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!

REVIEW: Kindle Fire-Pros, or why I like my Deedah Fire

I was going to take some pics but I decided you can find pics all over the web. Which also leads to my first Pro-

No camera: while some may see this as a con, I don't.
I have a $350 Canon that I used almost daily with the five grandbrats. Then, I got a smart phone, now that same camera is collecting dust in the corner of my room, only to be brought out for special pictures, or, worse, when the phone died, probably from all those damn pictures I take. I don't normally have my tablet in my hand, for those goofy, hurry or your going to miss it shots, or right next to me for those, MiMi look what I can do shots.But my good old trusty smart phone, always with me. Well except when it's on that damn charger!

I bought my Fire for one main reason, to hold my pdf  knitting patterns so every time I want to knit something I don't have to print it out, or worse, try and find the previous print out. (yeah I generally give up after 30 seconds and just print it out again) Thereby saving myself ink and paper. (This is the argument I gave PB, and he seemed to think it was a sound investment!)
I am after all, first and foremost, a knitter. We must keep our priorities straight! :0)

I like the fact that it doesn't have all the buttons all around the thing on the outside.
And for those whining because the speaker volume button isn't on the outside of the unit, REALLY! Is that all you have to bitch about. I categorize those people right beside what ever idiot will take a beloved cartoon movie and watch it frame by frikkin' frame to see if they can spot the devil lurking in the background trying to hypnotize their 3 year old into stealing all their money and making off in the family car.

Amazon has loads and loads of apps for the kindle, and!, you get one free paid app a day. From what I hear it's not all those dumb ass apps that you wouldn't get even if they were free, but real honest to goodness, worth every penny apps. I like free ;0)
If Amazon doesn't have what you want, there are butt loads of websites where you can download other apps to your Kindle, one of which is GetJar.com They are frikkin loaded with apps. Check it out, just make sure the fish are fed and the cat is in and the dog is out before you visit their website, you are going to be there a while.

I have already purchased a knitting magazine subscription. It would be awesome if Interweave let you do this because it is DA' BOMB! The formatting is good, the pictures are great, and, yes here we go again, I don't have to print out the pattern, just turn on my Fire!

DD#1 set up her netflix account on my Fire so I can watch it anytime, anywhere. Hmm... wonder if they have the first episodes of Dexter? I think I missed something about the brother.... but anyway. The graphics are great on video. I am not going to lie, it's a little bit sticky when you first start the movie, has something to do with buffering, or bumping and grinding or something like that. It straightens out fairly quickly, and lets face it, who the hell likes to watch the beginning credits anyway. Unless your name is up there, then it would just be you and your Mom.

I love the fact that it fits in my one little bitty hand. I don't have to hold it like a lunch tray. Which goes along with the earlier EPIPHANY from yesterday's post.

You can pretty much see the screen anyway you look at it without too much of a problem. Now granted I haven't tried direct sunlight. I don't plan on being in any direct sunlight, do you know how frikkin' hot it gets here? Your tablet would immediately become a pile of sweating electronics that could fry the guts, which makes the direct sunlight a moot point doesn't it.

There is not mic on this thing, but the way I see it, without the camera, what the hell you need a mic for anyway. The speakers are pretty good tho, but better on headphones, which is great when you don't want anyone to hear you listening to Dane Cook videos.

There is no 3G, but WIFI is the way to go, it's a whole hell of a lot cheaper and you can just about snatch any signal out of the air and ride it. I keep my 3g on my phone turned on, because I have a top of the line 4G smart phone that should pick up 3G effortlessly, ummm... sorry Ma'am, that everywhere but where you live!. So what good is it if, even tho they advertise 3G everywhere, it's not. I did accidentally pick it up once when we were in Ga. but as soon as I went, WOW it was gone. Kinda like a one night stand without all the fun.

All in all, so far, I like it for what I bought it for. I didn't want an Ipad, I thought I did, until I saw the side by side pics of the two. It looks like a lunch tray when you hold it, or you have to put it in your lap, on the table, on something. I can use my Kindle Fire on a crowded bus in standing room only! So there!
All the griping and complaining are from those who have, or wanted an Ipad. Once again.... come on do I really need to say it again?

REVIEW: Kindle Fire:The Cons

Let me start off by saying, I am not 'tech' savvy, I don't know the difference between a GUI and ROM, though I do know what a BM is and why you need one everyday. ;0) I do, however, know what plain Jane, regular untechy people like me like, and we like Fire.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I have never laid my eyes or hands on an Ipad before. But I do know how much one will cost you and the basic gist of what they will do. I had an Iphone for a couple of years so I pretty much "grok" the Ipad.

I received my Kindle Fire, or as I like to call it, my Deedah Fire, in the mail yesterday.
I read all the reviews around the net, mainly because I was excited and bored waiting for it to come in.
What I gathered from all that reading is this, IPad users HATE the Fire.
Now you can not tell by the review you are reading that this person has ever even seen an Ipad before, but as I read, and read, and read, I began to see a pattern.

For example: One guy was complaining that the 'swipe' bar was in the middle of the screen, which made it very uncomfortable for him to swipe and unlock his Fire. REALLY!! I have teeny tiny hands and it's not a problem, or wait, here's a better idea, while you are holding it in your left hand, swipe with your right finger! WOW! An epiphany! I mean come on!

Then another complaint: Unless you have very small fingers, the Fire's keyboard will be too hard for you to navigate. REALLY!! My BFF has big hands, not HUGE man hands, but bigger hands than mine, and if she can use the keypad on a blackberry without any problems, I don't think anyone would have a problem with the keyboard on the Fire, not even in portrait mode. Are you lazy or just whiny?

Then there are the ten million complaints about the storage on the Fire! OK first of all, was this a surprise to you when you purchased your Fire? Did they hide the box behind curtain number two and tell you you couldn't have it until you paid for it? I went to the Amazon sight, guess what? The specs are right there for everyone, including I am sure this guy. So basically what he is saying that, even though he is a techy guru of some sort, he never read a review, or hey, here's a thought, checked out the specs on the Amazon website. It was all one big "OH SHIT!" shock to him when his Fire was left on his doorstep?! The Fire does have less storage than an Ipad, but the Fire gives you Amazon to back you up. You have the cloud to hold all your crap, most Ipad users probably use the Cloud anyway don't they. 'Cause lets face it, Ipad or Fire or Laptop or desktop, you never have enough room for all your crap.

My absolute favorite, The guy who has his Ipad sitting beside his Fire, going at them both at the same time. (which I think is illegal in some states)
Ok so I am supposed to believe that you, who already have an Ipad, bought the Fire because you're a tech hoarder. No! I'm not that damn dumb! You bought the damn thing to do a comparison to a product that you already had, used and liked. Let's face it dude, in the back of your mind, you were a little bit afraid weren't you? Afraid that you just spent $699 on something that my little $199 tablet could do. Don't worry idiot, THIS IS NOT THE IPAD! If you want an Ipad, don't buy the Fire!! It's a simple as that.

Now, on to what I, as a normal everyday untechy user, think about the Fire

My Corona,without the lime

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The finished sweater. This was an easy knit. If you want to make something easy and fast,I highly recommend this pattern. The yarn is Cotton Ease by Lion Brand. And even though its cotton, I couldn't wear it too long in our 70 degree weather.

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Rippit,Rippit!

So,since I had to rip back past the cable panel,and I found some really good ideas on Ravelry, I ended up undoing the whole thing and starting over. I'm glad I did,now that I have my brain wrapped around it better,it is looking much better, I changed to twisted rib for the bottom ribbing, and am already back up to the waist decreases. It looks much better now.

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