished yet another pair of monster pants and now I ahve a small reprive from them while I knot up some Jolly Rogers. I am ahead of schedule, so i think I am going to pause and knit up a couple of pumpkin hats with the new pattern I just got from Little Turtle Knits. I think that I want to put a few smaller items up the next time Is tock my HC this time around, so those will be good for that. I am already altering the pattern because the thought of using size 6 needles makes me shudder. I am going to bump up to 7s and maaaaybe cast on with 5s instead of 4s. I might just not cast on with smaller needles at all and just hope for a good natural roll. We'll see. I know. The suspense is practically unbearable.

Off to refesh my inbox until I hear back from the Mahar Dry Goods man. Ten minutes is a reasonable amount of time to expect and answer in, right?

I just whipped up this peair of "Jack-O-Booty" longies to stock in my Hyena Cart soon.




It's been nice, but it looks like my liesure time has come to an end. The measurements have come in and I am once again buried under custom orders. I was going to knit up some cute pilot caps and some armwarmers for myself, too. I could use some right now, my hands are freezing. I swear, our bedroom is 10 degrees colder than the rest of the house.

Brrrr....

i think i failed to mention that i did finish my scarf earlier this week.

not a great picture, i know - sorry.
it's done, and (once again, i'll say) i love the yarn SO much.

so much, in fact, that i've started knitting myself some armwarmers using the same yarn. so far, i've finshed one and have been wearing it all day. it is super soft and warm and the perfect thing for my cold hands (warm heart). (that's what all the little old ladies at work tell me when i give them the shivers with my iceberg fingers.)
so here it is:

nice and simple - k1, p1 rib all the way. i've done a few inches of the partner already, so it won't be long before i'm sporting TWO armwarmers, instead of the lone armwarmer i've been wearing around all day.

i actually haven't been knitting as much as usual - i've had a big sewing project and a little embroidery project in the works, as well as some redecorating. so i've been a busy bee. with the cold weather coming, i feel the need to clean and re-settle into the house before closing up the windows and doors for the next 6 months.
plus, i've started on my Xmas crafting!!
i did buy some yarn to knit up some armwarmers for adella, and probably a matchy-matchy hat to go with them. those are next on the list. and stig's hat is after that.
unless i find another project, and then the hat might get bumped.

okay, i'm rambling. time to go.

Good Evenin !
Just wanted to let you know that Henry's sweater is coming along nicely. Found an error in the pattern. Glad I've made this sweater before. I might have been quite frustrated. Wanted to have zipper in the front but about 10 rows after I kittcher (sp) stitched the front together I realized that made it difficult to put a zipper in. Duh! So now how the front will close is still up in the air. It's cute though. Atleast I think so!! I used Cascade yarn. Reasonabily price and 100% wool. The question will remain....will it meeting Henry's clothing standards! Since we are driving down to MD this weekend it should be almost done by next week! Emma's father was supposed to email me a picture of the sweater I made her so that I could post it. But to date he has not done it. Hope he didn't forget! Men! I said don't rush, but what I really meant was, you don't have to do it in the next 10 minutes but.....now it's has been 3 days! I want my picture! Happy knitting!

Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop in to say hello, and let you guys know I am still alive. I haven't been around because of a job I got, but it will all be done with in a few weeks, so my knitting will resume. I enjoying checking in at night to see what you guys are working on. LOVE the scarf Liz! I'll have to try that pattern. And ANN!! HI!!!! Yay! So happy you are here.

Well, I would say more, but I have no news in the knitting department. Very depressing. Can't wait to get back on board!

Well I finally took a couple of pictures. One of my size 3 needle pink legwarmers and the other multicolored size 8 needle leg warmers. As you can see I am desperate for a live model! Hopefully in the next few days I will be able to get a picture of the sweater I made for Emma (my grandniece) My love affair with my size 3 needles is over!! I had 2 sock cuffs done and was starting to proceed with the heel. You should never try such a thing on a day when very few things are going as planned. Before I was finished I tore out one complete cuff and tore the heel out of the other cuff 3 times. Ugh!! Saturday morning when the stars were more aligned I managed to get the next stage of the remaining sock done with out much ado. Well other than my wrists aching from those sticking small needles! Back in the bag the sock and needle have gone until.........who knows when. Very discouraging! For the good new though, I finally found an open yarn shop (other one of Fridays snafus) and have bought some yarn for a sweater project. And.........I got the pictures of the leg warmers. Where on this post they show is yet to be determined! We'll see!

I went to Liz's this morning to watch the kiddies while Stig and Kyle worked on the brakes of his truck and Adella was nice enough to model my armwarmers for me!






TA DA!

I also just finished a pilot cap for a customer that I think turned out cute. Please ignore the cheesy bear model, lol. I knit it with the same yarn that Liz is using for that cool cross stitch scarf. Is that right, Liz? Cross stitch?





I also knit another hat with the forest Malabrigo but Henry refused to wear it for a picture and it is for a 5 year old boy so the bear thing wouldn't work. It was just a simple cap with a seed stitch trim, but the yarn is just sooooo pretty. The woman who bought it promised she'd take a picture of it on her son so I'll post it then.

For now I am banished back to the land of monster pants until I get caught up again. Pthhhhh.

nothing too exciting over my way...
still knitting along on the scarf, which i love:


and i am definitely going to knit some armwarmers for myself, using the same yarn.
and after seeing adella sporting the little armwarmers that amy made, it is inevitable that i will be knitting some for her too.

i am torn between whether to use the malabrigo or something washable. i just keep going back to the washable factor. my adella is a messy one - not afraid of the dirt one bit. and so the washability is pretty important.
i think i need to take a trip to the yarn store and check out the selection. i haven't bought yarn in ages! i guess the last few projects have all been from my stash yarn.

anyway, like i said nothing too exciting over my way...

oh, and amy - here's the pattern i used for the scarf (and so far, it looks like i'll just use one skein of the malabrigo - so what's that 215 yards? we'll see...):

on US 11 Needles:

•CO 30 stitches

•Row 1: K1, *sl 1, K1, psso but before dropping the slipped stitch from the left needle, knit into the back of it* repeat until there is one stitch left, K1

•Row 2: *P2tog, do not slip stitches off the needle, purl the first stitch again, slip both stitches off needle*

•Repeat rows 1 and 2 over and over again

•BO.
•Weave in all ends.

Well I managed to figure this out! May not seem like a big accomplishment to you guys but.....it's taken me an hour! It really sucks to have to read directions! I was signed in wrong and therefore there was no blog for me to post to. Phew! The real test will be doing it again since I've been to so many screens I'm not sure how I found this! It isn't the destination but the journey that counts, right? You may have to wait a few days for me to figure out the picture thing! Oh ya, first figure out the camera! I am truely technology challenged. Well I just wanted you to know that I tried on the leg warmers while stuck in traffic this morning and I think they will be fine. I have started another pair with size 8 needles and 28 stiches. It does go much quicker. I have kinda gotten attached to my small needles though. They make such cute neat little stiches and these needles feel so bulky! When I see how fast they grow I'm sure that I'll adjust quickly! I am using the dyed yarn I bought at the auction! They are coming out cute. Someday you'll see. One of these days I'll have to get back to my socks. The weather is getting cooler so I think I need a big project! Yarn store here I come!!

Alright, it is the post you have all been waiting for...drumroll please...


Yes, it is the completely coerced and still incredibly blurry picture of Henry modeling the armwarmers I made the other day. Can you tell how cooperative he was? Promises of jelly beans will get him to put the things on, but there was no mention of keeping still in the contract. Actually, he ended up liking them, he just wouldn't sit still for a picture. After I held him to take this one, he leaped off of my lap and ran into my bedroom and jumped on the bed (in the armwarmers) for about 15 minutes before flinging them to the floor and declaring "I don't LIIIIIIIKE these middens!". But I know he did. He has been quite manic all weekend. I can tell that we bore the hell out of him after being in school all week. And, if you have been following along, you will note that these armwarmers match Ms. Adella's brand spankin' new sweater. I think in the knitting world that might make them officially betrothed or something.

Anyway, what is more important is that I LOVE the armwarmers. I will be knitting some more of them tonight at the Jack of the Wood as I expertly answer all trivia questions related to Dawson's Creek. Oh, and I cast on 28 stitches and K2P2 rib until I hit 6". Then I seamed them leaving a 1" thumbhole about an inch from the top of the bind off edge.

Hello,
I am so pleased to have been invited to join the blog!!! I am Ann. the Mama of said Amy. I have never actually been a blogger only a commentor. So this is a new experience for me. I will also have to learn to operate the camera for all of my exciting (ya right!) knitting projects!!! Right now I am knitting leg warmers for a 3 year old so maybe you don't need to see them! Long 10" X 2" sticks! I did want to frill them up a bit though it anyboy had any ideas. I went on line looking for a boarder but no ideas yet! It is getting cooler here now and I'm looking for a project! I have a pair of socks going but socks seem to be so much work for the cost of the yarn! Thought they might be great stocking (no pun intended) stuffers but way too much work!! Hey! do you think the guys would like leg warmers? I could make them in come really cool colores!
submit you color schemes and I'll see what I can do!! Time is limited so get your orders in now!

finished. FINISHED! for real this time - adella's sweater.

see?




i love it now, but if i thought i had to re-knit any part of it, i'd be ready to throw it out the window.
but nevermind - doesn't adella look cute in it? yeah - and her shoes are on backwards.

also finished... one of the felted nesting boxes from MDK. my master plan is to knit all of my family members one of these boxes and fill it with little goodies that adella, stig, and i make and give them as Xmas gifts.

and the real genius of my master plan is to have all of the gifts done by thanksgiving!
i can't yet imagine not stressing during the whole month of december. it will be wonderful, i'm sure.
oh - and this is just a prototype. i know the colors are hideous. i just wanted to try the pattern out with some stash yarn first. the real gift boxes won't be ugly.

and one more thing. the rest of the lover-ly malabrigo yarn i have is going to knit up into something just for me. and so far, it wants to be a scarf.

i am so in love with this yarn right now - the softness, of course. but the COLOR - this color - is just perfect. if i weren't already vowed, i'd marry this yarn and be happy forever.


is 'vowed' a word? probably not, but you know what i mean.

What it is supposed to look like...



What it actually looks like:


And now I am going back to the warm and fuzzy comfort of some toddler armwarmers/fingerless gloves that are sure to be quick and painless. On straight needles. I was afraid they'd disintigrate if I didn't use the poor dears for something.

I have had NO LUCK with knitting this week and it is really starting to get frustrating. First there was the tiny knit penis sweater sleeve and weird chunky pattern. Then, after I abandones that, I broke out the Malabrigo and started knitting Henry the SAME sweater that Liz knit for Adella. Except that at around inch 4 it because apparent that I was knitting for a 12 year old because the sweater is so damn big. Now I am afraid to keep going because I might run out of yarn, and I don't feel like waiting 3 months for more to come from Uruguay.

After the sweater messes, I decided to just scrap "fun" projects and get back to what I know-pants. Well, I have a customer who wanted some sort of animal on the bum of brown pants. I have been wanting to try a Zuni bear for a while, and it seemed like a really easy figure to do, so I talked her into doing that.



Well, after spending a couple of hours on it last night, I seem to have been stitching a physically impaired aardvark the whole time I was supposed to be stitching the Zuni bear. Now I have to take my tiny little golden stork scissors and cut it all out and start over. Or email the customer with my tail between my legs and tell her I can't do it. After I redo it, I'll take a picture and you guys can tell me just how bad it is. *sniff sniff*