Frog Is A Four Letter Word

I finished up my One Skein Wonder earlier this week.



Stephanie wrote a great pattern. Her math is dead on. I didn't even swatch or try on as I went, and I think it fits perfectly.



The only thing I changed was the order in which I made the edgings. I wanted to use up every last bit of yarn (and I did!) by just continuing the sleeves until I ran out of yarn. This meant I had to do the body ribbing first. Which also meant the sleeve cuffs would be done in the round. Fine by me, a 16" circ was just short enough. Since the seed stitch area is more like 3" instead of 1" long, I started decreasing so it would fit better.



I used Farmhouse Yarn's Silk Spun which is mostly cotton, some wool and a wee bit of silk. Yuuummmmy. I'd love a cardigan out of it, but I think it was like $15 or $17 for a skein. Worth it, but that's why I only bought one.

Man, these pics are crappy, huh? It's pretty hard to photograph your own back. Anywho, so my other two projects--the wool rug is getting ripped out so I can remake it as an oval instead of round; and I need to pick up the baby sweater again, I only have 15 or so rows to go.

Have you made an OSW or other Glampyre pattern?

So you guys know I've been trying to dejunk and pack. And that I have eschewed gratuitous material gain *cough*cough* so as to live with less stuff. But I really like to help friends, and it turns out Toni wanted some help dejunking. She wants to get rid of stuff, too! I had to support her, right?



Is that beautiful or what? Some laceweight wool that she dyed herself (I think?).



Some rayon and cotton from 2Dye4. Shrug! Both of these are pictures on top of Rowan #34 that I got from Toni in the same package.



So delicate and printemps. I believe Toni made these.



Here are a couple snazzy accessory bags that I've neglected to mention. T (not Toni) made them for my birthday. Also pictured are modern little rubber stitch markers from Toni.

So! To make up for this decrease in air space in my spare bedroom, I need to get rid of something. I bought a drop spindle last year and have never used it. I imagine I never will--it just does not interest me. So I'll send it to someone who'd like to use it. I don't want to trade for yarn, but perhaps if you have some roving or fleece scraps that I could use for needle felting I'd take that.



Yes, I'm going to MDS&W next week but seriously, I won't be hard-core shopping. Most likely just a gift or two. I want to enjoy the sights and tastes. Oh and my OSW is done, so that's one less skein in the stash. I'll post pics tomorrow! Are you going to MDS&W?

Have I mentioned recently that I have the best boyfriend on earth? I came home from work yesterday and he had installed the replacement window I bought. Not only that but he cleaned up after himself, put the old blinds back up and fed the dogs before he left. I didn't even asked him to do any of this!

I would never admit to doing this on purpose, but it is terribly convenient to be dating a carpenter when you're fixing up your house to sell it. An old boss of mine said that's why they're called "the trades" because when you're done with the plumber, you trade him in for a carpenter, etc. That's just wrong....but....the bathroom does need a lot of work. hee hee.

Anyway, the window replacement obviously deserves some sort of handknit gift. But this is a dude whose core temp is always 900 degrees, so sweaters and socks are out of the question. But he does wash a mean dish, so I think I'll whip up some cotton dishcloths for him. More of my patented assembly line knitting, I think.

The One Skein Wonder is nearly complete. In fact, I was hoping to wear it tomorrow, but I'm lazy. I just have to make the cuff of one arm. Really loving this yarn, too. I hope with something like 40% wool it's not super hot.

Sometime last week I found an awesome free v-neck vest pattern. I could have sworn I downloaded it. So I spent hours looking for the file, then retracing my steps on the internet to try to find it. Apparently, I do a lot of surfing. Hee hee. Anyway, after two hours of this nonsense, I checked my bookmarks and there it was. I had bookmarked the page. *smack forehead*

Here it is. The Gilmore vest by Fable Handknit. "This vest features a deep V neckline and a close body fit." You had me at vest! So when I get a chance, I will be adding this to my Top Ten Vests list. At the same time I'll add a link for Eunny's Deep V Argyle Vest. And since I can't seem to stop with the deep-V, Glampyre's Mesh Tank.

Speaking of Glampyre, I am almost done with an OSW using some of my Chicago souvenir yarn. I may have enough leftover to make a wee version for one of my nieces. I'd like to finish it up tonight, or at least get to the point where the ribbing begins.

Are you a v-neck fan?

Greetings from my kitchen counter. It's a very rainy Saturday here, but that's ok. I have so much cleaning and crafting to catch up on after last week's holiday weekend. I enjoy getting out of town and seeing family but when I don't get home until late Sunday evening, I feel like I had no weekend. You know, why I am telling you.

A while back I showed you where I knit. But where the real action happens in my house is the kitchen counter. I've always been a "stand up to work" person and when I bought this house the first thing I put in was a new counter bar with stools. Anyone who's seen my pictures is familiar with the red laminate countertop. "Cranberry" matte finish I believe.

Anyway, this morning the counter holds my laptop, a massive vessel of coffee (natch), a bunch of textile books, magazines and catalogs, my box of beads and two projects in the works. Project one is just in the planning stages--it's my little hank of hemp matched up with some more beads that M gave me. Project two is a ridiculously large ball of wool being crocheted into a rug.



See? I kid you not. Huge ball of wool. I thought I'd felt this rug when it was done, but now that I'm working it up it's very pretty as is. It will definitely need a rug pad under it because it's slippery and I plan to put it in the bathroom.

The laptop is here because I've been catching up on Whit Larson's podcast, About Time, while I do my dishes. I swear to christ, my dishes would never get done if it weren't for podcasts. I'll use any excuse, won't I? Haha. When I feel as if I've done enough cleaning for one day--my threshold is low--I have some sewing to do. It's a great day for being inside and sewing, besides I need to finish up a slipcover that was M's Christmas present. Don't worry, it was only from this past Christmas, so it's not nearly as far behind as usual. I hereby swear to never make anything for M again (and tell her about before it's done, that is).

TTFN

The five-at-a-time washcloths are complete.



I love the scrubby texture of these--perfect for washcloths. The garter stitch just adds to it. I'd love more of these, but I'd definitely make them on the knitting machine instead. Now that I know the finished size of these that I made diagonally, I know what I'd need to cast on to make them horizontally.

Oh and Hurrah! My camera issue is resolved! I mean, I still need to buy a new one, but at least now the camera and computer are communicating.

Do you knit washcloths or dishcloths?

My mom bought me The New Crewel for my birthday and I absolutely love it! I can't wait to show this book to M who is the real embroidery whore, although I may be close behind her! I got lots of ideas for embellishing knits (bags, I'm thinking) and recycled clothes.

Yesterday I bought the Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting. When I mentioned to T that I always buy this mag, she asked why I didn't just subscribe. Uhh, I have no good answer for that. I guess I will. Anyway, this issue is OHMIGOD, you guys!, SO!TOTALLY!CUTE! But what's the number one thing the I would make? That's right...



Someone has to give the crazy color combos the love. That would be me.

Lastly, this will be the final word on how fucking shitty myimgs.com is--I promise. They're shitty. Now then, please bear with me as I move and recode two hundred pictures. You may notice lots of images missing for a while since I had to have Paypal block myimgs.com from charging my account anymore and I'm sure they'll dump all my pics as soon as they don't get my money. Thanks!

I needed an extra little something to put in N#5's easter basket. So Friday night I needle felted this little egg.



The purple is some organically raised/dyed wool (romney, maybe?) and the pink, green and off white are bits of Lopi and Lamb's Pride. It was so fun to make. I really want to get more fleece with which to needle felt. I ordered some last week from Halcyon, but it was backordered and I don't wait well.

Oh and check this out! Dobby Ann and her Big Bird sweater are famous! Ahh, Puppy Therapy. Between that and Cute Overload, I'll never get any work done!

What easter/spring crafts did you make?

I've been a fabric whore far longer than I've been into yarn. Ergo, the fabric stash is so much larger than I care to admit and makes the yarn stash look like the twine collection in someone's kitchen junk drawer. Not my junk drawer, a hypothetical someone's. And since The Plan to move is being carried out, I am cleaning out my attic, closets, etc. Here are two textile pieces I forgot I owned.



My Aunt Dot pieced this quilt top together sometime in the 70's. And duuuude, you can tell by the fabrics. The lady in the quilt shop thought it was feedsack, but I think it's too new for that. Anyway, shown with it is the lightweight cotton I bought at The Fine Needle for the backing.

I will most likely quilt this and keep it for myself. My aunt spent so much time with my brother and me when we were tiny tots that she was more of a third grandmom. Washing and pressing this quilt top, I had a great time remembering all the cool stuff we did with my aunt. Of course then I wound up BAWLING my eyes out, but in a good way.



This is a medium weight cotton that was block printed in Bagru, India, though I doubt it was as labor-intensive as the description in that link. My mom bought this for me when we were at the Silk Symposium held by The Textile Society of America about four years ago.

Next to it is a lightweight batik that will be the reverse side when I make this into a duvet cover. I just need to find a fabric for the welt and I'll be able to whip this up. I got the batik at The Fine Needle, also. I can't believe I didn't buy any yarn while I was there. I did look, though, so it's not as though bodysnatchers have invaded.

I finally charted the bottom portion for the baby sweater and have started on that. I think once I get a few rows into it, I won't need the charts--except perhaps for the horseshoe cable. But I only need to remember how many rows between cable crossings there, right?

Well stay tuned for more forgotten treasures out of my attic. And the gripping conclusion to "Five Washcoths on a Needle"!

A couple weeks ago I made a dishcloth with some leftover SWTC Bamboo in a fun orange. I remembered reading that bamboo is antimicrobial and my kitchen needs all the help it can get. ha! The construction of that particular yarn paired with a very simple garter stitch makes for easy scrubbing.

Then I remembered I bought one ball of white bamboo a while back and since I need new bathroom washcloths anyway, I thought I'd use that. So that my washcloths would be of equal size and that I'd get the largest cloths without any leftovers, I weighed the ball and divided it up into five 18 gram balls. Well, knowing myself and realizing that I would not want to knit one washcloth over again 5 times, I cast on for all 5 at once. How does that work, exactly?



I started off with a really long circular needle, but it just kept twisting and tangling, so it was back to the 14" straights. And how do you wrangle 5 little balls of yarn?



There was an added benefit to this little contraption. When I pulled the shoebox out of the closet, there was a brand new pair of shoes in there! I had totally forgotten about them and never worn them! I do remember buying them, though. It was the end of summer (two years ago!) and they were on sale 'cause they're the cutest little tiny sandals.

What was your most pleasant surprise while cleaning out a closet?

Ohmigod! Is that like totally sunshine I see? Get OUT.

I am taking lots of pics of knitting, felting and sewing progress today. However my camera is still being a jackfuck so it may be later tonight before I can upload them.

I ordered some fleece for needle felting from Halcyon Yarn. T asked what I was going to make with it. I'm thinking some flowers, jewelry and easter basket fillers. I really like the look of needle felted embellishments on wet felted bags and hats.

Have you bought from Halcyon Yarn before?

M reminded me that I lost the black Not Spring Yet hat before we ever left Chicago. I either left it at the B&B--unlikely as they probably would have let me know by now--or in the cab immediately after. I hope it's keeping someone's head warm in Chicago, since every stitch was made while dreaming about the Windy City.

The green Not-Inspired-by-a-Cool-Knitwear-Designer baby sweater is progressing. I picked up the body stitches and knit some ribbing. Now I've hopped on the computer to graph out the cables for the fronts and back. If my camera weren't about to get smashed to pieces, I'd show you.

Speaking of cameras. I have somehow made my computer not recognize my camera. Even though it's a USB plug-and-play deal. This started the same day I got my jump drive, so something "happened", I just don't know what. I went through the troubleshooting about how to reset the "AutoPlay" for plug-and-play devices. However, you have to change those properties by clicking on the device and my computer won't even acknowledge that it exists! I even did a System Restore, but it said nothing had changed in the past week. Compuwhores.

Speaking of whores. Whoever found my site by searching for "my mom is a perfectionist" I have four words for you. I feel your pain.

Any device recognition advice?

I finished up another Not Spring Yet hat. Yeah, yeah I know it is spring now. But I wanted to test out this pattern again. This time I put beads on each picot of the cast-on.





It's a wee bit long (tall) but that was the point of making another hat. I used TLC Cara Mia and let me say for a chainstore brand, this is a sweet yarn. ANGORA'D!!! hee hee, a little TGS for ya. I used #5 needles again. The beads were a gift from M and I'm pretty sure she got them at Beadazzled in DC. I spent some time trying to find the style and size, but alas, I am not a bead freak (yet). But I do know they're glass! They're sorta hard to see in this picture because they are the same color as the yarn.

Okay, thunderstorm. Talk to ya later!