Man do i love to knit

But i sure hate blogger! I got alot done this weekend. Nothing to show for it though. I finished one of my hand warmers and damn if it didn't warm up again so my desire to start the other on has decreased to ..Oh zero. I am working like a busy bee on my shawl and put every second of free time to it, except for last night when i started this. It is quick, so far 3 wedges and i know it will look great.
I found another totally excellent online Yarn store, WEBS. They have all the great names and give discounts for orders over $60 or $120 (so in the bag). They have Cascade 220 and i am loving that. It is $7 (at my LYS is is $7.25) and with the discount of a $60 order it comes out to $5.60/skein) how awesome is that. But i do not have a ball winder or swift! So i must wait.
New Vogue knitting- i am in love with the winter lace sweaters and want to make them all right away. But of course i would need to quit my job, lose the dogs and break up with Garrett in order to get them all done in a timely fashion let alone before it gets warm again. Considering i prefer to knit with the company of dogs, i think i will wait. Plus i am pretty attached to Garrett and will at least stick it out till after the wedding. Oh today is his birthday, BTW. He is the big 26 (he digs the older ladies, of course he doesn't grasp the fact that by dating someone a whole 1.5 years older than him he is not really experiencing a real may- Dec romance). Now if only the new interweaving knitting would arrive in my mailbox already.

The Destroyer!

I have already posted about my dogs but not about their personalities. May i present Maggie the Destroyer (10 mo American bulldog), Murphy the enabler (1 1/2 yr short hair border collie) and Brittany the innocent (13 yr Brittany spaniel, Garrett named her when he was 13ish). Maggie has single handedly eaten 3 bras, 2 shirts, screw drivers, countless pens and all the pennies she can get to. In fact, anything left on the bed recently has fallen prey to Maggie. She is like the nothing from Never Ending Story. Needless to say, she is under direct supervison until such time that she can be trusted not to eat another pair of jeans left on the bed after i get home from work. She is not too unhappy with this arrangement because as i explained to my brother the other day: Maggie requires 15 min of cuddling ever hour and since i am not home ever hour, from the min i get home to the time i leave for work the next day, it is cuddle time with Maggie. She is just so big and soft that i have agreed to her terms (but i really had no choice).
Murphy is the alpha and he knows all the goes on. He is the enabler because he does not really chew anything (only his toys) but he is not one to stop Maggie. He may even lead her to her next victim. Murphy is my secret service agent. He is by my side at all times. If he is outside "taking care of business" and i am, say washing dishes, i will soon see a bouncing Murphy in front of the sink window. If he is sleeping (he considers sleep failure by the way) and i move, he is instantly awake and on duty. If Garrett kisses me, Murphy gets jealous. Sometimes when Murphy is walking behind Garrett and is not paying attention, he will bump into Garrett and growl, like it was Garrett's fault. He has bumped (make that plowed) into me millions of times, but i get pardoned. But he does love Garrett but will only cuddle or sit with him as long as i am in the room.
Brittany is the innocent because compared to the other 2 she is no trouble. She sometimes plays with them but she must bark when she plays. She knows no other way. I can her Garrett's lady, because she adores him. They have been together for about 12-13 years. She wants to be where he is; however, she is coming to the darkside and i have reason to believe that she recently signed custody over to me. She loves to sleep in my knitting chair but if i even look like i want to sit in it, she jumps out. She is constantly catching squirrels in her sleep and often in real life. She has one trick, it used to be roll over but in her cunning she has learned that if she merely twirls around she can get the same treat. She must dance before she gets her food. Brittany is the offender of my shawl. The other night we had run out of her Kidney food and the vet would not be open for 2 days, so we fed her regular food. Well that night she napped on a different chair and peed all over it. On that chair was my knitting bag with the wedding shawl. Long story short both the chair and shawl have recovered thanks to helpful tips from Knitty Coffeeshopians.
Oh, i use this to keep the dogs under control and to keep them off the bed. As you can see it is not effective at keeping them off the bed (the fact that i rarely use it for that, not with standing). I bought it at publix last spring and it was labeled Sea Lord. It is the best water gun yet.

a hat for your thought?

Well i have in the last week or 2 finished 2 hats (Une por moi et une por Shelby). WHo is Shelby you ask. She is Garrett's cousin's oldest baby, so second cousin? i never got that whole third cousin once removed. Family is Family. Back to hats... the one for me is my first fair isle ever and of my own design. well i designed both, but i name the green one "First Fair Isle" Pattern to follow. Oh and the Lovely David is my model for the evening. Oh and the candy cane hat will be recieving a pom-pom. it is knit in arcylic. the First Fair Isle Hat is knit in Green Tea Cascade 220, Summer something (same blue as previous Kim's Hat from Last minute knitted gifts) and cream from Knit Picks Wool of the Andes).

















I am also posting the Moss grid Hand Towel from Mason Dixon Knitting. It is in Knit Picks Shine Worsted in Crocus, 4 balls. I did not do all 12 repeats. I don't think i want to make any more of these. it was really boring towards the beginning and i really had to push myself (like i should do with Wobbly circles) to knit it. I really like the finished look (needs some blocking) but it will be my only.

Oh and i started another project for a christmas present. It is a fast knit and i wanted to start it because it will only take about 100 yards and i want to use the rest of the yarn to make myself some hand warmers. I am using Cascade 220 Quatro Grenada. It is awesome and the colors will make you fall in love. But here is the scarf pattern, Flora from Knitty. the only change i am making is that i will not be making the flower from the pattern but rather i will make several flower pins for the scraf from Nicky Epsteins Knitted Flowers; all in different but corrdinating colors. I have made this scarf before and it is easy and fun. I really enjoy it and it looks great. Anything worsted is great for me (i have a whole stash of it). I am pretty excited. As my brother would say: "DANG!" (he's a little weird).
update on wedding shawl- progress is good and my excited is steady and it is on schedule!

A Little Bird

http://masondixonkal.blogspot.com/2006/10/hobby-lobby-to-rescue.html

FO- Finished object or Finally over...You decide

Well i attempted the Atlanta 3 day walk for breast Cancer. In that i mean i walked my ass off (i am being very literal here folks, it is gone) on Fri. I walked 15 miles and crawled the rest. I had to pick up each leg and place it in the car for the ride home. and follow the same procedure each time i moved locations that evening and the following day. It can be assumed that i did not change location very much if at all. Of course i did get a nice homecooked meal by the very gracious and caring future hubby. It may also be assumed that your truly did NOT WALK the other 2 days. I am assembling a petition right now to officially change it to a 1 day walk for breast cancer and also to reduce it to a good, honest 1 mile. It will save money and in the end save everyone some trouble.
I did get some good done though. Lots of knitting. Remember my previous grumbling post about scraping my wedding shawl. Well all will be happy to know that it has turned out for the best. Sat, 2 days earlier than i had hoped, my order from Knitpicks came. In that special box was a special book called Wrap style. I highly HIGHLY recommend this book. It has shawls, ponchos, tiny shawls and caplets. I choose a caplet. However, what got me so excited is how easy that make it for you to design your own and to substitute any yarn you may desire. I am off and running and making really good progress. This one is so much more fun than the last one. I have big plans still but they are no formalized so we shall not speak of them lest the muses shun me. (p.s. goofy mood today).

I also finished Brandi's hand warmers. They look great. but i must warn you the lumpiness in the photos is my watch. I knit everything perfect and i won't have you thinking otherwise. I love this pattern and since it is now officially "Chilly" here i need some for my self. I am starting them tonite. Must peruse the stash.

Here's me in a nut shell "Help i am stuck in a nutshell"

Today is stressful but i won't get into it. But be forewarned that this message will be quick and sweet and have a hard edge to it. bascially i am scraping the shawl and starting from scratch. i have an idea in my head of what it will look like, but i need to test it first. I hope to have time tonite to at least frog it but with three strands together it may get tangled and make me mad. Plus i am walking in the 3day tomorrow and need to shop and pack. I hope to have pictures of something by monday.

Bored

I am only on the 4th repeat of my shawl and i am bored already. I am pretty focused on getting it done so i am not sure if i want to spice up the knitting by starting something new. Hell, i haven't even finished Wobbly circles yet. But, to help my lull i purchased these today, Glee and Rusted Root. I love them and they will be my first attempt at knitted clothing. Well not really remember the kimono i made for my cousin. but this is for ME! i am not even sure what colors yet, but i am thinking. I just wonder when i will have time. The holidays are coming up fast. my parents are moving soon, plus my wedding, reception, christmas and thanksgiving. and to find someone to watch 3 dogs and a cat for just about all of it! help! oh well at least i know a relaxing activity i can do to take my mind off of all this thinkin'.

Got more done!

So I didn't really get all this done this weekend but i did take pictures of it so it seems like i did.
Here is my finished Nappy bag. I really hope Sara likes it. She is moments away from baby #2. Congrats. I am also including a big brother hat for Isaac! It gets mighty chilly in Kansas.

Here is also a picture of the neck gator for my Dad for christmas. I did not yet write out the pattern. Date for pattern TBD when i finally get around to is. But there is a nice one, in the mean time, in Last minute knitted gifts. However, it did not work with this yarn.

1824 my ass

1824...That is about how much it costs to buy one skein of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. Well, in my search for a nice alternative i checked out Luna by Cascade (oh how i love Cascade 220). Well, the light bulb went off. Hey every other time i have falling for a yarn and it was way too expensive i have been able to find something suitable at Knitpicks for roughly 99% less. Well, once again they have come through for me. Behold
Crayon 100% pima cotton. Same texture and great colors. Why didn't i check there 1st.

And for those of use who are secretly in love with Manos Del Uruguay. Pine in silence no longer. Welcome to Handpainted Yarn. i have found that the Colonial Felting Yarn is almost identical. Well given that i have never seen the inspiration yarn in person, i can only attest to the fiber, gauge and the yardage. I highly recommend. While shipping takes a little while, they send you updates via e-mail so you aren't stuck wondering where your awesome yarn is. Plus, i am very much in love with mine. So now that you are enabled. Go forth and shop.

Damn memory stick

I was sick this week and i keep forgetting my camera at home and my memory stick at work. I can't get the 2 to meet up. I finished sewing the Amy Butler Nappy bag for Sara, complete with Gruenetree tag and everything. Now i can send it once i take some pictures. I am finished knitting my brothers present and just need to add the final details. I also finished my Dad's neck gator and i used Debbi Bliss Silk Alpaca. I will post the pattern once i finish it. It is super easy. When finished it looked too small but the ribbing i used makes it really stretchy. The goal was- fit it over his head and be snug on the neck. It worked nicely.
I also finished my mom's Mason Dixon Hand handtowel. I need to weave in the ends and take some pictures of that too.
And i am still working on some hand warmers from Last minute Knitted Gifts for my pal, Brandi. Who, incidentally, is coming over for dinner tonite. She is learning to knit and we are going to start on patterns tonite. I picked out a nice scarf for her. It looks cool but it is easy. however, you have to know how to read a pattern ( in her case since she already says she knows but refuses to use them) or want to read a pattern.
Tomorrow Mom and I are going to Lakewood Antique Show. It is their last weekend ever. I need to find out where my fiesta vendor is going to sell now. What will I do, oh right Amazon sells fiesta! Hooray!
Also on the list- finishing my front hall and painting the stairs. I have another bridal shower coming up which means MIL will be back and i must have something new to wow her with. Otherwise she might suspect that I am actually keeping her son locked in the basement.

She got her purse!

Tammy received her purse yesterday and loves it! Oh happy day. Now for the dish
Here is the pattern (see below)
Here is the inspiration purse (notice the outrageous prices)
and here is the info: I used Yarn Bee for baby (man i can't remember the name of it for the life of me) in a Khaki color. I had started it in a dark grey but it was too dark and i wasn't getting a Tammy vibe from it. It was a pretty fast knit once i road out the bumps (the yarn is very soft and you really have to count your rows).
I really loved making it, very relaxing and so soft!!
here are some earlier pictures: Here and Here. The second picture is actually the wrong side. I didn't want to give away the cables.
Please visit Tammy's blog for finished project pictures.

After several comments that the link to the pattern not working, it occured to me, that not everyone was a member of the Knitty.com Coffeeshop. If you are then the pattern comes up. So here is the cut and paste of the pattern.
(Pattern provided by nbenedick):
OK, so I finally counted out the pattern for the purse I made. I'm not really good at this but here goes. Yarn: 2 skeins Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Super Chunky Needles: US size 10 1/2 Handles: 7 1/2" Bamboo handles from Suss Design [http://www.sussdesign.com] Pattern: CO 60 sts R1 (right side) K4 [P4, K8, P4, K2] 3X, K2 R2 (wrong side) K2, P2 [K4,P8,K4,P2] 3X, K2 *The above 2 rows establish the pattern. Keeping pattern correct, the K8 and P8 sections become your cable section every 8th right side row. For mine I cabled Left - Placed the first 4 sts on the cable needle, held them to front of work, knit the next 4 sts then knit the 4 sts from the cable needle. *TIP: If you are going to attach a ribbon I found it easiest to thread it through the holes that are created by making a cable, therefore, the first cables I made were on the 4th row and then I finished 4 rows after the last cable - helps to make the ribbon lay flat and look nicer. Continue until you have approximately 64 rows (a little less if you are working with smaller handles). Bind off all sts. Finishing: To attach the handles use the same yarn and stitch through the fabric and around the handle. If you are feeling the fabric to be a little wide feel free to make a bit ofa pleat, it may be a little tough to stitch through as it is thick but it will be unnoticable in the final product. Keep stitching until your handle is completely covered and the whole side of your fabric is attached. I chose to attach each side of the fabric first to determine how big to make the lining but I think that's just a personal preference. A Link for making a lining is listed below. Once a Lining is made I seem the sides of the bag with a straight blanket stitch and then attach the lining similar to the tutorial below. Work in progress and lining fabric for mine is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/72829766@N00/82971781/in/photostream/ Lining Tutorial [Posted by Ali] http://www.zibibboisgood.com/more/sueetlining.html Hope this helps - if you have any questions just feel free to email me directly. Some day I'll get going on a blog which will make this process much easier!

I think this is Love

I want to talk about 2 things i love today, one is an oldie and the other a new found love, that has secretly always been lurking. To begin: the new love- PurlSoho. I first discovered this store by buying the book (One of my all time favorites- i highly recommend) Last Minute Knitted Gifts. My first impression was: great patterns but a little pretentious. I really am turned off when knit book authors use only the most expensive yarn and swoon all over it. However, as i discovered the more i read the book, she makes substitutions easy. It is only recently that i discovered their online store- AND what a store it is. Needles, yarn, fabric everything you could dream of or drool over. They even stock free spirit fabric (side note *anxiously awaiting Heather Bailey's fabric*). I love everything on this page. The shipping seems reasonable and the site is easy to manage and the pictures are lovely.
Now for the oldie- Cheesecake. I love it and whoa to the person who tries to come between us. Calvin Klein has nothing on cheesecake. So saying that you are looking at the proud recipient of apparently the best cheesecake recipe ever. That is a fair amount of hype and i am going to put it to the test this weekend. I have every confidence that any recipe named "Yummy Cheesecake" is sure to satisfy me. Thank you, Kris for sharing the recipe. Oh, in reference to above if you love good fabric, Kris is another fine source to go to quench you stash thirst.

Banner-Ahoy

This is my new Banner- yes I made it myself with a little help from Here and Here

I am pretty sure I have to keep it here because this is the image source. But I will keep my eyes open so that this picture is not a post. I am still learning. This picture is one of my brother's, Shaun Krisher. He is a very talented photographer. Check out his stuff and if you like it let him know. He can print anything you like, framed or unframed and is for hire. He is really good.

Tammy is a knitting superstar!

Thank you so much Tammy! I love my purse and am certain i will wear it out this weekend since i have just told Garrett that he is taking me out now. I love the colors, the style and the green lining. I love that it goes but doesn't match. I am not big on matching- too over rated, if you ask me. Too much work, besides. I love all the little goodies inside too. You're the best (and regrettably, so far, the only) Knitted Purse Swap Partner.
No remember when you purse comes and your daughters try to take it from you- words only hurt, elbows are much more effective! Just kidding. I really do hope you like it.







Worked on my Amy Butler Nappy Bag pattern some more last night. It is slow going because there is more to cut out once you have cut out all the pattern pieces. There is the water bottle pocket and the cell phone pocket. One thing about the pattern that i don't like that i think should change is that she doesn't ask you to apply the interfacing to all the pieces at one time. It is baste this, now apply the interfacing to this piece, now do this, now apply the interfacing to this. i think the step right after cut all out the pieces, should be apply the interfacing to all these pieces. That way you are only standing in front of the iron one time. Also read the directions completely before hand. I certainly would have avoided getting up to go to my iron 30 times, if i had done that. But, i felt like complaining first.

(Deep Breath...In and Out)

Well, the weekend was very successful. The inlaws arrived right on time and we gave them the nickel tour. They were very impressed with the new garden, MIL especially (Serene, in case you were wondering MIL stands for Mother in Law). Then we ushered them upstairs to show off the new room. It passed muster with flying colors. We then sat down to some nice hot Brunswick stew (my own personal recipe, which I was able to protect from kidnapping at the hands of Serene). Followed by homemade Gelato (Love my birthday present, Garrett). The weekend was filled with lots of activities. Saturday was the Taste of Conyers, in old towne. We were able to have lunch with my mom and Garrett. Garrett's parents were also able to get a visit to his work and see how it is going; He is a motorcycle mechanic. His dad, being mechanically inclined as well, was very interested and impressed. Afterward, we went home and got ready for my First Bridal Shower. It was the most fun bridal shower I have ever been too. I actually had fun! Serene and I played a game where Brandi (the hostess) had met with Garrett earlier in the week and taped him answering questions. Serene and I then had to answer the same questions and see how knew Garrett better. I creamed her by one point! Then we had a dessert contest and I got all the recipes! Score! Garrett loved all the desserts, especially the Caramel Pecan Pie by the winner, my brother's girlfriend Gretchen. So now I have an even bigger stash to consult when I feel like making something special for Garrett (which is just about everyday). Then we all sat around and talked. Oh and my dad, brother, Nick (Garrett's Dad) and Garrett came over at the end and judged the contest.
I also got my ring- it is an engagement/wedding band, but I really just say that so I can wear it now. I would post a picture but they all come out fuzzy. I am seeing my brother this weekend and he is a photographer, so I will ask him to shoot it.
I did not knit much this weekend and there was no sewing done either. But we did take a trip to Knitch and I learned (from the wonderful Nell) how to knit in the round on 2 circular needles. Wonderful tip. I spent way too much, but some of it is for Christmas!
however, I was able to finish up the Pumpkin hat for Bonnie. I added the nice edge on the bottom so it will stay on her smooth head. I hope it is not too long now that there is no longer an curl to the stockingette.
I also finished up the Baby hat for Hannah. It is not the hat I promised her so long ago but it is a hat and I hope to start on the promised one soon.