FO!

but I am afraid it must remain a mystery until June... I finally finished my submission to Magknits which I have named "Lemonade". Well, the knitting portion of my submission...I still have to block and weave in many loose ends, but I am saving that tedious chore for the ride to the beach tomorrow. My son went last week with his grandparents (The Gaming One's M&P) and the Girl Wonder and I are leaving tomorrow to join them for the next week. It has been so quiet around here with just the older one here. She was at her Dad's house Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I had the entire quiet house to myself- a mama's dream, no kids and no husband for a few sweet days. The Girl Wonder has really spoiled me while she was here by letting me sleep late and making me coffee before she wakes me and generally being easy to please.

One thing I have noticed about myself where finishing knits are concerned- I suffer from a period of sadness after the knit is complete. I delayed this feeling with "Lemonade" by finding reasons not to finish it. I made a little crafty item for a swap I am doing with Steph but I will have to blog about that after she has received. I read blogs, surfed the web... I took over 6 hours to knit one row of the collar and bind off. As soon as I was finished, I found the long ago abandoned Icarus Shawl and started knitting away. I have about 10 more rows of the stockinette section before I can start the next chart. I am so ready to move on to a more challenging section. I will not subject you to another shrunken lace picture...lace is so pitiful before blocking.

The Girl Wonder and I took a walk yesterday and I came to an almost sickening conclusion- to passersby we do not look like mother and daughter... While this is great for my own ego, it scares the hell out of the Mama in me. She and I are the same height and weight, she has long blond hair and mine is dark brown. She is very mature for her age so she comes across as much older than she is. To make matters worse we live near a college campus and walk there often. Where there is a college campus there are dirty men yelling crude things out the window to the girls walking by. A carload of such dirty men passed us yesterday...after they slowed down the car to check us out and yell 'hey ladies' my blood started to boil. I turned to my daughter and said, "Sweetie, don't be surprised if you hear me yell "SHE IS ONLY 11 YOU PERVERT!" I told her I may even buy her a tee-shirt that says, "Quit staring. I'm 11" or "look at me again and BOTH my daddies will kick your ass". ack...I really am not ready for this...at least she is not interested in boys yet... God help the poor guy that checks her out within view of her dad or step-dad...that will be a very bad day indeed.

I don't know if I will be able to post during my time at the beach, but I will be back by next Friday!

fiddling with the template

As (I hope) ya'll can see I have been updating my blog and trying to get used to the new blogger. I asked The Girl Wonder to draw me something for my blog header and and the above image is what she came up with! It is so awesome to get a custom header for free! Thanks sweetie!

If anything looks strange please leave me a comment so I can try to correct it. Thanks much!

The past few days I have been working on afghan squares for a quilt for a friend of Lara (Yarn It) that is coping with the loss of a child. Please stop by Lara's blog and help out if you have a hour and a bit of yarn...

I have also dusted off the Lovely Lacy Shawl that has been in time out since September and resumed work on it. I was trying to knit this shawl without a chart and the line by line directions were killing me, so I broke down and bought the book it was published in. After taking a look at the charts I was dismayed that they were so small. I was pissed and shoved the entire thing into my closet. Thank the patron saint of knitting I carefully took note of the row and stitch I was on as I abandoned it mid row. Full of myself and my recent knitting successes, I decided to not let it get the best of me and took it out of seclusion. I think something happened it the closet because those charts do not look so impossibly small to read anymore. I must say the knitting is going a lot quicker with the charts and it is much easier to keep my place and spot my mistakes!

Look for me in Magknits!

That's right, the design I have been working on has been accepted to be published in Magknits most likely in June! Here is a peek of what is to come! I think I am having great luck with yellow. First there was Sunshine, now this. Thanks again for all the encouragment!

Too late for Knitty...

But since I am determined and ya'll have been so supportive I decided to submit to Magknits for consideration. Thanks Andrea for the idea, I don't know why I did not think of it myself. I will have to wait another week to see if they will publish it or not, so any details have to remain secret until then.... As for waiting to submit to Knitty, if I waited to submit to them until next time my design will no longer be relevant to their theme... my submission is really a summer knit and the next Knitty submission is a call for cool weather knits.

good news/bad news

First the good news (two parts!)
part one: The Gaming One bought me/us a new digital camera so my knitting pics are going to kick ass! (if I can figure out how to work the camera *wink*)
part two: The sixth attempt at set-in sleeve construction actually fit the armhole!

Now for the bad news:
After sewing in the sixth attempted set-in sleeve I realized that the armhole is just a bit too snug for comfortable wear. When I say just a bit I mean less than an inch. Since there is neither time, money or extra arm padding to justify liposuction, I had to take out the sleeve seaming, undo the shoulder seams and add some length to both the front and the back. After all that (you guessed it- I have to reknit the sleeve...again).

I refuse to let this get the best of me. Even though I will not be able to submit this to Knitty, I refuse to leave it unfinished. I really love this design (although I might be a bit biased) and think I will wear it often.

Last night I asked The Girl Wonder if she thought I should just abandon the entire thing since there is no way I can actually meet my goal. Her response, "Wouldn't it just be a big waste of time if you gave up now?" That's my girl! It is hard to believe she is only ten (although she will be 11 in just a few short weeks).

Y'all can look forward to some awesome pics tomorrow (camera batteries have to charge) of my attempted Knitty submission.

Thanks for all the encouragement over the past few weeks- it is true that knitters are the best folks on earth! Y'all really have kept me focused and helped me at my lowest times!

Poor neglected blog...

I am really in denial about not being able to finish my knit for my intended submission to Knitty. The deadline is the 15th and I still have most of one sleeve, all of another and the collar to knit. Oh yeah, not to mention I have to type the pattern, calculate for larger sizes and take pictures. I have knit the first sleeve a total of 6 times now, tweaking each time to achieve the look I envision. I always do my best work when I wait until the last minute (I guess I work best under pressure), but as always, I am kicking myself for wasting so much time...I blame the internet and all y'all out there that have such interesting knitting blogs! Since I have last updated my sidebar I have found 17 blogs that I have saved to my favorites that I read every day or so. I am hoping to do a big blog update sometime soon as my sidebar is in need of major update. So if you happen to stop by my blog and would like me to stop by yours leave me a comment and I will be more than happy to add you to my list! I love all the new techniques and projects that I seem to come across on your blogs-not to mention the glimpse into your personal lives.

speaking of personal lives, I have decided that I do not want to cloud this blog with bitching and complaining arising from everyday life, so I have started a blog for all that. Check out Amanda had a bad day whenever you think you have it bad...

Support our troops!

If you have the time check out this great Craft auction to benefit our injured troops.

knit wear design...what your mama didn't tell ya

1. Calculating the circumference of an armscye to knit a sleeve cap to match requires much math...that I last attempted well over 10 years ago.

2. Attempting to design a sweater knit on size 3 needles with yarn that was previously used in another sweater knit on size 8 needles will result in a new sweater that is missing a sleeve and a collar.

3. Attempting to knit a sweater within 3 weeks with cotton yarn on size 3 needles results in shooting pains in the hands and wrists.

4. If you get the crazy idea that you would like to be a knitwear designer (but have no experience) and would like to submit a pattern to be published you should give yourself more than 6 weeks- especially if by 'you' I mean 'me' and I do.

I am learning a lot throughout this process, although I hit a major bump in the road when I realized today that there was no way in hell I would have enough yarn to finish this as imagined. I am going to see what I can do to change my design without re knitting the body of the garment. I guess this is the one thing that sucks about designing...how in the world do they (knitwear designers) figure out yardage needed? This is probably something learned in Design 101 but I am clueless.

speaking of supportive parents....

I went to see my folks (Mom and Step-dad) today and my Mom pulls me aside and puts $100 dollars in my hand and tells me, "I don't want money to be ever be the reason you do not develop your knitting talent." To which I respond by bursting into tears... Mom then tells me, "I didn't get you a card for just this reason! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Then my favorite BIL responds "You know, you have been emotional for weeks now, that happened to my brother when we were kids and he had parasites." Now I am convinced I have worms...

Secret Knitting

my post may be few and far between for the next couple of weeks. After much encouragement from my family I am trying my hand at submitting a pattern to Knitty. I would love to show y'all what I am working on as I am very excited about it, but will have to wait until it is either accepted or denied. It may lead to nowhere, but you never know-and I refuse to put myself in a situation where I can look back and regret not trying. I feel it is the next step in my knitting journey.
My step-dad is perhaps the most supportive of my knitting than anyone. He always gives me such wonderful complements on my knits, and brags to everyone that is in earshot "You know my daughter knit that herself! She is so talented!" and after seeing my Sunshine sweater he put his arm around me and looked me in the eye and said "If you keep this up, we are going to have a famous designer in the family." I don't know if he knows how motivating his comments are or how much they really mean to me. I am so fortunate to have someone in my life that is so supportive and motivating. So if only for myself and my step-dad I am going to give this a shot.

Yarny goodness, and a prize.

Sometime last week, the lovely and talented Lara was kindly liberating some of her stash for the cost of shipping! I was so happy to see this on her list because it is just georgous! The yarn is Himalayan Yarn Co. 60% wool and 40% silk. Two full hanks with 175 yds per hank and one is wound in a ball. Go check out the rest of her stash up for grabs.

I am planning to use this lovely yarn to knit the pattern I won in the Craftster knitting challenge. Jen over at Pieknits.com offered the pick of her patterns and I happily accepted Aileen as my prize. I hope to have enough yarn to knit it, as Aileen calls for about 400yds, but I am planning to buy a handle for it instead of knitting one...so we shall see!

Sunshine!

Sunshine won the first knitting challenge over on Craftster. Yes, I am very excited! Thanks to all y'all that voted! So in the spirit of sharing that is craftster here is the pattern for my entry. Although it is only written for one size, it is basically a top down raglan, with a lace panel on the sleeve, and picked up neckline and collar. With a few changes it can be knit to fit your measurements. There are notes in the pattern as to when to alter measurements. Both the body and the sleeves are knit in the round so there is only one seam to sew. Please leave me a comment if you are having trouble. Just send me an email and I will be glad to help you figure out how to make it based on your measurements (amandawynkoop at hotmail dot com). If you decide to knit this please let me know! I would love to see different versions of it!
Pictures are here.

size:
small (34" bust)
approximate finished body length:
24"
gauge:
5 stitches and 7 rows per inch - stockinette stitch on size 6 needle
materials:

• 3 skeins Caron Simply Soft, 100% Acrylic worsted weight yarn; 330 yards per 6 oz skein.
• US size 5 29-inch circular needle
• US size 5 double point needles-(I had to go down a needle size to get gauge on sleeves-sz 6 may work for you!)
• US size 6 29-inch circular needle
• US size 10.5 circular needle (this is for picking up stitches along either side of the neck, so straight needles can be used if you like-I just prefer circs.)
• Tapestry Needle
• 4 stitch markers of one color(A), 4 stitch markers of another color(B)
• 4 buttons (7/8" size)
• needle and thread

Garter Stitch Lace Pattern:
(when working flat)
Row 1-6: Knit across
Row 7 & 9: *YO, K2tog*
Row 8 & 10: *YO, P2tog*
Repeat these 10 rows for pattern.

(when working in the round)
Row 1 & 3 & 5: Knit across
Row 2 & 4 & 6: Purl across
Row 7 & 9: *YO, K2tog*
Row 8 & 10: *K2tog, YO*
Repeat these 10 rows for pattern.

BODY:
Using the long tail method, and size 6 needles, cast on 48 stitches. (Cast on more stitches if you are making a larger size.)
Purl first row placing markers (SM = sleeve markers, LM = lace inset markers) as follows:
p2, SM, p1, LM, p6, LM, p1, SM, p28, SM, p1, LM, p6, LM, p1, SM, p2.

(Make sure to read ahead so you catch all the "at the same time" instructions.)

Working back and forth in stockinette stitch (k the RS rows, p the WS rows) on each RS row, increase (kfb) in the first and last stitch on the needle, 2 times.
At the same time, on each RS row, increase (kfb) before and after each SM until raglan increase seam (measured on diagonal from shoulder to underarm) measures 10 inches.
At the same time, work the Garter Stitch Lace pattern over the 6 stitches between the LM. Make sure to work the "when working flat" portion of the lace pattern.

When raglan increase seam measures 10 inches (add 1/4 inch for each size up), divide the body from the sleeve stitches as follows: (RS row) knit across left front to first sleeve marker. Slip SM. Place sleeve stitches on scrap yarn slip the LMs as you come to them. Make a note of where you are in the Garter Lace Pattern. Remove second SM. Knit across back to next sleeve marker. Slip SM. Place sleeve stitches on scrap yarn and slip the LMs as you come to them. Remove last SM. Continue knitting to end. The SM now seperate the back from the front of the body of the sweater and will be used for waist shaping later.

Continue working body back and forth in stockinette stitch until neck to back measures 11.5 inches (this is the depth of the neckline- ideally you want this to fall below your bustline).

At the end of the next RS row, cast on 20 stitches. (If you are making a larger size cast on enough stitches so you have the same number of stitches for the front of your sweater as you do for the back.) Join to work the rest of the body in the round until work measures 19.5 inches.
At the same time, begin waist shaping when body from neck to back measures 12 inches (if you are making a different size add 1/4 inch for each larger size before beginning waist shaping) .

Waist Shaping:
Decrease: *Work to 3 stitches before next marker, SSK, k1, slip marker, k1, K2tog.* Repeat from * to * for other side. Work 1 inch.

Repeat waist shaping decrease with 1 inch of stockinette stitch in between three times.

Increase: *Work to 2 stitches before next marker, Kfb, k1, slip marker, k1, Kfb.* Repeat from * to * for other side. Work 1 inch.

Repeat waist shaping increase with 1 inch of stockinette stitch in between two times.

When work measures 19.5 inches (2.5 inches below your natural waist if you are making your own- waist shaping should be completed- switch to size 5 circs and work 2x2 ribbing for 4 inches. You may have to increase or decrease to adjust stitch count to be divisible by 4.

BO loosely. I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off. (This involves the use of a tapestry needle with an extremely long tail of the yarn. It produces an extremely stretchy edge and is excellent for the top of socks. Using this long tail, pull the needle through two front loops as if to purl, then back through the first stitch as if to knit. Drop the first stitch off. Repeat to the end.) If you need a visual Knitty has a great tutorial, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see it.

SLEEVES:
Place sleeve stitches on size US 5 DPN's ( I used sz. 5 to make up for the difference in my gauge- you may find that you need to stitck with size 6 dpn.- Feel free to use your favorite method of knitting in the round). In the underarm gap, pick up and knit 2 stitches, PM, pick up and knit 2 stitches. (Pick up enough stitches to close gap in underarm and make it lay smooth). Knit sleeves in the round, continue working Garter Lace Pattern from where you left off. Remember to use the 'in the round' directions for working the Garter Lace Pattern.
At the same time, shape sleeves as follows:

Sleeve shaping:
Work sleeve decreases on the same round as Row 1 of the Garter Lace Pattern. (I began sleeve shaping 1.5 inches after joining sleeves to work in the round. You will want to work through the remaining rows of the Garter Stitch Lace pattern repeat that you left incomplete before switching to working in the round. Remember you want to decrease every time you come to row 1 of the Garter stitch lace.) Work to 3 stitches before marker, SSK, k1, slip marker, k1, K2tog. (Repeat sleeve decrease 8 times.)

Work sleeves until Garter Lace Insert is 22.5" inches from cast on edge. (If you are making a larger size or if you have long arms, work until sleeve -measured from underarm- is three inches shorter than your arm measurement.) Make sure you complete through row 10 of Garter Stitch Lace before beginning sleeve ribbing. You may need to adjust stitch count to be divisible by four to work 2x2 ribbing. Work 2x2 ribbing for4 inches. BO all stitches loosley. (Again I used Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off.) Repeat for other sleeve.

Neckline Shaping:
Try on sweater. On the right side of the neck opening, mark the row that crosses your collarbone. This will be the top of the asymetrical neck. Mark the same row on the left side of the neck opening. (Mine happened to be 9 rows down.)

(With right side of sweater facing you, drape sweater across lap with neck opening to your left, BO edge to your right.) Starting at the first row on the right side of the neck with size US 10.5 needles pick up 1 stitch on every other row until you reach your collarbone marker. Make sure the number of stitches you pick up is divisible by two. Write down this number. Knit one row. Working back and forth complete two repeats of the Garter Stitch Lace pattern. Knit three rows. BO. (If you are making a larger size you may need to work more rows of the garter stitch lace. Just make sure your panels will overlap to button.)

(With right side of sweater facing you, drape sweater across lap with neck opening to your right, BO edge to your left.) Starting at the collarbone marker, pick up the same number of stitches as on the right side. Knit 6 rows. BO.

Carefully sew edges of collar pieces to neckline as follows: Overlap the last garter stitch row and BO row of each side of collar with the garter stitch lace panel on top. Pin together. Evenly pin the edge of the collar to the bottom of the neckline. Sew the edge of the collar to the bottom of the neckline making sure to sew the garter stitch lace panel on top of the garter stitch band.

Evenly space the buttons down the middle of the garter stitch band using the holes left by the YO's in the garter stitch lace as button holes. Sew on buttons.

Ribbed collar:
With size 5 needles, starting on the 6th row of the edge of the garter stitch lace panel, to the edge of the button band, evenly pick up 78 stitches (if you are knitting a larger size pick up more stitches divisible by 4 +2 ).
row 1:*P2, K2*
row 2:*K2, P2*
repeat these two rows for 4.5 inches. BO all stitches.

Weave in all loose ends. Toss in the washer and dryer. (Please make sure your fiber is washable if you used a different one than I did.) Wear and feel fabulous!

Calorimetry

Calorimetry was the perfect project to use the very first yarn I ever spun (grey) combined with a small skein of handspun (yellow) that The Girl Wonder bought for me on a trip to Charleston, SC with her Dad. As many have before me, I cast on fewer stitches- between 70 and 80 ( I cannot recall, as this was a little something to take my mind off this). I ended up stitching mine closed, so I would not have to sew on a button. I would rather seam a extra large man's sweater than sew on buttons.

I finally broke down and did the math to convert Twinkletoes into a wearable slipper for The Girl Wonder. I used the Universal sock pattern as a starting point, and used the original pattern as a guide. I should have them finished by the time The Girl Wonder returns from her Dad's house on Monday. I would model the first complete one, but my little 10 yo girl has bigger feet than I do...

I will blog in more depth about Sunshine (my entry in the 'One stitch to Rule them All' Craftster Challenge) in the days to come.

the power of knitbloggers

I have seen the great things y'all can do when you band together...and I need a little of that love right now. I am not asking for yarn, knitted things or money- right now my family and I just need your thoughts and prayers. My paternal Grandfather has had health problems for years. (Out of respect for his privacy I am not going to go into his medical history.) During the past few weeks he has gotten much worse and I am afraid he is losing his will to fight. He has requested a DNR order. He feels as if he is nothing but a burden to my Grandmother - his wife of more than 50 years. My heart is breaking for my Grandmother. She told me today that she really thinks this will be his last year with us. I really need to go see him, but cannot even think about him without bursting into tears. I do not know how I am going to face him without upsetting him because I know I will be a wreck. While I realize the death is a normal part of life I am having a hard time letting go- for my own selfish reasons. I want his suffering to end but cannot imagine this world without him. He was always such a strong man. It hurts so deeply to see this shell of a man he has been reduced to... to see the shame in his eyes for what he has become. He was and is a good man- full of love and kindness for his family and neighbors. Although he never was one to gush about his family or feelings, anyone could interpret his feelings simply by looking into his eyes. Some of my earliest childhood memories are following him in his vegetable garden picking beans, tomatoes, melons and cukes. I remember sitting on his knee while he cracked pecans from the trees that shaded his house each hot summer. I know I will never see a tomato on the vine or a freshly tilled garden without thinking of him.

Y'all I need strength. I feel like my Grandma and my Daddy and Brother are going to need someone to lean on through this. I feel this is my responsibility as the oldest granddaughter. So I am gonna need to lean on y'all a bit. I need some inner peace if I hope to calm the waves of emotion I am sure to encounter in the coming weeks. I know I am not the first person to have to go through this-but it is a first for me...and I am hurting.

I've been tagged...

By Lara of Yarn It to tell 5 secrets about myself. The rules are

• Get tagged
• List five things that have not been revealed on my blog
• Tag five other people

Ok...since the 100 things about me meme, five secrets are really hard... I think my real secrets may be a bit more than ya'll really want to know (also a bit more than I want on the web) but here ya go, some not too secret, secrets...

1. I have always wanted a tattoo but could not think of anything I would want forever. Currently I want this on my side.

2. I support this.

3. I am considering breast augmentation.

4. I am deathly afraid of the dentist.

5. I want to win this. So kindly go vote for my Sunshine!

That is all, and tag to anyone that has not already been tagged, just leave me a comment so I can read your secrets, too!

One stitch to rule them all!

additional pics for the knitting challenge over on Craftster. More info later (The Gaming One must game!)

Lela

I inherited this 401A Singer from my Great Grandmother, Lela. I have had it for years, and before that it sat at my Mom's house gathering dust. This past week I decided it was damn time it worked (partly due to the awesome quilt Steph made, but I digress) and took it to have a little much needed TLC. This machine is over 50 years old and let me tell ya'll it still sews like a champ. It seems to remember the miles of thread that has traveled through it before, and has given me no problems.

I have been sitting thinking of my dear grandmother as I sew, feeling connected to her as my fingers are just where hers where for so many years. Saying this woman was amazing would be an understatement. Sometime during the early 1940's, after the birth of her fourth child, her husband left her for another woman. He moved to California never to be seen again. My Great Grandmother never remarried, had no family that lived near and still managed to raise four small children all alone. I could not imagine what that must have been like. She mainly kept to herself and preferred not to talk of the past.

By the time I knew her she had a sewing addiction for sure. I remember her sewing storage room: A bare bulb hung from the ceiling illuminating an ironing board island surrounded by a sea of cloth and doll parts. The smell of moth balls wafting out of everything. There were closets so full of cloth you could not see the floor. Half finished dolls, patiently waiting for an arm or perhaps a face. Lela made hundreds of cloth dolls and I bet that every child that was supported by The Christian Children's Fund in the 70's - 90's has one of her dolls. She made them for less fortunate kids, the homeless. I would love to have one of those dolls now. I was amazed by that room, with all the different colors, prints, textures. How I wish she could have lived to see my interest in all things crafty.

She also made her own clothes. For some reason she always choose crazy polyester prints to make her matching pants suits. I don't think I ever saw her when she was not wearing polyester. Oh yeah, and she was mostly deaf. So it was always comical to have conversations with her. One I really remember between her and my oldest sister... Lela was well into her 80's at this time.
Sister: So did you have a good time in California?
Lela: Oh yes, we had lots of fun.
Sister: What did you do?
Lela: aye? (cupping her ear)
Sister: Did you go surfing?
Lela: yeah lots of times.

I can never smell peppermint without thinking of hers growing in her back yard garden. Ahhh....memories.

On the needles

Here are the first few fishies for my Tessellating fish afghan. I have not the heart to calculate how many of these I will have to make to have an afghan worth... So far I have enough to make a dishtowel.

Here is the beginning of my entry for the Knitting Challenge on Craftster. I am thinking 3/4 length sleeves, tunic length, as well as garter stitch lace v neck. We shall see what happens as I have never attempted to knit anything for myself without a pattern. The yarn is Caron Simply Soft -color soft yellow (this pic is a bit washed out...the color is a bit brighter) Size 6 needles.
Icarus is poking right along. I am almost to the end of the first skein. Lace looks so small and pitiful while on the needles.
Twinkletoes seemed like such an awesome idea. I knew The Girl Wonder would love them. I loved the pics on Knitty...maybe I am not getting gauge, perhaps I am reading the pattern wrong. But this does not look like the ones pictured on Knitty.
So, I adapted them a bit. Fewer cast on stitches, shorter toe, no short row heel, single crochet around edge and crochet ties. This is my third attempt. Personally, I think they look more like ballet slippers, but who am I to say...at least they do not have a funky heel. They are still not quite right, but I am getting closer.
That is all the knitting for now. I have officially been blogging a year now, which is a major thing for me. Hobbies do not generally "stick" with me. My step-dad has told me time and again "I am so proud of you for sticking with knitting like you have...you are usually not the type to stick with things." I have never written in journals for more than a few pages, and here I am a year later still going strong! Thanks to all y'all that have left me such nice comments and good advice throughout the past year! I appreciate y'all more than you know!

2006 Finished Objects

Red Baby Shoes

Five Hour Baby Sweater

Pinwheel Baby Blanket

Pinky

Eve

Anthropologie Capelet

Lolita Legs

Elephant

Monkey

Clapotis

Somewhat Cowl

Saving Grace

Anthro. inspired

Swallowtail Shawl

Silk Corset Top

Modified Razor Cami

The Gaming One's Socks

Starsky

Nephew's Raglan

Miss Dashwood

Daisy Baby Hat

take two...

I just spent over an hour composing a post full of self-doubt and my computer froze and the post is gone...Is that the universe telling me to keep those thoughts to myself? perhaps. I have not the time or energy to try to recap it all. So no personal thoughts today. We are all probably better off. Perhaps I should start another blog for my ranting and self doubt and keep this one strictly knitting.

Needing motivation I have decided to join a Craftster Knitting Challenge. So far all is going well and I will give more details as my project progresses. I have also started a tessellating fish afghan to use up my acrylic stash. It is a fun project so far, very portable and I am really loving how the little fish are fitting together. I am weaving in the loose ends as I finish each fish so piecing together will not be so horrible. I will try to take pics tomorrow as it is dark now and we all know that my picture taking is sucky enough in daylight and downright craptastic at night....I blame the camera.

Twinkletoes is still waiting for it's mate. I really am not happy with the way the third attempt looks, but The Girl Wonder thinks they are cute, and she will not be wearing them to any beauty contests so I guess they will be fine. sigh. I hate "fine" I prefer "ohhh, those are awesome" but don't we all.

The Icarus Shawl is at that stage that I am really wishing the gnomes will complete the last pattern repeat for the first chart as I am bored with it....also, I realized I forgot a ssk about 8 rows back and can't decide if I want to ladder down and fix it or just do an extra ssk on the row I am on. No one would ever notice (except me that is). I do know I am not frogging those 8 rows because I can't bear to knit them again.

I hope y'all are keeping all your resolutions if you made them. I don't make new year resolutions...I make birthday resolutions...but I usually don't keep them either...

I just realized that in three days my blog will be 1 year old. I can't believe that I have stuck with it this long...as I am notorious for starting things but not sticking with them.