My Week Off in a Nutshell

Oh our week off is over :o( This post shows most of my week off. The weather was pretty good. It rained two of the days, but the temperatures were good. When it wasn't raining it was really nice!

I did get some things done around the house ... those never get to things, like organizing drawers, cleaning the basement, etc. So nice to open a drawer and 1) be able to actually get it open, 2) find what you were looking for, 3) be able to close it as well. Gave the dog a much needed bath when it was 80 degrees out the other day ... always feel bad giving her a bath with such cold water outside, but it was so hot she was fine ... well she didn't think so at the time.


Maybe next time I trim the rosebush (which isn't very big and isn't even full yet) I'll wear gloves. The funny thing is once I washed my hands, I couldn't even find this cut, but I found many others from doing stuff around the house that looked much worse than this, but didn't bleed.


I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the primroses came back out front. There are 5 of different colors, but they are all full of flowers like this one.


I am pleased to announce that my orchid is doing very well. I pinched off some discolored buds from a really cold night where the temperature changed dramatically. Then when it was time to water it, I gave it some ferterlizer and a few more of the large buds opened up. It seems to be very happy by this window with the sheer curtains as was recommended.


We got some flowers to plant this week, and also this fuscia! I am hoping it attracts the hummers. We already had a male visit the feeder while we were sitting on the deck! So exciting. In the last two years we've only seen females.


I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket that someone at worked asked me to make for him for a gift for someone that was expecting. It just needs to be sewn up and buttons sewn on - I think I have to buy buttons, I don't have any colors that will go with this on hand. I'll have to look through my stash and see if I do or not.


Its always a little frightening when you have a gaping hole in your house :o) We wanted to replace this back door while we were home this week ... in case anything went wrong we'd have ample time to do it right ... and have a hole in the house. It went pretty well. Only a few hours from start to finish. The old door was wood, and wasn't painted properly or set properly so it was weather damaged and the top was too snug - like we had to SLAM it to shut it ... and the bottom was the equivalent of having a window cracked open all winter. Literally paper would move in the breeze.


Here's the new door. Also nice to have some extra light. In this photo we're waiting for the expanding foam to cure and then I can put the molding back on. I tacked up the molding for the winter when I painted the dining room last fall, now I have to chisel the construction glue off the back of the pieces so that I can mount it again, LOL! One thing that sucked though ... the hole for the locking mechanism on the jamb doesn't line up with the hole on the door ... so we have to pull the door up to get the lock to set in place ... this probably explains why our kitchen door deadbolt (that was here when we moved in) doesn't work ... it looks like the same manufacturer.


The frog pond already has 6 frogs!!! This is my gargoyle. This year I planted some impatients by him. I am hoping they fill out over the summer. I only had one of each color left after I planted the window boxes for the front of the house.


There's a frog here ... can you find him???


I spent some time spinning yesterday. Carin from Round the Twist mentioned that the Respect the Spindle digital download was available for 10 cents ... yeah 10 cents. So I checked out the link thinking I'd missed it and it was still available. While watching this, she mentioned a good point, you need to use fiber to learn, you wouldn't think it a waste if you had a pen that was out of ink if you'd been practicing handwriting. You'd think of it as a tool you needed to use. So I broke out the fiber that I was "saving" until I was good at spinning and my new spindle and I did pretty good!!

Respect the Spindle digital video download is still $0.10!!!

And my favorite part of Spring!! I have oh so many more, but I picked some of the most interesting colors to show here.

How to Knit a Shawl in 10 Steps

Step 1. Pick out yummy, super cool yarn from stash.

Step 2. Spend approximately 2 hours debating over patterns. Check out many of the projects on Ravelry to determine if the pattern is going to look good with the yarn you picked. Note: Make sure you don't start this process until very late in the evening.

Step 3: Finally decide on two patterns, go back and forth between the two several times.

Step 4: Purchase pattern. Download pattern. Transfer to flash drive because you're printer is out of ink and you have to use the other one in the house. Print pattern.

Step 5: Find a non-wobbling bar stool to set up yarn swift on, luckily this takes 2 seconds as opposed to the 2 hours it took to choose a pattern. Using a wobbling one is a lot like using a grocery store carriage with a wobbling wheel ... its annoying at best.

Step 6: Find needles. First find empty package of the correct size and curse ... really you don't even know where they are. Check interchangeable set for this size, almost certain that this one doesn't ring a bell. Squee with delight when you find that you did indeed purchase tips in this size.

Step 7: Wind yarn. Photograph yarn for blog prior to casting on.


Step 8: Look at the clock and ask yourself if you really even want to knit this stupid shawl now that its almost midnight. Note: The shawl is not stupid, you are.

Step 9: Cast on shawl.

Step 10: Admire the first pattern repeat. Ohhh pretty!

Take a deep breath ...

I've decided that In Dreams and I are at a point in our relationship where we need to see other people. Every time I knit on this thing it aggravates me. I don't know if its a little too far beyond my level of expertise or what.

I knit 4 rows yesterday, read the border pattern chart from right to left (right side) and left to right (wrong side) then decided for some unknown reason to read the main pattern chart from right to left for any side ... duh!!! Luckily the wrong side rows are the same whether you read them the correct way or backwards, however, again, I am short a stitch now and don't know why.

Because In Dreams and I are on hiatus, I then decided that I wanted to start another shawl, or better yet a shawlette. I have two in the queue ready to go, but both require size US 6 needles, which are currently on the baby surprise jacket. Oh, this is why monogamy is good.

They are, however, interchangeable, so I could take the tips off and put them back on if I wanted to. Not sure yet what I am going to do. I do also have some Dream in Color Starry that I intended to use for a shawl ... who wants bits of metal on their feet??? So I may look for a pattern so use that for.

We are on day one of our vacation. Our intentions for this vacation were to get some things done around the house that we never get to. Also, to relax and decompress from work.

Today first thing we went down and cleaned up the basement. When we moved in two years ago, we moved some things that we probably should have thrown out. Also, we're really good at chucking things down there and slamming the door ... out of sight, out of mind. That went well ... we stopped conversations and moved on to another area when things started to get to the you do this, or you keep too much crap, etc.

I would still love to have the kind of basement where we can go down to the workshop area and find a tool we need, instead of cursing, and saying, I swear it was over here, and tossing boxes and things out of the way while swearing some more. But that would require that we put things back where they belong when done with them ...

I also cleaned out the junk drawer in the kitchen, now we can actually open it and find a screwdriver or pen if needed.

Then we took a trip to the Walmart Supercenter in the next city over. It was a nice store, I like it much more than our local Walmart. Found some things we were looking for and then some.

While cleaning the basement I found a fishbowl. Since we were tossing things or putting them to use, I figured why not get a fish for my computer/knitting room?? And since these poor guys are kept in tiny cups in the pet store, I figured its no 5-star hotel, but a bowl is better than a cup, no?




Its a bit blurry, but ah hem, fish usually don't keep still for very long. He was the closest thing to purple for my purple room.

Its ... its .... yarn!

OMG I enjoyed this so much! Yesterday and today while spinning I found that I can be quite consistent, so I had a decision to make. The yarn on my spindle thus far was pretty wonky. Thick and thin as I practiced drafting and getting my hands to cooperate with my brain. I have about 2.79 oz left of this roving that I haven't mutilated already.


I decided that I didn't want to continue spinning if a good portion of it was a mess and I thought I could continue consistently (and thinner) that I had been. I was itching to try plying too!


So I stopped where I was and wound it into a center pull ball. I know I can ply from the cop, but it was odd looking and I thought the shape weird and I do have a ball winder, so wind I did.

Although I was concerned with the instructions of pulling a ply from the outside and inside of the ball and how, conceivably this could turn into a huge mess, I continued anyway. It really went quite well until I accidentally let go of the yarn during plying and the twist traveled to the unplied yarn.


Unbelievably its actually a balanced yarn ... or its so far removed from actually being yarn that its not behaving normally. The yarn hangs all by itself without twisting back.


Sorry for the icky pics, but its raining and grey here again, so its the best I could get. Now my yarn is hanging to dry. I think I got about 16 yds out of it. I used a Niddy Noddy to wind the hank, so I counted the strands and did the math from there.

Spinning and Spinning

I wanted to try and spin every day this week to practice. I think there was only one day that I didn't spin! Even if it was for 10 minutes, I spun every day.


I'm getting better. Not where I would like to be, but definitely better. At least my yarn is consistently inconsistent, because the spindle only started to wobble once and since then its been balanced enough to not wobble at all.

Because I have been so good, and Verizon now issues their rebates via Visa gift card, I decided that I was due a treat. So I went to the local yarn shop on my way to work today (and today was a holiday and I am on vacation next week, so this was supposed to be the start of my vacation, also a reason why I think I deserved a treat).



The roving is by the same company as the one I am currently spinning. Its BFL and the colors are just awesome! I also wanted to try out a top whorl spindle, the one I am using now is a Turkish spindle. While there I found this book as well. I have come to the conclusion that some of the best books are the least attractive looking!

Spinning out of control

So, I am determined to get spinning. I have my little basket with my *practice* (this will make sense in a minute) roving and spindle next to my desk so whenever I have a few free minutes I can practice. Also, if I have to practially trip over it to get in or out of the chair, well then I can't forget!


I spun quite a bit over the weekend. I finally had an ah ha moment today. I've been spinning a bit for pratice, being unhappy with the slubby, icky yarn produced. I wouldn't call myself a perfectionist, but in some cases I am. If I make something, it'll be the best it can be ... or I'll start over. If I am installing a floor in my house and see something doesn't quite match up or looks weird ... I'll rip it up and start again (yeah don't ask how I know this). That splotchy weird section of paint on the door that didn't look quite right, tried to paint over it, it looked worse ... I repainted the entire door. This must be why knitting and I get along so well. Its so easy to drop a stitch to correct one several rows back, or heck, rip back several rows and redo things.

This isn't so easy with spinning. Sure, you can unwind a section and re-spin it, but its already got some twist in it and it isn't so easy to work with then. I finally figured out, hey stupid, this is PRACTICE ... keep practicing and then you'll get good at it. So, I -think- I can deal with this. If something is really horrible, like a huge, loose, slubby section or a section that's so thin its going to break, then yeah I can unwind and redo, but if its just inconsistent, well MOVE ON! I'm never going to get good at it if I don't just keep moving on and practicing!


And its really not so bad. Now I have an idea of how much fiber makes a certain yarn thickness. I'm getting better at drafting. It just takes practice. After all, practice makes ..... perfect, right?

Weekend Update

I don't have much knitting to show this week. Work was busy and I am helping a friend with a fundraising even for a non-profit tomorrow, so I've been concentrating on that in my free time this past week.

Last weekend I got an orchid for my knitting room. I had one last year, but it didn't last through the winter (I'm sure my brown thumb didn't help it). This one is larger (so I hope has more girth to sustain itself with my care). So far so good. The picture is a little dark, its overcast today and I thought the flash would be too bright.


I was perusing my blog reader this morning and came across some new designs to benefit the disaster relief in Japan. I though I would share some of the ones I came across.

Designs by Romi

Janel Laidman

Wendy Johnson

I am back to practicing spinning. I tried one weeknight this week and think that I wasn't predrafting enough and that I was putting too much twist into the yarn. I took out my copy of Productive Spindling again (since last time I successfully spun it was with the assistance of this book) and tried again today. All went well. I am going to try and spin for at least 10 minutes a day until I am comfortable with it. I have one braid of roving I am working from that I am using for practice and don't expect to get anything out of it except for learning. I have another braid waiting for when I can spin consistent yarn.I'm impatient, so I think instead of going slowly and drafting consistently I try and whiz through and end up with super thick slubs or super thin sections that break.

I am working on the Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm more than half way at this point. I really hate when people ask me to knit things for them. Right now I would really like to be working on the In Dreams Shawl, but I want this baby jacket completed so its off my to do list. I think I wouldn't mind except I spent the last two weeks finishing that baby blanket for the shower this past Wednesday ... so its a double "have to" knitting right now!!

FO: Baby Blanket

All in all I was happy with the final result. I don't think I'd make a blanket with cotton yarn again, it was heavy, hurt my hands to knit with and pulled the second half from the weight. Washing and drying it took care of a lot of the wonky shape.


I started this project to use up some left over yarn from a baby sweater. I wanted to try diagonal knitting.


I ended up having to buy more green and red yarn ... so this wasn't exactly a stash busting project!


Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Pattern: My Own
Needles: US 8

2AKACBW Day 2 - Skill + 1UP

I just briefly went back through my blog from this time last year to review what I was doing at that time ... saw a lot of dyeing yarn, LOL!

I don't think that I learned a particular skill since then, but I do think that I knit faster. I know I learned what is accomplishable in a period of time (like gifting). I also know that when I really don't like knitting something ... there's no law that says I have to finish it ... I can reclaim the yarn or throw it in the closet to never see the light of day again.

I know I don't think I'll ever knit a full size blanket. I don't like to knit scarves (unless they are lace or have some interesting construction). I know I love kitting baby surprise jackets. Socks are always a good go to project. I recently learned that I love knitting shawls ... just don't know if they fit in my wardrobe.

Over the last year I did learn how to better read my knitting, I can catch mistakes quickly and find where I am if I get lost in a pattern - like if my sticky note falls off or I have left something sitting for a long time. Or how to drop stitches to fix something without have to rip or knit back - like cables.

I feel like I've become a better, more experienced knitter in general over the last year.

2AKACBW - Day 3 - Tidy Mind, Tidy Stitches

I would say my yarn is fairly organized. I guess its more of necessity than anything. I have a craft room in my house that is the smallest room in the house, so anything I have to fit in here, needs to be organized or I wouldn't be able to move about the room. I have two bookcases that showcase my most beloved yarns. They serve as eye candy and inspiration to my craft.


On the bottom right of this bookcase in the plastic zip lock bags are yarns matching with patterns and ready to be knit.


New acquisitions usually sit in a bag for a little while until I figure out where I am going to fit them.

There is a drawer in my purple desk that is 22"Wx8.5"Dx2"H ... what else is better for storing circular and DPNs? Really what else could you fit in this drawer besides pens and pencils?


There are typically two places my WIPs reside, one is in a ottoman that doubles as storage space (its a cube and the top comes off) but things get forgotten when they are hidden in there. The other is my fuzzy, purple chair ... where things can also get fogotten when they get buried like this.


It might only look like I have two tote bags and a grocery bag on there ... but there's actually the Icarus Shawl, my nugatory socks and my hummingbird cross stitch buried under there. The blue tote is empty. My Knitters' Guild tote is storing Saroyan. There's also the yarn for the baby surprise jacket I'm working on (practically falling off the chair) and the yarn for the baby blanket I am working on in that pile.

I also have yarn stored in the closet in my craft room ... pretty much anything that doesn't fit in the bookcase or isn't exactly "pretty" for showcasing (like kits or random skeins or sweater quantities). Don't ask about the red crayon on the wall ... it was here when I moved in. Also not sure why this closet is covered in linoleum.


The other place that I store yarn is a room in the basement ... actually its right below my craft room. I store yarn in plastic totes down here, every few months I check and make sure nothing is getting damaged from moisture or bugs. Typically all of this yarn is less expensive and some is even acrylic ... mostly baby stuff. There is some sock yarn in here, but most of it resides upstairs in the bookcases. If I use some up from a bookcase, I usually go "shopping" down here to replenish the space left on the shelf.

The large shopping bag and the box of yarn were things people gave me because they or someone they knew didn't use it anymore ... its all acrylic. I should really donate it or get rid of it. I don't think I am ever going to use it and its just sitting down here taking up space.



And that's really the only places that I store yarn ... sometimes there's a random skein in the coffee table drawer, but that's it ... because of the nasty little yarn stealing monster that lives here, all yarn must be under lock and key ... or at least in a drawer or behind a door ... she hasn't figured out how to open the door yet and hopefully her older brother doesn't teach her ...

Lucy Neatby

This past week was the Knitters' Guild Meeting. We had a special guest visit with us .... Lucy Neatby!!!


She was such an interesting person. She had a slide show of her various works and designs and narrated through it, what she was thinking at the time, what inspired the design, and a little bit about her life at that period. It was really fantastic!

There were several of her designs knitted up on display to look at.

I didn't realize that she had instructional videos out. She showed us two techniques that are things on her DVDs and they were amazing. One was a special way to bind off loosely and the other was Navajo knitting - like plying, but to knit with your yarn tripled and keep the color repeat.

WIP Wednesday 4-6-11

Check out other WIP Wednesday Blogs here!




This is just about all I've been working on this week, there is a baby shower at work next Wednesday and I have to have it completed by then ... or before then so I can wash it and make sure it comes through in good shape.

I am desperately hoping that I don't run out of green. Its still carried in local stores, so if I have to get another skein I can, but would really rather not!

2AKACBW - Day 4

Where are they now?

I just poked back through my blog at a few random things and thought about their fates.

Grumpy the Lump of Coal
Grumpy was intended as a deterrent for the horrible, little cat in my house that eats yarn. Why I thought, I'll knit her something that can be all hers and she'll leave my yarn alone, was a good idea, I'll never know! It only fed her desire to tear more yarn to shreds. After that she actually sniffed out yarn! I saw her once sitting on the bathtub edge, sniffing the air under my drying, hand washed socks!

Grumpy was eviscerated ... it was an ugly, gruesome death ... RIP Grumpy.


Quidditch Sweater
This is one of my most prized posessions. It fits perfectly, its super warm. It was a pain to knit all the ribbing, but, oh so worth it! The color is perfect, the fit is perfect, its the BEST SWEATER EVER and its the first one I made!


Fetching Mitts
My MIL taught me how to knit. And at the time, I wasn't even interested. My mom wanted to learn, so I said, hey, show me and I'll show her. I was enthralled. She was enthralled at how quickly I picked it up. I never stopped since that day. She and FIL deliver mail part-time ... way up in New Hampshire. I thought that fingerless mitts would be nice for this task. She loved them. I know she takes good care of them. She loved them so much, she asked me to make him a pair, which I did ... about a year later, but better late then never right?!?!

KACBW - Day 5

And now for something completely different ...

A trip to the yarn store.

Whenever I go to the yarn store, I go straight to the sock yarn. If I don't have anything in particular in mind, or a paticular pattern, sock yarn is something that I know I will always find a use for. For the yardage its inexpensive, you typically only need one skein for a project. I see what's new since I've been there last. I pick up skeins, touch them and pet them. I check out the colors. I stop and think ... well I like this color, but how will it knit up? Sometimes I grab something and walk around the store with it while I check out all the other yarns. If I still want it when I'm ready to leave, well then, its coming home.

I walk throughout the store and peruse everything. I think about all the patterns I've seen lately and what yarns I am seeing in the store that might work with them. Sometimes I take a slip of paper with pattern names and weights and yardage requirements, and if I find something that works, great!

If I walk around the store and come back to something more than three times ... well it should probably come home with me. I think, if I come back in a few weeks and this is gone, will I remember it and will I be upset that I didn't get it when I had the chance? That is a good measure if I should buy something or not. If its expensive, I think, well if its still here when I come again (and I remember it), then it means I should definitely buy it then (I actually did this once with some Malabrigo sock yarn).

Once I've gone through the store and have some skeins in my arms, I stop and look at them again. Think hard ... are you really going to knit this? Is there enough yardage for a project. Do you really like this color? Do you need this (usually the answer to this one is no, LOL). Sometimes things get put back ... but usually not ...

2AKACBW - Day 6

Something to Aspire to

A technique that I've wanted to try for the last few years is knitting with beads. I am currently knitting the In Dreams Mystery Shawl, but the bead count of 5,000 made my stomach turn. I decided to postpone trying this technique for another project(like a much smaller one) and I'm knitting the shawl with the no beads option.

Speaking of shawls. The designer of In Dreams designed the Evenstar Shawl. I am awed by the beautiful design of this shawl. But entirely intimidated by the massive stitch count.

I really don't have a use for shawls, my jeans and t-shirt wardrobe don't lend well to shawls as an accessory. I do wear my Ishbel shawl with a nice top and jeans and sneakers and I think it looks quite nice and not too out of place.

So, while I don't think I'll ever have a use for Evenstar ... can't even display it in my house (see previous post), I would like to make it someday.

April 4th TUSAL

Time for another TUSAL post!

I'm happy to report there's more int here every time!

2AKACBW - Day 7

I saw that this was coming, and when it was time, I completely blanked on it and wasn't keeping up with blog reading so I didn't realize it had started. I'm going to go backwards here since this is the last day, LOL! Most of my crafting time is limited to my crafting room in my house. Typically I watch episodes of tv shows on my computer while I knit. Sometimes I listen to Pandora radio or a book on my MP3 payer.

My knitting and spinning is confined to this room, not by choice, but by necessity. We live with three cats. While for the most part they are well behaved, one we lovingly refer to as "awful cat", "horrible cat" and "worst cat ever". When she is misbehaving, which is pretty much any time she's awake, she responds to the previous references with a kitty smile, and tilt of the head making that "I'm so cute and you know you love me face." Oh, did I mention she tears yarn to shreds? She tries desperately to get in my craft room any chance she can get and the first thing she does is run right to any accessible yarn and grabs it and holds on tight. I've wrestled her for a skein a few times.

Who would've thought this cute little thing would turn out to be such a horrible, evil cat??? No, all kidding aside, she's super sweet and has a lot of personality ... but sometimes that personality decides to do naughty things ...

Usually I don't snack while knitting, but I found that Cheezits in a cup are great to snack on while knitting ... the cup is so that I don't get greasy, crumby fingers and can keep on knitting while snacking. I think any small cracker type food would work great for this. Or you know M&Ms.

I don't really like to knit in groups. I feel distracted by the conversation and only bring very simple projects or socks. I like visiting with other knitters though, so I'll go, but I don't knit much.

Spring has Sprung ... Again

After I posted the pics of the snow storm from Friday, it got to almost 70 yesterday and all of the snow melted (except for this one little patch that was a huge pile at the end of the driveway all winter). The birds are singing up a storm out there and the sun is shining ... all is right with the world, LOL!


I ripped back the In Dreams Shawl Friday evening and last night I knit for about 3 hours and ended up back where I was before I yanked the needles out and ripped. Now I have another 8 rows to go to be back where I was where I noticed that there was a problem in the first place. I am glad I ripped it back, although in the future when there are 100s of stitches this won't be an option. I have been more attentive to my stitch count to make sure that I'm not missing or have any extra stitches.

Also, previously I wasn't using the chart, I was using the written directions. The chart was a little confusing to me, I've used charts before, but ones that have most of the repeats or a box around the section to repeat. This one does not, for example, the first row there are two stitches represented, when there are really 4 and so on as it grows.

Now that I've actually knit 8 repeats, I can wrap my head around the chart. Probably doesn't help too much that its a mystery shawl ... so there's no picture to refer to, LOL!

Its going much quicker with the charts and I'm sure that leaves a lot less room for errors when its visualized right in front of me. I already caught myself on a mistake, I was reading the chart from right to left, but I was on a wrong side row so should have been reading from left to right. I had been doing this for 16 rows, but all the previous rows were symmetrical so it didn't matter. This one was not and I noticed when I got to the end of the chart ... didn't make sense. Then I sat confuddled for a moment, scratched my head, read the written directions, saw I had done it backwards, saw that I was on a WRONG SIDE row and duh ... realized I wasn't reversing the direction I was reading the chart.


At this point I am about half way through Clue 1 ...

Spring You Say ....

What an April Fool's joke Mother Nature played on us ...





The whole intent of this project was stash busting. I had some left over yarn from a baby sweater, so I went and purchased two other colors and I wanted to try out diagonal knitting. Why I decided to try this technique out on such a large project, I'll never know. I've learned a lot over the years of knitting ... mostly what NOT to do, LOL!



It is highly possible that I have another skein of green downstairs, I haven't looked yet. But I can only figure that I had more green than the other colors because I clearly thought that at the time. You can see that I did more striping in the green and red. I know those were the colors I purchased and the other colors were used for the sweater. Or that could mean that I had one whole skein of green and red and that was my thinking. You can see that there's not much green left at this point.

I just realized that I completely missed the Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. I may go back and post the topics even though the event is almost over. I thought it was an interesting activity to have particular topics related to the craft to blog about.

I finally bit the bullet last night and ripped back the In Dreams Shawl ... I am just going to start from the beginning and hope it goes well this time. Clue 5 was released yesterday ... on my I am so behind!