For BFF

BFF reminded me today that she has been waiting to see the finished hand towels.
Yes I said towel"s" because I finished one and jumped straight on to the next. Why do you think we re-did the bathroom? Well to showcase my new knitted items of course!
Not sure if PB would agree with that statement but that's what I'm going with. ;0)
The first one is the tan towel with green flecks that I posted about a few weeks ago.
I simply did a seed st., 5 row border then every fourth row I k1tan, k1green, then purl back with tan, knit back with tan then purl1green, p1tan.
I worked like that till I was almost out of tan, then 5 rows seed st. border.

The second was a little different, and, since there is so much more of the second color on this one, it is a much thicker towel than the first.

This one was 5 row seed st. border, stst for 6 rows then
K1tan, K1offwhite across
P1OW, P1tan
Repeat 1 more time, then 4 rows stst with the OW.
Once again I didn't measure just went , damn, better stop or I'm not gonna have enough left for the seed st. border.
That's it! Two brand new "original" hand towels that match my new bathroom perfectly. And more awesomeness? It was all stash yarn!

Remember when? Ravelry

Remember when Ravelry first came on the scene?
Remember how totally wicked AWESOME! it was?
It was a great idea, by great people.

An online notebook for all of your knitting projects. People could follow your project along as you went, and in my case, probably wonder what the hell was taking me so long to mark a dishcloth as "FINISHED".
You can organize all of your patterns, yarns, and needles, if you were so inclined.
You can chat, join groups, KALs and "hangout" with all your knitterly friends.

Now........
Ravelry is still the best idea for any crafter.
Anytime I am going to start something new, I look on Ravelry, at completed projects to get yarn ideas, pattern adjustment ideas, just about anything you need to know about a project before you start.
But......

Ravelry has become a designer showcase. There are more designers selling on Ravelry than there are just plain old knitters, and hardly any crocheters.
People have gotten away from what it was all for in the beginning.
Now, if a project gets listed, it's because the designer wants you to "prepare" for it's debut!
No more pages and pages of new projects being worked on and finished by crafty friends, just more 'designs'.

And on that note....WTH is up with all these people changing a stripe sequence on an item and renaming it and calling it a 'design' and then selling it?

If you take a basic fingerless glove pattern, change the color of the yarn you used, add a stripe around the thumb, rename it and then list it as new pattern for sale, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, you are not a designer. You just changed a color, and honestly, most of us have probably already done it years ago and have a pair that look just like yours in our drawer somewhere.

I think what Ravelry has turned into is absolutely awesome for the people who started and run it.
It was supposed to grow, become it's own entity, and it has accomplished that very well so far.

But I miss the old Ravelry, where you could look through and share patterns for hours, and no one tried to pull a stripey color change over your eyes!

Double Fisted Knitting

Or better known as two color knitting, stranding, intarsia, whatever you want to call it.
I rummaged through the stash yesterday and found I had some cotton yarns that matched my bathroom exactly.
I didn't want just a single colored towel, but couldn't have too an elaborate a pattern. The back side of the towel had to be functional also. After all, it is a hand towel. Tho I might get upset when someone uses it after all this work!
The tan is some cotton that came with a bag pattern, grocery bag I think, that never got made.
And the green is the ever present cotNlin from KnitPicks.
The knit row is not so bad, I can knit with both hands, that purl row gets me though, I am not any good at purling continental. I think it takes me twice as long to do a purl row with the two colors, and I think one time I did actually purl my pinky to the towel!
It's going to look great in there when its finished.
And seed stitch!! Whew! I love the way it looks, but it takes me FOREVER to get a row on.
I could have chosen a garter st border, lord knows it would go faster, but I really like the seed st border on my hand towels. Just looks a little more "yeah my hand towels are special made, you mean yours aren't?" It's all the rage dahling!

Tommorrow is I Love Yarn Day!

Now this is a holiday I think I can enjoy!
I wonder if, since it is a 'recognized' holiday, he will let me go hog wild celebrating.
What?....oh, wait, it's not a nationally recognized holiday??? Really???
Well it should be.
And that is going to be how I 'sell' it to PB.

More socks

I went digging through my drawer the other day and every pair of hand knit socks I have, have a hole in them!
WTH!
Ok granted, we are talking about sock that are pushing anywhere from 7 to 10 years old, but still!
I have been putting off chunking them, as I said some are the first socks I ever knit. But alas it is time to say goodbye,to put them to rest.
Rest in peace faithful friends. You deserve it!
So it is with a heavy heart that I begin to knit "The Replacements" (insert piano music)
I started these last night watching the season opener of Hawaii 5O. It was such a good episode that by the time the news came on, the heel had been turned and I was working on the gusset.
The yarn is Vinca, 75% super wash wool and 25% nylon.
I feel bad that the traitorous "replacements" already have my toes twitchy with anticipation.
This yarn is kinda rough to knit with, but when you wash it, it blooms into soft cuddly heaven for your feet.
The pattern is a simple 2x2 rib for 12 rows on the cuff, and my favorite heel, s1k1 across,purl back, k1s1 across.
I like this heel so much more better( yeah I said that) than the regular s1k1 every other row. Looks all fancy and shit.
Keep your eyes peeled, when the "replacements" are finished, I'm giving away a skein of this yarn. Which is enough to make one pair of women's medium sized anklets.

Ms. Jessie's Shawl

It's finally blocking.
I had to clean up the grand brats room and vacuum the floor so I could lay it out in there and shut the door.
Jule found it the other day and decided it was the most comfy thing ever to lay on. Hence the shutting of the door.
As you can see by the pictures, at first I had it blocked out " wingspan" style, but that just looked way too big for Lil ole Ms. Jessie, so then I pulled it all back in a little bit.
You can do some absolutely amazing things with blocking. As much as I hate waiting, it always makes it worth it.
After it dries it's off to Aunt Julie's house. She is the best gift wrapper ever!

Back to the shawl

I love KnitPicks, I really do. But waiting for my yarn to get here, I finished a lot of my sweater.

It did finally arrive yesterday. Which actually was perfect timing, as I had gotten down to the ribbing on the bottom of the sweater. Perfect stopping point, not so confusing when I pick it back up ;0)

Fortunately I had the foresight to grab two extra skeins, just in case.
This shawl really does eat up the yarn.
But I love it! It is warm and soft. And has just enough detail to make it interesting, while still being great tv knitting.

The Purl Bee: Awesome patterns

Have you been to the Purl Bee website lately?
She has the most awesome patterns on her website like the: Big Herringbone Cowl  for one.
I LOVE this cowl. It looks so toasty warm and trendy. The pattern is something I haven't tried yet, so I think this is going to be one of the next projects on the needles.

I have been searching around the web the last few days looking for gifts for the girls and the kids to make for this Christmas.
I have it almost narrowed down to a couple of ideas, but I can't share what they are.

Though I am thinking maybe some of these Braided Cowls for the kids. It would be much easier for a kid to wear this instead of a scarf.

And these Felted Oven Mitts I think my Mom would love them!

Wow! You could literally be on this page all day long!
Check it out!

Waiting for more yarn, Park Avenue Cardifan

The last of the yarn is ordered for Ms. Jessie's shawl.
Well, what is a knitter to do while waiting?
Knit something else of course!
I found some really, really vintage yarn in a bag of an unfinished diagonal shell crochet afghan, and enough yarn to finish the project.
The rust color of this yarn is perfect for what I want. So to the frog pond the afghan goes. Reclaimed yarn!
This yarn is soooo soft!
The label says Kmart and the price tag says 78 cents. Gotta be vintage! You can't buy a sample yarn for that!

And the winner is....

Dawn!
Congratulations!!
If you're on FB you can private message me your address and I will get your book right out to you.
Or email me at leah @ knittinfun . com without the spaces.
Everyone else, never fear, I have lots more that will be given away.
Thank you everyone for checking out the blog.

Labor Day Giveaway

It's that time again!
I have this great book with 50 great projects for babies and toddlers.
Family Circle's Easy Baby Knits

This is a great book I bought when I was becoming a MiMi every other year. I have gotten to using only a few simple go to patterns now as gifts, so now this book needs a new home.

The rules are the same. Comment below and BFF will draw a number to chose the winner. (sorry BFF I know this disqualifies you, but I got plenty of patterns if you need one;0)

Drawing will be Tuesday.
Because who wants to labor on Labor Day? Well besides a hugely pregnant woman who is two weeks late.... But that's another story

More Knitting Apps for the iPad

Knitting Bag App

This handy little app helps you track a project.

You list your project and you can count rows, pattern rows and pattern count. It has a handy little section for notes also.

It's a very simple little app, but I can see it is going to be very handy!

Nifty little knitting app for iPad or iPhone

If you have an iPad you really should check this out.
This app stores your PDF patterns and has a nifty little bar you can turn on and move from line to line to mark your place in a pattern. For lace knitting, highlighting your rows is a must!

In all honesty, I downloaded the free version, but I like it so much, I'm seriously thinking about paying the 9.99 for the pro version.
When you get time, check it out. I think you will like it.

Jknit

Ms. Jessie's Shawl

Finally finished the increases
Now 15 rows of straight knitting, then start the decreases.

My Next Project: Park Ave Cardigan

Messing around on Ravelry, I found this absolutely awesome pattern at the One Crafty Mama blog.

 

This pattern looks absolutely perfect for me. 

It's knit in one piece, it has a little bit of waist and hip shaping, and no buttons, button bands or seams!

Perfect!

As soon as I am finished with Ms. Jessie's Shawl  I am going to start this with some wool.

I love sweaters, I love them so much, I wear them in the dead of our 100 degree, 100% humidity heat.(it stays very, very cold where I work)

I am going to be pulling another magazine, or book, from my shelves this weekend so keep your eyes peeled. Another giveaway is coming soon!

Cool tag

The Cost of Knitting

Now I know that the cost of everything is going up. Lord knows I can't even hit up Wally World anymore for under a hundred bucks.
What I have noticed lately, that the cost of yarn has sky rocketed!
Eventually knitting, with nice wools,cottons and lace yarns, will become a hobby for the elite.
In the interest of full disclosure, everyone knows I have more yarn than I will ever be able to use.
Now I'm seeing my stash in a whole new light.
Ten years ago when the stash was still very substantial, if I saw some beautiful yarn that I just "had to have" I bought it.
Now? If I don't have it in my stash, I usually don't knit it, unless it's with some cheap acrylic from Walmart.
No more wool blankets and Egyptian cotton sweaters from me. Now it's all acrylic.
In acrylic's defense there are plenty of yarns that are soft and cuddly and a pleasure to work with.

I did find some decent prices still at Knitpicks and that seems to be the place I will be getting all my "non cheap" yarn ;0)
I think it will be a long time before I purchase any LL's or any other designer named yarn again. ;0(
And Lord, don't get me started about the rocketing cost of patterns, pdf patterns, all written edited, emailed on the computer, patterns. whew!

3rd Skein On

63 sts on the body.
It's funny, when I first started knitting, it seemed like those 24 sts that you have to short row twice took forever. Now that I am up to 63 sts on the body, it seems like I breeze right through them.
I am a little over half way to half way ;0)
I'm going to put on 100 body sts before the center panel.
Yes, that is Jule, she had to touch it.

One skein down

The first skein is on the shawl.
38 body sts
It really is an easy pattern, once you decipher the designers notes.
And it takes a few rows for you to get your head around the fact that you are knitting this shawl sideways.
Once your past all that, it is easy knitting all the way.
Yes I know it's 5 in the a.m. But I have been up since 315 so, half my day is over already! Lol

Fourth times a charm

I don't know why I can never just start a project and finish it.
You start with ten body sts and increase one st ever 7th row.
Last night I started and got all the way up to 25 body sts and decided this was a really great shawl, but Ms Jessie is turning 100 she needs something fancier.
So I frogged all those sts, found a lace pattern that looked easy enough for me and started that.
By the time I got to row 20 I decided Ms Jessie is going to be 100 years old, she doesn't need lacey, she needs something warm.
So after work today I frogged all those sts and started back with the first shawl.
Then I got back up to 18 body sts and decided the fabric wasn't "drapey" enough and frogged all those sts and started back over on size 8 needles.
I think I am settled now, but I have noticed, I always knit this way.
I wish I could be one of those knitters who have it all figured out before they start!

Yarn has arrived

The yarn for Ms. Jessie's shawl arrived while I was on a whirlwind trip to Vermont.
Had it come in one day earlier, Brat #1 would not have had to deal with all my stress and I would have been at least half finished by the time we arrived back home. ;0)
Anyway, it's time to get knitting, the pattern looks simple enough and I love that the ruffle is knitted along with the shawl.
Will post progress pics as I go

On to Ms. Jessie's 100th Birthday Shawl

My boss's Mom, Ms.Jessie will be 100 years old in October!
Just...... wow!
Ms. Jessie is the sweetest lady and the Grandbrats love her to pieces.
I knew she was coming up on a hundred because it's only been a few years ago she got her license renewed and we all joked about how she was up for renewal again when she turned 100.
And now here we are.

I wanted to knit her something special, and I know how she gets cold so easy now, so I talked to my boss and found out her favorite color is hot pink. Of all colors!

Then I went on a Ravelry hunt for the perfect pattern.
It took me a while, I have been looking and thinking about this since May!
Then I found the Gentle Wave Shawl Pattern
This was it! It looked easy enough to knit and will definitely keep her warm.

Then it was on to the yarn.
My first choice? Knitpicks of course.
The pattern calls for a gauge of 24 sts to 4" on size 5 needles with a light fingering weight yarn.
Well, I don't know how or why it works out for me this way, but I always, always get the gauge called for on the yarn package. So, looking around at fingering weight yarn I found that they were all 24sts to 4" on size 1 to 3 needles. Well poop! If I go from the largest, a 3, all the way up to a 5, I am going to have a lace shawl, and that was not what I wanted.
Then I found this yarn

 Knitpicks Stroll Sport

In this color

Perfect! 75% machine washable wool and 25% nylon. No worrying about washing, it's very soft, and gauge was bang on!
Not bad, not bad at all!
And! no hot pink! I got as close as I could to a bright pink color with what they had.
I think she will like it. The whole thing, with the 2 day shipping was only $38.
So I think I did pretty good on this project so far.

Car Seat Blanket

I took the yarn leftover from making these three little hats, and made Mary a car seat blanket.

It's much smaller than a regular blanket for easy use in a car seat.


The pattern was very easy and simple.

download now

Burp cloths for Mary

I told you I would post the cloths I have been working on for Mary.

I am pushing the limit now, Brat#1 will be leaving Tuesday to get the kids and these have to be finished by then so she can take them with her.

The first cloth is a snowman pattern from over at Frogiez Place

She has some of my favorite patterns, including the Tree Frog towel I made for Brat #1 for Christmas a few years ago. Pictures of that can be found Frog Towel

The second towel is the almost finished product from the pattern in my last post.

It is super simple to turn any cloth into a towel, you just follow the pattern as written until the top border, omitting that, you add about ten or fifteen rows of st st knitting, depending on how long you want your cloth to be, then follow the pattern back from end to beginning.

For example, using Frogiez pattern
CO 37
Follow pattern rows 1 thru 45
St st for ten rows
Follow pattern rows 45 back to 1

That's it, easy, easy.
Go ahead and give it a try with some of your favorite cloth patterns.
These make great gifts.
And if you have spares, I never have enough time to finish all the ones my girls want, I'll send you my address ;0)

Burp cloths for Mary..Knits By Rachel

I told you that when I found the perfect pattern and started to knit up the burp cloths I would let you know.

©Designed by Rachel van Schie

Luv Bug

This is the pattern I chose, an absolute perfect pattern for a little boy. 

It is one of Rachel's designs. 

Rachel who? 

Aw come on, everyone that loves to knit LOVES Rachel's designs!

Have a peek at her web page and you will fall in love.

Knits By Rachel

All of her designs are so crisp and clean looking, and, she also provides a blocking tutorial so you can achieve the same great results.

Later on this afternoon I will post pics and information on how I turned this into the perfect burp cloth that makes a great baby shower gift.

And for those of you who have followed the blog,

"Yes, I have purchased some of her patterns, and they are great!"

 

 

Congratulations!..and SERIOUSLY???

glongley is the winner of the Interweave Knits magazine.
Congratulations! I left instructions in the comments of the post you won on. Thanks for commenting!

Now, SERIOUSLY! One post! It's pretty sad when you can't even give something away!
I know people read my blog. Does no one want anything for free?? Did you think I was collecting addresses to start spamming you or filling your mailbox up with unwanted crap??
Come on, this is Leah ;0) we are talking about. I just didn't want the magazine. Hell, I'm even paying the shipping!

Not that the winner would complain I am sure! She's very happy no one else had anything to say!
Congratulations!

Interweave Knits-giveaway

I honestly can not remember the last time I looked through an Interweave knits magazine and thought "OMG, I must knit that!"
It's nothing against the magazine, it just hasn't had anything to inspire me in quite a while. In fact I get a lot more inspiration on Ravelry
No!! I am not giving my subscription up! As soon as I do they will come out with one so full of things I want to knit, it would be sad.
So to solve my dilemma you can have every one that I can't find anything to knit in.
I have a bookshelf full so you might want to check back every once in a while, I'm tired of cleaning around them.
Today's is the just out Fall 2012 issue.
If you want it, leave a comment and I will have BFF pick a number. That's it! We will start today and go through Sunday. I'll have the number picked Sunday and winner announced here Monday afternoon.
Good luck!

Onavo Extend: A Handy Little App

One must have app for the Iphone as well as the Ipad (if you have 3g with your Ipad) is the Onavo Extend app.
To quote their own website:
"By compressing your data, Onavo Extend can increase the power of data plan by up to 500% -- giving you the ability to do up to five times more with your current data plan without any additional fees or hassles. In addition to extending your data plan, Onavo Extend also provides you with a breakdown of your data usage. With this information, you can see how much data is being consumed by each app and make better informed data usage choices."

 

Really? Wow! Believe it or not, this is the first time I have checked out their website. ;0)

I was fooling around the App store when I found it and thought I would give it a shot.

I downloaded the app,  let me tell you, I LOVE this app. 

My only problem with it, I had upgraded my data plan before I found the app, now I can't downgrade my data plan :o( 

Now I have too much data!! (wow never thought you'd hear that, like, ever!)

I don't see a significant difference in my surfing or game playing at all. 

I usually forget the app is even there until it pops up to tell ask me if I want to see my recent savings. And yes, there are savings, usually when I am playing Scramble or listening to IHeart. 

You can check it out for yourself here: Onavo Extend

I think you will find out this a definite must have app!

Let me know what you think.

A nifty hint for the Ipad you don't ever want to use

I found out, completely by accident the other day that when you are in Safari on your Ipad you can send a web page right to your home screen.
Well shoot... that seems really nifty!
So that is what I did, all my blogs, my favorite download sites.
My plans were to have one whole home page of nothing but websites that I visit often.
Wow this was going to be great! And so much easier than opening up Safari every time I wanted to check on my blog.

Ok, you know there has to be a down side.

I have always bragged on the awesome battery that is in my Ipad. I could listen to Iheart radio, watch netflix and play games all day and still not have to charge that thing for three days. Never died on me, never gave me any fits.

After I had the wonderful idea above, I noticed that my battery was getting worse and worse.

Of course I never put two and two together until the day of brat #1's surgery.
We were at the hospital a total of 5 hours, out of which, I only got to play on the Ipad for about an hour total. Not all at one time mind you, brat kept me busy, but through out the whole ordeal, and when we had finally gotten back home I realized my battery was only at 15%.

Wait a minute, I charged it all night. There must be something wrong with the charger. Plugged the phone into it, nope, works fine. Well hell, it must be the outlet. We do seem to have a lot of electrical problems in a house we had built only seven years ago. But nope, it worked fine on my phone. Hmmmm.......
Then all the sudden I couldn't access any of my apple stuff, no facetime, no apple store, no itunes. Ok, WTH is up with my Ipad?!?!?!

Brat #1 finally took my Ipad and reset it. Not the whole thing mind you, just a soft reset by holding down the power and the home button at the same time till it shut off. DAMN!! Now I have to go find all my apps again?!?!?. Um... no Mom, you don't. Oh...ok then ;0)
She had to do this two or three times and finally she looks at me and asks "What was the last thing you downloaded to your Ipad?"
"Nothing, all I did was post my websites to my homepage"
Well then! There's the culprit.
While these webpages are on your home page, they are constantly updating themselves, draining  your battery like a dirt devil vacuum cleaner.

So take my word for it, tho it is a nifty idea and, in theory, would come in extremely handy, don't do it.
Unless of course you don't mind using your Ipad while it's charging, in which case, have at it and have fun!

But Leah, isn't this a knitting blog?

Why yes, Virginia, it is.
I have actually been knitting, I had two days to whip out three little hats for Isaac and Bella to take up with them to Vermont.
Now I have time to whip up a few more items to send up to Mary.
A carseat blanket is first in line,just a small little blanket of 100 sts,
It will be the perfect size for stuffing around baby in the car seat. Much easier than a regular size blanket.
I used the left over yarn from the three hats, cast on 100 sts and knitting all the way. I'm thinking 200 rows should make it the perfect size.
Afterwards, probably two or three burp cloths. Those are easy, I just look around the Internet for a dishcloth pattern I like and double it.
In other words, knit from bottom to top, then back to the bottom again.
Clear as mud right?
You'll see when I get the blanket finished

Tomatoes!

I have been sitting here for the last few weeks watering at the mouth and wondering why our tomatoes came on so fast and then took FOREVER to turn red.
Oh boy! Let me tell you, they are worth the wait!
I know the longer they stay on the bush, the better the flavor.
Never has it been more true! You don't know what your missing!

Another must have app?

Have you noticed how much busier the blog has been lately? Yes there's an app for that! (sorry, you know I had to go there at least once)
The blogger app is the absolute best app for on the go blogging! The interface could use a little tweaking,otherwise it's a must have app.
I have the app on my iPhone and use it for times I'm not connected to wifi. But the iPad app makes it so much easier. If you blog a lot, or would like to start,you need it. Then you can randomly ramble like me ;0)
You can take pics or upload pics you already have.
I think it is just the perfect app for the constant blogger.

First and most important app for the iPad

Awww come on, I know you can guess...the Facebook app of course. I love the interface of the app, I haven't been on FB on the computer since I got the iPad.
The only problem I have with it is you don't have the ability to share a post or photo. Or if it does exist I can't find it.
I can,however, save a photo and then repost it, tho this makes me feel a little like I am plagiarizing.
But, until I can find a way to "share" instead of "take", hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do ;0)

Finally broke down and got the iPad.

Don't worry Deedah fans, I am not getting rid of my Fire. The iPad is great for Internet work on the go, movies, games and all kinds of work related things, but for ease of reading, nothing beats the Fire!
We recently took a trip to North Carolina and between holding the bulky iPad to read, or one handed use of the Kindle, the Kindle won out. Read two books on the trip.
I was going to sell it on eBay but on second thought, I do believe I am going to hang on to both.
Soon I am going to start posting about some apps I have been downloading for the iPad. Just little blurbs here and there,you know I have an opinion about everything! ;0)

Hat and Neckwarmer for PB are finished!

 

The hat is finally finished. 

I had to force myself to go inside yesterday and finish it. 

It is a basic pattern I'll write up here.

I used:

Size 5 circs

LL's Shepherd Sport: Camouflage

CO: 112

K2,P2 for 2"

K around for 5 1/2" then started decrease rounds

K 26, k2tog around

K one row plain

I did that for about five rounds then started decreasing every round. 

When I got down to 8 sts left I sewed it up and plopped it on his already hot little head.

 Poor baby, but he did at least smile for the pics for me. ;0)

The "neckwarmer" of course is the Mira Cowl

Tho please don't call it a cowl in front of PB, the manly name is "neckwarmer"

 

Daylight Savings Time is messing with my knitting

I have all but 10 more rows of decreases and the hat will be finished.
I have had all but 10 more rows of decreases for about three days now. By the time I sit down to watch t.v. at night, I don't feel like picking it up and finishing it.
This is the ONLY part of our time change that I don't care for.
It stays so nice and bright and pretty outside so late that by the time I am sitting down somewhere I am bushed!
The garden needs planting, the pool needs cleaning, the water pipes have to be run to the deck for the shower, the grass needs "fixing".
I am now smoking twice as much as I normally do because I am outside twice as long. That can't be good!
But...all in all, this is still my favorite time of the year, though my knitting seems to be suffering for it.
Guess I will have to force myself to sit down and finish this hat so I can move on to those damn socks!

Finally something besides socks, or not

I have been knitting for PB for almost fifteen years now, socks. That's all the man ever wants, wool socks for hunting.
The first year I started knitting I must have knit thirty pairs of socks, for me, for the kids, for my sister, my mom, PB, my MIL, everyone got socks. I loved them! Couldn't get enough!
Well, now I have, I am burnt out, and besides the no-show socks, I can't stand knitting socks. I just don't have the patience anymore. (even tho it does take longer for a sweater than a pair of socks) I just don't want to do it.

PB expects new wool socks every hunting season, and, being the loving, adoring, dutiful wife that I am, I mutter quietly under my breath and make him a pair. ;0) But I don't want to.
I am hoping this sockless envy I have going on will pass soon, I have worn all of my own socks out!

Finally, last week PB saw me trying on the Mira Cowl I made and asked me what it was.
I put it on him, (jeeezzzeee don't tell anyone he tried on my cowl!) and he liked it. Not my pretty pink and yellow cowl, but the idea of it. Not having the wind blowing down the back of his neck when he is stuck in a tree for four hours, in the woods, in 19 degree weather. (yeah, I can't even get him to go get the paper out of the box in the winter, but a big brown eyed deer, for that he will brave the winters of Alaska!)
I was thrilled, excited, and needed more yarn! Woohoo! this was going to work out great for both of us.

I quickly ordered four beautiful skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Camouflage and waited patiently for it to come in. The second it showed up in the mailbox I cast on and started knitting away. It took me four hours to finish his. He didn't need the length that a woman would, he is definitely not going to cover his head with it. I made it about 5" and promptly gave it to him to try on. He loved it! So, in my excitement I started right on a hat made out of the same yarn. I had bought 4 skeins after all.
While knitting away on the hat my mind raced forward to the fingerless gloves I would make for him next. The pattern coming together in my head as I knit furiously on his hat.
Then, that dear sweet man, whom I love with all of my heart and soul, forever and ever Amen, sticks his head around the corner and asks me, "what ya making now?"
I proudly held up the hat to show him, he smiled and thanked me, then asked me, "you gonna have enough yarn left over for a pair of socks too right?!?"

Who is Mira? A cowl of course

 

Mira's Cowl is finished! 

Size 6 needles

Vinca Sock yarn from Ebay.

 

Even though I ripped it out twice (my fault) this was one of the easiest knits ever, and such a great looking pattern. I made this one for myself, and when PB saw it, he decided he needed one in camo for hunting.

Do you know how hard camo yarn is to find this time of year? Just about every website I went to had the Lorna's Lace listed, but out of stock.

I finally found some LL's Shepherd Sport on Ebay and bought all I could afford to buy at the time. I plan on making him a dickey with some of it also.

I have a feeling there are going to be quite a few of these cowls made for my girls before next winter rolls around. ;0)

The upside of all this mothy business

There is a good side to all this moth business!

I have found yarn I forgot I had.

Great wools and silks that had been hibernating in the bottom of that foot locker, some of it for almost a decade.

I have rewound over ten lace weight balls already, checking for breaks and chews and eggs and moth sign.

These moths must have been in there a long time ago, besides the five I have had to chunk, everything else, so far, has been ok.

Granted, I am not even a third of a third through pulling out bags of yarn to be rewound but I am feeling better about it. I assumed almost everything would end up getting chunked (literally) but things are starting to look up.

I am not sure if I am going to freeze the yarn or not. I haven't seen any eggs at all except in the balls that I already threw away. Maybe as I get closer to the bottom, the crime scene will get worse.

For right now, believe it or not, I am having a good time checking out all these "new again" yarns I have.

Of course my first instinct was to start shopping around to replace my lost yarn. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that is a dumb ass idea! I have plenty, and tho losing any of it sucks REALLY BAD, there is no reason to start 'filling the holes' so to speak. ;0)

MOTHS!! A warning

At my house, I have a foot locker. A big foot locker. It's about 3 feet long and 2 foot high.
It is filled with some of the most beautiful yarn I have ever been lucky enough to run through my fingers. Lace weight shetland wool, 100% wool hanks, wool blends, silk and wool blends.
Filled from floor to top.
As I posted yesterday, I had decided to rip out the Birds Nest Smoke Ring and re-knit it with a finer yarn.
I was super excited as I got home from work and decided it was time to dig through the foot locker and find some nice soft, light and airy fingering wool. I went straight to the bottom. It's kinda of like going to the back of the closet to dig out stuff you haven't worn in forever. All the good and forgotten stuff was on the bottom.
I found a white postal shipping bag with the yarn and pattern for the Flirty Ruffles Shawl. You remember that one don't you? A beautiful lacey creation loaded with ruffles around the bottom. The yarn was soft and would make the perfect cowl.
But wait.....my ball of yarn looks like a porcupine! Ends sticking straight up all over the ball. WTH!
I started unraveling and pulled out strand after strand of chewed up yarn!! OH SHIT!
I started pulling out bag after bag of yarn, beautiful, soft, lace weight wool yarn. Do you know how many yards are in a ball of lace wght. wool??? A frikkin LOT!
As I sat in the floor in my closet looking at all my wasted yarn, I almost (almost) cried. I cussed,I threw things around, I ripped bags open and created one hell of a tangled up mess with the loose hanks that were sitting on top.
MOTHS!!
No live moths, no eggs, but the destruction of moths past was evident in my yarn locker. I am sure when I finally reach the bottom of the locker I will find little dead moth bodies littering the floor. GOOD! Bastards, I hope they choked on all that wool.
So, once I finished with my little hissy fit, it was time to get down to business. I called PB and asked him to stop by Wally World and get me some cedar balls and some of those huge ziploc bags.(better late than never)
Everything would have to be taken out, looked over and rewound to check for holes, eggs and anything else those little bastards may have left behind. 
As of last night I have had to throw out five hanks of lace weight wool that came with patterns for shawls. I have rewound 2 hanks of lace weight (which BTW takes for ever! Lots of yardage in lace weight.)into balls and placed them in a big ziploc. Since I rarely ever use my yarn for what it was bought for, there is no problem throwing a bunch of different yarns in one bag without the patterns.
Ultimately all of this means, no knitting for the next two weeks as I get everything out and rewound and stored back up.NO KNITTING! Now I really have it out for those mothy bastards. I was on a roll, my fourth project of the year and it is only Feb. Ugghhhh!
I don't know how much more I have lost, I will let you know the grand total when I figure it out.
Heed my warning peeps...........................................
A $3 box of cedar balls from Wally World can save you a lot of time and money later.
Buy them, use them, place them like garland around your front door and all your windows, wear it around your neck.........
Oh, wait, sorry, ....
Don't be like me, I thought my yarn was safe, in a locked foot locker in the back of my closet.
I don't know if there were eggs in something when it was shipped to me or if one got in the house,past the four rooms and closed closet door, under the lid of the metal footlocker to get to dinner!
Trust me, spend the $3, it's worth it.

Bird's Nest Smoke Ring: Project No. 4 of 2012

Bird's Nest Smoke Ring

I went stash diving again yesterday. What floated to the top?? Well that's a good question. 

I remember I bought this yarn to do some kind of candle flame sweater, and it is the yarn that was actually called for in the pattern. It is some kind of cotton silk blend and closer to a ww than a dk.

The pattern calls for a fingering yarn, and I don't think this yarn is going to get it. It looks great in the pattern, well what I have gotten so far. But I want my cowl to be more drapey. So....

For the like, ten hundredth time, this yarn will become part of the frog pile.

Poor yarn, one day a pattern will call your name.

Stash diving again!! Woohoo!!

BTW, for those who were all upset about my post yesterday, you will be happy to know, I purchased a pattern today. Had to have it! 

The Sorceress By Natalia Kolasa

When you go look at it, you will understand why I bought it. I think it is going to be well worth the $5 I spent. Just hope I can pull if off like she does.

Top Down Encore Jacket for Triniti is finsihed

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I have noticed a growing trend in patterns recently on Ravelry, and anywhere else you can order patterns. They are getting waaayyy to expensive. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem buying a pattern. The one above is a purchased pattern. But it was also a respectable price. 

What I have noticed is that the same pattern for, say a pair of socks, three years ago would have cost you anywhere from $2.50 to $3.00 depending on the designer and the detail, that pattern now is going to run you about $7.00 or heaven forbid, I've seen some for $10.

I understand that designers need to make a profit, but really, has the price of creating a pdf file went up so much that it costs more to create a downloadable pattern? 

This Top Down Encore jacket above, $3.99. Now to me that is worth it. It has multiple sizes, and had I seen it a year ago, this one pattern would have lasted me through four stages of grandkidom.

To me it would have been worth it at $5. But $10? No, I would have hunted around the internet until I found a free pattern that looks just like it. Knitters are a crafty bunch, someone, somewhere can look at your pattern and figure out how you did it, then post a free pattern for everyone to share.

And OMG don't tell me I can't sell something from a pattern I bought from you! That drives me nuts! It's my pattern once I buy it, mine to use, work with and do with MY finished product what I want!

Don't freak out, I don't sell my knitting, then it would just be work. 

But come on, there are way to many free patterns on the internet to tell me what I can and can't do with my own knitting. 

You sold me the pattern, not the yarn, the time to knit it and the finished project. 

How would we all be if yarn designers said, you can knit with my new colorway but you can not sell anything knit with my colorway! Really!

IMHO- Life Like baby dolls

I know that my opinion basically only counts to me. And trust me, sometimes even I think my opinion is an idiot and needs to shut up.

BUT....I can not be the only one who thinks that these life like baby dolls are just frikkin' creepy.
Babies look like little wrinkled up old men and yes even the girl babies, for at least a few weeks. Why would you want one of those, frozen for all time.

You see them all over Ravelry, yes I know most people think they are adorable and sweet. But not me.
I think they are down right creepy and the more I see them, the creepier they get.
Babies are bustling little balls of impulses and spaz attacks. These are just lifeless little garden gnome looking things.

It's getting really hard to tell the real babies on Ravelry. So, if you do use a real baby shot, you  might want your kid to be doing something, anything. Because, no matter how cute, if your baby is curled up in a little naked ball, I'm assuming it's one of those creepy babies. You really can't tell the difference, that's how life like those creepy things are. And now I assume every baby I see asleep is one of  those things.
Sorry peeps, IMHO, those things are just downright creepy!

Almost there....

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Triniti promptly declared the first of the two sweaters as hers.

This picture was taken Saturday. Since then I have finished with the collar and last night, gotten down to about two inches of the first sleeve. I hope to have it done for her by the next time they come to stay with me. 

I have to get to Wally World and see what kind of interesting and fun button I can find for her.

Isn't that the most beautiful smile ever! Yeup, she looks just like me!

Happy Blogaversary

I didn't even realize until Tina commented on my last post,
TODAY IS MY BLOGAVERSARY! Happy Blogaversary to me, Happy Blogaversary to me, Happy Blogaversary dear BLOG, Happy Blogaversary to me!
Wow!

Isn't this like the coolest picture ever. I know she isn't knitting, but look at her, I bet she does knit when she isn't playing with dragons.

When I first saw this I thought it was a picture of the girl from Game of Thrones. She looks a lot like her. 

On the knitting front, once again, well actually twice since I last posted, I had to frog Bella's sweater. The first time I messed up my raglan increases because I was watching a horror movie and I got so into it that the needles started doing their own thing. Which normally would be ok, except this time, I guess they were scared too, because we came out with something that wasn't anywhere close to increases as much as random stitching. Then, once again it had to be ripped out because I was talking with one of the girls and lost track of my rows and increased too many times. Normally I would just frog back the rows and then pick up all the sts with my needle. But yesterday that just seemed like too much of a hassle, so once again, I ripped the whole thing out and started over. I think I have it this time though. I am all the way passed the division for the sleeves and working on the side increases.

The only reason it has not bothered me to do all this frogging is because this really is a quick knit. With Red Heart yarn and size 8 needles, it doesn't take any time at all to get back to where I was originally.

I am going to try it on Bella Boop when she gets home today just to make sure I got it right before I complete the body. I will get some action shots then.

Undone again!

The sweater for the girls was going along great! I was almost finished with the body of the sweater and it just didn't seem right. My gauge was spot on, the numbers were all correct, but dang if this thing didn't look like it could swallow my girls.
I retrieved one of Trin's jackets from the dresser and I learned something. Another wrinkle in the brain.
Kids size five at Wally World is a lot smaller than a size five hand knit sweater.Soooo......
Once again to the frog pond, (where I am apparently going to have to rent a chair)
I am going to re-cast for a size smaller, which BTW is the perfect size for Bella and Trin.
So fair warning ladies and gents, no matter what size your child wears and what size you think you should knit, pull out a favorite sweater or shirt and check the measurements. Better safe than swimming in the pond with the frogs. But Hey! if you do show up, tell 'em Leah sent you, they know me well1

Project #3 for 2012: Encore Jacket

Top Down Encore Jacket

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver Solids

Needles: size 8 circs 

You will think you are seeing double on this one, both of my grand daughters will be getting one of these. So technically projects 3 and 4

This is a paid pattern on Ravelry

So far I think this pattern is very well written and very easy to follow. It's so easy that Saturday after I got the Falana Five settled in their pjs watching t.v. I started with some yarn I found in my stash. I knit all the way to the division for the sleeves before I went to bed. I woke up yesterday and decided I didn't like how the fabric was coming out with the yarn I was using. Ripped it out and got started the second time with a different yarn, last night around 6pm. 

So as you can see this going to be a pretty quick knit.

I think the girls will like them when they are finished.

 

Superior Cowl is FINI!

 

 

Superior Cowl

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This was, even after all my complaining, a fast and fun knit. I didn't realize until after I posted in Ravelry that it had only taken me three day. That's with work, kids, basketball games, Avon and meals cooked and kitchen cleaned. So all in all, not too bad. Guess it just seemed longer because it was just round and round of knit knit knit. All in all this is a good pattern for a basic cowl that looks absolutely adorable on Bella Boop, even though it is mine, it looks dang cute on her.

The yarn was Yarns from Italy. She has an Esty shop and she runs some really good sales. This is the superwash sock yarn. It is a little stiff feeling while you're knitting with it, but I think after the first wash it is going to bloom into a wonderfully soft yarn. 

I changed the CO to 130 sts so I would have a loser more flowing fabric. It came out great I think! 

21" should not be this long: Superior Cowl

  

 The Superior Cowl

This has been one looooonggg and drawn out twenty one inches. I was knitting my little fingers off last night watching t.v. Two hours of knitting got me 3", I still have 5" to go! I am excited to see this pattern finished and around my neck. (I am sure PB is too, though it may not be as tight as he wants it). 

This is a great beginner pattern for making a cowl. And all the pictures of others projects look great. 

Besides the first 6 rows of garter st. in the round, it is endless, mindless, knitting, around and around.

Be prepared, 21" on size 4 needles and sock yarn takes for frikkin' EVER!

This is sooooo gonna be worth it when it's done!