Eeek.....it's almost Christmas

Well, best laid plans of mice and men. I had hoped to give some knitted gifts for Christmas this year, but that isn't going to happen. Work has just been crazy and I'm lucky I find time to knit at all.

I was doing so well catching up on WIP's; however, I went crazy and started several projects. Added to my list is now a baby blanket knit in Sidar Snowflake Chunky. I am still working on the second Fetching glove, but should finish it over the weekend. I hope to start another pair in Aurora 8 in black.

I was busy tonight wrapping Christmas presents for my husband to take into work. At least that is now complete. I still have to wrap his gifts. Oh, for a moment alone! I guess that tomorrow is another day. I will look forward to Saturday when I am off for a week (except for a one day training session). I am dreaming of a relaxing holiday week.

Lessons Learned

I'm close to finishing the shrug. I have very little to do, but have been side tracked because I started the Fetching gloves. They are a little tricky to do at the thumb. My knitting instructor had to help me. I think I know now what I need to do on the next thumb. One glove down and I'm working on a second. I don't know if I will get three pairs done for Christmas. The last two weeks I have been traveling for business, so that hasn't helped. At least I'm home now for the next two weeks. I need to start sooner on knitting for Christmas.

I did get the qivuit yarn that I was drooling over. Two skeins of a dark purple. It is soooo soft. I really need to get started on knitting that too.

I am so excited! I have been looking for the Interweave Knits magazine for Summer 2004. I think I have found a copy. At least I ordered it. Hope I get it. Last time I did this they canceled the order because they were out of stock. It has the pattern for the Madli shawl by Nancy Bush that I would like to knit. The ironic thing about this is that I probably had the magazine but threw it away. That was in my early knitting days and I didn't know the importance of hanging on to my knitting magazines. I have learned my lesson.

I have been reading more. I finished Black Notice and Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell and Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovitch. I enjoyed them very much.

Time Flies.....and so do the stitches

The week has flown by. Where did it go?

Spent time learning to spin on Tuesday. It went better than Monday. At least I got how the treadles work. Handling the yarn is getting better. Practice is definately necessary. Judy was really a nice person and very informative. I learned a lot from her.

Thanksgiving we went out to dinner with family. There were 10 of us and it was an enjoyable dinner. Only problem was that it took forever to get our food. Our reservations were for 1:30 PM and we got out of the restaurant around 4:30 PM. Food was good though and hubby got to eat a turkey dinner. I had crab cakes.

On the knitting front, I am on my last skein of yarn for the shrug. I had hoped to finish it up this week, but that didn't happen. The end is in sight though. I did start on the fingerless gloves on Saturday when I went to knitting class. They should finish up quick enough. The tricky part will be around the thumb. I think I will wait until next Saturday to finish up the one glove.

I also started the Candle Flame shawl from Knitpicks. I have a business trip this week and wanted to take some knitting with me, so I figured that this was light enough and would keep me busy at night. I leave tomorrow and will be back late on Wednesday. I am just hoping for good flights, no delays, and no bad weather.

I'm looking forward to Christmas vacation. Still have a lot to do for Christmas, but I should get through it. I have cookies and a ham ordered and we made our reservations for New Years Eve dinner. Nothing like planning ahead.

Spinnin' Wheel got to go 'round

Ah, Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Brings back great memories. What a group they were!

Yeah, I'm on vacation! As much as I am glad, I feel that this week is going to fly. I remember when I was a child and the time went by so slow! I wish I could put the brakes on now!

Today, I had my first experience with spinning. I tried two different types of wheels: an Ashford traveler and an Ashford Joy. I really liked the Joy. I was able to see my feet better and had a clear view of the bobbin. So, I bought the Joy. It's a combination Birthday and Christmas gift. I got it for a better price with the cover than I saw on the Internet, so my darling husband even let me buy a spinning chair.

The first hard time I had was learning to use the treadles. It took me a little while to get started, but then I got the hang of it. The second part and the most crucial part is twisting the roving to the right thickness and feeding it into the bobbin. You have to get your feet moving just right, let the yarn twist and pull the roving to the right thickness all at the same time. Needless to say, I bought a pound of roving to practice.

Tomorrow, I will be visiting with someone who I met on a Yahoo spinning group. I am sure that spending a couple of hours with her will help get me on track. It is amazing what I have picked up by just reading information on the Internet. Now, I guess the only thing I need yet is a niddy noddy and practice, practice, practice.

On the knitting front, I am diligently working on my shrug. I am determined to finish it this week because I want to start on the Fetching fingerless gloves found on Knitty.com as a Christmas present for my nieces. Plus, I would also like to start on the Candle Flame shawl found on knitpicks.com.

On another good note, I did join the Arctic Lace KAL and was able to order the kit, which includes 2 skeins of qivuit yarn in twilight (a purple color). I won't receive the kit for several weeks, but that is okay. I probably won't be able to start a project with it until Christmas is over.

More to come on my spinning and knitting later this week. Hopefully, I can get this song out of my head by then.

......Talkin' 'bout your troubles it's a cryin' sin.
Ride a painted pony let the spinnin' wheel spin

My Head is Spinning

What a week it has been. First I received an order of books from Barnes and Noble. I got the new Victorian Lace Today and Artic Lace. These are two beautiful books. I am currently reading Artic Lace and really would love to buy the qiviut yarn; however, it is soooo expensive. I may just cave and buy two skeins though. There is a pattern for a beautiful shawl, but it takes 6 skeins. Oh, to be rich!

I finished another dishcloth. This time it was a turkey and I'm currently working on a dishcloth that has a Christmas ornament on it from Harvest Moon Designs. It was a free pattern and is very pretty. I still need to finish the shrug though. One of these days very soon I will just do that.

I have been reading a lot about Spinning and toying with the idea of trying it. Well, I joined a yahoo group called Spinning and got some good direction. I found a local store that sells spinning wheels and gives lessons. I really need to try before I would even think of buying. I also heard from a couple of the members and one lives close to me and we are going to meet up the week of Thanksgiving so she can show me how to spin. Looks like my vacation is filling up fast. One more week to go!

NO Stitches East - But I do have yarn!

It's been a busy week but I finally got through it. Two more weeks and it's Thanksgiving. Time is sure flying. At least I will have vacation that week.

I wanted to go to Stitches East, but alas I couldn't go. Hopefully, they will have it close next year so I can make an attempt to go. But, that didn't stop me from buying yarn. I was quite busy ordering yarn for some future projects:

For Scarves (maybe my so called scarf?) Manos - I just love the colors!

For a shawl - Handmaiden Sea Silk in pumpkin:

For a hat - Brown sheep Burley Spun (Sorry, the colors are dark and a little hard to see).

And, I got my Socks that Rock from the Rockin Sock Club:

Projects I have completed:

THE PONCHO:

Some Dishcloths:

A Cat:

An Apple:

A Pear:

I have also been searching for the pattern for this slipper:

Someone had made this for me years ago and I wanted to attempt to find it. It's on the Needlebettle web site and is called Aunt Alms dorm boot. It appears that the pattern is very close and the person who did the boot for me adjusted it a little.

So, I'm knitting along and getting projects completed. I am still currently working on the shrug. I have passed the half-way mark. Finishing is in sight.

While I have bought quite a bit of yarn for projects, my next project will be Fetching from Knitty.com

I figure that this would make a great Christmas present for my nieces and have been told that they knit up quickly. Quick projects are good right now.

I'm also proud of myself. I believe that I am finally getting the hang of using Flicker with Blogger! I better go back to knitting before my head swells too much.

Catch Up

What a knitting week! I finished the poncho and knit two dishcloths plus started another. I will post pictures later today. My WIP's are going down. Next is the shrug.

I started to order yarn for projects. I got Handmaiden sea silk in pumpkin for a shawl, Manos in several colorways (boy are they gorgeous) for scarves and Brown Sheep burly spun for a hat. Can't wait for it to come.

I haven't been to knitting class in two weeks but got there on Saturday. I really enjoy those sessions.

I had a long weekend this weekend (4 days). It's been really nice and helped me to work on knitting and catch up on other things. Next vacation is Thanksgiving week. Can't wait.

Picky, Picky, Picky......Sadie is being Picky

Couldn't go to knitting class this week. Sadie had a grooming appointment and I had to pick her up. All of a sudden she doesn't want to eat her food. Had to get her chicken and cook it. I'm using that until I get to call the vet on Monday. It's funny, she picks out the food she wants in her bowl and doesn't eat her regular food. As a result, I couldn't get the poncho done. Can't wait to see what we have to go through with her now. She is so picky!

I did order a smaller blocking board from Joann's. They had a 50% off coupon and I took advantage of it.

Satisfaction is finding something you want on the internet. I wanted the fall 2004 Interweave Press issue. After some digging, I found it at the Mannings online. Yeah!

So many projects are dancing in my head. I really want to make a couple of scarves, fingerless gloves and another lace shawl. But, I want to be so good and finish the UFO's.

Can't wait until this weekend. I have off for 4 days and I will go to kntting class this week. Monday and Tuesday will be crazy, but Wednesday and Thursday should be wonderful. Then I can knit, knit, knit.

Knitting away.....

Finished up the poncho except for sewing the seams. I will take it to my knitting class next week to make sure that I'm doing that right. I always have trouble finishing up.

I was able to knit a dishcloth from my monthly dishcloth group that has knit-a-longs. It was a cat. I used an orange cotton yarn. Will try and post a picture later in the week. A new knit a long starts tomorrow. I'm not sure that I will participate in that one.

I am currently working on my shrug. I am almost half way completed with it. I need to put a lifeline in since the yarn is tricky to use and I have made mistakes in the past. Ripping is not fun without a lifeline with this yarn (Bernat Softy). I wasn't sure that I would have enough yarn to finish it, but it looks like I will be okay - thank God! I am so proud of myself that I am working away at these works in progress and actually finishing them up.

I ordered the knitpick needles and got them very quickly. Haven't tried them yet since I haven't started anything new.

Finishing - Close to the end

I'm getting closer to the end of the poncho. I have about 6 more inches to knit and then I can finish the shrug. I'm dreaming of lace after that and maybe a scarf.

I even completed a dishcloth from my monthly dishcloth knit a long. It was a cat. I like knit a longs where you only work on so many rows a day. I hate knit a longs where you are on your own. There is no incentive. I am also working on a square for a comfortghan. It's for my other dishcloth group.

It's so nice to be finishing projects.

I ordered the knit pick's options needles. Can't wait to get them.

On a Roll

I'm working on my poncho and have passed the half-way mark. Cheers! Once I complete this, I will start again on my shrug.

I did start on a new dishcloth with the Monthly Dishcloth group and I'm working on a comfortghan square for my other dishcloth group.

It makes me feel good to be able to start something new. These two projects are short and sweet and won't detract from finishing the poncho.

I want to start on another lace project. Maybe after the poncho is complete.

Finished!

Many things got finished this week of vacation. It was pretty productive week:

1. I finished the afghan I was knitting.

2. I finished the half-pi shawl and I'm now blocking it. Blocking is not as easy as I thought it would be.

3. I read a great book by Jeannette Walls called The Glass Castle. What a book! I highly recommend it. It's about a family that has dysfunctional parents. Actually, the parents are irresponsible and only think about themselves and not about their children. While this is a negative, there were many good things about the story that is a biography of Jeannette Wells and her upbringing. It just goes to prove that if you put your mind to something, you can succeed.

4. I am getting better at figuring out how to post things to this blog (i.e. the sidebar). I certainly need to read more about html, but I'm slowly getting it after making a few mistakes. The tricky part was trying to post tags on the sidebar. What an accomplishment to have figured it out. I feel as if I'm back to the old days when you had to put codes into a word processing program for line breaks, capital letters, and other punctuation.

5. And, last but not least, vacation is finished. That is a sad thing. I enjoyed this week and got to relax and do what I wanted to do (well, most of the time).

Now, I am working on a poncho and shrug. These are two more things that I started a long time ago and never finished. I am now down to 8 projects from 17. Not bad. After I complete these two, I will start something new.

Well, this week will be crazy after a week off. I will have alot of catching up to do.

Time to Relax

I am on vacation again and boy am I glad. I hope to complete my afghan this week as well as my half pi shawl. Then maybe I can move onto something else. I am itching to knit the Entrelac dishcloth and the Ball Band dishcloth from the Mason Dixon book.

I will post pictures as I complete them. Right now I will post the picture of the comfortghan I received from my dishcloth sistas. It's gorgeous! I love the colors and there is not a square that I don't like.

Busy Knitting and Working

Well, I attempted to finish the floral washcloth. I broke a stitch as I was trying to knit it. It just broke into two pieces. This is the second time that this happened with this chenille yarn. So, I gave up. It's in the trash and I am done with it.

I am currently working on the bind off row on my half-pi shawl and did cast on for the last afghan strip. I started to get forearm pain, so I held off knitting too much this week. It seems to be going away.

One surprise I had was that I got a comfortghan this week from my dishcloth group. It is gorgeous! I will post a picture either later this week or next weekend.

Work is very busy and I go away for a three day meeting this week, so not much else to say today. But I'm looking forward to Friday night because it's the start of another vacation. So I do have something to look forward to. Like maybe finishing two projects?

I can't get no Satisfaction ......

All I want to do is finish three projects. 1. An afghan 2. Half Pi Shawl and 3. Floral Washcloth

I started sewing the strips of the afghan together. Not as easy as it looks. I must have ripped my sewing out several times for each strip. Finally got to the last strip and what do my eyes see? A dropped stitch. Can you believe I dropped a stitch! Of course it wasn't at the end of the strip. It was at the beginning. So, after some consideration and disgust, I have decided to reknit the strip. Fortunately, I have another ball of yarn, plus leftover yarn from the other strips and if I need to, I can rip apart the bad strip (I just don't feel like ripping it apart unless I need the yarn). So maybe I can finish it up in a week or so.

I am working on completing the half pi shawl. Maybe if I am lucky, I will get it done this weekend. I have about 11 rows to go. Will I survive? I hope so.

I do plan on working on the floral washcloth this weekend too.

I am chopping at the bit to start a new project, but just refuse until I finish something. If I get the half pi shawl done, I may cast on a scarf or dishcloth.

After I finish these three projects though I still have 8 more projects to go.

I am dreaming of Handmaiden sea silk, lornas laces, koigu, and brown sheep wool (Possibly Manos del Uraguay too). I have been eyeing the Knit Pick needles and think I will succumb to buying them as well as the knitting bags they now have.

Too much to knit, so little time.

Catching Up

Finally, I am on vacation again. I may still have to do some work at home this week, but that is okay. At least it's quiet and I can get more accomplished. I am almost finished with my afghan. I just have to sew the strips together. Hopefully, I will be able to get this done this week. I have also picked up my half-pi shawl again and hope to complete this by the end of the month. I will post pictures of both of these as I complete them.

We have to take Sadie to her allergist this week and have planned a trip to Gettysburg. My husband loves information on the Civil War. I'm not really into that, but there is a yarn shop nearby called the Mannings....so, something for him, something for me.

I have been reading and need to post what books I have finished with pictures so I have a record of that. I did start a journal years ago that I listed the books I read each year. It was really a cool thing to do. I can see years where I read alot and other years where I read very little. I started this in 1985. What a long time ago, but at least I have a record of the books I read. Sometimes, I try to at least read the same amount of books I read the year before. It's a game, but I love to read.

I would love to belong to a book club where we meet to discuss a book we have read. Nothing around here at the moment, but maybe in the future when I have more time.

Too Much to Knit - Too Little Time

I can't believe that it is almost a month since I last posted. I hate it when I find a blog I like and they don't post for a long time. I'm just as guilty.

I am finally on the last strip of my afghan. I should make my deadline of completing it by the end of August. But, I need to get working on the shrug and finishing up my lace project of the Half Pi Shawl. I really like knitting lace and I'm already looking for other projects. The Icarus shawl is calling but so is the Candle Flame Shawl from Knitpicks. There are so many other neat lace projects that I would like to start. But, what yarn should I use? I am leaning towards Handmaiden Sea Silk.

However, I really need to finish off some projects before starting any new ones. So, I will attempt to resist and maybe deviate by knitting a few dishcloths.

I will have to start thinking about blocking my completed shawl. I have never done this before. Do I need a blocking board? Which one should I get?

Too many questions, too little answers and not enough time.

There just needs to be more than 24 hours in a day.

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N ...... is OVER

Today is the last day of my 10 day vacation. We didn't go anywhere special, but I got to relax (I really needed that), read, and knit.

On the knitting front, I was away on business in Baltimore (the week before vacation) and took along an afghan that I started awhile ago. You knit it in strips and sew it together. It's a really easy pattern so it was great to take along on this trip. I got quite a lot knitted so I kept going with it this past week.

I'm using Reynolds Utopia yarn and will knit three navy strips and two camel strips. Three down and two to go. The picture below shows how the strips would look once they are sewed together. I will add a navy strip on the end of each camel strip.

This is the fourth strip I am working on. Only 36 stitches on the needle, so it knits up fast. Just like knitting a dishcloth only longer. My goal for completing this is the end of August.

I worked on my shrug. It's going better now and getting longer. The picture is a little blury, but here it is.

I have been progressing on my half-pi shawl, but didn't really knit anything this week since I was on a roll with the afghan. I am going to have to block this once it's completed. I never did that before. Wonder if anyone has a great recommendation for a blocking board or some other means of doing that?


I was able to finish three books this week. I read the following:

The Devil Wears Prada - Lauren Weisberger (good book but maybe a little over the top - although I am sure there are some bosses who are like that).

Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger (enjoyed this one too).

Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanvich ( loved this one and I read it fairly quickly, now I have to wait forever for her next one).

I started to read Swapping Lives by Jane Green.

Well, I have my to do list to get through today since I procrastinated all week. Hopefully, I can get some knitting in today.

Rain Rain Go Away

Geez, all it does is rain. It's not April, it's June! Well, let it rain this week, but it better be nice next week cause I have off.

I have to go to Baltimore this week for meetings. It should be fun. We are going to John Hopkins University for three days. I have been so organized that I can't stand it. I have already started packing. We went shopping this morning and I found a mini super soaker squirt gun. So, I have my ammunition in case I need it. The plan is to get someone wet. What a great stress reliever!

I have been progressing on my half-pi shawl. I really like knitting with the Zephr yarn. The pattern is not difficult so I haven't been having trouble with it. What a relief. I had a couple of close calls with dropped stitches, but I recovered quickly and easily.

My shrug is also getting bigger. Luckily I haven't been having any problems and I'm now past the point where I began to frog. Maybe it stopped giving me trouble since I started using lifelines. I just hope that I have enough yarn.

Check this out:

I got this from the Mason Dixon website. It's my blog address in graphic format. You can find how do this here . I think it's cool!

Well, time to start thinking about bedtime as I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning. Five days until vacation. Yippee!

Amazing Lace Challenge #2

Amazing Lace #2

Yeah, i finally got this started after many failed tries. A very nice sista from Dishclothsrus gave me the tip to use bamboo needles. What a difference! I finished row 16 of 121 rows. I still have a long way to go, but I am really enjoying knitting this with the zephr yarn. So much so that I am starting to look for my next lace project. There are so many nice lace projects that I am so overwhelmed. After I pick the project I will have to choose between either using the zephr again or I found a Silk Seaweed yarn that looks yummy. See what joining the Amazing Lace has done to me.....it's made me a lace addict!

Ocean City MD

Ocean City MD

Boy, could would I have loved to be here today. It was over 90 degrees today. It was even too hot to sit outside. So, I stayed indoors to read and knit.

I finished the book ManEater by Gigi Levangie Grazer this week. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't the best. The story was about a girl looking to marry a rich man and got duped thinking that the guy she found was rich. She landed out loving him anyway and he did make a lot of money in the end.

I am currently reading, of all things, Gabriel's Angel by Nora Roberts. It's really a Christmas book, but it is a short read and a good read. I will probably finish the book tomorrow.

I am working on my Black Shrug using Berrocco's Softy yarn. So far so good. I'm almost back to where I had to rip it out and start over again. I have to look at every stitch I knit to make sure that I'm knitting or purling the right stitch. I will post pictures later this week. But I'm glad I'm not ripping anymore. I am using lifelines this time.

It's Sunday Again!

What happened? The week went so fast that we are back to Sunday!

I did get through my early Monday morning trek to Ocean City, Maryland. Other than the weather (it was not nice until later in the week), it was a productive meeting and we even had a little fun.


Ripple Stripe Dishcloth


While we drove home from Maryland I worked on this dishcloth. I really liked the pattern and it was easy to do. If you don't know it yet, I am a dishcloth fanatic. They are quick projects, easy to do and allow you to learn new stitches.















I did recently purchase these two new Dishcloth books. One is by Rhonda White who has a great dishcloth site called KnittingKnonsense and the other is by Melissa Bergland burnham who has the dishcloth site Melissa's Knit Dishcloths . Both of these are great sites for dishcloths.

I have to get back to my Amazing Lace project. I did purchase some bamboo circular needles. Hopefully this will make my life a little easier and get me started on this project.

At least I have a four day week this week. I am off on Friday and I'm looking forward to that.

Sunday Night Blues

The weekend is over. I'm leaving for a meeting in Ocean City, Maryland bright and early in the morning. Like about 6:15 AM from work. Ugh! And, to top it off, I am not having a good Sunday.

First, I am printing out something I needed for the meeting and found out that the numbering was incorrect after I was half way through. I have to start all over again. I'm printing in color too and that does go slower.

Second, I was trying to start my half pi shawl and was having trouble working with the yarn. The zephyr yarn is thin and it's difficult getting started. I was almost on my way and messed it up. I was trying to work on this in between printing and after that didn't work out, I figured I better stop while I was ahead.

I will be gone the whole week returning Friday, so the shawl will have to wait until next weekend when I'm less stressed.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Amazing Lace Challenge #1

Meet Team Karin

I have been green with envy over the lace projects I have seen on other blogs and decided to take the plunge into it as well. I had subscribed to the Knitty D and the City podcast and viewed Knitty D's and Wendy's sites (yes you gals do make a difference) and was so impressed. So, I called Rosies Yarn Cellar in Philadelphia and ordered the Half Pi Shawl pattern (I will be making Grace's version). I ordered Zephr yarn in agean blue. This weekend I will cast on and it will be the start of the summer of lace.

Of course if I was going to do this I had to join Amazing Lace. This will give me the encouragement I need to complete the shawl. Thanks to Rachel and Theresa for making this happen!

Four Days Off

I'm learning slowing on how this blogging thing works. I have to do some reading and hopefully I will be able to post more links.

I hope to have some pictures uploaded by this weekend.

I am currently working on knitting a shrug. It's the shrug from "hell". I found the pattern on the Berroco site and I'm using their Softy yarn. The yarn is nice and the pattern is simple, but I either am short stitches or I have too many stitches. I will post a picture this weekend with my progress.

I have had 4 days off from work and it has been heaven. We had great weather and I got to read and knit on my screened in porch. I read two books: Overboard and Metro Girl by Janet Evanovitch. I just love her books. Both of these books were light reading. Just what I needed for this mini vacation. I also started the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

My husband and I had to take our two year Cocker Spaniel Sadie to the vet today in Philadelphia. It's about an hour and twenty minute drive from home. She has allergies, so I had to take her to an allergist. Can you believe that!

Here is a picture of my Sadie girl:

This is the third Cocker Spaniel we have owned and she has been the best. I found her on the Internet from a breeder in Wilkes Barre called Cocoas Cockers.

Well, it's back to work tomorrow, so I better sign off for today.

The Beginning

Well, I've done it. I've joined the blogging community. I figure this will give me a way to keep track of my knitting projects and anything else I decide to write about. Blogs are interesting and they have helped to give me ideas on what knitting projects I'd like to take on. I have already decided to knit a lace shawl. I have learned a lot from others, so I hope others can learn from me. Let's see what happens.