what to do

instead of bitching and moaning about how I hate August? I decided to usher it's irritating ass out with a bang. I cannot bear another round of dad's socks. I have finished the heel shaping and just have to knit them long enough to fit his size 11's. All I can say is I am glad he prefers short socks. I do love the pattern, though, it has just enough twisty ribbing to keep it interesting for those that do not worship at the alter of sock knitting.
Pattern: Gentleman Socks from the Fiber Fool
Needles: size us2 dpn's
Yarn: Trekking XXL yarn

I have been so jealous of Lara, since she was one of the cool kids that knew about Mystery Stole 3. So, after reading about Secret of the Stole on Ravelry, I signed right up without a second thought. I also decided that I would spin my own yarn for this stole since the KAL does not begin until October 5 and 'hello, still bored and unmotivated here'- I need a challenge and spinning 1200 yds of laceweightish yarn right is up my alley. I have a pound of white roving (85% wool, 15% mohair) from Sheep Shed Studio burning a hole in my stash close- finally it has a purpose! It is perfect timing because the first clue comes out on my dad's birthday and I need to finish his socks by then.

I managed to spin this bobbin full last night. My spinning has come to a halt in the past few months because I had cotton on the bobbin and really wanted to finish spinning all 8 ounces, but I hate it! It is so slow going and the resulting yarn is not even that nice. But I have plans for that little bit of yarn, oh yes! I decided to wind it off and be done with it. Anyone interested in learning to spin cotton? You can see the color here (it is the last post on the page by Awynkoop). I have about 5 ounces left and will send it to the first person that asks for it for the cost of shipping-frankly, I am tired of it mocking me. Leave me your email addy because Blogger's stupid commenting system leaves me no way to get in touch with you otherwise.

Now I'm off to spin and drink a few Newcastles. Cheers!

I got the August blogging blah's

It seems August is the month of little blogging for me...last year I only made one post in August and this year if it were not for the Magknits issue I would have little to blog about this month either. I have done precious little knitting. The Stargans for the Super Twins have come to a screeching halt as I realized I forgot to order one color, of course, that one color can't be toward the outer edge, it is about 8 stripes away from the outer edge. Stupid stupid stupid. So I ordered that lone skein and will be praying hard that it arrives by at least Wednesday next week so I can finish the final blanket by the baby shower (September 8). Shit like this really pisses me off. It was such a careless mistake. As for my pregnant friend, she is finally feeling fabulous, looking great, and carrying two healthy growing boys! She is almost 31 weeks along- We are hoping she can keep those younguns in for at the very least another month so she can be more prepared and they can be a bit bigger and stronger.

I have had the knitting blah's as well. After finishing Icarus there is nothing I am really inspired to make. I have socks on the needles for my Dad, but they are slow going. I don't understand sock knitters...I mean, I love that socks are so portable, but they just seem to linger on my needles. Sock knitters must be made of different stuff than I. Give me some lace or a nice cabled sweater any day. So far, this sock knitting thing sucks. Maybe it is the dpns, the knitting in the round and losing my place over and over again, perhaps it is just the fucking August blahs (I started the Gaming One's never ending socks last August as well). What ever it is I am glad August is coming to a close. The soul sucking heat, the stress of family reunions and school starting back makes me glad it is almost over! I have to admit the back to homeschooling went very smooth this year. No arguments and good effort all around. It all makes my life so much easier!

I bit the bullet and submitted a design to Interweave Knits for their summer 2008 issue. I really like my design (I may be a bit biased) but will have to patiently wait to hear back from them. I have high hopes, but will be shocked if I am accepted. After all this is the Interweave Knits! I have set a design goal to submit at least four designs a year to various publications to try to get my foot in the knit design door. Two down this year...two to go!

Hope y'all are doing well, my commenting has been sparse lately, though I have been reading blogs a plenty. I have bunches to add to my blogroll thanks to Ravelry! I hope to get my groove back in September, which is only a few days away!

Home at last!

I did get a tiny bit of knitting accomplished during my week away, but nothing like I thought I would (less than half a sock knit the entire week). There was just too much going on. Read all about it on Self-Centered Momma, since I promised to keep this blog more knitting related instead of bitching about my family related. I took my Icarus shawl with me and wore it everyday. It is a very useful knit indeed! Although my oldest sister did crack quite a few 'granny' jokes at my expense... More to come after I unwind a bit more and recover from the week...

Vacation

We are packing up and heading to the beach for a week. Well, I should be packing. Instead, I am in denial that I am leaving very early in the morning and am spending the day on Ravelry and reading blogs... I will be sharing a house with my two sisters, their husbands and kids, my brother, his girlfriend and kids and my parents. There will be 18 of us in all. The Gaming One has to stay home and work so I will not even have him to rescue my sanity. I think by about Tuesday I will be ready to kill people. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and we all get along great, but I need my space and suffer when there is to much togetherness. Unfortunatly, we will not be vacationing at the beautifully clean and quiet Sunset Beach, NC (pictured above). The rest of my family prefers noisy, crowded Myrtle Beach, SC instead, so I was outvoted....

The silver lining? There has been record highs here with temps over 100 and my airconditioner quit working! At least the beach house will have AC. How did people survive the summer with no AC? They must have been made of tougher stuff than me for sure. Me, I have the tub full of cold water and when it gets too unbearable I sink down to my shoulders until I am shivering. ahhh sweet relief! The Kiddos are lucky enough to be at grandma's house!

Onward and upward

First of all, a million thanks to all of you that took the time to reassure me about the picture of The Girl Wonder. It really means a lot to see that others saw nothing wrong with the picture. Silly me for being so concerned with capturing the details of the sweater that I did not even notice that you could not see her shorts. So (now that I have slept on it) I sincerely apologize if I offended anyone. That was not my intention at all. Also, I want to publicly apologize to Kerrie (the editor of MagKnits) for any drama she had to deal with in connection to this. I know you have so much to deal with and you did not need this at this time.

How about some actual knitting content?

I took the Icarus shawl with me to the mountains this past weekend and was binding off the last stitch just as we were pulling into the motel parking lot. I must admit this project took way longer than I expected it to. I think I started it either the end of last October or the beginning of November. Granted I would knit a bit then put it aside for a couple of weeks then pick it up again out of ufo guilt. It was a very easy knit and I see myself using it often (I am always cold and tend to stay wrapped up in blankets most of the year) but I really had to make myself work on it. I was often bored with the pattern because it was so much of the same, but I had to count every stitch to ensure I did not make a mistake. I admit I thought it would be a bit funny to wrap up in it naked and take a pic to put on my blog as a 'you thought that pic was bad, well what do you think of this' gesture, but realized that might not be the smartest thing to do... I realized in blocking this that I will buy blocking wires for my next lace project. After trying for hours (I kid you not- I started blocking at about 1:30 and at 5 I finally walked away from it) to pin it to my bed straight and perfect, I broke out a 4 square foot pvc frame I use for square foot gardening and basically sewed it to the frame. It is still not perfect, but it will do. At one point I was crumpled on the floor ready to cry - The Gaming One was quite concerned about that and very sweet and encouraging (Thanks Sweetie!).
Pattern: Icarus Shawl (Interweave Knits, Summer 2006)
Yarn: Peru Alpaca (ebay purchase) No idea how many skeins because I spit spliced the ends together as I went along.
Needles: Size US4 Circs
Finished size: 80 inches across top edge, 40 inches from top edge to bottom point. I believe I could block it even larger after some blocking practice...

This little pink kitty toe always makes me smile. All his other toes are black except for his pink, pinkie toe.

hateful mail...

I gotta get this off my chest... so a'la Dooce I present you with a little forwarded gem that graced my inbox this morning.

I an very disappointed in your magazine for this issue.Why was it necessary
to sexualize that young child in your photos? If she was actually wearing
panties, that alone would have been egregious but to imply (visually) that she
is wearing nothing but a sexy top under your design is beyond the pale.It is an
indication of a mind lacking in any true creativity that you must depend on soft
porn to promote your designs. One third of all women have been sexually abused
by the age of 18 and you are doing what you can to raise that number by offering
this young lady as an object of lust. You should be ashamed of yourself. And
don't tell me that she wanted to be used in this way... you are supposed to be
the adults and taking care of her.I will pass my concerns on to others who may
care about children.

Wondering what was so offensive? It was this picture of my daughter. I assured Kerrie that I would not start an e-mail war with this woman. However, I can't just let it go.

First off, for her to imply that she is not wearing anything but a top makes me think that she needs to get her mind out of the gutter. Secondly, for her to think that I am presenting my daughter as an object of lust is beyond comprehension. Hell, I am doing everything I can, short of making her wear a burka, to prevent her being viewed as an object of lust. Thirdly, I am not ashamed in the least of my beautiful daughter or the picture. Perhaps it is just sour grapes on her part (maybe she is jealous of my ability to produce beautiful children while she is a troll). Fourth, I asked my daughter to choose what she wanted to wear with the top and those are the clothes she picked out herself. I do take damn good care of my kids- to the extent I home school them to prevent the horrors they might face in public school, so don't even imply that I am putting her in a position that is not safe or appropriate for a girl of her age. Finally, if she wants to pass her concerns to someone who cares about children she should send me an e-mail, since I care about my kids more than anyone. Poor, poor misguided woman- get your mind out of the gutter and find something productive to do with your time.

Edited to add: The picture was removed from the cover because of this well-meaning woman. So thanks alot for raining on The Girl Wonder's parade. I hope you are happy.

Now I feel like an ass...

Has anyone seen the newest Magknits? Notice anything familiar?



I am a bit speechless...

Rockin' Girl Blogger

In my 3am posting fog I totally forgot that KnittyMcPurlyPants nominated me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Amy, I am totally flattered! Thank you so much! To keep it going here are five blogs (only five is so hard!) that I check daily.
1. Lara @ Yarn It!- everything this woman knits makes me drool!
2. Del @ Cozy's Place - So funny! and a talented writer to boot!
3. Andrea @ Knit-Knac - She is actually in a band so she is rockin' for real! not to mention she talked me through the designing process for lemonade. Thanks a million!
4. Dawn @ Wild Yarn - Love love love her blog! She just seems so zen...I am striving to be like Dawn when I grow up.
5. Melinda @ Knits and Plants - Although her baby boy is sucking up her blogging and knitting time she still rocks in my book.

Now go forth and nominate other rockin girl bloggers!

Still Slummin'

with the crochet, that is. I have restarted the blankets for the super twins yet again and got this far before realizing that I will need at least 9 more skeins to finish them both. Swish is holding up quite nicely with all the frogging, so I think these will be pretty durable. After finishing the mitered blanket (Thanks for all the sweet comments by the way!) I again have the post knitting letdown. I have not knit a stitch until today. I knit a total of three rows on my Icarus shawl. I have two rows of the last chart to finish and then whatever line by line instructions for finishing/ binding off and I will finally be finished. The Gaming One's family reunion is this weekend (yay, three days in the beautiful mountains!) so I will probably take it to occupy the six hour drive. I just might get it finished by the end of the weekend!

I am feeling *blah* lately. I am not really sleeping well and generally feel disconnected from reality. Nothing bad is going on in my personal life, except that I have come to the conclusion that I drink too much and really need to cut back. I have not drank at all since last Friday. That is around 20+ alcoholic drinks I have not drank that I normally would have...My liver feels better already! It is not to the point that I drink in the morning or around my kids and it does not affect my relationships. I don't lie about how much I drink or hide booze. I have not hit rock bottom...but, I can see that road in the distance. Boy is it bumpy...

Psychedelic Squares baby blanket

With just 12 hours to spare before the baby shower I finished the baby psychedelic squares blanket. It was a big hit at the shower- since the Mama and Papa to be live in upstate NY they both agreed that this afghan will get lots of love and use! Mission accomplished!

I hand stitched the knitted portion to the cotton backing after very carefully measuring and pinning all around. The stockinette still wanted to roll even after being blocked and stitched to the backing. I think the front and back look really cute together.

Of course, I just had to have the satin lining around the edges. After all, the best blankies have that oh so smooth satin to nuzzle against when almost asleep. It also solved the rolling stockinette issue. This was my first attempt at mitered corners and they were much easier than I thought they would be. The satin border was a bit tricky- especially with my inability to sew a straight line. Each side had to be ripped and resewn at least once (did I mention that my darling daughter managed to break my seam ripper the day before? Unpicking seams by hand is no fun). The satin also seemed to catch on any rough edge of fingernail no matter how minuscule. My sewing machine, of course, gave me it's own problems with all the broken threads and running out of bobbin thread and all, but it got the job done.

I am very pleased with the finished result. I think it looks fabulous, the yarn was great to work with (it did go through the washer and dryer twice and got softer but did not pill or shrink) and the parents loved it. That being said, I really do not see myself attempting this one again. I think it took as long to do the finishing (seaming, backing, edging) as it did to knit the squares....at least it felt like it.

Pattern: Psychedelic Squares Afghan 16 large squares completed.

Yarn: KnitPicks Swish Superwash 2 skeins of each color (baby blue, deep ocean, dublin, aloe)

Size US 8 needles

Finished size 30" X 30"

So close!

All the knitting is complete for the mitered baby blanket. The squares are all seamed together. Let me tell you it took hooouuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. I love mattress stitch but I had a time getting all the stripes to match just so. I may have said some very naughty words a time or ten... Then came the sewing of the large squares together. More cursing occurred and it drove me to drink. All it took was a few vodka tonics and I was finished!

All the ends have been woven in. Yes, I weave in the ends even though I am backing it. I always stress about my hand knit gifts coming apart. It survived a trip through the washer and is now in the dryer.
The cotton backing has even been washed and dried and is ready for some action!
I just had to have this print when I saw it.
As soon as the knit portion is out of the dryer I have to attach the lining and sew on the satin border. I imagine that will take up a huge chunk of my day. So far it looks as if this may get finished right on time.

pardon the absence

I've been slummin' with Knit's easy sister-Crochet. Why crochet? Well, after trying to mattress stitch my mitered squares, I realized that I would not enjoy stitching so many squares together and neither baby blanket project would ever be finished. Also, there was way too much worry and tears knitted into those blankies. And then this star shaped afghan called to me from craftster.

"mmmmaaaaaaake meeeeeeee"
but I can't follow crochet instructions
"that's why you have internet"
but I have already started these others
"look at me. no picking up stitches or binding off. I'm fast and easy. you know you want to."
yes. come to me crochet.

It took a few rounds and a couple (or six) start overs before I realized that all this time (since I learned when I was 11) what I thought was the first stitch is actually the second stitch. Armed with this all important tidbit of crochet know-how I was 'cookin' with gas' as my Grandma would say! I love this pattern. I am frogging the four squares I knit for the babette log cabin babies as I crochet- I still plan on using most of the colors (there were a few that just won't do. This is so fast and easy! There is joy crocheted into this baby's blanket! My pregnant friend's condition has been totally cured thanks to her operation and she is on her way home! WOO-HOO! I hope she likes the blankets as much as I do. Here is three days worth of crochet. love.

I have only been allowing myself to knit mitered squares for the baby blanket on the sidebar (are you laughing as hard as I am at 48!! mitered squares). After mattress stitching the first 4 square group I made the executive decision that this blanket will have 4 large squares (16 mitered squares- not quite as an insane goal) and a border picked up around the edges until I run out of yarn. I have two squares left to knit. Then blocking/sewing together. Then blocking/picking up stitches and knitting border. then blocking once more-you know for fun. After seaming the first two squares without blocking and seaming the third square after blocking-I highly suggest blocking. It just makes life so.much.easier.

The baby shower is this Saturday.

If I can just put down that damn crochet hook maybe I will finish.

Did I forget to mention I also plan on lining the back of the blanket so the wrong side is pretty?

Have a lovely week!

Blessings

I just talked to my pregnant friend (mentioned here and here and here if you are interested in the back story) and she was able to have the fetoscopic laser photo coagulation performed to separate the twins blood supply. She is not out of the woods so to speak, but this is very, very good news and she is so relieved. So far everything looks good and the twins seem to be fine. She has named the little ones Michah and Robert. Also she honored me in the most sincere way possible by asking me to be their Godmother! These kiddos are going to be smothered in knitted goodness. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers- apparently God has been listening.

I have also been overwhelmed by the response from fellow Craftsters to Lemonade. I feel so much better about not getting selected to be published. The sting of denial is gone. I know I will try again to be published but will submit to Knitty next time as I kinda felt misled by Magknits. I say misled because I actually received an email from the Magknits editor stating that my pattern would be included in the July issue... fuck it- their loss...

Big Thanks!

I just wanted to thank each and every one of you that offered such encouraging words about my design. One thing I hate about blogger is that there is no email link to the people that leave comments so I can't personally thank y'all. Just know each and every comment really means a lot to me and I feel so much better. As for publishing the pattern myself, I just may offer it for free, but since it was denied, I can't get it out of my head that there is something terribly wrong with it.

Also, thanks for the compliments on my lace nightie mods. Y'all are really too sweet!

can I cry over spilled Lemonade?

So way back a few months ago I submitted a design to be published in MagKnits. I was under the impression that the design would be published in the July issue, but I was sadly mistaken. The only thing I can figure is that my pattern writing skills are not what they should be. I really am disappointed. I personally liked my design (I bet that is what all the denied designers say), but understand that is the way things go.... will I try again? Perhaps, but I am not exactly know for working really hard at things I am not initally sucessful. Anyway, here are a few pics of Lemonade, modeled by The Girl Wonder (we are the same size).

Pattern: Lemonade (my own)

Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Elena (100% mercerized Mako Egyptian Cotton; 99yds [90 m]/50g) 9 balls. This yarn is discontinued.

Needles:US E/4 crochet hook for provisional cast on.
US 3 needles
US 3 circular 32inch

Interweave Knits Lace Nightie-modified

You can't go wrong with cashmere! After I bound off the back stitches I decided to slip this on to see how it was going to fit. I realized there was no way this was going to fit over my hips like a nightie should. I also realized there was no way I was going to frog and reknit it in a larger size. So I decided it would make a very cute tank. I really did not take note of my mods but if I remember correctly I added an extra pattern repeat before the waist shaping. I also added a few more waist decreases. I am thinking there is a problem with the measurement in the schematic, because there is no way with a gauge of 6 sts per inch that you can decrease 8 sts and lose 3.75 inches...so beware if you are planning to knit this. On the Upper Back and Front portion I put the pattern aside, instead of following the pattern I BO 1 at the beginning of each row until I had 68 sts on the needle then BO all sts. As soon as I read the pattern I knew there was no way in hell I was knitting all that i-cord for the straps. Instead I bought some lace and backed it with satin ribbon then sewed them on making sure to place them where they would cover my bra straps.
All the pictures were taken by The Boy Wonder- against his will...

Pattern: Interweave Knits Lace Nightie

Size: Small (29")

Yarn: 4 ply cashmere from PlumKnits, 2 skeins, 200 yds per skein. I did have a little egg sized ball of yarn leftover.

Needles: US5 circs

Add this to my list of favorite knits! The pattern was easy to follow and the cashmere was a dream to knit with.

summer knitting is slow knitting

Now that it is officially summer my knitting motivation has decided to go on vacation. I guess all knitters go through it, but I feel disconnected and do not know what to do with myself. I sit down to knit, maybe finish a few rows then get distracted. At a snail's pace I have finished the first 12" square for each of The Super Twins blankets. Their Mom ended up not being able to have the procedure I mentioned in my last post due to her placenta being in the wrong position. Unless the placenta shifts by her next visit to Philly she will more than likely have to end the life of one twin to save the other or risk losing them both. So still I knit as there is nothing else I can do. I mean what can I possibly say to make her feel better or to make her decision easier? Not a damn thing. I also finally finished the Interweave lace nightie today. I made quite a few mods to it, but I will talk about those tomorrow after it is finished blocking and I can take some pictures.

I am participating in a Roving Swap over at Craftster.org and received 100% cotton roving. I can not for the life of me spin it...it kinda feels like I am trying to spin dryer lint. I am the type of person that prefers to be good at something or not do it at all and I am not good at spinning this cotton. So anyone have any tips?

FO where art thou?

All my projects seem to just languish on the needles these days. I still knit everyday, but it seems as if nothing is really getting finished. Last week I dyed some corridale roving and spun it. I used old egg dye tablets and although the colors did turn out nice they were not at all what I had in mind. One of the blue tablets I used seems to have broken down into blue and purple which I thought was odd. All told I ended up with 146 yds, singles.
I also started Babette for the Super Twins and promptly realized that I suck at crochet and I do not understand the written instructions for crochet. I then realized that I could do a little log cabin action and knit a version of Babette instead. Here is the beginnings of the first square....
So far it is 10" so I have quite a few more rounds until this one is the 12" it needs to be. Update on the Super Twins-20 weeks gestation...their Mom (my best friend since 7th grade) has to travel to Philly (from NC) on Monday to have fetoscopic laser photo coagulation performed to separate the twins blood supply (an overall survival of 67 percent can be anticipated with 80 percent of pregnancies having at least one survivor.) She is freaked out since she has never been in the hospital and the lives and health of one or both of her twins are at stake. If this does not work there is nothing else that can be done. Please, please, please remember her in your prayers especially on Tuesday when she will be in surgery. I just feel sick about the entire situation. I do not know what to say when I talk to her...so I listen and knit and hold back the tears until we are off the phone, then I totally lose it. It is just so fucking unfair- she has had more than her fair share of heartache and disappointment throughout her life. I just hope she is strong enough to get through this.

unexpected motivation

When I first logged on to Ravelry I was really expecting to spend hours just looking around, drooling all over what others have made.

Then I realized...

• the real fun was in entering my own projects and see who was making the same things.
• it was frustrating to see someone mention a project but not have a picture of it.
• I should upload some photos of my own before I started getting all uppity about someone else.
• I would actually have to take the time to learn how to use my Flick'r account.
• the hours of my "free time" I am going to lose to Flick'r.

I did not think that Ravelry would inspire me to clean up my blog appearance and knowledge. I have learned so much in the past few days, like

• how to blog from Flick'r (that is where the cute baby in the hat post came from).
• how to change my blog header the quick and easy way (I managed to do it the hard way last time).
• how to put a Flick'r box in my sidebar.
• what the hell a feed was and why I need ways to subscribe.
• I am not as smart as I thought I was.

Next up is tagging...

• my past blog posts
• my Flick'r photos
• my Ravelry projects

I ordered yarn to start the babette twin blankets in the following colors: Black, Truffle, Coast Grey, Sand Dune, Sunshine, Aloe, Dublin, Jade, Baby Blue, Capri, Deep Ocean, Dark Navy, Copper, Light Coral, Red Pepper and Fired Brick.

pinkkibluebell1

pinkkibluebell1
Originally uploaded by villapallo

This is the cutest baby hat ever!