Mop head no more!

Thanks to my Saving Grace! I wore it all day yesterday and will probably wear it all day.
Me:Does this look better?

The Gaming One: Oh, God yes! At least now you don't look like a gang member!

Pattern:Saving Grace

Yarn: Paton's Classic Wool-this is the never-ending skein. I feel the spinnin' elves are visiting me each time I use this yarn. I have used this one skein to knit half a felted bag, trim for the noro minisweater, now this and there is still yarn left over!

Needles: sz 8 bamboo dpn's (I like knitting narrow things on short dpn's)

It took more time for this to dry after blocking than it did to knit it! I will probably make many more of these! Thank you so much Dawn!

My Renaissance Man

The Gaming One said something last night that caught me completely off guard. As he was coming from the kitchen, Wild Turkey on the rocks in one hand a Don Diego cigar in the other, he looks at me, knitting on the couch, and says "Maybe I should learn to knit. After all, how else can I be a renaissance man?" I couldn't hide the sheepish grin that spread across my face. I suggested he start with a washcloth...I will alert the media when he actually picks up the needles.
Thanks to Franklin I have a new appreciation for knitters of the male persuasion. If you have never read his blog, please do yourself a favor and check him out. He is hilarious! All this talk of knittin' men has got me to wondering...how many of you ladies out there have inspired the menfolk in your lives to knit? I know Emms hubby has knit, I have seen the pictures! Is this common? Do any of y'all feel like your man is hoarding in on YOUR hobby? I think it would frustrate me to no end to teach my darlin' husband to knit only for him to end up a much better knitter than I am...I guess that is just the self-centered gal in me...I should be happy that he wants to pick up such a relaxing hobby. Hey, maybe he will even pick up a fiber fetish and then we can scope out the LYS together... Yeah, and hell will probably freeze over as well...

As for my own knitting, I have cast on for the NY Yankees blanket for my sister. I planned to knit a double sided blanket with the NY logo in the middle, but after about 25 rows I was not pleased with the way it was coming together, so I have decided to do a flat blanket. I will post a pic when I am a little further into it, since I only have knit 3 inches or so. I am hoping I can finish it without feeling like I am working in a sweatshop, furiously knitting as if my life depended on it. Her baby shower is the end of next month, so it should not be a problem. I casted on for Saving Grace, a headband pattern by Dawn (see her May 25th post) last night. I already have worked 10" of the pattern, so I should have it finished a little later today. When I saw the pattern I knew it was for me. I frequently have what I refer to as "mop head"...you know the condition that afflicts those of us that rarely go to the salon... See what I mean (lovely ain't it?)
This is the way I often combat "mop head" and for some reason my darling husband HATES this look. Whenever he comes home and I am fighting the "mop head" he asks "did your gang have a meeting today?" So, I am trying to find more girlie ways to combat "mop head" so we can all be happy...and I will no longer be accused of being a gang member. Saving Grace, I think, will be my saving grace!
My fingers are itching to cast on again for the Silk Corset Top that I started last weekend, only to realize that I was knitting the wrong size...Thankfully I made a mistake that required frogging the entire thing. I cast on for the wrong size partly because I just guessed what size I would be. I lost my measuring tape and could not find it anywhere... well, two days ago I found it, in The Boy Wonder's bag of army men. When I asked him what MY tape measure was doing in his bag (note: I suspected him all along and asked him quite a few times what he did with it) my sweet little 4 yo son looked up at me and said "I had to make sure the all the men were equally spaced." What do you say to a 4 yo that uses phrases like 'equally spaced'? I just shook my head, stifled a laugh and reminded him to ask before he takes things that belong to others. This kid really scares me. I think one day he and his sister are going to realize they are smarter than I am and plan an uprising...gotta love those precocious kids!

Thanks for the comments yesterday! you gals are great!

Blog beautification project

I feel a bit better about my blog baby...everything *seems* ok to me, but you never know how I'm gonna come across to all my bloggy friends, so if ya don't mind will ya leave me a little comment if anything looks wonky? you know like the sidebar moving all the way to the bottom of my post...or anything else! Much appreciation! Still on my agenda for the blog beautification project is turning this photo into my title...I have found some web refrences on how to do this, but am not quite sure how I am going to go about it, so any advice on that would be appreciated as well! Off to enjoy the beautiful day!

please excuse the mess...

I have decided after looking through my favorite blogs, that they all have something in common...a light background...and now I must have one too! So excuse the mess I have here, hopefully everything will be shiny and beautiful soon!

Anthropologie inspired-inspired capelet

So I was inspired by this, and made one back in February. I wear it almost weekly so I figured I needed another one. I had some beautiful Noro Kureyon color 115 patiently waiting to become something lovely. After seeing a capelet on craftster made with Noro I knew what my lovely Noro would become...

Since the Noro was lighter weight than the original pattern called for, smaller needles and a calculator were in order.

Pattern mods: With Sz. 8 circs and contrast color cast on 112 stitches. k1p1 rib for 2". Switch to main color

Row 1 (RS): k21,yo,pm,k1,yo,k7,yo,pm,k1,yo,k52,yo,pm,k1,yo,k7,yo,pm,k1,yo,k21

Row 2 and all WS rows: p across

I followed Julsey's pattern from there except my RS rows were the ones with the knit stitches facing. I continued the stockinette stitch for the body for 4" after I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn. Switch to contrast color and work k1p1 rib for 2". BO in rib. Here is when the knittin' laziness set in. I intended to knit 2" of k1p1 rib to finish the sleeves, but kept getting those nasty ladders where my dpn's met. Fed up with the dpn's I decided to simply crochet a little ruffle around each sleeve.

I carefully pulled out the scrap yarn and with a sz G crochet hook and contrast color, RS facing, starting in armpit and inserting hook knitwise in the live stitch I slipstitched around until all the live stitches were picked up. join. (disregard the armpit gap) through back loop only *DC 3 times in first stitch, skip a stitch, SC in next stitch, skip a stitch* repeat around. I then used some *ahem* creative stitching to close the armpit gap. I weaved in the loose ends, handwashed and blocked. I can't wait to wear it!

Imagine that!

I thought this was cool, since I love a nice dry vodka martini! I think a trip to the ABC store is in order! As I told my family this weekend, I am NOT a lush. I am, however, luscious!

You Are a Martini

There's no other way to say it: you're a total lush. You hold your liquor well, and you hold a lot of it!

What Mixed Drink Are You?

a frogging we will go...

So I tried to fix my mistake on the silk corset top and it looked horrible, so I took it off the needles fully intending to frog away my frustrations for having to start over on on this long coveted, beautiful top. I had a moment of clarity before starting though and had this conversation with myself...
.this looks like shit, you can totally notice where I fucked up the pattern
..well, maybe you can fix it with a crochet hook
.not such a bad idea
(ladders down the stitches and tries to pick them up)
.this looks even worse, I gotta start this over and it was so pretty.damn.
..before you pull out all the stitches maybe you shoud try it on...it does look a bit small
.ok.sure.whatever
sure as shit, after I tried it on I realized I was knitting the garment of my dreams. in the wrong size!
so once again my friends, bad things sometimes happen for a good reason, even if we do not realize it at the time! thank you fate!

A Myrtle Beach trip...

This time the kids and I went with my parents, sisters, brother, and spouses/children of all. 14 people sharing 3 rooms for three days...too much togetherness any way you look at it! We managed to have a great time regardless...lots of alcohol was consumed (the main advantage of having Catholic parents!) and a few of us were, um, shall we say shitfaced...I had enough friday night before dinner that I only had 2 drinks the rest of the weekend. I also think I got food poisoning from the seafood buffet ($68 for me and 2 kids- I felt violated after getting this check!) because I was VIOLENTLY ill friday night about 3am...My sisters joked it was all the alcohol, but without giving y'all tmi, I think it was a bit more than that...My oldest sister (who only drinks liquor about 2 times a year) was so drunk by the pool at 4pm my other sister and I had to go collect her before she embarrassed herself (*ahem* she was too drunk to be embarrassed by the time we collected her). We safely got her back to the room and fed and she was out cold by 5:30. The menfolk managed to hold their beers a bit better than the women folk... The kids had a great time by the pool and ocean (don't worry, there were sober adults watching the kids swim!) .
I was also able to give Mom her Somewhat Cowl, however the fates were against us (the Cowl was still damp on saturday and she did not want to stretch it out of shape) so I was unable to get a picture of her in it. She absolutely loved it though! My sisters even told me it looked like I bought it! My Mom had it spread out on a table in our hotel room all weekend (she said she just wanted to look at it because it was so pretty!) The stitches looked so much better after washing, and all my concerns drained away with the rinse water! Thanks again for all the comments!
During the trip, I finally casted on for the Silk Corset Top by Annie Modesitt. I have lusted after this top since I first saw it last September or October. I have to admit, I was intimidated at first. After all, it is so pretty and looks so complicated. I'm telling y'all now, there was nothing to be afraid of! Sure there are charts, but Annie also provided written instructions for all that are chart virgins, or just scared. It is knit in one piece (Yay for no seaming!) from the top down. From the looks of this I am about a quarter of the way through. I really wish I had a pair of size 6 circs...this back and forth action is getting heavy, and I really feel it in my wrists much more so than when I knit on circs.
However I noticed this flub. That column *should* have been purled... but I think I can fix it with a crochet hook, cause I really do not want to frog and reknit this...I am using Knit Picks Shine Worsted (60% cotton/40% modal) color bachelor button. Is it possible that I love this yarn more than Knit Picks Shine? I just might! It seems to have a bit more fluffiness than Shine does...almost as if the plys are twisted a bit tighter in Shine. But I have a feeling I will use these yarns again and again!

Did I mention I Love this

Sorry, I just can't get over myself...I really cannot believe I knit this!
Excuse my ghetto methods of drying my lovely knits...

Somewhat Finished!

The Somewhat Cowl is finally finished, and I could not be more pleased with it. I took it to Mom (half finished) on Mother's Day, beautifully wrapped, with pattern and needles included, and joked that for Mother's Day I was giving her the gift of learning to knit. Her response, "so for Mother's Day you want me to go completely crazy?! All this time I thought you loved me."

I convinced her I was just kidding, and she loved the sweater. I can't wait to get a picture of her in it. I love this so much I am sure I will make one for myself.

Yarn:Knit Picks Shine-color, orchid (60% cotton/40% modal) 9 skeins for sz 38 bust.

Things I learned: knitting small circumferences with two circs, as well as Magic Loop. I also learned that magic loop only works when your cord is very flexible. I learned I can successfully pick up stitches around a neckline as well! The following picture is the actual color. I am still baffled by photography... as you can see, I still need a bit of practice to ensure my knit rows and purl rows are the same.

Somewhat progress...

I have finally finished the body portion of the Somewhat Cowl. I absolutely love this so far, however I am again having fears that this will not fit Trucker Mamma, or that it will be more curve hugging than she would like. We shall see, I suppose. You cannot tell from the picture, but there is a noticeable difference in the back and forth section of the fabric versus the knit in the round section...my purl rows are taller (for lack of a better word) than my knit rows. Does this happen to everyone, or is my inexperience showing? I have never blocked cotton, so I am hoping it will smooth out a bit in the washing/blocking process. Maybe this is something only a fellow knitter would notice... I am using 2 circs to knit the sleeves instead of dpn's to avoid ladders...This is my first time doing this and while it was a bit fiddly at first (much like my first attempt at using dpn's) after a few rows it was smooth sailing! I love this method of knitting in the round. I am considering trying the Magic Loop method of knitting the rib portion, since I do like to learn something new with each project. I really got to get to knitting since Trucker Mamma is going to be home on Monday instead of Thursday like I originally thought... I have a feeling I underestimated how long it will take me to knit the cowl...6 inches of 2x2 rib over 200 stitches...yikes! I am gonna try my best to finish both sleeves by the time I go to bed tonight. That self-indulgent beach knitting is biting me in the ass about right now... y'all know what they say about hindsight *sigh*
Later Chicks!

Imagine that...something else in common with Emms... Cheer Bear was always my favorite!

See what Care Bear you are.

Back from Mini Vacation

Hi y'all, I spent the weekend at my inlaws beach house with the family and came back to all those nice comments on my last post. Thanks so much! I am so sorry to say I have no pictures of the Clapotis (I know, bad, bad, blogger) because I already gave it to my MIL. She is staying at the beach until the end of the month, and I knew this would be the only time I would see her. She loved it! She was also surprised that 1) I kept it a secret since I started it in March and 2)the fact that the Boy Wonder kept it a secret as well...Quite an feat for a 4 year old! I think she thanked and hugged me about 5 times...It is so satisfying to knit for fellow knitters! It looks like every other clapotis you have seen thus far...except the one I made was solid blue. But here are the specs for anyone interested...
Yarn: Peru4Less 100% Alpaca - I bought this yarn on ebay and it had no information as far as gauge or weight, however, I think it would be considered laceweight because it was really thin and it only took a little over 2 skeins to knit the entire Clap. Since I bid on 10 skeins I have quite a bit left so I see a blue clap in my future...I may even try to dye some of it and see what happens... anyone have any other suggestions for the 6.5 skeins of leftover yarn??
Needles: sz.8- I probably could have used smaller needles, but I really liked the openness (is that a word?) of the knit.
Mods: I followed the pattern except I purled the sts between the twisted sts to avoid using stitch markers.
My opinion: Like all of you that have knit this before me, I loved the pattern, I loved the result, and I will make another.

As I mentioned before, I spent the weekend at my Inlaws beach house... since the beach is 3 hours away I got in lots of knitting time. I was inspired by the Anthropologie inspired capelet found on Craftster to make one with the knotty Noro. However, I am using sz.8 needles and had to cast on quite a few more stitches. Here is my progress so far...

As with the other one I made, I am adding quite a bit to the bottom, so it is more of a mini sweater than a capelet with sleeves. In my opinion the colors look much better in real life than they do in the pic. After all the knitting bigamy I granted myself permission to cast on for this and just work on it over this beach weekend. So it will be on the back burner until I finish the Somewhat Cowl. I still have to knit the rib section at the bottom, both sleeves and the cowl, not to mention washing and blocking, so I must get back to it to ensure I will finish it in time to give it to Trucker Mamma.

I am feeling a bit brain-dead today and feel as if I am trying to type with someone else's hands thus, I have had to correct more typos than ever, so please excuse my lack of focus/poor writing...hopefully I will be back to normal soon...

Clapotis Finished!

Oh man, oh man, I want this now more than ever! The Clapotis is all finished and I love it sooo much! I am glad I have more of this yarn...Due to a new computer I have no idea how to post pictures (or how to get them off my camera) so pictures to follow as soon as I can get a lesson from the Gaming One! I have started another Anthropologie inspired capelet with some grey Paton's wool and the knotty Noro Kureyon. I love starting new projects... More to come when I am in more of a bloggy mood!