Pins n' Needles

Eco Wool = Happiness

2009-04-06T06:02:00.001-07:00

This is going to a very good friend and her boyfriend that are going through a medical crisis too early. Hope it makes them happy...

The pattern is EZ garter stitch blanket
Yarn: 10.3 skeins of eco wool in latte and .75 skein of eco wool in a chocolate brown.
Started February 15th and finished April 1

Overall, pretty happy with it, there is one line I could have crocheted a little better but I was still trying to get used to a foreign stick with a hook in my hand :)

Not a good start to a sock club

2009-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Look at Livia:

I have been trying a few things to get rid of the ladders....that's why you see some imperfections in the sock. I thought about frogging back to fix it but then decided this is such a slow going sock that I would rather leave it as a character compliment :) .....

....then I tried it on....

...and then,

I frogged :(

I guess 80 sts on size one needles, as the pattern calls for, might not be so giant. I thought this sock was going to be huge so I casted on 60 (usually cast on 64 sts) as I needed the number of stitches divisible by 20 and used my usual 2's rather than US 1's. While there isn't a ton of cabling I think the twisted cabled stitches result in little stretch to the sock. There is no way this thing was going on. There were two options, (a) try to bind my feet and hope they shrink or (b) acknowledge I am not an incredibly smart knitter and just follow the silly pattern!!

Seeing as binding my feet would likely only make them uglier, I am going to cast on now with 80 sts on size ones. If this doesn't work out this sock is going to go in a hibernating pile.

The sock club has started

2009-02-03T16:28:00.000-08:00

February first was the start of my personal sock club. I had Joel draw a random number (1-13, you will see this was unlucky) and started to cast on for Knotty or Knice from a recent interweave. After battling the pattern cables I pouted "I QUIT!" In defense of the pattern, there were no problems with the pattern itself and it is a gorgeous sock, it is just the damn cables that drove be nuts! My hands were cramping, I was sweating while doing (ok, not really, that is gross) and I just wasn't enjoying the process. As a result, I instead casted on for Livia:

Yarn: Malabrigo Sock
Colorway: Lettuce

I wish the photo above was my gorgeous sock but they definitely aren't a quick knit. Initially I had some problems with some big ladders but have been able to remedy that with some ravelry and local knitters help :). Still, the pattern is a slow go. A sock that is largely purling is somewhat irritating on DPN's, I feel like a new knitter with ten needles in my hands. I have a feeling when I finally finish these socks I will be afraid to wear them as I don't want them to wear out. Overall, I am happy enough with my first sock club surprise. My only disappointment is that I just finished Nana's socks in the same yarn and was looking forward to something new. Oh well, new socks to come March 1st!

I am also making quick progress on Ginny (Color is most accurate in the second picture):

Pattern Source: Amber
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed
Color: A gorgeous purple that didn't photograph so well

I am changing a lot on this pattern (the puffy sleeves are ridiculous) and am happy with how quickly it is coming of the needles. I am nearly done with the back in just a week. At this rate, I am hoping to have it completed by the end of the month.

In going through some of the projects I have done since I took a vacation from blogging I realized there were some I should share.

This was Joel's Christmas Present:

It is the Penrose afghan which I truly love. I probably have never been more excited to give anyone a gift before. The pattern comes from the Wooly Thoughts website. All the patterns on the site are designed by a mathematician which caught Joel's eye. In July he said "If you ever want to make me anything, I would like one of these," say no more, he was on a business trip the next week so I marched to the yarn shop, bought my weight in ultra alpaca and casted on. This afghan was done without him ever knowing. At the time, I was working in DC and would take the metro an hour early each morning (he thought I was doing it because otherwise I was late for work) and would knit squares and pentagons in a coffee shop before work each day. There were nights that I would tell him I was tired and would 'go to bed' and instead sit hunched over the pieces in the bedroom listening for his movements while I knit away. There are so many stories that go along with this beast but in the end, I couldn't be happier with the results or his reaction to the blanket...pure shock. Unfortunately, since I was so happy with his appreciate and shock, now I feel like I need to one up this effort for the next major occasion. Any suggestions? (many thanks have to be given to Claire for crocheting the border, a seamstress in PA that backed the blanket for me, and Melissa for carrying me through the project with encouragement!)

I decided to try and cook and make a nice dinner tonight. Joel has recently taking up cooking as a hobby and always makes wonderful things for us to eat. I feel like it is making me an even worse cook since he is so good! Tonight I tried to show him up. While cooking I thought 'geesh, this is a lot of work, how about a drink"....low and behold, my ravelry shot glass has seen better days....

....and then the wine cork was less than willing to pop off the bottle. Come on!

Anyhow, a drink or not, I ended up making homemade herb pasta (possibly more of a pain than Knotty or Knice), meatballs, and fresh bruschetta on wheat bread. Yumm! I did good!!

Blocking fixes everything

2009-01-27T15:54:00.000-08:00

I found my sock blockers! What would have been great is if I found them BEFORE I ordered another set from The Loopy Ewe! Grrr! I have been known to leaving knitting items in strange places but don't ask why the sock blockers where in a drawer of CD's.

Now you can see the wonders of blocking! If you remember, the pictures from yesterdays post showed the socks in a crumpled pre-blocked mess. Here's the finished product! (the color is most accurate in the whiter shots, had to mess with the flash to show off the pattern well since I didn't want to wait for daylight to take pictures.

It's my fault Northern Virginia

2009-01-27T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, I will take the fall....

... if you look closely, you will see the snow even warrants dog sweater vests...

Just the other day I was commenting on Melissa's pictures of all the snow she received and how we hardly see any and I don't miss is. Then I wake up to this! Coming from Michigan I remember snow well but do not miss it. The best part is that Joel had this in his email at work "Please don't forget to take your laptops home tonight as the office may be closed in the morning as we are expecting 1-3 inches of snow."

I finished Nana's socks. Unfortunately, the pictures are completely awful as I can't find my small sock blockers! I am still turning the house upside down and will take pictures of the finished product once I find them.

Pattern: Lace and Lattice Socks
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock
Started: January 23, 2009
Finished (ok, but unblocked): January 27, 2009

I'm still not sure how I feel about the Malabrigo sock yarn. It seems a little thinner than what I would normally use but I am curious to see how they block out. Gosh, I need to find those blockers!

...Is this thing on?

2009-01-24T20:38:00.001-08:00

OK, so it's been awhile. I got away from blogging as my life was getting too nuts with school and work. While I am still in school I am only working on my internship so have found some more free time on my hands. While I wasn't blogging from September 19th on, I still found time to knit. Here are some things you missed...

...just looked in my ravelry queue and there are 17 items that have been completed since I last was on....I don't want to scare everyone away so I will only include the most recent additions of the 17. Know that the rest can be seen on ravelry.

I just finished Lucille

I saw this sample at Stitches and fell in love. I was completely blown away by the vintage look that I bought handwash yarn! Obviously, this baby sweater will have to be saved for a knitter who will treat it well. For now, it will go in my stash of baby knits (ok, not many, this is only sweater two stashed away) for someone who needs it.

I also finished Joel's, slightly obnoxious, inauguration day socks!

He still doesn't have a pair that fit perfectly so I wanted to do insanely boring stockinette ones to get the fit just right.

Last bit of knitting news. Liz told the knitting girls about a self developed sock club. The idea is that you match 12 sock yarns with 12 patterns and then at random each month you draw a match. I love it! Talk about a cost effective way to join a 'club' and also a great way to use up some stash yarn. I spent the day matching up patterns with yarns. Here's the 12 I chose! The chaos will officially begin February 1st!
While hand knit socks are great, I don't need to be greedy and keep all 12 pairs....send me your size and you just may find a random gift in the mail.

Happy knitting!!

It's Louisa's Birthday!

2008-09-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

It's Louisa's Birthday!!! If you knew Louisa you would understand she would hugely appreciate a knitted gift and would be especially amused by a Mr. Peen and a Womb. Kaityln (also at work) knitted Mr. Peen and I had the pleasure of constructing the womb.....

Seriously, how can I top that folks? That's all I got...

Helllllo Cupcake and Thanks Hanna

2008-09-07T16:07:00.001-07:00

So there is a new cupcake joint in town! Joel and I went to Hello Cupcake the other day. It was completely worth the metro money and the cost of the cakes...see....

Also, thanks to Hanna blowing through the area, Foxy got a bath. She was less than thrilled but it sure beat the usual attempt of heaving her into the tub for a bath.

(good job Joel - I will just sit and watch, get behind her ears!)

(I'm not sure who got the better bath)

As for knitting news...I really don't have much I can share. I have been working on some Christmas things so boo, no pictures. I did however finish a laptop sleeve for myself. While my design is super easy, I am really happy with how it turned out. I absolutely love my 'I'd rather be knitting' closure :)

Pattern: Just did a smocking stitch pattern
Yarn: Cascade Eco Wool (new favorite bulky yarn, and there really aren't many bulky weights I love)
Needles: US 8

I also have been making slow progress on my vest. See...

I still love it, just wish I had more time to work on it. Because of all the cables, it doesn't make the best commuting project and school/work has really cut into my time to knit at home since by the time I get home at night I am dead tired.

You ask what the turkey is behind the vest? I am in a Programming class this semester and have to put on a Fall Fiesta for kids ages 2-8 (seriously, could the age range be anymore extreme?!). Anyhow, I had to come up with an activity and thought the toilet paper turkeys were cute so that's my sample for my presentation. It is sad that I was super excited with how cute the turkey was when I was done.

Oh yea, school started! Not thrilled to be commuting to Prince William at the crack of dawn but I am really happy to be back and just to 'get 'er done.' I guess I am super excited to be back at the Freedom Center to swim. I am determined to look good by x-mas (I say this while I just took a batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven).

The BEAST is done!!!

2008-08-11T07:04:00.001-07:00

Finally! I have finished something on my WIP list!!! I feel so much better to have this pile of gray off my coffee table and on the blocking board....here's the progress...

The beast in all her glory.

eww, unblocked lace is so ugly, I think that's why I love the finished project so much!

And now she's pinned out...

Yarn: Little Knits Indie II (silk/cashmere blend)
Beads: Gun Metal silver lined beats from Fire Mountain Gems
Pattern: Mystery Stole III (minus the crazy wing)
Start date: May 14
End date: August 10

On a non-lace note - I finished this awhile ago. My Mom and I worked on the sweater at the same time as she was worried she 'couldn't do it' (come on, she taught me how to knit). Anyhow, I haven't been able to post pictures for fear that Heather may see them online as Mom was knitting the sweater as a surprise for Norah. Mom ended up delivering the sweater to Heather so I can now post pictures of mine. Who's mine going to you ask? Not sure yet, waiting for the 'right' baby to come along I guess. For now, it will hang in the closet for the next baby shower.

Yarn: Dale of Norway, Baby Ull
Pattern: Lillelam Pullover: 12404 & 8101-2 by Ane Cecilie Tofthagen
Start date: May 11
End date: July 11

Congrats Jen and John

2008-07-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

The wedding was a huge success! My weekend was filled with family events so not much knitting to post about but I do have some pictures to share, enjoy...

Jen and John booked a Trolley to take us around town. Way more awesome than a limo :)
Stopped at a playground...

Bride's first dance with the groom

Father of the bride :)

Sisterly love...

Lastly, Sam the Man, not invited to the wedding so he decided to ruin our post wedding picture by not cooperating...

Happy July 22nd!!!

2008-07-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Joel!!!! Two years ago today you made me proud to be your wife (yikes, wife sounds so old). You put up with me leaving one career to move to another, support me through school (again!), and most importantly never get annoyed with the growing yarn stash (granted you suggest with your looks that I am crazy for buying more but nonetheless never stop me). Love you hun!! ...ok, enough of the mushy stuff....

I am really happy with how Catriona is turning out! :) The cables were pretty rough at the beginning but now I understand they flow a little better. Unfortunately though, the yarn is very smooth and easy to split so cabling without a cable needle isn't working so well with this project. After about three rows of cables I gave up and went back to an old school cable needle to help me out :) Here is a picture of her! The first photo is most accurate of the color but the other shows the cables better (silly 9-5 job keeps me indoors and unable to take good knitting pictures).

The poor Mystery Stole is still sitting patiently waiting for me. Ugh. I just lost all motivation. After the wedding I plan to pick it back up and finish it, that way I can take it off the WIP list.

Unrelated note....Ewww, l was just watching the news while at work (yup, covering the front desk this AM) and I just heard on CNN about a salon in VA that gives pedicures via flesh eating fish gross!!

Jen and John are getting married this weekend so I'm off to PA and leaving the dog to hold down the couch. :)

Stitch n' Pitch!

2008-06-21T16:29:00.000-07:00

On an unrelated stitch n' pitch note...here is my optic waves stole blocking....

I love it! Just need to find a modern/young shawl pin.

Ok, now to the main event. Wow, what a day at the Stitch n' Pitch. There were a lot of ups and downs but all in all a really great time...

Here's where it all began. Joel and I were getting ready for the game, and because we didn't want to spend half of our yearly income on food Katie pointed us in the direction of the prohibited and allowed food items in the stadium. See, read this excerpt:

Metal, plastic or glass containers of any kind [are prohibited] (except for factory-sealed, plastic water bottles, no larger than 1 liter and juice boxes). Only one bottle of water per person will be permitted.

Ok, after reading this I went to GIANT and bought us two arizona iced tea juice boxes. I went up to the gate where the 14 year old worker told me I couldn't bring my juice box in. Looking very hurt and slightly parched I said, "but on your website it says juice boxes are allowed." The 14 year old twerp continued to tell me that juice boxes are only allowed to be brought for kids, not adults. Joel said he should have started wining about not being able to take in his juice box and I said that I should have told him I was 'with child' and that he/she did need the juice box. However, because neither of us are that quick of thinkers we stepped out of line and guzzled two juice boxes, see:

Poor Joel, not the best picture, I guess that is what happens when you try to chug iced tea.

Anyhow, we made the long trek up to our seats only to see very few knitters.

I think you can spot a few, but not many. It was a little disappointing that the knitters weren't as clumped together as we thought it would be. I guess the nats sold the unsold stitch n' pitch tickets to regular fans so we were all kind of spread out.

The game seemed to last forever, didn't end until 11:48pm, and around 10pm or so we looked up and saw monstrous moths circling. I am convinced they were drawn in by the orgasmic scent of wool, and not the giant stadium lights.

Finally, I was happily knitting away and got concerned I was about to run out of my project to knit until this happened....

...yup, knitting the sleeve on the wrong size needles...back to the beginning :(

Wedding shower shots!

2008-06-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

Hi guys!! I missed my knitting friends this weekend but I had a great time at home. I was finally able to give Jen her Christmas stockings....here are a few pictures of the finished project and her opening them (these were my super secret project I posted about awhile ago)...

I think she liked them :)
(This was a Judy's Colors kit - I ordered the kits from Nordic Fiber Arts and can't say enough good things about them - seriously, they are so sweet, go buy stuff from them!!!).

Also, look, my leaf paneled sweater in all it's glory! I absolutely love this sweater. It didn't get droopy at all and I wore it all day long. Unfortunately, as you can see, I didn't get the 'memo' that everyone was wearing black and white (seriously, what a weird coincidence).

...what kind of a shower is it without something tiny given to you by your soon to be mother and sister in law! :)

Finally, the happy couple to be married July 27th, 2008 - Can't wait!!!

Blue!

2008-06-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

She's done! Just need to wait for my foam floor mat things and blocking wires to come in so I can block this bad boy. So far I love her more than I thought I would but she is a little short so hopefully it blocks out quite a bit!

Pattern: Optic Shawl from A Book of Yarn
Yarn: Brooks Farm Duet
Purchased at: Maryland Sheep and Wool
Modifications: Per a fellow ravelers suggestion, I went up to a size 10 1/2 needle to make the shawl more open.

I made this shawl to be more 'cuddly.' I wanted something cute to throw on when I am cold rather than a hoodie and I think this is perfect.

Look what I want to do next from Knitty, I am totally in love with this:

I don't think I will start it next just because I still have the MS3 on the needles but I will definitely start it after I am done with the MS3.

A weekend full of smiles...no pictures to prove it...

2008-06-04T10:47:00.001-07:00

So I have been working on the MS3 a lot lately. Honestly, I am so happy with this thing! I really think it will look great with the black dress I plan to wear to Joel's work Christmas party next year. This is totally putting me on a lace kick. I am already starting to scout around for my next project. The problem is that I see it completely unreasonable to make lace, other than it makes me happy (which I suppose should be reason enough). It just seems silly to invest so much time in something that may be worn once or twice. That being said, if any of you need to borrow a smokey gray stole for anything please let me know, I would love to lend it out that way it gets used (however, if you snag it I may have to kill your first born).

Here are a few new pictures of the stole.

I know, it doesn't look much different than the last time but it does to me. I absolutely can't wait to block it. About blocking though, has anyone seen where I can buy these blocks but without the letter (just solid block)? http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2342676 I have read, and heard, that these are great for blocking if you are too cheap/smart to spend $90 on a blocking board.

On a completely unrelated note...look at this yummmy dinner!

Joel and I went to H-Mart (kind of a Korean grocery store with awesome produce that is reasonably priced) and he ended up making this Tofu/Curry dish with coconut milk, mango's and peppers. I guess the coconut milk definitely proves this recipe will never show up on 'cooking light' but yumm, I wish he would cook more often!

This weekend was Jen's Bachelorette Party in DC. Besides melting in the insane heat of DC we had a great time! We went to Firefly for dinner and then walked around dupont a bit before heading to the hotel. This morning we rounded out the day my going to Trader Joe's (it must stink to live somewhere where there isn't a Trader Joes) and then doing some shopping at the mall. Unfortunately, there are few pictures of the weekend (I will post them when they are sent to me) because we were more than glowing from all the heat. All in all, we had a really great time and seeing my sisters and Mom go always makes it hard for me to learn to love this place. Oh well, trucking along...I do have great knitting friends and that helps a bunch!

not many excuses

2008-06-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I have kind of run out of steam on blogging lately. As a bonus though, that means this post will be full of knitting pictures! Joel and I have been dealing a lot with the 'where to live upon graduation' discussion and that proves to be a very stressful and is taking away from blogging time. Don't worry Mai, Katie, and Liz, I think tonight we decided this area deserves more of a shot. It isn't fair to judge the area when we are dealing with crappy Mason and me not having a real job. I would also be lying if I wouldn't admit that having knitting friends is keeping me tied to the area.

Anyhow, onto the pictures. I made Hew, look:

Yarn: Mano Silk and Wool
Honestly, I used all but three yards of the last ball of yarn. I was sweating bullets. It is funny that I thought if I knit faster somehow the yarn would make it through to the end.
Anyhow, the pattern was written well and free so that's always a plus. The yarn is also wonderful to work with!

This is what I am working on now....the third Mystery Stole. For those ravelers out there, I am not doing the crazy wing deal on the one side, mine will be symmetrical with the points on both ends.look! there are beads in there!!!Yarn: Little Knits Indie II (silk/cashmere blend, yum!)
Beads: silver lined gun smoke colored beads from fire mountain gems.

Onto the next project, this has been my metro project.

I bought this yarn at Maryland Sheep and Wool from Brooks Farm with the intention of doing the bias shawl. However, when I started it I couldn't stand the giant needles. Anyhow, another person on ravelry used the same Duet yarn for the Optic Shawl from The Book of Yarn. I am fairly happy with the pattern and think it will look a lot nicer when blocked. My hope is that sometime this summer Joel and I will head to the beach and I can wrap up in it on a late night walk on the beach (hint hint Joel!!). Just a side note, the color is way more impressive in person.

The other project I am working on is a secret so no pictures. I can tell you it stinks though because after being about a fourth of the way done I decided it was way too big and frogged the entire thing and started over.

Lets see. Oh, Katie introduced me to a wonderful website, cooking light! Anyhow, she made this great coconut shrimp with pineapple salsa and I tried to do it myself. Unfortunately, I didn't think there was enough cayenne pepper in the recipe and added way too much. Even though my mouth was on fire I still loved it!

Here's the recipe!

vacation? I wish...

2008-05-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

I seem to have really missed out on some blogging lately. I guess I have had a pretty busy two weeks between Jen's Graduation, Maryland Sheep and Wool, and Finals. Happily though, I finished my last final today and now get to be a lazy bum for a few days. I guess I will play domestic housewife and do the cooking for a change.

So let's see, graduation first! Joel and I flew out to Michigan a couple weeks ago for Jen's graduation. I hate to fly but love that it was fast. By the fourth time we took off I was 'calm' enough to knit during take off! Anyhow, here are some pictures from the big day (Oh yea, I made my vest!)...

Jen is happy now living in Erie with her hubby to be. I am glad for them but in the pit of my stomach feel bad that I can't be closer to home. NoVa is home now right?

We got back from Michigan Saturday night and then I got up bright and early to go to maryland sheep and wool with the girls. I stupidly forgot my camera but if you want to see some sheep pictures, check out Katie and Mai's pages (Mai has an awful picture of me, I look like I am bloated, yuck!). Anyhow, here are some pictures of my purchases.

Ok, the silver isn't a MDS&W purchase, it is however a cashmere silk blend lace weight yarn I am using for the Mystery Stole three. I. Love. This. Yarn.

This is some pretty blue from Brooks Farms (I think) - I am making a very easy open bias wrap - you know because it would look great walking down the beach (yea, someday I will get to the beach this summer)

This was some insanely inexpensive blue alpaca lace. I love it!

Ok, clearly, I was on a lace kick when I was at MDS&W. This yarn is a cashmere/silk blend and was a little pricey so I only got one skein, it does have 400 yds though so I should be able to make a lace scarf. Ok, this was the last purchase. I can't remember who I bought it from but they had a sample of the stole hanging up and I love it. If you click on the picture you can blow it up but they stole is made of a bumch of different spirals....love it!

What else? I have been doing some secret knitting lately so unfortunately no blog pictures :(, if you are on Ravelry though you can see them!!!

I started working on Hew when I was on the plane. There was a big mistake where I guessed that the armholes were big enough and decided not to check until I was four inches below them. You guessed it, didn't fit. Argh. Anyhow, I am working on the front now and am concerned I will run out of yarn. If I do this is totally going in the "zzz" file because I will not rip it back again.

Ok, I think that's it for now, time for bed.

Eli is coming home!

2008-04-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

My Nana had a stuffed knitted elephant when she was a child. Eventually the elephant was passed onto my Aunt and then resided at my Nana's house my my Aunt outgrew Eli. Eventually, my Nana passed Eli onto Jen to keep her company in Michigan. At this point Eli was starting to look very loved as a true family heirloom. Anyhow, I have been in search of the pattern for Eli for months as I would love to recreate him for my own house. Thanks to Ravelry and the Vintage Knitting Group I have found the Eli pattern!!!! See!!!

If for some reason anyone else wants to recreate Eli the pattern is in Weldon’s Practical Knitting and Crochet no. 491 book and it for sale on Ebay.

...Now Jen can graduate..

2008-04-17T19:49:00.000-07:00

You guessed it! The vest is done, so now Jen can graduate :) I am sure the CVM at MSU would have held up graduation for the vest anyhow :)

I will take some better pictures in the daylight. The flash destroyed the color of the sweater. I tried it on tonight and am pretty happy. The yarn is great because it isn't too bulky and I am very glad I lengthened the sweater as it is the perfect length now and would have been too short before.

I would have to say it is weird not to have anything on the needles. I know it has only been about 6 hours, but it is still weird (shhh you fellow ravelers, the foliage hat doesn't count, it's spring!). I already have what is planned next though so I will be on the move tomorrow.

Ooo! Good news, I'm a loopy groupie! If you have never checked out The Loopy Ew e, you need to go. She has a great selection of beautiful yarns, fast shipping and always gives you free stuff with your purchase. After your sixth order, you become a 'groupie,' and look at the free stuff you get:

That's right, I got a Loopy tote, a free sock pattern (in honor of tax day), mints, a key chain, and a free skein of sock yarn! The sock yarn has a nice twist and is handpaint. My camera and the lighting totally destroyed the color.

...not to mention you get sneak up emails that give you a heads up on the new yarns so you can pounce on them (Sheri is such an enabler!).

This is what I bought:

Apple Laine Sock Yarn
50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk , 10% nylon
(again, color totally destroyed)

and an awesome travel mug!

Anyhow, definitely go check out her site. I have stashed a bunch of sock yarn from there and some sock blockers (she sells them individually so you don't have to buy a pair (which is nice since most of us knit socks one at a time :)).

April 8th

2008-04-09T06:24:00.001-07:00

Ok, as of 4 o' clock on April 8th I managed to finish the back of the vest. Here are some pictures. Both the color of the sweater and chair are totally destroyed.

By the way, if you are ever in a pinch and need two stitch holders to say, hold the stitches to the vest of a strap, a bobby pin and a bent paper clip work out pretty well!

Off to starting the front, ugh, twists ribbing :(

Maybe I should have gone into negotiations?

2008-04-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe I was wrong with my mid life crisis. I am thinking I should have directed my efforts into Law and worked in negotiations...this is why:

1) A few months ago I was battling insurance companies on a roughly $2K bill we should not have had to pay. Not only did I end up not paying the bill, I didn't even have to pay a deductible. That's right, outpatient surgery was free!

2) Just a month ago our less than luxurious apartment complex tried to raise our rent on us when we were going to renew. Not only do we not have a 'renovated' apartment we live in an area where people don't stick around long so they are constantly looking for new tenants. After many phone calls, we have renewed for another year at the same base rent (I tried to get it lower but we can't win them all)

3) Just a few days ago I was given a $75 parking ticket on campus. This was a tough one, but once again, I won! As of today my ticket at been 'dismissed and the amount due is $0.00."

Yippppeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

On an unrelated note. I started the honeycomb vest (this is it).
Originally I wanted to get this done to wear to Jen's graduation (in roughly 4 and 1/2 weeks). I thought it was totally doable since I started the sleeveless tank for her shower on the 19th of this month and it was blocking on the 31st...now that I have started the vest however I think otherwise. This pattern is taking me so long to get through and it is on size US 4 needles! grrr.....we will see. Watch me get it done and there be some freak 90 degree weather in Michigan that weekend...lets see if I can negotiate my way out of that one.

...she's blocking...

2008-03-31T18:29:00.001-07:00

Yippee, the leaf paneled tank is almost done. Here are some awful pictures of it blocking. The towel color wasn't a good choice.

Pattern Mods: Just made the neckline a high round neck, didn't want to wear a turtle neck in the summer and was worried it would be too baggy anyhow. Also, made decreases every other row for armhole shaping in order to reduce the length of the top half of the halter.

The next battle will be seaming those sides pretty. Finished pictures to come in a few days if I like the way it fits!

**the color is fairly accurate on the picture of both sides, color's way off on close up.

...All I can offer are excuses...

2008-03-30T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for me completely sucking at blogging lately. It has been crazy.

This weekend my Mom, Nana and Aunt came to visit. They came to Aylin's and Nana got some great yarn for slippers and I bought Mom's mothers day gift.

Then they went into the city to see the blossoms:
Then we went to Rocco's for dinner, yum!
and we rounded out the weekend by visiting great falls national park

Now the bad news...My Foxy girl is still sick. I am thinking, but lost count, that she has tossed her cookies around 8 times in the last 8 hours :( Poor thing. Right now she is a slug but we are trying to keep her comfy and hydrated until the morning when I can call the vet. Unfortunately, Joel had to clean up most of the evidence since I can't handle it, this left a very tired Joel and Foxy, see:
I swear they were both sleeping and as soon as I clicked the camera they woke up!

Knitting news? The leaf paneled sweater is almost done. If it weren't for the episode with the dog today I think I could have finished it. I am hoping to finish this week and move onto something else.

Happy Easter!!!!!

2008-03-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

...This card is too great not to share:

It kind of stinks not being with your family on Easter. Not to mention, Joel's Ultimate Frisbee team has two games today so he isn't even home! Looks like it's just my Foxy Lady, Ashford and I this afternoon.

This is the start of my leaf paneled sweater from Runway Knits....
not sure how happy I am with it yet. The linen yarn makes some of the stitches look inconsistent. Hopefully it will be pretty once it is blocked. Cross your fingers.

excuses, excuses...

2008-03-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting a lot you say? Ok, here is my list of excuses:

1. I have been knitting a super secret project and what is a knitting blog without knitting pictures (raverlers, go check it out!)
2. I have been visiting family in PA on my break and they have dial up (I know, it still exists)
3. I am now back home and am surrounded by colds (both Foxy and Joel seem to have a killer)
4. I finished Joel's socks (see) and am celebrating...

(no, I don't think one is longer than the other, he just sucks at putting socks on)

...and the real kicker....

5. My Foxy Lady (that would be my 'puppy') may be incontinent... Umm, yea, just as bad as you may think....

I promise...let me dodge all the sniffles in the house and deal with the dog and I will be up and running again